4 Months

Carly is 4 months old today!  We have loved every second with this sweet girl!  I'm with her all day but still find myself missing her cute smile when she goes down for the night.  Here are a few things about Carly:

She loves babbling!  I think she likes the sound of her own voice.  The other week she started doing this cute little dinosaur roar.  She talks the most right before bed, when she is on our laps looking up at us, and on her play mat.

She loves a knuckle sandwich!  Eating her hands is one of her favorite pass times.  It creates a big slobbery mess.

She is starting to get a bald spot on the back of her head.  She has become so observant of everything!  When she is on the floor on her play mat she spots me walking to the other side of the room and then follows my every move.

She is starting to get ticklish up by her neck and on her sides.

When I make a fishy face she gets a little confused and shocked and stops smiling or talking.  It's pretty funny.

She loves to play with her spit and blow raspberries.  This again makes a slobbery mess but is kinda cute.

Occasionally while nursing she reaches her arm up so I kiss her little hand and it makes her pause and smile and sometimes she'll say something (I like to think it's "I love you!").

When she gets excited she makes a gasping sound and squeals like a little pig.

She LOVES her daddy!  She gets the biggest smile on her face when her daddy gets home from school.  Daddy is nice enough to let Carly study with him.  It is pretty cute.  The other day Nick was reading his notes to her in the "baby voice" so it was kind of funny.  She is going to be a smart little kid if those two keep this up!

Carly laughed for the first time on September 6th. I was just holding her on my lap while talking with my friend Janna and out of no where Carly started laughing at her.  It took by such surprise and made me so happy that I almost cried!

Carly also loves it when her daddy sings and plays the guitar for her.  It's one of my favorite parts of the day when we all three sit on the couch with Nick singing and playing the guitar making Carly smile and laugh.  I love my little family!

She gets really happy and excited when he first starts, then she gets fascinated with his hands moving up and down that she just stares, and then she gets bored and eats her shirt. Haha!

I love my little girl!

I am so grateful that I get to stay at home and take care of my little girl.  While I don't like the poopie diapers I sure do love the beautiful eyes and smile that stares up at me.  We have so much fun together talking, playing, and cuddling.  I love my sweet Carly. :)

3 Months

Each month just keeps getting better and Carly is getting even cuter!  Here are some things about Carly:

• She loves to cuddle as I sing "Families Can Be Together Forever"
• She like to talk to us especially at night
• She sucks on her hands quite a bit
• She is our little drool baby and makes lots of spit bubbles for fun
• She rolled from her tummy to her back at 11 weeks
• She has been sleeping from 10pm-6am
• She is starting to look at her hands

Carly likes to lay on her belly draped over our legs.  She often has kicked her swaddle apart by the end of her nap.  There is just something so precious about a sleeping baby.

She really is such a happy little girl.  This was right after her first time to the zoo.

I love these two!

That smile

I love playing dress up

Her first cupcakes.  It will be fun to have her along side me in the kitchen when she is older.

She has a strong neck but I can only get her to do tummy time on the boppy.

Fist in mouth... Tasty!

I love her facial expressions.  I wish I knew what she was thinking!  I can't wait for her to talk!

2 Months

Carly is starting to do a little more than just eat, sleep, and poop!

The first week in July we went on a family reunion with Nick's family to a cabin in Sun Dance.  Carly was barely a month old so we were a little worried about how she would do or rather how we would do with her.  Prior to the reunion Carly had not been sleeping well in her crib and we had to have her sleep almost the whole night in her vibrating chair.  Surprisingly she slept very well in her pack and play bassinet.  She slept for 5-6 hour stretches at night which was great for me!  Carly was a bit spoiled during the Dueck family reunion because everyone wanted to hold baby Carly which also gave me and Nick a break.

Kate sat next to me while nursing waiting to hold Carly and let me know multiple times that she washed her hands so she was ready. haha!

Right after the Dueck reunion we went to my family reunion up in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Carly wasn't as spoiled there because every one of my siblings had their own baby to take care of and were used to being around the cuteness of a newborn.  There Carly slept 7 hour stretches at night and I thought I was going to burst (grateful for the rest but in a bit of pain).  Well at this time Carly was 5 weeks and started to smile when we played with her, liked to cuddle on my chest, and started to follow our movement more.

She usually falls asleep in the car.  So peaceful.

