Our Birth Story

Our family photos - courtesy of http://creamncocoaphotography.com/

Ready to go!

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Three months ago my life was forever changed. After being induced on a Wednesday night, and laboring through 26 long hours, it was time for the final push. Travis and I had been up since 4 a.m., and our sweet boy was about to enter the world.

They say there are some moments when everything stops, the world is still and things seem to move in slow motion. The first time I experienced this for myself was when I saw our sweet boy lifted up in the air and his eyes met mine. Granted, this was no TV movie so the nurses had to wipe him off… but he was still one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Instantly, happy tears steamed down my face. I looked at Travis, and for the second time in our life together, I saw a few little tears clinging to the corner of his eyes.

Moments after we met Lincoln.

Sweet 7 pounds and 7.4 ounces.

My best friend Helene, who had been my second delivery coach, was also there to witness this moment. The room was still as we all looked at this crying little miracle, our 7 pound, 7.4 ounce bundle of joy: Lincoln James Kight.

We had time to snuggle and begin the bonding process before the nurses took to be weighed and measured. Daddy hovered over the proceedings as they checked Lincoln’s vitals. Since I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, they had to check his blood sugar. It can back at 54, which is right in line with what they want. 

Look at those little eyes!

Kisses for our new baby!

Our family and close friends came to visit that day and the next. Luckily the doctors and nurses didn’t send us home on Saturday, because when little Lincoln broke free of his swaddle, we noticed his hands were a little blue and his arms were shaky. Travis suggested then that we have his blood sugar re-tested. Thank the Lord we did, because on that Saturday afternoon little Lincoln had a scary blood sugar level of 21. When a baby’s blood sugar drops below 20, they run the risk of seizers. So immediately we started supplementing formula using and S&S system to add additional calories to my breast-feeding. Unfortunately, this did not bring his levels up fast enough, so he was admitted into the NICU. This was the scariest moment of my life. To have such an amazing baby be born, then watch him be taken to an intensive care nursery, where he is hooked up to monitors and poked and prodded. In that moment Travis and I clung to each other and did the only thing we knew to do: pray. Hoping that God would help our little boy get healthy quickly. The nurses, our own angels on Earth, did an amazing job. By supplementing sugar water, my breast milk and formula, we were able to get his blood sugar to healthy levels in two days. This told us that his pancreas has adjusted to life outside the womb, and after two nights, it was time to take our healthy boy home.

The amazing NICU at Saint Elizabeth Edgewood

Our warm welcome home, thanks to our family!

Looking back, while this experience was terrifying, it made us the parents we are today. Those extra few days in the hospital gave us time to ask the doctors and nurses extra questions and allowed me extra time with the lactation consultants. Most importantly, it made bringing our baby home seem easy. Making his first night under our roof, his first time in his comfy crib, like heaven! (Especially compared to the uncomfortable “crate” in the NICU.)

I still checked the monitor multiple times through out the night. Even though Travis had offered to stay up and feed him, so I could get long awaited rest.

Now, three months later, our little boy is strong and developing quiet the personality. I feel so blessed to have him in our lives, and like all parents had told me time and time again, I don’t know how Travis and I lived all this time without him. 

A huge thank you to our friends and family who have been there for us over the past three months. We are very thankful to have amazing examples of parents all around us. We love you all!

Our alert little man.

Lincoln's first wave, Hello world!

Our angel, Lincoln James Kight.

Blog Hiatus

Sorry for the radio silence. Over the past three months I have been writing numerous blog posts, in my head....while enjoying every sweet moment of motherhood. Now that we are all on a routine, I look forward to sharing my thoughts...recipes....and a sneak peak into our lives. 

I have missed you all!

Love,

Our Nursery

Jonathan Adler Elephant Bookends

The story behind this room is the perfect example of how irony, destiny and design can all intersect. 

On November 8th I was on a flight home from San Diego, where I had spent a week at a conference. Luckily, Travis had flown out with me a few days prior to take in the sites and spend some time together. On the flight home my computer died, and all I had to entertain myself was our trusty iPad. Checking my email, I had a note from Ben and the Pinterest team, telling his story about becoming a new dad and announcing their new secret boards.

