Life with Caitlyn

can I come back?

2010-09-09T21:46:00.003-04:00

September 9, 2010
It has been nearly a year since I posted on this blog. I guess maybe I'm not cut out for long-term blogging? But I recently read someone else's blog that was extremely inspiring to me, and reminded me of how I felt when we were dealing with all the challenges that come with a critically ill newborn. Reading back over what I wrote also made me realize that this was a great outlet for me to keep track of some of Caitlyn's milestones. I read things on here that I had already forgotten, and it made me smile.

So maybe I am poking my toes back in the blogging waters? I haven't decided yet. I am now entering the second trimester of my second pregnancy, and if possible, life is more hectic than ever, so we will see. But I do need to say out loud, that I am so blessed. I feel blessed beyond belief to have a happy, healthy toddler. She is smart, precocious, beautiful, and challenges me more than I ever imagined.

Parenting is by far the most challenging, and rewarding, thing I have I have ever done in my life. Caitlyn has always been a strong-willed fighter - that's what helped her survive the first few weeks of life, and it continues to define her today (much to my delight and dismay). I love being her mother, and I also feel much of the time like I have no earthly idea what I'm doing!

Some quick milestones from this summer: Caitlyn started talking in earnest at about 18 months, and has never stopped since. She now speaks in 6+ word sentences, and astounds me everyday with her observations and insights. The other day, Matt was blocking the door and she wanted to get through. She very politely said, "excuse me, Daddy."

She also has recently started saying bedtime prayers, and will pray sometimes at mealtime. These prayers usually go something like this, "Pray Jesus, thank you for the food. Pray Jesus for food." Or at bedtime, "Thank you Jesus for GG (great-grandparents) and Baxter and Marco (dogs), and acrobats and clowns (after our first trip to the circus). Thank you Jesus for Mommy and Daddy and Caitlyn!!!!" She always ends on a very enthusiastic note.

Caitlyn is almost completely potty trained. She started showing interest sometime around the beginning of the summer, and I bought her first big-girl panties about a month ago. She occasionally has accidents, but has been completely accident-free for the past two days (that's my girl!).

At 21 months old (today! Oh my!!), I feel like she is not-yet-two, but going on 22. Sometimes it's hard to remember that even though she can carry on a complete conversation with you, she still reasons like a not-yet-two-year-old. It can be difficult not to get frustrated with that aforementioned extremely strong will.

And how is new baby (as I affectionately refer to our new baby until we have a gender to assign. I have never liked calling a baby "it")? So far, so good. I am entering my second trimester next week, and have been blessed with an extremely healthy,fairly easy pregnancy so far. Little nausea, although lots of fatigue. Overall though, I am feeling pretty good when I'm not freaking out about how in the world I'm going to juggle two children, a full-time job, and a husband finishing medical school and doing two months of away rotations in Ohio or Texas next fall. It's the not freaking out part that's getting to me these days, but I am trying to stay as calm and rational as possible. Let me tell you, that's super easy when you are already frazzled, and then add lovely pregnancy hormones and lame-brain to the mix.

So this post has turned into a book, and I am realizing that I actually really enjoyed writing it all out again. No promises, but (maybe) I will become a (semi)regular poster again? We will see. If you made it this far, God bless you.

new pictures

2009-11-07T14:18:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone, it's been about 3 million years since I've posted on here, and I'm sure hardly any of you check back anymore, but I thought I'd post a few pictures for those of you who do. Caitlyn is going to be 11 months on Monday, and I can hardly believe it. Enjoy some pictures from Halloween and playing in the leaves this morning!

I'm back...

2009-08-12T22:29:00.005-04:00

So it's been almost three months since my last blog entry (shame on me!), but I hope you'll let me sneak back in to the blogging world without too much guilt. There has been a lot happening over the course of the summer, and Caitlyn has been keeping us hopping. Our little girl turned 8 months old on Sunday. So hard to believe! She is incredible, and so much fun. She is starting to "talk" (or babble as my mom says). She says "ba ba ba" for anything she wants like the kitties or food or a toy. And she says "mamama" whenever she's mad, and at other random times too. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that mama is her word when she's mad, but I'm just glad she's saying it. :)
Here are some fun pictures from the 4th of July weekend. We went up to my parents' house, ate lots of yummy food, spent time with family, and swam in their pool. It was a great time.

