Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving



This is Makenna eating her Thanksgiving lunch which was carrot/tomato baby food with oatmeal. She didn't like it very much. She also had Banana with oatmeal for dinner. She like that much better. We had a great Thanksgiving. We went over to DJ's parents house and his brothers and Greg's fiance and her family were all there. Of course Makenna was the center of attention as always. She took a nap while we ate lunch which worked out great. Then she played the rest of the day. The only person that didn't like her was Jessica's brother. Makenna loved him and kept trying to go to him but he didn't want to hold her. He is a typical young guy, not knowing what to do with a baby. It was pretty funny. The brothers played basketball outside which is their tradition. Then we all played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. We had to cut the game short because it was getting late and Makenna needed to go to bed late. DJ just put her down. She played so hard today hopefully she will sleep great. We had a wonderful time and I ate way too much. We had so much food and so many deserts. Of course I ate a lot of everything. It was great.




This is Makenna playing with her Uncle Greg. She had a great time today and played a lot.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

New Job

For the past couple of months I have been getting burned out at my job. I have been feeling the itch to try something different. When I started in the ER 3 1/2 years ago I knew I wouldn't be a lifetime ER nurse. However, I really enjoyed it at the time and thought it would be a great place to get experience. I thought I could really hone my skills and become a good all around nurse. My thought was if I could work successfully in the ER then surely I could work anywhere. So, last week I took the plunge and applied for some jobs. My first love has always been OB. I loved studying pregnancy and childbirth in nursing school and of course I love taking care of babies. So, I decided to apply for some jobs for mother/baby (also called post partum) at UAMS and Baptist. I thought I would much prefer to work at Baptist because I don't really like UAMS but Baptist only had one part time position open, so I applied at both places. I was really surprised when both places called me a few days later to schedule an interview. So, I went yesterday (Tuesday) to both interviews. First was the Baptist interview at 9:00. I was a little disappointed when I got there because I found out the lady that was interviewing me was someone who screens the applicants first. Then if she feels they are qualified she send the application onto the nurse manager and that person calls you back for a second interview. So, I was thinking this process was going to span at least a week and I was anxious to know if I was going to get the job or not. Well, craziest thing happened. I got home from my interview at 10:00 and at 11:00 I got a call from the nurse manager of mother/baby. She wanted to interview me!! So, I went for an interview at 12:00. It was a great interview and I really loved the unit. Then I went to my UAMS interview at 2:00. They seemed very unorganized and I didn't like the interview at all. I was willing to work there but it was definitely not my first choice. Well, today Baptist called me back and offered me the job!!! I start orientation January 5. It is only part time so I'm only guaranteed two 12 hour shifts a week. But the manager told me that they are always so busy and are constantly needing more staff. She said that I would have no problem signing up for a third shift each week. So, even though I'm only hired for part time I should be easily be able to work full time which is what I need to do. I self schedule so that means I just sign up to work whatever days of the week I want to. I will have to find child care for Makenna since I won't be working just weekends anymore but hopefully I will be able to get that worked out. Hopefully I won't have to put her in day care. I guess we will see. I trust God will work it out. I'm very excited! I'm ready for something different and I think I'm going to love this job. I can't wait to start. I'm a little nervous because I have a lot to learn and it is very different from my current job but at the same time that's what makes it exciting. Also, DJ made me a fire on Monday for the first time. It was wonderful!! He turned off all the lights and we snuggled in front of the fireplace! I love it!! Then when I came home tonight he made a fire! I have such a great husband. Needless to say it has been a great week!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Eating Like A Newborn

Last night Makenna forgot that she was 8 months old. She decided she wanted to act like a newborn. I fed her at 8:10 and then put her to bed. She woke up at 11:15, 2:30, 5:50, and 8:30. Needless to say, I didn't sleep last night. So, I slept all day today since I have to go to work tonight. I just woke up at 12:30 to eat some lunch. Thankfully DJ wasn't busy and he was able to keep Makenna. Saturday is his day to spend with Makenna anyway. Hopefully she will sleep much better for her dad tonight.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Date Night

DJ and I went on a date tonight. It has been a while since we went on a date and it was nice to spend some time together. We went to eat at Casa Mexicana and then we came home and watched Casino Royal. I have been looking forward to this night for the past week. But once it started I was a little disappointed because the time seemed to go by so fast. We had to be done with our date by 8:30 because DJ's parents were keeping Makenna and she needed to come home and go to bed. It didn't take long to eat our dinner and then it was time to come home. I felt kind of silly that I got dressed up to go out for 30 min but I never get dressed up so I wanted to look nice for DJ. Then we were watching the movie and it was getting really good and then someone knocked on the door. We paused the movie and were wondering who would be knocking on our door. Then we realized that it was 8:30. Wow, the time went by fast! But it all worked out because I fed Makenna and DJ put her to bed and then we finished watching the movie. I guess this is the life of being parents. No more long dates and spur of the moment activities. Everything is planned and time limited. Although it will take some adjustment and getting used to, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Bad Night

