New to the Lineup....Kanon Thomas Baxley

Kanon Thomas Baxley entered the game of life on March 10, at 12:55pm. Weighing in at 7lbs and 6oz and standing or rathering laying 20in long. He is happy, healthy and thriving, despite a delivery that had its ups and downs and fair share of scary moments.I went to my normal weekly appointment on Tues, March 9th and expressed some concern of tenderness on one side of my stomach that had been present for the past 3 wks or so. After further discussion with my doctors, we decided it was best to induce just in case the pain was caused by my Crohns. So everything was set for the following day at 5am.

The next morning we headed to the hospital for everything to start rolling. It was a very restless night for both of us. Knowing the exact day and time was more nerve-racking than having things happen naturally. The morning was rough as I started with a nurse on the end of her shift that treated me like a pin cushion. So much that I nearly passed out after a second nurse finally got my IV going. My blood pressure dropped and so did Kanon's heart beat from 150 to 70 bpm. I was put on oxygen and had to be stabilized before they could even start the pitocin.

They started the pitocin around 6:45am and my doctor broke my water around 7:30am, discovering there was meconium in the amniotic fluid showing that Kanon had been in distress at some point, probably from the earlier morning events. From there things got moving, contractions started and by 9:30am I was ready for the epidural. Major props to all those that never had an epidural during child birth. I think I was finally feeling better around 10:30-10:45am once the epidural was in place and I could feel the effects. The nurse told Kurt and I to get some rest, that never happened. It wasn't long after that, the contractions and pressure came back on my left side and made sleeping impossible. The nurse turned down the pitocin since my body had taken over and labor was going much faster than anybody expected. Apparently the epidural was already wearing off for me. They ordered more meds and by the time they gave it to me and when it finally started working it was just after 12 and it was go time. I pushed for 45 minutes or so and Kanon was in distress again and he was not recovering after each contraction like he should have been. My doctor gave me the choice of him using the vacuum or going in for the c-section because Kanon needed to get out immediately. I gave him the go ahead on whatever he felt was best. He wanted to try the vacuum first on the next contraction and luckily it worked on the first try and Kanon was out. He was immediately brought over to the warmer with 3 or 4 nurses surrounding him clearing his lungs and making sure everything was okay.

It was rather stressful at times and there were some very scary moments in the beginning and the end with me being seconds from a c-section, but it all worked out okay. And to us, Kanon is perfect. Having a baby is definitely an experience I'll remember the rest of my life. I can't say it was what I expected because I honestly tried not to think about it too much before. I read the books and knew what was coming, but it's just not anything like something you can read. Did it hurt? Yes. Was it scary? Yes. But was it worth it? Yes!

While at the hospital we were selected by the hospital to be interviewed by the local newspaper. Below is the article.

In the past three months...

Yeah, yeah -I know it's been forever and everyone has been eagerly waiting on a new post. Clearly I'm not very good at this. I guess life gets the better of me and honestly writing about it all sometimes isn't the best way for me to deal with the many things that's going on in our life, especially the less enjoyable parts. Where to begin...

For starters - there is no baby yet. We're all patiently waiting for the arrival of Baby Baxley - whenever that may be. March 11th seems like forever away at this point, although I'm sure it will be here before we know it too. Whether we have a baby at that point or not is still unknown to all of us. We're hoping sooner than later of course so I don't reach the point of feeling like I'll be pregnant forever. So place your bets now! What day do you think it'll be? I'm making a list!

