The Coles Family

It's been awhile

2011-04-07T17:31:00.001-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I updated, but there has just been so much going on with us and the kids lately that I haven't had the time or motivation. If you want to know what I've been up to, check out the kid's new blog that I am much better about updating. www.rachaels-journey.blogspot.com

Birthday boy!

2010-12-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

Michael is 1 year old! It has been a long time without updates, and recently have thought I need to write something, but figured I would wait a full 6 months from the last update :)

Michael is 1, walking, eating all solid/real people food, is off of bottles, and is all around just a big boy now. I can't believe how much he's grown up! He loves to follow Rachael around all day and try to keep up with her, steal her toys away, and be a pest :)

Life with 2 kids is not easy, but we love them to pieces!

6 months

2010-06-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Has it been 6 months already? I can't believe Michael is half of a year old! No new tricks lately, we are working on sitting up, but he's still pretty wobbly. He is now eating TONS of solids, and therefore drinking less formula. We recently had a well-check, and he weighs 17lbs, and is 28" long. He's tall and skinny! Very different from his big sister who was always chunky :)

5 months

2010-05-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Michael is 5 months old! Time is flying by! I am realizing what a mellow baby he is lately. He sleeps 12 hours straight at night, takes three naps per day (2, 2 hour naps, and 1, 1 hour nap), and is really happy when he's awake. He's eating 3 meals every day of solid food. We are doing mainly stage 2 baby food, with some stage 3 and some homemade baby food. We practice sitting up sometimes, but he is still very unstable on his own. We love our little man!

4 months

2010-04-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late on this...but, better late than never. Michael turned 4 months on March 23rd. I can't believe how fast time has gone by!

Here are a few things that he's been up to this past month:

Rolling over both ways
Belly sleeping...he refuses to sleep on his back, now that he can roll.
Sleeping through the night: he now sleeps from 7pm-7am
Eating solid food! He's eating stage 1 of Earth's Best Organic baby food, and we're about to move up to stage 2! He LOVES his food, and eats 2 jars at every meal!
Laughs out loud
Loves watching his big sister!
Weighs 15lbs 2.6oz. Length 26.5inches

Rachael loves her little brother. She likes to give him his paci, wave at him (and then grab his arm to "wave" back), and sit on his blankets next to him. We love having him in the family, and can't wait to see how he grows!

3 months

2010-03-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Michael is over 3 months old! He is such a good baby, and we love him so much! Michael now sleeps from 7pm (with a dreamfeed at 10:30pm) to about 6am. He's very happy when he's awake, and naps really well!

Rachael is getting use to her little brother, and she'll now give him kisses, and gives him the paci when he's crying (sometimes successfully).

All in all, we're getting use to having 2 kids around here, and I am feeling much better taking care of them!

2 months

2010-01-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Michael is 2 months old! We had a very rough start, and even now, it is very difficult at times, but things are slowly and surely getting easier and better. Michael is now on a great schedule, eating every four hours during the day, and sleeping from 7pm-5am every night (with a couple nights of sleeping until 7am!). He is generally very happy when he is awake, and goes to sleep for naps and at night very easily. He has about an hour of a fussy time at night after his last nap, but otherwise he is a great baby!

Rachael loves her baby brother. She finds his pacis and tries to put them in his mouth. She's also learning her body parts (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.) and loves to come up to him and point (sometimes poke) at everything.

I'm not sure on his stats, he'll have his 2 month check up in just a few days. However, I know he weighs about 13lbs! Wow!

1 month

2010-01-15T17:59:00.001-08:00

3 weeks

2009-12-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

2 weeks

2009-12-20T16:02:00.001-08:00

The first week

2009-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Michael is now 10 days old, and we have survived the first week and a half. It has been a long, difficult 10 days with him, but it looks like it should be getting better soon.

Since we left the hospital, Michael has been back to the doctor every day (except 1 day) to check his bilirubin levels for jaundice (his poor feet have SO many needle punctures in them), and to check his weight. Rachael also had jaundice when she was born, but it didn't get quite this bad. His last check put his level at almost 20 (the high 20s is when it can do serious damage), but it looks like it may have peaked. We go back to the doctor again today to check, but we expect the levels to be down...hopefully.

Michael weighed 8lb 2oz at birth, and has gone down to 7lb 6oz. He was crying all of the time in the first week, and I thought he was just going to be a colicky baby. It turns out, my milk supply isn't fantastic, and he was crying because he was hungry! Poor guy! Nursing has been...a challenge. I had some issues with Rachael, but nothing like this. I don't know why I expected everything to be the same with this pregnancy/delivery/recovery/nursing as it was with Rachael...but because I did expect that, it was a major shock to find out that things just aren't as easy this time around. Michael has a really bad latch, causing me to blister and bleed and crack and all sorts of fun stuff. It was toe-curling pain every time he ate, and I was just miserable. I saw a lactation consultant who gave me a shield to wear when nursing, but that didn't do too much good, and he was still causing damage. Ready to give up and just feed formula, we saw the pediatrician and he recommended renting a breast pump.

I have a love/hate relationship with my pump. I love that it is pain-free and I am still able to give Michael the best nutrition possible. However, my day is pretty much spent like this:

pump for 15 minutes
pour milk into bottles to store in fridge
wash pump
feed Michael the pumped milk
wash bottle
have an hour break or so
start all over again

I am pumping every 2 hours, and I still have to supplement him with formula at night because I don't have enough for him. It's a frustrating process, but I do it hoping that in a few weeks we can try nursing again, and I won't have to pump long term. If nursing still doesn't work out, then I'll be exclusively pumping for as long as possible.

Good news: ever since pumping and feeding by bottle, his "colic" is gone. Poor boy was just hungry, and now that we've solved that problem, he is a very good baby. He sleeps ALL day and ALL night. He'll wake up to eat every 3 hours or so during the day, and wake up every 4 hours or so to eat at night (the formula helps him sleep longer at night). He has 2 or 3 twenty minute periods of awake time every day...but that's about it.

Crossing our fingers that today is the last day we have to be at the doctor's (until his 2 week check up on Monday...), and now that he's a happy boy, things are looking up. It was a pretty bleak first week at home. Adam goes back to work tomorrow for the first time in 3 weeks (he worked from home to help take care of me and Rachael the week before Michael was born), and I am a bit nervous to take care of 2 kids. I have a feeling there will be lots of Handy Manny and Imagination Movers in our house for the next little while...

1 week old (and not too happy!)

Michael Adam is here!

2009-11-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

Michael Adam Coles was born on November 23, 2009 at 4:43pm. He weighed 8lb 2oz, and was 20.75 inches long.

Monday morning at 2:30am I woke up to some pretty good contractions. They definitely hurt worse than the contractions I had in early labor with Rachael! I started timing them right away (being hopeful), and they were 7-9 minutes apart. After contracting like that for a couple of hours, we decided to head to the hospital because of my fast labor with Rachael (8 hours). I went up to Triage, while Adam waited for Karen to get to the waiting room and take Rachael home with her.

I was 3.5cm dilated and 75% effaced when checked, and they admitted me pretty quick! Adam met up with me right before getting to the room. I was having some really painful contractions, and they were about 2-3 minutes apart! When the midwife was finally able to check me, I was sure I would be at least to 5cm...but I was still a 3.5. At that point I asked for some pain meds in the IV. I was hoping that's all I would need to control the pain, since that is all I had with Rachael. However, this labor was MUCH more painful than Rachael's labor. So, 2 hours later when the midwife checked me again and I was only 4.5 cm, I decided to get the epidural. Something I really did not want, but am now so glad I got it! It took them a long time to place the epidural. Much longer than normal! So about 15-20 minutes later, and many sticks in my back from unsuccessful attempts, the epidural was finally in! It worked perfectly, I didn't feel a darn thing! Unfortunately, from bending over with my head to my chest for those 15 minutes, and tensing my shoulders (involuntarily) the whole time, I had the WORST neck pain throughout the rest of my labor! I could hardly move my head to look around!

