One Month

Has it been a month already?  Rilynn is growing so quickly and we are loving every minute of parenthood.  I can't believe how much she has changed in just one month.  She has moved up a size in diapers and is about to grow out of her footed pajamas.  She still has lots of dark hair, but it is falling out a little and lightening.  She still looks just like Travis and even makes his facial expressions.  We love her growing little Buddha belly! Her little personality is coming out more and more each day too.  Rilynn loves the sound of her own voice; she grunts and makes lots of noises all the time.  She is very vocal about how she is feeling and lets you know if she isn't happy.  She isn't a fan of being swaddled anymore because she likes to have control over moving her arms around.  She is a great sleeper, so I usually have to wake her up in the night to eat.   I was the stereotypical worried new parent for the first couple of weeks.   One of my biggest worries was if she was getting enough to eat, so I brought her in to be weighed 3 times!  She's gaining weight like a champ and I've calmed down a bit.  At 3 weeks she was 8 pounds 1 ounce and getting heavier by the day.  

Firsts:

Play date- She's "played" (okay more like napped) with pals Sydney & Dominic Mills

Bath- she hasn't decided if she likes them or not and usually poops half way through

Outings- Other than a few trips to Mimmi and Aija's and her Doctor appointments, we have pretty much hung around home this week.  Her pediatrician recommended staying close to home for the first several weeks, especially during flew season, to build her immune system.  We have gone on a few outings though... Target, Costco, the Woodburn Outlets, and Hannah Anderson Outlet.  She's going to be a shopper!  

Milestones:

Lifts her head and turns it from side to side during tummy time and when she's on our chests.  Her neck is super strong; we like to say she gets her neck strength from her cousin Jordan.

Follows her rattle with her eyes and head.

Some photos from this month:

Our 1 month old!

Family!

This is how she often feels during bath time.

Dad is very helpful.

Tummy time.

Lifting her head to look the other way.

Snuggly outfit!

Play time and story time. 

Josie babysitting. 

Syd and Ri having a wild time together.

While sister was napping, Josie thought she'd have a turn on the play mat.  She brought her toy and snuggled on the lamb's head. 

Some of our favorite newborn photos by Suzie Halberg:

To my Wonderful Wife

To my Wonderful Wife:

I love you more and more each day as we take on this new adventure in our lives. We have had many great years together, but I am sure we would both agree that the best ones are just getting started.  I love how dedicated you have been to this blog and how neat this will be to show our little one someday. I figured to make this blog complete, I needed to weigh in and put my mark on it. So here is some commentary about the past 10 months from my perspective:

When you first convinced me that it was time to start our family, I had no idea how quickly that would become a reality. Thank you for making that such a special time for us and putting all my fears at ease with your undoubting confidence and strengh. You are my rock more than you will ever know.

Some of my proudest moments during your pregnancy are the small things. I came in fully prepared to support my tired and cranky wife each and every day after work, but you showed me truly how strong you are. You not only worked all the way through pregnancy, maintained our house as you always do, cooked me healthy dinners, but you also found the strength to join me at the gym. I am sure I don't say it or show it very well, but you make me proud every day.

Pregnancy is not a smooth path and when we came across some small speed bumps, you handled them beautifully and kept me calm along your side. I have always thought of my role in our relationship as the level headed, strong partner, but I now know that you can take on this role for me when I need it.

Now, one week under our belts as our long term roles, you as our homemaker, me back to the daily grind, I have been reminded once again just how great of a visionary you are. You dreamed of this and knew that this is what you wanted. I love you for your passion and determination to make our new family work exactly how you saw fit. You are a great mom already and I thank you for making the sacrifice of leaving work. Our family will be everything we have dreamed!

I hope to weigh in on this blog down the line, but for now, I want to let my family know how much I love them and how excited I am to be taking on this next step in our lives.

To my wife- you are my world. Thank you for your support, your love, your faith in me, your commitment to your goals, and mostly for being my best friend. I love you.

Love,
Your Husband

Rilynn Leigh Berg's Birth Story

She's here!  Rilynn Leigh Berg was born at 2:41 PM on Monday, January 27, 2014.  She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 19 and 3/4 inches long.  Here is her story...