For the past week Makenna hasn't been sleeping as much as usual. She has been waking up 2-3 times a night. Normally she will go to bed around 8:30-9:30 and sleep until 5:00-6:30 then go back to sleep and get up around 8:30-9:30. But that hasn't been the case for the past week or so. Last night was the worst. Yesterday she was very clingy and wouldn't let me put her down. She got up early and wouldn't take a nap until later in the afternoon. She wouldn't let me put her in her jumperoo or on the floor, she just wanted to be held. DJ put her to bed last night about 9:30. She slept for about 20 minutes and then started fussing. I tried to give her her pacifier but she kept crying so I rocked her until she fell asleep. She woke up several more times over the next hour. She was so wiggly and wouldn't be still so I thought maybe she was tired of being swaddled. So I unswaddled her and nursed her again. She fell asleep and I tried to put her down. She started crying so I rocked her again until she fell asleep. She just wouldn't quit waving her arms and kicking her legs. So I swaddled her and laid her down. She started crying 10 min later. I decided to let her cry for a few minutes because I didn't know what else to do. That was a huge mistake. She started out fussing but by the time I got to her she was hysterical. I brought her into bed with me and it took me about 20 min to get her calmed down. We won't be doing that anymore. I laid her down next to me and held her tightly and rocked her. After about 30 min she finally quit wiggling and fell asleep. She fell asleep about 1:00am. She woke up at 6:30. I fed her and DJ swaddled her and I put her in her bed. Thankfully she slept in her bed until 9:30am. Needless to say I'm tired today. Hopefully she will be better tonight or I can figure out what is wrong with her and fix it so we can all sleep tonight.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

She's Standing!!

This is Makenna's new trick, she can stand all by herself!!! We put her in her pack and play and then DJ decided to stand her up. She put her hands on the top of the rail and he let go and she stood there alone!! I couldn't believe it!! She stood there for probably 5-10 minutes. She is getting so big. I'm still in disbelief. I look at these pictures and it doesn't look like my baby. How did she get so big?






Makenna and I went for a walk this morning. It was really cold outside so I dressed her in her new pink snow suit that her Mimi bought her. It was way too big but I just rolled up the pants. She usually doesn't look good in hats but I thought this one looked good on her. I don't think the outfit is actually a snow suit but its really warm and cozy. I put a thick pink blanket, that DJ's mom made for her, in the stroller with her. She got fussy about half way through the walk and I had to carry her the rest of the way home. So there I was trying to carry her and keep her wrapped in the blanket and trying to push the stroller at the same time. I'm sure we looked funny. Then she decided that she wanted to jump out of my arms. She kept pushing on me and kicking me. It took us a long time to get home. Needless to say it was an interesting walk. Maybe next time will be better.



Friday, November 14, 2008

Eight Months Old

Makenna was eight months old yesterday. She is now sitting up very well on her own and although she isn't crawling she seems to get around on the floor. She is putting everything in her mouth and grabbing at ANYTHING she can get her hands on. She kicks constantly, I don't think her legs ever stop moving. I laid her on the floor yesterday and she somehow moved from the middle of the floor to the coffee table. When I looked down to see what she was doing, she was eating the coffee table. Yes, I said eating. She is crazy. Here are some pictures of how I found her.






Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Birth Story

Sorry but this post is going to be very long. I was nursing Makenna at bedtime tonight and thinking about how big she has gotten over the last 8 months. She has changed so much. I was thinking about when she was born and that made me think of my birth story. I know that most of you who read this were either at the birth or have heard the story several times but I love to tell it and remember it so here it goes. I went into labor at about 11:30 pm on Wed March 12, 2008. Although at the time I didn't know I was in labor. It would be 12 hours before I was sure I was really in labor (I know, in retrospect it seems pretty stupid it took me that long to figure it out). I woke up with my back hurting. Not terribly bad but enough to keep me from going back to sleep. The thought crossed my mind that I was in labor but I really didn't think I was. So, for the rest of the night I moved around in bed trying to get comfortable. My back would hurt for a while and then it would quit and I would go to sleep. This continued all night. When my alarm went off in the morning I was too tired to go to work so I called in sick. I told DJ what had been going on all night and told him to go ahead to work. My back hadn't hurt in about 2 hours so I was pretty sure I wasn't in labor (ha!ha!). I called my doula and she told me to rest and try to sleep for the whole day. My mom came to check on me and I told her to come wake me up for lunch at 12:00. I laid there for a few hours but wasn't able to sleep much. Around 11:30 I was getting uncomfortable in bed so I got up to take a shower. In the shower my contractions were becoming very obvious and I was sure that I was in labor(duh!). While in the shower my blood sugar dropped suddenly. This had happened very frequently while I was pregnant. I was sweating and getting light headed. So I got out of the shower and called my mom. She came in the bathroom and brought me some cake and gatorade. I drank it and felt better. However, my contractions were becoming intense. The weird thing was I had total back labor. I never felt a cramp, my lower back was just hurting. My mom called DJ and told him to come home. She called my doula who told my mom to time the contractions and call her back. She told us to put a heating pad on my back and for mom to press on my back for counter pressure. So mom and I got into a rhythm. I was leaning over the bed on some pillows and I would tell her when I had a contraction. She would put the heating pad on my lower back and push really hard. It almost completely alleviated the pain!! It was wonderful!! In between contractions I was totally normal. Mom and I would just talk and laugh. I was even able to eat a whole chicken and cheese sandwich and drink a whole glass of gatorade! I'm not sure how long this went on. DJ came home and shortly after that my doula arrived. She checked me and to my amazement I was 10 centimeters, fully dilated!! WOW!! DJ was shocked! We had planned to labor at home for several hours. So, DJ and my mom rushed around the house and got all of our things together. My doula (Kim) stayed with me and helped me with the contractions. I got in the truck and we headed to the hospital. The ride there was not fun because sitting was very uncomfortable for me. Needless to say I was VERY ready to get there. When we arrived at the hospital I wanted to walk to my room because sitting was so uncomfortable. DJ walked in front of me and I held his hands and forearms. When I would have a contraction I would lean over him and he would push on my back. We got into that rhythm and down the long hall we went. When we arrived in my room the nurse (who I happened to go to Jr. High with, the world is so small!) checked me and confirmed that I was ten. Dr. Singleton arrived and broke my water. The contractions definitely were stronger after that. I had no time for an IV which was just fine with me!! I got on the bed on my hands and knees and leaned over the birthing ball. My nurse held the monitor on my stomach so they could hear the heartbeat. I never really felt an overwhelming urge to push but the contractions were much stronger and I knew I was going to have to push if she was ever going to come out. So, I started pushing. I pushed for an hour and a half. Everyone including Dr. Singleton was wonderful. They kept the lights off and were very quiet, just the way I wanted it. It was a very peaceful atmosphere. Exactly the way I wanted my daughter to enter this world. DJ would encourage me softly from time to time. Sometimes he would ask me if I wanted water or a cool rag. Sometimes I would answer, sometimes I wouldn't. He was amazing! Near the end I was getting very tired and fell asleep in between contractions. The last several pushes I knew I was near the end. I could feel her head coming down and going back up. I was quickly running out of energy but knew the end was in sight. God gave me the strength I needed. A few more pushes and Makenna Nicole Walker entered the world. They turned me around and put her in my arms! It was amazing!! It was the most amazing experience of my life! I wish everyone could have a birth story like mine. It was wonderful. I know most people don't say they loved labor but I certainly did. In fact I'm looking forward to doing it again! It was very empowering. I felt like Superwoman for several weeks after the birth. I couldn't believe I had accomplished such an amazing thing. People may get tired of me talking about it but it was so wonderful I can't help but gush about how much I loved birth. So, would I have natural childbirth again? ABSOLUTELY!!! In fact I can't wait!!!

On The Mend

Makenna is feeling a little better today. She is still very congested but I'm able to suck her out and the Neosinephrine seems to be working better. Also she hasn't missed a feeding today which is GREAT!!!! She still has moments of fussiness but seems to be more playful and acting like she feels a little better. I'm so thankful for the Claritin. It really seems to be working. She is sitting on the floor right now playing and watching Baby Einstein. She went to bed at 9:00 last night and slept until 3:45. She went back to sleep at 4:15 and woke up at 7:30. A great improvement from the night before!! I hate having a sick baby, I feel so sorry for her. I hope she is completely better very soon.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Doctor Update

We went to the doctor today and Dr. Fraiser thinks Makenna has allergies. He said it is rare for babies this age to have allergies but all of her symptoms point to allergies. She doesn't have a fever, her ears, lungs, and throat all look good. She just has lots of clear drainage and pale mucous membranes which apparently are all classic symptoms of allergies (thanks DJ). Her put her Claritin once a day. He said normally they don't give Claritin to kids this age so he just made up a dose but he assured me that it was a small dose and there would be no side effects for her taking it so young. I finally got her to nurse this afternoon. She had only nursed 2 times in 24 hours. Hopefully the Claritin will work and she will be feeling better soon. On a happier note I videoed her pooping the other day and it is so funny. I know, I'm a mean mom and she will probably hate me when she is older but its really funny for know. She's cute even when she poops.

