Kendall's first week

We took Kendall to her first doctor appt. yesterday morning. She weighs in at 7 pounds 1 ounce, so she has already passed her birth weight in a week. The doctor said she is very healthy.

Here are some pictures from our first week at home.....Enjoy

On our Boppy lounger.....

In the cradle napping....


in the Boppy bouncer

being watched over by big sister Charley

rocking with Daddy

Details/Updates on Kendall's birth

Sorry for the delay in updating....I am sure you could all tell that Josh wrote the last post.
They admitted me Monday night at 5:15 and started me on meds about 8:00 that night. The medicine did not start my labor and my blood pressure just kept creeping up. They started me on Pitocin Tuesday morning and gave me another round of the Cervadil that night to try on onset my labor....No such luck. They then told me that if I did not progress by Wednesday at lunch time then they would have to do a C Section because my blood pressure was REALLY getting high. On Wednesday morning they started back the Pitocin and gave me my epidural (that was to help bring my blood pressure down as well as feel no pain) that finally got me dilated to a 1 so that they could break my water. After that got going I dilated very quickly, Kendall was born at 3:21 Wednesday afternoon. It took a long time for my labor to get started but after if got going, it went very quickly. We came home Friday afternoon and during our first night home - all the power in Startex went out, so that was fun. Not only were we dealing with a brand new baby, we now had to worry about not freezing her to death, but the power came back on between 3 or 4 in the morning. On Saturday my Mama called my cell phone to say that our home phone said it "was having network difficulty", we enjoyed the phone not ringing so much that I did not call AT&T to report the problem until today. The only bad part about the phone not working was that we did not Internet access, but I really haven't had much time to blog until today.
My blood pressure was still high when they discharged me, but they think within a few days that it will level off. My swelling got 10 times worse in the hospital with all the fluids they gave me, and they tell me within 2 or 3 weeks that the swelling should be gone as well.
I promise to update with pictures soon. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts & prayers during Kendall's birth and all the way through my pregnancy. We sure have been blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I sure did work hard to get her here, but she is SO worth it.

SHE'S HERE

It is my pleasure to introduce to you, all the way from Startex, SC.
Weighing in 6 lbs 14ozs , 19 3/4 ins long.........












KENDALL QUINN WEST

We are off to the hospital.....

Today I went back to the doctor...Gained 2 more pounds (fluid) and my blood pressure was the highest is has been 146/88. Staying off of my feet did not help my swelling or blood pressure. I am going to report to the hospital at 5:15 tonight.They are going to start me on medicine to get my cervix ready, because I have not dilated yet and they will induce me in the morning. I will get someone to keep you all posted.
Please pray for our growing family!

Today's Dr. Visit

I went to the doctor today and my blood pressure was a little higher than Tuesday morning, I had gained almost 2 pounds of fluid, and my feet were really swollen. The doctor said that all those things were still within "normal" range so she wanted to do some blood work and an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that Kendall is doing great and is down and turned the way she should be. It also showed that she has a good bit of hair and already weighs in at 6 pounds 14 ounces! I couldn't believe she weighs that much already....She still has about 3 more weeks before she is due, just think of all the growing she could still do. To be on the safe side and cover all the bases, the doctor wants me to stay out of work tomorrow and collect my urine for 24 hours. They will check it for protein when I drop it off at the hospital Saturday morning. Needless to say that tomorrow I will be home all day "collecting" with my feet up. I am supposed to stay off of my feet this weekend and go back to the doctor on Monday for all of the results and to see if staying off my feet helped any. I will let you know what the doctor says Monday afternoon after all the results are in.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and happy thoughts that I am getting closer to meeting sweet Kendall. I promise to let you all know how it goes tomorrow afternoon.

36 Weeks and counting

We went to the doctor this morning for the start of my weekly visits.....They like me so much that they want to see me on Thursday afternoon of this week as well. My doctor took a look at my feet, ankles, and legs and thought they looked bad...I told him that I thought they looked good that he should see them in the afternoon, so they will on Thursday. I have been thinking they looked bad for weeks now, but I finally had them agree with me.

I almost died when they weighed me today because the scales were not nice to me, but my doctor said that is another reason that he wants to see me back this week, the weight I am putting on is all fluid. Now that made my day! I hate the fact that I am swelling, but at least I have an excuse for the increase on the poundage.

