First Three Weeks

What an amazing three weeks it has been...Kian is growing big and strong. At her two week check-up she weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz which means she gained 1 lb 3 oz and a whole inch in just two weeks. Kian was also put on some medicine for stomach acid. The doctor thinks her stomach is creating too much acid for her system, so she is on baby Zantac to help out. The stomach problems have been causing Kian to cry a lot and cause her to sleep in only short intervals, keeping Mom and Dad from sleeping as well. With the help of the medicine, she is doing better and getting to sleep for 3 hours at a time, most of the time.

We always knew that Skyla would be a big help with the baby, but we have just discovered that big sister Skyla has a talent for putting the baby to sleep. Anytime she holds Kian and walks around, Kian falls right to sleep.

At three weeks and 1 day, Kian had her first real bath yesterday, and we discovered that she is not a fan of bath time. As you can see from the picture below, she screamed her head off the entire time.

The family is really enjoying getting to know Kian and we will keep everyone posted...

The Big Day

We are very proud to announce the birth of Kian Abbey Taylor on Friday, November 7, 2008 at 5:27 pm!!! She weighed 7 pounds and 9 ounces and measured 19 1/2" long. She has blue eyes and chesnut brown hair with blonde highlights.

Mom and baby did an awesome job and both are very happy and healthy! We were able to bring Kian home from the hospital on Sunday evening.

Mom went into labor early Friday morning at about 3 am. By 8:30 am, we were ready to make our way to the hospital, but the contractions started slowing down. We took a walk around the block and up and down the stairs a few times to see if that would move things along, with no success. We then called our doctor's office at about 10 am and they suggested that we go to the hospital anyway as Mom was still having 5-6 strong contractions an hour.

We got to the hospital and they monitored Mom's progress for an hour. Mom's contractions were still strong but irregular, so the hospital called Dr. Appel and the decision was made to go ahead and put Mom on some Pitocin to help advance the process along. We had not had a chance to update the blog yet, but Mom was scheduled to be induced Monday morning at 5 am if the baby did not come on her own before that. So, moving the labor along with Pitocin was a no-brainer at this point.

We were checked into the hospital and moved to a birthing suite at 1 pm. Right after receiving the Pitocin, Mom's contractions immediately picked up and became regular. Mom got her epidural at about 2:30 pm and was very appreciative. The Pitocin was advancing the labor faster than the epidural could keep up. Mom was in lots of pain and the baby was not handling the intensity of the contractions very well. So, Mom was given a booster to the epidural which made everything better. By about 4:45 pm, Kian was ready to be born; however, our doctor was at the other hospital delivering another baby. So, we waited until about 5 pm when Dr. Appel arrived and 27 short minutes later, we had our beautiful baby girl. Big sister Skyla decided to join us in the suite to experience the birth of her sister.

Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy...

Week 39

Week 39 has come and gone and still no baby. At our Wednesday doctor's appointment, we found out Mom was dilated to a 2 which is less progression than we were hoping for. The doctor made us an appointment for next Wednesday, but she was sure we would not need it as the baby would come before that...apparently Kian heard that and is aiming to prove her wrong. At our appointment on Wednesday, if we make it to Wednesday, the doctor says that we will discuss our options for inducing labor. The baby is still very healthy and her heartbeat is strong...she is just getting fatter and fatter as the days go by. Dad was hoping for a Halloween baby, but no luck...Mom doesn't care, she just wants to be done being pregnant...she has had enough of being big and being swollen. Mom is officially on maternity leave from work and will not go back until February 1st. Here is a couple of pictures of Mom from Halloween and the day after which mark the end of week 39...

Week 38

Still nothing new to report. At our doctor's appointment on Wednesday, there was no progression in the stage of dilation. Kian appears happy to just stay put for right now. Mom has been walking and drinking raspberry tea as we have heard these might help bring on labor and ease delivery. So, we will continue with walking and raspberry tea until the baby decides it is time.

We are keeping a calendar with every one's guesses about when the baby will come, so keep sending them to us and we will let you know who came the closest.

We have another doctor's appointment on Wednesday and we will keep you updated.

Week 37

We really have nothing new to report this week. Mom is very ready to have the baby, but the baby is not ready to make her appearance just yet...

We have weekly doctor's appointments and we will find out this week if Mom is dilated any more. The doctor says that Mom could go into labor at any time now...so stay close to your phones!!! We are taking wagers on when the baby will arrive...post a comment with your day and time and we will see who comes the closest...

