Changes

I originally started this blog to write about all of our new experiences in this foreign land so far, far away from what we are used to.  Every time we talk to family & friends, they always want to know what Alaska is like & ask all kinds of questions about what we do here, how we are adjusting to the environment & weather, what it's like living in such a small town on an island, & what kind of animals we see.  When we got pregnant, this became the place to update everyone, or anyone who reads this blog, on the pregnancy.  Now that we have had a baby & have been here for over a year, the blog topics seem to have shifted.  I will continue to keep everyone updated on our adventures here in Alaska, but I will also focus more on writing about our family, thoughts & ideas, future plans, & anything else that comes to mind.  With that said, I will probably be making changes to the layout & design of our blog as well.  But now.... what do I change our blog title to?  We are no longer "Kolt & Lexi", the couple, but now Kolt, Lexi, & Baby Brinleigh, The Foreman Family.  Hopefully, something creative will come to mind, but in the meantime, any suggestions are welcomed.  We hope that anyone who reads our blog continues to enjoy learning about & keeping up with our blossoming family.   

2 Month Well Baby Check Up

We had Brinleigh's 2 month well baby check up on Monday & surprise!  She has grown!  Baby Brinleigh now weighs 10.5 pounds, she is 22 1/2 inches long, & her head is 15 1/2 inches around.  She had to get an oral vaccine which she seemed to like & three shots which she was NOT pleased about.  The shots were the very last thing we had done during this visit & Kolt actually left the room before they were given.  That's right, completely up & left me with no back up for our sad screaming baby.  He just could not stand to be in the room to watch the nurse stick her several times or listen to his poor baby cry from pain.  I, on the other hand, had no choice but to be strong, which was actually pretty easy because it wasn't that bad.  The nurse gave her two shots in her left leg & one shot in her right leg.  She didn't scream & her cry wasn't a high pitched wail, but she definitely let us know that she didn't like the shots, but what person does?  She seemed a little sore later on in the day & I gave her some baby Tylenol (the nurse told me I could) which seemed to make her sleepy.  
My dad came to visit last week for a few days & it seems he picked the perfect time as far as Brinleigh's age, not so much for the weather.  Brinleigh is starting to recognize when we smile at her & she will smile back.  She loves being talked to & of course hearing about how cute she is.  She gets the biggest smiles when you tell her she is the cutest baby there ever was.  She smiled all sorts at her Grandpa Keith & she seemed to really enjoy sitting with him on the couch & just hanging out with him.  The weather was typical Sitka weather, cold & rainy, so we didn't do much outside.  
The seasons are changing & we feel winter fast approaching.  Our day light hours have decreased & the sun rises & sets at normal hours as of right now, but we lose five minutes of daylight every day until the end of December.  The temperature is also dropping & it seems to be getting colder at night & even a little cooler during the day.

9 1/2 Weeks until we go home for Christmas vacation!           

8 Weeks!

We finally got Brinleigh's newborn pictures from the photographer & I can't wait to start hanging her pictures around the house.  The photographer also put all of her pictures on a photo sharing website called smug mug where you can sign in with our user name & password & view all of the pictures.  This website also lets you order pictures if there are some that anyone wants for themselves. 

Smug Mug <~ Click on this website
Use this Password:  BForeman


Brinleigh is starting to develop her own little personality & it is so much fun for us to watch.  She has recently started smiling at us & seems to recognize our faces & voices.  She can support her head fairly well now but it still seems a little heavy for her & she hasn't gained full control of it yet.  This past week she officially moved out of her newborn clothes & into her 0-3 month clothes.  It makes me sad because it means she is already growing & getting bigger, however, it is a lot of fun since she has so many new 0-3 month clothes that she gets to start wearing now.  She has also worn her first pair of shoes a few times over the last week.  Brinleigh is gradually improving with her sleeping patterns & she is awake more now during the day with occasional naps whenever she feels like it, there is no schedule yet.  She still wakes up a couple times throughout the night but not as much & she goes longer periods asleep before she wakes up.  After we brought Brinleigh home, I got into the habit of sleeping down stairs because it was easier with her waking up so much & because our company was sleeping upstairs & then I continued sleeping downstairs when Kolt went back to work so that we didn't wake him up at night.  But the couch is starting to get old & in the next couple of weeks I will try & move us into mine & Kolt's room on the weekends & probably into Brinleigh's room during the week, but we will see how things go.  We go to the doctor on October 1st for Brinleigh's two month well baby check-up & I will post how that goes.  

