Xmas Pics

Kendall & Me on Xmas Eve

Jason & Kendall on Xmas Eve

Kendall & Nolen's 1st Xmas!

Kendall in her pretty Xmas Dress

Chillin in her Boppy

Kendall on Xmas Day

Xmas Day

Jason & Me & Kendall (Not a good pic of her at all, she looks like a

chunk!)

K in her "Good things come in small packages" onesie

I hope everyone had a Merry Xmas!!! I had a really nice one. I feel very blessed. Jason & I got our healthy beautiful daughter and some nice gifts! Kendall has been a popular girl, meeting all kinds of new people. She pretty much slept thru Xmas Eve and Xmas though. What a party pooper!

Dr visits

Little Kendall went back to the Pediatrician yesterday for a weight check. She now weighs 6 lbs, 4 oz. The Dr was satisfied with that. She has turned into quite the chow hound and is getting some chubby cheeks now. My mom watched Kendall today while my dad took me to my Dr appt to have my blood pressure checked. It has come down quite a bit and my Dr was satisfied with that. She told me to just take my blood pressure meds for 1 more week and then stop taking them and come back and see her again. So we'll see what happens with that.
Overall, Kendall is good. She has her fussy moments. She usually wakes up twice during the night so I get about 5 or 6 hrs of sleep, which hasn't been all that bad. The days are just flying by. I can't believe I've already been off work for 2 weeks. Can't believe tomorrow is X-mas Eve!

Some Kendall pics!

Aww, Little Angel is fast asleep!!

I thought I'd be silly today and put Kendall in my Xmas stocking. haha!!

1 week!!

Little Kendall is already 1 week old today!! Just thought I'd share some pics I took!

More Kendall pics!!!

I took this pic of me & K.

The little girl likes to be swaddled up!!

I snuck & took this pic of Jason & Kendall last nite.

Kendall went to see the Pediatrician today. She did so good! I thought she would cry since she was only in her diaper, but she did well. The Dr said she looked perfect!! She will go next Monday for a weight check.

Her hospital pics are also up online. Go to www.stlukes-stl.com, click on "View newborns" on right side of page, Then put in December 10th as her birthdate, and click on "Janine O".

