Kate, Amelia and Miles

Last weekend Emily brought Amelia and Miles up from San Diego to meet Kate. It was so much fun to have all the cousins together. I tired to take a picture of all the cousins together but since all the cousins are so little the pictures came out a little blurry. It is fun to think that Kate is two weeks in this picture, Miles is four months and Amelia is two and a half but in a few years they will all be best friends and be able to play together.

Amelia is such a great older cousin. She was fascinated by Kate's little hands and feet. Amelia liked to kiss Kate. It was so cute. Amelia was very gentle and made sure that Kate was warm and comfy.

Emily and I were amazed at the size difference between Miles and Kate. They are just a few months apart but right now they seem to different in size. Also, Kate is able to roll from side to side already where Miles doesn't want to roll. However, Miles is able to lift his head when he is on his stomach and Kate just doesn't have that strength yet.

Nap Time

Kate is a great sleeper. The older she gets the less she wakes up in the middle of the night. I can't wait until she is sleeping through the nights. She also is a great napper. She loves to lay on the couch and listen to the TV or other noises. For some reason she likes to have her hands free to move around and sometimes they end up behind her head. I also could just watch her sleep all days because she makes the cutest faces. She smiles, puckers, makes an Elvis face and so many more. It is the cutest thing. I often wonder what kind of dreams she is having because she is so animated in her sleep. We do not know all that babies can see, but I just imagine Kate having so many family members who have passed tell her jokes and stories that make her laugh. I know that she is being watched over and protected.

Meeting Some Family

Kate's Aunt's and Uncles were so excited to meet her. When we visit with the Andersen's Kate always has someone to love her and hold her.

Aunt Kari is a naturally. I think that Kari is becoming Kates favorite. Kate always eats well for Kari and sleeps well in Kari's arms.

Uncle Evan is always very careful with Kate and watches her every move. He is learning how to burp her and support her head. At first he would hold the very top of her head when we would tell him to support her head, now he knows he has to support her head at the neck.
I really like that Brian and I are so close to his parents. Both Grandma and Grandpa Andersen get to see Kate often and I know that they all love that.
Kate also likes being held by Grandpa. Kate wants to know why she has more hair than Grandpa Steve.

Pictures of Kate

Kate's First Day - Grandma bought her a nice purple outfit and a warm blanket.

Kate's Boxing Glove - The nurses had a hard time keeping Kate's IV in her hand. They wrapped the IV so she had a boxing glove. Her right arm is so strong.
Kate and Grandpa Anderson - Kate loved meeting PapaOur First Family Picture - Don't you love our yellow gowns? Everytime we went to see Kate in the NICU we had to scrub our hands and arms and where these wonderful gowns.
Free at Last - The nurses in the NICU always had Kate wrapped up so warm. She was able to stretch and feel free right before we left the hospital. The nurses had given her a bath the night before. Don't you love her hair?
Her last picture in the NICU .Kate's first car ride - She is so small. She liked her car ride home from the hospital. She didn't even make a noise. Home at Last - We finally brought Kate home and let her lay on the floor and stretch. She is still learning all the new noises at home.

Now There is Three!

I have always been amazed at the idea that a husband and wife enter a hospital together as two and leave with their newborn as a family of three. This cute story didn't quite happen this way for me, here is my story.

I struggled with high blood pressure (bp) all of my pregnancy. I was on bp medication for most of my pregnancy to try to control it. High bp is scary during pregnancy because it reduces the amount of blood and oxygen flow to the baby. This was definitely a problem that needed to be dealt with.

I had my routine checkups, plus extras, monitored my bp, took medication but nothing seemed to work. We monitored Kate closely and she was still moving and growing well. My doctor decided on Thursday September 18th that he wanted to try a new medication that had to be monitored in the hospital, since it had to been given by an IV. On Thursday, I walked into the hospital by myself to have the medicine administered. I laid in bed for about six hours while the nurse administered several medications that did not seem to work. Brian and my doctor showed up and we decided that the baby needed to come sooner than 40 weeks, since the medicines seem to not be helping my blood pressure. We decided to meet with a cardiologist the next day to see if he had any medication recommendations to buy us a few more days. Brian went home with that decision having being made that we were going to wait another couple of days before the baby would come.

About a half an hour later, an ultrasound was scheduled to make sure that the baby was still doing well, since I had so much new medication in me. During the ultrasound the technician noticed that Kate's heart rate was low and Kate wasn't moving. Also, Kate had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. I got nervous, but knew that I had good Doctors and that things would work out. I turned out my lights and tried to relax knowing that the next day we would meet the cardiologist to find out the next step in the pregnancy.

All of the sudden, the room doors open, the lights turned on and I am getting prepped for a c-section. I had enough time to call Brian and my mom and tell them the baby was coming tonight. I was rushed into the operating room where I was quickly numbed and the cesarean began. The nurse asked for Brian's cell phone number and was called at 11:33 pm, when he was running from the parking lot (he actually considered taking a shower before coming). By the time Brian got there I was cut open and the surgery had begun.

