Daddy's Little Girl

...Michael's desire to have a little girl (well, let's be honest...mine too!).  When we started the journey to have a child we were just hoping for a healthy baby.  When we realized how hard it was to get pregnant the gender of the baby really didn't matter.  However, I have always known that Michael would make a great daddy to a daughter.  He has always talked about wanting a house full of girls.  Well, other than Stanley (our adopted doggy), that's what he's got now.  He takes such good care of me, Kate, and Sophie (our dog).  Watching Michael over the past 9 days I have fallen in love with him even more.  He's amazing with Kate and has taken such good care of me.  

Tanorexic, with a purpose

...a joke a few weeks ago about how much time a friend (Brandy) and I were spending in the sun. We joked we had an addiction--that we were "tanorexic." Kate joined the tanorexic club this weekend when she had to go on phototherapy. But at least she was tanning for a purpose...to get rid of jaundice. All kidding aside, because it was anything but funny, she is off the photo lights!!!! Thankfully she only had to spend about 18 hours on the machine, which the home health nurse said was the fastest she had ever seen a little baby like ours come off of the therapy. Already a record breaker! We are doing great and just spending time getting to know each other. We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday to make sure everything is going okay. I have to say that being a mommy is the coolest thing that I've ever done (other than being Michael's wife) and I am so thankful that we were blessed to be able to have her. We know it's because so many of our family and friends have prayed for us and for that we are thankful. I'll stop talking now, because I know you guys just want to see more pictures.....

Yellow and blue

...a bad billiruben count for Kate.  Not sure if that's how you spell billiruben, but however you spell it it has made for a long day and a sad next couple of days.  She has a fairly bad case of jaundice.  They did let us all come home today, which is great, but other than feeding or changing her diaper we can't hold her for the next several days.  She is on 24-hour a day phototherapy until her counts are better.  Essentially she is laying on what looks like a tanning bed, with just her diaper, and all "strapped" onto it (not really strapped in, but she is confined).  The magic billiruben count number is 10 or below--we're at a 13.5 right now, so hopefully it won't take too many days.  We will keep you posted...

Back among the 'land of the living'

...whew!!!!! Sorry I haven't posted, but evidently I was sick. The good news is: pregnancy is still the coolest thing ever. Some might call this birth "complicated," but I really didn't know any better. I slept great last night and feel sooooo much better today. Here are some better up-close pictures of our little one.

Notes from the afterbirth

...Amanda finally getting to leave the confines of 24 hour bed rest and a magnesium drip.  Amanda had a rough 48 hours after a great pregnancy, but she is feeling much better now.  We are now in a regular room with a great view of the pond/lake and everything is much more relaxing now.  

This really isn't a duplicate photo...it just so happens this is about all she's doing right now.  I thought about posting a picture of the only other thing she is doing right now, eating, but figured Amanda and blogger would have a problem with it.  

Introducing: Kathryn (Kate) Helene Harrington

...Kate heading out at 8:41 a.m.

Kate getting checked out, 5 lbs 8 ozs.; 18.5 inches long

     Kate and Mom in the delivery room

    The family

   All swaddled up...

We have a lot more photos, and after the craziness of today we hope to get more posted (and take some better close-ups of her).  We are so excited she's here!!!!  We love you all and can't wait for her to meet everybody.

Pssshhhh....what plans?

...a normal visit to the OB this morning.  It ended with us sitting in a hospital room waiting for Kate to arrive tomorrow!  So, in previous posts the plan was for Kate to be introduced to the awaiting outside world on 08-08-08.  But, like I also mentioned before, Kate is already doing things on her own time schedule.  Apparently she decided 07-22-08 would be better for her.  