Once the epidural was in, everything went pretty smoothly. My blood pressure dropped a little, causing baby's heart rate to drop. But they gave me some meds to bring it back up, and baby's heart rate went back up too. Time went by so slow just waiting for the baby to come. I believe I was at 7cm a couple of hours later, and not too long after that I was at 9.5! They had me do a couple of practice pushes, but wanted to wait for baby to drop a bit further down before really pushing. Next thing I knew, the midwife was back and everyone was getting ready for Michael to be born!

It was so difficult to push, since I still couldn't feel hardly anything. I could feel the need to push (though it wasn't anywhere near as strong as with Rachael's labor), but it was hard to feel myself actually pushing. Apparently, I was doing alright with the pushing, because he was out in only 11 minutes! Turns out he was sunny side up, which is why it took a bit longer for him to drop. I was amazed that I didn't feel any pain while he was coming out!

They immediately plopped him on my tummy, and he started crying almost right away! He has a very good set of lungs, and makes the cutest squeal/squeaking noise when he cries. We came home on Tuesday, but have had to go back to the hospital every day to check his bilirubin levels for jaundice. He's hovering under the admittance level every day, and if he goes above it then he'll be back in the hospital to go under the bililights. For now, we have a bili blanket at home to help with the jaundice, and it seems to be working well, despite how big of a pain in the butt it is!

We are SO happy to be home and have Michael in our family. I'm just hoping that one day sleep will return to the Coles house :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pregnancy update

2009-11-15T12:53:00.000-08:00

I have had the worst week... *warning* this will be long

Wednesday I finally called Kaiser about my stomach pain, and they were able to get me in to see a doctor that day. She pretty much brushed it aside and said that pregnancy isn't comfortable (very sympathetic). The good news is that she did an ultrasound and found that baby had turned head down, yay!

The pain got worse throughout the day, and we ended up leaving for Labor and Delivery around 2am. I didn't think I was in labor, but I was just in SO much pain, I didn't know what else it could be! I was also starting to feel pain in my shoulders, but didn't know what it was. After dropping Rachael off with my parents, we got to the hospital around 3am and stayed until 9am. They wouldn't induce me or even give me pain meds...so I stayed up all night just to be bored and get a few rough internal exams. Not dilated at all.

We decided to just stay at my parent's place for the next couple of days so that Karen could help me take care of Rachael on Friday while Adam had to go back to work. I thought that I might go into labor over the weekend, since I had some inconsistent contractions that were pretty strong. They, of course, always fizzled out and didn't do anything to help labor get started. All day Thursday I had a lot of pain in my shoulders, chest, and back. It hurt all the time, but intensified whenever I took a deep breath. I was concerned, but it went away on Friday,so I figured I just needed a good night's rest. Towards the end of the day on Friday it started coming back, and it came back hard. I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain, and it got worse throughout the day Saturday. I called Kaiser, and they wanted me to come straight to the ER in case I had a blood clot in my lungs.

I had a student nurse poke and bruise me a few times trying to place an IV, had blood taken, had to be poked elsewhere for a different blood test to check oxygen levels, had an EKG, CAT scan, ultrasound (to check my kidneys, liver, etc.), and at the end of it all, everything came back normal and they had no real answer as to why I was in pain. The doctor said it is probably just a muscle pain, but he doesn't know why I have it. At least he prescribed vicidin for the pain! The pain meds are working, and I have felt pretty good since taking some last night. Though I don't want to take more than necessary, since it can get to the baby.

It doesn't look like baby Michael is coming anytime soon. I was checked again on Saturday, and still am not dilated at all. I wonder if he'll come before Thanksgiving...

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Adam and Rachael and I went to Vacaville to visit my sister and brother-in-law, and stopped at Larry's Produce to get some apples (and can some amazing applesauce), and to pick a couple of pumpkins. We failed to do this last year for Rachael's first Halloween, so I was determined to go this year. Since Larry's is really just a big produce stand, I was amazed at the selection of pumpkins and how 'pumpkin patchy' it seemed. This may have to become a tradition of canning applesauce and getting pumpkins (though next year, I'd love to throw in some spiced cider to the tradition).

Thanks for the great day, Stina and Trevor! Now it's your turn to visit us!

Goals, cloth diapers, pregnancy

2009-10-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

I recently made a list of goals as part of the 101 things in 1001 days challenge. One of those goals is to update this blog every 2 weeks, so I will do my best to keep up with that goal. I have created a blog devoted soley to my goal challenge. You can track my progess here.

I completely finished Rachael's room a couple of days ago, and since then, Rachael has moved to her new room and has successfully transitioned to a toddler bed! She has slept in her bed for 2 nights and 2 naps so far, and there has been no crying or getting out of bed at all.
Today's nap she took a bit longer to fall asleep, but she stayed in bed the whole time.

Getting Rachael out of bed the first morning

She loves the flowers!

I am about 34 weeks pregnant, and can't wait for this baby to come! Less than a month until I start walking and trying all natural induction methods to get this baby out! Thank goodness!

I have decided to cloth diaper Michael, and now that I figured out why Rachael had such bad rash issues with the diapers last time, I have decided to cloth diaper her as well! I found a really cheap option of diapering, and will make up the cost of the cloth diapers in about 3 months of not buying disposables. I'm not exactly looking forward to all of the laundry again, but I just can't spend $100+ per month to diaper 2 kids!

Life for us is going well. Adam is a big help around the house, especially on those days that I just can't get off of the couch. My back pain is getting worse, and my stomach feels like it weighs 50lbs (even though I've only gained 12lbs)! Here's to hoping this baby comes closer to 38 weeks instead of 40+ weeks!

Quickie post

2009-09-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

Some things Rachael does lately that I just love:

-Waves bye-bye to the house when we leave.
-Signs 'all done' to just about everything.
-Goes up/down stairs when I tell her to (so I don't have to carry her and hurt my back).
-Hands me the remote when she wants to watch a show.
-Gets excited and throws her hands in the air when Adam walks in the door after work.
-Throws her head onto her pillow when we put her in her crib at night.
-Recognizes family members and smiles (instead of cries).
-Lays down on the floor when I tell her she needs a diaper change.
-Tries on my flip flops and walks around the house in them.
-Lifts up my shirt/rubs my belly when I ask her where little brother is.

What I've been up to lately:
-Drinking massive amounts of Simply Lemonaide with Rasberry
-Painting a mural in Rachael's new room
-Watching the new fall lineup TV shows
-Enjoying the quiet of Sasha not barking due to a no bark collar
-Cross stitching
-Constantly disinfecting counters/bathrooms to avoid germs
-Watching The Dr. Oz Show (making me paranoid about getting sick/germs and bacteria)
-Going broke over my Propel water habit
-Reading The Work and the Glory/being disgusted over the treatment of the early Saints

Update

2009-08-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

Has it really been 2 months since I last updated? Wow. Time has flown by. I've been meaning to update the blog since coming home from Utah, but we have stayed super busy and I just haven't had a chance. I've talked to a few of you since our Utah trip, but not many, so here's the info on what happened out there:

We drove about 12 hours on Sunday morning (left the house at 3:30am!), and made it to Utah around 5pm. We were staying with Kim, and it was so good to see the Youngberg family after about a year since last seeing them. That night we went to mom and dad's and saw most of the family. It was so good to finally catch up with everybody and get to relax after the long trip. I spent the last little bit over there talking to dad for awhile about the church and a lot of things, and that started my interest in finding out more info on the church, and history of the church from better sources than I had been.

The next day I hung out with Kim for a bit, and we ended up talking in her backyard for a long time (I remember how hot it was out there!) about a lot of different things; what I was feeling about the church, my history in the church and our semi-activity for the past couple of years, and a lot of her experiences in the past few years. By the end of that conversation, I knew that I wanted to come back. While I didn't have a firm testimony of the church, I had the start of one, and a desire for more. Since that afternoon, everything has been different. We have been semi-active at best for the past 2 years, and I know that played a huge role in my disbelief for those few months. As I strive to read my scriptures, pray, and keep the spirit with me throughout the day, Heavenly Father blesses me beyond what I ever imagined. I am the happiest that I can ever remember, I feel like a completely different person. So, we are back in the church, moreso than we ever were before; and even though it's only been a couple of months since coming back, we can already see a huge difference in each other. Life is very good.