My blood pressure has been creeping up on me. It is still within "normal" range, but my normal is really low. The doctor seems to think that my swelling, gain of fluid, and blood pressure sneaking up is a sign that my blood pressure may be about to sky rocket - NOT GOOD. This would mean that they would need to induce labor early to avoid any problems. I will know more on Thursday and promise to let you all know what they think.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!
I went to the Cracker Barrel with Mama, Chet, and Dena for a late lunch. I did not eat with them, be we visited and had a good time. Then it was onto dinner with Josh's side of the family. We eat at his Mema's house and Josh always fries the turkey. It was very yummy as always. Then everyone came over to our house to see Kendall's room that is almost ready. If she was born today we would be fine, but there are still a few finishing touches that need to be done...I know, I know where are the pictures? They are coming soon I promise. I want to wait until all is done so that you all can see the entire process, and it was a long process thanks to me.

Sunday Shower & Update

Josh's family hosted a shower for us yesterday. Everything was very nice and we got lots of great gifts for Kendall. Josh's Aunt Sandy took pictures and I took my camera and forgot to take any (imagine that), so I don't have any to post.

This weekend I started having a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but of course I didn't know what they were until I explained what I was feeling to Carmen & Jessi. My feet, ankles, & legs up to my knees are so swollen that they almost feel bruised, kinda like they can't possibly get any bigger. I am hanging in there otherwise. The closer it gets, I am really ready. Not because I am miserable (just uncomforatble) but because I am really impatient and I can hardly wait any longer....I am ready to meet Kendall.

Dr. Appt

I went to the doctor today and all is going great! My swelling is still normal according to the doctor, but I don't recognize these feet or ankles. I am supposed to go back in 2 weeks, but that would be Thanksgiving, so I rescheduled to the Tuesday after. My regular doctor wanted to see me the first of December anyway, so this will work out perfect. From then on out I will be going every week until the big day when we get to meet Kendall. It can't come soon enough, we are very excited to meet her.

Barney Update

I talked with Barney's new family on Monday night and he is doing great! We are very excited to hear that he is adjusting well. It makes it easier to know that he has found a great new home.

It's Officical....

I have lost my ankles! I now have cankles, according to Josh...Isn't that a nice thing to say to your pregnant wife...
Over the past week my feet & ankles have gotten HUGE. The only shoes I can wear now are my Crocs. I thought I would tell all of you in case they show me on "What Not to Wear" for wearing Crocs with every outfit. I am a real fashion plate these days.


I also got to looking at how horrible my hair looked in the pictures from the baby shower last weekend and had it all chopped off. I am not loving it yet, as it is a lot shorter than I meant for it to be. I will post pictures soon when I feel a little better about it. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal to me, since about 7 years ago I lost all my hair during my mystery illness. I guess I need to look on the bright side....It could always be worse. I could be bald with cankles....

A New Home for Barney

Our cat Barney was not adjusting to the baby items in the house or the change from extra bedroom to nursery. (That room used to be his hangout)
We are very sad today at our house because Barney went to his new home today. He will be the only inside animal there, so I am sure he will be very spoiled. Please know that this was a very hard decision for us to make and we are hoping that we found him the best home possible. I am pretending that he has gone to college, since he is the oldest child we have. His new family has promised to email pictures and give us updates on how he is doing at his new home.

Baby Shower

Saturday some of my very best friends Carmen, Mollie, & Kristin hosted a Baby Shower for Kendall. Here are some pictures.

Here is me with Carmen...This is so not the greatest picture of me.

Here I am with some friends from high school. Alicia, who is expecting baby #2 (not that you can even tell) and Carly with her sweet little boy Davis. Is he not the cutest?




Here are some of the presents that Kendall got. Is she spoiled or what?
(I can't get these sized right, so sorry that they are so big. If you click on them I think you may can see a little more)

Thanks again to all who helped and came to the shower. Everything was perfect and we got really great gifts for our little girl.

Trick or Treat

Josh took Grady to Trick or Treat Friday night. Normally we all go, but that was a little too much walking for my swollen feet. I kept Bogey & Charley while they were gone. Here are some pictures of them in costumes.

This little piggy went to Trick or Treat....

Charley had to settle for a bandana...They don't make "big girl" costumes.

Here is a boney little Bogey with his skeleton shirt on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween!
I love this holiday. I will post pictures of the costumes later.....
Grady is VERY excited for everyone to see his new costume!

A Little less than 9 weeks to go!

