Newborn Photos

When Preslie was a week and a half old, we had her newborn photos taken. I would've loved to have her photos done earlier than that, but I wanted to wait until her jaundice cleared up.

My co-workers were generous enough to gift us with photo sessions for Preslie for when she was a newborn, three months, six months and nine months. How awesome is that?!

The photographers were from Manhart Photography and they did a great job.

See for yourself...

And here is her birth announcement...

Your questions, answered

I wanted to do a post to answer some questions people have been asking me. Plus, I figure it's good to document all this so I can look back on it and be able to use some of this if there's a Baby Pino 2.0.

Are you breastfeeding?
Yes, we are now breastfeeding. But it's been quite a journey.

When Preslie was born she had an almost-severe case of jaundice. When we were released from the hospital we had to go to the pediatrician's office for three additional days after that, and her little heels had to be pricked each time. :( Since she wouldn't cry the first couple days after birth my milk took longer than normal to come in. Which led to her losing weight kind of rapidly and hence her jaundice getting worse.

So I was somewhat forced to start her on formula. We tried one brand at first but she was having issues with it, so then we switched to Similac Sensitive and she seemed to be doing okay on that. Once my milk came in I would nurse her and supplement with formula because she'd cry so much after we'd nurse that I thought she wasn't getting enough breast milk. Eventually, all she would do was cry each time she would have breast milk, so I chalked it up to her being allergic to my milk (even though I adjusted my diet).

When she was around three weeks old I made the decision to just put her on strictly formula, and no longer breast milk. I thought it would just be easier for me, she'd be happy and full and I wouldn't have to stress so much. After that I'd try to justify to myself that I was making the right decision and she'd be fine on formula, etc. etc. But in the back of my mind I still wasn't 100% okay with it.

So about a week and a half ago I decided I just was not ready to stop nursing. I didn't want to look back a year later and regret not giving it another shot. I had a goal going into this parenting thing to make breastfeeding work and I knew I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't give it a little more effort. The fact was that she nursed beautifully, latched on great and could go from nursing straight to a bottle and back with no issues at all.

Keep in mind that between deciding on her being on formula and then me making the decision to go back to breast feeding I had started to let my milk dry up and stopped pumping. I could KICK myself for doing that! Luckily, when I made the decision to continue to breastfeed I still had a supply left, although it was very small. The past two weeks it's been an incredible challenge to get my supply up to where it needs to be to meet Preslie's demands. As of today I've gone through all the frozen breast milk I had stockpiled away, so my supply better kick into overdrive tomorrow or else we'll be in some trouble.

Side note: I've been doing everything "they" say to do to increase my supply - drinking Mother's Milk tea, taking Fenugreek, pumping and nursing constantly, drinking lots of water and making sure to eat enough. I want to get back to what I was producing before (which was anywhere from 20-26 ounces per day), rather than what I'm producing now (which is only 10 ounces per day). If you have any other suggestions, please help a sister out!

The current status is that Preslie is doing wonderful on breast milk! She's digesting it easily and she's not crying in pain from gas or constipation. Looking back now I realize that her system just couldn't handle the combination of breast milk and formula - it had to either be one or the other.

What kind of schedule do you have Preslie on?
This is Preslie's schedule as of right now:

2am or 3am: Feed and then right back down to sleep
6am or 7am: Feed and then right back down to sleep
9am: Feed
9:30-10am: Play
10am-12pm: Nap
12pm: Feed
12:30-1pm: Play
1-3pm: Nap
3pm: Feed
3:30-4pm: Play
4-5:30pm: Nap
5:30pm: Feed
6-6:30pm: Play
6:30-8pm: Nap
8pm: Bath
8:30pm: Feed
9pm: Bedtime 

We use a lot of the methods from Mom's on Call for Preslie's schedule. It's made things much easier because if she's fussy or crying we usually know why based on what time it is (i.e. she's hungry or tired).

How is Preslie sleeping?
She sleeps great at night, going five to six hours the first stretch and about three hours the second stretch. This week though, naps have been another story. She's been fighting them like crazy. She usually takes two naps in her crib and two naps in either the swing or bouncy seat. But she's just not having them this week. We're trying to keep things consistent though and she'll get the hang of things eventually. Oh, and she doesn't usually nap the full two hours during her naps. Sometimes it's an hour and sometimes it might be more.