As for the rest of the trip, we spent a lot of time with family. Played games, went to the cabin, made skirts and watches (too bad my watch broke!), spent a day at the lake, shopped with the girls, visited the Salt Lake Temple, went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, had bbq's, and just hung out. It was a very laid back trip.

We only planned to stay for 1 week, but while we were there, Adam's grandma passed away, and we ended up staying for 2 weeks. It is sad that she is no longer with us, but I am so happy to know she is reunited with her husband and her family. I am so grateful for the knowledge of eternal families.

With our extra week, we had many more game/movie nights, and really just hung out with a bunch of different people every day. We had such a good time seeing everyone and can't wait to go back in April for General Conference!

Now for some pictures...

I almost forgot to add, the Coles are now dog owners! Kim had bred her dogs a couple of months before we came out to Utah, and once we saw them and spent 2 weeks with them, there was no way we could leave without one! Sasha is a Yorkshire Terrior, and is now almost 15 weeks old!

Walking!

2009-06-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

Rachael is walking! She is still very wobbly (as you can see), but she is learning fast!

...and a cute video of her laughing.

In case you're wondering, that was a sock in her mouth. She loves to suck on her socks...but now that her mouth is bigger, she's been a bit too successful at putting that whole thing in her mouth, so her socks have now been taken away and replaced by a blanket :)

Brentwood Farms

2009-05-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Adam and I went to Brentwood to pick cherries and peaches at a U-Pick farm. We had TONS of fun there, and love our fresh cherries! Rachael was a happy girl so long as we kept giving her cherries to eat:)

Picking cherries

The Lou and I :)

Picking peaches

The REAL birthday post, with more pics!

2009-05-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely lazy in not updating with all of Rachael's birthday pictures. I can't believe it's already been over 3 weeks since her birthday! That day we had a TON of people over, thanks to everyone who came! *Note to self, finish thank you cards!

Rachael was extremely fussy all day long because there were so many people in the house. The only time I could get her to smile, was when she ate her cupcake! She LOVED it (thanks for making the cake Stina!) We had a lot of fun with all of our family and friends, and can't believe our baby girl is 1!!

Uncle Trevor let Rachael play with his sunglasses to keep her happy

She loved her cupcake!

Rachael's new present from mommy and daddy!

Happy 1st birthday Rachael!

2009-05-02T21:40:00.001-07:00

more pictures to come!

Coming this Thanksgiving...

2009-04-13T17:53:00.001-07:00

Day at the park

2009-04-11T13:40:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we took Rachael to the park just down the street from us. She loved the swings, and is finally getting used to grass! (she use to cry whenever I sat her in grass) Here are some pictures and videos from the day:

Rachael made a new friend at the park!

Walking!

2009-04-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

...with a walker.

Finally, an update!

2009-04-06T20:43:00.001-07:00

I've been putting off updating the blog...and the longer I go, the harder it is to update! We're all recovering from a not too fun week and a half of Adam having the shingles. He could have given Rachael the chickenpox, so he had to stay away from her for a good week,and we were all miserable over that! He's feeling much better now, and is heading back to work tomorrow.

Rachael is now 11 months old and is growing so much every day! She is now cruising all over the place, and is taking a few steps at a time with her walker! I can't believe how big she is getting, and she is just constantly learning every day!

9-10 months!

2009-02-27T14:34:00.001-08:00

Rachael had her 9 month appointment a few days ago (even though she's almost 10 months), and she's growing really well!

She weighed: 21lb 1.5oz (79%)
Length: 29.25in (89%)

Our pedi said to put her on more table food and start to get off baby food, which I am SO happy about because it costs us about $80/month for all of her food (she eats a TON!).

In other news, she is now pulling herself up to standing!! She just started doing it yesterday (maybe the day before?) and now tries to pull herself up on everything! I can't believe how fast she is growing. What happened to my little baby??

She likes to crawl over to the kitchen where her high chair is. Notice the piece of dried fruit stuck to her chin :)

This is her new favorite spot to play, and those coasters are her new favorite toy to play with!

I found her like this a few days ago. She was laying on her belly on the bars on the chair, and reached under to grab her foot! Silly girl!

Kneeling is her new favorite thing. This is her kneeling, peering over the coffee table, biting the edge.

This is what she learned to pull herself up on.

I use to have this basket where I kept all of the diapers and wipes and everything in, but she would ALWAYS tip it over and play with everything inside....here is the evidence!

TA DAA!!! I can stand!

She's crawling!

2009-02-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Santa Cruz

2009-01-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Adam and Rachael and I went to Santa Cruz this weekend with some friends. It was so much fun to get out of the house and enjoy the warm weather at the beach. It was Rachael's first trip to the beach, and she loved it! She kept scooting off the blanket and into the sand. Luckily, she didn't try to eat any of it...but she was definitely covered in it! It was great to get out with friends and we had a blast! Thanks for inviting us out Danny and Lindi!

Christmas

2009-01-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. This year was exeptionally great because it was Rachael's first Christmas. Christmas eve we each opened one of our presents, and went to our friend's place just down the street for a Christmas party. Rachael was an angel, and went to sleep quickly and quietly at their house. We then enjoyed good food, company, and games. They gave Rachael an adorable sweater I had been eye-ing at Old Navy, and bought us Opoona for the Wii, which I am completely obsessed with and cannot stop playing!

Christmas morning we spent at home and opened presents. Adam and I had bought the Wii a few months earlier as our Christmas present (along with Mariokart and Wii Fit), and Rachael got a bunch of new toys. We spent the afternoon at mom and dad's, opened up presents and had dinner. They gave us far too many presents, that we greatly appreciated, and spoiled Rachael a bit too :)

We had a great Christmas with family, and can't wait for next year!

Happy

2008-12-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary...I can't believe it's already been 2 years! Adam took the day off work and we had a lot of fun! Adam made me a yummy breakfast in the morning. We had decided to buy t-shirts for our anniversary presents, since the 2 year traditional gift is cotton. So after Rachael's morning nap, we headed to the mall and found our shirts at Old Navy. Of course, Adam decided to break the rules and got me a Sonic game pack for the Wii! (Technically, it's a Gamcube game, but can be played on the Wii) I LOVE it! I haven't played Sonic since I was a kid with the Sega Genesis!

After we got home from the mall, we relaxed for a bit, played some Sonic, Rachael napped, and we then headed out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was delicious! We have always had problems with them cooking our steak as we order it (I order rare, they give me medium), but last night, it was perfect.

Driving home, we stopped to look at Christmas lights in our area. Then it was time for the bug's bath, bottle, and to go to sleep for the night.

It was a great day and I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

6 months...or so.

2008-11-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

Rachael is turning 7 months old in 2 days...but she just went for her 6 month check up about a week ago. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 18lbs 10.1oz (84%)
Length: 27.75in (94%)

She has practically tripled her birth weight, and is over 2 feet tall! She's as healthy as a horse (assuming horses are ridiculously healthy), and is growing and developing right on target. No crawling yet, but she'll get there one of these days.

As of Thanksgiving day, Rachael now has her first tooth!

Our little reindeer

Update

2008-11-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

Nothing really exciting to post. Rachael is now 6 months old and is growing like a weed! My little girl is no longer the tiny little baby I brought home from the hospital. She is now rolling constantly. I can't get her to stop! I put her down in the living room with me, and I look up and she is in the kitchen on the tile! We're working on crawling and sitting right now. She's a LOT better at sitting, but still needs some help because she doesn't have great balance. She has a ways to go before she will crawl, but she is learning and practicing. I am so proud of how well she is doing! I'm pretty sure there is a tooth waiting to come through, but no evidence of that yet. She has just been much more drooly, and is not sleeping quite as well. I hear her wake up around 2am ish most nights now, though she does go right back to sleep after fussing for a minute. Naps are harder too. All in all, she is still a great baby, and Adam and I are so lucky to have her!

Now, the real reason for a new post: pictures!

Before church a couple of Sundays ago.

She finally actually plays in this thing and is able to sit up straight in it!

