2010: year in review

baby:
2010 started off with me being around 31 weeks pregnant and pretty swollen. Jordan was due March 4, but I felt like I was about to split open and didn’t know how I would ever make it 2 more months. Luckily, God, Jordan and my body had a plan for an early escape - like 3 weeks early! Labor went relatively quick once my water broke. After about 5 hours, an epidural, and 40 minutes of pushing Jordan was here! Our precious 6 lb 4 oz baby girl had made her arrival into the world on February 10. Life hasn’t been the same since, but it is good. We’re now the parents of an almost one year old, so we’ve survived the first year! The reflux, sleep deprivation, teething, crawling, separation anxiety, and impending walking have all been worth it. I can say that now at least :) Jordan is such a beautiful, sweet, fun little girl. We’re looking forward to more fun with her in the years ahead!

house:
2010 was also the year we FINALLY bought a house. After looking at what seemed to be close to 100 homes, we finally found the one for our family. We literally walked in, toured for 10-15 minutes, and decided to put an offer in. Two days later it was accepted as-is and that was that. We moved into our new place the end of May. Chip and I crazily decided to remodel the kitchen ourselves in 2 weeks– with no prior experience and a 3 month old baby! Needless to say it was a tremendous amount of work; Chip suffered a few sleepless nights and a 15 lb weight loss, and it was more than we could have ever bargained for. BUT, now we have an awesome brand new kitchen to show for it. Thanks again U.S. Government for paying for it (tax credit was the best!). We’ve now been in our house 7 months and have really grown fond of our place. We are truly blessed to have this home. We love the house and the great neighborhood it is in. Our patience definitely paid off!



family:
2010 also brought my parents back to Florida. First they came to visit in March after Jordan was born. Then the next week their house in Kansas City sold and within a few months my dad got a job in Pensacola. They moved to Pace in August. It is nice to have them so close. The last time they lived this close to me I was still living at home, so a while! They got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with us this year, so that was fun. We’re glad to have babysitters so close by should we ever need to leave Jordan and Frank for a vacation…say to Italy this Spring ;)

sad times:
2010 also had sad times as well. First, Polly Sauter passed away in early January. Polly was like a Grandmother to me. I met her when I was in kindergarten through her granddaughter. Over the years my whole family has stayed in contact with her and her husband Jack. For several years they would come over to our house for Christmas. Polly and Jack were also at my wedding. I am grateful to have had many years to know her and a lot of good memories.

Another loss our family suffered occurred in late October when my sister-in-law Erin passed away. It was a shocking and unexpected loss. Sadly, Jordan never got to meet her Aunt Erin. It will take us quite a while to process her loss. My heart goes out to Chip and his entire family. It can’t be easy, and probably never will be.

final reflections:
2010 was a year filled with highs and lows. It had its challenges, but also its rewards like Jordan’s smile, all of our family being so close now, and our great friends. All of which we’ve relied on this year. Who knows what 2011 will bring, but as always I look forward to another year of growing and learning as a family.

jordan: month 9

Jordan is 3/4 of a year old! At her 9 month check-up she weighed in at 19.8 lbs and 28” in length. This month marked Jordan’s first Thanksgiving. Both sets of her grandparents joined us as well as her Aunt Candi. Jordan got to try some our turkey and mashed potatoes. She didn’t appear to be a fan of either. Not surprising, since we started giving her baby food with chunks of veggies this month she won’t open her mouth and doesn’t want to eat it. We’ve also started giving her more finger foods, sometimes as a snack and sometimes just pieces of things we’re eating. So far she’s had puffs, grapes, chicken, steak, fish, and green beans. Jordan’s gotten much better at feeding herself and not just dropping everything into her lap. She also got her 3rd tooth, one of her front teeth, this month. Jordan is developing more emotionally now, too. Overall she is a very happy baby. She laughs and smiles often, especially when I sing her favorite song “Skidder Marinky Dinky Dink.” She has begun to experience a bit of separation anxiety though, and that is not fun. She cries almost every time we leave her in the church nursery. She seems to get over it in a few minutes, so that is good, but if she sees us in the room and we don’t immediately come to her she will start to cry again. It breaks my heart every time it happens. One word she doesn’t like is “no.” Jordan will throw a fit and cry if I tell her no. Oh joy! I thought she was too young for this. Jordan has also mastered getting into the crawling position from being seated and standing up with assistance. The thought of her walking soon is just crazy to me. She’ll no longer be a baby and will graduate to being a toddler. Slow down Jordan, I don’t know if I’m ready!