Here is an updated picture of Mom, taken at the end of week 37...

Week 36

We had our doctor's appointment on Wednesday and we found out that Mom is dilated to a 1. Mom is very excited!!! The books say that once Week 36 is over, the doctors will allow you to go into labor at any time...so it could be any day now...Dr. Appel even said that she will be surprised if we make it until our due date.

Mom is finding it harder and harder to find a comfortable position and everything gives her heartburn, so Mom is more than ready to have this baby.

We have finally decided on a name for the baby...Kian Abbey...Kian is Irish, pronounced like Ryan with a 'K' and means 'from an ancient place'...we decided on Abbey, which means 'father's joy' because Abigail is historically a strong female name (Abigail Adams, etc.) and also for the musical reference (The Beatles' Abbey Road). Yes, we realize her initials will be K.A.T., but we are OK with that also.

Dad attended Daddy Boot Camp this weekend and learned a few things that he needs to know and both Mom and Dad attended a class called Happiest Baby, where they teach you how to calm and soothe your infant. Mom realized she already did a few of these techniques with Skyla, but now we have all of the skills at our disposal.

Week 35

On Sunday, Mom and Dad went to Burlington Baby Depot and bought the baby's crib and dresser. Thanks to the gifts from our families, the purchase was made easier on our check book. One thing that we did not consider, was the size of the items we were purchasing. When the clerk brought out the dresser (fully assembled in the box) we paused for a moment. Then we asked for a measuring tape to make sure it would fit in the back of the Xterra. We measured and all was fine, until the clerk brought out the crib, which was not assembled and would have never fit in the Xterra. We frantically called all of our friends with trucks and Sallye and Kim were nice enough to come to our rescue! Once we got the dresser home and had a place to put the baby's clothes, we started washing all of the baby's clothes and blankets and such and before we knew it, the dresser was full!

Thursday night was our first of three Child Birth Education classes. The RN who runs the class is very animated and funny most of the time. We have learned a couple of things in the first class and have two more to go.

Here is another picture of Mom...this was one taken during week #35...Mom is feeling tired and worn out most of the time, Mom also feels big...but soon all of the hard work will be worth the wait!!!

Week 33 & 34

Week 33 was the baby shower. Thanks to all of our friends and family that were able to make it and thanks to those that sent gifts since they were not able to make it. The shower was lots of fun and the baby received plenty of really cute and very necessary items. Also, thanks to the hostesses of the shower, Sallye, Shelley, Amy, Carla, Rose and Darenda--they did an awesome job and everything was beautiful. We have attached a couple photos below...

We ended week 33 with a BBQ since our families were in town. Dad's family and most of Mom's family were in town. We also invited some friends over and we all got to sit around and catch up. It was really nice to be able to spend time with our families and friends.

Week 34 saw another doctor's appointment. All is still well and the doctor says the baby is measuring exactly where she should be, so maybe she will not be as big as we originally thought. We only have one more appointment on the every other week schedule before we start seeing the doctor on a weekly basis. We also chose the baby's pediatrician.

Grandma Lonergan and Grandma Taylor

Week 32

We had another doctor's appointment and our second sonogram this week. The baby is still a girl and is measuring 3 lbs and 13 ozs, which puts her one week ahead of schedule. She was not very cooperative during the sonogram, so the 3-D pictures are not very good. We guess that she does not want us to see her until she decides to make her grand entrance. She is strong and healthy and packs quite a kick when she wants to.

We spend Sunday working on the nursery and getting it ready. All of the painting and touch up work are done and now we have a place to put all of the baby's things. We will begin decorating soon!

We are excited about the baby shower this coming weekend and we are looking forward to our family visiting for the shower. Both grandmas and both aunts will be coming to town.

Here are the pictures we promised...

Week 31

Week 31 was a busy one! We started the long Labor Day Weekend on Sunday by moving furniture to make room for the baby's nursery. We moved the office from upstairs to the downstairs sitting room. We then spent all day Monday painting. We painted the baby's nursery as well as the upstairs hallway and the stairwell. The stairwell was quite a challenge!!! Uncle Michael was a huge help...we could not have gotten everything done in one weekend without his help.

We have attached some pictures of the work in progress for you to see...

Now that the walls of the nursery have been painted, we can get started on decorating in our Dr. Seuss theme.