I have so many pictures of myself as a kid with this same exact smile.

Ready for the rain!

Visiting the Streets of Brentwood

Prop 8

2008-10-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to prop 8 explained in plain English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI-GjWY-WlA

Projects

2008-10-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

I've been spending lots of time with Karen lately, learning how to sew. It has been so much fun to learn from her! Here's a few pictures of my recent accomplishments:

Apron

Fitted cloth diaper, closed.

Diaper, open, with soaker laid in.

Halloween is almost here!

2008-10-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

My big girl

2008-10-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Rachael is growing up SO fast! I can't believe she is 5 months old already. Rachael is now eating solids consistently, can roll both ways, and.......can stand!!! My little girl is such an over-achiever :)

So much spit

2008-09-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Crankypants

2008-09-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across these awhile ago, and have decided they are pretty much the cutest thing ever. I may just have to get Rachael Crankypants longies for Christmas...

Look What I Made...

2008-09-19T14:20:00.001-07:00

...BABY LEGS!

Laughing

2008-09-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Rachael is a full-fledged laugher! Adam and I had to find creative ways to make her laugh every day, because what makes her laugh one day, won't work the next! Luckily, Adam has finally found a way to make her laugh every time!

4 month appointment

2008-09-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Rachael had her 4 month well-check last Tuesday, and she is growing so well!

Here are her stats:
Birth-
Weight: 6lbs 8 oz
Height: 19 1/4 in.

4 months-
Weight: 16lbs 14.7 oz
Height: 26.5 in.

Our pediatrician told us she is the size of an average 7 month old! Wow! She is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing, but I recently bought her size 12 month jeans that are a little snug (it's the cloth diapers that give her a little extra padding in the bootie).

She is still refusing to roll from tummy to back, hasn't done it in a long time. However, she is rolling from back to tummy now! It is worrying Adam and I to no end when she goes to sleep at night. I want to keep with AAP's recommendation on "back-to-sleep", but Rachael won't have that! I am finding not-so clever ways to keep her on her back, but I know it's only a matter of time before she's a full-fledged tummy sleeper. Luckily, the video-monitor we just bought is on its way! At least then we can check up on her without waking her up.

Other than that, Rachael is doing great! She is eating solids twice per day, and thankfully it hasn't messed up her sleeping habits like last time. She is still sleeping 12 hours every night in her crib, and takes 2, 2 hour naps every day, plus a 45 minute cat-nap at the end of the day.

And finally, what would a new post be without pictures...

Under Construction

2008-09-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

This blog's under construction for now until I learn how to add my new layout and header.

**All credit of my blog looking so awsome goes to Raven and Lori, who have helped my HTML illiterate self with this blog.**

Photoshop

2008-09-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Update: I love Photoshop. I'm still learning how to use it, but have some of the basics down.

Here's my newest creation:

Professional Wiggle Pictures

2008-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Erin, visited me the other day and took some adorable pictures of the Wiggles!

Enjoy:

Nothing new

2008-08-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it's been so long without an update, not much new here lately. Rachael will be 4 months old in 2 days! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She is definitely out of the newborn stage and is an adorable little girl! It's amazing how much you can love someone you've only known for a few months (it was amazing how much I loved her after only a few seconds!).

Rachael is doing really well on her new 4 hour schedule. She eats a whopping 9 oz. per feeding! She goes down for her naps (in her crib) with minimal fuss, and sleeps for almost a full 2 hours each nap! We took her off of solids a while ago, since it started messing with her sleeping habits. We'll probably start them again at closer to 5 or 6 months. It's not as if she needs the solids, so I'd like to wait as long as possible and just keep her on formula alone.

My sister and brother-in-law stayed the night last week to see the baby and take a break from the remodel (and stress it brings!) of their home. It was so good to see them, and for them to see Rachael. We're only about an hour and a half away from them, but I miss seeing them!

My best friend, Erin, visited me on Friday and hung out and took a bunch of cute pictures of the Wiggles! I'll post them as soon as I get them from her.

Here are some new Wiggle pictures:

New toy

2008-08-15T21:55:00.001-07:00

Rachael has a new toy!

Hands

2008-08-15T21:51:00.001-07:00

Rachael has discovered her hands! Now...she can't seem to keep them out of her mouth!

Daddy's little helper

2008-08-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Adam worked from home last Tuesday, and Rachael wanted to help!

The Corbridge Wedding

2008-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

We were at the temple on August 9 for Erin and Cody's wedding. It was a long day of driving to Oakland/Concord, but I am so glad we were able to make it! Adam stayed out with Rachael so that I could attend the sealing.

After hanging out on top of the temple with Wiggles, Erin and Cody finally came out of the temple!

It was so good to catch up with old friends at the reception. Adam and I had a lot of fun!

Cloth diapers

2008-08-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

My baby now wears cloth! Disposables are so expensive (even shopping at Costco), and so bad for the environment, so we decided to go green and get on the cloth diapering band-wagon. They are way cute, and so easy to wash!

The days of folding, pinning, and ugly plastic covers are over! Meet the cloth diapers of the 21st century; meet BumGenius:

Bear

2008-08-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Rachael loves bear. She is becoming a great source of comfort and lots of fun to play with...and eat!

Peas

2008-08-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Her last new veggie to try was peas. After this, she will go back and finish the rest of her veggies before we try fruit.

Carrots

2008-08-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

Rachael has now had her second food (and by far her favorite), carrots!

Sweet Potatoes

2008-08-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

Rachael's food for the next 3 days will be...sweet potatoes!

Milestone

2008-08-04T09:39:00.001-07:00

Rachael is now eating solids! We have tried a few times in the past few weeks, but she just wasn't ready yet. Then, on her 3 month birthday, we tried it again, and she LOVED it! We took pictures of the first time trying, but since it was unsuccessful, I will just post pictures of the first successful attempt at feeding. Enjoy!

What's this??

This tastes different...

Despite the mess on her face, she really did eat practically everything I gave her!

New trick

2008-07-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Rachael has a new trick:

and again...

Videos

2008-07-03T11:07:00.001-07:00

Here's a couple of cute videos we recently took...the first one is her smiling. In the second, she is TOTALLY asleep, just not peacefully asleep.

2 months!

2008-07-02T21:30:00.001-07:00

Rachael is 2 months old today! We had her 2 month check up, and she is growing like a weed! Here are her stats:

Birth:
weight-6lbs 8 oz
height-19.25 in.
head circ.-13.5 in.

2 months:
weight-12lbs 11oz
height-23.75 in.
head circ.-15 in.

The doctor was very impressed with how well she is growing and how active and strong she is! She got her DTaP vaccine today, and we'll go back in a month to get the HIB and PCV vaccines. We're being selective with what vaccines we're giving her, and are doing our own delayed schedule with what we are giving her. We're waiting a month to give her the HIB and PCV because the vaccines have aluminum in them, and we don't want to overload her system with it.

I am so proud of my little girl and how well she is growing!

Here are a couple of new pics:

Sleep again

2008-06-28T13:40:00.001-07:00

So, the whole cry-it-out method didn't work much beyond that last post. We called our pediatrician to see what he had to say about getting her to sleep, and he said to let her cry for up to 3 hours. So we tried letting her cry again, and she cried the WHOLE time! It was so sad...after that we decided we're never doing that again. It didn't work, and it just made everyone upset. Ever since then, she has been co-sleeping with us in bed.

Well, last night I decided to swaddle her (for the first time in over a month!) and try to put her in her crib for the night. I put her down at 8:40pm swaddled, with a pacifier, and with music on. She was just fine so long as the paci was in her mouth. So, I stayed in her room quietly and put the paci back in her mouth whenever she would spit it out. I did this for about 10 minutes, until she let the paci fall out of her mouth and just fell asleep. She slept from 8:50-5am!! 8 whole hours!! She went 9 hours in between feedings! After she ate, I swaddled her back again, gave her the paci, and put her back in her crib...she fell asleep right away! She only slept until 6am when I woke her up (our day starts at promptly 6am!) Since then, she has been going down for naps perfectly! She has been SO much better today. It was so hard with her being so fussy, it is so nice to have our sweet little girl back!