jordan: month 8

Month 8 wasn’t the most eventful month for Jordan. A few of the highlights included Jordan doing the sign for more (maybe), spending the whole day with Grandma Franklin so Mommy & Daddy could have a date, eating meat for the first time (a jar of Earth’s Best Apple Turkey Cranberry dinner), holding her own bottle during feedings, and saying “Dada.” We had a less-than-exciting trip to the Pumpkin Patch at the Methodist church in Niceville. Jordan seemed very disinterested – maybe it was too noisy with the loud traffic sounds and jet noise from Eglin. Month 8 also brought a sad first for Jordan - her first funeral. Chip’s sister Erin passed away unexpectedly this month. Sadly, Jordan never got to meet her Aunt Erin. Chip and I are committed to making sure Jordan knows about her through pictures and stories. Chip and I travelled to Naples for a memorial service for Erin and left Jordan for the first time. We were away from her for 5 days. She did great at my parent’s house. We are so grateful to have them so close by now. Because we were in Naples, we missed Jordan’s first Halloween. Not a big deal since she is so little and has no concept of the holiday. Jordan was going to be a sock monkey, but I couldn’t find a costume so I ended up buying her a cute pink sock monkey hat. At least she can wear the hat during winter so she’ll get some use out of it. Besides, it’s adorable :) Jordan’s still not crawling yet. She doesn’t really seem interested. She can roll pretty much anywhere she wants to go. She is getting up and rocking on her knees now, so she’ll probably be crawling in a few more weeks. For now I am just enjoying her while she’s still not too mobile. Once she is I’m sure she’ll be off. My little girl is growing up so fast!

jordan: month 7

Month seven was a big month for Jordan. My little girl got her first two teeth…at once! Jordan also got her first fever, not related to an immunization. She had it for about a day and then it went away. Luckily Tylenol came to the rescue. Jordan continues to learn and do new things all the time. She reaches and grabs for anything and now I have to watch her even more closely as she almost pulled a dinner plate off the table! Jordan’s “vocabulary” has also expanded. She says “la-la-la” quite a bit in a sing-songy voice. She also is making a gurgly “G”. Jordan still isn’t crawling yet, but is quite adept at scooting and rolling to get to where she wants to go. When Jordan tries to crawl she just ends up pushing herself backwards. I’m in no rush for her to be mobile…just yet. Month seven also brought the demise of the pacifier – mostly because I was sick of getting up in the middle of the night to put it back in her mouth when she woke up looking for it. It was really not bad. As long as she doesn’t see it, she doesn’t miss it, though I have slacked a bit lately and brought it back a few times because it seems to help her when her teeth are bothering her. Taking her pacifier away has helped her to sleep from 8:30 p.m. until around 7 a.m. soundly – hallelujah! On September 26 Jordan did the sign, or what looked like the sign, for hungry. I have been signing to her hungry, milk, all done, and more since she was around 4 months old. I’m still not 100% convinced she really did it, but our friend who was there at the time said it sure looked like it to her. Jordan also learned to clap her hands, which she demonstrated for the first time at our friend Lexi’s baby shower. Several of Jordan’s firsts happened in front of a group of people. I guess she likes to impress people with her skills? She is also waving, though usually not when you wave at her. She’ll just randomly wave. Jordan also reached out for her Daddy when he came to pick her up from the church nursery on October 3. I didn’t get to see that one, but Chip said it was really sweet. Since he is usually at work during her firsts, I’ll gladly let him have this one :) I think that is about it for this month. Jordan just continues to amaze us with all that she learns and I continue to be amazed how fast she is growing up!

jordan: month 6

Jordan’s sixth month stats: 16.2 lbs, 26.5” long. She’s in the 75th percentile for both height and weight – yay! Based on those numbers, she has certainly caught up since her slow start. Jordan reached several milestones during her sixth month of life. She can sit up on her own unsupported now and she can also roll from her stomach to her back. Jordan also reaches for objects, which I place just out of reach to encourage her to crawl. She looks like she is trying, but just hasn’t gotten all the mechanics down yet. I’m OK with her not being mobile just yet. Jordan likes if you sing and dance for her and will smile when you clap your hands. She also seems to recognize her name and will look at you if you call her. Another “skill” she gained this month was the ability to put her foot in her mouth and suck on her big toe – lovely! Jordan continues to enjoy eating and began eating apple sauce, squash, green beans, peaches, pears, and oatmeal this month. Fun things we did with Jordan this month included: lunch with Grandpa Franklin in Pensacola, welcoming back our friend from deployment in Afghanistan, and going to the Fort Walton Beach Greek Festival. I can hardly believe my baby girl is already half a year old! I am looking forward to more adventures and developments!