Are you using a pacifier?
Ah, the great paci debate. Yes, we use one. About 80% of the time she wants nothing to do with it. The other 20% of the time she'll take it when she's tired and then will spit it out herself. I'm not too worried about her being hooked on it and if she does, then we'll just break her of it when the time comes and deal with it then. But for right now it works for us and soothing her.

How are you doing?
I'm doing good. It's taken longer to feel like "normal" after delivery than I thought it would. Some women bounce right back, but for me it's required the whole six weeks until I've finally felt back to my somewhat old self again.

How much weight did you gain / have you lost?
I gained 18 pounds during my pregnancy. I was honestly shocked that I didn't gain more. I'm short as it is and have always had to watch my weight, so once I got pregnant I thought for sure I'd really gain a lot of "EL BEES." For some reason I didn't - which I'm not complaining about one bit!

At three weeks postpartum I had lost the 18 pounds. At five weeks postpartum I lost an additional seven pounds.

How are the dogs adjusting to the baby?
Stella and Kahlua are doing so great! We decided to not really make a big deal about the baby with them. We didn't do the "smell the baby blanket" thing with them or anything like that. We just brought Preslie home and acted like she's always been a part of the pack, and the dogs have just gone along with it.

Kahlua prefers to sniff Preslie every now and then, and will maybe lick her every once in a while.

Stella likes to lick Preslie's toes, hands and head. She also likes to be in whatever room the baby and I are in. Sweet girl.

Are you going to have more kids after this?
If it's in God's plan, we definitely want more kids. In all honesty, I miss being pregnant. Just knowing that Preslie was safe inside me and I could feel her kicks and movements, I miss that. I however do not miss the labor. Ha!

How do you like being home?
I've really enjoyed staying home with the little Squirt, but I do miss work. Not so much that I want to go back right now, but enough that when I do return I think I'll be ready.

Is motherhood everything you thought it would be?
It's exactly what I thought it would be, except way more baby poop. HA! So far it has been what I imagined. Remember, my goal for 2013 was to not have any expectations about this baby and how I wanted things to go. I was just going to take things as they came - and so far we've done that. You know the saying "Keep it simple, stupid?" I have to remind myself of that often! Sometimes I'll start to over think things about Preslie's mood or why she's being extra fussy or not sleeping or not pooping, etc. If I just keep things simple and remind myself that this too shall pass, and tomorrow is a new day it helps to keep me and our household sane.

Preslie Kay at One Month

I am in complete denial that our little girl is already one month old!

Like everyone always says, it goes by so incredibly fast. I honestly get sad when I pick her up out of her crib each morning and she feels a little heavier than the day before; because that means she's growing up and I'd just like her to stay little for a tiny bit longer. I am in no hurry for her to reach all the milestones (like teething, crawling, walking, talking). She can take her time so we can soak up her baby-ness as much as we can.

Here is what Preslie has been up to this past month...

~ She lost her umbilical cord stump within her first week. And just an FYI...it smelled! It had a horrible smell. The doctor said that was normal.
~ At three weeks she started lifting her head consistently.

Tummy time

  Not a fan

~ At four weeks she started lifting and turning her head towards our voices.
~ We started Moms On Call with her at three weeks.
~ She started sleeping in her crib for all naps and bedtimes at three weeks. I was hoping to have her in our room a little longer than that, but she is such a loud sleeper (which I've come to learn is common among newborns based on what my fellow mommy friends have told me about their little ones) that neither Kevin or I were getting much shut-eye because she was so noisy.
~ Last night (at one month old) she slept through the entire night! A full eight hours! That sleep was glorious!
~ This week she has been trying to work on her smile. She has a dimple in each cheek that are pretty adorable. She's also started cooing this week.