Trip to San Francisco

2008-06-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

Adam's parents and little brother came to California to see us and meet Rachael. We had lots of fun hanging out in San Francisco and Sausalito! Here are some pics from the trip:

Sleep schedule: Night 2

2008-06-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

First, I'll talk about how Rachael was during the day yesterday. I tried to put her down for naps in her crib, and that did not go over well with her. I let her cry for 30 minutes (went in to check on her after 15 minutes), but she never stopped crying, so I decided, for now, we'll just work on nighttime sleeping and her feeding schedule. I'll work on getting her in her crib for naps later. Now, on to the night:

If you remember, the first night she cried (and screamed as hard as she possibly could) for 15 minutes before going to sleep. Last night she cried for............7 minutes!!!! She was asleep by 8:55pm! That is amazing for us, since before starting this with her, she would not let us put her in her crib (even fully asleep) until after midnight! Adam is so much happier now that he is getting sleep. He hated hearing her cry the first night, but he got in the shower a minute or 2 after she started crying last night, and she was silent when he got out of the shower. He was amazed! I NEVER wanted to use the cry-it-out method, but it really does work and gets them to sleep on their own so quickly!

On to the rest of the night: She ate her last bottle before bed at 8pm, fell asleep at 8:55, and didn't wake up until 2am! That's 6 hours between feedings, and 5 total hours of sleep for her! I fed her at 2am, put her back down at 2:30, and she then slept another 3 hours, waking up at 5:40. She was fussing/crying when she woke up, but she's not suppose to be up and out of her crib until 5:55 (technically 6, but I like to get her up a few minutes before that to get her dressed and prepare her bottle, and have her eating by 6). So, I let her cry for those 15 minutes before getting her and feeding her. Now, she is happy as can be! Her temperament has totally changed! I feel like I have my sweet little girl back! Her temperament completely changed once she was 2 weeks old, from sweet little girl, to fussy girl...now she's back to sweet again!!

Happy girl!

2008-06-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is the girl I know and love! Here's what happens when she gets good sleep!

Sleep Schedule

2008-06-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, after 2 nights of Adam and I getting 3 hours of sleep...and about 2 weeks previous to that where she wouldn't go down in her crib until midnight or 1am, Adam and I decided to let Rachael cry-it-out starting last night. We're also putting her on a schedule. I'm not doing one specific method, but I'm taking little bits from Babywise and a couple of other books that I can't remember the names of right now!

We decided we would let her cry for 15 minutes before going into her room. So, at 8pm I started our brand new bedtime routine: bath with Johnson's nighttime bath stuff, bottle (and medicine for her thrush), and bedtime story: Goodnight Moon. Then we kissed her, said goodnight, and put her in her crib at 9:30pm. She started out somewhat ok in there by herself, but after a minute or two of us leaving, she started crying. She was crying pretty good for about 8-10 minutes, but the last 5-7 minutes or so were just screaming at the top of her lungs. We felt so bad and it was so hard to hear...but since we were only 5 minutes away from our goal, we let her cry (well, I let her cry...Adam wanted to get her). We had a timer going, and Adam was religiously watching it so we could run in and get her the second the timer went off. About 30 seconds before the timer went off, her screaming turned to crying, crying turned to fussing, and as the timer went off, she was quiet making only a few hiccuping sounds (probably due to her crying for so long).

So, she fell asleep at 9:45pm and we didn't hear a peep out of her (had the baby monitor on all night) until 2:30am!! 6 whole hours since her last feeding, and almost 5 hours after falling asleep!! She was only fussing when she woke, so I waited a few minutes to see if she would go back to sleep. At 2:45 I took her out of her crib (knowing she was hungry) and gave her a bottle. At 3:15am, when she was done, I put her back in her crib (clearly still awake: had eyes open), and she didn't make one sound! She just went straight to sleep on her own!!

She slept from 3:15-5:40am. Woke up fussing a bit, so again, I waited to get her because, per her schedule, I wanted to wait until 6 to feed her (5:55 to wake her so she'd be eating by 6). She was just lightly crying at 5:55 when I got her from her crib. I changed her diaper, got her dressed for the day, and fed her. She fell asleep during her feeding and I did all I could to wake her up, but she would not budge! I gave her a bath and she had her eyes closed the WHOLE time. She was suppose to go down for a nap at 7:30, but that was just not going to happen since she was out already, so I put her down at 7. She only got 7.5 hours of sleep last night (in 2 intervals), so a longer nap in the morning is just fine with me.

Hearing her cry was terrible...but it was SO worth it. I am amazed at how well it went! Let's hope she goes down ok for her naps today (she gets a nap every 3 hours), and maybe won't cry quite as long tonight...

One month old!

2008-06-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Rachael is one month old as of yesterday, and she is becoming such a big girl! She is becoming more aware of her surroundings, and is so cute to watch. She has a swing with a mirror that can detach, and she just loves looking at it!

3 weeks old!

2008-05-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

Rachael had her 2 week check up last Friday, and she has grown so much! Here are her stats:

Birth: 6 lbs 8 oz, 19 1/4 inches long

2 weeks: 7 lbs 4.3 oz!!, 20.5 inches long

I can see it in her face, and I can feel it when I hold her...she is finally getting chunky :)

Rachael is 3 weeks old today, and I can't believe how fast time has flown by! The first 2 weeks were definitely a "honeymoon" period, and she is showing her true colors now! She's been fussy all this past week, and I think it's because she's going through a growth spurt. We tried putting her on a feeding schedule, but the growth spurt is making her eat so much more than before.

Despite all the fussiness, we love her so much! She is the most precious little girl, and every morning I am so excited to wake up and start my day with her.

Here are some new pictures:

First Bath

2008-05-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

Rachael is 1 week old today, and we decided to give her her first bath! She was crying the whole time because she hates being naked and cold. But as soon as she had a towel on, she was all smiles :)

Pictures of Rachael

2008-05-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

For more pictures, view my 2 Rachael albums on my Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39645&l=655b7&id=673156423
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39462&l=c1851&id=673156423

Birth Story

2008-05-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 2nd I woke up to contractions around 6am. I really felt this would be it...but didn't want to get my hopes up too high, as I had woken up to contractions before, but had it turn into nothing. At 7am, my husband woke up to work from home for the day because of a midwife appointment I had in the afternoon. The contractions were about 6 minutes apart and getting stronger. They were still 100% manageable, but they were stronger than any contractions I had previously felt. I decided to shower and get ready just in case, and by the time I was all ready, contractions were about 3 minutes apart. We headed to the hospital, got there around 10am and when checked in triage, was almost 4cm, 80% effaced, babe at -2 station. I was admitted, and about a half hour later when the midwife came in to check me for the first time, I was 4-5cm. I labored for awhile on my birth ball and in the shower. The contractions were getting more intense, and I had to moan through them. I started to feel some pressure in my bottom so I had her check me again. I was almost 7cm and 100% effaced! Not long after (I had no sense of time, so couldn't tell you) I was shaking from the pain, and couldn't handle it anymore! I wanted drugs! (I really didn't want drugs, but I figured I had about 3 hours to go, and knew I couldn't handle that!) So they gave me something (no idea what) in an IV that just barely took the edge off. My contractions went from a 10 on the pain scale, to a 9. It was just enough to get me through it. About 20 minutes later I was pushing with the contractions...there was nothing I could do about it, I couldn't stop myself! The midwife checked me and I only had a tiny lip of cervix. My water broke sometime around then...either a few minutes before or after checking me. I just thought it was blood coming out! A couple of seconds later I was at 10cm and I started pushing with just the nurse and my husband there. After pushing through 1 contraction, she called the midwife to come right in: this baby was coming NOW!! 18 minutes of pushing, and a couple of screams from mommy, and she was out! A beautiful girl with a head of brown hair. Nursing like a champ. I'm healing great. Only taking some Motrin to deal with minor discomfort. She is a little jaundice, levels at 8.2, going back to hospital in a few hours to have levels checked again and possibly sit under bililights for a day.

Rachael Ann
Born: May 2, 2008
2:28pm
6 lbs 8 oz
19 1/4 inches long
Discharge weight: 6 lbs 5.4 oz

Rachael Ann is here!

