Happy Halloween

Week 3

Austin is three weeks old today... Her umbilical cord stump fell off this week and she had her first real bath. From the picture below you can tell she did not enjoy it very much. She looked very cute though wrap up in her towel after her bath. We also went to visit a lactation consultant on Friday. Austin is now weighing in at 9lbs 6ozs. That is a pound and a half increase in just 11 days! On Saturday Luke and I were able to get away for a couple hours (2 hours 15 minutes to be exact) to go to our friends Mike and Erika's engagement party. I was so nervous leaving Austin and I felt like a bad parent. I have to admit it was nice to get out of the house, but I was happy to get back to Austin. This week we have a busy week or doctor appointments. I have my first post-op appointment tomorrow and then on Wednesday we are going to see the lactation consultant again and Luke and I are getting flu shots.

Week 2

Here are some photos of Austin's second week of life. The first photo is Austin sleeping through her "tummy time." Besides being tired I think all three of us are adjusting pretty well. I am still feeding on-demand, which means I feed Austin every 1-3 hours. Luke's first day back at work was today and I think Austin knew it. She did not have a very good night last night, but has been asleep most of the day today. My Mom and Bridget came over today to keep me company while Luke was at work. It was nice. I was able to shower, eat and check my e-mail. Luke should be home any minute, Austin is asleep and I am going to take a much needed nap.

Week 1

Wow, I cannot believe that Austin is already one week old today. Luke and I are continuing to settle into our new life as parents and getting into a routine. Austin has been such a good baby, I hate to say anything and jinx myself. Today we went to the pediatrician again for a weight check and Austin's weight was up to 7lbs 14 ozs. This is about a 5 oz gain since Friday. Both Luke and I were so excited. Even though they tell you the weight loss is normal, I was stressed out about it.

Below are some pictures of Austin's sleeping on Daddy's lap. As you can see, she loves to sleep with her arm above her head and it's just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Also there is a picture that we have titled "Buddha Baby."

We are home!

We are home from the hospital and adjusting to our new life as a family of three. We had our first outing to the pediatrician on Friday. Austin has lost more than 10% of her birth weight (it is normal for babies to lose 7-10% of their birth weight in the first 2-3 days) and we started supplementing with formula on Wednesday. Austin's weight was still down on Friday, but the good news is my milk came in last night and Austin has been feeding wonderfully. It was a bit discouraging at first, but we seem to be getting the hang of it. We have another weight check at the pediatrician's on Monday, fingers crossed that Austin's weight is creeping back up.

Below are some pictures from the hospital

Introducing...Austin Sierra Kautzman

Austin Sierra Kautzman
Born: Monday October 6th, 2008 at 10:19am
8 pounds and 7 ounces
20 1/4 inches

Here is Austin's first baby photo slideshow (click the link and wait for the slideshow to load):

http://www.firstdayphotogalleries.com/slideshows/az100808cAustin/index.html

We are finally home. I will post more when we get into the groove of things, but here is a link to some photos we had taken at the hospital.

Week 8 vs. Week 38 - The final comparison

Week 38

Wow, I cannot believe that in less than 24 hours Austin will be here. Today is going to be the longest day of my life. Well, let me start from the beginning...On Wednesday I had another growth ultrasound scheduled. Austin was weighing in at 8lbs 5ozs, my amniotic fluids levels had also increased but were still in the higher normal range. On Thursday, Luke and I went to the our doctor's appointment. The doctor got the results from the ultrasound and said she wanted to discuss delivery options. She said she had in mind what she would like to do, but she wanted to hear from me what my ideal birth situation is. She went on to say, she is concerned with Austin's size and me being able to push her out. Especially with a bad hip. Both Luke and I knew what she was leaning towards and we finally said we are okay with a c-section. She said okay, you are scheduled for Monday at 9:30am, be there 2 hours early. Just like that, Austin had a birthday.

I went to work on Friday for a couple of hours to let everyone know it was my last day and clear my desk and take care of a couple last minute things. Yesterday was a nice relaxing day. Luke and I did make a trip to Costco to stock up on paper products and some frozen food. Today we have nothing on the agenda, but this evening we are going out to eat at the Melting Pot. We are celebrating our wedding anniversary (6 years) early, since next Sunday we will be pretty busy with Austin. I have to say I am so happy that we got the nursery done early and packed our hospital bags so that we could enjoy this last couple of days by relaxing and not having to run around.

The doctor said to plan on being in the hospital 2-3 days. Luke will try to call/text message as many people as possible to let them know everything is okay and what Austin's stats are. I am not going to bring my computer to the hospital and Luke plans on staying the entire time with me, so pictures of Austin will have to wait until the end of the week.

Thanks again to everyone for all your kind words, thoughts and support.

Austin's Birthday...

Well, we found out this afternoon that Austin will be gracing us with her presence on Monday, October 6th at 9:30am. Luke and I are both over the moon and cannot wait to meet our little girl.

Here are a couple of 3D/4D pictures from my scan yesterday. Austin was/is weighing in at 8lbs 5ozs. I think she looks like me in the first one and Luke in the second one.