2009 in Review

So since I have just become new to the blog scene.... there has been a lot going on in 2009 for our little family.

First of all in January of 2009 Aaron's dealership became Autosmart instead of Cyclone Car Credit. The dealership took new ownership and the decision was made late in 08 so we were nervous as to what this would bring. The upside was that Aaron got a raise but the downside was that his new owners didn't know a lot about the buy here pay here business. Aaron felt frustrated with all the new changes and having to explain everything at first but things have improved and he successfully made it through his first year. He graduated from BVU in March of this year and yes the diploma was signed.


We moved to a new house in the beginning of the year I think it was around March which was around the same time we found out we were expecting.. which I will talk about later in the blog. Our old house had been broken into last November and although it was a wonderful starter home we were ready for something bigger. We had looked at our current home as a dream home when we first moved to Fort Dodge because it was way out of our price range. We were told that the house was getting ready to go to foreclosure so we were curious what it would come back on the market for. The home never came back on the market so we found a real estate agent, Kati Egemo, to start checking into the home for us. It was a long road but we eventually ended up buying the home on a short sale as the previous owners were getting ready or in the process of filing bankruptcy. The next endeavor was getting the house ready to move in.

I did not include pictures of the 3 bedrooms, laundry room, entry way or our bathroom.

The home was built in 2003 (I think) so it was in pretty good shape but it had sat empty for around 2 years. I was anxious to start decorating but we had to get the ok to get the electricity turned on and in March it wasn't very warm actually on some days I think it was colder in the house than outside. Also the basement had flooded after the previous owners had moved out and the water got as high as the light bulbs! Crazy! This area had a bad drainage system but about a year ago they retiled and now there haven't been any problems. The water pressure was so great against the basement windows that it pushed them in and since no one was living here it began to fill up. Luckily someone was watching over the house and found out pretty quickly so they got the water out and tore all the sheet rock out... so no mold! This basement is still unfinished but Aaron has started to work on it but at this point we have enough space upstairs. The basement is approx 1500 square feet so it will almost double our house when it is finished.

In June I graduated from Nursing school at Iowa Central here in Fort Dodge. I had good enough grades to do a preceptorship at the hospital here in Fort Dodge so I got a lot of good experience while in school. I was lucky enough that I got in pretty quickly to take my state boards and passed the first time! I already had a job offer pending on passing and I was pregnant so the pressure was on. I was so nervous that I didn't tell anyone except for Aaron. Next I started my new job I late July I think. I am an RN in the resource team.. which means I float to different units such as Telemetry, Med/Surg, Pediatrics, and Outpatient but primarily the first two. I also decided to take a Weekend Package position so I will be working 3 out of 4 weekends 12 hour shifts. Since we go to so many different units the training time is slightly longer...8-10weeks. So I pretty much got done training worked for a month or two and then had Kinnick!

On November 3rd we added a member to our family. Aaron and I both wanted to be done with school before we started having kids and we sure cut it pretty close. When I first found out I was pregnant we were getting ready to go out and have a drink and I thought maybe I should take a test before we left. I called Aaron into the bathroom to have him look at the faint blue line and he replied... "That says negative" and went to find the box. He didn't believe me that such a faint line could be positive so while he went out to have a drink I went and bought a digital test.. POSITIVE. I followed up with a blood test and began looking for a Dr. I decided to go with a midwife. We had to drive to Webster City but I am so glad we did! She was awesome at teaching us what to expect and always made us feel like we were her only patients that day. She really took the time to sit and talk to us and as first time parents we were so appreciative. For everyone that is wondering no I did not have Kinnick at home or in a tub.

Overall I had a great pregnancy.. no morning sickness and I wasn't overally emotional. I gained 20 lbs but managed to somehow lose 6 the last few weeks so a grand total of 14.. can't complain. My blood pressure did run a little high at times but I never had to take medication as I was borderline. At 24 weeks we were able to find out the sex and we were told it was a girl! How exciting.. I started painting the nursery and getting clothes so we would be prepared. At 32 weeks we decided to have a 3D ultrasound in Clarion and found out that our little Raelyn was a boy! The ultrasound tech said there was a definite "turtle". So we began repainting and returning as well as looking for a new name.

At 34 weeks I was worried I was feeling "different" so she decided to check me. I was beginning to dilate and my uterus was extremely thin, about 75% effaced, and his head was very low so I got two steroid shots just in case our little bundle tried to come early. I ended up making it to 38 weeks and even managed to miss all my family member's birthdays.

I went into the office on the morning of November 3rd because I had a lot of discomfort in my lower back. I was dilated to a 5 and at 0 station so I ended up being admitted to the hospital later that day. The labor went pretty good for my first time. I was able to get an epidural before they broke my water so I felt mild discomfort and that was all. I did have to have an internal monitor to watch the baby because they weren't picking up my contractions or his heart rate very well on my stomach. Aaron snored on the couch the first couple hours we were there but I didn't mind there wasn't much for him to do at first... just wait. Kinnick was born at 9:25pm after pushing for approx 45 minutes. He weighed just over 7 pounds. We didn't name him right away. We also had the name Kaleb in mind but Aaron decided on Kinnick. Originally when I mentioned the name he hated it because he didn't like Ken for short. Then I suggested Nick for short and it made the name a little better but since his middle name is James it will be KJ for short.

Kinnick was a very healthy baby except that he was jaundiced so he had a bili blanket for a week and had to get poked several times to check his bilirubin levels. The bili blanket was not a blanket at all more like a mat of led lights. Today he is still very healthy and growing... over 9 lbs already. I am anxiously awaiting that first smile!