Caitlyn with Great-Grandpa Kellogg

With Grandma and Grandpa Kellogg

Matt's all-time favorite picture

Caitlyn's first pool adventure

My sister Jen has finally moved down to Lexington, and we are really enjoying spending time with her. She has started babysitting Caitlyn a couple times a week until her new job starts, because Matt has started back to school. He is just taking one class right now until he starts full time again in November.
My dear friend of 14 years, Amanda, had her second baby, a little boy named Aiden Marshall, on Monday afternoon. He is beautiful and so sweet. Congratulations Amanda and Jon! We are so happy for you! :)
I think I've caught you up on all the major news around here. I hope to resume regularly scheduled posting again now that I've gotten started. I have a tendency to put things off and then stress about them until I just knuckle down and do it. Funny how I would do the same thing with blogging, which is something I enjoy! Anyway, it feels good to be back. Enjoy the pictures!

Caitlyn loves her bubble baths!

Caitlyn and Mommy - June 09

Our first blueberry pancakes - yummy!

Psalm 23

2009-05-25T23:49:00.002-04:00

The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life (restores my soul); He leads me along the right paths for His name's sake.
Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff - they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

Taken from the Airmen's Bible that my parents gave Matt for Christmas two years ago. Food for thought, and promises to hold on to in the week ahead.

exhausted...

2009-05-25T22:12:00.002-04:00

I think I need a vacation from my vacation! This weekend, I.... helped shovel 10 tons of gravel, mixed and poured concrete, planted flowers, painted flower boxes, shopped for baby stuff, assembled an Exersaucer, "wore" my baby, got "wore out" by my baby, changed about 50 diapers, fed Caitlyn sbout 50 times, sang 100 lullabies, read who knows how many books, and got less than 6 hours of sleep a night. Phew! I'm exhausted just typing that!
It was a great, but very busy weekend. I see many many more of these in the future...
The patio is coming along great. It was a way bigger undertaking than any of us anticipated, but hopefully will be worth it when it's finished. It looks beautiful already, and I know it will be awesome when done. I will post before and after pics as soon as we have an "After" to post. :)

Oh and a couple of Caitlyn firsts this weekend too: She is officially rolling from front to back on her own. I thought she was before, but I realize now i was cheating and giving her too much assistance. :) She's really got the hang of it now. Also, she is cutting her first tooth. And now I understand why they call it that - it's sharp when she bites down! And finally, she ate in her highchair for the first time this morning. My little girl is growing up fast!!!

A couple more

2009-05-18T22:06:00.003-04:00

Matt had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to work for me on our anniversary on Friday. Do I have an awesome husband or what? The stargazer lilies just opened up in the last couple of days and I just had to take a couple pictures. They are beautiful!

The week in pictures

2009-05-18T20:53:00.005-04:00

Spring Has Sprung! The giant white rose is fresh from my garden, from a rosebush we planted two mother's days ago in memory of Matt's mom Anne. Beautiful.

Friday night: Our 5th Anniversary! So hard to believe it's been 5 years already. We've come so far.

Sunday afternoon with my baby girl. She is literally growing up before my eyes and I can hardly stand it! So cute.

