Memorial Day 2011

We slept in today until 8:30 it was awesome!  Then after some breakfast we went to get some more plants for the front yard.  Then it was off to my bosses house for swimming and BBQ.  Zoë slept so well last night the only noise coming out of her room was her snoring.

Happy 7th Month birthday! (yesterday)

For Zoë's 7th Month birthday yesterday we had a big day.  The three of us walked to the park and played on the swings, slide, and merry-go-round.  Zoë loved the swing so much, I fell bad it is only her second time on a swing.  The first was when she was about 4 months old and she had a concerned look on her face the entire time.  Yesterday she was laughing so much while swinging.  She liked the slide a lot less, once again she just had a concerned look on her face.  It was her first time on a slide so hopefully next time will be better.  On the Merry-go-round I sat behind her on one of the horses and that did not last long since I was getting dizzy.  She seemed to like it okay but I did not like it at all.  We tried the swing again before we had to head home and she was in a really good mood.  Derek had to go into work. :(

After lunch later that day we were playing on the floor and she out of no where just crawled forward to the remote.  I was so excited I pushed it away from her even further, which I know may have been mean since she worked so hard to get there.  So for about an hour I had her crawling for the remote.  Derek came home soon after that and I made her crawl some more.  So far she only seems to go after remotes and sometimes phones.

That night we went to our friends the Mahagan's for dinner and to watch the Braves vs. Reds game.  Zoë did a little showing off of her new trick, but with all the action so was a little distracted.  Her buddy Lakin, Emmalise, and Eva were there and she was having a good time watching the older girls Emmalise - 3 and Eva - 4 run around.

She passed out as soon as we put her in the car.

got to love an afternoon nap

I forgot to mention

That during my Labor the Nurses forgot to turn off my Epidural until about an hour after Zoë was born. They did not even turn it down when I was pushing.  The only reason they even caught it was that it was time to move me to my room.  So I know that is the only reason I was able to push her out so fast.

At the end of the 6th Month.

So this is what we know about Zoë:

Her Favorite toys are; her feet, and wash cloths.

Food she has eaten this month include; banana's, sweet potato, carrots, apples, watermelon, blue berries, strawberries, oatmeal, peaches, raspberries, peas, pears, tofu, and avocado.  Her favorites are Banana's and Pears.

She loves to be outside if she is fussy it will always (knock on wood) clam her down.  When we go on walks she just talks and talks.

She is finally sleeping well again.  The first 3 months of her life were awesome, then well things changed.  I believe a couple things happened that got her off track and it took me a long time to get it all back.  The first thing that happened was her Angel Care movement monitor kept going off many times in the middle of the night.  Super stressful running to her room in a panic and picking her up to make sure she was breathing.  Which of course woke her up.  I kept messing with the sensitivity and it help some but it would still go off.  I would be standing over her watching her breathing and the damn thing would go off.  The second was all the Tornado Watches.  I did not want a siren to go off in the middle of the night and have to run to her room and get her, didn't know if I could make it in time.  So she started sleeping in our bed.  This is when I discovered the magic of sleeping and breast feeding at the same time.  We now start our night time routine about 7 p.m. and she is asleep no later then 8 p.m.  She stays asleep most nights until about 6 or 7 a.m.

Zoë started pulling up to her hands and knees about mid month and a few times on her hands and toes.  She rolls, turns, and scoots all over the living room.  She loves loves loves for us to hold her hands and walk her all around the house.  She also loves to hang upside down.  The poor thing is super ticklish and I can not help myself.

She can wave and sometimes does it at the correct time.  She says Hi and NaNa which means she is hungry.

It is crazy to think at 7 months old we still are unsure of her hair color.  Some times I think it is turning Red other times Brown, it is much lighter then it was when she was born.  It is still so short it may be a while before we find out.

I believe her eyes are going to be more Hazel then Green, but that also is still kinda up in the air.