We bought our plane tickets to come home for Christmas & that really did some damage on the credit card, even though they were on sale.  We will be home for 3 weeks arriving December 8th & leaving December 29th.  I have already started mentally planning our trip, writing out lists & reading TSA guidelines for traveling with a baby.  This is the first time Kolt & I have flown together & will be our first time flying with a baby & I am determined to make this trip as smooth as possible.  Kolt & I both HATE flying & become panic stricken schizo's when it comes to traveling by airplane.  (NOTE:  Kolt is perfectly fine flying on a helicopter, complete opposite when flying commercially.)   I usually have to take anxiety meds to avoid a panic attack & Kolt drinks alcohol to calm his nerves.  So traveling together & with a baby for the first time will definitely be an experience, but one I am determined to make as smooth as I possibly can.   I will also start packing a week in advance since I am not a light packer by any means & I tend to travel with a lot more than is necessary.  I am extremely indecisive & paranoid about needing or wanting something at my destination & not having it because I didn't pack it.  This time, I will be attempting to pack as light as possible for a 3 week stay, not only for myself, but for Brinleigh as well.  This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me.  But, since I plan on doing some shopping while we are home & with bringing home Christmas gifts, we are going to need as much extra room as possible for our flight home.

         



 

4 Weeks Later.....

Brinleigh is a month old!!!!  Where has the time gone?  I sure can't tell you, especially since most of the time I don't even know what day of the week it is.  This past week was our first week with no company.  It was just us, our little family of three.  Four if you count the forgotten child, Gunner.  Who by the way, has adjusted fairly well to our newest addition.  I think it helped having all of our company around.  With the extra people in the house, he was always sure to get a little attention from someone at all times.  Kolt has also been trying to take Gunner with him when he goes out fishing or when we go for walks.  Other than his occasional lick of Brinleigh's head, he doesn't really pay any attention to her.  When she cries (or screams) he doesn't even seem to notice.  I think as long as he is getting fed every day & we share some of our food occasionally, then he could care less about his new little sister.  
Our little Baby Bean is such a precious gift & we LOVE her so much.  She has more of a nightly sleep schedule now..... somewhat.  She sleeps at night for several hours, then wakes up to be changed & fed, then goes back to sleep for a few more hours, until she wakes again.  We usually do this about 3 times before she is up for the morning.  She doesn't really have a day time schedule yet.  She sleeps when she wants & is awake when she wants.  The only steady routine she has on a daily basis is being fed every 2-3 hours.  I have adjusted somewhat to her schedule, or lack there of.  When she sleeps at night, I sleep too.  When she sleeps during the day, I usually try & shower, or eat, or clean, or do a load of laundry, or get on the computer.  Basically anything that needs to be done that I don't have time to do when she is awake.  If I nap at all during the day it's usually in the morning when she sleeps or if Kolt is watching her.  Kolt went back to work this past Thursday & he is now on the night shift working 4pm- midnight.  This is a new shift for him so he is still trying to adjust but it seems to be working fairly well with the baby.  He sleeps through the night while I get up & take care of Brinleigh.  He is home the first half of the day to help me take care of her so I can try & nap, shower, eat, clean, etc. or he might go fishing or run errands.  Then the second half of the day he is working so it is just me & her so I don't get as much done unless she sleeps.  
Brinleigh is already getting bigger & stronger.  She is able to lift her head up on her own for a few seconds & if she is sitting up while we hold her, she can now support her own head for almost a minute before we have to help her.  She is starting to smile a lot more when she is awake now & giggles in her sleep some times.  She hates & I mean screams bloody murder hates, her car seat, unless we are moving it, either carrying it, pushing it in the stroller, or driving in the car.  She loves to be moving, especially being carried.  I wear a baby wrap that I carry her around in & she lays against my chest when we walk & as soon as she gets in it she is asleep.  I mean comatose kind of sleep.  It is great when we are grocery shopping or walking around town.  It also covers her so people can't really see her which helps to avoid the unwanted attention from strangers.  The sound of the vacum puts her to sleep & she likes baths.  She also likes to sit with her daddy because he holds her up so she can look around & see everything. 
We had her newborn pictures done last week & we haven't gotten them back yet but we are very excited to see them.  We did get to preview a few of them which I will post, but so far we love them.  I am also going picture crazy, taking pictures of her every time I turn around.  

