Christianson-Barker Family News

Half Birthday and Solids

2010-08-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Khaim celebrated his six month birthday this month!! Bradley made him this shirt in honor of the occasion.

Instead of cake, Khaim had his first real solids - avocado! Introducing solids has been one of the most difficult things so far. Our pediatrician suggested introducing solids as early as 2 months. It didn't feel right so we waited. Bradley and I did hours of reading to decide when to introduce, how much and what - but there was no consistent research about anything. We finally introduced rice cereal at 5 and half months and "real food" at 6 months. So far, he hasn't been too excited about any of it. He has had avocado, banana and carrots - he seems to like carrots the best.

Playdate

2010-08-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Being part of Snuggles and Struggles, which is a mom and baby group, has been wonderful for Khaim and I. Khaim loves being around other babies! He is always in such a good mood when we are there and is exhausted from all the fun when we leave. I have also enjoyed our snuggles time. It has been nice to meet other moms and talk about baby stuff, ask questions and share successes. I know, this is so typical mom of me, but we love it! So, since we are graduating snuggles soon, I decided to start a playgroup at our house. Some pics of Khaim and his friends:

Best Friends!

2010-08-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

It is so fun to see Paw (our first born!) and Khaim become friends. If Paw is in the room, Khaim will scoot right over to him to give him some love. Paw is very patient with Khaim pulling on his ears and fur! Paw has also already learned than Khaim will do everything he can to share his food with him! Below are some pictures of them playing.

The Aquarium

2010-08-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

We recently bought the Audubon membership, so we get to go to zoo and aquarium for free. Khaim is not super excited about the zoo yet, and it is way to hot - but he loves the aquarium! We have gone several times this summer! Here are some pics of him enjoying the fish!

One Last Try...

2010-08-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

So I created this blog so we could keep friends and family in the loop. It has been a lot harder to blog with an infant than I had anticipated. In fact, it is a lot harder to get most things done than I had anticipated! In my spare time between playing, feeding and sleeping with Khaim (yes, that's right - he still does not sleep on his own - we are working on it!), keeping up with homework, and trying to keep the house out of a disastrous state, I think about blogging. Sometimes I do more than think, I even start writing a post, but then I realize that I have forgotten to update our readers about Khaim's playdate, or his trip to the zoo, or his cute new noises. I then feel like I can not post anything new until I have fully recounted all of the important details of the past few weeks. Weeks turn into months, and here I am with six months of posts to write, I get overwhelmed, and then I just don't do it! Clearly, I am over thinking this! So we are starting over! I will try to post as often as possible, keeping things short and sweet. All that to say - hope your still reading, and I promise to try and be a better blogger! So instead of recounting the last six months, here are a few pics of Khaim's life so far.

We Get to Keep Him?

2010-03-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

Labor and Delivery was an amazing experience - but actually having Khaim here, cries and all, is the best. The first couple of days in the hospital went well - but we were ready to head home - here are some pictures of our time in the hospital and Khaim headed home...

Nana and Khaim

Leigh and Khaim meet

Opa and Khaim

It's official - he is all ours!

The ride home

We're home!! Daddy bringing Khaim in for the first time...

Welcome Home from Nana and Papa

Meeting Paw for the first time - Paw did so well!

He's Here!

2010-03-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Almost as soon as I entered my third trimester, my doctor said that I could have the baby at any time. Four weeks before my due date I was 1 cm dilated, 2 weeks before I was 3 cm dilated - we were all waiting on pins and needles for the time to come. The week of my due date I decided to do as much as possible to stimulate labor - we tried all the old wives tales, I ate spicy food, walked several miles, and I ate almost a whole pineapple. Something must have worked because on Tuesday morning (Feb. 2), three days before my due date, my labor began. The night before we stayed up until about 2:30am watching movies and hanging out with my parents, so I was feeling really tired that morning. I was having cramps, but they seemed to be consistent and not in any sort of pattern, so I decided to ignore them. Bradley went to work (he is doing a temp job with the census), and I hung out with my parents. When Bradley came home at lunch we went for a walk with paw and I mentioned that my Braxton Hicks contractions were stronger than normal. Later that afternoon, my parents went to Borders and I decided to try to take a nap. It didn't work so well - this is when I decided I might be in labor. I texted Bradley and he came home. Almost immediately the contractions got stronger - the weird thing was that they were already 2 minutes apart. We wanted to do as much of the labor at home as we could so we decided to stick it out for a while until they got stronger - which they did. After six hours of strong contractions 2 minutes apart, we decided it was time to head to the hospital.