Things we can no longer use;  She started to lean over the side of the swing at about 4 months old so that was done.  Same goes with the bouncer at work.  Last week I had her in the Bumbo at work and she just leaned forward until she fell out.  So now all that is left is the exersauser, and she is so tall I am not sure how much longer that will last.  Time to baby proof all the cabnets and drawer, outlet covers and sharp edges.

She loves her Banana's

6 Months old!

Zoë had been tugging at her ear for a day or two and she was starting to get a low grade fever.  We went in to see Dr. Baker and he confirmed she had an ear infection.  He said it was not to bad and he would send the prescription to the Pharmacy.  We started to take the medicine that night, and it put her right to sleep.

The last weekend in April Derek's Parents and Sister came up.  Misha had not seen Zoë since Christmas, so she made up for the time with snuggles.  That Saturday night was Brian and Nicole's Wedding and Derek's family stayed home with Zoë.  I guess she did not go to bed to easily for them, it was her first time someone other then me put her down to bed.

The Wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun.  I got smashed, now this happens about once a year for me.  It had been a year and a half since my last time, so I guess I was over due.  So sick that when Derek's Dad came to pick us up I vomited out the window while he was driving.  Luckily I felt okay the next day.

That Monday Zoë had her 6th month check up she weighed in at 16 lbs. 2 oz., 29" long and a 43 cm head.  She is in the 95% for every thing but weight she is in the 25-50%.  I also learned that the Dr. had mixed up Zoë's and another babies prescription.  She had been taking allergy medicine for 3 days!  We got the correct stuff and her ears cleared up.  He said her having taken the allergy medicine would not harm her, but man what an eye opener.

Derek's Mom stayed that next week with us.  It was so nice to not have Zoë at work with me.  Lots of work actually got done and when I got home I was so excited to snuggle and play with her.  I also had so much more energy.  This was a sure sign I needed to find child care for her.

That weekend Derek's Dad came back up.  We watched the Derby at our house and the Haney's came over.  They have two girls and one of them is just a week younger then Zoë.  All the girls had a great time rolling around on the floor.  Derek and Norm had the winning horse so we were a happy bunch.

The next Morning was mothers day and what a great day it was.  The previous week Derek and his mom had made me the cutest flower pot ever with Zoë feet and toes painted on it.  That day Derek his Dad and I built me a fantastic garden.

Most of May has been storm after storm hitting the area, great for my garden not great for our safety.  We have been very lucky most of the storms kinda just go around us or fizzle off just west of us.

April - Zoë is 5 months and counting

Two weeks after we get back from Phoenix we had some friends coming from Atlanta and Portland to go up to Lexington for a big horse race at Keenland race track.  This is kinda a big deal here in Kentucky.  We have gone to this race for the last three years and it has been super hot and sunny every year.  This year well it was damn cold, it had been sunny and warm the entire week prior.  I got all dressed up and was kinda excited to get dressed up as I had not even done my hair in months.  Once there I was so pissed that I was not wearing jeans and a rain jacket.  We still had a good time.  I had planned on having a few drinks since all the milk I needed to pump I had no where to store it so I dumped it.  Well I got a beer when we arrived and it just made me colder I switched to hot chocolate.

Ours friends Ben and Mandy watched Zoë for the day.  This was the longest I have been with out her.  I cried on the way to there house to drop her off.  I was far more worried about being 2 hours away then the amount of time.  After we left and got on the free way the boys were making me laugh so much I felt better.  When we went to get her she got a big smile on her face and giggled and kicked her legs when she saw us.  Mandy held her most of the day so Zoë had a great time.  She is just like her Daddy loves the attention.

I had my first night out with the girls the next weekend and it was so nice to not talk about babies.  My friend Karla and I rode together and her daughter is just 5 weeks older then Zoë and we made a packed to not talk about our kids.  It was for Nicole's bachelorette party.

That next morning there was an easter egg hunt at the ball park.  We went and tried to win a bike, and see the bunny's but Zoë really did not care about this at all.

The following weekend was Easter and we went out to breakfast and had a lazy day around the house.  We did dress Zoë up and snap some photo's in her Easter outfit.

