Determination vs. Ignorance

Breastfeeding should be a primitive instinct for babies...right? That's what I heard, and I kept getting my hopes up that Kara would successfully latch and the never-ending chore of cleaning bottles and pump accessories would wane.

On Tuesday, Kara latched! I was so excited! This was it!

However, how long is too long to be feeding?

Sometimes we would have "short" feeding sessions...these lasted an hour to an hour and a half.

Sometimes we would have "LONG" feeding sessions...I'm embarrassed to say that these would last over 3 hours. I just kept switching sides every 30 minutes. Then we would have to give her a bottle so she would finally be full.

Why wasn't she ever satisfied?! My expression of milk was fine, my technique was good, and darned if anyone had more patience to sit there and wait on her to finish.

Finally, I had to get over my denial. She is just a bad sucker, and this was no way for either of us to be spending our time.

I have nothing against bottle feeding; I just kept thinking a light would go off in her little baby head or the Lord would lead her to breastfeed effectively. Neither happened, and I think we're both content to go back to plan B (breastfeed for 10 minutes on each side, bottle feed, then pump). It's a bit of a routine, but it's better than the other option where we sit for hours and she never gets enough.

One Week!

We made it. All three of us! One week of being a family of three has been trying and fun, more on the fun side.

a sound sleeper

Kara started out by getting a 9 on the Apgar test (out of 10). Very cool. It was then discovered that she was tongue tied (extra long frenulum). After discussion and prayer, we had the neonatologist perform a frenectomy. She can now latch and suck for breastfeeding, which she still doesn't enjoy (which has lead to some long nights and family crying sessions). So, in order to feed her, Ashley has been pumping breast milk. Which means we both get to feed her! (bonus for daddy!)

dinner time

getting a little sun with Kermit

We've had lots of family come over and help around the house and give us food. Perhaps more importantly, they get to spend time with Kara.

Kara James

Kara James entered the world at 6:13pm on January 12, 2010! She weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. Ashley labored for right around 24 hours (from water break to delivery), and pushed for about 1.5 hours.

From Kara James Birth

From Kara James Birth

All the grand parents were present and were very supportive.

Houston Restaurant Review

I love going on dates with my husband, and since we will have a very demanding addition to our family soon, Lee and I decided to take a date weekend vacation before our family becomes a trio.

This past weekend we went to the Houstonian Hotel and had an incredible stay complete with massages, mints on our pillows, and valet car service. However, everyone already knows about the Houstonian, so I want to tell you about two of the restaurants that we went to and strongly recommend to anyone living in Houston or just visiting.

First, The Breakfast Klub, an awesome restaurant located in the 4th ward (Midtown area) where their slogan is "If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not have it twice?" Probably because if you ate here more than once a week, you'd have a heart attack within a year. Their two signature breakfast dishes are fried catfish with grits and fried chicken wings with waffles (Lee had the latter). The atmosphere is incredibly lively and spirited, they celebrate African American culture through the dishes they serve, in the music they play, and through the colorful decor. The staff is loud but courteous, and it seems like a place most of the patrons feel at home. The food definitely has a down-home, southern flair...something I like to call "greasy done right". However, if you do go here, go early because the longer you wait the longer the line gets. By the time Lee and I were done eating, the line was out the door and around the corner.

http://www.thebreakfastklub.com/

Second, Hugo's, located in the Montrose area. I'm not sure that I have had authentic Mexican cuisine in the past, but they claim that this is it. If so, I would like to move to Mexico. The food was simple but wonderfully flavorful, and we had the best dessert ever (churros injected with dulce de leche, served with sides of homemade chocolate ice cream and Mexican hot chocolate). YUM! I liked the meal so much that on the way back to the hotel I actually felt sorry for the people who were settling for "sub-par" Tex-Mex restaurants along Westheimer. Hugo's has more of a romantic atmosphere, and is a great place to go if you are planning on a special/expensive dinner. Here's a note of practicality regarding the menu, if you can't read small font in dim light bring a pair of cheaters or a flashlight.

http://www.hugosrestaurant.net/

Kountdown to Kara: Part 2 and Happy New Year!

I'm not sure what everyone else did for New Year's Eve, but we were preparing for the arrival of our little one. We've been working through the process of choosing a color for her room (getting input from both grandmothers and looking at the colors at various times of day) during the past weeks, and yesterday we settled on a color - Practical Beige. Another piece of preparation was the selection of a ceiling fan. This selection was actually made some time in August and the fan has been sitting on the floor since then.

Today, we are about an hour of painting away from being done with the room setup (save the stuff organization and hanging of pictures). My parents came up yesterday and helped us get things rolling (figuratively and literally). My dad and I installed the ceiling fan while Ashley and my mom picked out paint and started cutting in the room. By 12:30 AM, Jan 1, 2010, we had a mostly painted room that was lit by the lights of a new ceiling fan.

And since this is a somewhat boring post, here is a picture of Ashley at 36 weeks.

Kountdown to Kara: Part 1

Today, we went in for our 36 week ob/gyn visit to see how Ashley and Kara are progressing. After the basics were taken care of, the doctor checked to see what state Ashley was in. To our surprise, we found out that Ashley is 50% effaced and 1cm dilated. Whoa! This was cause for pause. Now the countdown can really begin. All the lessons about pre-labor during our birthing class are becoming reality. So, if you weren't praying for us before, please consider doing so now.

We know there is still much pregnancy left, but getting started on this phase feels like a big step.

We were happy to pass this info on to our mothers - who were both quite excited. As far as preparations go, we're about to pick out paint for Kara's room, do the painting, and do some serious organizing. We still need to pack our "go" bag.

In other news - we received a beautifully refinished table from Ashley's father, Jim. Here's a quick pick:

This was a table that Ashley's parents had for many years (20+) and gave to Ashley after college. It had some dings, stains and an iron burn ... so it needed a face lift. Not so any more. Much labor went into this and we are very thankful.

We're Ready!!!!

Woohoo! The Fithians are ready for Christmas...early! No wrapping gifts in the car on the way to events, no last second shopping, no frantically running to the store to buy more wrapping paper! We did it!

Actually, Lee thought we were done a few nights ago, but he didn't take into account that his presents still weren't wrapped. I have been waiting for his last gift to come in the mail for a couple of weeks, and it finally arrived this morning.

I had been refusing to wrap his presents until I had all of them (sometimes it saves space and paper if you can fit more than one item in a box). But keeping them hidden from Lee was more of a challenge than I anticipated. I thought I could just hide them among the clutter in the disorganizational mess of our house. This was faulty thinking. Just because I can pretend like overwhelming messes don't exist, doesn't mean he can. Even though I kept moving the gifts, he still managed to stumble upon them.

I felt like I was constantly having to supervise his movements in the house. "Hey, you're not allowed in there!" "Don't touch that bag!" "Get out of that corner!"

I understand that there are easier ways to do this, and maybe I will do better next year. Right now I'm just glad that his gifts are wrapped, and that I don't have to chase him around the house anymore.