Wrigley had an allergy test at Christmas in Jville and the results are...(drum roll please!)...he's allergic to dust mites and fish is also high on the list. What that means for us (besides we have a high-maintenance dog which I'm pretty sure we already knew) is vacuuming the entire house and anywhere he lays daily, giving him a bath every 4 days, changing and washing his blankets and bed every other day as well as brushing and medicating him daily. Or at least I try to do all that on that schedule. I know he's a dog (not sure he knows that) but we love him. Many people would consider us crazy for doing all that we do for him, but he's part of our family. You may not agree with us, but it's strongly how Kurt and I feel. Life wouldn't be the same without him and all the work is worth it when he does look a little better. He's not perfect by any means - but he does look better and that's more than before.
Pepper on the other hand still rules the house, yard and all surrounding areas by sight and sound. I'd like to say she's slowed down a little but I think it depends on what day you catch her. Wrigley and Pepper are complete opposites and seem to be more and more each day. Wrigley sleeps on the top of pillows like a human and can't stand to have anything covering him. Pepper wants you to pile it on and would really rather sleep under the covers with you. They are both odd and weird in their own ways, but it's what makes them who they are and we love them even with all their allergies and crazy antics.
Both dogs are getting quite comfortable with me being home everyday all day, even if I am still working at home all day. They lounge on the sofa, Wrigley lays out on his towel like a sun bather soaking up the rays and sniffing the smells while Pepper continues to eat and tear up what we use to call our yard and barks at the people that walk the lake. I know, they have a tough life.
I'm sure everyone is wondering about our house situation as well - weird, so are we. I don't want to expound too much on this as it's way too long of a story and I don't really have many answers now and I'm not sure sure I ever will. Our house is 90% packed, just sitting and waiting. We've looked at more houses than I can even remember, put offers on more houses than I an count with one hand and yes, dealt with more rejection and disappointment than any person should have to deal with. It has been by far one of the worst possible situations anybody could go through. And I will finish on the note that when and if we are EVER able to move - I swear that we'll be living there for a VERY long time because I never want to do this again. I do not find anything in this whole process enjoyable even in the smallest amount.

Kurt and I think everything through - we plan everything out and weigh ever option and situation. This whole mess has forced us to fly by the seat of our pants and frankly stresses both of us out way more than we feel we can handle and probably let on to anyone else, even each other. I think the only thing that has gotten us through thus far is knowing we are together rather than dealing with this alone.

On a happier note, our nursery is set-up and just waiting for a baby. I'm very happy with it. It's not exactly as I planned it to look since I thought we'd be moving and didn't really want to invest the time and money into doing all the detailed painting (even though I wasn't the one doing the painting) in a house we don't really plan on staying in. But all in all I think it came together well. At least close to how I had it all planned and laid out in my head. Special thanks to my mom who spent several days painting and then setting everything up (2 times - we thought we were going to actually move in there one time) the way that I wanted it. Note not EVERYTHING is shown in these pictures since a certain Papa continues to be a pain in the butt and not want to know the gender. A wooden name hangs over the crib and looks awesome!! Also, I think I did a pretty good job in the closet too, but again I can't show that since the clothes would be a dead give-away. I don't think the pictures do it justice at all.

Coming Soon!

Only a matter of a couple weeks left!

YEA for Weekends!

So this weekend was definitely a good one all around. I started off on Friday afternoon and evening not feeling all that great with symptoms of a cold setting in; however after getting some extra rest by working from home the rest of the day and having a relaxing movie night at home on Friday (The Proposal...a good one to see), Saturday proved to be a better day.

Kurt had set up, as a surprise, an hour pregnancy massage for me in downtown Bradenton at The Little Day Spa, my first massage ever actually. It was really nice and very relaxing. It was very sweet and thoughtful of him, especially considering it was never something I'd even mentioned to him. He came up with the idea all on his own. What more can I say...I think I married a good one!! After the massage we had what we like to call Linner (lunch/dinner.....a mid afternoon meal that ends up being both Lunch and Dinner for us) at Sweet Tomatoes. I know it's not a gourmet meal or anything fancy, but lets face the facts, we aren't over the top people and we simply like Sweet Tomatoes. Make fun all you want!

To complete our Saturday afternoon we bought our first video camera. So yes we will be toting it around with us to make shaky at home movies so we can show everyone and torture our family with them. We just could not resist!! So since we have lots of time to practice and perfect our video camera skills before Baby Baxley is born in March.....you'll probably be getting a lot of Wrigley and Pepper videos. Below is our first clip and I feel the need to explain slightly. The clip is Wrigley and Pepper PLAYING...they are not fighting and actually despite what it may sound or look like to anymore else, the dogs are just playing and having fun. Not to worry, this is normal dogs having fun behavior for those of you not used to this. It's even more fun to play the video back on the computer so the dogs can watch and bark at themselves on the computer screen. It's the little things that amuse us. Also note the quality of the video was saved down quite a bit for internet and posting on the blog. I'm still trying to figure things out but the actual video quality is a whole lot better than what you see below.

Movement!