We went to the doctor today and all looks good. He said that my swelling ankles & feet looked bad to me, but good to him. He said that I should not worry and just try to stay off of them and prop them up when I could. I have now graduated to going to the doctor every 2 weeks. That may sound like a pain to some people, but I am excited about it. This just means that we are getting really close to meeting Kendall.

Boys at a Baby Shower....

Saturday night Danny & Jane and Andrew & Staci hosted us a baby shower. We had a great time! Guys and Girls were invited, so Josh got to join in on the fun.

All the great gifts for Kendall before...

Here is a picture of us opening the gifts....They didn't really turn out so great, but I guess you can tell how we got the boys to participate in the shower.....Football on the TV

These are my favorite.....Spartan Bakery cake squares.

Are these not the cutest? They are monogrammed....Too cute & yummy

After the presents & dinner we went outside by the firepit and enjoyed a great fire and good times with our friends.

Thanks to all that helped, hosted, and came by bearing great gifts to help us get ready for Kendall....She is already very spoiled.

Relocation

Kendall has taken us residency on my sciatic nerve today.....ALL DAY. She has been there since about 8:30 this morning. I have poked and begged her to move with no luck. She has been steady kicking and moving around, but is still staying on my nerve. I guess this goes back to one of my thoughts about her being stubborn.....I still haven't figured out where she gets that trait from...

4D Ultrasound

Here are some of the pictures from our 4D ultrasound....There were 77 in all on the CD and then we got a DVD that is 32 minutes long. I just picked out a few of the pictures.

Hope you all enjoy!

28 Weeks....

We just got back from the doctor's office and everything is going great. I have now graduated to going every 3 weeks rather than 4 weeks. That just means that we are getting closer to meeting our sweet baby girl.

I did discover that Kendall may be a little hard headed....not sure where she gets that from. When the nurse was taking her heartbeat, she had to track her down. Kendall was moving away from the heartrate monitor and kicking it along the way. Her Daddy thought that was very funny, so I will keep that in mind when she starts giving him a hard time.

12 weeks to go!

Kendall's First Carolina Game

Yesterday Danny, Jane, and I went to see the Gamecocks play. Kendall got VERY excited when they played 2001 and I even think she liked the fireworks after every score. She moved the entire game, I think she was very stimulated by the whole environment. Who knows, she may be a good luck charm since we did win.

I must admit that if was a long day for me. Normally I can hang with the best of them, but being pregnant really does take its toll. My feet were very swollen, there are TONS of stairs to tackle, and then you have to walk back to the truck. I was useless after I plopped down into the truck for the ride home. I had a great time, but I am still paying for it today.
Well, I am off to bed for my Sunday nap....Grady is already waiting in the bed for me.

The Belly....

This was me at 18 weeks, the day we found out that we were having a little girl

This was at 24 weeks, the morning of my last doctor appt.

These are not the greatest pictures, but I thought I would share since some people have been asking for the belly photos.

It's Back....

I am sooooo excited that Grey's Anatomy is back. My Thursdays are now complete again.

Gameday at the Westies

Grady & Bogey are Gamecocks like their Mama

Charley is a Daddy's girl and pulls for the Florida Gators like him.

Both our teams had wins yesterday, so everyone was happy.

Kendall will be a Gamecock and a Gator until she is old enough to choose for herself.

24 Week Update

I went to the doctor today and all looks good. My glucose test, hemoglobin, and blood pressure were great. The only thing that I thought was not good was the whole weighing thing....I think that is overrated and they should not make you do that.
The doctor said I was measuring 25 weeks, so we are still on for late December.

Since my last post we have Kendall's bedding (not RED) and we are going to start painting the room pink before too much longer. The trying to find something red got the best of me and little girls all love pink, so I think we are good.

Last week I had bronchitis (thanks to my hubby) so I felt pretty bad. I took a Z Pack and Hall's cough drops. A bad part of being pregnant is that you can't take good drugs when you are sick. However, I made it through and I am feeling much better now.

We have also scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound for October 16th, so that is a big deal at my house. Josh REALLY wanted to do it, and I finally gave in. My thoughts were we already know she is a girl, do we really want to know what she looks like too.....But I must admit I am a little excited about it.

I promise I will post the ultrasound pictures and a picture of my ever going belly soon, for those of you that keep asking about them.

A New Season Is Here

I know it is not Fall yet, but my favorite season starts today......Gamecock Football season.

