Our Hospital Stay

The three days we spent with Halyn in the hospital were some of my favorite days that we have had with her so far. Jason had about a week total off of work and was able to stay with us at the hospital. It was so nice being able to just focus on holding Halyn and getting to know her while the nurses took care of everything else. She slept in our room with us in a little raised bassinet with clear windows. We didn't get much sleep the first night. She wasn't interested in sleeping in her bassinet and just wanted to be held. I was so afraid I was going to fall asleep while holding her so I basically stared at her all night long wide-eyed while she slept in my arms. She did awesome in her bassinet the second night in the hospital, Jason and I got over 6 hrs of sleep. We gave Halyn her first bath together and dressed her up in the adorable newborn outfits we brought to the hospital. After a few days we couldn't wait to be discharged to take her home!!

One Day Old: 8/3/11

Bambina has arrived!

August 2, 2011

Halyn Eve Skinner: 8 lbs 4 oz, 21 inches, born at 9:23am

An ultrasound late in my pregnancy showed that Halyn was not in the head down position, instead she was closer to the breech position. So we knew in advance that we would likely have a c-section if she did not turn. Jason and I went in for our c-section the morning of August 2nd (at 39 weeks pregnant). We left early to drop the dogs off at my Mom's house and got checked in to the hospital at 6am. I was not in active labor, although I was quite a bit dilated. When I think of delivering a baby, I imagine rushing to the hospital in a panic after your water breaks. It was so different having a c-section and being so organized about having our baby. I never felt one contraction, not even a braxton hicks contraction.

Jason was able to be with me almost the whole time. After I was prepared for surgery, the nurse brought him back in so he could be there for the c-section. I thought I would be nervous but I was actually pretty calm. (Turns out I was more nervous to have my staples removed at the docs office the following week then to do the actual surgery haha). I was wide awake the whole time and Jason actually video taped the surgery. I am so glad we did! One of the nurses in the operating room mentioned that we should definitely video tape it and take pictures. Strangely enough, several people have watched it. Who knew so many friends and family would end up seeing my uterus. Since I couldn't see what was going on, the anesthesiologist (and Jason) told me step by step what our doctor was doing and made me feel so comfortable. It took less than 10 minutes until Halyn entered the world. Her weight was 8 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches, which is the exact same weight and length I was when I was born. She was placed in my arms in the stretcher with me and opened her eyes. There are no words to describe the moment we saw her for the first time. It truly is love at first sight.

After checking in at the hospital

So excited!

Our first family photo

Chicago Trip

It seems like every summer for the past four years that we lived in Arizona we would start talking about how much we missed Chicago. Especially when we went to all the cubs spring training games around Phoenix. Once we decided earlier this year to move back to Indianapolis, Jason started planning a weekend in Chicago for us and got Cubs tickets at Wrigley Field. We went a few weekends ago in April and had a blast. The Cubs won against the Dodgers in the 8th inning. We sat in the outfield with the "bleacher bums". It was a beautiful day there and such an exciting game. We didn't plan for such a sunny day and got a little burnt on our faces!

After the game we ate at Uno's Pizza which was a few blocks from our hotel. Then we walked around Michigan Ave and went up in the John Hancock Tower Observatory once it got dark. It was so beautiful! We actually went up in the observatory when we went to Chicago back in 2003, one of our first trips together. Since then it looks so much different. They added a restaraunt at the top and a bunch of tables and sitting areas.

The next morning we went to Shedd Aquarium. It was awesome! It was actually Easter Sunday when we were there. Didn't know if it would be more or less crowded, but we are glad we went early because the line to get in was crazy by the time we were leaving. We took a lot of cool pictures there and are glad we went!

Springing Forward

The past month since we have moved back to Indiana has been exactly what we were hoping- cold and rainy! ;) There have been several warm spring days in there too but I really missed this climate with all the changes in the seasons. I am now 6 months along (24 weeks) and getting more and more excited to meet Bambina! About two weeks ago Jason and I took a tour of the labor and delivery floor at Community South Hospital where we will be delivering. It was neat to have a visual of a room and talk with a labor and delivery nurse. We have been considering taking some expectant parent classes in the next few months too.

A few weeks ago I found out I passed my NCLEX nursing boards and have been looking for jobs and interviewing around the Indianapolis area. This past week I took a position at a sub-acute rehab facility in Carmel. It is a four unit transitional care specializing in ortho where patients can stay for about 30 days or less after they leave the hospital and before going back to their homes. I was able to start yesterday and the facility is amazing. I am so excited to have my first nursing job!!!!

We are heading up to Chicago this weekend for a Cubs game at Wrigley. The weather looks great so far, just crossing our fingers it doesn't rain! :) Happy Easter!