The family took our last weekend trip before the baby arrives. Mom and Dad went to Dallas on Friday night and had a romantic dinner to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary. Big sister Skyla and Uncle Michael flew in on Saturday morning and we all went to the Sixth Floor Museum where JFK was assassinated. It was informative and a very moving exhibit. That night we all went to see Maroon 5, Augustana and the Counting Crows concert. This was monumental, since this was the first concert that the baby was able to hear. The baby rocked out to Maroon 5...just like her big sister. On Sunday, we slept in, had a nice breakfast and flew home.

Week 29 & 30

We have had a busy two weeks. Last week we completed our baby registry at Babies R Us and Target. It was a lot of fun but also overwhelming! Who knew how many car seats and strollers there were to pick from. We are sure we left out many important things the baby will need because we were blinded by all the flashing lights and music from the swings, toys and walkers. Apparently there are many, many ways to occupy your infant.

We had a doctor's appointment on the 27th and Dr. Appel ordered a new sonogram. She said Mom is measuring large and we need to see if the baby is big or if she is farther along than originally thought. Either way, we get to see more pictures of the baby and we are happy about that. The sonogram is scheduled for the 10th of September.

The baby shower has been scheduled for September 20th and invitations will be sent out soon.
We will be spending Labor Day weekend getting the office cleaned out to get ready for the nursery.

Only 10 more weeks until our due date and we are getting excited! Mom feels like she gets bigger every day and sometimes when the baby moves you can see the outline of a foot or other body parts.

Happy Labor Day Weekend to everyone.

Week 28

Our appointment with Dr. Appel went well and she said that everything is still progressing nicely. We have now been upgraded to an appointment every two weeks instead of once a month. Mom also took the gestational diabetes test this week and the results came back normal. However, we found out that Mom is iron deficient (which she also was with Skyla) so now Mom has to take some 'tasty' iron supplements. Dr. Appel also examined Mom since the baby is sitting so low and there are no signs of early labor, which was a welcome relief to us!

We told Dr. Appel that we wanted to have another sonogram, so she agreed to 'find a reason' for us to have one in a few weeks. We should have some really cool 3-D pictures to share with everyone after that appointment.

This week we signed up Dad up for Daddy Boot Camp and both of us up for Child Birth Education classes. The Daddy Boot Camp is a 3 hour class where they teach new fathers how to care for a baby. The Daddy Boot Camp will be in September and the Child Birth Education Class will be in October.

Week 27

First of all, there is no need for concern...Mom and baby are fine. However, this week the baby decided to move down...she was sitting quite high up against the rib cage and all stretched out, but now she decided to move lower. This concerned us because the books say she should remain high at this time and be moving around more. So, we called the doctor's office and the nurse agreed that it was about 10 weeks too early for the baby to move into this position. She also told us that all babies are different and do what they want. Imagine that...we have a baby who does things her own way!?!

We have also noticed that the baby is becoming much more responsive to outside stimuli. For instance, she responds to Daddy's voice and when the kitties lay on Mommy's belly and purr, she likes to kick them. The kitties, especially Murphy, are not impressed.

We have started playing music for the baby a couple of nights a week. We have started with Classical music and so far she has heard Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Chopin. We still have a few more composers to do before we move into some Rock 'N Roll.

This was also a momentous week for big sister Skyla, as we enrolled her in high school. She has Freshman orientation on Tuesday, 8/12 and the school year starts on 8/25.

Here is another picture of Mommy for everyone...this one was taken on the last day of Week 27.

Week 26

Week 26 was fairly uneventful, but everything is progressing just as it should. Big Sister Skyla bought the baby her first pair of shoes...a pair of pink and white checkered Vans.

Mom and Dad bought the paint for the baby's room and we will start painting in the next couple of weeks.

We are still looking for the perfect baby name...right now our top picks are...

Kelby/Kelbie
Brennan/Brennyn
Rorie/Rory
Kylan
Harper

Please feel free to leave us a comment with your favorite choice!

Week 25

We had our monthly doctor's appointment this week and we were told that everything continues to look good and the baby is healthy. The doctor got to see how spunky the baby is when she kicked the doppler as the doctor was trying to hear her heartbeat. We all had a good laugh over that one...

As we start week #25, we are excited that we only have 15 (or so) more weeks until the baby arrives!

Week 24

Now that week #24 is over, we are fully in to the 6th month of our pregnancy. This week has been pretty uneventful in the baby's world. We have discovered, however, that the baby really likes sweet foods. One look at the pantry and you would think we had 5 kids...we have Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and Fruit Loops. The baby (actually Mom) especially likes the Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and Cocoa Puffs mixed together. The baby also likes blueberry pancakes (thank you Cracker Barrel) and ice cream. We are curious to see the baby's next food cravings...

