Kate Elizabeth Macfarlane Arrives!

Kate Macfarlane
3/5/08; 7lbs 7oz; 19-3/4

We all knew it was inevitable that baby Kate would arrive before her mother would be ready. Truth be told, I'd always find something else "to do" before her arrival and probably never would have been "ready."

Kate's Birth Story:

As I put the final touches on my last post, I was indeed having contractions every 10 minutes. I ended up staying up all night nervously writing down the times. Then, I spent all day Tuesday pretty much doing the same thing and putting together my music playlists for the labor. By 3:00 p.m., and after much convincing from my dear friend Tara, I was pretty sure I needed to go to the hospital to be checked. I felt silly because I hadn't reached the 5-minutes apart milestone. In fact, I had remained between 8-10 minutes apart ALL day. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 p.m. and we were certain we would be sent home...but we weren't! Next thing I knew, my physician was in front of me and asking if I wanted an epidural. Three long and painful hours later, I received the epidural (midnight, 24 hours after I began writing down and tracking contractions). The epidural was a welcome relief from the contractions that had grown to 1-3 minutes apart and quite intense. Without Keith's wonderful patience and ability to take me to all of the places we've been together, I never would have made it through the hours of contractions. We visualized all of our favorite vacations and experiences over the past 10 years--within moments he'd have me sailing on the Teralani II in Hawaii or floating in our pool on a hot summer day.

I spent another fitful night not sleeping much as I listened to the epidural pump that sounded eerily like Darth Vader. At least I was in the newly remodeled Labor and Delivery room and had my soothing music playing all night long.

Unfortunately, the labor didn't progress any further until the following morning when my doc augmented labor by breaking my water and ordering some Pitocin. The next thing I knew, an hour had passed and I was ready to begin pushing. Everything seemed to be moving at lightspeed and by 11:26 a.m., Keith and I watched Kate Elizabeth enter the world.

A friend of mine from work mentioned that you can have all the plans in the world going into labor, but be ready to adjust as you just don't know what to expect. Keith and I never expected to watch the birth. I never expected to go through such a long early labor phase and I never expected to feel the joy I felt as I saw our daughter for the first time. And, holding her for the first 40 minutes of her life was pure heaven.

One week later, I am still in awe of the feelings she inspires in us. Despite the exhaustion from lack of sleep, we couldn't love her more. In an instant, our lives have forever changed to put her happiness and health above all else. Keith and I have spent a lot of time this week holding and cuddling our new bundle, trying to take in each moment as we know that in the blink of an eye, she will be graduating high school, getting married and even having her own children. We look forward to enjoying the small, everyday moments along with the many milestones that lie ahead.

With the birth of Kate, my adventure in pregnancy is officially over. I'm amazed at how fast my body has been changing back to its former self; thrilled that my itchy feet syndrome has nearly disappeared and trying hard not to "do too much" and "sleep when the baby sleeps."

Here are some photos of our first week..both Keith and I are adjusting to our new sweet bundle of joy!!

Waddle, Waddle, Ouch

Ahh, don't I look like a picture of grace? But to watch me walk is quite another story! I'm now waddling around like a duck. Both from an oversized belly adding pressure on my pelvic region and from tired feet walking around in el cheapo shoes since my foot has grown to be of Anastasia and Drizella (Cinderella's step sisters) proportions!

For the first time since this pregnancy began, I can honestly say I'm VERY uncomfortable. First, came the itchy feet. This actually began last week--I noticed my feet were a little itchy and I was waking up in the night scratching at them or rubbing them on the bed. I had a couple of busy days on my feet and assumed the itchy feet syndrome was a result of the puffiness that occurs when my feet protest to being overworked.

This week, tiny bumps have broken out on my feet and especially my toes. I tried bathing in an oatmeal bath and quickly realized that hot water was far more detrimental than the soothing oatmeal. The itch has also grown more intense. The only relief I've found is a cold foot bath. It appears that freezing my feet reduces the swelling and relieves the itch temporarily.

Then, last night, began the cramps and "contractions." This, combined with the itchy feet, is getting me to rethink how much longer I have to go. If you asked me last week, I was fine going 41 weeks in order to make it to Grandma Joyce's birthday, but now I am wondering if I can make it to 40 weeks!

My mother shared all kinds of home remedies to try...maybe that will provide relief.

The good news is that I've finished working (at least for now)! I am quite relieved to have some time to prepare for baby Kate. Of course, I'm moving a bit slower between all the cramping and itching. I suppose it's silly to complain. I made it all the way to week 39 before I really felt any real discomfort and for that, I am soooooo grateful!