Our trip to Arizona

Zoë Elizabeth is a morning person so when we booked our flights we made sure we got direct flights and that they were early in the morning.  When we got down to Nashville I feed her in the car before we got out to catch the shuttle.  We were already running a little late.  We flew SW Airlines so we checked all our bags except the diaper bag.  I was wearing Zoë in the Moby wrap and she was having a great time.  She always loves to see new things.  Going through security was so easy, they did make me take her out of the wrap to walk through the detecter.  It was hands down the fast I have ever made it though the security line. I have for years had to "Step to the side please" and was unsure what to do, I felt as though I had forgotten to do something.

After a diaper change and bathroom breaks it was about time to get on the plane.  I was so happy to see many other babies waiting to get on the plane.  All the other babies headed to the back of the plane so we figured that would be best to keep them all together.  We were in the last row, one of the other mothers how was flying alone with a young baby and two small kids told me that on take off babies can not be in the carriers.  I was floored this seemed crazy to me, I was planning on keeping her in the Moby during take off and nursing her.  It also seems to be the safest place for her if it is a rough take off.

I sat at the window seat and Derek sat next to me and unfortunately it was a full flight so one of the biggest guys on the plane decides to sit next to Derek.   Zoë did great on the flight, we nursed at take off and landing.  She slept about an hour on the flight and my arms were so tired of holding her during that time.

We had a great time while there.  Grandma and Grandpa got lots of time getting to know Zoë.  The dry weather caused her face to break out even more then normal.  She got to swim in the pool for the first time.  She loved it!  I was nervous the entire time.  We also went to the botanical gardens and they were so pretty and I can not wait to visit them again next time we go to Phoenix.

Grandma Terri made her a beautiful hat, and snuggled her on all her naps.  We went on walks around the neighborhood, and got to watch jets take off.  Derek and I got a lot of time to ourselves, we went to a spring training game and also spent a day in Scottsdale.  We spent a lot of time just hanging around the house visiting.  It was the first vacation in a long time that I was not ready to go home.

The flight home was pretty easy too.  When we got into the line for the security check there was a sign that said "Family" it did not say which side so Derek and I went back and forth.  I said there is no way we can cut in front of all these people, there was about 150 people in line.  He said yes we can and well we did.  It was nuts.  I did hate that they made me take the Moby off and run it through the scanner.  My plan for the Moby was I would not have to put it in the germ covered tubs.

We made it back and the trip was a success so I can not wait until we can take more trips as a family.

Month 5 - March

For her 4 month check up she weight 14 lbs. 10 oz. was 27" long and her head was 41.5 cm.

We started rice Cereal and it was so much fun feeding her with a spoon.  She liked to spit the cereal back out then rub it all over her face.  She also wanted to feed her self, well maybe just chew on the spoon.

We had our third road trip as a family mid month up to Louisville to visit our friends Brooke and Dave who were about to have their second child.  I could not believe how well Zoë did, she slept all the way up and all the way back.  She did not mind 20 month old McCarthy playing with her.

We had a few bad storms come through, a couple times the Tornado Sirens even went off.  For some reason Natives do not seem to get stressed about the sirens, they send me into a major panic.  So when bad storms come through and especially when the sirens go off, Zoë gets put in her car seat and into the hall closet.  I go back and forth on where she would be the safest.  So I now sometimes put her in the Ergo Carrier because if a tornado did hit our house I would not want to be separated from her.  With her Car seat she may be more protected.

One of her favorite things is floating a blanket over her then it landing on her face.  She will giggle and giggle and I have never been able to do this long enough for her to get tired of it.  Also she loves just playing with blankets and wash cloths.  She also discovered her feet about this time and they are still best friends.

4th Month February

Zoë started to roll over on both sides!
She could roll from her back to her belly first and would get mad since she did not like being on her belly very much.  Towards the in January she in her sleep rolled from her back to her belly then woke up mad.  By the end of January she was liking her belly better.  On February 18th Derek's birthday she rolled from her belly to her back for the first time.

