Merritt Girls

We got in at 7:30 they started everything right away. Dr. came in and couldn't break water yet. I was just 3. At 9:30 she came back and broke my water. It was a massive amount of water. I was about still a 3 and Laney had her hand in the way sitting on her head grabbing their hand when they checked me. She said she would probably move it when I dialated more but if she didn't they would try to get it out of the way. I got epi around 10:30. There ended up being a kink in the line so they had to try several times to fix that. I didn't have a problem not feeling anything but some alarm kept going off. Dr. came in at 12:00 and check and I was a 5. Anyway, I had to lay on my side so the epi would work right and when I did that you couldn't see the contractions. I held the monitor to my stomach so we could see them and they were coming right on top of each other. It was about 12:15. I thought it would be about an hour but then I felt pressure and told Bryan they might need to come check me, I thought I was about an 8. Nurse came in and I was a 10. So I went from 5-10 in about 5-10 minutes and Laney moved her hand. Dr. came in, I pushed 1 1/2 times and she was out. The tubal wasn't done until 4:45 and my belly button hurts pretty bad. Only reason I'm taking the pain pills is because of it. It really was pretty easy.

Today is a very sad day. It is Kaylen's last day at her current daycare. There were lots of tears by me and the teachers. They had a party for her and made the best sign with all of the kids handprints on it. That place is so special to me. They have loved her like I could only dream someone would. She has so much fun there and there isn't one minute of my day that I would worry about her because I knew she was very well taken care of.

They will always hold a special place in my heart for taking care of my most prized possion for 2 1/2 years. Thank you Miss Kay, Michelle, Sam, Annett, Miss Sharron, Jennifer, Linda, and everyone else who touched our lives.

I'm 1 1/2 cm dialated. I told the Dr. she needs to stay put in there and stick with our plan. We have been going to basketball games some. Kaylen does well but I don't like taking her during the week as she doesn't get enough sleep and then is very cranky the next day so I only take her to the Friday games. She stays with Grandma and Grandpa Merritt for the Tuesday games.

Well, basketball season has begun. I thought it would be easier this year since we are living in the same town but it just makes it easier for Bryan to work more. I think we saw him twice last week. Once was when we went up to the gym during a Freshman game. It is much harder to do with a 2 year old and being pregnant. I'm very tired but trying to enjoy my last few weeks with Kaylen alone.

I'm not sure how well the games will go this year as Kaylen seems quite scared of the buzzer. It is very loud and made her very nervous. I guess we will find out. It could be that the gym wasn't very full since it was a Freshman game so we will cross our fingers.

Just breezing through the pregnancy again. Heart rate 154 still on track for induction on December 29. I made all the rest of my Dr. appointments now we just wait until she gets here.

On another note, Kaylen has decided she would potty train herself. At daycare at least. I can't get her to do it at home. They said she just decided one day she needed to go to the potty and has been going pretty steady every since. Most of it has to do with other kids going so she wants to go. Guess she doesn't care when she gets home.

We had such a great Halloween. Kaylen was a bee and really enjoyed herself. She would say 'Trick to treat' and then run to the next house. She talks so much it is funny to hear the things she says and the new words she figures out every day.

Normal appointment today. Heart rate 148. Measuring back on track.

So I've noticed quite a growth spurt lately. Although I haven't gained much weight the belly is quite large. At my appointment last week the doctor said I measured big so we moved up our ultrasound to today.

Guess I'm just beasting out as she is just the right size in there. Weighs 2 lbs just like she is supposed to and looks 'perfect'. Doctor said that not just me.

I've put pictures in an album.

Kaylen had her first big boo boo. She tipped out of her chair and scraped her nose. She blamed Kobe who was outside at the time. Of course anyone who knows me knows that I spent 90% of my childhood with a scrape on my nose so I wasn't surprised.

90 days. Wow, this one has gone fast.

Life in the new house is great. I'm not doing well with the unpacking but it is much harder this time since I have a 2 year old to chase around and a giant belly. I haven't gained as much weight as I had with Kaylen but man do I feel like I'm much bigger. Just get tired very easy. Oh well, it will all get done at some point.

Our dog has been staying with Bryan's parents for the last two years since we were in the apartment (thank you so much for that). We got him back last weekend and Kaylen loves it. She is still a little gun shy but his name is the first thing she says when she comes home in the evening. 'Kobe is you?'(translation: Kobe where are you?)

She is talking so much now. More every day it seems. After months of trying to get her to count yesterday she just decided to do it and counted to 10 all on her own. Like she's been doing it for years. Was very neat.

She's very into Horton Hears a Who right now. We just got off of Dora and Blues Clues although she'll watch those sometimes. She even saw a paw print on a bear the other day and said 'Clues Clue' (translation: Blue's Clues)

Life is very full right now and we are loving every minute.

Heart rate 154. Everything going along fine. We moved this past weekend into a house finally. It was hard work but we are so much happier to have some room. Kay was scared at first because she couldn't see us from anywhere in the house but she has adjusted and will even go into a room all alone and play.