We have movement!.....the baby is moving I mean.....I finally felt Baby Baxley last Friday and have continued to feel it every once in while since then. Kurt finally got to feel the baby too on Sunday. He felt it once and then sat for another forty-five minutes with his hand on my stomach waiting for it to move again, he finally gave up sometime after I fell asleep. We went to the doctor yesterday for my regular appointment. Everything seems to be good and all my measurements are adding up to be on target. The heart rate of "BB" was 150bpm which is slowly going down from it's original. They say this is normal and during the second trimester the heart rate will begin to level off to a more consistent rate, but food and whether it's asleep and other things can effect it too when the heart rate is measured. So who knows!!

Both Kurt and I officially got our H1N1 vaccine yesterday at my OB's office. So we are Swine Flu FREE and have the ID card to prove it. I'm not joking they actually gave us each a card to carry with us that says that we've been vaccinated....weird!

Everything else is good in the Baxley Bradenton House. Kurt is busy studying every minute possible in preparation for his upcoming test. Wrigley developed bumps yesterday all over his back so I'm pretty sure the rash is back yet again. He seems to still be in good spirits and continues to chase Pepper around the house and gives her a good beating every once in a while, which both Kurt and I think she deserves with all the ankle biting (literally) she's given him in the last year or so.

We bought our pumpkin yesterday and it's a biggin'!! It's so big I felt the need to buckle it in on the way home. Kurt tried to give it a name the whole way home, but I refuse to name something I'm going to cut up.

Happy Birthday to both my Mom and Scott this week!

Girl or Boy!

Well I can't really say on here, but if you really want to know then you'll have to ask us. It's not a secret, just a secret for my dad by his choice and I respect that.

Everything looked good in the ultrasound (see above the profile of the baby's face in the middle of the image and rib cage to the left) last week. Baby is moving around a lot so it's kind of surprising I can't feel it yet. There are times when I think it might be the baby moving, but I'm not sure.....I just have to wait a little longer and I'm sure I'll really feel it soon. Everything measured up correctly and all looks good so far. I'm starting to notice the difference now in the things I can or can't do and being a little less comfortable. My usually everyday wearing of flip flops doesn't always cut it anymore and certain movements I am more and more aware of my stomach. I really can't complain though, things have been pretty good. We are now well on our way to the second half of the pregnancy.

Kurt is busy studying every minute possible and continues to claim I am an "easy pregnant wife"...we'll see how long that lasts. Wrigley has been looking really good lately (knock on wood) and has returned to his original spunky self that we had forgotten he had. He actually plays with Pepper and chases her around the house, which of course she loves. He even initiates playing with her. We haven't seen this side of Wrigley in so long we both just sit and watch them play like it's a good movie. Work is very busy for both of us, which is why this post is so short.

End of Week 17 Update

17 weeks marked my last doctors appointment. Everything seems to be going well and no complications thus far. We heard the heartbeat again and it's beginning to settle down, recorded at 156bpm. That's down since the last two visits but they claim that is normal. According to the old wise tale, a faster heart beat means it's a girl, but we'll just have to wait another couple of weeks to find out. My doctor has recommended that I get a Flu Shot (I can't even remember the last time I got one) as well as the new H1N1 vaccine. Which I am "thrilled" about considering how new and experimental it seems, but I trust that my doctor knows what he's talking about and I'm going to do it. I'm not going to lie it's a scary thing and being pregnant has made both Kurt and I more aware of how disgusting and unsanitary so many people are....and that's just what we can actually notice.My stomach is beginning to show more and more now. Most of the new clothes I bought still kind of hide it, but it's beginning to come out now. In the next month or so there will be no mistaking whether it's baby or just fat. My flat stomach is long gone to me at this point though, Kurt reassures me by telling me it's "good" fat.

We've already begun to plan for the nursery and with the help of our families we have most of the major items including a glider complete with ottoman, the crib, a changer combo unit, and the bedding set plus a couple decor items and a wood working project that is already in the process. You know me....I like to plan it all out and be prepared well in advance.

Less than two weeks until we have our "big ultrasound" to make sure everything is going okay and we find out the gender. Unfortunately I will not be posting whether it's a girl or a boy on the blog due to the fact I'm going to attempt to respect my dad's request that he doesn't want to know. I'm not sure how that's going to work considering everyone else will probably know...but, I'll try my best. Love you Dad!