Balance

2009-05-14T23:40:00.002-04:00

The great challenge of motherhood for me, thus far, is all about achieving balance. Balancing work, time with Caitlyn, relationships, friendships, cooking, cleaning, gardening, me time, shopping, couponing, exercising, and all of the other activities I wish I had time for seems to be an impossible task most of the time. I know I am new to this, and I know I am not alone in this, but still I am overwhelmed and often worn out. Even prioritizing and making lists isn't always helpful when my list requires a 36 hour day to come close to completion. I think a great blessing and a great curse of being a woman is our ability to multi-task. Matt and I were discussing this the other day; as a man, he has a one-track mind and the ability/desire to stay completely focused on a task and see it through to completion. Unfortunately, it is difficult to be a stay-at-home dad and not engage in at least some multi-tasking. On the other hand, I feel like I am constantly multi-tasking, and that often comes with a cost as well. It is difficult at times for me to stay completely present in the moment with Caitlyn - my mind wanders, or I remember that there are dishes to do or coupons to clip, and I think to myself that I am missing out on some beautiful moments with her that I will never get back. Tonight while I was rocking her to sleep, I was struck again by the blessing I have been given in the beautiful gift that is my daughter. As I snuggled her close against me, I silently whispered a prayer of thanksgiving, for I am truly thankful to be Caitlyn's mother. It would have been easy for me to rush through that task as I do so many other little tasks throughout the day, but I spent just a few extra minutes rocking and snuggling with her, and they were by far the best moments in my day.
It's nearly midnight now, and once again I'm kicking myself for not shutting out the lights sooner, but I've been thinking about this idea of balance all week long, and I had to try and get it out in some way. As I was saying to a co-worker today, where's that magic wand when you need it? What's the secret formula that will get me an extra few hours of energy and productivity during the day? Because as it is, I am running ragged, and balance seems a distant, only hoped-for possibility...

how to sleep a waking baby?

2009-05-04T21:45:00.004-04:00

As in I wouldn't dare wake my sleeping baby, but I would do just about anything to STOP her from waking 6+ times a night! That's right, last night she was up every hour after midnight. Matt and I are both exhausted, and I feel somewhat like I am running on fumes. In fact, I don't know why I'm still up right now. I should be sleeping! But I wanted to share a couple of cute pictures with you before I hit the hay. I have recently discovered that Caitlyn looks STUNNING in hats (I couldn't be more proud, now could I?). I mean I love her mohawk and all; she really does know how to rock it out, but put a hat on that girl and all of a sudden the cuteness goes to a whole new level. Now prepare yourself and hold on to your socks! :) Here's her little strawberry seersucker outfit courtesy of Angie, and perfect for Derby day, hat and all:

I think she looks like she's wanting to eat the strawberries right off her dress.
And here she is in her little "flapper hat" as Matt calls it. She kills me. KILLS me! :) Have a great week everyone!

Oh yeah, and seriously, if you have any tips/suggestions to get her to sleep through the night, or at least only wake up once, I am all ears. We are seriously regressing over here. Thanks!!

busy busy BUSY

2009-04-29T21:58:00.006-04:00

I have been such a neglectful blogger! There has been so much going on - I can't believe how busy we have been. Lots and lots of good things. A quick run-down:
- Matt's brother Bryan came to visit last week when he was in Cincinnatti on business, and it was great to see him, although a short trip! We are looking forward to Kathy coming to visit too - hope that won't be too long from now.
- Sunday was a baby shower at church for our friends Matt and Brianne. Bri is due at the end of May, and we are really excited for her. Matt and I had a lot of fun doing the decorations and making a diaper cake. Here's a picture of the diaper cake:

- Tuesday night is now homemade pizza night at our house. We had delicious pizza and watched "The 300" with Rob and Crystal. While they watched the bloody movie, I worked on cupcakes for our volunteer party at work.
- Tonight was the volunteer party, and I think it was a great success. We had a good turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I have used up most of my creativity for the next few months, but nevertheless it was a good time. It was also the first time I have not been home to put Caitlyn to bed since she came home from the hospital. When I got home she was already sleeping peacefully in her crib, and I had to restrain myself from picking her up and snuggling her close. After reading this blog: http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com, I sat there crying and thanking God for the miracle that is my child. I am grateful that I can hold her and rock her and kiss her anytime I want to, as that was not the case for so long, and is not the case for so many families. We have been given so much.
Here are a few recent pictures. There are a couple of Caitlyn enjoying her first rice cereal, which was pretty fun. :)

Caitlyn and Bryan :)

