Carolina's Fall School Pics

Carolina's class picture, one of 2 girls!

She's always checking people out, just to make sure they're safe

I love this smile!

Fall photos and update

Victoria and Kaylei at Jordan Valley Park
I love her free spirit!


They will always be my babies

Doesn't this picture make you want to hug her?

Victoria is such a free spirit...I love that about her! I hope that she continues to be true to herself, even as others begin to change into what others expect. Victoria will be celebrating her 8th birthday in 11 days!

Carolina loves her big sis! Her face lights up like a Christmas tree whenever big sis is in the room. I'm so glad she adores her big sis...we all think Victoria is pretty cool:) Carolina will be 8 months old in 2 days!

I need help

I need help getting it all done! Now that I am working 4 jobs (I know, I'm crazy), I have decided to hire someone to help me clean my home. We will have a woman clean our place every other week, and I'm looking forward to feeling a bit of relief. Jeff is not as excited about this, but I know this will help our marriage.

I am also getting help organizing my space as well as with decorating our space. I feel that the 1st step is to admit I have a problem, and now that I have done that, I'm ready for whatever intervention deemed necessary, even purging some of our junk from our lives. If I had the guts, I'd pack up everything I haven't looked at in the past 6 months and take it to our local homeless shelter, Fresh Start. The problem is I feel like there may be a time when I would "need" that something I haven't looked at in the past 6 months.

On a child note: Carolina is sitting up now:) She loves life from her new perspective. She also loves her new daycare setting at MSU, as do her parents! They are so positive. Victoria will be starting at a new school on Wednesday. We decided to send her to her home school as opposed to sending her to Delaware. We want her to start making friends she will have in middle school. Wish us luck!

Carolina and Victoria, September 2008

I know, I know...I'm a bad blogger

I promise we are all alive and kickin'. We've had a busy summer, and haven't had as many opportunitites to blog. Here are some quick updates:

VICTORIA:
Victoria attended Summer Pals in June and loved her class. She studied dinosaurs and can now tell you our state dinosaur, as well as facinating facts about these beloved creatures. She has even adopted her very own dinosaur, Marisol, and helped host a dinosaur baby shower. Victoria will be in 2nd grade this fall, and is thrilled to be possibly sharing the same teacher with Kaylei.

CAROLINA:
Carolina is now approaching her 5th month, and is a very happy baby. She has been sleeping through the night (8pm-5am), and enjoys rolling from her back to her belly. She has discovered that she is delicious, and therefore "eats" her hands all day long. Bibs don't stay dry very long in our house, but she manages to make saliva look adorable. Carolina will start going to a sitter when her mom goes back to work in the fall.

JEFF:
Jeff has taken over as Southwest Sports Editor for CPI, working with two other sports reporters on three publications, covering eight schools. Check out his sports blog @: southwestsports.wordpress.com. He is getting close to attaining "Apprentice Barista" status at Kaldi's and is also carving out time to train for his second 1/2 marathon.

MELODY:
Melody taught summer school in June, and despite popular belief, she LOVED it! She taught the Developmental Speech and Language class, and had 9 students. She learned a lot about teaching, and hopes to teach the class again next summer. She has also started worked prn (as needed) at Cox South Acute Care Therapy Dept. as a Speech Pathologist. She loves the challenge presented in the acute setting and will work one weekend a month and occasional holidays throughout the year. She will continue to work for Springfield Schools full-time.

Pictures to follow!

First of many

Carolina had her first of many vaccinations today. 7 years ago, I remember Victoria receiving 2 shots at 2 months, but Carolina received 4 vaccines--3 shots and 1 oral vaccine. She has been pretty fussy today. I can usually calm her down when she is crying, but it's been a bit more difficult than most days. I took today off from work, and I'm glad I did!

It's been one week...

I have been back to work for 1 week now, and I must admit it's been easier than I expected. Other than feeling extremely sleep-deprived, I have managed to see my kids at work, and keep a smile on my face around my coworkers. Carolina is now 2 months old, and I have 13 workdays left until summer break!

Mother's day was a treat. Carolina (and Jeff) gave me my 1st gift--Jeff fed Carolina a bottle at 3 am so I could get 5 hours of sleep. Despite walking with every cry, I still managed to sleep most of those 5 hours. Victoria and Jeff gifted me with a gift certificate to Grove Spa and breakfast. Then, Jennifer and I took the girls shopping and to the park. Eric made us lunch, and we finished out the evening at Ocean Zen for an amazing dinner and Andy's for dessert.

