Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Lily's first date :)

On March 24, Lily had her first date. I know you all are probably thinking that Lily is waaaaay too young to have a date, but you'll understand once you hear the background story.


My friend Tiffany was pregnant at the same time I was (you've heard & seen her mentioned in past blogs). I was due with Lily on February 24th, & she was due with her son Kader on February 25th. (Start noticing all the coincidences now...) After entering my 40th week of pregnancy, my doctor scheduled me to be induced during my 41st week, on March 3. After entering her 40th week of pregnancy, Tiffany's doctor scheduled her to be induced on March 3. Destiny! Our children were going to have the same birthdays! Not exactly... Lily decided to make her debut one day earlier than Kader- she was born on March 2, & Kader on March 3 (so now she's older & wiser than her future husband).


Now here's where I get a little fuzzy even though I've heard the story a few times. (Tiffany will scold me, but that's ok :) I believe that Kader is a family name, drawn from a few different sources of inspiration, BUT one of them is the name of a road that Kader's great (or is is great-great?) grandfather lived on: Kader Lilley- do you see? Destiny!!! (Now I know Lilley isn't spelled the same as Lily, but it's close enough, right? :)


Anyway, Jeff & I and Kirk & Tiffany always joke around about how Lily & Kader are going to marry each other one day, and Jeff & Kirk will be exchanging words with one another when it happens. You know, "What are your son's intentions with my daughter?" and "Do you have any idea how much the ring is that your daughter wants my son to buy her?".


So here are a few pictures from that magical day...


Lily was so excited to meet Kader that she got all dressed up.
She's thinking, "Oh, snap- how hot do I look?"


"What is taking this dude so long to get here?"


Even though Lily slept through most of the date, they were a little shy once they were introduced...


Lily did NOT want to share her shot with Kader!


A close-up of the little man!


Finally- at peace with one another.


Awwwww... It must be love!



Love, Ashlee, Jeff, & Lily







Tuesday, March 23, 2010

More Lily!

So here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. I promise that once things settle down, I'll actually post a story to go along with the pictures to let you know what's going on in our lives. Right now it's a lot of sleeping & eating on Lily's part, while Jeff & I are vividly trying to recall how we spend each day, because they fly by & we have no idea where the time goes!
(I apologize for the pictures that are not oriented the correct way. For some reason, they're coming up as a read-only file & will not allow me to correct them!)
Lily loves to have her hands near her face, just as she did in her 4D ultrasound!

Our purple girls picture

My babies sleeping together- it just made my heart melt!

Her first trip to the ortho doctor- I just love her surrounded by all the pastels!

A precasting shot of her feet

Her first casts

First time in the Baby Bjorn

Her first BBQ- can't you see the excitement on her face?

Her second pediatrician's visit (March 17)- she weighed 8lbs 13oz- up 6oz from her birth weight at 2 weeks & 1 day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
March 23- Lily is beginning to focus more & more. She was able to follow the bunny that hangs from her chair when we moved it!
Love, Ashlee, Jeff, & Lily











Friday, March 19, 2010

Lily's first few days of life!

I just wanted to share some pictures of Lily's first days.


Daddy & Lily

He loves his little girl SOOOOO much!

All of my indigestion was worth it! Look at that luscious hair! :)



She loves to stick her tongue out


NC State baby


My precious girl! This is my favorite way to hold her.


Beautiful sleeping princess


Time to come home!





Bringing Lily in for the very first time
Meeting Beanie
Meeting Munchie
Meeting Whit
Her first nap at home
Love, Ashlee, Jeff, & Lily































41 weeks, 3 days!

