More of the story...

After visting the NICU, Joe and I tried to get as much sleep as we could. We hadn't slept much that day [I wonder why :) ]I had to keep waking up every time the nurses wanted to check my vitals, but got some good sleep for the most part. The next morning (Thursday) I woke up and immediately wanted to go upstairs to visit Kylie. After waiting over 24 hours after she was born, I finally got to hold my new baby! I was so happy! We were told by the doctors that they would decide by Saturday, July 4th, if she would be able to come home or if she would have to stay. Thursday and Friday we spent time in the NICU and in our room with all of the visitors that came. Saturday morning I was told by the doctor that I would be discharged sometime later in the day. After talking to my doctor, we went upstairs to see what the NICU doctor had to say. After she made her rounds of all the babies, the doctor came back to us and informed us that Kylie would be staying in the NICU for a while longer. We were told the earliest she would come home would be Tuesday and the latest would be Saturday. She still needed some antibiotics and was also a little jaundiced. Joe and I were both very upset at the thought of having to leave the hospital without Kylie. My mom came up and helped us get everything ready to go home. We came home and ate lunch (Bush's chicken...YUM!...since the thought of chicken made me sick throughout my entire pregnancy). We took a nap and relaxed for a little bit before heading back up to the hospital. When we left the hospital that night we both were very upset. It is hard to see your baby in the NICU and then have to leave her there. On our way home we saw the fireworks from the Brazos. We got some food and headed home to try and get some sleep. We slept as much as we could. We got up Sunday morning and again headed up to the hospital to see what the doctor had to say. We finally got some good news. The doctor said it looked like Kylie would be coming home on Tuesday, but she wouldn't know for sure until Monday morning. We were so excited! We spent the day on Sunday visiting Kylie (like we would do anything else).
Monday morning we got up and like the days before, we headed up to the hospital. When we got there, we got even better news. The doctor said Kylie would get to go home on Tuesday and we could stay with her Monday night in a room at the hospital. It is called "Care by Parent". It is a room that is close to the NICU that parents can stay in the day before their baby goes home. We were told we would be fully responsible for feeding and changing her, but the nurses would be right around the corner if we needed anything. After speaking with the doctor we headed home to get our bags packed to stay overnight. We called everyone on the way home and gave them the good news! We got to the hospital about 4:30pm and were taken to the room. We finally got to hold Kylie without the hospital gown and rubber gloves on. It was great! The night at the hospital went well. I had to get up every three hours to feed her, but I didn't mind :)
Tuesday morning the nurses came in and took Kylie to get her vitals checked. While she was being checked, the hospital photographer came by and told us she would be back to take Kylie's pictures. The nurses brought Kylie back to the room and said everything looked great. After waiting for a while, the photographer came in and took her pictures (which can be found at www.hillcrest.net under the virtual nursery...select July 1st and click on Lindsey R).
After the pictures we done and we signed all of the discharge papers, we finally were able to leave. The nurse carried Kylie out to the car, we put her in her carseat, and off we went. It was so nice to be leaving the hospital knowing that Kylie was in the backseat of the car and not in the NICU. We got home and tried to settle down as a family of three.
Since then we have had quite a few visitors (thankfully not everyone came on the same day). Everything is going good. I love being a mom! Kylie is the sweetest baby! I also love watching Joe with her. He is wrapped around her little finger :) I told him that he has gotten soft. He said that he is "soft" at home, but when he puts on his uniform he goes back to his old self at work. He is a mean and rough police officer, but the sweetest daddy when he gets home :):):) It was a little tough on him to go back to work, but knew that day would come sometime. Luckily I still have until September 1st before I have to go back. I already know I don't want to go back. It is going to be very very very tough to leave her at home, but I won't think about that now. I still have alot of time left.
Kylie will be one month old this coming Wednesday. This month has flown by. She had really grown in just one month. She already tries to hold up her head and is pretty good at it. She sleeps most of the time, but when she is awake she loves to just look around at everything. I love her big blue eyes. I have even seen quite a few smiles. I will have to post some pictures when I have more time.
Kylie had her first babysitter this past week. My mom watched her while Joe and I went to a baseball game in Arlington. We went to cheer on the Boston Red Sox while they played the Texas Rangers. Sadly the Red Sox lost, but we still had a good time. The game was fun, but I couldn't wait to get home.
Did I mention I love being a mom! :):):):):):)

Here she is!!!