   

Our Little Angel

Brinleigh Dilan graced us with her presence last Saturday morning, July 28 at 6:58 am weighing exactly 7 lbs. & measuring at 19 inches.  My due date was July 26 & I woke up the morning of July 27 at about 6am with very mild contractions.  I tried to continue sleeping which was challenging but I did manage to get some rest.  Kolt came home from work around 8am & since my contractions were still short & not consistent, we both decided to try & get as much sleep as possible.  We figured we might have a long day/night ahead of us.  Later that afternoon I called the Doctor & told them about my contractions & they wanted me to come into the office to get checked.  At 3pm I was 3cm dilated & baby's head was very low, sitting at about station 1 or 2.  They say it might have been the weather that day, but apparently 4 of us pregnant women started to go into labor that same day.  My doctor was not on call that day but was expecting to see me that night in the hospital to deliver our baby.  At about 8pm my contractions finally broke me & became painful enough to make me cry.  I hadn't been able to sleep for hours because the pain kept waking me up.  I didn't think we should go to the hospital though because my contractions still were not consistently 5 minutes apart.  The drive to the hospital is only about 5 minutes away.  Kolt finally convinced me to go to the hospital & we started to get ready.  By the time we left the house the contractions were about 5 minutes apart.  By the time we got to the hospital & checked in, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart.  They only have 1 delivery room but 2 or 3 of the other pregnant girls had already checked in.  1 had already delivered, 1 was in the process of delivering, & the other was not as far along as I was so she was most likely going to deliver after me.  I was checked in right away but it took them a little bit to get me into my room since they were cleaning it from the previous girl that was in there.  Shortly after we settled in, my doctor was notified that I had checked in & the anesthesiologist arrived to give me my epidural.  This was the part that I was actually the MOST afraid of.  Pshh, I'm not sure why because epidurals are probably the greatest thing ever invented.  EVER!  It didn't take very long & was not painful at all.  Kolt was being great at supporting me through the contractions & letting me know the epidural process was almost done.  It only took a few minutes for the pain meds to take effect & once they did I was on cloud nine.  I couldn't feel the contractions & I was so relaxed that I was able to fall asleep in no time.  When the nurse decided to check me a few hours later I was having a contraction every minute & a half, but of course I had no clue what so ever.  At 3am they moved me from my room into the delivery room & called to wake the doctor up.  She came in to check me & I was completely dilated.  Once I started pushing they decided to turn down the epidural drip which made me feel more pain than I would have liked.  After I was pushing pretty good they turned the epidural drip back up but it was too late.  I could feel everything.  I pushed through contractions which were still about a minute & a half apart for almost 2 hours, although it didn't feel like that long to me.  The pain was absolutely horrible.  At 6:58am Brinleigh was born.  Kolt was adamant before the delivery about NOT cutting the umbilical cord.  He didn't want anything to do with it.  Once our little girl arrived, he changed his mind & decided that he wanted to cut it.  It was very cute.  I can only remember bits & pieces of the labor & delivery process, probably because of the combination of the epidural & exhaustion.  Right after I pushed her out, all I remember is that I kept repeating "oh my God" over & over.  I think the relief from the pain & the shock from pushing a baby out of my belly had stunned me so much that I wasn't sure what to do or say.  Kolt was absolutely AMAZING through the entire process.  I couldn't have asked for a better support system.  He was very encouraging & kept me going.  