Books, Classes and more Books

Here we are at week 36...the 9th month. Just as my baby journal says, I'm running around like a maniac instead of relaxing. It advises me to go for a pregnancy massage or spend some time at the spa. Anyone up for this with me? I think I'd like to go in a couple weeks to celebrate the beginning of maternity leave!

With two and a half weeks of work left, I'm trying desperately to finish up many loose ends and projects there while the house is still slowly getting put together. I've also yet to really organize and clean Kate's outfits to figure out what we still need and don't need (not to mention go through the registry and pick up anything we haven't gotten yet that is needed). I truly hope she cooperates and hangs in the womb at least until the due date...maybe even to Grandma Joyce's birthday on 3/16! Call me crazy, but I have the rest of my life to be with Kate and just a little time left to be able to finish the myriad of tasks at hand. As you can see, we have stuff everywhere!! Oh, what is that you moms are saying? "Get used to it!"

It's not like I'm sitting around eating bon, bons (maybe Girl Scout cookies)! I have managed to finally finish writing the many thank yous for all of the wonderful gifts we received at the shower. I also am almost finished with my music playlist for the hospital room. Yes, some people think it's silly, but I plan to make the experience as peaceful as possible. A little Mozart, some Vivaldi and Brahms. You get the picture. And, we've made progress in cleaning out Kate's closest and reconfiguring it so we have lots of storage space (Keith is very proud of this, so I thought I'd display his fine work, here!).

We purchased the travel system, too, so we now have all the necessities should Kate come early (thanks Tami for regifting the bassinet--we love it). Except, we still have one more week of our prepared childbirth class, an infant CPR class, a breastfeeding class and two books on what to do to have either the Happiest Baby on the Block or teach ourselves the Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Oh, and Babywise is on the way. Not to mention, I've not quite finished What to Expect When You're Expecting... Who in the world has time for all of this studying!? I haven't tried to read this much since my days at Cornell. Geesh! So, anyone who can give me the Cliff Note version of any of these books or others for how to calm a finicky baby or have suggestions for what to read and what not to, feel free to share!

Showered with Love

Just one week ago, my dear friends Faith Lee and Jennifer Cokias along with my sister Tami threw me a fantastic baby shower. I was honored that so many were able to come to the shower and am so thankful for all of the terrific gifts! The "Baby is Blooming" theme was very cute and I loved the decorations, tasty food and party favors. The gift opening went on forever, which is a fantastic representation of everyone's generosity! It's amazing to me that after that display there are still items left for us to purchase!

I especially want to thank the out of towners who traveled down to Florida for the affair...Tara St. Clair, my former neighbor and most awesome gal pal, flew down from Pennsylvania while Mary and Joe Hernandez (arguably two of the kindest and most generous people I know) came from Michigan. Aunt Betty & Uncle Ken get honorable mention for scheduling their vacation one week prior to the shower and stopping by for a visit. Like typical parties in our 'hood, the shower party continued until late in the evening at the Macfarlane house. I enjoyed spending time with my family and friends and felt very special all day.

I am also especially glad that my moms were out in force for the shower--my mother in law traveled from St. Pete for the shower after recovering from surgery less than a month earlier. My step mom wouldn't have missed it even though she's recovering from Pnemonia and my step mother in law also made it. And of course, my mother was there in spirit. While undergoing chemotherapy during the last three months, she managed to macrame a beautiful christening outfit and blanket. I am so happy to have been able to share this special day with each of them who will all be fabulous grandmas!

Time is Flying By: Almost 35 Weeks Already!

Holy cow! Where has the time gone? Only one post in January??? Almost a month has passed since we painted the room? Can you sense the panic? Yes, this week I have only had two little minor meltdowns (Keith might disagree with how minor they were). With the shower come and gone, I can't believe that I'll be 35 weeks pregnant on Sunday. I also cannot believe how much more I keep thinking I can accomplish before Kate arrives--both at work and home.

Tonight I spent quality time writing our "to do" list for the next couple of weeks. Sounds fun for a Friday, right? Much different than our Friday nights of yesterday! Anyway, just writing the list makes me feel a bit better.

This was a tough week on me physically. Nothing is wrong, but I'm certainly feeling a bit more uncomfortable. Kate's movement has grown much stronger and intense (leaving me to express random "ows" and rub my belly during meetings at work). Also, I'm noticing puffy ankles every night. I'm going to have to go back to the support pantyhose. Bummer. Tonight my back is hurting and I can't find one chair in the house that is comfortable. Hopefully we find a real gem for the nursery tomorrow and that becomes "my" chair for the next 7 weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing very well...just starting to really feel pregnant and grow tired of my wardrobe.

As the time grows near, I invite you to participate in our Baby Pool to guess little Kate's arrival date, weight and length. Visit www.expectnet.com. On the left hand side of the page, you will see a blue box that says "Invited Guests" and an empty box requesting the game's name: PrincessKate (note it is one word, not two). Each guess is just $5. Winner splits the pot with Kate!

