Wednesday, November 3, 2010

newborn pictures

My friend Brandee does photography and she took some AMAZING newborn photos of Chloe for us! Here are just a few that she took :)



Saturday, October 16, 2010

She's here!!!!







Our beautiful baby has finally made her appearance into this world! Chloe Grace Calkins was born on October 13, 2010 at 3:01pm. She weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. We definitely had a long week. We had our doctor's appointment on Monday morning. After no progression, my doctor decided to start my induction that afternoon. They started me on Cervidil to make me dilate, but after three rounds of that it was still unsuccessful. I was not dilating or progressing at all. Then they did Pitocen and found that the contractions I was getting from the Pitocen was actually making Chloe's heart rate drop. They then did an ultrasound and found that Chloe had no amniotic fluid surrounding her. So we had a couple of options: We could either do another round of Pitocen or we could do a C-Section and get her out. If I were to do another round of Pitocen, they said I would AT LEAST be another 20 hours of hard labor. (Considering by this time we had already been in the hospital for two days!!) Of course we opted for a C-Section. I was not about to continue to put my child through that. After they delivered her, the doctor's found a mass on my small intestine that they removed. They still don't know what it is, but it looked almost like another appendix. The surgeon said that it did not look cancerous at all, and that it was probably something I was born with that I've always had. God obviously had a reason for us to opt for a C-Section and with that, I am so thankful. After 5 long days in the hospital, we were finally able to bring our family home. Chloe is doing beautifully (and Mommy's doing great too)!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Reaching the end . . .

I can't believe my due date is 2 1/2 weeks away. . . Seems like just yesterday we were finding out we were pregnant. The past few days I have been having contractions on and off, but nothing major. I wasn't feeling the greatest this morning so we decided to stay home from church. I ended up listening to a sermon online by the pastor at our church. It really hit home for me as I'm getting so close to becoming a mom. Naturally, there are times when I have doubted myself of "not being able to do this" or "being scared about the delivery process" and his main message really struck a nerve, in a good way. The main scripture he focused on was Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through God who gives me strength". It is a great reminder to just put all my faith in God and know that he will get me through anything, especially the birth of our daughter.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Ultrasound

Today we went and had an ultrasound done because at my last dr. appt, our dr. said that I was measuring a little bigger and she wanted to check the size of the baby and measure her fluids. Everything turned out great! The fluid count was a 16, and the Tech said anything between a 5-20 is not too high or not too low. We were able to see so much because she was looking directly at us! Her face looked like a little alien, but she was still adorable :o) She kept sticking her tongue out and putting her fingers in her mouth. The ultrasound tech even said that he could see she's got some hair! (Which makes me feel good because I was bald and looked like a boy when I was born!) :o) She was practicing her breathing which he said was a great sign right now. She was measuring in at 5 lbs. 1 ounce. It makes me feel very anxious/excited because I am so ready to meet my little girl. I want nothing more than to just hold her in my arms and give her the biggest kiss! October couldn't come any faster!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

My Baby Shower

Today my sisters in law put together a beautiful baby shower for me. Everything was great! The decorations, the food, the cupcake cake . . . It was beautiful! It's so weird to think that in just two months our little Chloe is going to be here. It's so exciting to think that we're going to be parents in just a short time.




My mother in law Connie and sisters in law (Amy, Jennifer, Stephanie and Bekah)


My aunt Melinda, me, my mom and my grandma :o)

Friday, May 28, 2010

It's official . . . IT'S A GIRL!

Yesterday, Jeremy and I went and had a gender test ultrasound done and found out that we are having a little girl! We couldn't be happier and it just makes it even more real that we're going to be parents soon!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Ready for our newest ultrasound. . .

Last week my mother in law, who is an OB nurse at the hospital, was able to take us up there and give us an ultrasound to see our little one. . .



