It's Finally Happened

At least it will sometime around November 19th. We are officially going to be a family of four. We found out March 11th that I am pregnant. Even though we told Kara she seems nonplussed about the whole thing. I asked if she wanted a little brother or a little sister. She told me a puppy. Kara does, however, love babies and gives ever indication of being a good big sister.

My blood clot situation is under control and we are planning another homebirth. My midwife and doctor both feel confident that it is a safe decision. I have an appointment on Wednesday and should be able to hear the baby's heart beat then. So far this has been a completely different pregnancy than I had with Kara. I have morning sickness that lasts all day, I am exhausted, I already look 4 months along despite losing weight, and my skin has decided that it hates me. In less than a month I will be out of my 1st Trimester and things should get better. Kara has been very good and rarely takes advantage of my weakness.

Kara is also sleeping in her toddler bed. She is doing well with potty training, which we hope will be complete by November. She has very good manners and says please, thank you, bless you, excuse me, and your welcome. Her vocabulary and cognitive skills have exploded. It is so sad that she is no longer my little baby, but an independent sassy toddler.

It's Fall!

The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change, and the rain is starting. We had a good summer this year. Kara had her first birthday on May 25th and is still growing like crazy. We were able to take the boat out a couple of times and go fishing on the Columbia River. My best friend graduated from college so Kara and I made the trip to Rexburg to see it. We went to Yellowstone well we were there and had a great time even though Luke wasn't able to go. I had a doctors appointment last month with the hematologist. I still have blood clots in my leg so I will have another ultrasound in February.

My little sister was married this last Saturday to a great guy. It was a small wedding that was very beautiful. We are all very happy for her.

Now that it's October it's time to get the apples and grapes canned. We are trying to decide what to do for Halloween and I want to get Christmas cards and shopping done early so wish me luck and give me your mailing address :)

A Very Brief Summary

I think she's pretty freaking adorable

Family picture

Kara then and now

Once again it has been way too long since I have updated the world on our life. And with my sweet little baby taking a nap and the house relativly clean, this seems like a good time. To start with Kara is amazing. I never knew how rewarding it is to have a baby. She is so smart, and beautiful, and fun. She talks like crazy and will hold up one finger when you ask how old she is. She started walking at 8 1/2 months and hasn't slowed down since. If anyone ever needs a pick-me-up, just come and see my baby. Kara loves people and will wave and say hi to everyone she sees. I could go on forever about her. But this has been a very busy year.

Janie, Luke's mom moved up here from Arizona shortly after Kara was born and got a job working in a nearby hospital and then a few months ago got engaged to a widower that goes to our church. The wedding is in 9 days. It is so fun to have her around and for her to be able to be a part of our lives.

Luke is now working for Siemens wind energy and is going to be heading to Houston, TX soon for more training. This last year he has worked for 3 different companies in the same industry and we are hoping this will be a good fit. So far so good.

I have been keeping busy with raising my baby and the occasional babysitting job. I had nasal defect revision surgery on the 24th of March and discovered a week later that I either developed, or still had, another blood clot. I'm seeing a hematologist and will be having my leg ultrasound in August to check to make sure the clot is gone.

