Halloween

Delaney's first Halloween! I found this great costume that was perfect for her since she is our little Bird. She wore it to daycare on Friday the 30th and the evening of the 31st. She enjoyed seeing all the people out trick or treating and they seemed to enjoy her too.

On October 28th she had her 4 month check-up. She is 13.5 pounds (60%) and nearly 26 inches long (90%). Once again, she was a super trooper with her 4 shots. They didn't even notice any signs of pain at day care that day.

The end of October also brought visits from family. She got to see both Grandmas and her Great Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob. They all really enjoyed her smiles and squawks. She is a "chatty Kathy" lately.

Recent Photos

Here are some recent photos

The Time of My Life

As predicted, once I returned to work, the website wouldn't get updated as often. Since the last entry, Delaney has taken another road trip, started Day Care, and has begun chatting up a storm. Over Labor Day weekend, we drove to Ponca City, Oklahoma (home of Grandma Mary’s family) for the Butt Family reunion. The weather was wonderful and the trip smooth and it was great seeing everyone.

Delaney’s first day of Day Care was September 9. As we suspected, she did great. The teachers report that she is a good eater and sleeper. She loves sitting and watching the other kids play and also likes lying on the floor with toys above her. One day, when she first started chatting, I arrived to pick her up and she was lying on the floor in a change of clothes that were not hers (extra from Day Care) and making a bunch of noise. I had to look twice to confirm she was my child. She “talks” the most in the morning before we leave for the day. Her noises are very cute and funny making us laugh before we head to work. Good way to start the day.

I attached a picture most people have seen by now because it is our current favorite. Most evenings I pick out Delaney’s clothes for the next day. On this particular night, I picked out the shirt that has the most famous Patrick Swayze quote from Dirty Dancing. The next morning, after we dressed her in the shirt, we learned that Patrick Swayze passed away from Pancreatic Cancer. The timing was a little spooky.

2 Month Dr. Visit

Delaney had her 2 month check up today. She is now 11 pounds, 8 ounces and 24 inches long. Today was the 4 shot day. I asked Greg to meet me at the appointment for emotional backup - more for me than Delaney I think. She did great. Cried a little with the first two shots and then a lot with the other two but she settled down after about 5 minutes and slept for quite a way. She was just a bit cranky the rest of the day.

The last 4 out of 5 nights she has slept through the night. First night it happened, she scared us a little but she is making up for the missed feeding during the day. She is also enjoying her hands a lot lately often sticking her fingers so far in her mouth she gags herself. We can see that she is gaining more control of her motions and moving more purposefully lately. Recently we started imitating activities like sticking our tongue to have her do it as well. We just hope she doesn't start sticking it out at strangers.

Delaney starts Day Care in about a week. We found a center about 5 minutes from our house. I visited twice, Greg once, and we like what we see. The teachers seem very experienced and to love their jobs. There is a great mix of kids and a very nice facility.

Another Road Trip

Delaney went on another road trip - much shorter one this time. In the middle of August she and I drove north to Rockford and Wisconsin. She got to visit with Grandparents, Great Grandpa, her Aunt Sherri and Uncle Dave and many more. One day she was passed between several relatives with camera flashes going crazy - she did great. I attached a few of the pictures and a video of her and Great Grandpa John.

4 Generations















Grandpa Keith
















Delaney and Eric (my second cousin)

















Delaney and Great-Grandpa

Week of Firsts

The week of 8/2/09 brought Delaney a bunch of firsts: zoo, road trip, and pool party.

Greg and I love the St. Louis Zoo and we hope Delaney will feel the same so we started her early. Last Sunday was a beautiful day and perfect for strolling in the zoo. Delaney slept most of the time but that is ok because we got pictures to document our trip.

Greg's grandfather, Leo Plank, passed away last Saturday so the family piled in a rented van and drove the 14 hours to Liberty, Pennsylvania. The crew included 6 adults, 1 pre-teen, and 2 infants. Both the trip there and back went very smooth. The babies slept the majority of the time. Although we rather not have traveled for Grandpa's funeral, it was nice to introduce the babies to the family. Below is a picture of Tommy "driving" the van.

Delaney also attended her first pool party this week. She had a swimsuit to take a dip but mom decided the water was too cold. She enjoyed hanging with the girls poolside.

5 weeks

It is only Wednesday and Delaney has had a busy week. Monday she participated in her second girl's night and got her pictures taken. Tuesday she had a short but nice visit with Grandma Mary and took a trip to the doctor and to Target. Today, she visited a Day Care Center, went to lunch with the work girls who passed her around the table, and visited the Dentist with mom. She was great at every stop.