Headed to the hospital:

When we got to the hospital, we thought for sure I would be around 6-8cm dilated - but unfortunately, I was only 3.5. This was very discouraging since I had only progressed .5cm during the 6hrs of active labor. So we labored some more. My contractions continued to be 2 to 1.5 minutes apart and strong (very strong). But little baby beast was not budging - after another 6hrs I only progressed 1 more cm. I was exhausted. Bradley and I wanted a natural delivery with no interventions, including pain medicine, but after the 12 hrs of labor we were worried my body was not going to be able to handle the duration of labor and most importantly, we did not want a c-section! So I got an epidural and pitocin - it was such a relief - but I was disappointed that I did not make it natural.

Some pictures of labor:

Post epidural (hence the smile!):

Once I got the epidural and pitocin, I was able to take a nap and rest. 10 hrs later, the epidural wore off. I was close to the end so we decided that I would do the rest without medicine. Waiting for my Dr. to arrive was the worst - it is hard to "hold the pushes in." Once she arrived, I began pushing - we pushed for about an hour. Khaim arrived at 11:08am on Wednesday, February 3. Bradley had previously asked my Dr. if he could deliver Khaim - he did and it was wonderful!

Khaim Christianson-Barker
02/03/2010 - 11:08am
6lbs 14 oz, 20 in

Update and Preparation

2010-03-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have been severely neglecting the blog! With all the preparation and fun enjoying our baby (yes, he is here!) I haven't made time to do much - including update the blog - hopefully I will be better in the future. Below are some pictures of us preparing for our little arrival...

Painting Khaim's room:

Inspecting the crib and furniture:

Putting up the tree decal:

Furniture and Balance Born Childbirth

2009-11-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

We finally made some decisions about furniture. We have decided to do somewhat of an antique feel for the nursery. All the furniture is antique black, below are some pics (but they are in white)...

We have also decided on a fabric for the glider, it is a sage baby toile - so cute - we are really excited about it! We're going to order it this weekend so it comes just after Christmas (which I can't wait to decorate for)!

In other news, we have been attending a birthing class called "Balance Born Childbirth." The first three classes focused on pregnancy, breastfeeding and bringing home baby - the last five classes are all about labor, what to expect, pain management, etc. We have decided to try for a completely natural birth - so we need all the pain management tips we can get! Overall the class is good, we really like the teacher and most of the parents are all about natural child birthing/raising, so it is nice to hear what other people are doing and planning on doing. I will enter my third trimester in 2 days - wish is crazy! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by, but I am starting to get anxious to actually meet our little boy. I have a feeling I will be ready before my actual due date, but we will see! We will post new belly pics soon. We had to buy a new computer (the old one finally died); last night I went to load new pics and we realized the card reader doesn't fit - just another thing to add to our long list of purchases recently! :)

100 Days...

2009-10-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

As I logged on to update the blog, I noticed that we only have 100 days to go before we meet our little one (although I am still convinced he will come early!). I can't believe how quickly my first pregnancy has flown by! We have so much left to do before Mini-Beast comes home! We have picked out furniture (90% sure), but we can't decide on a nursery theme and bedding.

We have also been spending a lot of time researching baby products and choosing things we would like for our baby. After creating registries at Target, Babies'R'Us and Pottery Barn Kids, we decided that doing an online registry would be a more complete list (and better prices) of what we would like. We are registered on Amazon.com, you can view our registry HERE. If you have any suggestions or comments about products, please let us know!

Finally, the name decision - we have made no progress! It is such a big decision and we want to choose the perfect name that means something special to us but still sounds somewhat normal. We have several baby name books and hopefully we will have something before we head to the hospital!

Little Boy!!