The Nursery: Part B

Last week Keith and I finally bought furniture. We actually only bought the crib and dresser (pictured here). Now, this is not our actual room (don't I wish we were this far along). Anyway, how did we choose, you ask? Well, we decided on the color and I had settled on either a traditional crib that I've had my eye on or the Cribs 4 Life crib. The traditional crib was on a 10-week custom order for the color I wanted. That made the decision fairly easy. The hunt has moved on to a rocker/glider. I found the most perfect chair at the same place we bought the crib, but of course the patterns and fabric for the chair were a big disappointment (dare I say absolutely awful). And now I'm searching for a simple dark colored glider with cotton-candy pink fabric. You shoppers out there give me a holler if you see one!

I feel shopped out. I've been searching online for every random piece of furniture we need for what seems like days. Office chairs, consoles, bookshelves, benches, sidetables. It's never ending. Don't get me wrong I love shopping online since Keith and I have been to almost every furniture store, home goods and office store from Lake Mary to Altamonte Springs and found only one item that we needed for the house. So, I've discovered Amazon furniture. Thousands of products at my fingertips. Didn't know Amazon had furniture? Check it out. Awesome deals. One problem, I bought two "antique white" benches for $49 each. When they arrived, they were what I like to call "smoker's white," a color that really resembles "yellow." At least I can take them back to JC Penney's catalog dept. easily. Always check the return policy before ordering online! But today I found an even better deal on two side tables for $16. Yes, that's right, side tables for $16. Who cares if the shipping cost almost as much as the table for that cost, right? Let's hope they are actually made out of "wood" as claimed online and not particle board!

Keith on the other hand has had an amazingly productive day painting polka-dots on the walls of Kate's room. He's been working on the project for almost 10 hours, now and it's looking pretty cute. If you don't like it, don't tell him!

And, in case you're wondering, I'm still feeling great (other than completely panicked about all of the house projects that we've yet to complete). I am still pretty tiny and liking it that way! I've noticed my hands are starting in on the "puffiness" now. Did I mention that last week? Anyone want to take bets on how much longer I'll be wearing my wedding rings?

The Nursery: What to Do

I remember reading some chat rooms at BabyCenter.com when I was about 13 weeks pregnant and many of the mothers were already obsessing over nursery themes. I thought these folks to be out of their mind! I mean, I barely even knew we were having a little girl at that point and was much more focused on trying to get the rest of the house in order. March was years away in my mind!

Now that it's December and "the rest of the house" is slowly being put together (why is it so hard to find the furniture you want when you want it?) and our little girl's room sits empty (well, right now it sits full of Christmas presents for everyone as it's the wrapping room), but you get the point.

Since Thanksgiving, I've been feverishly trying to figure out how we want to decorate and what color furniture we want to put in the room. Keith likes white furniture. For the record, so do I, but I have this vision of dark cherry or other dark furniture to compliment light pink walls with mocha accents. All of the bedding and accessories that are pink and mocha tend to have "off white" coloring that doesn't look quite right next to a white crib and furniture. And then, there's the issue of "Crib for Life" for "Crib for just two years."

Everyone is happy to offer wonderful advice. But advice, like individuals, varies and in the end really isn't all that helpful. So and so loves her crib for life, but this other person would rather just get a toddler bed and grown up furniture later. For those of you who have offered advice, please don't misunderstand. I appreciate the thoughts and ideas, but in the end, it is still a choice that Keith and I have to make and one that seems to be difficult for me (Keith is sold on Cribs for Life). We did agree on colors, so we're going to move forward with painting and decorating even though we still (and again by we, I mean I) have not resolved the crib issue. Don't worry, Aunt Betty, thanks to Tami, we'll have the bassinet when she arrives so you don't have to worry about us sleeping with her (let's remember I do work in health care and I know the scary statistics about infant deaths)!

So, back to the nursery. Pink and Mocha. But what will we do with pink and mocha? I found a crib set to base some ideas off of (again, no, Aunt Betty I'm not putting anything but a baby in that crib), but the set has lots of fun accessories that I do want use...diaper bag, rug, blanket for later, cute sheets and numerous other things to spend our hard earned cash on. I am leaning towards Carter's Love Bug collection and have ordered some letters for Kate. You can check them out at: http://www.dimplesanddandelions.com/product_details.asp?Product_ID=8921. We're putting these schemes together (hopefully today) so that Keith can paint and begin the process while he is off this week! We have the name of an artist who paint murals inexpensively and are considering using her to help add some flair to the room. Stay tuned...much more to come in the next couple of weeks!