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Pictures

This past weekend Blair took some pictures of Jason and I now that I am showing. We went to a small park nearby where we live and the pictures turned out well. We are getting more and more excited the closer we are getting to August. Its been a fun few weeks since we have been back in Indiana. Love being able to see our families without taking time off work and booking flights! Now it just needs to warm up a little! We put all of our pictures from our "photo shoot" (at 21 weeks) up on our website: http://public.fotki.com/caskinner

20 Weeks

We are now about 20 weeks pregnant. On March 4th we had our 3-D ultrasound before leaving Arizona. It was amazing to see each organ in such detail when she is so small! At that appointment she weighed .7 oz. Who knows how much she has grown since then. I have been feeling great, especially now that we are more settled and school/ moving is over. I think I would be happy to not see any boxes for a while! The past few weeks I have been able to feel Bambina kick- especially when the dogs bark. Last week in the middle of the night the dogs heard a noise outside and started barking (since we just moved here the noises are still unfamiliar to them). It was about 4am. Bambina must have been sleeping, because she certainly woke up when she heard them. I felt the biggest movement I have ever felt on all sides of my stomach. Since then she has been kicking a little anytime she hears them. I think she is already a dog-lover. It is such a unique feeling! Hard to describe. I also noticed her kicking more frequently the other day after we went out to dinner with our friends to On the Border. I wonder if the salsa was too spicy for her liking? ;)

March Madness

Somehow in the past 3 weeks we survived the following: nursing school finals, graduation, Jason leaving his job, planning a graduation and going-away party for leaving Arizona, packing up our entire apartment, driving a uhaul and cars from Arizona to Indiana over 3 days (with lots of help from our parents!), finding an apartment in Indianapolis and moving in there... and everything in-between! We love our new living arrangements though and are happy to be living in the midwest... although we have had several "missing Arizona" moments (like realizing we can't do an inexpensive 3 day trip driving to Cali anymore on a few days notice) and I'm sure more to come. I would recommend to anyone to move out of state if they get the opportunity for at least a few years- best decision we have ever made!!


The day before we moved, the girls in my nursing program surprised me with a baby shower. I was shocked to say the least- I've never had a surprise anything and definitely wasn't expecting it. It was such a fun time and I already miss all of them dearly!
















Later that same day was our graduation! It was an outside ceremony and we had a beautiful day of 75 and sunny. There is no feeling better than graduating!!















All of us after my graduation at our going-away party. Now we are just looking forward to starting a new chapter! :)

Our last family picture in our apt. in AZ

After moving back to IN, Dakota and Heinz getting reacquainted with Indiana weather

Its a GIRL!

Thursday, February 24th was our last appointment with Dr. Sawyer in Arizona. We were not scheduled for an ultrasound, just a "tummy check". I was 16 weeks along at that point, and we already had an appointment scheduled for 18 weeks at another facility for an ultrasound there to reveal the sex of the baby and check each organ. Dr. Sawyer walked into the room and said, "Who wants to find out what you're having?!" We were so excited, especially since we didn't think we would find out for another few weeks. During the ultrasound the baby looked like it was running a marathon with the legs kicking non-stop. Finally our doctor got a good look and announced.... ITS A GIRL!

We had immediately agreed to not say anything to our families, as they were planning to fly out to Arizona the following week for my nursing school graduation and to help us move. We thought it would be neat to be able to tell them in person. Well that lasted for about 20 minutes. We also wanted to share the news with all our friends in Arizona before we left so by the end of the day I think we had called everyone we knew.

Jason and I have had fun looking around at things at Babies R Us now that we know the sex. We also found some discontinued baby bedding online in a cute print at a great discounted price. Once we get a chance to scan our recent ultrasound pictures I will post them. We are now officially "thinkin pink"! :)

Our Second Ultrasound

Today marks our second doctor's appointment and second ultrasound with Dr. Sawyer. We were really looking forward to getting another look at Bambino now that I am 12weeks along. (Our first ultrasound pictures were taken at less than 6 weeks). I think during the first appointment we were more in shock because I didn't "feel" pregnant, but this appointment I was teary-eyed from the moment we started the ultrasound until we were back out in the car. Hearing that little heartbeat is so reassuring. The pictures of Bambino turned out really clear, considering he or she was doing flips the whole time. We are happy to announce that Bambino no longer has a tail, and is starting to look a lot less like our puppy Dakota and a lot more like a precious little person! We could see the brain, heart, limbs, and systemic blood flow. Jason and I have decided that we are going to find out the gender. That appointment is scheduled around 18 weeks. I have not had any cravings although I do have a long list of things Bambino does NOT want. This list includes cheese its, saltine crackers (or any crackers for that matter), candy (ex jolly ranchers), chocolate, popsicles, lemonaide, and anything carbonated. I thought I would miss my caffeine-free diet coke but boy was I wrong. Luckily most of the things I eat on a normal basis are okay, especially salads, fruit, pasta, and chicken. Ok lets be real and ice cream!!

Some of my pants are tight but I'm unsure if I'm showing 100% of the time or not. Below is a picture we took before going to our doctor's appointment today.