Amanda's labs at the doctor this morning came back with a high uric acid content, which means, well I'm not really sure what that means.  Combine that with high blood pressure (which had been completely fine up until this morning) and the doctors decided more tests were in order.  Amanda had an amnio to see how Kate's lungs were developing, and she scored very high, so she's safe to come out.  The C-section is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.  I guess we'll be posting pictures of her tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Golden Turkey Baster

...a desire to have a baby! Michael and I assumed it would be simple. We have a great relationship, stable careers, a home, and a great capacity to love. We thought we had everything we needed, but we were wrong! We never realized that you need a turkey baster to get pregnant (see picture). I guess that's why it took so long for us to finally reproduce. I just didn't recall that part of sex education. So, last Thanksgiving it wasn't the turkey getting basted...it was me! Seriously. Thanksgiving morning we were at the doctors office making turkey baster jokes to make light of what, for most people, is a stressful situation. On the upside though, we were able to stress-eat all day and people just chalked it up to being a normal part of the holiday.

18 months of frustration from peeing on sticks (only for them to never have a plus sign), trying to calculate ovulation (only to find out later there was never any ovulation happening ever), countless doctor visits (to an office where everyone in the waiting room had broken hoo-hoos), taking powerful medications (some of which you could take orally...others not-so-much), shots, and having to spend a lot of $ (when apparently every person at Wal-Mart has a dozen kids...and can afford to clothe six).

BUT, after all the frustration, our seasonal Thanksgiving gave way to an ongoing season of giving thanks.

A Sinking Feeling

...a desire to work on my tan!  My friend Brandy has a pool at her apartment complex so we decided to spend some time this summer working on our tans and just having fun swimming.  We imagined that I would float like a beach ball and I anticipated how good it would feel to be weightless.  However, we quickly learned that I didn't float at all (contrary to what every other pregnant woman has told me).  I SINK...and fast!  So we have had to settle for the tan and the health benefits of swimming.  Maybe after Kate comes out I will be able to float again.  We'll see.

Crenshaw Melon...36 weeks

...registering for an email service through "the baby center." This service tells you the approximate size of your growing baby as compared to fruit and vegetables. The very first email was a lentil bean at 6 weeks. This week, 36 weeks, Kate is now the approximate size of a Crenshaw Melon (see picture--btw, that is a quarter next to the fruit). I myself had no idea what a Crenshaw Melon was, so I went to the food network website, and here is what I learned:

These melons can weigh up to ten pounds and deliver a unique sweet and spicy flavor. They are a hybrid between the casaba and Persian melon with a yellowish skin and salmon colored flesh. Peak season for Crenshaw melons is August through September, with the fruit season beginning in July and ending in October.

It looks like Kate is right in the peak Crenshaw Melon season...who knew?

08-08-08

...Kate deciding to be a strong, stubborn girl. I pray to God she stays this strong and stubborn after she's born. No weak girls. You all might have to remind me I prayed for this when she hits the "tween" years.

For those of you that don't know, Amanda is carrying Kate in the breech "pike" position. Which means Kate's head is up instead of down and her feet are touching her face. People have commented that she's practicing to be a gymnast. I have news for them. Have they seen what gymnasts look like? If so, have they seen what Amanda and I look like? If so, then they should know a 6'1" dad and a 5'10" mom don't typically make a 5'0" child. Just saying...

Anyway, since Kate is set to come out butt-first--ouch--the doctor has decided that if she doesn't turn by 37 weeks (July 28th) then she is coming out C-section at 39 weeks on 08-08-08. For a person like Amanda who likes symmetry in all things she couldn't ask for a better birthday. If we were Chinese this would mean exponentially good luck for Kate for the rest of her life, since 8 is the Chinese number for good health and fortune. It's also the start of the summer Olympics, which means when we are awake at 3 a.m. during those first two weeks of Kate's life, we'll have something to watch on television. That my friends is what we call a "silver lining."

Amanda and I are ready and excited to meet Kate. It's strange how this works, but we feel like we know her so well already, even though we haven't actually seen her yet. We look forward to sharing her with all of you. Stay tuned for more...