Good news at the one month Doctor check up. She is now 9 pounds and 6 ounces. She gained 26 ounces over 21 days. First two weeks were rough, she just wanted to sleep, but then it is as if a switch flipped and she turned into an eating and growing machine. Her slow start just continues the idea that she just wasn't ready to join the outside world... but she is definitely ready now, enjoying all her new experiences.

Both Greg and I have seen smiles this week. She can't do them on command yet but they are definitely more than "just gas." I thought I was going to melt the other day when she smiled at me, I smiled back, she smiled back and so on. It was the best feeling in the world. Hopefully, these smiles will show up in pictures and video soon.

We have been working on development activities during play time. The cats either want to join in or watch while we work with Delaney on the floor. I have attached videos of some of our time together.

4 weeks

We have survived a month!!! Getting more sleep each day and starting to really enjoy our little girl who is growing so fast. She has moved into the bigger diaper and started to grow out of some of her clothes. Don't know her weight yet, Dr. Appt is next week. She loves staring into our eyes and can follow objects really well. She just also started pushing off with her legs when we lift her off the swing.

We have yet to establish a bed time routine that works well. That is probably the hardest part right now. Nearly every night for the last two weeks Ms. Delaney has been very cranky for a while between 6:00 and 8:00 at night. Usually she is just tired and wants to sleep but then eats at 9:00 and wants to stay awake. I need to work on her getting better quality naps during the day, this might help.

The cats are getting more used to her but can tell she is the cause of them getting less attention. Both of them love to hang out with us in her room. Rigby loves to sleep in her crib. At first, this freaked us out and we chased her out but then realized that it was a lost cause. We just now make sure the cats aren't in the room with her alone or stuck in there with the door closed.

The pictures below include Greg trying to get Delaney to sleep for the night. So cute! Then there is Delaney posing in her cute pink pants. I have more than one because I can't decide which one I like best. She makes the funniest faces. I also have the cats watching her from the stairs. Notice how Rigby (on the left) doesn't look happy. She has taken the loss of Greg's full attention pretty hard. Shilo just looks clueless like usual. The videos are of Delaney waking in the morning. She cracks me up with her noises and stretching routine. She definitely has her mom's lack of enthusiasm about waking in the morning.

3 week pics

First bath


First bath



All Star Day in St. Louis

Delaney Clare Arrives 6/23/09

The due date was June 14, but our little Kiwi wasn't interested in leaving the comfort and safety of the womb. We went into Missouri Baptist Hospital on Monday, June 22 and the pitocin induction started about 2:30. Greg and I settled in with some DVDs to watch which was a good thing since the painful contractions didn't start until about 9:00 that night. I wasn't really progressing on dilation and station so we wanted to go as long as possible without the epidural so I could continue to walk around and try to help progress things along. By about 10:30 I was ready for the drug and by 11:15 I was pain free.

Pain free - yes, worry free - no. About 9:00, one of the nurses came in and asked me to lie on my side for a while because the heart monitor wasn't picking up a regular heart beat. I did it and all was fine. I was up again moving around and a short time later they came back and informed us they wanted to break my water so they could insert an internal heart monitor to watch it more closely. Throughout the night, Greg and I tried to get some sleep and the heart rate continued to worry them. Around 5:00 a.m. they called my doctor and asked him to come in and make a decision on what to do next. By the time he arrived, I was on all fours in bed because this was the only position where they could get a steady heart rate. The baby had still not descended down so they flipped me around and ask me to start pushing. I went through one round of this when the doctor decided to take me in for a C-section.

Things had already started getting a little crazy in the room but it was then that it became a fuzzy whirlwind. We had been keeping a log of the night's activities. Greg entered a note that they made the C-section decision at 5:45 and Delaney was born at 6:01. Amazing how fast they worked. Greg watched as they weighed and measured her (more on this to come) and even got to cut part of the cord. Someone video taped it for him and I hope we can post this soon. We were back in our Labor room by 6:45 and started calling family immediately.

Our stay in the hospital lasted until Saturday. Seemed like forever but I am grateful for it because the nurses and staff offer so much great assistance and advice. Greg didn't want it to end so soon. We spent most of the day Friday working with a lactation consultant and made a ton of progress with Delaney. She had lost over 10% of her body weight which is a point of concern. Frankly, it stressed us out tremendously trying to feed her often enough to get her weight up. It wasn't until we went to the Pediatrician on Tuesday morning that we learned she had gained 5 oz and we didn't have to be so strict with her schedule. Tremendous relief. Oh, we also learned that she is 20 3/4" long, not 22" long as they told us in the hospital. We watched the nurses do it twice just to be sure. 22" is long for any baby but especially for us both being about 5'5" to 5'6" tall.