As most of you already know, at 41 weeks & 3 days, I had Lily on March 2, 2010! I'll try & recapture the events of the day (& day before) as they happened.
The day I went into labor (Monday, March 1) I had had a doctor's appointment that afternoon. I was still 1.5cm dilated, which was about the 3rd week in a row that I was that amount. Later that evening, I started having contractions around 9:30- they felt like the contractions that I had been having for a few weeks, so I didn't do anything at first. After I had been having them for an hour (& at a pregnant girlfriend's suggestion- thanks Tiffany! :) I began timing them, because they were just as strong as when they started. I timed them for 2 hours (now having had them for 3 hours) & they were happening every 2-3 minutes & lasting for 1-2 minutes, with a few lasting 3, 5, & 7 minutes. I felt my contractions in my back from when they first started happening (weeks beforehand)- it felt like my kidneys ached. I only knew my abdomen was contracting if I had my hand on my belly. This time they were a little stronger, but tolerable, but after having had them for 3 hours & timing them for 2 hours, I decided to wake Jeff up & tell him.

He was nervous at first, because we had learned at our labor & delivery class that you were to call the doctor when your contractions were 5 minutes apart, lasting for at least a minute each, for at least an hour; I obviously was past that. We waited for a little while to call the doctor because I was afraid that these were still just Braxton-Hicks contractions, & I didn't want to look stupid! Around 1:15am we called the doctor; the doctor I had seen that day was the same one on call- luckily she remembered us & remembered that my cervix was "soft & ripe", although only dilated at 1.5cm. She told us to go to the hospital, so I took a shower since the contractions weren't that bad still, & Jeff gathered our last minute things that weren't able to be packed in my bag.
When I got to the hospital, it was around 1:45am; when the nurse checked me, I was 3cm. She told the doctor, they decided to keep me, & I was told to walk the floor for an hour to help progress things. We walked until about 4am when I decided to try & lay down for a little while because I had been up since 8am the day before. I napped for about a 1/2 hour, & then the nurse came in & attached me to the monitors so they could get a reading for the doctor. The doctor came in around 6am & checked me, & I was 5 cm; then she broke my water. I wanted to keep walking because being up & around made my contractions easier to deal with than being in bed. Well, after my water was broken, the contractions sped up so much & got so much stronger in intensity, that I decided to forgo my intervention-free birth plan. I wasn't able to do more than one lap around the floor, & I could hardly talk to Jeff at all. My breathing techniques weren't helping because I found myself holding my breath & then feeling like I was going to pass out. I was also so nauseous that that was almost as bad as the pain. So I asked for something to take the edge off while I waited for my IV fluids to go in prior to my epidural. They gave me Nubain, which I think was great, because I could still feel the contractions, but I was more relaxed & able to get through them, & I felt a little sleepy, but didn't sleep. The anesthesiologist came in after I had had 1.5L of IVF, around 10am. He did a great job! I was able to feel the beginning of my contractions, but there was no pain, & I was still able to move my legs! I progressed after the epidural was in to 9cm by around 12, & around 1pm, I was ready to push.


I pushed for 1 1/2 hours, the whole time knowing when it was time because I could feel the contraction. Pushing actually felt better than just feeling the contraction, so I pushed with each contraction I had except for 2 or 3 times when I needed to rest. I could feel the pressure, but no pain, & I had her at 2:31pm. The pressure wasn't that bad until she was crowning, but by that time I was so ready to get her out I didn't care how bad it hurt, I kept on pushing until she was out! The doctor gave me a small episiotomy when 1/2 of her head was out, but when I pushed out the other 1/2 of her head, I tore a little anyway. So I have stitches now, but I didn't feel the episiotomy or tearing. So all in all, I was probably in labor for 16 or 17 hours; but only at the hospital for 13 hours before I gave birth.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures, & trust me, it's hard to narrow it down to just a few!

8lbs, 7oz!


Erythromycin ointment in the eyes :(


Love at first sight for Daddy




Our family :)


My little bubble blower

We are beyond thrilled that she has finally made her way into our lives! Thank you all for all of the love & support you've shown us throughout this most precious time. We look forward to continuing to share her with each & every one of you!

Love, Ashlee, Jeff, & LILY!!!