~ She eats 3 1/2 to 4 ounces every three hours.
~ On 4/17/13 she weighed 8 pounds 3.6 ounces (58th percentile). I'd guess she probably weighs about 9 pounds now. Her head circumference on 4/17/13 was 14.76 inches (97th percentile).
~ She is still wearing newborn clothes but is just about ready to start wearing some 0-3 month clothes.
~ Still in newborn diapers.
~ She was born with a full head of hair, but the hair on the top of her head has started thinning out and it looks like she has a receding hairline right now. Ha!
~ Her favorite thing right now is the swing. She loves the rocking motion and is just as content as can be while she's in there. Needless to say, it's been a lifesaver!

~ She also loves her bath, as per usual.

~ We've started putting her in her bouncer now that she has a little more control over her head. She's still getting used to it and will only last about 10 minutes in it for now. Once she starts kicking harder I think she'll enjoy the bouncing motion of it.
~ She attended her first birthday party for her two friends Mikaela and Kesara, who are twins!
~ She met more family and friends!

 Sheri and Preslie

 Alison and Preslie

 Margie and Preslie

Great Grandma Ruth and Preslie

 Uncle Matlee and Preslie

 Uncle Leo and Preslie

 Sevana and Preslie

I have no doubt that the next month is going to fly by that much faster. 

We absolutely adore our little one and think she is so fun and has the cutest personality already. We fall more in love with her each and every day!

.....Annddddd we're done.....

The first two weeks according to Preslie

Hi.

 My name is Preslie.

 

Mommy wanted me to update you all on what I've been up to my first two weeks of life.

April 2, 2013

 Mommy already gave her account of how I was forced out of my warm, dark, cozy womb. So far this new, bright world isn't that bad.

Going home from the hospital, April 3, 2013

My first week I had this weird thing called jaundice. Mommy and Daddy had to take me to the doctor three times after we got home from the hospital, and each time I had to get my heel pricked. It hurt really bad and made me cry. Mommy said it made them feel so sad for me.

In order for the jaundice to go away, Mommy tried to feed me lots of milkies, but because I didn't feel like crying the first few days it made it harder for her milkies to come in. So the doctor lady said Mommy needed to supplement with formula because I was losing too much weight and the jaundice was getting worse. Mommy was pretty sad about that.

I'm all better now though, and Mommy and Daddy always talk about how big my belly is because milkies are my favorite. Mommy's milkies seem to make my tummy hurt, so her and the doctor lady are trying to figure out what works best for me. Either way, I love milkies!

Here are some of my favorite things:

Mommy and Daddy (duh)

Milkies

Bath time

My swaddle

Having my hair brushed

Milkies

The swing

Nap time

Daddy's voice

Being outside

Sleeping with my mouth open

Milkies

 

Mommy says I'm on a fairly good schedule for only being two weeks old. I go nigh-nights at 11pm in Mommy and Daddy's room in my little crib and I sleep for three hours. Then Mommy has to wake me up to change my diaper and feed me. Then she rocks me to sleep and I have dreams for another three hours and then Daddy wakes me up to change me again and I get more milkies. Then I go back to sleep until morning time. During the day, Mommy and I spend a lot of time together and I eat, sleep and poop. I take nappies in my crib in my nursery during the day.

I get 2.5 ounces of milkies every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. My nappies usually last an hour to two hours. During my nappies Mommy says she tries to rush around the house to get as much done as she can before I wake back up.

I've had a lot of people come visit me. I don't know who they all are yet, but Mommy and Daddy tell me that I'll be spoiled rotten by them all.

Grammy and Me

Grandpa and Me

Uncle JJ and Me

Grandma and Me

 Uncle Matthew (aka Uncle Machew) and Me

Aunt Courtney (aka Auntie Frug) and Me

Great Grandma Helen and Me

 Aunt Lynn and Me

 Aunt Lis and Me

Cousin Carter (8 weeks) and Me

Okay. I'm going to get ready to do some crying because it's time for some more milkies.

Baby snuggles,

Preslie

Preslie's Birth Story - Part II

At about 4am the nurse came in and said it was time to start pushing to get the baby down and ready for birth.

I had heard the saying "Every pregnancy/delivery is different" throughout my whole pregnancy. I knew to believe it but let me just tell you that every pregnancy/delivery is different! I had heard of other women who've recently given birth say they only had to push three or four times. Well, that was not the case with me. I pushed for 2 hours and 20 minutes before this sweet thing decided to grace us with her presence.