I usually go to several of the games with Dano & Jane, but this year we will just have to wait and see. There are a lot of steps to climb, and anyone that has ever visited Columbia knows that it is one of the hottest places on earth. Being a big pregnant woman, hot, and 1,000 stairs to climb may not mix well. You never know, I will more than likely try it anyway. Hmm.....There is a doctor that sits in the seats next to us...I am sure he might know a thing or two about labor.
Well all I have to say is GO COCKS!

Decisions, Decisions

I always have a hard time making up my mind, but with a baby on the way it is a little worse. Don't get me wrong, I know what I want when I want it....the tricky part is finding it.

We have made one firm decision, we have given our little girl a name. We are going to name her Kendall Quinn West. Josh heard Kendall and really liked it and Quinn is my grandmother's maiden name. I liked Quinn for a first name (Josh didn't), but nothing really sounds that great after it, and I know that it is a pain to go by your middle name. Also if you say it really fast, it sounds like queen.

My next decision is bedding for Kendall's room. Our walls are currently fire truck red, which we like. We like it not only because we love the color, but also because it would be a real pain to paint over....not to mention choosing another paint color will be one more choice to make. I have searched online FOREVER looking for bedding and gone to several fabric stores....I haven't really fell in love with anything yet . I am not a "theme" person, so that also makes it a little harder. If any of you get bored and have some time on your hands, please see what you can find and send me a link.

I have also already started to worry about who will take care of Kendall after I have to go back to work. If anyone has any suggestions about a great place, please let me know. Better yet if any of my stay at home friends would like to earn extra income, that would be even better.

They are many other things to decide on, but I will think about those another day....

Baby News

It's a GIRL!!!! We are very exicted. She looks very healthy. I will post pictures later, but for now just wanted to let everyone know.

Updates on the Pregnancy

Well I am now 17 weeks along. At my last appt all is going is well. I have now made it a record and haven't been sick in 11 days....Eveyone keep you fingers crossed.

Next Thursday we go for the ultrasound to see what the the sex of the baby is. We are very excited, so I promise to update.

Grady's Birthday

While I have been missing in action...My sweet Grady turned 5. Here is he wearing his birthday present. He is too sweet.

Dr. Appt. - 12 weeks

Today we went to the doctor and we got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time....158 beats per minute. The doctor said that was good and strong. All looks good on my end as well....I have gained 7 pounds this trimester. I guess that is not too bad. It feels more like 27 pounds...
I go back in 4 weeks and then at the next 4 week visit I will be 20 weeks and they will do an ultrasound. We are looking very forward to knowing the sex of the baby...
You people that don't find out amaze me...

First Photo

Here is the first photo of Baby West.....This was taken 05/30/08, so we have grow a week and a half since this (those leg & arm "buds" may be real legs & arms now).....I am just now almost feeling human.

I have not gotten sick since Wednesday night at 6:20pm...I am not bragging yet....I don't want to get too excited yet. I have made it all day today with no drugs...I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

They found no cyst and Baby West is right on target with the due date of Dec. 30th.

Dr. Appt.

I went to the Doctor today and everything is going good. He does think he feels a cyst on my right ovary, but said not to be too concerned about it. He does want me to have an ultrasound next Friday to check it out a little closer. That being said we will get our first look at our baby next week. He also gave me another prescription for the sickness, so I will wrap this up to head to CVS....I get sick around 6 at night and stay that way until I finally get to sleep.

My Boys Love the Sun...

I thought this was too cute not to share....

5 years....

Saturday was our 5 year anniversary....Time sure does go be fast.
Needless to say we did not really celebrate much. Before I was pregnant we were going to go out of town for a long weekend, but since I get a little queasy riding to Greer now, a trip was out of the question. (for those who don't know Greer is like 5 miles away)

I have a great husband, if I say so myself. He has cooked, cleaned, washed clothes, and taken care of me for the past week. I really like to do all of that myself, but when I am too sick to open my eyes, you give in.
Next year, we plan to make up for the lack of celebration this year....not to mention by then the baby will be here and a break will be needed I'm sure.

The Latest

OK, the computer is really fixed this time, so I will get back into the habit of "the blog".

The past several days have not been fun at all.....Yesterday was my birthday, and I felt pretty OK most of the day. Monday was the worst day I have had since I have been pregnant. I really hate to complain, and if you have a weak stomach you may not want to read this....I had dry heaves ALL DAY.....It was horrible, but my doctor did call in a prescription that has helped.....I keep telling my self that I should feel better in 5 weeks. From what I have heard the second trimester is great....I am being optimistic.

Updates

Our computer has been getting repaired, so I am now going to update what has been going on.....

