Where's Autumn?

Another month has almost come and gone. We're still waiting to get cooler temperatures as Phoenix keeps setting record highs. Kirsten has gone through a growth spurt and at not even 5.5 months has outgrown her 3-6 month clothing, and we discovered if we wanted her next set of clothes to last more than a few weeks it wasn't even worth investing in 6-9 month so we've gone direct to 9-12 month clothing. It's a little long on her, but if she grows like she did last month (almost 2 inches) it will soon fit.

We've celebrated Halloween since last updating the blog and Kirsten was the only one to dress up. She also learnt to roll from her front to her back on Halloween although at the moment it is a little hit and miss and she's also fairly lazy so if she screams loud enough and long enough Mum is going to turn her the right way round. She moves around by doing a caterpillar crawl on her back and has become best friends with Mohawk who constantly washes her hands in between me wiping them clean again.

Our next set of guests arrive on November 28 - December 3. Anne and her daughter, Margrethe are coming over from Norway. Anne is Sigrid's mother's best friend since childhood. John's parents then arrive with us on 13 December and stay through until New Year's Eve. We also received word the other day that Conrad and MC have already booked their trip for next year and will be coming out a few weeks later than they have for the last couple of years. As usual we continue to keep ourselves busy.

Guests Have Been and Gone

Well for the time being all of our guests have left. We thought our next set would be John's parents arriving 2nd week of December to spend 3 weeks (including Christmas) with us, but it now looks as if Aunty Anne and Margrethe from Oslo may be coming to spend a week with us at the end of November. They said they fancied a "Winter holiday". To tell you the truth I would love to see some snow, but that's going to be a fun trip up to Flagstaff in a year or so for Kirsten to see what the white stuff is.

I got Kirsten to the photographer again before the last of our guests left so get some pictures. Can you believe she's now 4 months old and over 15 lbs in weight (almost 7 kilos). She's also very long 25" (63 cm) and growing.

John goes away on Sunday morning until Wednesday evening on a business trip leaving us to fend for ourselves. We're doing quite well. I'm at long last trying to start my diet and exercise again so I start every day taking Kirsten out in her push chair for 2.5 miles. It's still a bit hot and sweaty and I'd really like the temperatures to come down another 10 degrees (into the 80s which are the low 30s C) but it's my time. Kirsten dozes in the push chair and I listen to music on the ipod. John and I then try to get out again every other evening after dinner to walk the dogs too. I'll keep you updated on how the weight loss goes!!

Mentioning No Names

So mentioning no names I've been nagged that as I have a couple of extra sets of hands currently with me maybe I can add a few extra posts. Well despite the extra hands Kirsten is currently sat on the desk next to me in her baby bouncer seeing how hard she can kick - trust me I have no wish to get in her way at the moment.

It's John's 40th birthday tomorrow, and I pulled off a surprise party for him last Saturday evening. There were about 40 guests in total so I was really pleased with the turnout and Kirsten was as good as gold all weekend. The extra surprise for John was that my best friend, Kerry and her boyfriend, Mark had both flown out on the Friday so that they could attend the party. They stayed with us on Sunday night before going off on a road trip on Monday for 2 weeks. I'd also booked the Monday off work for John knowing that we would all be exhausted after a sociable weekend.

Kirsten has spent the last 10 days learning to be picked up and handled by other people as up till now she's been somewhat of a "Mummy's Girl". She's getting there. Tomorrow night John and I are going out for dinner on our own to celebrate so we'll see how it goes leaving her with Nanny and Grampy.

3+ Months

I know it's over a month since last time. John's sister, Karen, and her husband, Guy have just been out and spent almost 2 weeks with us. They arrived on 25 August and left on Friday, 7 September. My parents arrive on Monday (10 September) and stay until 1 October.

Kirsten has hit 3 months and now weighs 13 lbs 6.5 oz (6.08 kilos). On Thursday she learnt to roll from her back to her front and gets very angry to find herself on her tummy. Now we've got to work on rolling back the other way. As you can see from the pictures we've also got her a bouncer. She has only been in a couple of times so far and lasts no more than 5 minutes. I have to admit that she already loves the television.