I'm getting very ansy because next Thursday, the 13th we will be going down to find out what we're having! I'm so anxious to be able to buy something either blue or pink! Jeremy insists that we're having a boy (of course) but we'll see! Considering the fact that I have now had 3 dreams that it was a boy, I'm kind of leading that way too. :)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Baby's first picture!!





Well today we went in for our first ultrasound! Everything is right on track where we thought. . . 9 weeks and 5 days pregnant. The heart was beating at 176 beats per minute. She said that's fast, but perfectly normal for how far along I am. It was amazing seeing the little heart flutter on the screen! It makes it completely official now. Even though I've taken tests...seen the doctor...Just seeing the amazing being on screen right before your eyes is so surreal.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

First OB appointment!

Well this afternoon, Jeremy and I went to our first Dr.'s appointment. She did a TON of blood work, asked us a TON of questions and did an internal exam. She said that everything looked great and that I'm right on schedule at almost 10 weeks! (Due October 8th, 2010)
I'm so excited because tomorrow I get to have my first ultrasound!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Day






This morning Jeremy decided to get up and make me a wonderful breakfast for Valentine's Day. He made me the only thing that sounded good at the time . . . a waffle with peanut butter and butter (with no syrup!), while he enjoyed some hashbrowns, toast and bacon. (Even though the bacon smell is really starting to get to me right now). hehe
There was a beautiful bouquet of pink roses waiting for me on the table as well. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who is going to be an even more amazing daddy.
We didn't do much today as I was up all night last night not feeling well. So we just decided to have a nice quiet day at home watching movies and being with each other! :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

I'm Pregnant!!!!!




Well it's official . . . I'm preggo! I can't believe it. The first official month that we start trying and here we are! We feel so truly blessed by God's grace. I think it's going to take a little while for it to kick in that I'm going to be a Mom! Wow . . . It'll click one day! :)

We took our first test yesterday and got a very faint line, so I went and got a blood test. They said after 5 minutes of testing it was negative, but after 6 minutes it was positive. So they wanted to re-test me in a few days. Well sure enough I did my own at home tests (2 tests, both different brands and they both came back positive!)

I will be four weeks tomorrow and I'm already feeling the symptoms. . . awful nausea, frequent urination . . . you know, all the fun stuff! But I just look at it as "This is going to be so worth it!"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Family Time







This weekend my brother, sister-in-law and nephew from North Dakota came out. We hadn't seen them since last Christmas.My mom also flew up from Arizona to see us. We were so excited to have them here! It was so nice to have this little family gathering. With them living so far away, we really don't get to see them very often. We are also very excited because my brother Josh and sister in law Katie are expecting their second child, a boy! At least we won't have to wait very long for them to come back out, because they will be coming again in June after the baby is born!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

My 24th Birthday


I'm not quite sure what was so funny while I was doing this! :)


Me and my best friend Brynn


Yesterday I celebrated my 24th birthday. I don't really feel old until Jeremy decides to point out that I'm now 24 and he is still 22! :)
I had an absolutely amazing day. It was very eventful but also low-key, and I couldn't ask for anything more. My day started out with Jeremy getting up and making me breakfast (waffles and bacon), then my mother-in-law whisked me away to go get myself a manicure with Jeremy's sisters. (I also have the privilege of sharing my birthday with Jeremy's sister Stephanie who turned the big 2 1!)
Then we went with six of our closest friends out to dinner at my favorite local restaurant, McGlinns. Then we came home, played board games, had a few jello shots and played with our new Wii! I couldn't ask for a better husband and friends for making my birthday a very special day that I will never forget!

Christmas


Tessa "flying" with Uncle Jeremy


Jeremy's sister Jennifer and Husband Tim


This year Jeremy and I had the privilege of spending our 4th Christmas together. I love growing accustomed to his family's traditions. Every Christmas Eve, we have a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. One tradition I would love to pass down to our children. We were thankful that Jeremy's sister Jennifer and her husband Tim and daughter Tessa were able to come over from Issaquah and spend Christmas with us. It was nice to have all of Jeremy's siblings home!