Here is the latest info on the baby from the website -
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Heartrate 146 everything looks good.

Well, it is another girl. Went to Dr. this morning and everything looks great. Said she looks healthy.

Will post pics when I get them scanned. Since this was a specialist we even got some 3-D ones but she must have heard from Kaylen about me taking pictures all the time because she is already covering her face with her hands.

Baby is now the size of a lemon so I thought I would update the name of the site.

From Babycenter:

Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

So it isn't enough that I feel old, but I was told yesterday at my Doctor appointment that, because I'll turn 35 about 25 days before the baby is due, I'm considered to be "Advanced Maternal Aged". Why don't you tell me I'm fat on top of that lady. Anyway, what this means is I get alot more tests to make sure #2 is cooking up right in there and has no genetic problems.

Today I gave 6 viles of blood and next month I'll have a specialized ultrasound. We should know the sex after that.

Heart rate was 150 at this appointment and we are moving right along. We will be adjusting my offical due date back to January 5, 2009 as she doesn't change it from what we said before the ultrasound unless it is off by 2 weeks or more.

Still have a little shrimp growing along her little growth curve.

21.8 lbs and 33inches tall. She did not like going to the doctor. She is more fearful of people now and doesn't like strangers touching her. She sat really nice for her shot but when the nurse stuck it in she shouted "NO WAY, OH NO WAY!!" and started screaming. She still waved bye to the nurse and told her she would see her later but was glad we were leaving.

She is eating much better now though, starting to really pick the things she likes. She is obsessed with bologna right now or as she calls them 'circles'. She could eat a pack a week. She even made up a song and dance for when she wants one. "Circle, yeah yeah, Circle yeah yeah" Dancing the whole time. She is very polite says please and thank you all the time. Only problem is she knows if you give her something she is supposed to say thank you so now when she wants what you have she just starts grabbing for it and saying 'Thank you'. This is great fun at Walmart.

One problem we are having is her love of 'Coke'. It is our fault as we drink it at home 99 % of the time and give her sips but she is now requesting it more and more. I have cut mine back alot and plan to stop soon. It is just very unhealthy for her to have it and I'd much rather her drink water. We definately do not give it to her in her own glass. She only gets milk or juice and the juice is over half water and then some juice. Just a bad habit I don't want her to get into at 2 years old.

Miss K is going to be a big sister. It wasn't really a planned event but nothing is really our plan anyway so we are just excited about the blessing we will be receiving in January.

I went to the Dr. today to find out the due date and make sure we only had one little one growing in there. There was only one and I am due January 9, 2009. The heartbeat was 167. I'll have to go back and check to see what Kaylen's was at that time.

I'm feeling fine. Craving meat. Last time it was cookies. Maybe that means boy. I'm tired and I forget everything. I even forgot Kaylen's Dr. appointment so we rescheduled for June 18th. I guess I'm going to have to start writing everything down.

Another exciting note, Bryan got a new Head Coaching job here where we live so he won't be driving so much and will get to be home much earlier. It will be so much better for him. He is healing but much slower than he should as he won't just rest. But if you know him you wouldn't expect anything else.

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Girl.

We are having Kaylen's party today. Because her daddy had surgery only 11 days ago, we didn't plan anything big. Only family at the Apartment community room. She had just as much fun.

Everyone was there and she had a great time. We had a few problems as a leak caused the fire alarm to go off so everyone went by the pool to wait for it to be shut off. Well, Kaylen was sitting by Gaga on the first step in the pool and then just decided to go for a dip. Problem was she had all her regular clothes on. After that all went well and she got such nice things from everyone.

She is so fun now. Says so many things, has such an attitude and is just so dang funny. She is a dancer, loves running and giving hugs and kisses. She loves her daycare and all her teachers. I'm so lucky to find such a wonderful place where she learns so much and is loved by so many people. She needs that structure with her OCD tendancies and loves playing with the kids.

You are such a blessing Kaylen we thank God every day he gave you to us.

So, I haven't told about our little girl in quite a long time. She is a total mess and so fun. She is chatty although you can't tell what she is saying all the time. She definately has her way and if you don't agree, she'll tell you about it.

She has a little boyfriend at school. His mom works at the FAA where I work. She has to tell him bye every day before we leave. He could care less but it is a MUST for her. There is also a boy that she must not like as I'm told when his mom brings him she says "Coco go away." She does this every day. He may soon develop a complex.

Her curly little afro is getting bigger every day. There is just no stopping it. We can spray it, comb it, sandblast it, doesn't matter, those curls just spring right back.

She runs, can climb stairs, has a million bruises on her shins to prove it. She loves to go 'side' and walk around, go to the basketball court and play ball. Just the typical 2 year old. She is addicted to TV which I take full credit for. It is in the blood. She is now loving Open Season. Which is actually pretty funny.

So, that is K at 23 months.