We spent the 4th of July in Cedar Rapids with my family. Graham loved the fireworks this year, however the sparklers were NOT a hit... totally terrified :( Maybe he'll like them again next year. 
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Father's Day in Green Bay, WI
Our first big trip with both kids was for Father's Day. We went to Green Bay, WI to visit family, but most of all to see my mom's father "Grandpa Chip" who is 92 this year. We stayed with Grandma Nancy, too k a tour of Bay Beach, a little theme park near the Bay of Green Bay where Tim and I rode our first roller coaster in over 7 years, and had a big Geurts Family fish fry on Sunday. As is typical of the weather in Green Bay is was 83 and humid on Saturday and 60 and raining for the fish fry. Despite the weather we had a great time. Here are some picture of the trip:
Livvi and Great Grandma Nancy
First Photo Shoot
On May 23rd Livvi had her first photo shoot. We drove to South English, IA to Moore Photography and got these taken:
At this point Olivia weighed about 6 lbs. Just too sweet for words!
Olivia Marie
Since Olivia's birth things have been, well, a little hectic in the Ahlers' household... but I am going to attempt to finally catch up. So here she is:
Olivia Marie Ahlers
Born May 5, 2011 @ 4:14pm
She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and was 18 in long
Olivia's birth was a little bit of a surprise, as she wasn't due for another 2 weeks. I woke up at 3:00am that morning with minor contractions, but by 7:00am they had stopped so I showered (luckily) and headed to the hospital for our routine by-weekly non-stress tests. We showed up at 9:15 and they monitored and monitored and monitored. Finally around 2:00 they were letting me know that yes, I was having regular contractions and yes, my blood pressure spikes super high each time I have one. Well duh, I can feel that and hear the monitors. But as always the baby looked super, so we were left with a decision... go home and come back @ 5:00am for Dr. Wenzel to perform the C-Section or stay and the on call Dr. (Dr. Adam) could do the C-Section that afternoon. We had been there for 5 hours already and Graham had eaten nearly every snack in the place, not to mention he had been running rampant for at least the last 2 of those hours, so I opted for THAT afternoon. Truthfully I was afraid they wouldn't let us back again the next day.
I called Tim and let him know the news. I called my mom and asked if this afternoon worked for her... I think she was in the car before I finished my sentence :) By the time Tim took Graham home to get my bag and some more snacks my mom was at the hospital and it was 3:30pm and I was gowned and waiting. From there on out it was all business the nurses had me prepped and in the OR in no time. Tim barely changed his clothes and they were calling for him to come... the rest is history.
The C-Section went so much more smoothly this time around. It was quick and the pain meds were great. Olivia's APGAR scores were 8 and 9, moving to 9 and 10 on the second check. My favorite part of the birth was Olivia's cry. From the moment they pulled her out she started this cry... like a baby pterodactyl. It was super loud and screechy and it didn't stop :) She cried this crazy little pterodactyl cry for the entire half an hour it took the doctors and nurses to check her over, clean her up and get her all snuggled up in a blanket. Then she still cried, even as Tim wheeled her down the hall to meet Grandma and Big Brother. Graham's expression was apparently priceless... huge smile "Aww she's pink, just like a girl! I don't like the noise she makes though!"
Within an hour we were nursing and snuggling. Tim's family, including his Grandma who was in town for his sister's graduation, all came to visit along with my family and Jenny. Quite the crowd, but the staff at Mercy was awesome as always and made everyone feel welcome. The rest of the stay was pretty uneventful. Recovery time, napping, nursing and visitors. I got to go home on Mother's Day... what better gift could you ask for?
Olivia is seriously the sweetest baby ever, very calm, good eater, good sleeper, loves to snuggle and just as beautiful as the day is long! We were all in love at first sight.
