Just Keep Swimming!

I went back to work last Monday, 18 June 2012.  The week leading up to this made me very uneasy for some reason.  Kensy and I had gotten into a good rhythm for those first 10 weeks, and I was feeling pretty comfortable with our daily routines.  I was looking forward to going to back to work, but what did that mean for my baby, and Ron and our household chores that I barely felt I was keeping up with as a "stay at home mom."  In other words, my days were already packed without a 9 hour workday.  

The Sunday before I went back to work Ron and I packed everything that Kensy was going to need for daycare, ironed and laid out both of our own clothes, packed bags for the gym and breakfast for ourselves.  This process took a good two hours, but we felt ready as we set our alarms for 5:30 the next morning. 

That Monday I dropped Kensy off at First Steps and headed to CFA Institute.  Lo and behold, we MADE IT THROUGH THE DAY! :)  People had told me this would happen, but it truly did feel like Christmas morning when I picked that smiley baby up from daycare!  

Every day has gotten a little bit easier, and Ron is amazing!  We are all a team and we are making this back to work thing as smooth as possible!  I am excited to say that we have incorporated ACAC into our ritual too!  Ron or I pick Kensy up and we all meet at ACAC for a workout before heading home to make dinner and prepare for another weekday!  I can already tell we are going to truly treasure our weekends together!

Speaking of!  Last weekend Kensy went swimming for the first time!  Mary so kindly let us spend the afternoon with she and her girls at the Villas pool!  Kensy loved it!  

We smathered her in baby sunscreen and blew up the float that Auntie Kate gave us, put on the shades that Liz D. gave us, and hit the waves :)  Kensy slept SOOOO well that night!  

2 Month Birthday

2 Month

1 Month

We had to take your 2 month picture a couple of days after your actual 2 month birthday because our whole family came down with a really nasty cold, and you just weren't feeling up for it between that and your two month shots.

The beginning of month two was a lot like month one.  You were working hard to hold your head up and were very strong on your tummy!

About half way through the month, though, everything changed!  You started smiling (on purpose), and cooing!  You were becoming a real person :)  

Here are some of my favorite pictures from your second month!

Kensy's 1 Month Birthday

Writing this in retrospect is kind of hard, but I NEED to capture these memories somehow (my scrapbooking just isn't taking off... somehow I am a little short on time).

1 month FLEW by.  Time does fly when you are having fun.  Month 1 with you was amazing, Kensy!  I tell your daddy, every day I love you more and more, and I truly didn't know the meaning of that until we had you!  He replies that that just means that I didn't love you enough yesterday :)  Nothing melts my heart more than when Ron will out of the blue declare how much he loves our baby girl!

In your first month of life we made a trip to Danville for your newborn photos with Michelle Dalton, made a trip to Washington DC for the day for Rich Murdoch's retirement ceremony and celebration, had many, many wonderful visitors, including one from Oma!  While Oma visited we took you to UVA and to Monticello!  (I may or may not be priming you to become a Wahoo!).

We moved you to you from your Rock'n'Play in our room to your big girl room at 3 weeks old.  We decided to wait until after Oma's visit just in case you were up at night.  Speaking of, you have been an amazing night sleeper pretty much from day 1!  The first 2 weeks, you would wake every 3 to 4 hours to eat, and by week 3 I was only getting up once a night with you!  Believe me... Ron and I KNOW we are very spoiled!

You wore your newborn clothes right up until this 1 month picture was taken!  If I had known what a peanut you would be, I would have bought some more newborn outfits for you :)  I was so excited when I could finally play dressup with you!

At your one month appointment, you were an angel!  You had to get one shot at this appointment and it broke my heart hearing that genuine "I'm in pain" cry from you.  I made Ron swear that he would come to the two month appointment when you got your "real" shots. At this appointment you measured 21 inches (and change) long and weighed 8 lbs and 4 ounces (75th and 25th percentiles respectively). The doctor said you were growing right on target and then made mention that you weren't getting your length from your mama (thank goodness!)!


I wish that I had written this earlier, because there is so much that I am forgetting, but your first month was wonderful and you were the easiest baby we could have possibly imagined!  

Baby Al's Arrival

Better late than never, I suppose :)

Ron and I hosted Mom, Dad, Kyle and Townsend for Easter weekend.  It was such a lovely time.  Mom and Dad were awesome and got the house so clean and helped put the final touches on the nursery (including the beautiful window treatments)!  

Grandpa and Ron hang Al's curtains

Mom fixed some delicious foods and Dad and I took about 5 mile walks each day trying to encourage little Al to make her appearance. 

All the while, little did I know, that labor had actually begun... ON THURSDAY!  

On Sunday, 8 April 2012, I went into the hospital because I began to suspect that my water may have broken on Thursday night.  I won't get into gorey details, but after reading some blogs I began to think that it would be worthwhile getting checked out and the Doctor on duty agreed.  

Ron and I left our house with the dinner table perfectly set for Easter Dinner and my whole family there, and went to Martha Jefferson Hospital to check things out.  When I arrived they hooked me up to  blood pressure and contraction monitors.  My blood pressure was sky high.  By the time the doctor came to check to see if my water had broken, it fully broke.  Since we suspected it had a slow leak since Thursday they decided to induce me immediately.  Waiting increases the chance of infection.  

They hooked me up to a pitocin drip which started to take effect VERY quickly.  Mom and Dad came to the hospital and kept us company for a couple of hours and then went home to catch a few z's!  They couldn't check my dilation progress due to not wanting to induce infection, so about 6 hours into the labor I asked for an epidural, since I didn't know exactly how long this labor was going to take.  My epidural was AMAZING!  I joked with my nurse, whose name was also Erin, about if the baby could possibly be born without my knowing if I were to take a nap; she assured me I would definitely feel pressure.  

6 hours later, Erin came in to catheterize me and hit the baby's head to her surprise.  It was time to push and I still couldn't feel a thing!  She woke up Dr. Owens, who was at the end of her 2 day shift, and Ron who had been catching some shut eye, and the pushing began.  About 30 minutes later at 6:47 a.m. on April 9th, Kensington Rae Schott arrived in this world.

Kensington Rae Schott - April 9, 2012 - 7lbs 1/2 oz <3

She was healthy and perfect and Ron and I couldn't have been/be more in love! We both confirmed, contrary to what we had thought beforehand, that if Kensy was ugly, there is no way we would ever be able to tell :)  She did have a face full of dark baby hair, and it was also covering her back and shoulders.  Ron asked the nurse (after we knew that all else was perfect) if this hair would eventually go away, and she said it was call lanugo, and eventually is would likely go away.  

We spent two full days at Martha Jefferson and had a wonderful experience and took our baby home on Wednesday, April 11th.