Carly is starting to stay awake a little more in car rides and on walks.  She likes to look around.
She is really starting to coo and smile so much more.
Some positions that she likes are on her stomach on our laps and when we hold her on our laps she likes to be seated facing out so she can see what's going on.

Sometimes when I lay Carly down to change her diaper she stretches by arching her back and lifting her arms up by her head but still bent at the elbows.  It's my favorite!

At the end of July we moved out of our apartment in Provo, UT that had been home to us for 3 years and moved to Omaha, NE.  Before Carly was born I packed everything that we wouldn't need to use like all our books, most of our clothes, everything in the storage...  The final few days before leaving packing and cleaning took a lot of time.  Carly spent most of that time in her bouncy chair if she wasn't sleeping or I wasn't nursing her.  Aunt Heidi came a few times and helped us by holding Carly which made a great difference and we are so grateful for her love and service.  Carly was a great sport and did great on the two day drive to Omaha.  My mom came with us and kept Carly company in the back seat.  We stopped to feed Carly about every 3-4 hours and she slept almost the whole time while in the car.

Carly loves it when we talk and play with her.  Her eyes get so big and light up and she Oo's and Aw's.  It is so precious.

She sometimes snores.  Isn't it cute!?

Baby Blessing

On June 30th Carly received a beautiful blessing given by Nick.

 Nick blessed her that she would:

• Gain a natural desire to do what is right and discern right from wrong
• Understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost
• Have a desire to read the scriptures and gain her own testimony of Heavenly Father and His restored gospel
• Desire to marry in the temple
• Recognize Heavenly Father's hand and be grateful for her blessings

We are so grateful to have had so many family members join us on that special day for Carly.

My side

Nick's side

Carly is so lucky to have such loving grandmothers

With Nick's parents

All the priesthood holders who participated in the blessing

And my little nephews were just so cute patiently waiting on their makeshift bench.

We are so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with Carly.  She has such a sweet little spirit and has already brought us so much joy.

1 Month

Well we have been parents for a month!  I love being a mother even though my sleep has become fragmented.  It is amazing how instantly I have fallen in love with Carly, even before she was born I loved her and felt connected.  I would do anything for Carly (I actually killed a bug with my bare hands the other day for her ...it was a little gnat)!  Nick is loving being a daddy!  He is so protective of her and also very helpful especially with changing diapers.  I didn't even change one diaper until she was 4 days old!  She has made a few messes with him and one day with me during three diaper changes she peed during the middle of it!  It traveled up the mat to her hair which wouldn’t be such a big deal to bathe her but since her cord hadn’t fallen off yet it’s a bit trickier. She is still as cute as can be though!  

These first few pictures were taken by my sister Rachel (she did an awesome job) on a little American Girl Doll bed when Carly was three weeks old.  So cute!  Thanks!

My mom was in California at my sister's when I had Carly so she didn't get to our place until day two from coming home from the hospital.  That first night home with Carly was really hard (we couldn’t figure out what she wanted) so we were very grateful when my mom arrived.  The fragmented sleep was hard but getting in and out of bed so much when trying to heal down there is what was the hardest.  Well my mom came to the rescue and was an enormous help!  She cooked us meals/desserts (so delicious!), cleaned up the apartment, and taught us how to take care of Carly and get her to sleep (she has quite a few tricks up her sleeve).  She would also get up with me in the night so that after I finished nursing I could go right back to sleep while she burped Carly, changed her diaper, and got her to fall back asleep.  She stayed with us from the 4th-8th and then came back after the weekend and stayed from the 10th to 14th.  Those 10 days were so much easier with her here and it was fun to spend so much time with my mom talking and having her teach me how to take care of a newborn.  I love my mom and am so grateful for her (Carly is too)!

After my mom left Nick's mom (Cathy) came in town to see Carly.  She was Carly's first babysitter!  Nick and I went to a birthday dinner for a friend and left Carly with Cathy and our niece Alexis.  Carly did great for them and Nick and I had a fun time with our friends.  It was nice to get out for a bit but I did worry about Carly getting hungry or crying too much for them (she was actually a perfect little angel).

We survived our first couple of weeks on our own but it was hard!  There were some bad nights but Carly is getting better and I'm taking more naps.  Nick got sick (probably from lack of sleep) so we were a little worried Carly would get sick but she is holding strong (I transferred some good antibodies to her!  Go breastfeeding!).  It is crazy how time consuming caring for a newborn is.  I don't know how the heck women take care of multiple children!  Good thing they come one at a time (usually)!  I really hope I don't have twins (props to all the mothers of twins).