Now she is home and we are getting used to our new life. Grandma Joan has been here helping to cook and clean but she leaves soon and we will be on our home. Greg starts back at work tomorrow telecommuting from home but then heads to the Base on Thursday and Friday so I am eager to see how I do on my own. I have attached a few pictures but I am hoping for some video soon.

So close

Only 2 more weeks (give or take). We are feeling prepared around the house but don't know how mentally prepared we are. Sleeping has become incredibly difficult these days. I have to move from side to side often to prevent the circulation being cut off in my arms and hands.. but to roll over takes a lot of work. No surprise that Greg spends some nights on the couch so he can get better sleep. Still doing my water aerobics as of last week, still feeling pretty good in the water any way.

I attached a couple pictures. Nursery isn't quite ready for a full photo shoot but I do have one of the crib with the bedding my mom bought us and the painting we bought by Charles Houska. We don't have all our decorations for the room yet but that is ok because we don't want to just fill it with anything. We would rather look out for special animal items when we are out and about. The other picture is of Greg installing the car seat base in my car. He made me laugh.

And it starts

And it starts…… So I have been hearing all these stories about the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and I figured it would come in time… well it has arrived. My feet have been slowly getting a little bigger on busy days but last Friday they were almost unrecognizable. Yuck. When we’ve been out, Greg has been offering to drop me off and pick me up at the front doors and that was the first day I took him up on the offer. I had been hoping to last longer on the door service but with only 5 more weeks left, I might as well just give in. I have also had to stop wearing my wedding ring most days. Traded it out for a ring from my trip to Ireland.

The Braxton Hicks (pre-labor) contractions have been increasing. This week, I have had to teach two full, back-to-back days of classes. I got hooked up with good chairs so I was able to sit the majority of the time but it still wore me out. The second day included sharp back pain that has now turned to stiffness. Feels like Kiwi is growing every day and running out of room.

Tums have also become my friend. Need about 3 times a week. Cravings have started too. Really didn’t have much early on with the exception of baked potatoes (weird) but now I am craving sweets, any kind: chocolate, sugary, ice cream, cookies. You name it, I want it. I have slowed down quite a bit but I am still doing water aerobics and just finished up my pre-natal yoga class. Activity has really helped me keep stress down and hopefully manage my weight.

31+/- more days!

April Showers

April brought lots of rain in St. Louis and two baby showers. My coworkers threw a surprise shower for me at a local restaurant on Tuesday, April 14 and the planned shower with friends and family was on Sunday, April 19 at Dave and Deborah O'Brien's house. Both were wonderful.



Many coworkers chipped in and together they gave us our car seat and stroller combo along with other goodies including a Cardinal's onesie. It was a great surprise and a huge load off of us. The Sunday shower was really nice as well and brought lots of goodies. Greg and I are feeling much more prepared for baby. Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery. It is almost ready.


Picture from the work shower:



















Picture of the baby room as I go through all the good stuff:

Home Stretch

Only 9 more weeks - more or less. Starting to get a bit nervous as the due date looms closer. I attached a picture of my favorite muppet Beaker. He symbolizes how I feel some days with my pregnancy brain, crazy work situation, and getting ready for baby. I would rather add an ultrasound picture but the ones we have been getting lately from the doctor's visits aren't too clear especially after scanning.



Since my last post Kiwi has been moving a bunch on a regular basis. We can't see hands or feet yet but baby isn't shy to explore his or her world. I am looking forward to the day that one of the cats is laying close and the baby gives a swift kick.

In late March we attended a childbirth class at Missouri Baptist Hospital. After all of our reading, about 50% or less was new information for us but I am glad we did it. Felt like a "rite of passage." We watched plenty of video of woman going through the pains of labor and trying to cope naturally. Greg couldn't help but laugh (a little too hard at times) as he imagined facing that with me. I haven't decided on the naturally part yet but I am sure that his coaching skills (and patience) will be put to the test. I think he will be a great coach. Next round of classes are in May. We are doing both a Breastfeeding class and Infant CPR. I think the more we both educate ourselves, the better we are with the unknown.

I am already looking forward to my time off of work. I am taking 12 weeks so I will end up returning some time close to Labor Day. I plan to take it easy in July but then go visiting family in August. I just know the time is going to fly.

Baby Bump in London

We safely made our way to London and back in early March despite a broken foot and baby on board. My coworker calls it a "baby-moon", the last trip together before the baby is born. I am really glad we did it. London really isn't our ideal vacation as we usually like to be a bit more adventurous but it was perfect for us considering the timing.