Kirsten also now sleeps through most of the night. She's typically asleep by around 8.30 pm and then wakes for her feed anywhere between 3 and 5 am. Usually it's around 4 am. The problem is that half the time she doesn't want to go back to sleep after that so that is something else I'm working on. In the last few weeks she has at least started to take a few naps during the day which means she's not quite as grouchy in the evenings as she has been. Not that I'm biased or anything but when she's happy she's got a beautiful smile. She's also quite a rare baby here in that she's blonde haired and blue eyed. John and I keep joking that we could make a fortune using her as a baby model!!

Anyway hope this brings you all a little more up to date. Best wishes to everyone and thanks for all your well wishes too.

John hits the big 4 0 on 22 September. I'm not really sure how he feels about that.

2 Months'

Time seems to go by so quickly. Kirsten hit 2 months old on 30 July. John was out of town at the annual Infosol Conference, and we survived the worst monsoon storm that we've seen in Phoenix since arriving a little over 6 years ago. Kirsten has survived and finished with colic now we're having some constipation issues which included a trip to the ER at the end of the monsoon storm in the early hours of 31 July/1 August.

We're now preparing ourselves for guests. John's sister and her husband (Karen and Guy) arrive on Saturday 25 August and stay until Friday 7 September and then my parents (Ross and Anne-Lise) arrive on Monday 10 September and stay until 1 October. You are all aware that my Mum was here for the first 4.5 weeks of Kirsten's life, but my Dad is coming out to bond. John's parents are then spending Christmas with us, arriving on December 9 and leaving December 31.

1 month old

Kirsten is now 1-month old. She had her monthly check-up on Monday and then John and I also weighed her on Wednesday when she reached 5 weeks. She continues to gain about 2 oz a day and as of Wednesday weighed in (although dressed in a clean nappy and babygrow) at 9lbs 12.5 oz. We'll be weighing her again today and suspect that she'll have reached 10lbs. Unfortunately she suffers very badly from colic and so sleeps very little, but still eats a lot. As you can see from the photo I'll stoop to anything to stop her from crying. It works, if only for short periods, but when she kicks it makes it very difficult to concentrate on playing the piano.

For those of you who haven't seen them yet here's a link to take you to pictures that were taken of us at the hospital when Kirsten was 2 days old. http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=8W8T7J8Q0F

We then had another set of pictures taken last Wednesday when she was 4 weeks old. http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=60700148824UAJDPY

Enjoy

4 Weeks On

I can't believe that Kirsten is going to be 4 weeks old today. At her first check-up with the pediatrician ( Monday 4 June) after we brought her home she weighed 6 lbs 9 oz (2.98 kilos). When she was in for a check up on Monday (25 June) she weighed 8 lbs 11.5 oz (3.95 kilos). Kirsten was unfortunately born tongue tied (absolutely no movement in her tongue), but with a simple procedure this was fixed last Friday by our pediatrician. We now love watching her being able to stick her tongue out. Kirsten has also grown about 0.5 inches as she is now about 21 inches long. We get a lot of comments about her being blonde as it is a rarity around Phoenix with all the hispanics.

My mother, Anne-Lise, has been here since the day after Kirsten's birth, and I really don't know what I'd have done without her help. We're going to be sad to see her leave on Monday (2 July), but she will be back again in early September with my father so that's only 2 month's away.

Kirsten, welcome to the world!

Sigrid and I are very happy to announce the birth of our baby daughter Kirsten!


She was born Wednesday May 30th at 8:20pm Phoenix time and weighed 7.2lbs. She is a real cutie (must take after me?)

We will of course post more pictures as/when we can. Sigrid is due to come home Friday evening.

The Final Countdown

I'm now at 38.5 weeks and really getting limited in what I can and cannot do. Anne-Lise, my mother, comes into town week today (May 31st) and stays until July 2nd so we're looking forward to having her here. I now have check-ups every week and so my last one was on Tuesday 22nd. The likelihood is that something is going to happen in the next couple of days. The doctor is trying to get an appointment for an induction and has indicated that she will take a cancellation so I live minute to minute, and hour to hour. In the meantime everything is ready at the house, the fridge and freezer are full of food. Various friends and neighbours are on standby and John just awaits that call from me to say that it is "all systems go". Thankfully we've got our first bank holiday weekend of the year this weekend to celebrate Memorial Day which means that I have John at home for 3 days.