I went to part time the second week of February and was so excited to spend more quality time with my baby.  She about this time started doing her daily crunches.  It was the funniest thing she wanted to sit up so bad she would just lift her head up as far as she could.  She still does it to this day.

We had pretty good weather that month so we went on a walk almost every afternoon.  I was also so excited to finally get my house in order.

Month 3

Most of January was spent working and hanging out inside.  It snowed and snowed all of January, the school district only had class about 5 days in the month of January.

By the end of December Zoë could hold her head up really well.  We were finally getting the hang of breast feeding and she was still sleeping really well.  In fact two nights in a row she slept 10 hours straight.

Grandma Terri had gotten Zoë a floor mat with toys that dangled above her head and she loved it.  She would play on it for a long time and would just laugh.  Her laugh was so funny, we called it the "Revenge of the Nerds" laugh.

Month 2

On Zoë's one month birthday, it was my first day back to work and Zoë's one month check up.  Also on top of that is was Cyber Monday the busiest day of the year for us.  We got to work early I had allowed my self plenty of time to get us both ready and to work.  Every one was so excited to see Zoë.  I worked for about an hour then it was time to go to her apt.

Zoë had fallen asleep on the drive to work and stayed asleep until we got to Dr. Bakers office.  I was excited to hear she was gaining weight.  On 11/29/10 she weighed 10 lbs. 13 oz. was 24.5 inches long and her head was 37.5 cm.

When I got back to work my Boss Kathy had cleaned out her office and loaded it up with her old changing table, bassinet, and glider.  I could not believe that not only was she letting my baby come to work with me she was making it so easy.

It was a lot easier then I thought to have her at work with me.  She slept most of the mornings and at 5 pm she let me know it was time to go home.  She was very content to be in her bouncy chair most of the day.  Some days were vary difficult as I was torn between being a good mom and also being a good employee.  We got through it and my job was getting done so I will mark it as a success.

We drove down to Georgia for Christmas.  The drive went well for Zoë she slept the whole way and we hit very little traffic.  Our car was packed full with the dog, presents and all that Zoë gear.  She was awake a lot more so every one got to hang out with her and play.

It snowed for Christmas!  We woke up to about 6 inches of snow in Georgia.  I was so excited that Zoë's first Christmas was a White Christmas.

Things were getting better and my anxiety was letting up, but I still had very little confidence in myself.

The First Month Home With Zoë

The very first night with Zoë at home she sleep 6 hours straight!  I woke up in a panic, the nurses had told me to feed her every three hours and not before.  So I woke her up and fed her.  The next evening she had seemed hungry and it had only been an hour and a half since I fed her.  Derek and I were trying to decide what to do.  I knew she was hungry but I did not want to overfeed her, I was so upset and confused.  So I fed her but then felt guilty.  On the third day we went to visit Dr. Baker for the first time at his office.  He made me feel so much better saying I should feed her when she gets hungry and let her sleep when she wants to sleep.  He said she will develop her own schedule.  At 5 days old she weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. was 21.5 inches long and her head was 35.5 cm.

She slept so well that I got a good amount of sleep each night.  The first week I had a lot of trouble with breast feeding.  It was far more painful then I ever thought it would be.  I was a mess, constantly worried I would not be able to keep her alive.

When Zoë was a week and a half old we took a trip down to Nashville and Franklin TN.  We had a great time!  Zoë slept most of the day and we walked all over town.  I also learned how to breast feed standing up.

For Thanksgiving Grandma and Pop Roberts came up.  Zoë slept all day.  We had a great dinner and our friends The Haney's came over with their two girls.  Their daughter Larkin is just one week younger then Zoë.  Both of them slept next to each other while we all stuffed our faces.

It snowed that night and I could not sleep, I was so excited and wanted to take Zoë outside to see snow for the first time.

So to recap Zoë pretty much just slept her entire first month of life.

Bringing baby home on Halloween

Bringing Zoë home

It was Sunday Oct. 31st Halloween when we got to leave the hospital.  It took Derek and I a long time to figure out how to get Zoë into the car seat.  She was much longer and bigger then expected so we needed some slack from the car seat belts and they were not giving.  We called a nurse into help and well she was no help.  Finally after about 20 minutes we got it figured out and strapped her in.