Catch Up

The last two months have been overly eventful for the DeWitt household, not only have we had the joy of having the blessing of our baby girl but we had the scare of realizing just how precious our time on this earth is and how quickly it could be over. Just over a month ago on the night of Tuesday June 22 I started to experience horrible pain in my leg. I was so bad that I couldn't sleep at all. The next day I was taking ibuprofen all day and then when I took a shower that night I noticed that my leg was purple and extremely swollen. We hurried to the emergency room. When we got there and were finally seen, I got an ultrasound on my leg and they said that I had sciatica, which is basically a pinched nerve in the back. So we went home at 2:00am.
By Sunday none of my pain had gone away, in fact it was getting worse and I had a fever. We went back to the ER. I got a different ultrasound tech who found blood clots. After getting a CT scan they found a total of 10 blood clots with 2 in my calf, 1 in my thigh, 5 in my pelvic area, and 1 in each of my lungs. After getting blood work done I also found out that I was incredibly anemic. They told me that I was a walking time bomb and lucky to be alive.
That night I received a blood transfusion and was started on blood thinners. I ended up having to stay in the hospital until Thursday and then be on bed rest for another week. Luke's mom Jane cut her vacation short and flew from Michigan so that she could be here with us for a few days. The wonderful women from church provided meals and came and took care of me and Kara so that Luke could go to work. I am getting better everyday but will have to be on blood thinners for about 6 months. I am just grateful to be alive and for all wonderful people I have in my life.
Kara is getting so big. She is 12lbs 8 oz and 26.5 inches long. She is working on rolling over and has done so a few times. She is so active and happy and just the best baby anyone could ask for. We had her blessed on Sunday and she wore the blessing gown that I wore. We had a BBQ at my parents house after with most of my family there as well as Luke's mom who just moved up here.
Luke started a new job with Mitsubishi on Monday. He is still doing wind turbines but will be expanding into erecting turbines. Hopefully this is the beginning of things starting to settle for us, at least as much as they can with a new baby.

Welcome baby Kara Marie!

The day we have all been waiting for has finally come. On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Kara Marie DeWitt was born. She weighed 7lbs 15oz and measured 22inches long. I was due on Saturday and was having no contractions until I went to bed Sunday night. At 9:30 they started and were 10 minutes apart. By midnight I was having them every 6 minutes. At 11:00 p.m. on Monday the midwife broke my water and at 2 a.m. on Tuesday I was ready to start pushing. I pushed for 5 hours. Thankfully I had about 8 minutes in between contractions during which time I was able to sleep. Finally at 7:03 after 34 hours of unmedicated labor our baby girl was born. She was, and is absolutely perfect and looks just like her daddy.

Remodeling, visitors, and baby shower

This last week has been more busy than any I can remember, even when we moved in! Starting last Friday Luke cased all of the doors and I painted the nursery with some help from friends. Then starting Tuesday we got the house completely re-plumbed, new flooring and updated electrical. For two days we had to go over and shower at my parents. Both of the bedrooms have new carpet and the kitchen has new Pergo flooring. Luke also tiled the shower, put up wainscoting, and started to redo the closet. Fixing up an old house is defiantly an adventure. The electrical in the closet was a low grade electrical cord that had been cut up and the plumbing still had lead drains, scary, and was close to being backed up. Thankfully everything got done just in time for Luke's mother and Aunt Kate to get there, literally, we were still cleaning up saw dust as they walked in the door. The baby shower was Saturday and was beautiful thanks to my best friend Amy Jo and her family. We ended up having it at my parent's house since the PUD was booked. The gal who made the cake for our wedding also made the cake for the shower. We are now almost ready for the baby to come. Luke's mother and aunt had to leave on Sunday, but we very much enjoyed having them and when the baby comes Luke's mother will be here for three weeks to help out and enjoy her first grand baby. We will be sure to post pictures soon!

Third and Final Trimester!!!

It seems like just yesterday that I was saying, "Honey, we're pregnant!" Now I only have 11 1/2 weeks until I get to meet our little girl. I still feel like I have nothing done. We still need to hang new drywall in the baby's room, paint, get new carpet, decorate, and get furniture. We are also getting the house re-plumbed and rewiring the garage and bunk house. So, as always, there are a lot of projects!
Next month is my baby shower, thrown by my best friend AmyJo. It is going to be April 10th at the PUD. I have registered at Target, but being a first time mom I don't really know what I need and what is worthless, so hopefully women with more experience will fill that void.
We have also decided to go with a Midwife. Her name is Lorri Carr and I think she is great. It has been a better experience since we made the switch. I really like that she comes to my home and we have one-on-one visits that usually last for an hour. I was getting frustrated driving the 45 minutes one way to see a doctor I only actually saw for 5 minutes.
Besides the excitement of awaiting our baby, our lives have been pretty slow. The puppy keeps growing, spring is coming, and Luke is enjoying his job.