First Pediatrician Visit

tuesday was claire's first visit to her pediatrician, and there was nothing but good news. like all babies, claire's weight dropped in the hospital but she is quickly regaining. she is back up to 9 pounds .5 ounces from a low of 8 pounds 13 ounces. mom and dad were not surprised. it appears that we have a little piglet on our hands. she eats and eats and eats. doc was impressed with the rapid gain. her head did measure an inch smaller than at birth due to the swelling from being in the canal for so long. all in all - the visit was great except that claire had to be stripped down to a diaper, which she does NOT like. she much prefers the warmth of a tight swaddle. luckily, dad had a blanket handy. i was, of course, able to snap a quick pic to mark the occasion.

Picture Perfect

more pics because i just can't stand it. i have waited 40+ weeks to post photos of an actual baby, so i am going to feel free to go nuts. enjoy!

now i lay me down to sleep...



first stroller ride



i'm hungry, dad



sleepy head

Happy Birthday, Baby

we are thrilled to welcome catherine claire taylor. stats: a whopping 9 pounds 3 ounces and 22 inches long born on monday, october 18 at 5:10pm.

everyone has told me that having a child would teach me flexibility. they were right. holy cow. this child had plans of her own from the get go. birth plan? yeah, right. all natural? yeah, right. my water broke on sunday, october 17 at 4:33am. after twelve hours with minimal contractions and soaring blood pressure, we headed off to the hospital. iv's, meds, induction - you name it and i got it. after 16 hours i had finally dilated to a 10! woo hoo. time to have a baby, right? uh...no. we then began pushing...for 5 hours or so. the baby was having trouble moving under the pelvic bone. eventually, it appeared that her head was descending only to find that the cappitt (conehead) was actually swelling. 37 long hours later mom and dad were off to the surgical room for a c-section.

while claire's birth was not what we had hoped or planned for, we did get exactly what we wanted - a perfectly healthy baby girl. she had to battle breast feeding jaundice for a few days but her bilirubin levels are stable and she is well hydrated.

so far, claire has been a lovely baby. she is a great eater and sleeper. as each day passes, her alert phases get a little longer. it is fun to watch her little eyes look around in wonder at all of the new things this big world has to offer. we have taken a few walks to the park but mostly we stay around the house and just stare at this beautiful miracle.

brand new



three days old



hanging with sissies



cuddling with grams



grandpa and his sugarfoot...aka bigfoot

40 Weeks - Belly Shots

well...it appears that baby will not be making her appearance today, so dad and i decided to take a few photos. unfortunately, we have not done this throughout the pregnancy, but better late than never.

33-39 Weeks

ok...time is flying...or should i say WAS flying. the last few weeks have been quite exciting. we have had bio-physical profiles (super-sonic ultrasounds) weekly since 33 weeks. baby is scored on appropriate bone growth, breathing practice, proportions, fluid, proper weight gain, heart rate, activity level, etc. we are happy to report that little one has scored an 8/8 on each test. as of yesterday, super girl was 6 pounds 14 ounces, her feet are approximately 3 inches long, and the pictures still show lots of hair floating around. overall, both mom and baby are doing great!

with all of that being said...i am ready to have this baby. i have truly enjoyed every moment of this pregnancy from the first sound of her heartbeat to the long nights of endless kicking and flipping, but we are all ready to meet the little one. sleep is sporadic and often uncomfortable and i should have considered purchasing stock in charmin as i cannot seem to stay out of the restroom. i am finally making progress, which is great news. i have begun dilating and have thinned to 70%.

so...cross your fingers and say a prayer for us. hopefully, we will be welcoming our little girl very soon!

TAA DAAAA

the nursery is finally complete. well, except for the rug that is on back order. my wonderful and patient (did I mention patient) husband has done an exceptional job and these pictures really do not do the room justice. luckily, most of you will be by to visit the little one at some point. jaye put up lovely chair rail and we painted the top and bottom of the wall contrasting shades of pink. he also installed a chandelier (grams idea) and it really finished off the room. all we need now is BABY!










you all thought that my sister-in-laws home made shower gifts were incredible, so check this out. she made this wall hanging. look familiar? it's exactly like the header of this blog page. again, the picture does not do it justice. trust me...it's fantastic!

THINK PINK! IT'S A GIRL...

kudos to my fabulous mom and her sisters! the baby shower was marvelous. lots of food and lots of friends. i'm sure that miss claire knew that the party was for her because she did somersaults for days prior but slept through the main event...AGAIN. baby girl received lots of fun stuff and we were thrilled that everyone came out to celebrate with us.

something special from grandma taylor...

28-29 Weeks

every couple of weeks at the doctor's office we get to hear the baby's heartbeat and it gets better every time. the sound has went from a galloping horse to a siren in the distance to a whipping wind and today...we got hiccups. very, very cute! by the way, our midwife makes an appearance at the end of the clip. (i'm still trying to figure all of this out.) have a listen!

Got Oxygen?

our recent trip to colorado seemed to agree with baby girl. it took mom 35 years to get to the summit of pike's peak and it only took baby 28 weeks! we took the cog train up the mountain to the elevation of 14, 110 feet. the bike ride down took several hours but there were lots of stops along the way. much to my dismay, i think little one slept through most of the adventure. a friend did suggest that she probably had her arms raised in the air going "wheeeee". maybe so...

23-24 Weeks

okay...is she the cutest thing you have seen or what? we received a great report at the sonogram. baby is growing perfectly and she was as active as ever. dad and grams were there for the big viewing. it was great fun to see her little face, fingers, and toes. she was kicking and turning and rubbing her eyes. bottom line and most important: she is super HEALTHY! thank heaven for little girls.

Work in Progress...

the nursery is coming right along, but not quite finished. i love to go into her room, sit in the rocker, and think about what she will look like..be like..aspire to. i can hardly wait to meet her. i am looking forward to tomorrow because i have another sonogram and will get to see her. i will be sure to post the pics asap.

Up to Speed

whew! it's hard to believe that we are halfway through this pregnancy and I am thrilled to report that all is well. baby and mom are doing great and it's time to think pink. that's right, this baby is a "she". the growth sonograms to this point show her to be within a few days of her october 13th due date.

we are still working on a full name, but have decided that the name claire will be somewhere in the mix, so...i felt claire move for the first time on May 27 at 10:35pm, and it was the greatest thing EVER. she has since proven herself to be quite the night owl. movement has increased to the point of keeping mom up the last couple of nights, but i'm not complaining because it is just too cool.

First Photo

this is the very first pic of my little one. it was taken at 9 weeks and although the quality isn't the best i'm sure we all agree that baby is ADORABLE!