2008-05-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Rachael Ann arrived Friday, May 2nd at 2:28 PM and weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 1/4 inches long! Will post details and birth story later. Little Rachael needs my attention right now...

Get this kid out of me!

2008-04-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Home from the hospital, very frustrated. I went to L&D, they had to re-do my blood work because apparently the clinic I did it at sends their lab work to a regional clinic and it takes 24-48 hours to get the results back. Then, they had to check my urine, but don't trust me peeing in a cup to yield accurate results, so they had to put a catheter in me to check it out. That was painful. After an hour or so of waiting, blood work came back normal, and urine came back normal (how could it have been at a +2 a few hours before, and now be normal??). They think my blood pressure is fine, as they don't seem to listen to me when I tell them it might be in a normal range, but it's extremely high for me, and has been getting higher at every appointment. But whatever. So they decide to discharge me, but the doctor wants to do a vaginal exam beforehand. Words cannot describe the pain I felt. This woman totally abused me. She shoved her fingers in me as hard as freaking possible, dug around in there doing who knows what, and then tells me that my cervix is MAYBE 50% effaced. That is total bull when my midwife saw me 2 weeks ago and told me it was then 50%, and this afternoon, was 80%. My midwife is very gentle with vaginal exams, and I would rather have an exam done by her every day for the rest of my life, then have an exam done by this idiot of a doctor once every 10 years! She then asks about other symptoms of pre-e I was having, and even though I've told her and the nurses many times, I tell her again. She asks if I have had any pain in my upper abdomen, and I say yes. So she presses down as hard as freaking possible on my upper abdomen and asks if that hurts. uuum of course it freaking hurts! You're practically punching my stomach! Then she tests my reflexes by hitting me in the arm EXACTLY where I had my blood drawn twice today! If she is around when I go back to the hospital when I go into labor, I am not letting her touch me!

So, I am extremely frustrated that I got my hopes up Rachael was coming tonight, and now she is not. I am so uncomfortable, and even though I didn't want to be induced, I just want this pregnancy to be over. I was ready to be induced, with or without pre-e! On top of that, I just felt violated by this stupid doctor. I was bawling after my exam because I am just so miserable. I just hope she comes out soon!!

Tonight may be the night!

2008-04-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

Had my midwife appointment today. 2 weeks ago at my last appointment I was 1 (maaaybe 1.5)cm, 50% effaced, cervix still hard and posterior. Today, I am 1.5-2cm, 80% effaced, cervix now soft and definitely not posterior anymore! They are worried I may have pre-eclampsia. I guess I had minor protein in my urine at my last appointment, but there is much more at today's (I guess it was at +2). My blood pressure has been steadily rising, I have had some vision issues (seeing spots in front of my eyes), major swelling, pain in my upper abdomen...all signs for pre-e. So, they did some blood work before I left and said to go to L&D for some more tests, which will then determine if they want to induce me TONIGHT!!! Scary! I have always wanted a natural birth...however, I never even considered pre-e happening. I would rather be induced, then be faced with the risk of developing severe pre-e. I'm nervous, as I know I'll need an epideral, though I am going to go without one as long as I can. I'm also really excited to think Rachael could be here by tomorrow! As much as I desperately wanted her to come soon, I really didn't want this to happen. But, such is life. I'm staying positive, and want to do whatever is best for Rachael and I.

Still baking...

2008-04-16T20:12:00.001-07:00

Today I had my 36 week prenatal appointment with my midwife. It was the first time I saw this midwife, and I have to say that I loved her (despite the news she gave me)! I haven't made any progress since last week's trip to Labor & Delivery, and she doesn't think I'll pop anytime too soon, as the L&D doctor led me to believe. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. Ok, I was a lot disappointed.

I am getting more and more uncomfortable by the day. I don't need to get into the disgusting details, but every mom knows the discomforts you deal with near the end of the pregnancy. It's no fun. Not to mention, I am way anxious to meet Rachael, and am getting so impatient for her to get here.

Early labor

2008-04-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to abdominal cramps around 3am...slept a little bit through them, and woke up again around 5am to them being more painful. Adam woke up for work, but decided it would be better to stay home in case anything happens. I was contracting somewhat painfully all day long, and we decided to go to Labor and Delivery just to check and see if I was progressing at all, even though I knew it wasn't enough to be admitted.

We got there and were monitored for awhile, turns out I was contracting every 2-9 minutes. The doctor checked me later and found I was already 1.5 cm dialated, 50% effaced, and babe was at a -3 station. The doctor doesn't expect me to go past 38 weeks, though it could happen. So, it looks like Rachael will be an April baby! I can't wait to meet her...

Forgot to mention: we had an ultrasound while we were at the hospital. She is head down, and is FOR SURE a Rachael, not a Michael. We never got a really good shot at the last 2 ultrasounds, even though they were pretty sure it was a girl. This time, we finally got the "money shot", and there are definitely no boy parts there! :)

Husband

2008-04-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

1. What is your husband's name? Adam Michael Coles
2. Who eats more? We're about even right now, but it's usually him
3. Who said I love you first? Technically, saying it out-loud, I think him.
4. Who is taller? Adam
5. Who is smarter? Adam, hands down.
6. Who is more sensitive? Me
7. Who does the laundry? Me- until i get sick of it and complain too much, then he will toss in a load or 2 (same here, Lindi!) :)
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Adam...but I pretty much take over most of his side with my gigantic belly
9. Who pays the bills? Adam
10. Who cooks more? We're about even
11. What meals do you cook together? Pasta, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken
12. Who is more stubborn? We're both pretty stubborn at times
13. Who is the first to admit it when they are wrong? Adam...but he's always right!
14. Who is more clean? Lately, Adam
15. Who has more siblings? I have 1 sister...Adam has 9 brothers and sisters
16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? I think we both do, but Adam would say me
17. What do you like to do together? Go to the beach (though that hasn't happened much lately), go out to eat, watch tv/movies, go for walks in Mountain House
18. Who eats more sweets? Me
19. Guilty pleasures? Costco shopping...we'll go in for 2 items, but fill the cart and spend $200!
20. How did you meet? Tri Valley Singles Ward
21. Who asked who out first? There never was an official "ask out". We liked each other...and were just together one day.
22. Who kissed who first? Adam kissed me first, but if you ask him, he'll say I was giving him "the eyes" begging him to kiss me.
23. Who proposed? Adam
24. Best features? Eyes, lips, booty :)
25. What is his best quality? outgoing personality, always willing to compromise, amazing husband and father.

TAGGED by Lindi
I TAG- Nicole, Krystal, Lori, Brigitte, Alysha

Pregnancy is beautiful

2008-04-01T22:03:00.001-07:00

My best friend graciously drove out to Mountain House on her Spring break to take pregnancy pictures for me.

My body is powerful

2008-03-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

I really don't have anything new to report with Adam and I.

Pregnancy is taking it's toll on me physically and emotionally. In this past week, I have been more tired than normal, and I feel like I'm in the first trimester again with how e x h a u s t e d I am. I am bigger, and it is getting more and more difficult to move around...
Get up from the couch
Turn over in bed
Put on shoes
etc.

Emotionally...well, I don't even know what's going on there! I blame it on Rachael, and the fact that I have double the amount of girl hormones in my body. I am just a very weepy person right now. There doesn't even have to be a reason for it. Half of the time I will have no idea why I'm crying. I think part of me is so anxious to see and hold Rachael, that it is just frustrating waiting these last 6 weeks. I know she'll be here faster than I can imagine...and the days and weeks are still going by pretty fast...it is just not fast enough!

Luckily, I don't have to add being stressed about labor and childbirth to my list of problems. I feel very confident and very educated on what I want out of my birth experience, and have full confidence in my body being able to labor on it's own and do everything naturally. I was a little worried about giving birth in a hospital; that the doctors would be too medical-intervention-happy. But I have been very happy to find out my hospital is very pro-natural childbirth, and that I will most likely be attended to by a midwife. Most people who know me think I am crazy to want to go natural. Especially knowing my avoidance of any and all pain:
I pop 2 extra strength Exedrin at the first sign of a headache...cramps...anything.