Birth Story

I'm going to try to remember best I can what happened the day Kendall was born. So as Jason had previously reported in another blog entry---On Tuesday, Dec 9th, I got to work and I started having trouble seeing clearly & kept seeing lines in front of my eyes for like 30 minutes. This is a sign of preeclampsia, which the Dr had been looking for. I called my Dr, even though I was going to see her that day anyway, but I wanted to see if they'd want me to come in earlier. But my Dr was in surgery, so no such luck. Jason decided to take me to my appt that day cuz he was afraid I was going to have vision problems again. We get to my appt. They take my blood pressure 3 times and it was high every time. This is the first appt my blood pressure had been high. So of course they are concerned. Jason leaves the room to go to the bathroom and while he's gone, my Dr comes in to talk to me. She tells me this is the sign they were looking for (high blood pressure) & I was going to be induced that day. Otherwise there is danger of me having a seizure. Jason comes back in the room in the middle of the conversation. Of course, I am terrified at this point. I did not expect to have a baby or be induced that day at all. I hadn't even packed a hospital bag!! The Dr leaves the room and I start bawling cuz I'm so scared. I get myself together and we go talk with my Dr for a few more minutes and then the nurse walks us over to the hospital. Luckily my Dr office is right at St Luke's so we didn't have a far walk. I'm very glad Jason came with me to my appt that day. So anyway, we get over there maybe around 2 or 2:30 and I get admitted. I have to answer a bunch of questions & get in a hospital gown. Jason leaves to go home & pack some stuff for our hospital stay. At 4 pm, a nurse comes in to start my pitocin and my magnesium (I guess high blood pressure patients are put on this). The IV insertion hurt really bad. I think she had trouble finding a vein cuz I was so swollen. I also have to say at this point, I'm between 2 & 3 cm dilated. I'm also scared I'm going to end up with a C-section since many inductions do lead to them. Once the pitocin and magnesium started, that meant I was going to be in bed til I had that baby. Fun. I also had an internal contraction monitor. Jason brought "Big Daddy" with Adam Sandler so we watched that. I was told I was suppose to stay calm cuz of my blood pressure so they didn't really want me talking on the phone or doing anything that would stress me out. I think I was still like 3 cm dilated when they decided to break my water at like 8:30 pm. That was a weird feeling. Just a stream of water. Contractions really weren't all that bad yet after they broke my water. It was neat to see the contractions monitored on the computer screen. At about 11:30 pm, the contractions were starting to get more painful and I was having trouble relaxing and resting cuz of them. I decided at this point to get my epidural. I think I was 4 cm dilated. The anesthesiologist comes in and administers it. Ahhhhh, relief. I love epis. I recommend them to anyone. I don't think I could have survived the night without it. It didn't even hurt that much either. I thought the IV insertion hurt more. I was then able to get a little rest. It was cool to look at the contraction monitor and see I had a "big" one and I couldn't even feel it! I don't remember much else after this. I know at one point I start feeling contractions during the nite and kept pushing the button to give myself more epi relief and it wasn't working. Turns out the bag had run out. So anesthesia came back and gave me a new bag. PHEW!! I know I was checked a few times during the nite to see how much I was dilated. I remember at the shift change in the morning, I was 8 or 9 cm & they were calling my dr to report my progress. The nurse told me I was gonna start pushing soon. I was glad at this point becuz I was having a lot of pressure in my back area and I was getting uncomfortable. So anyway, I started pushing at 8:30 am and Kendall was born at 9:24 am. The nurse said I was a really good pusher. I feel proud of myself. I was so scared of the whole birthing process and yet, I did it. I did have a small episiotomy to help get her out. The first thing I did when I saw her come out was look at her face (and I thought she's cute!), then I looked down at her genitals. and saw she was a GIRL!! haha. They took her to clean her up while I got some small stitches. I know I said this in a previous post, but she was 6 lbs, 1 oz, 19. inches long. She scored a 7 and a 9 on the Apgar test. My blood pressure continued to be high pretty much the rest of my hospital stay. I was monitored like every hour for it. They were also concerned becuz I was not urinating, so I had to have a catheter in place. So I had all this stuff still hooked up to me even the day after I gave birth. I'm now on Procardia for my blood pressure. Hopefully I won't be on it for long. I still have swollen ankles and legs but have somehow already lost 20 lbs. YES!!! I'm sure a lot of it is IV fluid. I've been doing fine, I'm sore and have back pain, but I guess that is to be expected. Breastfeeding isn't going that well yet. Kendall mostly eats formula along with the small amt I'm able to pump. Hopefully that will get better in the next couple days. Jason and I love our new daughter and it will be fun to experience all kinds of new things with her. I'd also like to say that Jason has been awesome. I love him so much. I feel very lucky to have him. I'm just suppose to be taking it easy so he's been doing pretty much everything. He's been great with the baby too. It's so cute to see your husband with your daughter. Overall, St Luke's was awesome and I wouldn't hesitate to give birth there again!

Baby Kendall Pics

New mom, dad & baby Kendall

Baby Kendall

She's so precious!!!

This is her outdoor outfit. It is HUGE on her cuz she is so little!

I like my carseat. I slept the whole way home from the hospital.

Rascal meeting the baby. He licked her head.

I'm back with a BABY!

Hi everyone, Sorry I haven't been on in a few days, I've been a bit busy. Thanks to everyone who has called, texted or emailed me, I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back with you. We were able to bring the baby home from the hospital yesterday after a 48 hour stay. Oh, for those of you that don't know, she also has a name--Kendall Elizabeth Orf. I think it has a good ring to it. I still am kinda in shock that I had a girl! There goes that mother's intuition. All my dreams I had were that I was having a boy, pretty much everyone thought I was having a boy. We sure were all wrong!!! I guess the old wive's tale of a high heartbeat being a girl panned out this time! A girl will be fun though. Jason is already joking about putting me on a weekly allowance cuz he's afraid I'm gonna spend a bunch of money. U probably want to know more about the little one. She was 6 lbs, 1 oz, 19.5 inches when she was born. She has some hair. Overall, she's doing really well. It was a bit frustrating last nite cuz I think she already has her days and nights mixed up. She had a couple screaming spells and we didn't know what was wrong with her. I think she's still hungry after we feed her cuz she continues to do the little "bird mouth" thing. Jason and I took turns getting up cuz she eats every 3 hrs. She's been sleeping pretty much all day today though. She can be a bit fussy at times. We also introduced her to our dog, Rascal. He's been pretty good with her so far but she also hasn't had a screaming spell yet. So we'll see. I'll maybe have to write up a little birth story in the near future. Feel free to check my friend's, Nikki and Gretchen's blog for some pics of the little one. U can just click on their names on the right side of the page.

Sitting in the Hospital

Ok, so the time has come!

Janine had her 37 week Dr's appt. today. Well this morning when we got to work, Janine started to have blurred vision and was seeing lines. So since this had happened I was for sure going to drive her to the Dr's in case it would happen again.