Here is Kylie when she is about 2 weeks old (the date/time are wrong)

She has arrived

I know this post is almost three weeks late, but I have been a little busy :)
I will post more about her birthday another time, but just wanted to give a little bit of information.
Kylie Jo arrived on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, at 7:47am. She weighed 7 lbs 8 ozs and was 19.25 inches long. She has blue eyes and light brown/blond hair. She is beautiful!!!!
After Kylie was born, and the doctor was finishing working on me, I only saw the side of her face while Joe was holding her. Joe then took her to the nursery while I went to the recovery room. I stayed there for about an hour and then was taken to a labor and delivery room (since all of the other rooms were full). I was told I would be there for about four hours until a room opened up. Once in the room I was waiting for them to bring her to the room. I was told that Joe got to give her first bath while she was in the nursery (pictures to come). After waiting what felt like forever, her pediatrician (and my doctor), Dr. Speckmiear came in to talk to me. He then told me the worst news a new mom could ever hear. They would be taking Kylie to the NICU. Dr. S told me that she was breathing 90 times a minute and that she had fluid in her lungs. I immediately started to cry. Everyone else got to see her in the nursery before they took her upstairs, but I hadn't even seen her yet. The doctor told me it could be one of three things wrong: #1- "Wet Lungs", which is common in some newborns, #2- fluid in the lungs from being a C-Section baby, or #3- an infection. He said the first one would clear up in about three days and the second one would clear up in about a week. Even though I wish I didn't have to worry about any of it, I was hoping that it was one of the first two problems.
After about fours hours of sitting in a labor and delivery room (while they were doing construction outside and under the floor), I was wheeled into my own room where I would be staying the next few days. I was told that I got the best room because I had the best view. There was a fountain outside my window and it was supposed to light up at night (which it never did). Still I had not seen Kylie. I really wanted to go up to the NICU as soon as I got to my room, but my doctor said that I would have to wait a while longer (it is already 4pm). She said I had to wait at least 12 hrs after surgery before getting into a wheelchair to go upstairs. Around 5pm I got the news that I could go to the NICU, but I would have to wait until 8 since they close the NICU for shift change. A little after 8pm (more than 12 hours after she was born), Joe and I headed upstairs to see Kylie. She looked so little (even though she was "big" for a NICU baby). I really wanted to hold her, but was told I wouldn't be able to until her breathing got better. I could have sat there and looked at her forever. I was so glad to finally get a good look at my precious little baby. After visiting for a little while, Joe and I headed back downstairs to our room to get some sleep.
Stay tuned for more of the story. ( I have to go right now and feed Miss Kylie)

We Are On Our Way!!!

In about an hour and a half, Joe and I will be headed to the hospital. We have to be there at 5am! I have been up since 2:15a and for some reason I can't sleep (I don't know why not :) ). The C-Section is scheduled for 7:30am and should take about an hour. The doctor said Kylie will be out in the first 15 minutes, so by 7:45 (or so) we will be parents!!!! I am really getting nervous (and excited) now! It seems like just yesterday we were looking at her little heartbeat on the monitor and now she is going to be here today! I'm ready for her to be here.
We had our last appointment on Monday. Doctor did another ultrasound and she said it looks like Kylie is going to weigh about 8 and 1/2 pounds! She said that is a good size. ( A very healthy baby). Definitely takes after her daddy :) We will see if the doctor's measurements are accurate.
We got everything finished up today. We had the main stuff done, but there were last minute details we had to finish. We put the carseat in the car, set up the nursery monitor, and shopped for last minute groceries (since I probably won't be out for a little while :) )
We enjoyed our last day as a family of two. We had our last lunch "out" at Zeb's. For our final "date night" we rented a movie (Madea Goes to Jail....funny) and got Chinese takeout for dinner. I told Joe to listen to the quiet because it won't be like that anymore (he said until she goes off to college :) ).