A few things about Carly:

-She loves to sleep and can go 4 hour stretches at night

-she likes to fall asleep while nursing so I have to tickle her feet or under her chin to get her to keep eating

-She falls asleep on my shoulder after burping and slides down and will sleep on my chest

(2 weeks old)

-She like to be swaddled tight and suck on her binky (we have to roll up a burp rag and prop up the binky to keep it from falling out and having to keep sticking it back in)

-For some reason at night she won't sleep unless she is in the vibrating chair.

-One trick to get her to fall asleep is to lay her on our lap with her head at my knees and then move my knees side to side for a rocking motion.  My mom taught me this one and it is great especially when exhausted because it doesn't require a lot of energy.

-when she stretches she puts just one arm up above her head with her hand still in a fist.  It reminds me of the "black power" sign. haha!

-She can mimic our faces: sticks tongue out, lips in the shape of an 'O' (our favorite)

-Carly didn't have her first real bath until she was a little over 3 weeks old because her cord would just not fall off.  She really liked it until the end.

More pictures:

These were taken her first week.  I love her!

Nick is so sweet to little Carly and loves to hold and play with her.  She is going to be a daddy's girl.

Labor & Delivery

Here it is!  My labor story:

June 9th was my due date and everyone (including my doctor) believed that Carly wouldn't come until even after that (I thought I would have to be induced which wouldn't have been until the 17th).  On May 30th I went to my 38 week doctor appointment.  My doctor checked things out and said there were no signs that the baby would be coming anytime soon and I would likely be late (80% of women go past their due date with their first child).  I was pretty bummed but also glad I would be able to work another week to save up some more money before becoming a stay at home mom.

On the morning of the 31st I felt some pressure/pain in my lower back that I thought was some type of constipation pain (I had no idea they were contractions).  Well I went to work at 9 and into an hour of work I went to the restroom and saw some signs that labor would be coming soon (blood/mucus).  Well I realized that the pain I was having was contractions.  I stayed at work because it wasn't too bad.  At around noon my boss came up to me and was asking about my last day of work (June 8th since I thought I would go over) and confessed to him that today would probably be my last day because I was in the beginning stages of labor.  He and my other co-works kept telling me to go home but I wanted to make a little more money and it helped keep my mind off the pain.  The day actually went by pretty fast.  I started to time how often the contractions were coming which was a little difficult to do since I was taking phone calls at work but they were 5 minutes apart.  In the early afternoon they were 5 minutes apart but the pain wasn't too bad yet but at around 3 they started to get a little worse and it was more difficult to focus on work so I ended up leaving at 4 (almost made it through all of work).  Nick didn't take a lunch so he was able to get off at 4 too.  When we both got home I finished packing the hospital bag.  We hadn't installed the car seat yet (the day before I was talking to my sister Rebecca who said I should probably do that ASAP...she was right) so we just threw it in the back and left.

Me before heading to the hospital (the first time)

Well we got to the hospital at about 5 and they checked me into a labor room.  I was only dilated to a 1 and my water hadn't broken yet.  They said I could stay and check me in an hour and if I progressed 1 cm then I would be considered in active labor and could stay.  After an hour I was only to a 1.5cm so they sent me home...but the pain was getting pretty bad so I asked for something for the pain and they gave me morphine.  It slightly helped the pain but mostly it just made me keep falling asleep between each contraction.

Right before leaving the hospital (I could still force a smile)

When we left the hospital it was almost 7 so we stopped at Zupas on the way home.  Nick ran in and got us some food but I could only eat half my sandwich because I was in pain, tired, and kept falling asleep between contractions and bites.  When we got home I got in bed.  Nick sat by me as I slept and helped me through each contraction.  He was such a great support and very understanding.