My sister, Mandy, had arrived in Sitka the Monday before & so she was the first visitor we had at the hospital.  She arrived at the hospital before I had even left the delivery room & gone back to our room.  She brought McDonald's for Kolt & I & a balloon for little miss Brinleigh.  My mom had left Arizona that morning to come to Sitka so she arrived on Brinleigh's birthday.  Having Mandy & my mom in town while we were in the hospital was extremely helpful.  They stayed at the house & took care of Gunner & brought us food when we asked for it.  Mandy would come & sit with me & Brinleigh while Kolt went home to shower or take care of a few things.  We stayed at the hospital for 2 nights after Brinleigh was born so we were discharged on Monday afternoon.  Kolt & I were both very pleased with our experience at Sitka Community Hospital.  It's the smaller of the 2 hospitals here in town & the furthest from our house.  My doctor came in to deliver Brinleigh, even though she was not on call.  I was especially pleased about this because she had been taking care of me since our very first appointment & she was also going to be Brinleigh's pediatric doctor.  The nurses were amazing at checking on us routinely & being immediately available whenever we needed them.  We received a lot of attention & help from everyone in the labor & delivery unit, to include a couple lactation consultants & the OB supervisor.  My doctor also stopped in to check on us every day that we were there.  Between having my sister & mom in town to help take care of things & our experience at the hospital & our interactions with the hospital staff, the entire experience was absolutely AMAZING!!!  I am actually quite sad that we will be leaving Sitka in a couple years & will have to find a new doctors office.  I am also sad to think that if we have another baby, our next pregnancy will not be as great because we won't be in Sitka & receive the same exceptional care.  

Our first follow up appointment was 2 days after we were  discharged from the hospital (Wednesday) & everyone in the doctor's office was so excited to see the baby.  Our nurse & doctor were also happy to see us & how well we were doing.  Brinleigh weighed 6.5 lbs & had a little bit of jaundice.  They helped us with anything we were concerned about & answered all of our questions.  We went back in to the doctors office the next day, Thursday, to meet with the lactation consultant again.  She was actually one of the two OB nurses who was in the delivery room when Brinleigh was born.  We didn't have an appointment on Friday but we had to stop in for a weight check for the baby, she was up to 6.11 lbs.  Even though we didn't have an appointment, our nurse, Cat, who we see at every appointment, spent quite a bit of time with us, answering more questions & checking things that Kolt & I were the slightest bit concerned about, again.  This again, made us both very pleased with the medical staff, who we have actually grown quite fond of.  We love how they all know us as soon as we call or walk in & they are very friendly & genuinely care about us & the baby.

       

Basic Airman Check Ride

Since we have been in Alaska, Kolt has been on a few flights to "practice" specific job responsibilities he will have on the helo.  After several cancelled flights, he was finally able to go on his official check ride where he was evaluated on his performance of the basic airman requirements.  The flight was a long one, lasting for several hours after he had worked his normal 8 hour shift all night.  But this flight was also his favorite since being in Alaska.  The helo landed by a waterfall & also in an open field & the flight mech on board was able to get some awesome pictures of Kolt & the helo.  Kolt passed the check ride & is now a qualified BA (Basic Airman) which means he will now be getting flight pay & will hopefully be going on more flights.  

38 Weeks Down..... 2 More To go....

I can't believe our due date is only 2 weeks away!!!!  It is both exciting & scary at the same time.  I think we are prepared as much as we can be for Baby Brinleigh's arrival & we have done just about everything that needs to be done.  The baby's bedroom is FINALLY completely done..... set up, decorated & organized and in my personal opinion, looks super cute.  We have bought and received almost everything we need for her except a few last minute things that we are still working on purchasing in the next few weeks.  June 29th was my last day of work & during my time off before the baby comes, I am working on cleaning & organizing the house, taking care of errands/chores/to-do's that will be easier to get done before she comes rather than after she is here, & overall preparing for a month of visitors & life with a new baby.  I have been seeing the doctor once a week for a few weeks now & as of 2 weeks ago my cervix was still closed.  I wasn't check this past week but will most likely be checked at the next appointment since I will be almost 39 weeks.  

36 Week Belly Pic

   


Brinleigh's Room

Our wonderful neighbor, Megan, also took some maternity pictures for us & I haven't seen them all yet but here are a couple that she sent to me (I played around with them on the instagram app on my iphone & changed them a little bit).