Taking to the bottle

No, I'm not talking about Jeff or myself taking to the bottle. Carolina took her first bottle of breastmilk today. There was a lot of whining, crying, and one huge scream...and that was from me! Carolina was confused at first, but after I held her and the bottle for a while, she figured out that this bottle-feeding thing wasn't too bad after all. I, on the other hand, still felt saddened by the fact that my daughter was now taking a bottle. This is the beginning of my personal wheening from my daughter. A week from today, I will be back at work, and throwing my own little fits that I am not with my daughter 24/7. But, I think that I too will get used to it.

A sad milestone:(

You read correctly, Carolina has reached a developmental milestone...

Carolina cried her first tears. While I was changing her diaper, Carolina had a bit of an accident, therefore her diaper change took longer than expected. She started crying, and before I knew it, her tiny little eyes were welling up with tiny tears. They did not leave her tiny eye sockets, but they did pool up. I knew it was developmental, but it still made me sad that I made my baby cry tears.

More friend pics

These pictures were taken on Carolina's first official day of life. She's "hanging out" with her new friend, Asher.

First "playdate"

From left to right: Melody with 2 week old Carolina, Sarah with almost 3 month old Asher, and Kim with 3 week old Luke



I think the adults enjoyed the playdate more than the kiddos, but we will label this event their first "playdate" nonetheless!

Home Sweet Home, Pt. 2

We are home again.

The doctor released us Wednesday morning, after Carolina's bilirubin levels fell off the chart. She was all the way down to about 7.5, two points below where she was last Saturday. No bili blanket, no restricts, nothing. Just go home.

So we are finally getting settled in and figuring out what "normal" life will be like now with two beautiful daughters. Carolina is feeding well, except for a span of a couple of hours early this morning where she couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to eat or sleep. She got her first bath at home today and really seemed to enjoy the first day of the NCAA Tournament.

Victoria seems to be doing well, too. She was kind of quiet for a few days. I think it wore on her having Mommy, Daddy and baby sister in the hospital for about 5 1/2 out of the past 7 days. Luckily we have incredible family members who have taken good care of her and are trying to make her feel special.


Thanks for all the kind words, prayers and support over the past week. They have helped more than you know.

--Jeff

That Billy Rubin is nothing but trouble!

Here we are at the hospital again, on the pediatric floor. I'm on the hospital bed, blogging away. Melody's in a chair next to me enjoying American Idol. And Carolina? She's in a bili bed, trying to get rid of her jaundice.

She had to stay an extra day at the hospital because of her jaundice, but was released to go home Saturday afternoon. We took her in to see Dr. B. Monday for a check-up and her bilirubin levels had spiked pretty high. The decision was made, then, to admit her for a day or two for some extensive phototherapy to get the bilirubin down and some normal color back to her skin (she had begun to look pumpkiny).



So far so good. Her bilirubin had dropped from 18, to 15. From 15 to 11 and from 11 to 10.3. Dr. B wants to get it into the single digits before letting her go home Wednesday morning. The "acceptable" range for her at 5 days old was around 14, so she's well within that now as a 6-day old. I'm just trying to remind myself that she will be okay.

This has been hard. Carolina's heels are spotted red from all the times they've had to draw blood. Both Melody and I are a bit stir crazy from being in a hospital room for so long and it's just hard to see our Sweet Pea go through this.

We also battle feeling selfish. Here around us are all these children with real, serious illnesses. Things that may affect the rest of their lives. Our baby just has jaundice and, really, that's not so uncommon. It's possible that this could cause her some long-term problems, but it's not very likely. Who are we to think we have it so hard?

Keep us in your thoughts. We're trying to put a positive spin on all this. Carolina's health will be good and soon we'll all be at home together. Plus, she's just so adorable in her bili bed. She has these cool shades velcroed to her head right now. I think they look like stunner shades. I want t draw some horizontal lines on them so she'll look like Kanye in the "Stronger" video. Come on, tell me this:



doesn't remind you of this:



Hopefully we'll have more good news to share tomorrow.

--Jeff

Movie Star Carolina

Kid can own a scene already. She and Victoria clearly inherited the drama gene. Here's Carolina Lily visiting us in the suite Thursday morning.




We have more pictures of the newest Kessinger...we'll post those later as time allows. Carolina's on her way to try nursing for the first time.

Surprise! She's here! Meet Carolina Lily Kessinger...

She was born at 6:37 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 12. She checked in at 5 lbs, 8 ozs and - knock wood - has managed to stay out of the NICU. They are making sure she is able to maintain both her body temp and blood sugar. Her blood sugar is looking good, though she's still a bit on the cold side.

Melody did fantastic! Once things started moving, they really moved! She only had to push a couple of times. She's resting comfortably right now. She is an amazing mother.