*On Monday April 28 th my friend Carmen had her beautiful sweet baby girl, Campbell. She weighed 9 lbs 4oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
*My friend Carly also had a sweet baby boy, Davis. He was a little smaller than Campbell, he was 5 lbs. I must say that he is a really handsome boy!
*Danny & Jane graduated on May 3rd....I am so very proud of them...
*I went to the doctor on Friday....The due date from them was December 30 th , so I was only a few days off the the date I got from calculating on my own. I have felt really good until I started taking the prenatal vitamins....I have been queasy since I put it in my mouth ....I am just know feeling better, and of course it is time for another daily dose. (Any advice on what do about this, if there is any hope... PLEASE SHARE)

Playing in the Backyard....

These were taken Sunday afternoon....

Isn't my Charley a pretty girl? Even if she is a little tired...

Even Josh practiced his swing after playing ball with Charley and Bogey.

If anyone noticed Grady didn't have his picture made while playing....This is because that is a little like exercise to him. (I know everyone has noticed that he is a little chubby) He hung out on the deck with me while I took pictures.

As If December isn't busy enough.....

I know that most people think that December is one of the busiest times of the year......But at my house we are really looking forward to it.

After 8 long months of trying to get pregnant......We are!!!! The baby should be due December 28th.

So far I have only been a little more hungry and a lot more tired. For those of you that have done this before, any advice or tips would be very helpful.

Please keep us in your thoughts during this time.

We have a kitchen?

For those of you that know me well, you know I never cook. People often tell me that I have a kitchen, just because it came with the house....

Saturday night was an exception....Our kitchen was used...I asked Josh to cook spaghetti.

(Jane this is your fault because you talked about cooking this for Danny, and my taste buds were set)

So on the rare occasion that food is being prepared in the house.....Everyone gets excited and helps out

This is also a good view of not only how excited the babies are, but check out the size difference....That alone makes for a photo opt.

Before & After.....The Finished Product

Our floor is done!

All we, (well I.... the rest is my part) have to do now is touch up the white paint on the baseboards and add the wood trim.

Here is part of the process.....

The left side is the new and the right is the ugly old floor that I discovered that night at 10:30. I pretended to be OK with this for awhile. As I mentioned earlier..this was REALLY UGLY.

As all good neighbors do, Andrew and Noah helped.....

Even Grady helped with the project......

And finally we have the finished product.....

I am very thankful for all of the people that helped out on this project.....Mainly Josh. I am very proud of his hard work and the way this turned out. (He doesn't know it yet, but call me and we will discuss the going rate for flooring if anyone needs some work done)

I wonder what next bright idea I will come up with.....I will have to think about it and let you all know.

Our Project....

Just wanted to let everyone know why I have been busy for the last several days, we are doing a little home improvement.


I had the bright idea one night about 10:30 that I was sick of our carpet and that the original hardwoods must be under there somewhere. Well they were, under some really ugly linoleum that has been down since the beginning of time.


So after I saw that, then I decided that we MUST have new flooring. It has taken me several months to choose the new floor. (I was really overwhelmed at the number of choices, they should give people like me no more than 3 options)


Several weeks ago I found the floor.....Then my next dilemma was dealing with rain and finding time when Josh could have some help to get this done. We are now on the downhill stretch. I will post pictures of the entire project after this is finished (which may be tonight or tomorrow) so all can view the finished product.


For the record, if my marriage has survived this I really think we can go the distance. Anyone who can put up with my late night decisions, length of making up my mind, and my lack of patience to have this finished must be a keeper.

Grady's New "Throne"

Grady needed a new comfy spot for when we are on the computer, so The Easter Bunny got him a new bed......

This bed was really for all of the kids, but Grady really took it over. Charley just laid on the hardwood floor ( since it was cooler) and Bogey fought for a spot......Which he got AFTER Grady was asleep.

We will give this a try...

At the suggestion of my sister- in- law Jessi, I am going to attempt to blog. I am not sure how many people will actually be interested in my life, but you never know. I have really enjoyed several blogs that my friends have done, so I will give this a try.....So here it goes.

So for those of you who haven't met them, here are our children:

Barney

(The firstborn who keeps to himself)

Grady

(By the way....he loves clothes)

Charley

(She is our only little girl)

And last but not least

Bogey

(The Baby)

No really good pictures of Josh and myself yet, but I promise we will work on this over the weekend. This is all new to me, so like I said we will give this a try!