Needless to say, I was touched at Ben’s adorable story and his unique approach to telling the world about this new feature. It inspired me to save some of the ideas I had been wanting to pin, for “the future”. At this point Travis and I had taken all preventative measures out of the way, and left our baby future in God's hands. I created a secret board titled “One Day”, ironically not knowing that I was one week pregnant. It’s amazing how God can speak to us in subtle ways, when we aren't even listening. During this 3-hour flight I found tons of ideas, which are now present in our nursery. All that’s missing, is our sweet little boy!

Now without further ado, I present….our nursery.  

My sweet friend Kim Post designed these pictures, this was her gift to the baby and beyond perfect artwork.

His crib is a blend of patterns, mixing grey, yellow and touches of white. Perfectly matching this beautiful stroller blanket from Bostonian bestie Sara Zwricker.

This turtle is one of many pieces of nostalgia from Travis's childhood nursery. While it doesn’t 100% match, it was too cute not to be in the room.

The Pottery Barn Kids elephant play-mat & chevron pillow are very thoughtful gifts from our stylish supper club friends Terrah Kocher and Amy Albery.  
Later, I found the matching yellow pillow at Pier 1.

On top of our Target storage ottoman is an adorable diaper cake, made by my amazing friend and colleague Ashley Walters. One day she will take everyone’s advice and start selling them on Etsy!

Quacking cute, this duck lamp is another touch from Travis’s childhood. Daddy picked out a new lamp shade today, to match our color scheme. The towel is yet another hand-made gift from our crafty friend Amanda Raybuck.

This cute little rocking chair was a gift from two amazing couples, the Loyall’s and Fassler’s. Our mobile came from Etsy, and daddy installed a corner shelf so we can see our boy when he sleeping....or not. 
A family friend made our panel curtains, complete with black out liners for nap-time.

Ironically, both the Chef bear and grey elephant thumbie are from family friend Sue Hunter.

Our organized baby closet, complete with my DIY tags, and Etsy closet dividers. Baskets from Meijer.

We re-framed this third generation baseball picture, to keep the nostalgic theme going.

Finally, the homemade gift that made me cry. My amazing sister in law used individual buttons to make this adorable elephant work of art. It was the perfect final touch to pull all the details together.

Thanks to our family and amazing friends for helping to get our nursery ready for little Lincoln James Kight. 
Now let the countdown begin!

My Top 10 Pregnancy Must Haves!

Counting down the days until our little man arrives, I can’t help to reflect on the past 9 months. It’s hard to believe that very soon I will be a new mommy, and our lives will be forever changed. With that being said, there are a few things that I could not have lived without over the past few months. Please know there are many emotional things I could have listed, like a loving spouse… great friends… moms who will answer questions without that judgmental response: “How do you not know this!”. But for those you who just found out you have a bun in the oven, grab a pen and paper cause this list of things, may come in handy…

 

My Top 10 Pregnancy Must Haves!