At about 10:30 I decided the pain was getting too bad and I must have progressed far enough for them to let me get an epidural...I was wrong. :( I had only progressed to a 2.5 but again they said I could stay an hour to see if I progressed.  After an hour I was only to a 3 and the pain was getting much worse.  My doctor wasn't currently working or on call and the on call doctor said I couldn't stay as an inpatient and get the epidural until I dilated to a 4 (I was definitely not a fan of this doctor).  The nurse said that usually they could help the labor progress but since I wasn't 39 weeks (only 38 and 6 days) they wouldn't.  Well fortunately they didn't turn me away but it is because Carly's heart rate kept dropping each time I had a contraction.  The pain was getting really bad (I was clinging on the the rails on the bed and Nick was using all physical strength to put pressure on my knees to drive my legs into my hips) .  It helped a lot but still really hurt.  I was in such pain and so upset about the stupid doctor's rule that I decided to do something about it.  I got up out of the bed and began to pace and do squats.  Gosh the contractions were painful and hard to labor through while standing.  It hurt so bad that I wanted to push but the nurse said not to because it would make me swell and make things worse.

I look gross and very unhappy (compare to previous happy pictures)

Well after an hour the nurse checked me since the last check and I was finally to a 4 at like 2:30am!  Yay!!!!!  The anesthesiologist was called and got there at 3 at which point I was dilated to a 7 (things started to go fast and I was not a happy camper).  By the time he got set up and hooked me up to the juice it was 3:30am.  The nurse put the catheter in and checked me again and I was already at a 10!  I was thrilled but also upset that they waited to give me the epidural and made me labor through almost my entire labor!  Let me tell you, the epidural was AWESOME but a weird side effect of shaking. With the next baby I am not taking no for an answer!

Although I was a 10 the nurse allowed me to rest and take a nap to allow Carly to descend on her own.  Nick took a nap too (he was exhausted too from helping me through my contractions).  At 4:45am the nurse had me push through the contractions.  The doctor got there at probably 4:55am and with just 2 more pushes Carly was out at 5:03am!  I asked the doctor if he was going to have to do an episiotomy (he was saying her head wasn't too big) but he said he didn't need to but then I ended up tearing (2nd degree).  I wasn't too thrilled about that.  Also, I'm not sure why but the doctor just went ahead and cut the cord.  We were a little bummed Nick didn't get to do it but I guess it wasn't the end of the world.  The nurses quickly cleaned Carly while the doctor stitched me up and then they brought her to me.

I couldn't believe I was finally holding her!  My sweet Carly!  I instantly fell in love with her and wanted to hold her against me forever!  She had so much dark hair and big beautiful full lips!  Weighing only 6lbs 7oz she felt so tiny and fragile that I wasn't quite sure how to hold her.

Nick went head over heels for his little girl!  He was so full of excitement and joy.  Doesn't he look so handsome holding her!?  What a cute daddy!

Nick's first time holding Carly

Pretty shortly after delivering they moved us to another room where we stayed for 2 days.  Nick was able to stay at the hospital the whole time with me and slept on a not so comfy cot. Carly was born at the perfect time because Nick already had Saturday off because he worked Memorial day instead and he always has Sunday and Monday off.

Well, all the nurses I had during the labor, delivery, and recovery were great!  At around 11pm each night after feeding Carly we had the nurses take her to the nursery so that we could get some good sleep and they would bring her in every 3-4 hours during the night for me to breast feed.  Breast feeding went pretty well!  The only problem I had was that Carly kept falling asleep while eating so I had to keep trying to wake her up which is surprisingly really hard to do to a newborn.

Carly's ears had this little ruffle!

She had to have an IV because I was positive for strep B and there wasn't enough time to give me the 2 doses of penicillin before she was born.

Cute little yawn

baby feet!

We had a few visitors: My sister Rachel and her whole family, Nick's sister Heidi, Nick's sister Allison and her girls, and our good friends Aura Maria (she took a lot of these pictures of us) and Eric.  They were all so sweet and brought us treats, talked, and took pictures. It was nice to have so much love and support from those in town as well as those who kept in touch out of town.  Our nieces and nephews that came to visit were so cute!  All of them were asking their mom to have another baby.  One of our nieces, Stephanie (3) was really cute and said that Carly looked like a little fluffy duckling because of her fluffy hair!

Heidi

Rachel

Elizabeth

Paige

Dallin

Aura Maria

Eric

Monday morning we finally went home!  Carly looked so tiny in her car seat.  I rode in the back seat with her on the way home just to make sure she was okay.  What a crazy feeling to leave home just the two of us and then come back as three. We sure love Carly and are so happy to have her as our daughter!  We are so excited to raise her and watch her learn and grow.

She looks so tiny in there!