2009-10-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

We found out last month that Mini-Beast is a boy! We are so excited (Bradley is more relieved than excited)! We already have a good little set of clothes going - he is going to be very stylish (and for the most part - eco friendly). We have not chosen a name, and I have a feeling we will head to the hospital with no idea what we call our little one - but we are working on it. We have three baby name books and take them with us every time we go out to eat.

During the ultrasound we also learned that everything looks normal, Mini-Beast is healthy! Currently, he is breech and facing my back, so we are hoping he does a few flips before he gets too big. Below are a few pictures from our recent ultrasound.

His little profile...

Baby feet...

His little boy parts...

Holy Crap I'm Pregnant!

2009-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I started this blog so I could keep family members and friends updated about the pregnancy - but I haven't been that good about posting - sorry! Hopefully the last four months I will post much more often!

We have been busy having lots of fun lately! We recently got back from a 12 day trip to California. It was amazing! We went for Travis and Harmony's wedding - which was beautiful! The first couple days in CA we spent time with the Weber family at their home. They are so sweet - we felt like honorary members of the family! On our first night, as I was getting ready for bed, I looked in the mirror (it was one of those full closet door mirrors) and thought "holy crap I am pregnant!" I felt like my stomach popped on the plane because when I boarded in Louisiana I didn't have that stomach! Bradley had fun poking at it and admiring my new look. He is getting more and more excited as the days pass - it is so cute! The below picture (behind the Pepperdine Chapel) is not my favorite - it was early in the morning and I was squinting - but it does adequately show my expanding belly!

We spent the next day hanging out in Santa Monica on 3rd Street. I forgot how busy California is - but is was great! Bradley's mission of the day was to ask people about their stroller experiences. On more than one occasion we would say, "where's Bradley?" After searching for a minute, we would always find him engaged in deep conversation with some woman with her baby. His "market research" led to another purchasing decision. We are getting a BOB Revolution. This stroller has great reviews, acts as a jogger and has real suspension, which is a necessity on New Orleans roads.

I also got to spend a day hanging out with Christi! So good to catch up! We also spent time sailing in California - it was amazing! Bradley and I would love to take up sailing! Travis has a license and belongs to a club, so you can just check boats out - it was a blast. We saw one dolphin and got pretty close to a sea lion. After all the fun, we had wedding duties - which were also fun because we got to spend time with Travis and Harmony! We moved Harmony from her Pasadena apartment to Travis' place in Malibu. I should say the boys moved Harmony - I could only help with packing! :) We also made programs and got all the wedding stuff ready. On the day of the wedding, Bradley did all the groomsmen stuff, while I helped decorate and coordinate all the wedding to-do's. Harmony and Travis had asked me to be the coordinator, which I thought would just entail telling people when to walk down the aisle - it was a bit more complicated - but I had a blast. At the reception, I got to sit next to Tim and Jan Willis. It was so much fun to catch up with them - and we found out Dr. Willis is coming to New Orleans in Nov. for the SBL conference, so he is coming over to our place for dinner! Overall the wedding was great - but exhausting! The happy couple...

On our last day in California, we were able to meet John, Sarah, Matthew and Abby for some fun at Sea World. It was so good to see them - I wish we lived closer to them because we also have such a good time hanging out! Abby is getting so big - she is even eating solids! Mathew is becoming such a good little talker! We were sitting in front of an aquarium and he asked me what the baby in my belly's name was - it was super cute! Sarah had told him earlier that day I was having a baby. I told him we didn't have a name yet. I asked him if he thought the baby was a girl or a boy, he responded, "babies are girls." Sea World was great - but another very long tiring day! As we were saying good bye to everyone, Matthew said, "let me know when that baby comes out and what it's name is." He and Abby are going to be such cute cousins! Here are a few pictures of the Sea World fun...