Flying pregnant was a little bit different. The flight from STL to Chicago was smooth and no problems but Chicago to London was a bit tough. I can't sleep on a plane usually anyway, but this time was especially tough because I wanted rest so bad. Greg can sleep anywhere I think. I also got sick on the descent. My insides felt squished together and bloated and I couldn't help but "toss my cookies." No problems on the flight back though.

My foot slowed us down much more than being pregnant did. We did more than I thought we would though. I totally wore myself out on our first full day spending over 5 hours in the National Art Gallery. We couldn't help ourselves, there was so much good stuff: Gaugin, Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, and a special exhibit of Picasso. There was a bunch of pre-impressionism as well.

Food was nothing to get too excited about. Of course there was the pub food but we tried other things like Taiwanese, Thai, and Indian. I am not a fan of Indian food so we found a great Tapas Indian place that was perfect for me. That night I saved room for dessert at a Belgium waffle bar.

Our trip coincided with Six Nations Rubgy Championship. England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France compete for the Grand Slam. We watched Ireland beat Wales on tv on Saturday then watched England embarrass France in a pub on Sunday. Neither of us really know how the game works but it was still fun.

Some of the other sites we saw included the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, the British Museum, Harrod's Department Store, Camden Locks Market, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. No late nights or crazy drinking in the pubs like on some of our other trips. We were in London during their St. Patrick's Day Parade and it was a beautiful day. The parade itself wasn't anything more than the Dogtown Parade in St. Louis but they did have a big concert in Trafalgar Square all afternoon.

Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th (of February) brought us quite a scare. Getting ready to leave in the morning for both work and a trip to Pennsylvania to visit the Plank Family, I picked up Rigby from the landing on the stairs so she wouldn't sneak out and then I headed down the remaining stairs to grab something. Not able to see, my left foot stepped on my right pant leg and I took a fast trip down the remaining 3 stairs. Rigby went flying and my legs came underneath me taking most of the fall. Based on the pain I was feeling, I thought my feet were severed at the ankles but in about 5 to 10 minutes I was up and walking with what felt like a sprain in my right foot.





We headed to work. I checked in with my OB office and all seemed fine. Baby was alive and kickin' and I showed no signs of distress. I had to teach a class that day so I walked around with an awkward limp for about 5 hours not thinking too much more about it. Finally, at about 2:00, it became impossible to walk on and swelled up to almost twice its size. I turned my class over to a coworker and headed to urgent care where I learned I had sprained it on both sides of the ankle and suffered an avulsion fracture. This was described to me as the ligament acting like a piece of tape holding bones together. On one side it tore a small piece of bone off, hence my earlier pain. The urgent care clinic was great in trying to get me out of there in time to head to the airport for our 7:00 flight. They rushed me through, taught me how to walk on crutches quickly and offered lots of good advice including not to put ANY weight on it until I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon. Walking out to the car on the crutches I decided it was best I not make the trip to PA with Greg. I was super sad about this but very scared I might fall again and hurt myself or the baby worse.





So I spent the weekend watching movies recovering at home and moving as little as possible. Lots of friends stopped by to bring treats or movies and keep me company. I saw a specialist on Monday afternoon who gave me the good news -
no surgery necessary. The sprains will heal with the help of an air cast (big ugly gray boot) and the little bone that came off will just stay there. I will be in the cast for a few weeks which is a pain but the way I see it, could have been a lot worse. I attached a picture of my ugly feet to compare size. This is before the bruising has started setting in. Very ugly.

20 Weeks

We had our comprehensive ultrasound today where they do measurements and look for major organs. The Tech pointed out the arms, legs, face, kidneys, and bladder. We also got to see the heart beating and saw all 4 chambers doing what they should. Both the Tech and Doctor said everything looks good. She had us look away just in case we could spot the sex, but legs were closed so no big deal. I also felt the first kicking on the outside for the first time today. Just once though.

Baby Room

Slowly starting to collect items for the baby's room. Since we only have two bedrooms, it will be the other one - also known as the Freddy Free Room. Walls are already light yellow so that works well. We want to do animals and primary/bright colors. I posted some pictures of a few of the decorations we have so far. The kitty we found on our trip to Costa Rica and we just picked up the sock puppet at the Stockholm Inn restaurant in Rockford. If you see other decorations or bedding that is similar, let us know. I would like to get a painting from a local artist, Charles Houska. Saw his work years ago and decided then I would come back some day for a child's room. I plan to stop by his gallery soon. Check out his style: http://www.houska.com/