I forgot

2009-04-20T21:54:00.004-04:00

So I realized that I forgot to post an update after Caitlyn's doctor appointment on Friday. She does NOT need to go on a diet - :) - but she is in the 90-95th percentile for height and weight! She is 16 lbs. and 26 inches long. That's my girl! Also, Dr. Poole says she's looking great, all healed up, etc. And that Dr. Iocono said we should treat Caitlyn as a "normal gut" baby. So that's awesome too! Sometimes it's hard to believe how far she's come. I am so grateful for the gift we've been given in her. Now I just need to remember that at 4:00 this morning when she won't stop crying for hours...
For those of you who pray... I am really struggling with returning to work, and juggling all of my responsibilities at work and home. I feel like I am running ragged and not accomplishing anything the way I would like to. And I am struggling not to feel like I am missing out on Caitlyn growing up. I know I am in this job for a reason, and I am grateful to have a job as meaningful (and flexible) as this one, but it is still really hard to leave her every day.

busy weekend

2009-04-19T21:35:00.006-04:00

Well, I can't believe it but I accidentally erased half my post. So I will quickly abbreviate the first half: We had a very busy weekend, with visits with friends, trips to the farmers market, lots of yard work, yummy food, beautiful cake, and birthday flowers. Thanks to Mom, Grandma, and Jenna for the birthday money that I used to buy all my beautiful flowers! Here's a preliminary pic of the first plantings: I will post more after I have the beds weeded and window boxes planted.

I can't believe it's Sunday night already and the weekend is already over. I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow... but I guess I just have to be ready like it or not.

Today we went to church, and then spent the afternoon chilling out with Caitlyn. I also made a couple of CVS and RiteAid runs that I am super excited about. Here is a picture of my haul:

CVS Trip 1:
(1) Tresemme shampoo
(2) Tresseme conditioner
(3) Tresseme styling products
all 3/$10, with $10 Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) with $20 purchase
used 5 $1/1 coupons
used $4/$20 beauty purchase
(1) Edge shaving lotion - $2.79, with $2.79 ECBs back
used $15 in previous ECBs
Total=FREE plus $12.79 ECBs!!
(3)Aveeno body lotions $8.99 each.
used $10/3 coupon, and received $10 ECBs with $25 Aveeno purchase
(1) Heath bar
used $10ECBs from first purchase and $4/$20 beauty purchase
Total=$4.51 + $10 ECBs
(3)John Frieda styling products on sale 3/$15
used 3 $2/1 coupons, received $5 ECBs on $15 JF purchase
(2) Rimmel lipsticks B1G1 for 5.29 (I forgot to use my $1 off coupon. boo :()
used $10 ECBs from previous purchase and $4/$20 beauty purchase

RiteAid:
I won't go into the whole purchase, but I got 2 packs of Huggies Diapers, 1 pack of Huggies wipes, and 1 Aveeno body wash for $4.37 OOP!

So long story short, all of the above for less than ten dollars out of pocket! I am one happy girl, and that makes my Sunday evening a little better. If you are interested in learning about couponing, I would be happy to share what I have learned - just leave me a comment and I'll get back with you!

And finally, a couple ADORABLE baby pictures, cause I know that's what you REALLY want to see. :)

Happy Easter, Happy Birthday!

2009-04-15T21:45:00.004-04:00

Well, I can't believe it, but my baby is four months old now! And I am 27. Somehow, I wasn't as excited celebrating this year as I have been in the past. Although I am very happy with where my life is at 27. I feel very blessed to have a wonderful family and a beautiful, healthy, BIG daughter! Here are some pictures from this weekend. We went up to Rochester to celebrate Easter and my birthday with my mom and dad, and also got to see a lot of other family. Caitlyn got to meet many aunts and cousins for the first time, as well as her great-grandparents. That was really special for me. Here are a couple pictures from our visit. Notice Caitlyn's TRIPLE chin. Good thing she's a baby and cute as a button. Although today at the doctor's office, one of the staff members said to us upon seeing Caitlyn in the car seat: "Aww look at that baby. How old is she? 4 months? She has such A BIG HEAD!" Who says stuff like that, even if it is true?
We are going for her 4 month check-up on Friday and I'm afraid Dr. Poole will say she's too big! As my mom often reminds me, they had to put me on a diet when I was a baby (!) and I don't think that will go over too well with Caitlyn. And anyway, I think the chubs are cute. :)
Enjoy the pictures!