We have another doctor's appointment this week, but it is just a routine check-up. Mom is still feeling good and usually has plenty of energy.

We hit a garage sale this weekend, where two families who had a total 4 girls were cleaning out...we bought a huge bag of onesies, sleepers, bibs and some outfits for $20.00. It was quite the good deal.

We continue the search for the baby's name...

Have a great week and love to all!

Week 22 & 23

Week 22 & 23

Here is an updated picture of Mom on the first day of Week 23 (start of Month 6). Week 22 was an exciting one as Dad finally got to feel the baby move.

We spent the last weekend in Arizona to celebrate Grandma Plain's 80th Birthday. We surprised Grandma by coming to Arizona and with a party. Everyone had fun, but Mom is glad to be done traveling for now.

Now that our busy June is over, we can concentrate on getting the baby's room ready. First we have to move the office out of the third bedroom upstairs and start painting the walls.

We are still on the hunt for Dr. Seuss stuff for the baby's room and we continue to look for the perfect name for our new little girl.

Week 19, Week 20 & Week 21

Week 19

This was an adventurous week as we were on vacation in Los Angeles. We packed in lots of sightseeing and playing in the 5 days we were there. We had promised to take Skyla to Universal Studios back in 2005, so we figured we better get it in before we have the baby. Aunt Angela and Uncle Johe also joined us on the trip.

Mom was not able to ride a handful of rides, but other than that, all of us had a great time. Mom also noticed something new on this trip...the baby would react to loud noises on the rides and start moving around in response. In addition to Universal Studios, we also went to Hermosa Beach (baby's first visit to the beach), the Queen Mary, the Long Beach Aquarium, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We also went to the legendary Troubadour and saw Augustana perform. By the end of the trip, all of us were very tired (especially Mom)!

Here are some pictures from the trip...







This is all of us in front of the Queen Mary...



















Here we are at the Warner Bros Studio tour on the set of 'Friends'...





Week 20

This was the big week that everyone has been waiting for...if you have not guessed the gender of the baby from the color change on the blog, we are happy to announce we are having a girl!!! The sonogram showed that the baby is happy and healthy and right on target developmentally. The sonogram technician even mentioned that our little girl is quite the mover and shaker. She put on quite the show for us during the sonogram, yawning, sucking her thumb and even flashing the peace sign (see pictures below). Big sister Skyla was able to come to the appointment and share in the moment with us. Mom is right on track with her pregnancy and she and baby are doing very well.

While we are very excited to be having a girl, we were caught a little off guard as we were almost positive that we were having a boy. Now we have to go back and decide on a name for our little girl and add some pink to the nursery. Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions for a girl's name...

Week 20 also marked Father's Day, so happy belated Father's Day to those dads who are reading this.

Week 21

Another busy week on tap as we are heading to Arizona for a couple of days to celebrate Grandma Plain's 80th birthday! Sorry to those of you we will not have time to visit on this trip. We love and miss you all!!! We just read that within the next couple of weeks the baby should be calming down, which is good news as Mom is finding it hard to sleep with the baby being active all the time.

Our next update will most likely be in two weeks.

Week 17 & Week 18

Week 17
Sorry that it has been a while since our last update...we celebrated Skyla's graduation from 8th grade and went to Albuquerque to celebrate Auntie Helen's 40th Birthday.

Week 17 was exciting as we had another appointment with Dr. Appel. Mom and baby are doing great! Dr. Appel was puzzled that mom's uterus was so large for this stage of the pregnancy. So, she busted out the old ultrasound machine to have a look around. Mom and Dad got their first look at the baby and he/she looks perfect! There is no indication of twins (sorry Grandma Debbie) and all of the measurements taken confirmed the baby is due 11/8/08. Before anyone asks, we were not able to see what sex the baby is, but we should find that out in June when we have the real sonogram. We should also have some pictures to share from that sonogram.

Dr. Appel was also surprised to see how active the baby is, but mom could have told you that already. During the ultrasound, Mom and Dad got to see the baby's head, spine, leg and hand when he/she waved to us. It was very exciting for us!!!

This week, Mom caught a head cold and had to suffer through it while travelling to Albuquerque. Mom discovered that it takes much longer to get over a cold when you are pregnant. Other than using many boxes of tissues and grabbing the occasional nap, Mom was a trooper!