 

During that time I have never felt so exhausted in my whole entire 30 years of life! There were times I'd open my eyes after pushing and not really remember where I was. Oh, and by this time the epidural was definitely wearing off.

The closer I was to delivering, the more nurses started showing up to prepare for the baby. The main nurse we had was awesome. She was so nice and encouraging. There was this other nurse though, that I did not like. She was so rough and pushy (no pun intended). I guess that's kind of a good thing because as I was pushing I would get pissed and just push harder to shut the lady up. I was not a fan of her.

At the end, the doctor said she was going to put her scrubs on since I was just about four pushes away from delivering. As soon as her scrubs were on and she told me to push, Preslie shot right out! The doctor caught her mid-air. That was the biggest relief, ever. I immediately felt my stomach and was amazed at how it just deflated.

Preslie came out with the cord wrapped around her body. Which led her to not be breathing when she was born. However, she still came out bright-eyed and smiling. The doctor laid her on my stomach and the nurses started rubbing her with the towels but she still wasn't breathing and she was blue. I was trying to tell them to take her away because she didn't look right and wasn't crying. So they finally took her to the warming table and about six nurses and a couple doctors worked on her for about 30 minutes. Kevin and I just held hands and were quiet the whole time because no one would really tell us anything. They had to suction a whole bunch of fluid from her stomach but Baby Girl ended up being just fine. She just wanted to give her parents a good scare. Oh, and her heart regulated itself once she was born, so that was a big relief.

 First bath

There's no way to really explain the feeling of your child being born, but it was just an overwhelming feeling of emotions. I will never forget her big eyes looking directly at me as soon as she was delivered.


A few things I want to make note of so I don't forget:
-I was surprised that she weighed over seven pounds. I couldn't believe a baby that size was in my tummy.
-She latched on and nursed with no problem. I was so thankful for that.
-She has a perfectly round head. I have a thing for the shape of babies' heads for some reason. Ha!
-The recovery after delivery has been tough! I was not prepared for the recovery process and the pain involved with that. I guess it's not something women really discuss because there's a cute baby to ooh and aww over instead. Or maybe recovery is different for everyone, but for me it's been painful. I still don't feel 100% yet and I think it'll take another week before I do.
-We didn't do that great of a job at taking pictures. It was tough to remember to do so with all the visitors and nurses coming in and out and trying to rest and take care of a baby in between. I can see now why some people choose to have someone come in to take photos for you.

We still can't believe she's finally here. To me, it doesn't feel real. I can't believe she's actually our baby and will live with us. I don't really feel like her mom. I know I will and this is all still new, but I feel like I'm babysitting her for now. I'm sure it'll all sink in eventually.

 A tired mommy and baby

A tired daddy (and wide awake baby)

In the end, I was in labor for a total of 46 hours and pushed for a little over 2 hours. It definitely was not the labor I expected, but the end result was more than I could dream of.

So far we're on cloud nine.

Preslie's Birth Story - Part I

The week leading up to Preslie's birth I was feeling more uncomfortable, but nothing out of the ordinary for being 38 weeks pregnant. I had an NST on Friday, March 29th, and while I was hooked up to the monitors, I apparently had three contractions. The nurse asked me if I felt them and I of course did but I didn't realize that's what they were. I just thought Preslie was stretching out in there, and they didn't hurt. But it was helpful to feel and know what I should be expecting.

That day and Saturday I took walks with Kevin and used the birthing ball. I had contractions here and there, but nothing major.

Easter Sunday morning, March 31st, is when things really started to pick up. I woke up at 8:30am with period-like cramps and stronger tightening of my stomach. Strong enough to wake me from sleep so I knew we were heading in the right direction. I also lost my mucus plug on this morning. Looking back now I can confidently say that Sunday morning is when labor started for me. Granted, it was early labor, but labor nonetheless. I told Kevin "Babe, it looks like we could be having an April Fools baby."

I had been keeping in touch with my parents during this time and they decided my mom should go ahead and come up to our house since there was no doubt the baby would be here any day. I'm so glad she did because while Kevin helped me get through contractions my mom was such a huge help around the house making food for us, cleaning up and doing laundry. She is a saint!