Things I am thankful for

2009-04-03T22:12:00.003-04:00

A quick post before I go to bed:
1. FRIDAYS!
2. a healthy baby girl
3. my incredible husband, who is also a wonderful father
4. coupons :)
5. a job that pays (most of) the bills
6. great friends
7. sleeping in tomorrow!!

good night everyone...

$$COUPONS!!$$$

2009-03-27T21:09:00.006-04:00

So I have recently acquired a new addiction to saving money. Yup, I am a coupon addict. I have spent multiple hours online in the last few days reading blogs dedicated to couponing and thought I would share some of my awesome deals with you, along with the blogs I got the info from.
Here is my awesome shopping trip from today at Walmart. Matt and I have for the most part stopped shopping at Walmart due to problems we have with their labor practices etc. (see the documentary "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices" for more info). However, I figure if I can get most of the things on my list for free from my coupons, then I'm not really supporting Walmart. What do you think?
Anyway, here are the great deals I got
(1)Lysol wipes $2.62-$1/1 coupon = $1.62
(4)Knox gelatin $1.32-$4/1 coupon = $2.68 overage (x4)
(4)Johnson's buddies soap $.97-$2/2 and $3/3 coupons on Johnson's product = $.12 overage
(1)Desitin $3.26-above Johnson's coupon = $1.62
(1)Glucerna cereal $3.94-$5 Coupon = $1.06 overage
(1)4pk Gillette razors $5.97-$2.00 coupon = $3.97 or $1.00 apiece
(1)Freschetta pizza $5.00-.75 coupon = $4.25
(1)Lysol kitchen cleaner $2.14 - $.75 = $1.39
(1) Lysol toilet cleaner $2.18 - .50 = $1.68
Plus, I have a $3/3 Lysol mail-in coupon.
So my total at Walmart before coupons was $36.40. After coupons, my total was 8.65, and that includes $1.26 in tax! So this is almost a 75% savings!
Here's a picture of my great haul:

I have to say I was pretty proud of myself, although I cannot take any of the credit. I found all of these incredible deals from some of the blogs I follow. Here are the links to those blogs if you would like to check them out:
http://the-family-schmidt.com (This is Amber Schmidt's blog. She is the one who gave us so much help with Caitlyn's colostomy bag. She is wonderful.)
http://www.tipsbyali.blogspot.com/ (got this link from Amber's blog)
http://moneysavingmadness.blogspot.com/ (got this link also from Amber's blog)
http://likemerchantships.blogspot.com/

Check out these blogs for some really great inspirations and deals! And a million thanks to Amber and these other great women for your tips. I hope this is just the start of my couponing adventures.

And just for fun, here are some new pictures of Caitlyn from today. She has all of a sudden developed great head control, and is starting to tolerate belly time. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cute pictures!

2009-03-26T22:55:00.003-04:00

I just had to share these adorable pictures I took of Caitlyn today. Enjoy!