So, we get to the Dr's and the nurse checked her blood pressure and it was high, that along with the blurred vision, is usually a sign of preeclampsia. This was something that the Dr has been worried about for a lil while, b/c of all the swelling Janine was having.

The doctors office is also connected to the hospital that we chose to have the deliveryat. So one little quick walk down the hallway and we were getting her admitted. The doctor has already induced labor and we are expecting our baby sometime after midnight. After she got settled in I had to quick run home and pack her a bag and get everything else needed. We were totally not prepared for this to happen today. I guess it's time to start picking out some names.

Wish us luck and there will be some pictures in the near future.

Maternity slide show!

Nikki has our maternity photo shoot up on her blog. Check out the slide show at www.nicolewelchphotography.com/slideshows/BabyOrf I hope everyone likes the pics as much as I do!!!!!! :) Thanks Nikki!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 4th Anniversary to me and Jason!! Can't believe it's already been 4 yrs! Time sure flies!! :) and now we're gonna have a little family here shortly. Awwwwwwww.

In baby news, well this might be too much information, but I will share it anyway. I lost all or part of my mucus plug yesterday. So obviously things are progressing! I know this is no indication of labor and women can lose it and not go into labor for weeks, but I still see it as progress. We'll see what happens!

You know what is really hard to do these days? Put on socks!! It's about impossible. Plus my legs are so swollen, the socks cut into them. I actually wore Jason's slipper socks to work the other day with my shoes cuz they are loose and he had to put them on me. They still cut into my skin. So now I'm back to not wearing socks, luckily my shoes have fur in them to keep my feet warm. Fun stuff.

36 Week Pic

36 Weeks!!!

According to "What to expect" for this week, baby is about 6 lbs & measures slightly more than 20 inches in length.

Baby's skull isn't the only soft structure in his or her little body. Most of baby's bones & cartilage are quite soft as well (they'll harden over the first few yrs of life) allowing for an easier journey as baby squeezes thru the birth canal at delivery. The skull bones are also not fused together yet so that the head can easily (well, relatively easily) maneuver thru the birth canal.

Growth will experience a slowdown now, both so your baby will be able to fit the narrow passageway to the outside and also so he or she can store up all the energy needed for delivery.

By now, many of baby's systems are pretty mature, at least in baby terms and just about ready for life on the outside. Blood circulation has been perfected & baby's immune system has matured enough to protect him or her from infections outside the womb. Other systems, however, still need a few finishing touches. One such example--digestion--which actually won't be fully mature until sometime after birth. Why's that?? Inside his or her little gestational cocoon, the baby has relied on the umbilical cord for nutrition, meaning that the digestive system--though developed--hasn't been operational. So baby will take the first yr or two to bring that system up to speed.

I washed a bunch of baby stuff a couple days ago. I don't know how many newborn and 0-3 month outfits to wash though in case we have a bigger baby and the newborn outfits don't even fit. I also bought a waterproof pad to put under me on our bed. We have a pillow top mattress and I wouldn't want it ruined if my water were to break during the night. That would be a disaster since I've heard it smells like ammonia. Yech. I guess u could say I'm preparing for this baby to come early now. I know women can walk around 2 cm dilated for a few weeks and nothing happens, but I'd rather be prepared. I'll be anxious to see if I've made any more progress at my next dr appt although I don't really look forward to the internal exam again. But I guess I just have to deal with it. Giving birth will be 10 times worse than an internal, I'm sure.

Dr visit

I went to the Dr today. I had my first internal exam. Not too fun, it was uncomfortable & it hurt. The good news is that I'm 2 cm dilated and the baby is head down! Progress for me! My swelling is still bad. She looked at my legs today and they are like big sausages. She said they are so tight. I've gained 7 lbs since my appt last week. It has to be water weight. I haven't been eating in excess at all cuz most sweet or salty foods taste really weird to me and leave a gross taste in my mouth. I guess that is a good thing, then I'm not indulging in a bunch of junk. But on the other hand, it stinks cuz of all the holiday goodies I'd like to eat! My blood pressure is still in the normal range. I did have a bit of protein in my urine again today. I got the results of my Strep B test and I tested negative, so that is good. Baby's heartbeat was in the 160 range.
I think the baby has "dropped". Three people have told me this. I feel a lot more pressure now too and a lot of tightness across my stomach. As nervous as I am to give birth, it will be nice not to have pregnancy symptoms. But then I'll be dealing with post partum issues in addition to caring for a baby. I have a lot of tingling in my right hand and still have heartburn like every day. Pepcid AC is a good friend of mine.