Kate Marie Andersen was born Thursday September 18 at 11:40pm. The rest of what happened was a little blurry to me. All I remember is seeing a white blob of a kid, smiling and then waiting. When she was delivered she wasn't breathing so they were flicking her feet to try to get her to breath, she did and then was taken to the NICU with Brian while I was being stitched up. I don't know what happened then but I remember going to a room where I saw my mom, Brian and Kate and had monitors connected to me. I remember going to my hospital room and trying to breastfeed Kate at two in the morning. What happened the rest of that morning, I may never know.

The pediatrician came the next morning and admitted Kate to the NICU because her blood sugars were low and she was having a hard time deep breathing. Kate ended up staying in the NICU for a whole week where she was taught how to eat/suck and was given an antibiotic to help an infection that she had. Also, because I had been given so many medications the night before, she had to have time to flush those out of her system. The nurses in the NICU took such good care of my daughter, I am eternally grateful.

While Kate was in the NICU, I had tests being ran to find out why my blood pressure was still so high. Supposedly after delivery my blood pressure problem shouldn't have existed or it should have gotten better but it got worse. After an ultrasound, MRI, CAT scan, EKG's, and ct-scans, it comes to find out that I have renal hypertension, which means my high blood pressure is caused by lower functioning kidneys. The Doctors also found out that I have Medullary Sponge Kidneys (MSK) which means that I have large calcium buildups in my kidneys. Not to worry, I will live another day, but I will be on medication the rest of my life.

Once Dr. Rivera (OB doctor), Dr. Raza (Cardiologist), and Dr Vera (Kidney dude) said I could go home, I was released. I was going stir crazy in that hospital. The nurses and staff in the postpartum section took great care of me and kept my smiling. They said prayers with me and gave me hugs when I needed them. Brian and I walked out of the hospital together on Wednesday the 24th, leaving our daughter at the NICU. The next day Kate was able to come home. I had wanted to go to the hospital with Brian to pick up our daughter and leave as three but that didn't happen. Our daughter was well and could go home but Brian needed to get his hours in at work so my mom took me to the hospital to pick up Kate. While we were picking up Kate, I almost fainted and so Kate and I were wheeled out of the hospital while my mom was our driver.

To make a long story of the three of us short. I went to the hospital by myself, Brian ran into the operating room, Brian and I walked out together without our daughter who was later picked up by myself and my mom, not quite the story I had wanted.

Kate is doing really well. She squawks and squirms and does all sorts of baby things. I have a long list of doctors appointments, but in the end, the Andersen's (Brian, Courtney and Kate), are doing well. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

So Many Opinions

October is quickly approaching and I feel very unprepared. This baby is going to depend on Brian and I for everything from food, to sleep, to her name, bath time and I am just not ready.

Brian and I knew that we wanted to name this little one Kate from the time we knew we were having a girl. It was the only name that Brian and I liked together. We didn't want Kathryn, Kaitlyn, Katie, but we wanted Kate. Now we have to come up with a middle name. Brian and I like Mae, Kate Mae, but we have been getting some harassment from my parents, especially my Father. For example,"Kate Mae do this, or Kate Mae not do that." We have tried other middle names, but we like Mae.

Then, I have struggled with finding the right crib and the bedding. I know that Kate won't care what her crib looks like or what color her bedding is, but I care. The crib has to last a long time, match with other furniture, not be too girlie or to boyish but be just right. I think that I have found a crib. I like the dark color and the reviews say that the bed is sturdy. However, my mom says, "It looks like a circus cart." Oh boy, here comes the opinions. (If you notice Brian's family have not expressed any opinion, just my outspoken family.) Now comes the problem with the bedding. I am not a baby pink fan so the pastel pinks are definitely out of the question for any bedding or any decorations in the room. There is not much out there in the world of bedding that I would consider "fun". I selected a bedding from Target that has bright colors; red, blue, yellow and lime green. I love lime green, but supposedly it is not girlie enough for some people. What is the problem here people? It's just bedding.

The next decision with lots of input is whether to breast feed or bottle feed. St. Mary's, the hospital where I will be delivering, is all about breast milk and I think has convinced me that I need that "bonding" with my child. However, Brian can't help with the night time feedings and I am not so sure how I feel about that. I think I will try breast feeding for the "bonding" and the price but if that fails, I am grateful for other options.

I think that is mostly what I am worried about in regards to Kate coming, not to mention we are still looking to buy our first home, but I know things will work out for the best and if all else fails, she can sleep at Grannie Annie's.

Just The Two of Us!

One of the most amazing things about having a baby is that Brian and I will walk into the hospital as husband and wife, a family of two, and leave as a family of three. I find it so amazing that this little child has been growing and developing by her own will, then after a few hours of pain, I will become a mother, Brian a father and this little baby will depend solely on us.

Before we become a family of three, I wanted to take some pictures of the two of us, to remember the days when life was, "Hey, Courtney, I am picking you up in two minutes, be ready to go!" and changing to, "Where are the diapers, the baby needs a change of clothes, where's the pacifier, do we have everything we need?

I also wanted to have some pictures to show my brother Jason, who is serving a mission in Argentina, that I really was pregnant while he was away and yes Jason, I am having only one child.