I love Sundays

2009-03-22T21:20:00.003-04:00

So today was a wonderful day. We had a great time at church for missions Sunday, and I only(!) had to get up and leave with Caitlyn 3 or 4 times! There was a visiting missionary from Athletes in Action today, and after the service we were talking with him. When he saw me with Caitlyn he said, "Oh, so you're the one with the squeaky baby!" Yup, that's my baby!! She (or maybe it's me) is not ready yet for the nursery, but it will probably be good when she is. I will actually be able to listen to a sermon all the way through. Regardless, it feels great to be back in church again after so many months away. We just didn't want to risk Caitlyn getting sick before her second surgery, so we kept her at home. And now that she's healthy and past that critical period, I feel a lot better about it. Plus, cold and flu season is almost over. Anyway, I am very thankful for our church family and am happy to be back.
This afternoon, Matt let me take a nap while he tried to get Caitlyn to take a nap too. Very much appreciated, Matt! I was just telling him today how different sleep is now. Used to be that my favorite guilty pleasure was sleeping in. Now, I consider an 8 am wake-up call sleeping in. Of course, I also used to be able to roll out of bed and leave the house in 30 minutes or less. Now, it seems like 2 hours isn't enough time!
I feel like every day I am learning more about the mom thing. Like how you always need to take at least one extra change of clothing for the baby (and ideally for you as well) in case of blow-outs or spit-up. Or how you should always have the clean diaper ready to go BEFORE you take off the dirty diaper. (This morning I was moving too slow and I got pooped on THREE times. Good thing I still appreciate the fact that Caitlyn can poop at all!) Or how just when you are getting ready to leave the house for church in the morning, the baby will pee/poop/spit-up all over her adorable outfit and make you late again. So make sure you are up two and a half hours before you need to leave, and don't put her special outfit on until you're ready to walk out the door. I guess most of my schooling revolves around bodily functions. Funny how that works!!
Enjoy some cute pictures of Caitlyn in the adorable dress from Josie! Thanks Josie! :)

Matt catches some shut-eye while watching golf with Caitlyn.

We wrapped up the relaxing day by continuing the "International" theme from church and ordered in Chinese food (yummy!) and ate it while watching America's Funniest Videos, Matt's all-time favorite show. Of course, we fully intend to have Caitlyn on AFV someday!
Have a great week everybody!

Hope Now

2009-03-19T21:43:00.002-04:00

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I’m Yours

I’m not my own
I’ve been carried by You
All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I’ll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

I’m not my own
I’ve been carried by You
All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You’ve become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

I heard this song on the radio tonight on the way home from the grocery store, and it really resonated with me. The song is by Addison Road if you want to google it. It's beautiful.

Skype

2009-03-19T18:17:00.003-04:00

Enjoy some fun pictures for a happy Thursday, almost Friday! :)

So we finally joined up on Skype so the grandparents can see Caitlyn in live time. It's pretty cool too, and Caitlyn got really talkative for the first time since being home from the hospital. So cute! So anyway, if you are on Skype or you would like to be, let me know and we can chat. :) It's a fun way for long distance relatives and friends to stay connected.

Hitting milestones.

2009-03-18T21:24:00.003-04:00

So today Caitlyn decided that she finally wants to start trying to roll over. For the longest time, we weren't doing any "tummy time" with her because it seemed uncomfortable for her with the stoma and colostomy bag. Now that she's healing up pretty well from the surgery, we have started putting her on her belly more, and she will tolerate it for up to five minutes at a time. She still is not really able to hold her head up real well, and her neck control is not great, but it's improving. So today she was laying on her activity mat and playing with the toys, and she kept rolling her head over on to her side. She could get her torso over on her side too, but the legs kept giving her trouble. It's awfully cute seeing her try though! It seems to me like she's doing something new every day. It's only since we've been home from the hospital that she has been purposefully grabbing on to toys, etc. Now she pulls my hair pretty much every time I'm holding her, and today she tried to yank off my glasses. It makes me laugh now, but I know that soon I will have to start telling her no and actually mean it. :)
I am trying to enjoy every minute I have with her, because I know that soon I will be back at work full time, and then I will only have 2 hours a day with her. This makes me so sad, but I know that we are doing what is best for her in the long run. Namely making sure she has continuous health insurance coverage. I just have to keep reminding myself that once Matt finishes school and is in residency, then hopefully I will be able to stay home with the kid(s?). Good thing this is a team effort!

Baby kisses

2009-03-15T15:37:00.000-04:00

So this is kind of strange, but I have to say that smelling Caitlyn's head is one of my favorite things to do. She smells so sweet, and I can't help but cover her in kisses whenever I hold her. She is in a really sweet snuggly phase, and often just wants to be held close against me. I am only too happy to comply. :) I think she probably gets at least 200 kisses a day!

I am still in awe at my beautiful daughter, and can't believe how much my life has changed because of her. I feel like I was truly meant to be her mother, and that this is the most important calling I have had in my life so far. I am so thankful that God gave her to us, challenges, imperfections, and all.