Rough Night

We had a rough night last night. The suctioning and nose drops and benadryl were not working and she got so congested that she couldn't eat and I tried suctioning her but it didn't work. She ate at 3:30 in the afternoon and by 7:30 she still couldn't eat again. DJ was also still feeling very bad so he went to bed at 8:00. I gave Makenna and bath and put her to bed because she was so fussy and she couldn't eat so I didn't know what else to do. She woke up an hour later and didn't act tired so I got her up and let her play for a while. She started getting fussy and so I tried to nurse her again and all she would do is open her mouth and scream. So I tried putting her to bed again with no luck. So I brought her into bed with me. For the next several hours she slept in about 20 min increments and then she would wake up crying. By 1:00am I didn't know what to do. DJ suggested that I feed her oatmeal and breastmilk just to get something in her stomach because she was starving!! What an ingenious idea!! She scarfed it down. I tried suctioning her again and I got some good results this time. I put Vicks on her chest and neck, swaddled her and by the grace of God she went to sleep in her bed at 2:30. She slept until 6:30 this morning. When she woke up I put some Neosinephrine in her nose and it cleared her congestion enough that she was able to eat this morning! Thank the Lord! I put her back down and she slept until 10:00. I tried to feed her when she woke up at 10:00 but she just started screaming again. Her congestion was back with a vengeance. So I fed her some oatmeal and prunes because she was so hungry and I gave her prunes because I'm afraid she was going to get constipated from all the oatmeal. So, that was our challenging night. We go to the doctor at 1:50 this afternoon. Maybe they will be able to help because I have no more tricks up my sleeve.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Sick Family

Unfortunately Makenna and DJ are both sick now. I called into work on Sunday night because DJ was up all night with Makenna on Sat and then he got sick on Sun. He was feeling very poopy so I didn't think he would up to taking care of her. He said he would be happy to take care of her but he did feel pretty bad. He is so sweet! So I called in and I'm very glad I did. Makenna is so congested that she can't hardly eat. I have tried sucking her nose out and sometimes it works great but other times not so great. I have been giving her Benadryl and that seems to be helping some. One of the docs I work with said she can have some nose drops, Neosinephrine, so we started those last night and they helped a lot. Problem is she can only use those for 2 days. I hope she starts feeling better soon. Poor DJ has a really sore throat. I looked at it last night and I didn't see any white patches so probably not strep, but it is RED!! I now it hurts like crazy. He went to bed at 9:00 last night which is not like him at all. He seemed to have slept really well and was feeling a little better this morning. Hopefully he will be 100% better soon. I better go because Makenna is eating my arm, I think she's hungry.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

She's So Cute

I was going through my videos of Makenna and found this one. It is a video of DJ making Makenna laugh. It was taken on 9/21/08.

Makenna Has a Cold

I think Makenna has a cold. She was a little fussy last night and woke up more than usual. She was congested this morning and then had a runny nose this afternoon. I have been keeping Vicks Baby Rub on her chest and neck. That stuff is wonderful! It just seems to help her breath better. She sounds snotty when she eats especially and I have been suctioning out her nose today. She HATES this. She screams and cries like I'm killing her. She can be a little dramatic sometimes! I hope she gets better soon. She was more tired than usual today and had little bags under eyes and her eyes were puffy. But she seemed to fell a little better after her nap. Hopefully the cold will pass soon. She has only had one other cold in her life and I hated it. I just feel so bad for her that she can't breathe and their is only so much snot you can get out with suctioning.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Pictures Cont.


More Halloween Pictures






Here are some more pictures of Makenna in her costume. The rest are of her at Shorty Smalls in her Halloween onesie. Apparently she loves eating lemons and she doesn't even make a funny face.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Halloween






Sorry this is so late after Halloween but I have to work on the weekends so this is the soonest I could get to it. For Makenna's first Halloween we had everyone come over so they could take pictures of Makenna in her Halloween costume. She was a pumpkin and as her Mimi said, "she was the cutest pumpkin in the patch." She was adorable. Afterwards we all went out to Shorty Small's to eat dinner. Makenna wore her pumpkin onesie. She couldn't wear her costume because it was way too hot for her to keep on for very long. DJ thought she would hate her costume but she didn't seem to mind it. She looked precious. Here are some pictures.