Weekend

I had a great weekend visiting my sister, Alisa in Sioux City. My other sisters and parents were also in town so we all spent some time together. My aunt Joleen lives in Sergeant Bluff so she was kind enough to take us all in for the weekend! The weekend started Friday night when we went to watch my youngest sisters, Andrea and Abby play basketball in Lake City. Aaron's cousin also played that night so he went along for the game.

Saturday we got to Sioux City late afternoon so we dropped our stuff off at Joleen's and then went to a meal for my Dad's work at Van Meter. Then we headed to the hockey game. We only stayed for one quarter since none of us are huge hockey fans. A quarter was just enough for Kinnick as well. We did a little shopping and then headed back to Joleen's.

Sunday morning our uncle Dean made everyone delicious omelettes and then more shopping. The weekend was fun and I can't wait to visit again but I must say it isn't easy to be a mom on the go when you are breastfeeding.

Since I am pumping exclusively every 3 hours I would have to search for a place to pump or arrange my schedule accordingly. I pumped at my aunts right before we left for shopping so I had a good three hours before having to worry about it. In three hours we were at the mall so I searched for a family restroom so that I wouldn't be in the big public restroom. The search was unsuccessful. Luckily my pump can run on batteries because there is not a single restroom that has an outlet. I really hate pumping in the restroom because it feels so unsanitary and you have to sit on the toilet. If our society is pushing breastfeeding maybe they should take these thoughts into consideration.

Photography

I know I know... 2 posts in one night. It didn't seem fair to include this post in the Dentist post so I am just making a second post.

I have been wanting to pick up a hobby besides traveling since funds have decreased with 2 children. I love getting the kids pictures taken but hate paying the price for the professional experience. Plus with a refinished large basement I have plenty of space to set up something small for the kiddos.

I began by asking for a DSLR camera for Christmas. I asked a few of my friends what they preferred and I got a mixed review for Nikon and Canon. I ultimately let Aaron decide between the two brands. Nikon was a bit harder to purchase because of the tsunami. Aaron came through and got me the Nikon D31oo ...especially since it was the only thing I asked for.

Next I purchased a second lens for portraits...50mm 1.8G. I had originally wanted the 1.4 but wasn't ready to spend 400.00 on a lens. Now I am trying to learn how to run the camera in manual mode instead of auto. I thought about enrolling in a photography class at ICCC but with work I thought it would be too tough....plus I didn't want the kids to go to daycare for an hour just so I could go to the class. I found some classes offered in Des Moines at Christian Photo and enrolled. The first class is Jan 31st and is a basic Nikon class... the next class is aperature and shutter speed. They also offer classes on studio lighting and photoshop.

I decided to buy one backdrop and floordrop to get started but still need quite a bit of stuff to really get going. I made a list.......

bean bag (to position babies)

furry fabric (prop)

misc props

camera bag

lighting

I am very excited to start taking pictures of Kinnick and Kara and since Aaron's cousin is having a baby as well I figured she could model as well! My sister Andrea also informed me I could take her Senior pictures since she didn't have patience for our Mom. Fingers crossed that I can figure this out!

Dentist

Well our first trip to the dentist was a good one! Of course a few tears were shed but smiles when we left. I had noticed some brown on his bottom teeth and wanted to make sure it wasn't cavities. I was pretty positive he had gotten cavities since he only wants to drink chocolate milk. I also figured we weren't brushing his teeth like we should have.

We decided on a pediatric dentist in Ames since I knew they would need extra patience for Kinnick. He cried a bit because he had to lay down but once they started brushing his teeth he was fine. They just used a tooth brush to do the cleaning and then the dentist did the counting. She assured us that what we were seeing was just a stain on his teeth. She said there are two kinds of germs commonly found in mouths that can leave a stain... one leaves a cheeto colored stain and the other brown. The stain can be removed with the scraping tool but she didn't want to scare him away so maybe on a future visit. She gave us an additional toothbrush with a stiffer bristle to try to work on it. She was so bubbly and sweet.. what a great first experience!

Welcome Baby

Well the last time that I blogged was when Kinnick was a baby so I guess I am due!

Kara Faith Kaufman has arrived! She was born on December 20th and was 6lbs and 7oz. It was kind of a rough ride for this mommy! I was beginning to dilate so we had planned on getting things moving by breaking my water that afternoon. I went in for my regular check up that morning and found out I was at a four but my midwife wanted to do an ultrasound when we got to the hospital.

Aaron and I went and ate lunch and then registered at the hospital. I was contracting when I arrived about every 3 minutes although they really weren't strong enough to feel. When she did the ultrasound we were given the news...BREECH. I was a bit over 38 weeks so if I wanted a version it had to be done that day because otherwise the baby gets too large. We also had the option of going home and waiting to see if she would turn on her own and if not schedule a c-section. For those of you who aren't familiar with a version it is external manipulation to try to turn the baby. We decided that we wanted a version and the next big decision was with or without pain medications. The baby is less sluggish if there are no pain meds so I decided to give it a try. I figured other moms have done it so I got an IV bolus and waited for several hours.

My midwife and Dr. Subhash performed the version along with 3 med students observing and of course Aaron and my mom in the room as well. I defintely had an audience! They tilted my bed so my head was down and then began putting very strong pressure on my abdomen to try to get her to move. She tolerated it well but I began contracting against their attempts so I was given some IV pain medication as well as something to relax my uterus. The next attempts were still unsuccessful. She would move slightly but had no intentions of staying that way. The risk of complications is high after a failed version so I had an emergent c-section. Not what I had planned but it went pretty smooth and everyone was very kind.

The c-section ended up being a blessing in disguise as she had a knot in her cord. It was a loose knot but could have tightened up during a vaginal delivery. She was perfect and I couldn't wait to get back to my room to get a better look at her. Aaron stayed with me while they sutured my incision. She was born at around 7:30 but after all the medications I was soo tired. I was also anemic and my hemoglobin (blood level) got down to 7 so this added to my tiredness.

Like Kinnick, Kara was jaundiced as well. Her levels never got high enough to require a bili blanket but we had to go in for daily blood draws. The hardest thing about the c section was that I was unable to lift Kinnick. I was not supposed to lift him for the total 6 weeks but that is pretty much impossible. Aaron stayed home with me for 2 weeks so I followed my restrictions for 2 weeks. I am feeling much better and have gotten a lot of energy back.

Kara is perfect and has gained all her weight back. When we left the hospital she was 5lbs 14oz and at her 2 week appt she was 6lbs 11oz. She is sleeping about 3 hours at a time and is a good little eater. As far as the big brother... it has been an adjustment having 2 kids but he has been really good. He was ornery before she was born and continues to try our patience during the terrible twos:)