I hardly slept Sunday night, I was too excited to meet her.  Finally it was time to wake up and get ready for her arrival.  One of the perks of having a cesarean was getting our house clean and the laundry done before going to the hospital so we came home to a clean house with fresh sheets and everything.  We dropped Josie off at my parent's house on our way to the hospital and arrived 5 minutes early at 9:55 AM.  Our c-section was scheduled for noon so we went to a triage room to monitor the baby, put in my IV, sign paper work, and prep for surgery.  Well, noon came and went, and we were bumped further and further back.  There was an emergency c-section and another complication with a patient that put us on the back burner for a couple of hours.  My Nanny came to visit us, which was a great way to pass the time while we waited.  Finally, it was our turn!  Travis changed into scrubs, I met with the doctors and anesthesiologist to go over the procedure, and I was given antibiotics and a stomach neutralizer.  I was taken to the operating room where Travis had to wait outside for 30 minutes while I got my spinal block put in.  Those 30 minutes were the only 30 minutes either of us felt a little nervous.  The nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologist prepped me for surgery.  While I was getting my spinal block, they realized I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and I had started breaking out into hives.  Luckily, it was a mild reaction and we could continue moving forward.  Once my spinal block had been put in, they tested my abdomen and verified I was ready to begin.  They put up the screen and brought Travis in.  Once he was there, I felt so much more at ease.  They began immediately and she came out bottom first within 10 minutes.  Because of her funky position inside, she came out with her feet by her ears.  The nurses put their arms out like goal posts.  I could barely hear her cries, but I knew she was out and the tears of joy started rolling.  Travis took some great pictures and went to greet her for the first time.  Once she had cleared the liquid from her lungs, they brought her to me to hold while they finished my surgery.  The three of us went to recovery for a couple of hours.  In recovery, Travis and I picked her name.  We had 2 names we were deciding between, but we especially loved Rilynn Leigh because my middle name (before changing it to Siltanen after getting married) was Lynn and Travis's middle name is Lee so it had a special meaning to it.  For the first 2 or 3 hours of life she screamed... a lot!  The nurses said she was one of the loudest they'd met.  She hated any time they touched her so her first bath, foot prints, shots, and tests were especially unpleasant.  But whenever it was just the 3 of us cuddling, she was happy and calm.  We were able to head to our postpartum room later that evening.  When we were settled, my parents and sister were the first to come visit, next Travis's parents, then Taylor and Daniel, and her last visitor on day one was her Uncle David.  Travis slept next to my bed in a recliner with Rilynn on the other side of him in the basinet.  He got up to change her and give her to me to nurse through out the night.  We didn't sleep much, but we didn't mind.  The nurses came in to check on both of us every couple of hours.  In the morning, I was able to eat solid food starting with Jell-o and  stand at the edge of the bed.  Later that day, they removed my catheter and I was able to walk across my room to the bathroom.  I was feeling pretty good on my pain medication and started taking walks with Travis around the hall on our second night.  The second night we slept much better; the nurses didn't come in as much and we had started a routine of feeding and changing.  On Wednesday, I was feeling so much better so we decided to go home Wednesday night around 7:30.  We dressed Rilynn in her first outfit, which she hated.  Travis packed up the car and came and got Rilynn and me.  I sat in the backseat with Rilynn screaming her head off the whole way home.  Adjusting to clothes and leaving her first home was a lot for her to handle.  Our first night at home was a blur.  I still couldn't get out of bed easily on my own, so Travis had to continue to get her for me to nurse her and he changed her.  She didn't enjoy sleeping in pajamas and wanted to be held all night long.  We ended up taking shifts on the couch holding her while the other one slept in bed.  We each got about 7 hours of sleep total so it wasn't that bad.  Night 2 worked much better as we developed our routine.  It has been the best week ever.  Travis and I are enjoying being home together as a family.  He has all of next week off as well.  It is going to be so hard having him go back to work, but I'm trying not to think that far ahead.  I never thought I could love my husband more than I did when I married him, but watching him with her and having him care for me all week has made me fall even more in love with him.  Sorry, had to throw in so mushy emotions.  We are getting plenty of rest now.  Rilynn is a great sleeper (knock on wood) and only gets up to nurse.  We take a nap each day too.  I've gone off my pain medication and only need ibuprofen a couple of times a day.  We took our first walk down the street and back yesterday.  Recovery has been surprisingly comfortable for me after the first couple of days, but I couldn't have done it with out Travis.  I will continue posting pictures and updates of Rilynn.  We look forward to watching our little girl grow... but I'm hoping time starts slowing down soon because it seems to be flying by.

Our family ready to go home. We had AMAZING care from our doctors and nurses, but we were ready to start life at home.  

Rilynn's awesome hair! 

Snuggled up at home.

First day of life. 

On the first night, we had her suck on our fingers to soothe her.

Our first family photo.  This is one of my favorites.

She's out!

Having trouble keeping her legs down.

Mommy with her baby in the operating room.

First bath... no need to explain what she thought about that.

Chilling in room 362.

Nap time. 

Travis is the king of swaddling!  She LOVES when her daddy swaddles her.  He can usually keep her hands down, which she likes to wiggle out and keep next to her face. 

She loves her daddy.

Cheering on the wildcats together!

Ready to become a dad.

Let's get this show on the road!