But to me, the pain of labor isn't something that needs to be medicated...it's not an illness, nothing is wrong with me, it's something that nature intends you to feel.

Now I just have to hope and pray that the one room with a labor tub will be available, and I will get my water birth!

3/4 finished!

2008-03-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am now past 30 weeks, and am 3/4 of the way finished!! I am really ready to be done, and just have Rachael here already. But I still have a while to go before she'll come. Here are some new pictures of my ever growing belly.

Kitties

2008-03-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

We adopted 2 Siamese sister kitties about 5 minutes after coming home from our Hawaii family reunion last August of '07. While in Hawaii, we decided one of them would be named Kamehameha, and later, after adopting the kitties, decided to name the other Bella.

Kameha, as we call her, is our little Miss Priss. She has the most beautiful fur, and acts like a diva. She almost always hates to be pet, but will snuggle with your feet when she wants to be affectionate. I can't believe how much she has grown! She doesn't know when to stop eating, so she is always on a diet, otherwise she would eat until she throws up (and has done that a few times). Not exactly a lap cat, but will lay down next to you if there is a sun-spot around. All in all, a pretty well-behaved cat.

1) Close to 6 weeks old. 2)Around 6 months old.

Bella is our snuggler; our lap cat. Technically she is Adam's, and Kameha is my kitty...but Bella is 100% a mama's girl. She is definitely the trouble maker of the house, and is constantly getting punished, but we love her too much to ever get rid of her.

Close to 6 weeks old

She may look fierce...

Biting on the camera's cord

But she is really very sweet.

Not to mention, she loves to sit with me on the computer all day.

Some people have questioned whether or not they are sisters...but we know better. They are so cuddly with each other, that there is no way they are not related.

If only I could find a way to stop them from shedding. I have become obsessed with vacuuming, trying to get the cat hair out...not mention the hair that is potentially permanently stuck in my pillows...I wonder why they get so bad?

We're out for the week

2008-02-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have been told, by some, that it has been far too long since my last update. So, I will try to fill you in on what has been happening in our lives recently.

Adam is out of town until Friday on a business trip to South Dakota. Since I am currently very hormonal and emotional over every little thing, last night was a very sad night for me, as it was our first night apart since getting married. I decided to stay with my parents while he was gone, because I am in the third trimester, and want to be close to family (and the hospital) just to be safe. I can't wait for him to come home...talk about pathetic.

The day after he returns, we are having an open house party/baby shower at our place. We are very excited to see everyone and mingle over some good food. To prepare for this, since we are not at home this week, we stayed up until midnight last Saturday to clean the house from top to bottom. Of course, one thing was overlooked...mopping. I will have to do that when we get back; my least favorite activity because of my backaches.

We left our kitties all alone locked in their room while we're gone (don't worry, they have a feeder and water fountain), and I was so sad to leave them. This is a surprising change in attitude, as I am usually fed up with them and their bad behavior, and hate having them out and about in the house. However, they have become more mellow, and Bella has been quite the snuggler lately. I wish I had new pictures of them to post, but will update with some later.

The pregnancy is going really well so far. There have been no complications, and Rachael and I are very healthy. I am about to hit the 30 week mark, and will be 3/4 of the way done this coming Sunday. She is getting so big, and is constantly wiggling about (thus giving her the nickname: Wiggle Bug). I can't belive I still have about 11 weeks left, and am getting so anxious to meet her. Adding to my anxiousness, is the ever worsening backaches, and my difficulty in getting up out of chairs, bending over, rolling over in bed, etc.

All in all, life is great in the Coles home.

Scary

2008-02-20T12:16:00.000-08:00

Traumatic experience of the day:

Almost sitting on and crushing my kitty, Bella.

Passing of President Hinckley

2008-01-28T16:33:00.001-08:00

I was so saddened to hear of our beloved prophet passing away last night. He is the only prophet I have ever known, and I can't help but reminisce on my own conversion, and the crucial role President Hinckley played. I knew from my first discussion with the missionaries, that this was the true church...however, hearing President Hinckley speak at General Conference is what truly gave me a testimony. I knew within seconds that he was a true prophet, and that every word he spoke was inspired. I could feel it in my bones. Converting to the church was the most difficult, and best thing I have ever done. I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful prophet to guide me through these first years.

Age of Viability

2008-01-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce, Rachael is now 24 weeks along. At this point, she now has an 85% chance of survival, if something were to happen and I had to deliver her early. It's so weird to think in less than 4 months, we'll have this beautiful baby girl here. I always heard how slow pregnancy would be, but it has really flown by! Despite my worries of having an epideral needle go into my back, and the possibility of giving birth to a 10 pounder...I am really excited to go into labor and bring her into the world. I knew I would fall instantly in love with her when I see her...but it amazes me how much I love her, even now.

another ultrasound

2008-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

I had my second "big" ultrasound today to double check the gender and get some more pictures of her heart (she was in too weird of a position last time to get all they needed). She is looking perfectly healthy, and is measuring ahead by almost a week! My due date was May 11th, but is now May 5th! I am now just over 23 weeks along. They double checked on the sex, but she was being a modest little girl and had her legs closed pretty tight. We finally got a small peak and the tech, once again, said girl! I was also pleased to hear that she is head down already. Let's just hope she stays that way...I guess when I feel her "kicking" so low in my tummy...she's really punching me...little stinker! I was very thrilled to hear she's measuring ahead, because it puts her that much closer to 24 weeks, the age of viability! Her heartbeat was 150bpm, and she is weighs 1 pound 6 ounces!

Half-Way Mark

2008-01-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

I completely missed the half-way mark last week, but it's better late than never. I am now 21 weeks along, over half way through with my pregnancy! I can't believe how fast it's gone by! I feel better now than ever, and have finally made it past all the morning sickness and exhaustion. I am now feeling her kick daily, and it is such an amazing feeling. It's reassurance every time I feel her kick that she's still doing okay in there. May is coming quick, and Rachael will be here before I know it. I love being pregnant, but I can't wait to meet my little one!

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. We were completely unprepared for Christmas, it just snuck up on us! It feels like it was August just yesterday...and all of a sudden we're preparing for the new year!

We spent Christmas eve at home with Julius and Lisa (and of course Amber). They were out of town the night before this, so we had to "break in" to their house and get the turkey they were keeping for us out of the freezer so that it would de-thaw in time. Adam actually did this on his own, as I was sick with a cold. I de-thawed the 18 pound turkey in cold water overnight, and felt a little scared to cook a turkey for the first time. Thankfully, my sister is just a younger, brunette version of Martha Stewart, and she talked me through the surprisingly easy task of preparing and cooking a turkey. All I did was cut up an apple and an orange along with fresh Rosemary and a few other spices to stuff the turkey with. The juices from the fruit made the bird very moist, along with having a citrus-y flavor. Since I have suffered through too many dry turkeys, and was determined to have a moist bird, I basted it every 15 minutes...my hard work payed off, and it was delicious. We used our china for the first time that night, and I'm hoping I didn't yell, "Be careful!" too many times when Julius and Lisa were clearing the plates to be washed.

The night ended with The Bourne Ultimatum, which was just as good as I hoped. It was one of Adam's early Christmas presents. The only thing he actually wanted and asked for.

Christmas morning we woke up and opened our presents to each other (at least the ones we hadn't opened early). Adam got the Bourne Ultimatum, the Planet Earth series, and new pajamas. I got shoes, a sweater, pajamas, and Ratatouille. We also opened up our present from Adam's brother and sister-in-law: a Family Home Evening wall hanging.

We then spent the rest of the day with first my grandparents, and then my dad and Karen and her family. We watched Elf and ate enchiladas and other Mexican food. It was a very good Christmas...our second together.

The day after Christmas Adam and I went to San Francisco for some fun shopping...but with all the people there, and the frustrating lack of maternity clothes in any stores in San Francisco, it was not very relaxing or fun. We did, however, get to take my ring in to get cleaned and buffed. It looks like it did when I first got it over 14 months ago! Beautiful! We ended up leaving after having a late lunch, and went to the Stoneridge Mall where I quickly spent all the Christmas money my mom gave me at Motherhood Maternity. I found some really good deals, and a lot of cute clothes!