jordan: months 0 – 5

I’ve been meaning to update my blog month-by-month with updates about life with Jordan, but obviously I haven’t. So, I plan on recapping the past 5 months of her life in one post and then hoping to be diligent in keeping up each month from now on. We’ll see. Here we go!

Month 0 (February):

Life is a HUGE adjustment with a newborn. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life! I can’t seem to remember anything since I’m so sleep deprived. Luckily we write down every time Jordan eats and when we change her diapers so we don’t forget - seriously. Jordan is a tiny little baby, maybe only 6 lbs. She sleeps a lot. Her cries are quiet, cute, and lamb-like at this point – which earns her the nickname Lambie. We watch the winter Olympics pretty much 24/7 since it is the only thing on in the wee hours of the night/morning. On a side note, I am now familiar with the ins and outs of curling :) I feel like I’ve been hit by a semi, but at least I started feeling more like myself within a few weeks. Chip is exhausted as well and has been my total support during this time. I seriously couldn't do this without him. Frank is not sure what to think. He knows something is different, but isn’t quite sure what to make of this little screaming “thing”. He tries to sit on our lap when Jordan is there and always wants to be around us. I guess maybe this is how an older sibling feels when the new baby comes home, like they’re being replaced? We try to give him extra attention to make sure he doesn’t get sad. When Jordan is about 3 weeks old she gets a cold, or so we think. She sounds awfully congested so we take her to the doctor. The doctor says she has Gastro Esophageal Reflux and prescribes baby Zantac for her. She had been spitting up so much it would come out her nose and the stomach acid would inflame her nasal passages. My poor little Lambie :(

Month 1 (March):

Jordan is getting slightly bigger; she may be 7 pounds now according to our bathroom scale. She still has issues with her reflux and spits up quite a bit even a few hours after she eats. She is getting more and more alert and expressive, but still sleeps most of the time. She smiled for the first time on March 26. It was beyond adorable and totally makes up for the lack of sleep, daily crying fits from 4 – 6 pm we affectionately refer to as “the witching hours”, and the total chaos our lives have now become. Jordan HATES bath time and screams the entire time we bathe her. I hope she grows out of this! Jordan likes to look at some simple black & white pictures I drew for her of a smiley face, tree, checkerboard, and a lamb. March brought my parents from Kansas City, MO for a visit. I enjoyed getting some help caring for Jordan for a week. Chip and I even got to go see a movie together, Alice in Wonderland. I’m surprised we were able to stay awake through it though! Jordan got to go to the beach for the first time and to Destin Commons, a local outdoor shopping center.

Month 2 (April):

At 2 months old Jordan is up to 9.2 lbs! Yay, she is finally gaining some weight. The reflux is now under control and she isn’t spitting up most everything she eats. April brought Jordan’s first Easter. Not that she cared; she was red-faced and screaming most of the day. I did put a pretty little dress on her for Easter Sunday at church. It was much too big on her. Jordan slept through the night from 9:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. on April 25. When both Chip and I woke up that morning and realized neither one of us had to get up with her during the night we were SO excited. A full night’s sleep never felt so good! And with more sleep, my memory started getting better. Now more triple-checking to make sure I locked the front door because I couldn't remember if I had or not. Yes! Month 2 also brought the demise of half the hair on Jordan’s head. I figured she wouldn’t be a brunette baby since both Chip and I were blonds, but I guess I thought I’d be more gradual than it was. April was a big month for our family as we decided to purchase our first house! We were excited to find it and to soon have a lot more space and a yard. We decided to remodel the kitchen, ourselves, before we moved in.