So I wanted to try and avoid giving Zoë a pacifier so I would not have habits to try and brake later when it was more difficult.  Well on the drive back to the house which is less then a mile away I could not take her crying so I popped it in and well the future looks dim still to this day.

When we pulled up to the house all four Grandparents were in the front yard with camera's awaiting are arrival.  They had also gotten pink balloons and tied them to our front steps.  Every one was so excited to see her but she needed to eat and was not to happy.

Later that afternoon the trick or treaters started and it was crazy.  We had hundreds of kids come to the house.  So jerk down the street was giving out balloons, so some punk kids who I thought were way to old to be trick or treating got mad that I would not give them Zoë's pink balloons.  

Jerk kid: "Can I have that balloon." 

DeAnna: "No" 

Jerk Kid: "My brother got a balloon.  If he didn't get it from you then were did he get it?" 

DeAnna: "I don't know, but it was not from me"  

Jerk kid: "Why can't I just have one of those balloons."  

DeAnna: "You can't, they are mine I earned them"

Derek also got kids complaining about what candy bar he handed them!

Our friends Jason and Dawn came by with there niece and nephew trick or treating and they got to meet Zoë for the first time.  I did not get Zoë a costume for many reasons, but I did put her in her best Tie-dye and call her a hippie.

We ran out of candy very fast and had to start handing out peppermints and peanut butter crackers.  Next year we will not be at our house.  I do not want to spent a hundred dollars on candy for a bunch of Jerks.

Not to end it on a good note.  We had a great day visiting with my parents and Zoë.  My Dad was so amazed by the amount of kids going up and down the street.

Born on 10/29/10 at 9 lbs. 1 oz. and 21.5" long

Birth Story

I tried not to set goals for my delivery and did not create a birthing plan.  I did however want to have Zoë as naturally as I could.  The Medical Center does not offer much to help with that.  I did not want to get induced and wanted to try and not get an epidural. 

My due date was Oct. 26th on the 28th I went in to see Dr. Gass.  We were all worried about the size of Zoë.  Also my parent were due to fly out the following Wednesday.  I wanted to make sure they were going to get to meet her.  I had been having contractions on and off but as soon as they would get strong and come regularly it would just stop.  I was so tired and so ready to meet you we all decided to induce the next morning.  We spent the rest of the afternoon nesting.  We ran all over town tying up all our loose ends, cleaning and packing.  I did not sleep much that night.

I got up at 4:30 am and got ready and said goodbye to Blu.  We had to go into the emergency entrance at the hospital since it was so early.  The long walk from the Parking lot to the emergency room we giggled the entire time.  We got into the room and I got into the bed which I unfortunately had to stay in the entire time.  The first nurse I had was at the end of her shift and was I guess pretty tired.  She got me hooked up to all the machines and then put in an IV.  I told her as soon as it was done that it did not feel right, and it might be in wrong.  "No its fine"  Well I passed out right after that because my blood pressure drop so much.  "Oh honey you are just squeamish." I said again I think the IV is in wrong.  Nothing was done about it.  I can say hands down the IV was the worst part of the labor and delivery.

Since I passed out they waited until 7 am to start the Pitocin.  I had been having contractions prior to that and I could handle them just fine.  I was still just fine after the Pitocin started and was at 4 cm.  At 8:30 am Dr. Gass came in to check on me and broke my water.  The very next contraction was not so fine.

I kept thinking that everything I read said there was at least a minute or two break between contractions.  Well I felt like they were no stop, I would watch the monitor and wonder when the line would drop back down.  I was so tense and was trying so hard to relax but I could not.  At about 11:30 I asked for the epidural and got it about 30-40 minutes later.  I was really nervous about trying to hold still while he did the epidural.  I could not believe how fast it kicked in!  I was finally able to relax and felt so good.  I was as 6 cm.

