Oh, the cuteness!

Seriously. Could she *be* any cuter? She was totally winking at us. We were having a practice session for grinning and cooing and sticking out tongues. She is totally trying to imitate us when we change our facial expressions and talk to her. She focuses intently, trying to talk and will alternate sticking out her tongue with us.

I think we're in love. *mushywarmfuzzyheartmeltinggooeymoment*

Kaylee's Birth Stats

Kaylee Georgine
Born 9/5/2008 at 4:04 PM
5 pounds, 15.4 ounces, 20 inches long
Cary Medical Center, Caribou, ME

Cary Medical Center's Birth Announcements
(September's TV spot - Kaylee is featured)

Kaylee's Birth Story

I have been monitored very closely this pregnancy for a couple reasons - the first being that I was considered "advanced maternal age" - wow - at 36? The second reason was because the gastric bypass surgery introduced a fairly unknown factor and the doc was concerned about my iron and b-12 levels. It ended up being a good thing though, as late in the pregnancy, I started measuring a little on the small side - still within "normal" parameters, but really statistically on the low end. Kaylee was consistently growing though, just staying very small.

Besides, the constant ultrasounds and nonstress tests were reassuring and I got a lot of cool pictures of Kaylee before she was even born!

My last checkup was on Thursday 9/4 and the doctor felt that since I was still measuring small and was at term, that maybe we should consider trying induction, JUST IN CASE anything might be wrong with the baby... but that he didn't think anything would be wrong. I was only measuring around 35 weeks. Part of that might be due to being a small-ish baby myself, and part might be due to my food intake being a little on the low side since I've had gastric bypass surgery and can't eat as much at one sitting as what the average person might consume. My metabolism has been just cranking like crazy this pregnancy as well - I had a difficult time to gain weight.

Anyway, it was not looking favorable for induction - cervix still long and thick, baby still high in pelvis but not floating any more, no contractions at all - none - never had any braxton hicks or anything, to my knowledge.

So Thursday evening I went in for the initial dose of Cervadil. Friday morning 12 hours later they checked me and there was barely any change, so they decided to try another dose. By then, the plan was to see what happened with the second dose, and if there was ANY progress, remove the Cervadil as scheduled Friday night, and start Pitocin on Saturday. They were figuring that I might need a C section though, so I was mentally all geared up for a few days process and longer hospital stay.

So late Friday morning I got the second dose of Cervadil. Up until then, I had been eating and drinking normally, going to the bathroom, reading magazines, watching TV, etc. A couple hours later I started mildly contracting and when my doctor came and checked me, I was dilated to 2 cm but still not really much change other than that.

Almost immediately after she checked me, I started having cramps. They felt like menstrual cramps, so I wasn't really concerned or thinking labor at that point. They increased in intensity, and I STILL wasn't thinking labor, but by an hour later I was starting to get uncomfortable and have to breathe through them. Another half hour and I was starting to not cope well with the "cramps" and I was VERY uncomfortable, and my DH really thought maybe I should at least *consider* getting something to take the edge off to make me more comfortable. I tend to underestimate my pain level and have a high pain tolerance, so I was emotionally feeling like I was a huge baby to only be dilated to 2 cm and have another day or two of this process left to face, and knowing it was only going to get more intense...

So the nurse quickly checked me and discovered I was arond 6 cm and decided I should get some Nubain in my IV and get on the monitor again. It took about 15 minutes to get the Nubain from the pharmacy and by then I was starting to have a really difficult time with the contractions - by then they decided I was in active labor - and then when the Nubain got in, I was all giggly because I felt drunk and it didn't even take the edge off the contractions, so I was laughing because I thought it was hilarious for some reason.

Then I wanted to go urinate. I knew enough that I was not going to be allowed to go to the bathroom if they thought I felt like I needed to go #2 (I know, TMI!!!) but I assured them I just had to pee and of course by the time I got there, I was whining because I couldn't even do that.. and then I couldn't get off the toilet because every time I recovered from a contraction and tried to stand up, another one hit me.

By then the doctor came in and figured out what was going on. I guess the Nubain must have relaxed me just enough to move things along fast at the end. She got everyone to get ready and somehow (I don't remember much because of the Nubain) I got back to bed and about 13 minutes later, we had a baby!

Kaylee immediately after birth

So I essentially went from 2 cm to baby in about 2 hours and had NO IDEA I was really in labor.. and by the time I felt like I couldn't cope any more, I was actually just about in transition and when I felt sick and shaky, I was ready to push and just didn't know it!