Auntie Helen, Auntie Apryl and Grandma Diann we all very excited to see pregnant Mama and all of our friends in Albuquerque sent their congratulations and best wishes.

Week 18
This week, Dad has to go out of town for work, but Mom feeling much better, so it should not be an issue this time. Our next test for Mom's endurance will be our vacation to Los Angeles which we leave for on Friday, June 6th. We have lots of fun things planned, but we have to make sure that we do not wear Mom out. This will probably be our last update for two weeks, as we will be vacationing.

Week 16

Week 16 is upon us and many of you have asked if Mom is showing yet. Here is a picture of mom on the first day of week 16. Mom can feel the baby move around at times, but the baby cannot be felt by placing a hand on mom's stomach. Mom and Skyla spent the weekend buying maternity clothes. We have our next doctor's appointment on Thursday this week, so we should have some news from that. We have decided to decorate the baby's room in a Dr. Seuss theme and we have purchased our first item from eBay, a really cute light switch plate. However, we are having a hard time finding bedding or a mobile, so if anybody comes across Dr. Seuss bedding or a Dr. Seuss mobile, let us know.

Week 15

Week 15 starts the beginning of the fourth month which marks the beginning of the second trimester! Mom is very excited to move into the second trimester and hopefully mark the end of nausea.

At this point the baby has developed everything he/she needs to survive and will just need to continue to grow and mature until the 9th month. The sex organs have fully differentiated into male or female but we won't be able to see the sex of the baby until our appointment in June. We can not wait.

Mom hit a speed bump this past week when she discovered she only has one shirt left from her old wardrobe she can still fit into. Mom is also discovering she might need to slow down a bit since her memory isn't what it used to be. This week she left her cell phone on the top of the car and drove off. The cell phone is in a better place now...Mom will work harder to keep the new one secure in her purse. Thankfully the books say the forgetfulness will not last the entire pregnancy.

Dad and Skyla are excited at Mom's increasing ability to eat in public places now since the nausea and aversion to everything with an odor is beginning to decrease.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms reading this!

Week 14 & Prior

We first discovered that we were pregnant back on March 5th. At first, we wanted to keep testing to make sure it was true! We decided that we were not going to tell our friends and family just yet. However, we had to let Skyla know, so we took her out to dinner and surprised her with a bracelet that read 'Big Sister Skyla'.

Our next task was to find an OB/GYN, much to our surprise, the doctors did not want to see us until we were further along in the pregnancy. Our first appointment was on April 2nd with the intake nurse. Dad was not able to be there for this appointment, as he was out of town for work. Mom got some blood drawn, they went over family histories and discussed ways to manage morning sickness. Mom also got to take home a huge bag of samples and coupons and other baby-type goodies.

Mom has had a pretty rough first trimester...lots of nausea morning, noon and night. Mom was forced to subsist on a bland diet. The only way to battle the nausea was to eat every two hours and the food had to be tasteless and odorless. Mom's diet consisted mostly of crackers, toast and Sprite. We moved on to Jello and macaroni and cheese...lots of macaroni and cheese! Dad's job was to get Mom toast with butter and raspberry jam every morning...Skyla even took over this responsibility when Dad was out of town.

We picked our baby doctor and her name is Caryn Appel. We had our first appointment with Dr. Appel on April 22nd. Dr. Appel was very nice and told us the pregnancy was progressing very well. On this visit, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!!! It sounded like a horse galloping at 162 bpm.

Now the fun part...telling our friends and family...we had both cell phones working overtime to get the news out to everyone. We welcome you to post your thoughts and reactions about when you heard the news so that we can add your comments to the baby's book.

Saturday, 5/3 started week 14 of our pregnancy. Mom is doing well. Most of the nausea has passed, but strong smells are still an issue (sorry about the body spray, Skyla). Mom's diet has greatly expanded and she is even trying to eat spicy foods again. Mom is starting to outgrow her pre-pregnancy clothes and having to shop for maternity clothes. Our next appointment with Dr. Appel is on May 22nd and we are looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby during the June appointment.

Click on this link http://www.babiesonline.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/week14.asp if you are interested to see what occurs during the 14th week of pregnancy.

Opening Entry

As you probably already know, since you are viewing this site, we are pregnant!!!

Our plans are to use to use this blog to update everyone on what is going on with our pregnancy. We will update as often as we can, we also invite you to post your comments and suggestions along the way. We want this to be a forum for each of you to feel involved with our pregnancy even if you are not here with us in Amarillo.