Month 3 (May):

May was a busy month for all us! Jordan now weighs in around 10.5 lbs and is getting heavier by the day. Jordan’s feeding issues are a thing of the past, and our baby girl is thriving now. She is now a little chatterbox! She makes all sorts of fun “oohs” and “ahhs”. Jordan also loves to smile at us and anyone she encounters. She loves to sit in her swing in our sun room and look out the window at all the trees. Jordan also loves to play on her undersea toy mat and bat and grab the toys and rings on it. She enjoys her baths now too. She smiles excitedly as she kicks her legs to splash the water. If she gets startled or scared by a loud noise, she screams and cries…so sad! We celebrated my first Mother’s Day by participating in Baby Dedication at our church. May marked my and Chip’s 6^th anniversary. It also was the month we became homeowners…and home renovators. Chip and several friends and family members overhauled our kitchen by ripping out counter tops, cabinets, and knocking out a soffit. We are so grateful for all the help. It was a stressful and exhausting 2 weeks, but in the end our new kitchen looks amazing! I have loved cooking in it so far and am looking forward to putting it to use for the holidays.

Month 4 (June):

Jordan now tips the scales at 12.6 lbs and 24.5”! She has now doubled her birth weight. She also drools like crazy now and sucks on her hands. June was a big month for Jordan. Not only did she roll over from her back to her stomach on June 2, in front of a group of friends no less, but she also started solid foods. I wondered if she’d be too young for it, but she took to it instantly and seems to love eating solid food like a big girl. We started her on rice cereal on June 5 and then a few weeks later gave her peas, which she made the funniest face of disgust when she ate. She got over her disdain for peas and still eats them. Jordan continues to love to chat and smile at us and others. Jordan also laughed out loud for the first time. At first I thought she coughed, but then I realized it was a laugh. She’ll laugh if you kiss her on the cheek or blow on her belly. It is so cute!! She also likes to play “Super Jordan”, where we hold her up in the air and fly her around like Superman. Jordan is also a bit of an observer. She loves to just sit and watch people in the room and sometimes finds that more interesting than her toys. She also smiled at Frank! It was precious. She was playing on the floor and Frank walked in her room and she smiled at him. June brought the celebration of Chip’s first Father’s Day. We celebrated the day by spending it with his family in Bonifay. We took Jordan to Chip’s parent’s church and introduced her to their friends. June also brought the exciting news that my dad got a job in Pensacola and my parents would now be living one hour away instead of 16. We’re very excited that Jordan will get to have both sets of her grandparents so close by.

Month 5 (July):

Jordan’s weight is now up to 14 lbs and she is 26.25” long. She’s getting more and more active and looks to be getting close to being mobile. She loves to roll over on to her belly, but often gets frustrated and cries when she can’t roll back over or get anywhere. She moves her arms and legs when on her belly, but just hasn’t gotten it together enough to move anywhere. Her hand eye coordination has gotten really good now and she puts everything in her mouth! She even tries to put her pacifier in her mouth, but sometimes she misses and bops herself in the cheek. Jordan is also quite vocal, shrieking and squealing whenever the mood strikes her. She also loves in sit up and see the world from that vantage point. We have to support her when she sits up since she’ll fall over if we don’t steady her. Jordan reaches out and “pets” Frank now when he’s near her. It is SO cute! Jordan still loves her veggies and has now added carrots and sweet potatoes into the rotation. Jordan has had a few cranky days this month due to her teething. No teeth have cut through yet, but we suspect they will sometime in the next couple of weeks. Jordan likes if you sing and dance for her. During 4^th of July she’d get a big smile on her face if you’d hum patriotic songs for her. Jordan had her first 4^th of July. She slept through the fireworks though. Oh well, maybe next year. Chip and I are enjoying a newfound sense of stability in our lives. We know have 5 months under our belts of being parents and feel like we are more prepared and enjoying things more now. We’re definitely more easy-going parents. We tend to not let ourselves worry too much about things. If Jordan is healthy and happy, then we are good.

jordan's story

Well, our baby girl did not want to wait until March 4 to be born! I had been feeling pretty uncomfortable the last few weeks of pregnancy. My feet were very swollen. I was having more and more Braxton Hicks contractions, and I felt like the skin on my stomach was going to split open. I truly felt like I couldn’t get any bigger. I was supposed to work until February 26, but my boss jokingly said on Friday, February 5 when I was having a contraction that this better not be my last day. I laughed it off. Little did I know…

Without going into too much detail, the next morning I started having early labor symptoms. I shrugged it off at first thinking it was just a sign labor would be coming in the next month. When I consulted my “What to Expect” book, it said the symptoms I was having meant the baby could be born in 24 – 48 hours. Then I began to panic. So that day Chip and I went into overdrive washing every outfit, blanket, and burp cloth, installing the car seat and packing our bags for the hospital. I felt fine most of the day and didn’t even have any contractions. By the end of the day, I wondered if it was just a false alarm. Sunday morning I woke up and was still experiencing the same symptoms, so we decided to call the hospital. The Labor & Delivery nurse said not to come in until my contractions were 5 minutes apart. At that point I wasn’t having any. Of course, I felt fine most of the day but then at 3:30 pm I began having contractions. They were pretty painful, but were 2 hours apart.