Olivia Marie Ahlers
Born May 5, 2011 @ 4:14pm
She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and was 18 in long
Olivia's birth was a little bit of a surprise, as she wasn't due for another 2 weeks. I woke up at 3:00am that morning with minor contractions, but by 7:00am they had stopped so I showered (luckily) and headed to the hospital for our routine by-weekly non-stress tests. We showed up at 9:15 and they monitored and monitored and monitored. Finally around 2:00 they were letting me know that yes, I was having regular contractions and yes, my blood pressure spikes super high each time I have one. Well duh, I can feel that and hear the monitors. But as always the baby looked super, so we were left with a decision... go home and come back @ 5:00am for Dr. Wenzel to perform the C-Section or stay and the on call Dr. (Dr. Adam) could do the C-Section that afternoon. We had been there for 5 hours already and Graham had eaten nearly every snack in the place, not to mention he had been running rampant for at least the last 2 of those hours, so I opted for THAT afternoon. Truthfully I was afraid they wouldn't let us back again the next day.
I called Tim and let him know the news. I called my mom and asked if this afternoon worked for her... I think she was in the car before I finished my sentence :) By the time Tim took Graham home to get my bag and some more snacks my mom was at the hospital and it was 3:30pm and I was gowned and waiting. From there on out it was all business the nurses had me prepped and in the OR in no time. Tim barely changed his clothes and they were calling for him to come... the rest is history.
The C-Section went so much more smoothly this time around. It was quick and the pain meds were great. Olivia's APGAR scores were 8 and 9, moving to 9 and 10 on the second check. My favorite part of the birth was Olivia's cry. From the moment they pulled her out she started this cry... like a baby pterodactyl. It was super loud and screechy and it didn't stop :) She cried this crazy little pterodactyl cry for the entire half an hour it took the doctors and nurses to check her over, clean her up and get her all snuggled up in a blanket. Then she still cried, even as Tim wheeled her down the hall to meet Grandma and Big Brother. Graham's expression was apparently priceless... huge smile "Aww she's pink, just like a girl! I don't like the noise she makes though!"
Within an hour we were nursing and snuggling. Tim's family, including his Grandma who was in town for his sister's graduation, all came to visit along with my family and Jenny. Quite the crowd, but the staff at Mercy was awesome as always and made everyone feel welcome. The rest of the stay was pretty uneventful. Recovery time, napping, nursing and visitors. I got to go home on Mother's Day... what better gift could you ask for?
Olivia is seriously the sweetest baby ever, very calm, good eater, good sleeper, loves to snuggle and just as beautiful as the day is long! We were all in love at first sight.
Monday, May 2, 2011
37 Weeks, 4 Days... a final update
I keep forgetting to take/ post pictures and give baby updates, but I figured I should at least do one more before she's here :) Today I am 37weeks, 4 Days and feeling every day of it!
The belly may not look too huge, but it's all baby and she's running out of room quickly. Sleeping is definitely a thing of the past and apparently so is doing much of anything from here on out as Dr. Wenzel nicely suggested I pretty much "stay put" or she'd have to order bed rest. My blood pressure isn't getting any higher, but it certainly isn't getting lower either, so lots of laying around on the agenda for the next week or so. I had some blood work done today during one of my bi-weekly non-stress tests and I have to do another lovely urinalysis between today and tomorrow. If the number come back high (pre-eclamptic) then there is a chance we do a C-Section this Wednesday already... otherwise it looks like the magic date is May 12th. I don't really know which date I'm pulling for, I guess I'm just hoping for a smooth operation and a healthy little girl! Our next update should have an announcement and pictures :) Yay! It's been a long time waiting!
The belly may not look too huge, but it's all baby and she's running out of room quickly. Sleeping is definitely a thing of the past and apparently so is doing much of anything from here on out as Dr. Wenzel nicely suggested I pretty much "stay put" or she'd have to order bed rest. My blood pressure isn't getting any higher, but it certainly isn't getting lower either, so lots of laying around on the agenda for the next week or so. I had some blood work done today during one of my bi-weekly non-stress tests and I have to do another lovely urinalysis between today and tomorrow. If the number come back high (pre-eclamptic) then there is a chance we do a C-Section this Wednesday already... otherwise it looks like the magic date is May 12th. I don't really know which date I'm pulling for, I guess I'm just hoping for a smooth operation and a healthy little girl! Our next update should have an announcement and pictures :) Yay! It's been a long time waiting!
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