Five months

Time keeps ticking by. Katelyn is now rolling over with authority and likes to be standing upright as often as possible. She's a world traveler now and loves to be social. It is so fun watching bits of her personality starting to take form. Our life has definitely changed and we're loving it!

Fun in the Sun

Katelyn and I took a trip from one coast to the other last week to visit family in Florida. All in all she met a great great Aunt and Uncle, a great grandfather, five great aunts, four great uncles, her Grandpa Hamric and Annie, Ed, four second cousins, two third cousins and her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Megan. She also got reacquainted with her Gammy, who hasn't seen Katelyn since she was born five months ago! So suffice it to say, we saw a lot of family in between some fun in the sun! She stuck her toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and played in the pool with her cousins Peyton and Sam. I think she's going to be a water baby (or that's me projecting my wishes onto her).

I felt a huge sense of accomplishment because we didn't have any issues on the plane, I now know I travel with her by myself, but look forward to her daddy joining us for our next big adventure. We didn't have any problems adjusting to the time change, which was nice, she slept like a champ. She seemed to love the warm weather, enjoying walks and taking naps outside. We're back in Portland now readjusting to our schedules. The fun keeps on coming though because next week her mimmy and poppy are coming out for Easter!

Sign language classes and rolling over

Katelyn and I graduated from sign language class yesterday and as if that wasn't exciting enough, she completed her first roll over during the class! I tried to contain some of my excitement so that I didn't embarrass both of us, but the whole room cheered for her, both vocally and through sign language :) She completed a roll again this morning, but she doesn't look like she's quite mastered it and is surprised every time it happens. She knows she wants to roll over and she gets how it happens, but hasn't quite grasped how to complete a roll over every time. She keeps attempting it though so it's only a matter of time until this little girl is mobile!

Our sign language class was a four week program and we learned all the popular signs babies use. Apparently babies start understanding and using sign language around 6-7 months. Since Katelyn is only 4 months the class was really more for my benefit, but I'm excited to see if anything takes hold down the road.

Keeping up with this blog has made me realize I am not taking enough photos! So no photo to include with this post, but I hope to always have some going forward!

Katelyn Elizabeth Burns is here!

It took me four months to start back up at blogging. There's too much to go through during the past four months, so I'll just start off at the present time. Katelyn is four months old. Time just flies. We've been very lucky to have visits from family and friends during the last four months and it won't be slowing down anytime soon. Katelyn is currently rolling from side to side with authority. Any day now we expect her to roll over, she just has to figure out how to get around her arm that always seems to get in the way. She's starting to appreciate sitting up in her bumbo chair and is starting to enjoy playing with her variety of toys. We went in for her four month check up on Friday and found out she is 25.25 inches long (90th percentile) and 12 lbs 6 oz (25th percentile), so a long and lean little lady. Doc said all signs point to a happy and healthy baby, which is always a relief. Below are Katelyn's monthly pictures to date. I will keep things more current now, so expect pictures and updates!

Pink outfit is her one month photo, green is two months, dress is three months and little sweater is four months! 

The Waiting Game

Not much to report today, we're still waiting on little Baby Burns. Had our appt. yesterday and everything looks good and on track. The doctor said it could be any day now, but of course that means it could be any day within the next two weeks (the doctor will induce if she doesn't appear two weeks from now), which feels like eternity! A friend of mine out here in Portland was due two days before me and we constantly check in with each other. Yesterday morning she was feeling totally normal and then had her baby last night! It really hit home how quickly it can all happen. She had a healthy baby girl, probably Matilda's first girl friend! So Andrew and I will continue to distract ourselves until the big day and will definitely be posting up her first pictures when she makes her debut!

Patience is not my strong suit

We're so close now! I am trying to be very patient and convince myself that Matilda will probably not arrive for at least 17 days and will most likely be late and yet I still find myself getting excited thinking that it really could be any day now! Andrew and I spent this past weekend checking everything off our to-do list and I'm excited to say we're in a very good place. We both know how to put together pack n' play's, swings, bouncy seats and baby furniture like pros. All her little outfits are washed, blankets are ready and diapers are lined up ready to be used. Our house is in good shape, cars are washed and even Bailey has a groomer appointment so that he is looking very handsome when he meets the new baby! I think becoming this organized and taking care of this stuff is what they meant by nesting!

Last Friday we had another OB appointment and were very pleased to discover everything is moving forward- 70% effaced and 2 cm now dilated- halfway to what is considered the start of active labor! Another fun little tidbit is that the dr. estimates the baby's weight to currently be 7 lbs and that she'll probably be about 7.5 or 8 lbs at birth. We know it's a definite guesstimate, but funny to think about. I thought we'd have this petite little girl, but she could have a little junk in her trunk if she comes in at 8 lbs!

We are using a doulah during the birth, which is basically someone that we meet with twice before birth and then she's present during the entire labor and delivery process and then a few times afterwards so she can give some postpartum help. She acts as an advocate and coach in the labor room and will basically be there to give Andrew and I experienced tips on techniques, positions, offers comfort measures and acts as a go between for us and the doctor when needed. I'm not quite sure if this is a sign that we've become more Portland-esque by using a little holistic approach to the process?!

Below is my most recent pregnancy photo taken at 37 weeks. I had to include my first pregnancy belly shot taken at 17 weeks, it's fun to see the difference 20 weeks makes! Even the hair has changed :)

Things are Moving and Shaking

Things are really starting to move along now! We started our weekly doctor appointments last Friday and were told that the baby is head down and that I'm already 1.5 cm dilated! I took this as very positive and exciting news. The doctor said that all signs do seem to indicate I may deliver early, but at the same time we have to wait and see how things progress, I could stay at 1.5 cm for the next four weeks. We also learned that my doctor prefers to induce labor once a woman is 7-10 days past her due date, so we know that something will definitely happen within the next four weeks. Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks, which we have come to learn is considered full term so the baby could really arrive at any time without any concern and fully developed. So more waiting and seeing, but regardless it means that things are moving in the right direction and quickly!

With this progress, we've really started looking at our surroundings and trying to think of everything we need to accomplish before she arrives. We're in very good shape thanks to the kindness of our friends and family sending us all kinds of goodies. Already this little girl has been shown so much love, it's very touching. We've also finished all of our baby, labor & delivery classes and the nursery is pretty much put together. I've included pictures below of the latest nursery shots. Later this week I'll post full term pregnancy photos!

Bailey likes hanging in the nursery too!

The room has a lot of pink so we decided to paint a yellow bookshelf to break it up a bit!