Kevin was beyond wonderful. He kept me sane and focused. I made a promise to myself that I would not scream and shout during my contractions. It's just not me. So we made sure I stayed focused and in control with slow, steady breathing. He was right beside me so I could squeeze his hand and he timed my contractions.

We monitored my contractions that day. By late afternoon they were getting stronger where I couldn't walk or talk and just had to breath through them. I was still able to do things around the house somewhat, but there was no denying they were stronger than that morning. That night we headed up to Kevin's grandma's for Easter dinner. I'll tell you that it was no easy feat to breath through contractions during Easter dinner. Ha!

Once we got back home the contractions started getting more intense. I didn't sleep that night because it just wasn't going to happen with the pain. So I spent the night walking, breathing and bouncing on the birthing ball.

Monday morning the contractions were painful. I was so exhausted too. My contractions were five minutes apart for an hour by 5:30am and were getting close to four minutes apart. But when Kevin called L&D they said they wanted me to labor for another hour at home before coming in. I was so furious. I was a walking (laboring) zombie at that point. Looking back now, it was good it happened the way it did because soon after my contractions let up a bit. I was able to get about an hour of sleep in. However, the misery started all over again.

So most of Monday consisted of me being in active labor. The contractions got stronger by the hour but kept steady at about eight to ten minutes apart. In case you were wondering what they feel like (because I always wondered), for me they felt like intense period cramps, along with almost a burning/cramping lower back pain, and a tightening of my whole stomach.

By Monday evening I just wanted to cry because I hadn't slept in so long. To try and calm myself and relax a little I took a warm bath and boy did that get things moving along! Within an hour of my bath my contractions were on fire. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them a seven. They quickly got to five minutes apart for an hour, then four minutes apart. Kevin called L&D once again and basically told them we're coming in regardless of if they wanted me to labor another hour at home.

We left for the hospital at 7:30pm on April 1st. By the time we arrived my contractions were three minutes apart, and that pain level had creeped up to about a nine. Luckily, when I checked into L&D there was no one there so I was able to be checked right away. My doctor was also on duty so it felt good to be able to see a familiar face there and have her examine me. She checked me and I was five centimeters. I was so relieved that progress had been made after all that.

Meanwhile, as my mom was in the L&D waiting room she overheard two doctors talking about me. Doctor #1 asked Doctor #2 how far along I was. Doctor #2 said "Five centimeters." Doctor #1 said "Five centimeters?? She should've been in here a long time ago." My mom then spoke up and asked "Are you talking about my daughter, Kaysie?" The doctors looked at her and said "Sorry ma'am, we can't say." And my mom said "Well, I'm going to assume you are. We've been calling all day to get her in and you guys kept telling us to stay home." Doctor #1 said "Well, that is very unfortunate." Very interesting....

Anyways, I was taken to our delivery room and no sooner was I hooked up to an IV did the anesthesiologist arrive and provided me with an epidural. Looking back now, I know I could've gone without the drugs, but since I hadn't slept in so long, I knew without a doubt there was no way I'd be able to go through with pushing without some sort of rest.

About an hour after the epidural was placed I was checked again and was seven centimeters dilated. The nurse left us alone for a good three hours after that so Kevin and I could get some much-needed rest. They checked me once more some time after and when they did my water broke and I was complete. They wanted the baby to come down a little farther so I labored some more. If I hadn't had the epidural I would've been doing a lot of walking around to get her down and engaged, trust me.

I'm going to have to finish up the rest of this story a little later. A little Babe needs to be fed!

Introducing...

Our precious girl

Preslie Kay Marie Pino

Born Tuesday, April 2, 2013

at 6:20am

Weighing 7 pounds, 6.9 ounces

19 3/4 inches long

She was born bright-eyed and smiling

She looks a lot like me but has her daddy's pretty eyes

We're trying to grasp our new normal and get to know one another

Kevin is an incredible father

 I'm hoping to post more soon and provide some decent photos from our camera, a little about the Little Squirt (our nickname for her) and enlighten you with her birth story.

 Thank you all for the congrats and love and well wishes. We're so thrilled she's finally here!

xoxo,