Monday morning I called my doctor and she had me come in. She checked me and I was already 2 – 3 cm dilated and 80 – 90% effaced. She agreed that I would be having this baby before March. I asked her when she thought I might go into labor and she said it could be a day or two or a week. All we could do was wait.

I was having contractions off and on for the next 2 days, but they never seemed to progress. Most days they even stopped. I was having constant lower back pain, which I know now was actually still labor pains.

That Wednesday afternoon I took a nap on the couch around 3 pm. About an hour later I was awoken by a contraction - a quite painful one! Before I could get off the couch to walk it off, I felt a pop and then a gush. My water had just broken! I knew that meant I needed to get to the hospital ASAP. Chip and I grabbed our bags and the car seat and headed out. Within 5 minutes I was already having contractions, luckily not very painful. They were less than 5 minutes apart within another 5-8 minutes. Once I got to the hospital I was taken by wheelchair to labor and delivery.

The nurse hooked me up to the fetal heart & contraction monitor. My contractions started getting really intense and my back was killing me! Plus the contractions were "coupling" and coming in waves of two back to back. Not fun! The nurse checked me and I was already 6 cm dilated in just a few minutes. The nurse said I’d be having this baby tonight. I knew my mother would be excited – she liked the idea of the baby being born on 2/10/2010. My doctor was called in and she checked me out and said this little girl was down very low and that was why I was having such painful back labor. It wasn't much longer until I wanted an epidural.

I debated getting one since I didn’t know how bad the pain of child birth would be. Chip and I did take a Prepared Child Birth (Lamaze) Class where I learned breathing techniques I used up until it got to be too painful for me. In the end I am glad I got the epidural, it made things much more bearable. After I got it the nurse showed me the at least 4 inch needle that was stuck into my back - at that point I didn't care, I felt so much more comfortable. The only bad thing was that the epidural made my blood pressure drop suddenly (a potential side effect that I was concerned about since I have low blood pressure to begin with) which in turn made the baby's heart rate drop. I was put on oxygen and laid on my side and my pressure and the baby’s heart rate came back up in a few minutes.

By 8:45 pm (4 hours later) I was already 9+ cm dilated and by 9:15 pm I was fully dilated. I started pushing at 9:30 pm and the baby was born at 10:21 pm. When the baby's head came out the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. I had to stop pushing while the doctor tried to get some slack on the cord to loosen it (she couldn't), tried to get it off the baby's head (couldn't, it was too tight), and then she clamped it and cut it. A few seconds later the baby was out. We decided to name her Jordan Elizabeth.

Jordan was laid on my chest for just a second. She was so blue and looked like she wasn't moving. The nurses took her immediately to the warmer and began to clean her and suck out her nostrils and throat. I asked if she was breathing because she didn't cry nor did she seem to move much. It seemed like a long time, but in reality was a few seconds, before I heard Jordan let out a cry and squirm around. She had a much more normal coloring to her by then. The nurses noted she seemed to struggle a little when she was breathing and they thought they heard fluid in her lungs, so she was immediately taken to the NICU. It would be 3 hours before I saw her again. Chip went with Jordan when they took her off to be examined. He would take pictures of her and then come back to the delivery room I was in and let me see them on the viewfinder. He also told me she was 6 lbs 4 oz and 20 ¾” in long. Not too bad for being born 3 weeks early.

At 1:30 am I was wheeled into the nursery to see her. She looked so much better! The nurse said she was breathing fine now and that she coughed out most of the fluid in her lungs. All her tests came back good and she was in good health. We stayed and watched as the nurse gave her first bath. I noticed how much hair Jordan had! There must be some truth to the old wives’ tale about heartburn during pregnancy! After they put her in the warmer to get her temperature back up, she was brought to me and Chip at 3:30 am and we got to hold her for the first time. She was so tiny, but so adorable! We are truly blessed that Jordan had a safe and healthy birth and that my health throughout this pregnancy was good as well.