Side note: I am returning to work again tomorrow, and while I love my job and believe in the work I'm doing, it is so much harder than I thought it would be to leave Caitlyn every morning. I am so thankful that Matt is able to stay home with her - he is truly a wonderful father and husband. I love you honey! :)

This picture captures a lot about our little family to me. Matt and I work together as a team to care for our daughter, and have been holding on to each other and to God through our marriage and through the last three months especially.

Caitlyn laughs

2009-03-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

This video is pretty cute. Caitlyn cries whenever someone other than Mom or Dad holds her these days, but if she is up on my shoulder and watching someone behind me, she just cracks up. She especially likes to laugh at "Uncle Rob," one of our close friends who is in med school and the Air Force with Matt. Enjoy the baby giggles! :)

Home

2009-03-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

Well, we have Caitlyn home again with us after another hospital stay. She is a whole, healthy baby! On Thursday, March 5th, Caitlyn had her ileostomy takedown surgery at Kentucky Children's Hospital. The surgery was very successful, and Caitlyn came home with us on Monday. So we no longer have to empty or change a colostomy bag, and we actually have poopy diapers! I never thought I could be so excited for a dirty diaper as I was the first time she pooped. And the funny thing was, she did it like it was no big thing, like she'd been doing it her whole life! I thought at the very least she would cry or make a funny face or something, but she acted as if nothing had changed. And then of course, didn't understand what all the fuss was about when we all started celebrating. :)
I am so so glad to be home from the hospital, and enjoying our little girl where she can be comfortable. She has grown so much in the last few weeks, and she is learning something new every day. She smiles all the time now, and does this funny little silent giggle where she grins really big and crinkles up her eyes. My favorite thing in the world is to kiss her and watch her smile. She is truly incredible.

Caitlyn in the hospital with Mom and Grandpa

Caitlyn's goofy grin

Life is good

2009-02-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend was so special. Jen came to visit, flying down on Friday, and then Mom and Dad drove up on their way back from FL on Saturday. Friday was Dad's 50th birthday - hard to believe since he looks and acts so young! I absolutely love watching my family enjoying Caitlyn. They are all so good with her, and she loves each of them. She is enamored with Grandpa - I think she likes his beard! And she loves to snuggle up with Grandma after a yummy bottle. And of course she loves Aunt Jen too and can't wait for her to move down here for good!!

On Sunday, we had Caitlyn dedicated. All the most special people in her life were there, at least as many as we could fit in the house! It was incredible to have everyone there to support her and pledge to help raise her to love God.

And then of course, the SUPERBOWL! Go STEELERS!!! :) What a game that was - I made the mistake of saying that I wanted it to be a more interesting game when the score was 20-7, and boy did I get my wish! :) I'm just glad they pulled it out in the end.

Last but not least in my very newsy post, we had the follow-up visit with the surgeon today. We actually saw Dr. Skinner instead of Dr. Iacono, and he was really great too. He sat down with us and took a lot of time to explain the second surgery. AND we went ahead and scheduled the reconnection surgery for March 5th, just one month away!!! I can hardly believe it. Caitlyn weighed 12 lb. 10 oz. today, and tomorrow she is 8 weeks old. So she has gained almost 2 lbs a month since she was born! She is really putting on some weight, and is starting to get some cute fat rolls and an adorable double chin. We are so in love with our beautiful daughter, and I am feeling a huge sense of relief to know that we have an end in sight.

It was an incredibly long day today - I will write more about that tomorrow, because I'm getting ready to head to bed. But I wanted to post a couple pictures from the dedication Sunday - thanks Josie for sending me these!