Temperatures last week were really high for the time of year (in the low 100s F which is the very high 30s C). This week they've been cooler and only in the mid-90s F (mid-30s C). Although I've pushed the air conditioning down to lower than we've ever had it before at 78F (25C) I still keep suffering from severe hot flushes, and of course I daren't use the pool unless John is home. If I'm not in hospital this weekend I'll definitely be in the pool as it is now 76F (24C).

As soon as we know any more we'll let you know. An email will go out probably within 36 hours to most of you and a select few friends and family of course will be receiving that all important phone call. We'll do our best not to forget anyone!!

37 Weeks

Wow. We've made it to 37 weeks (yesterday, Saturday), but only Just. Friday we came very close and I had to make a trip to the hospital to be monitored for an hour. On Friday I felt like a bit of a fraud, but by yesterday I was glad I'd done what I'd done. There was very little movement on Friday from baby so at 10am I called my doctor and at 11am they asked me to go to the hospital for a non-stress test. Janet took me down and Lisa met us there. I'd told John to stay at work until we knew what was happening. It turned out I was slightly dehydrated and also got a lecture on taking it easy and was sent home. Yesterday morning baby was kicking continuously from 6am.

The temperatures here have skyrocketed and we've jumped up to around 105 F which is about 40C. John and I actually used the pool yesterday (that is ours not the one at our club) as it had reached about 76F (24C) and was beautiful. The next couple of weeks is about taking it easy and resting up until our daughter is good and ready to arrive.

Thanks for all your well wishes.

Final Countdown - Week 36

So it's 32 days until d-day and as John and I are fully aware anything could happen at any time although we hope to make it to at least 37 weeks. We've got 3 more prenatal classes to attend at the hospital: Infant CPR (both of us); breastfeeding (Sigrid); sneak peak (Sigrid, but possibly both). Before you ask "Sneak Peak is a newborn care class that gives expectant parents a peek at the reality of life with a newborn. Learn about the joys and challenges of early parenting and resources to help you cope. This class will teach you the basics of baby care including diapering, bathing and calming a fussy baby."

The temperatures have really started to climb here so the air conditioning has gone on earlier than normal as I can't cope with it. We went to the club on Sunday so that I could feel the weightlessness in the pool. Our pool is still a little on the cool side. We also went out to dinner at some friends on Saturday evening. We met Amy and Jeremy at our first prenatal class. Amy is due a month after Sigrid. I've attached a picture so that you can see comparison. I'm exactly at 35 weeks when it was taken.

I'm not sure we're ready, but then again I'm not sure we'll ever be ready...

Checking Out The Hospital

John and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday. We didn't do much, but Lisa and Frank Tizard had invited us over for dinner in the evening and we had a wonderful relaxing time. Lisa thank you for a lovely dinner.

So Monday night John and I had a tour of the facilities at Scottsdale Shea Hospital where I will be having the baby in just over 6 weeks. It's more like a 5-star hotel than a hospital and the staff are so friendly and helpful I have no fears on that front. It's just the giving birth. On Tuesday morning I met with the pediatrician. He had been recommended to me by Lisa T, but I decided it would be nice to meet him prior to him coming to the hospital. He is a lovely man and I'm really pleased that Lisa suggested him.

The nursery is coming along well. All the clothes/bedding/blankets have been washed and I've almost finished putting things away. My case is almost packed as I bought the last items this week and there are a few more odds and ends, but otherwise I think I'm almost there. Ma has now booked her flight out and she arrives in Phoenix on 31 May and leaves again on 2 July. I don't think even I can imagine what a godsend it is going to be to have her here. Based on the amount of work that Nora and Conrad did whilst here and I didn't even have a baby at that point...

I'm still selling Avon and working on the Board of the HOA. We have a meeting next week and I've a newsletter due out. The air conditioning was serviced this week and so was the pool filter. I'm just trying to be as prepared for the Summer as I can be. Today was a treat from John. I had a deluxe manicure and pedicure (which involved a paraffin treatment). This was part of my birthday present from him.