35 Weeks!!!

According to "What to expect" for this week-- at about 20 inches & 5.5 lbs, most of baby's growth over the next month or so will be in weight, not height (baby has pretty much reached the in-utero limit in that dept). Fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days. Back in the middle of my pregnancy, baby's weight was made up of only 2% fat, now that percentage has soared to closer to 15% (and it will increase to 30% at term). Baby's once skinny arms & legs are now quite plump.

Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds the brain, the skull, remains soft. & for good reason, a soft skull will allow the baby to squeeze more easily thru the birth canal. Imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head! Yeah, well, I'm still trying to imagine pushing out a soft skulled head.

I went to the Dr yesterday. I'm still swollen. My blood pressure was fine though. I might have some kind of urine infection though. They are sending it to the lab. I haven't noticed anything different though. I also got tested for Strep B. Will get the results for that next week too. I guess if you have it, you just need antibiotics during delivery. Baby's heartbeat was in the 140's.

Sneak Peek of photos

Nikki has a "sneak peek" of our maternity shoot on her blog. The address is http://www.nicolewelch.wordpress.com/ Check it out!

Maternity photo shoot

Today Jason & I did a maternity photo shoot with my good friend, Nikki. She does awesome work for anyone needing a photographer!! I don't have any photos to show you yet. I will post a link whenever she has a chance to work on them. I can't wait to see them!!! It was really fun and she did a lot of poses. She did quite a few pics with just me and then ones with me and Jason, even Rascal decided he didn't want to be left out and is in some of the pics. Silly dog! We took pics all around our house and even braved the cold and did a few outside. So look for these pics in the coming week!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to give a shout out to my husband, Jason. Today is his 29th Birthday! I hope you have a good day, J!! I love you!!!! :)

34 Weeks!!

According to "What to expect" for this week, baby could be as tall as 20 inches right now & could weigh about 5 lbs. If baby is a boy, this week his testicles are making their way down from his abdomen to his scrotum. Baby's fingernails now reach the end of the fingertips & may even curl over the tip, making a manicure one of the 1st things I'll need to do for this baby.

I went to the Dr yesterday. Everything is ok for now. My blood pressure & urine were both good. She checked my swollen feet and seemed satisfied with them. They are still very swollen though. I haven't gained any weight since my appt last week, in fact, I lost a pound. So that is good! Baby's heartbeat was in the 140's. I have now entered the home stretch and will visit the Dr weekly. Where the heck did the time go?? It seems like it was just May and I was peeing on a stick and finding out I was pregnant and thinking I had a long way to go & now the time is almost here. Jason & I are gonna be parents in 6 weeks or less. Um.....YIKES!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, I went to do the banking for work. I usually just go through the drive-thru, but I had to go in to get something notarized. Usually the same guy notarizes for me every time. He knows I'm pregnant & his wife just had a baby in June so he's a bit familiar with pregnancies. So anyway, he's like "How far along are you again?? Wait, let me guess!!!!" So I'm waiting to see what he comes up with. He says "5 months!" I said, "Nope, I'm due next month!" He says "Really??? U are prlly gonna have a 6 or 7 lb baby. My wife was 3 times your size at 8 months." HAHA. I'm sure his wife would love that he said that about her. Anyway, I just thought it was funny.

Shower pics

Isn't this cake so cute??

Some of my gifts.

Flower centerpieces and M & M favor boxes

Mom, Gretch, Me, Kirsten & Corinne

Me & the "Good things come in small packages" onesie

Me with the lion bank Cory gave me.

Me with this cute picture frame.

Jason's mom embroidered this quilt for Baby O,

this picture doesn't do it justice. It turned out

so cute!! Nice work MIL!

Jason's "Aunt" Karen embroidered a bunch of things

for us too. These are some of my favs. I love the cap

that says "ORF" on it.

2nd Baby Shower

Yesterday, I had my 2nd baby shower. My sis-in-law, Alli and my mother-in-law, Janet did a really nice job! Everything was really cute. The cake spelled out "BABY" in block letters & each block was a different flavor of cake (chocolate, white, yellow or marble). For the favors, they ordered special M & M's and some of them said "Welcome Baby Orf" and others said "Boy or Girl?" and they put them in these little plastic baby boxes tied with ribbon. For the centerpieces, they had an assortment of flowers and the vase was a baby block. Really cute. I got the motherload of gifts. I feel like I was opening gifts forever. Everyone was so generous. I really appreciate it!!! I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
On a side note, I found some shoes that actually fit me!!!! SCORE! Never mind that they are a size 11 but it's better than wearing flip flops when it's cold out. They aren't the cutest thing, but they'll work for now.

