Introducing...

KARA DIANE HOPKINS

Our little girl came into this world on September 20, 2009 at 11:28 am, weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches long.

Words cannot express the feelings that I have towards this little one, I am so in love and ready to watch her grow.

We had a follow up appointment with the pediatrician this morning, and Kara has already gained 3 ounces of weight, and grew a quarter of an inch. Her growth is a week ahead of schedule and my little Bean sure is sprouting; I am so proud of her!!

Right now my parents are in town helping out and I really think Trevor and I would have lost our minds completely if they weren't here. Kara sure has some awesome grandparents, and we can't wait for her to meet Dida and Oma!!

I'm sorry this entry is so short, but I had to scramble to put it together. She's going to be up any time now and I must be ready!

Until next time. :-)

the weight has been lifted!

I'm happy to report that I'm back from the doctor's and everything is great!! The doctor confirmed that we are indeed expecting a girl [huge relief there, haha...] - and that she's measuring right on target!!

The nurse took various photographs of everything, and I was shown that she has hair on her head. There are 4 chambers to her very healthy heart, they checked her blood flow in the umbilical cord [they had a hard time with this, she kept kicking it around] as well as kidney function. Unfortunately, Kara takes after her mommy and does not like pictures taken of her, so she had her hands up defensively the entire time. She currently weighs 6 pounds, 2 ounces and the doctor "wouldn't be surprised" if I had her in the next couple of weeks. Guess I should pack that bag...

On another note, I got a text message today from my nephew that reads, "I get my [driver's] permit!!!!!!!!" - my eyes about bulged out of my skull. I don't know when he grew up, but it seems WAY too soon for this... I remember when he was born!!!

Earlier this week we also got confirmation that Trevor's side of the family is making the trek here for Thanksgiving, and we can't wait!!! Hosting everyone for a pretty big holiday is going to be awesome, and there will be TWO new little ones for everyone to play with. For Christmas we'll be heading to Ohio, and we're very excited for that as well! Big things happening in the next few weeks.

I think that's it for now, I have another appointment on the 15th so I imagine I'll be updating shortly after that. We're planning on taking the laptop to the hospital with us, just so everyone can be emailed pictures as soon as we gather time after The Big Moment. :-)

Have a great weekend!!

pardon the interruption...

Hello everyone!

I have some updates on our darling Kara. Pretty nerve-wrecking stuff, but Trevor and I are confident that everything is going to be ok. I had a doctor's appointment last friday and we found out that Kara is measuring very small - about 4 weeks behind, to be exact. This was determined by the ultrasound that my doctor gave me after the fundal measurement [length of baby, but taken from the size of mommy's belly] came out to be smaller than expected. Just after this ultrasound the doctor administered a non-stress test on Kara, which she then passed "with flying colors" and the doctor said she looks "fabulous". We also then went on to family history; and knowing that smaller babies run on my side seemed to solidify the doctor's confidence that everything was going to be fine. "Some women just make small babies" - this made me feel a *little* better, but the doctor still wants me to see a specialist, to ensure everything's relatively on track. Fortunately that appointment is tomorrow afternoon so our minds won't be wondering for too much longer!

That's all I have for now. Tonight we're hosting Kyle, Terri and Leon as they make their trek to Seattle and this weekend we're celebrating Zachary's birthday. Lots of things going on, we'll keep you up to speed with how the appointment goes tomorrow!

watching the time tick...

3rd day of september. A possible 24 days to go before Kara's arrival. So many mixed emotions swirling throughout the house about this!!! I speak for both Trevor and I, we're both giddy with anticipation but terrified of the unknown. As for the dogs, we don't really know what they think of the whole situation. People may laugh at this notion, but the dogs are family too. I don't anticipate a problem with them at all, Shelby has been around babies and will probably hide in a corner for the first few days. Dieter will just sit there and look at her funny, probably offer her a toy of his every now and again.

Right now 'time' for me has stopped completely. I blame this feeling entirely on the fact that I don't have a job. It's not the usual 9-month wall that most women hit during pregnancy. I'm uncomfortable, but I know I could put up with more. My feet or fingers haven't swollen to mass proportions [they didn't swell at all actually]. I'm not having heartburn that compares to a volcano in my chest. Most people would love to sit around the house all day, running errands whenever, catching up on movies and books - and while I think a few days of this is pure bliss when leading a busy lifestlye, I feel as though I'm slowly losing my mind!

This Sunday will mark the start of Kara's 37th week in the womb, and at the end of the week she's considered "full term". At this point we don't know if she's breech or not - I just know she's running out of room. I've mentioned to Trevor numerous times that I need to have ribs removed when we have more children, because they're obviously in the way. He thinks I'm kidding... but really, this would benefit my running as well - more room for lungs, AND babies all right!!! We have an appointment tomorrow with the doctor, just a regular check up which now happens every week. I suspect that this weekend Trevor will make me sit down and actually pack my hospital bag [I've been avoiding this for the better part of two weeks now]. We will also ensure that everything is ready for Kara; install the car seat, put up the baby monitor, and ensure the correct phone numbers are programmed into cell phones...

So, until next time - have a great Labor Day Weekend!!!

- natalie.