I tried to sleep but could not.   I was giggling a Derek and I got some time to visit alone.  Soon after I had a major urge to go to the bathroom.  I was embarrassed to call the nurse to help, so I waited a little bit.  Then I could not wait any longer so I called her in and told her.  She check and I was at 10 cm and it was about 12:45 pm.  She called Dr. Gass over and Derek stepped out to tell the family.  The nurses had me start pushing to "See how well I was going to do".  I thought that was weird.  Dr. Gass came in and we started pushing and I had to get some Oxygen since my blood pressure started to drop a little.  I remember Dr. Gass said after every push "Just one more and she will be here"  I think he said it about 4-5 times.  

I pushed for about 15 minutes and then out came Zoë.  She was born at 1:13 pm.  Derek cut the cord and snapped her first photos.  I was in tears and loved having her on my chest.

One of our many walks

The last week.  I was so tired.

Pregnancy

I took a pregnancy test on Feb. 17th 2010 and found out we were pregnant with you!  We were so excited we had been waiting for this day for some time.

2 weeks after we found out I had a work trip to Las Vagas.  You kept me so tired I spent most of the  3 days in the big comfy bed.  Some nights I still wish I had that big comfy bed to sleep in.

About a week after I got back from Vagas and was about 7 weeks pregnant I started spotting a little.  Due to the ectopic pregnancy I had the year before Dr. Gass wanted me to get my HCG levels tested two days in a row, to make sure they were rising properly.  On the second day I had just gotten back to the office when the doctor called me.  I needed to come back right away and get an ultrasound as my HCG levels were so high they thought I might have two Zoë's on board.  The ultrasound showed just you and only you and that was the first time I got to see you.  You were in the right spot not hanging out some place you shouldn't be.  Once speaking to the doctor I guess there was some mix up in the lab so every thing was just fine.

Then the Morning sickness started and did not stop until Cinco De Mayo.

I knew you were going to be a girl before the ultrasound on June 25th confirmed it.  We tried to find out a few days prior but you decided to take a nap with your legs crossed instead.  The doctor let us come back on the 25th just to see what you were.  I had your name picked out many years before you were born.  I was so thankful no other Zoë had entered my life, I wanted you to be the first.

At the end of July I drove down to Atlanta to go to The Market for work.  I stayed at Grandma and Pop's house and they got to feel you kick.  It was a very long drive but I was excited for the first time in a long time to listen to what ever I wanted to the whole time and sing.  Getting into Atlanta I drove over a huge chunk of tire and it damaged the inner fender of my car.  I pulled into a Whole Foods parking lot and on that hot rainy day 6 months pregnant attempted to fix it.  Did I mention it was HOT and RAINING also I happen to be in a skirt that day.  Well I kind of fixed it and it fell off on the drive back to Kentucky, also my AC broke on that trip.

When I got back from Atlanta Derek had painted your room and I was so excited to start to decorate it.  Thanks to Grandma Terri's help it turned out perfect.

I was always hot while pregnant, I remember thinking how much I wanted to be cold and could not wait for winter.  The AC went out 4 times during the HOT summer and BG set record highs.  My feet and ankles were so swollen that I only had one pair of flip flops that I could wear.  I also dreamed of having a giant tub to soak in as our tub is small to begin with and I had doubled in size.

Renee and Mary gave me a baby shower and it was so much fun.  Renee got cupcakes from Imagine and they were delicious.  You got a ton of stuff to fill your room and closet.

On Sept. 28 on my doctors apt. Dr. Gass was checking how dilated I was for the first time (1 cm 50% effaced) and it caused me to bleed so much he wanted to do a stress test to make sure you were okay.  Also on the ultrasound they figured you were about 6.5 pound. You were perfectly okay but your Daddy is the one who I needed the stress test.

Grandma and Grandpa Wilson arrived for your arrival on Oct. 18th and then the wait was on.  By that time I was already 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced.

Grandma was so excited to meet you she walked and walked with me.  I got some Raspberry leaf tea and drink about 3 cups a day.  But you seemed to be perfectly okay with staying where you were.