12 weeks

Jason and I VERY excited for the doctor to come in

1st Doctor's Appt

Our first doctor's appointment was last month (12/20). We got to meet Dr. Sawyer and have our first ultrasound. We were beyond excited. At that point the baby's heart chambers had recently formed and the heart had been beating for 6 days. The heart rate was 145. Jason and I had estimated our due date to be the end of July, but our actual due date is August 9, 2011. During the ultrasound, Jason had mentioned that twins run in his family. Dr. Sawyer got excited and wanted to play a practical joke on Jason's family, and created a fake ultrasound with two pictures of the baby. I was so hesitant to send this to anyone !! Jason text the picture to his sister and of course she called us back immediately and we told her that it was just one. Blair did the same thing. :)

Since then we have been having so much fun discussing names, looking at baby items, and imagining what the next year will be like for us.

Bambino

Jason and I spent Thanksgiving with our good friends Jimmy and Ahmed and their families. The food was amazing and we had a great time. The weekend after Thanksgiving we got some exciting news.... we are expecting!! We were in such shock and I think we sat on the kitchen floor for almost an hour just taking it all in. As of now I am over 8 weeks and feeling great, not too many pregnancy symptoms yet. We have already had an apt with our doctor, but our first OBGYN appt is coming up on Dec. 20th. We could not be happier and feel so blessed.

For those of you that are Friends fans, Blair joked that this was Jason when we found out. ;)

Labor Day

We didn't do too much this weekend. It was very relaxing. We hung out with our friends Jimmy and Ahmed one day and another day went to Desert Ridge to have a dinner date and listen to live music. This week I start my first clinical rotation in med-surg. I actually thought I would be nervous but I'm just looking forward to start applying things I have learned. Several people have told me I should write down my experiences with my first patient so I can read it several years from now and remember how I felt. I'm sure I would get a good laugh out of that! Other than that, we are just looking forward to it cooling off a little here so we can be more motivated to do stuff outside instead of peaking out of our thick sun-blocking curtains wishing we could go out and still be able to breathe. Here are some pictures from our weekend:

The Golden Coast

Last weekend we took a roadtrip to San Diego. Our first day there we visited the San Diego Zoo- a first for both of us. It was absolutely amazing. Even with the map, we got lost several times. We managed to get some great pictures and see everything. We were lucky because a cold front came through southern cal last weekend so rather than highs in the 90s, it was 75 the whole time. After the zoo we drove up the coast a little and then ate dinner at Tony Romas. The next morning we drove through La Jolla and had lunch at a diner at the end of a pier in Oceanside. We saw dolphins jumping while we were eating- I didn't want to leave. Some of our friends were coincidently staying near Mission Bay that same weekend so we got to go on our kayaking trip with them. We paddled out from the beach in La Jolla. Our tour guide was really cool and gave us a lot of fun facts about the caves we kayaked through. Our friends immediately tipped their kayak in a big wave while we were paddling out and I have no clue how Jason and I didn't. We didn't see any sharks thank goodness. Sea lion families were swimming all around us and climbing up on the rocks. Several people in the cove were out of their kayaks swimming and snorkeling with them. Jason and I agreed it was one of the neatest experiences we have ever had. Definitely the best $30 we have ever spent. That night we went to a privately owned italian restaurant in a big house called Mama Mias. We had heard they have the "best" pizza in San Diego- and they totally do. And trust me, we have had our fair share of pizza to compare it to. The next morning before we left for Phoenix we went back to La Jolla and hiked down the rocks to see the sea lions again. Jason got some amazing pictures. I took a video too. If you hear some weird barking noises in the video, don't worry, that was me trying to communicate with the sea lions.

Monsoon Madness

This month has been kind of exciting with all the weather changes we have had. Last weekend we enjoyed two straight days of rain and cooler weather. When I say cooler, I mean 75-80. I have to note that Jason felt this was cool enough to use the heated seat in my car one day. LOL. I took this little video clip of one of the storms. We ended up with around 8 trees down just by our apartment.

Recently we got a webcam and have been skyping with our families and friends back home. I am so addicted! Its so much fun, I only wish we could have gotten one three years ago when we first moved out here. This week we have been busy with school and work blah blah but most importantly, getting ready for our roadtrip to California this upcoming weekend. Our friends from Phoenix are going to be in Mission Bay the same weekend, and have booked a kayaking trip for all of us in La Jolla. I have spent a lot of time googling shark sightings/attacks near La Jolla and lets just say I am not relaxed about this excursion!! My sister went on to tell me on the phone that she learned from shark week on discovery that sharks prefer to attack chubbier people. oh great! Maybe I could start working out now? Anyway we are planning to get a few disposable cameras to take pictures inside the caves. The other day we took a field trip with the Ruffies to Petsmart to pick up some more food and treats, and Heinz got a new friend. It has been a few days and now his friend has become a stuffing-less carcus. Here is the video of when he got "Puppy".