I couldn't have asked for a better experience, actually. I had NO IDEA what to expect and tried to go into it with an open mind, but I was just so shocked at how fast it all took place.. and then of course, my perception was a little off because of the Nubain. I had like a 5 second delay on my responses to people... and I was sure I was out of it, and my DH was even kinda laughing because he's seen me tipsy and knows what I am like.

I do remember this one part where the midwife was finally recognizing that I had no focus and she got right in my ear and directed me on pushing and position etc, which was extremely helpful, but I remember she was asking me to grab my legs and hold them like I'd hold the oars in a rowboat. All I caught was "rowboat" and I was SURE I was hearing things. I looked at each doc, midwife, and nurse and asked in turn, "Were YOU just talking about a boat?" "What boat?" "Huh?" "Why is everyone talking about boats?" What's going on, anyway?

I was so confused... Ian was a little amused....

But then my baby was here and I was getting stitches (I had one small tear) and it was all over and I was RAVENOUS and starting to come off the high.. but totally exhausted all evening.

It was wonderful though. I am so in love with our daughter Kaylee. She is eating like a champ and sleeping well and she's so cute and I'm just so content.

So that's MY story, and I'm sticking to it. I'm so glad to be on this side of it and for our baby Kaylee to be here on the outside. She is so amazing and we are so blessed.

Daddy and Kaylee

(written 9/11/2008 by GVJ - originally posted on Facebook)

How it all began...

When we first got married, Ian thought he wanted lots of kids, and Georgine just wasn't sure about anything (in 1996). We were 21 and 24 years old. Ian still had a couple years of university to finish his BSCEn degree, and Georgine completed the immigration process as well as starting Nursing school.

In 1998, Ian graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and started his first real job out of college, at Dynalco in Fort Lauderdale. The time still wasn't right to start a family, so we adopted a kitty named Mocha to keep us company.



In 2000, we moved to Largo and bought our first home together. Ian continued to work for Dynalco through telecommuting, and Georgine was employed by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. Both Ian and Georgine were busy with work, and for various reasons, including some health-related ones, the time still wasn't right to start our family. We added another kitty, Suzie, to the mix.


In 2003, Georgine actively resolved several health issues, and we decided to move to Maine for a while, as Ian's telecommuting status made it possible to live anywhere they chose. We sold our home in Largo, and bought one in Caribou, Maine.

Five years later, the circumstances were perfect for us to decide the time was right to begin thinking about having a family of our own. In fact, to tell the truth, Ian had almost given up on the thought there might ever be a little person joining our household.

At this time, in 2007, Georgine was 35 and Ian was 32, and Georgine finally felt ready, although worried, that it might take a while to conceive. After all, several friends had cautioned us about waiting too long, as they had taken years to conceive their children. In December 2007, Georgine decided to actively target the correct dates, fully expecting it to take at least several months of trying before getting it right. Unbeknownst to us, we already had a hidden Christmas gift coming that we didn't know about.

Georgine started suspecting in early January that a baby was on the way, but tested negative on home pregnancy tests several times over a couple of weeks. We promptly forgot all about the missed cycle, assuming that there wasn't anything going on, and chalked it up to stress and a change in routine. Georgine was sooooo sleepy all month though, and after a second skipped cycle, tested with the one remaining home pregnancy test and it turned positive before she was even done doing the test!


Georgine had planned to have a cute and fun way to tell Ian the good news when it happened, but upon getting a positive test, was too shocked to do anything but take the test out to show him - to which he promptly asked, "What is that?"

Almost 9 months later, here we are, a week or so from our new baby girl's birth day. This blog is just a record of what happened, and when, so all the info can be located in one spot, and accessible to family and friends.

We are excited to meet our little girl soon, and already our hearts are bursting with love for her!


(written 8/30/2008 by GVJ)

I just have to share this...

I know I am totally biased, but she's so CUTE!!!

Welcome to Kaylee's Space

Down to business - this is the webspace that we created for Kaylee's pictures and videos and updates. Ian and Georgine have many friends and family who are far away geographically and we thought a blog would be the obvious way to keep in touch with family and friends as well as keeping everyone updated on Kaylee. Rather than send out obnoxious group emails with large attachments, we can update the blog and everyone can choose to check for updates whenever it's convenient or desired.

If you have questions or comments please feel free to leave a comment after any blog entry. You can leave anonymous comments (you don't need to be logged in to comment) if you'd like, but if you want us to know who you are, just sign your name in the comment field. I will moderate comments to avoid spammers and bots and anything confidential getting accidentally posted (such as our street address or something). We will get all the comments and read them all, even if they don't appear visible to you after each blog entry.

We look forward to following Kaylee's progress through this blog and keeping you all updated with the cuteness. I have a couple of catch up entries I will cross-post here from Facebook, but this will be our primary mode of mass communication about Kaylee.

Until next time!