Victoria got to meet Carolina today and is just over the moon. Big ear-to-ear grin plastered on that girl's face. She keeps saying "She's so cute!" She hasn't gotten to hold her yet, but hopefully that will change tomorrow.

Carolina's lung capacity drew rave reviews from passers-by in the hall and she has curly, wispy dark hair. I think are eyes are dark brown. Melody and Victoria say blue. I'm still not sure how our perceptions could be that far apart.

We're pumping milk for a while so they can monitor how much Carolina's eating. Once she's all stabilized we'll be able to feed. I'm gonna go catch a nap now. We pump again in about three hours.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers, love and kind words today. Delivering a baby at 35 weeks has its pitfalls, but so far we've managed to twice deliver two very healthy babies 5 weeks early.

Here''s a Slide Show of the newest citizen of the world, Ms. Carolina Lily Kessinger. Leave your love as a comment here and I'll pass it along.

Jeff

P.S. - Just so there's no confusion, it's pronounced "Care-uh-LEE-nuh", not "Care-uh-LINE-uh," like the mighty Tar Heels.

Funny but true!

I wish I had a dollar for every time I put my husband in this compromising position!
(click on the picture to enlarge it if it's hard to read)

Weight update

I don't intend to keep the weight of this "weigh-in" on my shoulders for too long. Now that I am at this weight, I've decided to take it easy when it comes to when and what I eat. Don't worry, I have entered into a nauseous phase, so I really am not stuffing my face. On the contrary, I really need to focus on eating something even if I don't feel hungry. I have a "little" bundle of joy to nurture!

Weight gain: 30 lbs @ 34 weeks of pregnancy (+4 in last 2 weeks)

Week 32 update

Short and sweet:

Weight gain: + 2 lbs in two weeks/ +26 lbs total at 32 weeks

**I know it said I gained +26 at 30 weeks, but apparently the nurse who weighed me at 30 weeks did the math wrong...hurray for me:)

Moodiness

From what I hear, moodiness is "normal" at this point in my pregnancy. But I feel out of control. For instance, today I could not regulate my mood whatsoever, and spent most of the day feeling sad and blue. I am not sure if this is normal, but I miss the days of feeling genuinely happy. It seems like I spend approximately 70% of my day in a blue mood. Is this anxiety related to the changes that are about to happen in my life? Or is it due to my changing hormones? Whatever it is, I pray it gets better because I really don't want to spend another week feeling blue.

Enough said!

10 weeks to go

We saw our doctor, heard Carolina's heartbeat, and received some good advice to keep healthy as we move through our last 10 weeks. I am sad about my weight gain, but keep telling myself that it will all come off after Carolina is born.

Current weight gain: 5 lbs in 2 weeks (+26 weeks in 30 weeks)

Week 28

We went to the doctor's office on Monday. All went well, and Carolina's heart is beating strong and steady. She even dodged the doppler throughout the heart monitoring experience. She really makes me laugh when she hides from the doppler, and she makes me laugh even more when she bats at it. I wonder if it is any indication of her personality.

Current weight gain: + 1 lb in 2 weeks (+ 21 lbs in 28 weeks of pregnancy)

Another one bites the dust...

I wish I were just singing this crowd-pleaser, but it actually happened today.

If you view my picture below, you might notice that I've been wearing glasses lately. It's a long story, but the short explanation is that it's just been easier to wear my glasses lately. The only problem with that is my vision (without correction) is 20/800, so with glasses, I can see clearly in most of my line of site, but have 20/800 vision peripherally. (Don't worry people, Jeff does most of the driving!)

This morning I was moving about my therapy room, trying to grab a box of speech cards to take them to my desk, and I tripped over a box that was sitting on the ground. Luckily, I have cat-like reflexes, and I landed on my knees and hands. I called my doctor, and she wanted me to go to labor and delivery to make sure the baby was okay. She was okay, which made me realize that God really does a great job creating perfect little protective packages for his little miracles.

My knees are so sore, but not bloody, so I consider myself blessed in that regard. I am icing them even as I type, and I plan on "taking it easy", which may change in definition as the weekend goes on.

PS--Belly pics and weight update to follow.

Story Time!

Monday night was a big one in my book. It was the night I read Carolina her first night-night story. I selected one of my favorite books, "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.

The book has always intrigued me - Max's wolf suit, the brightly detailed illustrations ("Let the wild rumpus start!"), the idea of eating someone up because you love them so (which I never got until I held baby Victoria). I also love Max's imagination, turning his room into the place where the wild things are.

Reading to Victoria when she was in utero was one of the highlights of that pregnancy. We read her children's books and Bible stories. She heard something almost every night, one reason - people tell us - she's as smart as she is. I feel I've dropped the ball with Carolina in some ways. I've known for several days that she was finally really hearing things outside her bubble, but it seems so hard to find quality reading time with her (and Melody). I've actually thought "I'm going to feel horribly guilty if Carolina isn't as gifted as Victoria because I'm not reading to her."