Sorry it's quite a boring post, but I'm just trying to keep you all informed of the goings on in my life.

Back To Being On Our Own

Well our guests all left last night. We've had a wonderful time with Nora, Conrad and MC and they've really helped me around the home and garden too. I've got my next check-up at the doctor this afternoon, and now we're really getting into count-down mode (7.5 weeks till due date)! A number of you emailed me and said why no photos of me and my belly so here you all are.

The picture of me in red was taken on Valentine's Day when I was about 24.5 weeks, and the picture of me wearing green was taken on Sunday evening at 32 weeks. I am about 15lb heavier than the day I actually found out I was pregnant, but if you include the fact that I then lost 10lbs with morning sickness I've actually gained about 25lbs.

Check-up with Doctor and update

Some of you will be aware that I had a check-up at the doctors yesterday afternoon (April 3rd). She had the results of my tests back already and I was negative for Gestational Diabetes which is good to know. Everything else was normal and I had only gained 1.3lbs in the last 3 weeks so she was over the moon as at my last check-up 3 weeks ago I'd gained 6lbs in 3 weeks and got a telling off. I told her it was all down to Nora's cooking so she asked if there was any way that Nora could stay on for the remainder of my pregnancy - unfortunately not although we all wish the same!

Conrad and MC have spent the last 2 days touring. The drove up to the Grand Canyon on Monday where they camped overnight. They borrowed a tent from us that Conrad had practised putting up in the garden a couple of times and then yesterday (Tuesday) they carried on up to the Monument Valley where they were staying in a hotel. They are due back some point later today.

What A Week

Wednesday I received a call telling me that my glucose tolerance test that I took at 28 weeks to check for gestational diabetes had come back borderline so I needed to take a 3-hour test. I spent Thursday morning at the lab donating time and blood having fasted. Now I just need to await the results. I was also informed that I'm suffering from anemia so now I'm taking "horse" tablets to help with that.

Friday was my birthday. I got up to find my husband and siblings had decorated the kitchen with banners and balloons and organised that John would go to work late. Conrad and MC had been to Safeway the day before and bought waffles, strawberries and fresh croissants. I was certainly spoilt. I did very little during the day, just a little gardening. Thank you to everyone for their beautiful selection of gifts. I'd said I didn't want to go out for dinner so Nora cooked us roast beef, yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes followed by cheesecake. I don't think anyone could eat anything else by the end.

Saturday - well it was laundry day, but around 1.30pm having just cooked my cheese on toast, my neighbour, Sheree, called to tell me she had an emergency and needed my help there and then and could I just pop over. I put the cheese on toast down and walked over. She told me that everyone was mad so I would have to go in first. Opened the front door and there was an amazing selection of my friends. Yup they'd organised a surprise Baby Shower. You'll all be glad to know that I was at a loss for words, but I will never believe a word again from Lisa, Janet, Sheree and Joy. I've discovered that they can all lie so easily. I'm going to be spending the next week going through all the gifts that we've received and writing thank you notes to everyone. For those of you who participated....THANK YOU

Guests Settling In

John mentioned that Nora arrived on Friday. John then participated in the 32 mile Tour de Cure around North Phoenix to raise money for diabetes on Saturday. Conrad and his girlfriend, MC, both arrived on Sunday. On Monday Conrad and Nora both braved our pool. Although it was only just coming up for 65F (about 18C) they both took a running jump. Got to give them Kudos for that.

Last, but not least Mohawk and Charlotte both got extreme summer cuts yesterday, Monday 26 March. Hopefully the picture shows just how bad Mohawk is! It at least saves me from having to get him to the groomers halfway through the summer when I have a brand new baby too.

Hello and Welcome!

This is our new blog. We will update it when we have something to say. The current "big news" for those that don't already know is that Sigrid is now 6+ months pregnant and is expecting a baby girl June 2nd!!

John is just back from a 1 week software development conference in California and we now have both Sigrid's sister (Nora) and brother (Conrad, with girlfriend Marie Claire) staying with us for a couple of weeks.