Working Mom

2009-01-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

So I have officially started back to work. I am still only part-time,but I am splitting my time between the office and working from home. It is definitely a challenge to balance everything and get back in the swing of things, especially since volunteer training is starting on Friday and that always entails a ton of details to coordinate. Since I am splitting the job with a co-worker right now, that means making sure that nothing falls through the cracks. I'm hoping that everything goes smoothly, at least as well as can be expected. We are actually having a much bigger training than I expected, which is a pleasant surprise. We have 20 potentials scheduled to start on Friday. I was hoping for 10, so that's great. It sets us up really well for the rest of the year.
The thing I'm most nervous about now is the weather. It is a nightmare to try and re-schedule if we have to cancel training, so I'm just praying that this ice storm goes away and it warms up enough to melt everything.
I've been making lots of phone calls from home to check references on potential volunteers. It's great to have the flexibility to do this from home, but it's hard too, because I want to be spending as much time as possible with Caitlyn. It's kind of funny too when the dog barks or C starts crying and the other person on the line can hear it... Also, Matt has been sick the last few days with a nasty cold, and we are trying to keep him away from her as much as possible so she doesn't get sick too.
All in all, it has been and will be a hectic week with work and Caitlyn. We have several doctor's appointments coming up for her too, so I'm hoping for lots of good news.

2009-01-24T13:25:00.000-05:00

So Mom and Dad came to visit again, which was great. I think they are in love with their granddaughter! :) She seems to love them too. It's so cute to see her snuggled up next to them, and it was nice too to have them help out and let us get a little extra sleep.

She seems to be growing great. On Monday at the pediatrician's she weighed 10 lb 6 oz. SO she is gaining about an ounce a day. By my calculations, she has 96 more ounces to go to get to 18 pounds, or double her birth weight. So if she continues gaining at this pace, we have about 3 more months until her surgery. Of course, I haven't talked with Dr. Iacono about that at all, so that's just my best guess. We are scheduled to see him again in a week, so hopefully we'll get more information then.

Mom sewed Caitlyn a beautiful red velvet dress that is just gorgeous. She was originally going to make it a Christmas dress, but since we spent Christmas in the NICU, maybe it will be a Valentine's day dress. We had a little photo shoot yesterday and here are a couple pictures from that:

I also got a couple of cute ones of Grandma feeding Caitlyn. They had such a good time together!

2009-01-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

At our pediatrician appointment on Monday, Dr. Poole mentioned that she had another patient with some of the same issues as Caitlyn. She put us in touch with her mother, and we met her and her daughter last night. Amber showed us how to bathe Caitlyn in the bathtub, which was really nice. Up until now, we've just been sponge-bathing her. She also gave us lots of their leftover supplies. Her daughter was in a colostomy bag for 18 months, and has been through so much. They have so much strength and knowledge about these issues, and were a huge help. I hope that we will be able to stay in touch with their family.

Okay, before I sign off, I thought I would post a couple of new pictures.

First Time Blogger

2009-01-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

So I have never tried the whole blogging thing before, but I always enjoy reading others' blogs, so I thought I would give it a try. With a new baby in my life, I have lots of pictures and videos to share with long distance family, and this seemed like a good way to do that.

A quick introduction: Almost six weeks ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Caitlyn. She was perfect. Until she was 24 hours old, and then we were told that she had spiked a fever and was being transferred to the NICU. We later discovered that she had sepsis - an E.Coli infection in her blood. 3 days later, we were called to the NICU late one night for an emergency meeting with pediatric surgery. One of the nurses, Kristen, who I will be forever grateful to, had noticed Caitlyn acting a little "off" or different from normal. They ordered X-rays, and found that she had air in her abdomen. She was rushed to surgery, where they discovered a perforated bowel in two places. The surgeon removed her appendix and ileal-sacral valve (the junction between large and small intestine), and created a stoma and mucous fistula. Basically what that means is that her large and small intestine are separated and were brought to the outside. So instead of changing a poopy diaper, we have to change an ostomy bag.

We brought Caitlyn home for the first time a week ago when she was one month old, and since then have been learning how to be parents, and how to care for our lovely girl. At some point, Caitlyn will have a second surgery to reconnect the bowel and will hopefully be able to live a normal life. This could be six months or a year down the road. In the meantime, we are living and caring for a special needs child, which is way more challenging, and also more rewarding, than I ever could have imagined. I guess this blog will chronicle Caitlyn's journey, but also my journey through motherhood. It is completely different from what I expected, but it is completely wonderful, all at the same time.