And this, I've found, is one of the traps of the second child. "Well, we did it this way the first time, so..." If there is anything this pregnancy has taught me it's that they're all different, and that's okay. I've been able to apply that to how Melody's feeling, but not in how I'm preparing myself for the arrival of my second daughter. Seven years ago I was a clueless kid, reading everything he could get his hands on...which is really easy to do when you're unemployed (err, job seeking). Now I've got two jobs and less time to really enjoy this pregnancy as much as I've wanted.

But really, it's going to be okay. We're just getting into the third trimester, so there really is time left to read to this baby and make her as smart as her big sis. In fact, I'm going to do something about that right now. Time to sneak into Victoria and Kaylei's room and grab a book off the shelf. I think tonight I introduce Carolina to "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

--Jeff

Belly pic @ 24 weeks!

Expectorsize? Expector-NOT

I was so excited last wedensday knowing I'd be starting my first prenatal water aerobics class. My friend told me it would be a fun and relaxing way to keep my activity level up, plus who doesn't love to swim?

Well, you can imagine my saddness when the fitness center informed me that I was the only person to sign up for the class. They did offer another class option, prenatal yoga, so I switched to that class instead.

The class was full of pregnant women, some of which are due in March, and others due as late as June/July. It was really nice to have an instant "bond" with these women, and I felt challenged completing some of the yoga moves. They don't mess around! At one point, I had to balance myself on one foot and close my eyes. Thankfully, I did not tumble.

The funniest comment made by the instructor was, "Tighten your abdominal muscles, as much as you can." Where exactly are my abdominal muscles? I forgot I had those!

I pour a sip on the concrete / for the deceased

If you know the song I'm referencing, then you'll understand why today was a monumental day.

If you don't know, the song is "Ready Or Not" by The Fugees, off "The Score". Released in 1996 it remains one of my favorite hip-hop albums. Another standout track from that album was The Fugees' cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly."

As Melody, Victoria, Kaylei and I were driving home today we heard "Killing Me Softly" on KGBX, the "easy listening" station in our hometown. Tears were shed, sips were poured.

I always knew this day would come, when songs of my high school days appeared on easy listening, classic rock or oldies stations. I wondered how it would feel. I can answer that now.

Weird.

Yeah, I know this isn't baby-related. I'm a bit busy right now, but I hope to share some thoughts soon.

--Jeff

P.S. - Here's a link to the video if you want to get really nostalgic. ONE TIME!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYl2pztQjdM

Winds of change

We experienced some wild weather last night. Springfield and the counties surrounding Greene Co. experienced several severe thunderstorms and tornados. The wild weather began around 5 pm, and ended sometime after 4 pm. I thought it would never end, but was greatful to have awaken to the sound of silence (as opposed to the sound of sirens).

The storm experience helped me to gain some perspective regarding my own experiences in regards to this pregnancy. Prior to going to bed, I felt very disappointed in my current weight gain of 5 lbs in the past two weeks. I felt as if I had done all the things that should help me maintain my weight: worked out, ate balanced meals high in protein and low in sugar/fat. So I was really disappointed when I stepped on that scale and saw that I had gained 5 lbs.

However, after spending half the night in the hallway, fearing for our safety, I realized that health and safety are more important to me than the numbers on the scale. I have decided to change my outlook in the following ways:

1. I will continue to make healthy choices in my diet. I will ask myself, "Is this choice healthy for my child?"
2. I will continue to work out lightly, adding water aerobics to my schedule.
3. I will get more sleep at night. I will strive to be in bed by 10 pm.
4. I will keep a positive attitude, and remember that I am surrounded by amazing people.

Current weight gain: + 20 lbs @ 26 weeks

*Belly pics to follow!

Work it OUT!

I have a friend who is days from having her baby. As I watch her work through the process of having contractions and dialating, I can't help but think about my last experience with childbirth.

Victoria was 5 weeks premature, and I did not know I was in labor until it was too late. Due to some "issues" with my doctor's office, I was told to not go to labor and delivery, to walk alot and to take a warm bath and "we will see you on Wednesday!". By the time I followed the advice, I was having contractions that were less than 5 minutes apart, and I was finally convinced by my friends to go to the hospital. They checked me out in triage, and discovered that I was 6 cm dialated. Wow, after all that lovely advice, Victoria was still a healthy baby with little to no complications.

I am glad this time around I have more information and have a doctor who works with well-qualified people. I feel very blessed to have these people on my side:)