33 Weeks!!

According to "What to expect" for this week, baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length & weigh more than 4 & 1/2 lbs. At this stage in fetal development, baby could grow a full inch more this week alone--especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. Weight gain can range from a third more growth to a full doubling before the big debut.

The level of amniotic fluid in my uterus has reached its maximum at 33 weeks, making it likely I have more baby than fluid now. That is one reason I'm probably feeling lots of nudges & pushes becuz there's less liquid to cushion the blows.

If my uterine walls had eyes, here's what I'd see: fetus is acting more & more like a baby with his or her eyes closing during sleep & opening while awake. & Because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping baby differentiate between day & night. ( I wish they'd know the difference once they are outside the womb!!!)

Baby has reached an important milestone about now: the development of his or her immune system that (along with antibodies from me) will be able to provide protection from mild infections.

Jason & I went last night to try and find some comfy shoes for me. Yeah, no such luck. It's really kinda depressing. I hardly fit into any shoe. I thought clogs would work, but I can't even fit my foot into some of those. I even tried some men's shoes out of desperation. Luckily, I can just wear slippers at work. I guess I'll just have to stuff my sausage feet into some shoes if I go out in public or resort to wearing flip flops. I am soo glad it's not warm out right now. It would be good for the flip flops but I think the swollen-ness might be even worse in warm weather. I'm feeling a bit nervous now about everything. I should probably wash some baby outfits and pack my hospital bag just in case something would happen & I'd have to deliver early. I'd rather be prepared than not. I hope my swelling goes down some before my dr appt next week.

Dr appt

So I went to the dr today for my appt. I've gained quite a bit of weight since my last appt 2 weeks ago. The Dr comes in the room and says "U can't have gained that much weight since the last time?" I said "Look at my feet, they are soo swollen." She says "Oh my, u must have a lot of water weight!" She said she can even see it my in face. (Yeah, my face is fat!) So she is concerned now that I might develop preeclampsia. She said my blood pressure & urine are great. But she wants to keep an eye on the swollen-ness. So I have an appt next week again. I'm also suppose to buy some different shoes too cuz the shoes I wear cut off my circulation. I actually looked yesterday at Payless & Wal-mart for some cheap shoes but didn't see any. I think I will just wear slippers at work. Good thing I don't have too much longer to go!!!!

32 Weeks!!

According to "What to expect" this week, baby weighs almost 4 lbs & could be up to 19 inches long. Although that is a head to toe length, baby is actually back to a curled up position. Hopefully baby has also settled into the head-down, bottoms up position in preparation for birth. If it hasn't, there's still a good chance he/she will flip head down, even in the tight confines of my uterus.

While baby is still getting nourishment through the umbilical cord, it won't be long before it will be getting breast milk &/or formula. In anticipation of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, baby's digestive system is all set & ready to go. Because baby is accumulating more fat, his/her skin is finally turning opaque (like ours). Baby is looking more & more like a newborn!!

I think I'm ready to be done with this whole pregnancy thing. I'm still overall fine. But I've been having a lot acid reflux lately and it's not fun. Plus this baby is camped out on my right side and likes to kick/punch me and it's getting uncomfortable! Plus I look like a balloon cuz I'm all swollen. Only 56 days left to go. I still don't know where the time went!!!! I can now tell people I'm due next month! Aaaaaaaaaah.

Baby Shower

I had my 1st baby shower on Sat, Nov 1st. Gretchen, My mom, Cory & Kirstie did a really good job with it. Everything was so cute. They had a "Sweet Pea" theme. They also made cute sugar cookies for favors. People came quite a distance for my shower. My Gma Capuano, Gma Liebner & Aunt Janell came down from Milwaukee. Aunt Irene came in from Seattle but flew to Milwaukee and drove with the Grandmas' and Janell down to St Louis. My friend, Erika, came from Kansas City. And the biggest surprise was my friend, Amy. She came in from Cleveland. I had no idea she was coming, she had told me she wouldn't be able to make it. Thank you all for making the trip! Baby Orf got a lot of wonderful things and I had fun opening everything. We also had everyone bring a book instead of a card and we got a lot of great books. Can't wait to read them! Here are some pics from the shower.




Onesie "Welcome" sign at the clubhouse

Sugar cookie shower favors

Isn't this cake the cutest???

Me & the sisters

Gretchen & I

Cory & Kirstie

Kirstie made me this blanket and wrote me the

sweetest poem. I cried!

Mom & Aunt Irene

Me & Fellow Preggie, Erika

Amy, Me, Nikki & Gretch

Aunt Irene, me & Aunt Janell

Gma Capuano, Me & Gma Liebner