1. Snoggle pillow – This bad boy is essential! I cannot stress how much easier sleep will be if you have one; it supports you in all the right places and prevents parts of you body from going numb in the middle of the night and gives you comfort as you get back to sleep… after your third trip to the bathroom.
2. Planner or Organization System – It seems like moments after people say congratulations, your calendar becomes flooded with appointments, baby showers, classes… My baby brain can’t think of the rest. Plus you need a place to centralize your baby-related lists… ahhh lists. Who to invite, what to register for, who to send thank you cards to, what you need to do at work and finally… what to pack in the hospital bag. I was blessed to have teacher friends who introduced me to the amazing ErinCondren Planner last year. I honestly don’t think I would be ready for this child without it. However, as long as you have a system you can stick to, you should be good to go.
3. Largest Water Bottle With a Straw You Can Find – I am not kidding. H2O is your new best friend, and having a straw makes it easier to suck down the ounces you need to keep from feeling nauseas, breaking out, getting Braxton hicks contractions and just feeling blah. Plus the straw will come in handy once baby is here, since you will have your hands full… literally!
4. The Belly Band – This accessory is great. It can help cover the rubber-banded pants early in your pregnancy and hold them up towards the end. I got two of them, because I liked having color options. I will say the cheaper ones work, but having that little silicone strip from the Ingrid and Isabel does wonders.
5. Belli Oil – Now at 37 weeks, I have tried it all… cocoa butter, organic creams, you name it! But this stuff has a scent and consistency that are both calming and soothing. It honestly feels like a mini massage when you apply it. Hard to describe, but worth every penny. I found some on Amazon that was a good savings from what Ulta was charging.
6. Tennis Ball – The further along you get, the more aches and pains you will feel, particularly when sitting for a long period of time or driving. Now its not uncommon for me to take my yellow tennis ball and place it behind my middle back while driving, to make my back stop hurting. This can be done against a wall, down your leg… really wherever it hurts. Because unfortunately your husband will not always be there to rub your back.
7. Baby Center App – Use the “What to Expect When you are Expecting” book as door stop. Watch the movie instead. In this Prego’s opinion, this book is full of way to much information and it’s, well… scary! The Baby center app gives you little nuggets of information in an easy to digestible form, like “eat a pregnancy super food” or “get your car seat installed.” Complete with happy little boxes you can check off, as the day gets closer. Plus on the days of the weeks you progress, it will prompt you with a little “Your Baby” recap, complete with what size they are and what’s developing.
8. Pregnancy Spanx – You will want to wear dresses. They are flattering, you can stretch out non-maternity ones and they are comfortable. But everyone needs a little smoothing out and support sometimes.
9. Supportive Bras – In between my first and second trimester, I experienced a lot of upper back pain. Funny thing was, my bras were now two sizes too small! When I learned this, I was in such shock, I left my beautiful red leather jacket Travis got me a few years ago in the Victoria Secret dressing room. After upgrading my over-the-shoulder bolder holders, the back pain magically disappeared.
10. Chiropractor – While I know I said I would leave “people” off this list, you really need a chiropractor during pregnancy. Your body is about to go through major changes. Your back, hips, chest…pretty much everything will need to be adjusted from time to time. Plus, some chiro’s even have massage therapist on staff… can you say bonus! The amazing staff at All Star Chiropractic have saved me countless times, and I don’t know what I would do without them. 

Like I said, there are many emotional things I could list here. I have been extremely lucky to have a sweet, supportive and loving husband who has been by my side for nine months. I have amazing friends, about of dozen of who are on the same journey. Not to mention my faith, which has kept everything in perspective. While I am still eating spicy food, hoping that will lessen the time between today and the moment I get to meet our little man… I know God has a plan for his due date.

Wishing you all a beautiful 9 month journey!

Picture Perfect

Like most men, my husband likes to think he is always right. Well, this is one time he was right. At the foot of the steps leading to the second floor of our house, I had tried to make a colleague of pictures of our friends, family and the two of us. Travis (diplomatically) told me it didn’t look quite right. At first, I put my foot down. My “work of art” was going to stay as-is. Needless to say over time, I saw his point. 

BEFORE

Thanks to a little pinspiration, I found a new way to display our love and loved ones. Introducing my DIY gallery wall:

AFTER

Step 1 – Measure: After consulting a few friends with a good eyes for design, I decided to us the window as a guide. Next, I bought shelves that would fit in this space from Ikea.

Step 2 – Tape off designated area: Using Frog Tape, I made the job of painting easy on my self by measuring and leveling the gallery wall.

Step 3 – Paint: The gallery wall; let dry over night. (Leave tape up!)

Step 4 – Remove: The tape slowly and see if any touchups are needed.

Step 5 – Measure again: To determine where you want the shelves to sit, remember to take into account the size of pictures you will be resting on these shelves.

Step 6 – Hang shelves: My good friend Ashley Parsons gave me a tutorial on how to hang shelves that saved me from having lop sided pictures. This was the part that gave me anxiety, but once I did one shelf… the rest were a piece of cake.

Step 7 – Arrange and enjoy!

I cannot wait until our little man arrives, and I can add pictures of him.