Our First Scare

2009-08-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

This past Monday we experienced our first pregnancy scare. I woke up with a weird pain in my chest. It was not a sharp pain, just a weird achy feeling near (what felt like) my heart. I continued getting ready for work, trying to ignore the pain. As the morning continued I became more and more aware of the pain. As a result, I began getting nervous and worked up about the situation, so I decided to call my doctor's office just to make sure this was a normal feeling. When I called and explained the situation, the nurse put me on hold and called my doctor on her cell, when she came back she said I needed to go immediately to the ER, my doctor would call ahead. At this point I got really upset. I had a bit of a panic attack, making the pain worse and I couldn't catch my breath. Bradley did his best to keep me calm and reassure me it was nothing as we drove to the hospital. When we got the ER, they took me right back and did an EKG and blood oxygen test - both came back normal. The ER doctor, which was very sweet (he could tell I was really nervous), explained that he thought I might have chest inflammation from a previous cold, but they couldn't do anything to confirm or treat it without hurting the baby. He also explained some other rare, more serious possibilities, but said I should be fine unless it persists for a couple days or gets worse. They also checked the baby's heat beat (which I think they did just to make me feel better) - which was also good. SO - I am fine! :) The pain went away yesterday and we still have no idea what it was! All the body changes and new experiences are so stressful - it's hard to know which are normal and which are not!

Updates

2009-07-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our doctor's appointment. Minus waiting - for a long, long, long time - everything went well. Here are a few highlights... I have been feeling bad, because I gave in and ate chocolate - nutella actually, i was all worried that I had eaten too much and decided that I would confess to the doctor and make sure everything was okay. As we were waiting in the front room with other expectant mothers, one came in drinking a can of coke and the other smelling of cigarettes, maybe the chocolate isn't that bad I thought. When I mentioned it to my doctor she laughed and said I was fine. Apparently, I need to be eating more anyways, I have lost 6 pounds since my last appointment - which is hard to believe with my growing gut. The doctor says that is normal in the first trimester and that I will gain it all back soon. We got to here the heartbeat, it was so loud! The doctor says it is strong and everything sounds good. I was kind of sad we couldn't listen longer. Finally, we found out that we can't find out the sex of the baby until 22 weeks. We are waiting until then because we have a history of heart disease in the family, and want to make sure the baby's heart is fully developed and functioning normally. The doctor told me to let go of my need to know the sex, she said sometimes the baby doesn't cooperate and you won't be able to find out - she obviously doesn't know me that well! :) I think it would be fun to be surprised by the sex, but I want to be all prepared and have everything ready for a little girl or a little boy. I guess we will see if the baby let's me!

On another note, I got the okay to fly to California in September for the Hill-Weber wedding (YEAY)! I will be about 4.5 months pregnant for the trip. I am a little worried about potty breaks - I have to pee a lot! What if I have to go when we are taking off or landing? Does anyone have any tips about flying pregnant?

Baby Bump or Beer Gut?

2009-07-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Today I broke down and bought my first maternity pants. I am in that awkward stage where I don't look pregnant, I just look like I have a beer gut. I feel like wearing a shirt that says, "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!" Apparently this feeling is normal; I googled this phrase and found this shirt. My pants are uncomfortable, but all my skirts still fit pretty well, I am hoping they last through most of my pregnancy.

Other updates, I think I have made it though the morning sickness phase. I have been feeling great the last few days! Which is wonderful, but sometimes I get worried because I don't feel pregnant. I am looking forward to having a defined bump, just to know for sure something is going on in there.

Decisions, Decisions...

2009-07-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

As we begin this crazy journey of welcoming Mini-Beast into the world, we are realizing there are a million decisions to be made! Of course there are all the huge ones, like names, birthing plans, prenatal care, etc. But even more overwhelming is all the stuff you have to buy! Before we buy anything in our house, Bradley has to do his research, read reviews and do price comparisons - which in the world of baby gear means a LOT of time! We have made one decision so far. We have decided to use non-disposable diapers, we like the brand Bum Genius (see below pics) because the diapers are one size and can grow as little Mini-Beast does.

Does anyone have suggestion re: their favorite baby products? What was your favorite shower gift? Where did you register? Are there any products you have been unhappy with?

Baby Christianson-Barker!

2009-07-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

We recently found out that we are expecting our first little one in early February 2010!!! Those of you who know us well, know that we were on the 5 year plan that never reduced time. Needless to say, Baby CB, or Mini-Beast as he (or she) has been dubbed, was a surprise! God's timing is always good, we are so anxious and excited to meet our baby, as well as a little terrified about being parents!

Paw is a little sad he is not going to be the baby of the house anymore...

Mini-Beast: 6 weeks, 5 days Old. He/She is the little blob between the two markers!