I love this time of year, if for no other reason, because Adam was home for about 6 days in a row. Not to mention he will have Monday and Tuesday off because of New Years.

This post has gone way too long as it is, so I will update about my pregnancy and little Rachael another time.

Happy Holidays!

It's a girl!

2007-12-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

We had our gender ultrasound on Monday, and we were so happy to see everything is healthy with the baby. It's a girl! We are so happy! I had a feeling it was a girl all along, and it seems I was right. Her name is Rachael Ann, and I love her so much. Here are a couple pictures from the ultrasound:

Here's a picture of her facing us, you can see her hands up by her face.

Here's a picture of her cute little foot :)

I am now less than 2 weeks away from the half-way mark. It has gone by so fast...I just hope the rest of the pregnancy goes by just as fast. I can't wait for her to be here.

Our first Christmas tree

2007-11-25T12:17:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of getting our first Christmas tree together. Last year we returned from our honeymoon only a few days before Christmas, and there was just no time to do this. Here's to new traditions :)

Tree on the car

Adam carrying the tree to the front door

Tree lit

Finally finished and decorated

16 weeks

2007-11-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm about 16 weeks along, and thought I would share a belly picture to show how far along I am...I still don't think I'm showing much...and somehow I actually lost weight from yesterday, even though it was Thanksgiving and I ate a ton! Only gained, as of this picture taken 2 days ago, 2 pounds.

Weekend

2007-11-21T13:56:00.001-08:00

I have been busy lately!

Friday night we had some friends over from Mountain House for our monthly pot luck dinner. We had so much fun eating good food (my famous chicken pot pie), talking to good people, and playing lots of fun games. I blame pregnancy brain for my skills (or lack thereof) at Scatergories. But I kicked butt at Scene It Friends Edition.

Saturday we went to the beach with Danny and Lindi and baby Max. Everyone else got in the water besides me. I figured if I can't go boogy boarding, or do anything else, what's the point of getting in? It all worked out though, since I didn't get in the water, Lindi was able to and I watched Max.

Sunday was a day of Christmas shopping and pizza eating (had a craving).

Monday night we hung out with Julius and Lisa. Did a little Costco shopping, where Adam said "no" to everything I wanted to buy...I miss having money. Then ate some good Chinese food and watched Innerspace. Oldie, but goodie. Anything with Meg Ryan is usually good for me.

Tuesday I spent the day with Lisa. We made a wreath for my door, put up garland at my place, and just hung out. It's good to have friends that live so close. I've missed having girl friends to talk to!

The wreath

Today I was suppose to see Lisa again, but I got a call from my grandma last night that she wanted to come into town and say hi. So I spent the afternoon with grandma and my cousin's daughter (I think that makes her my second cousin) who was visiting grandma. We had fun shopping at Target; she bought my Christmas tablecloth and runner for me. Then had lunch at Olive Garden. Thank goodness for cheap Italian food.

The tablecloth and runner

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we are celebrating at Dad and Karen's. They finally finished remodeling the place, and I can't wait to see those new hard-wood floors!

On another note, just wanted to let everyone know morning sickness is finally gone. I am no longer taking my medication (but am still too scared to take my wrist bands off), and am feeling a million times better! I haven't felt this good my whole pregnancy. I love the second trimester!

Only 2 and a half weeks until we know the sex!

yuck

2007-11-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Bagels=throw up. I thought morning sickness was suppose to get better in the second trimester??

Salad?

2007-11-15T14:59:00.001-08:00

For the first time in this pregnancy, I have a craving for something healthy...including salad. This is so not like me.

Accupressure

2007-11-12T14:20:00.001-08:00

I love holistic medicine. Something finally works for my morning sickness! After medication didn't work, I turned to accupressure wrist bands...they are miracle workers! I haven't hardly felt nauseas since putting them on, and no throwing up either! I'm finally feeling better...thank goodness.

Another problem with internet today, so they replaced our modem. Hallelujah!

Throwing up

2007-11-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

Second trimester:

Energy is coming back
But food is still not staying down

AT&T

2007-11-07T10:31:00.001-08:00

Spent another half an hour on the phone with AT&T today for the same reason as last time. Luckily, if there's another problem, they're just going to send us a new modem. Thank goodness. I'm sick of AT&T.

Ultrasound, party, and the weekend.

2007-11-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

Time to update on the ultrasound:

First of all, baby is doing GREAT in there! That was my first worry, and it feels so good to have seen the baby and know everything is ok. It was jumping around so much in there! I'm amazed I can't feel it. It was so exciting to get to see the baby...it makes it feel so much more real. They tried to hear the heartbeat, but their dopplers suck and she told me she didn't expect to hear it at all...so I wasn't too bummed about not hearing it, since she warned me. Next time we should be able to. I have my next appointment in the beginning of December, and a couple days after that, I have my appointment to find out the sex! Just in time for Christmas :) I already have a pretty good feeling that it's a girl...but I would hate to buy all pink and be wrong.

This weekend we stayed with Dad and Karen and had tons of fun! I wish we were still in Dublin, closer to them, but I guess you have to make sacrifices to be in an affordable house. Saturday we spent the day working on my quilt. I've made one before, but that was with lots of help, and we didn't even quilt it ourselves...just sent it in somewhere. I'm glad we did, because it turned out great! Still one of my favorites, and that was from my senior year of high school! But for this blanket, I wanted to learn how to quilt it myself. So Karen taught me, and I'm working on it. It's a lot of fun, just very time consuming. What's slowing me down the most, is I'm also crocheting my first baby blanket. I could never find the right color to do one earlier...but I finally found the perfect yellow in a baby soft yarn that I couldn't resist. I must say, it's turning out to be the best blanket I've made!

So, we spent the day with Dad and Karen just hanging out and doing the blanket, and also were lucky enough to have Chris and Annette over, one of my favorite aunt and uncles. Spent the night there, and went to a friend's birthday party the next day. All in all, a very fun weekend... despite my poor digestive tract after eating Chipotle. I can't wait for morning sickness to be over...

Ultrasound

2007-11-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

I go in for my ultrasound in less than an hour! Eek!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Mood swings are kicking into high gear. I feel bad for Adam sometimes, I am so irrational right now.

Yesterday morning I spent almost 2 hours on the phone to AT&T because of internet problems. I spoke to three different people, the first of whom, I swear, was doing a crossword puzzle while "helping" me. In the end, she just hung up on me. I was livid. The next guy was fairly intelligent, but still couldn't help me. Luckily, the last person had at least half a brain and fixed the problem in no time. I have never been so happy to check e-mail.

Because of that, it was getting late and I still had not ate yet. Luckily, I keep a pudding cup by my bed in case I get hungry in the middle of the night. So I had that at 11ish, but then didn't get to eat again until I was off the phone around 12:30. I was starving! I don't like feeling hungry, because hungry=nauseas right now.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and will get an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat for the first time! I am so excited! That will alleviate some of my fears when I can see everything is ok. Since I am now at the 12 week mark, I am feeling a little bit better, and trying not to worry so much.

Tonight we're going to hang out at Julius and Lisa's for Halloween. It'll be good to finally get out of the house!

Morning sickness

2007-10-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

After getting 9 hours of sleep last night and relaxing for most of the day, I had hope I would feel good enough to get off the couch for some part of the day...no such luck. The kittens had an appointment to get their stitches checked from surgery last week. So we drove out to the slums of Stockton, where the cheapest vet is, and realized how grateful we are to live so far from there. Scary town, scary people.

Apparently sitting in a car for 25 minutes is too much excitement for me, as I practically fell asleep on the couch 5 minutes after getting home. Nausea and exhaustion have taken over my body, and it makes me wonder how something so small inside me, can affect me so much.

The second trimester is officially here, as I have hit the 12 week mark, and am looking forward to getting my energy back, and feeling more like myself. I am also looking forward to my upcoming doctor's appointment this week, where I will finally get a prescription to take care of this nausea.

At least I get a cute baby bump to compensate.