Alexis Isabella Lavallee

Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Smiles

I get to enjoy this everyday!! My life is awesome! =)

Monday, December 27, 2010

Lexi's First Christmas

Grandma Lavallee and Uncle Jeff came to visit and spend Christmas with us this year. It was nice to have family but I admit, I'll be glad when it's just the three of us. We've only had 7 days together as a family since we've had visitors ever since she was born. Don't get me wrong, the help has been great but it's hard to get into a rythm.

Anyways...we had a very nice Christmas. Lexi got lots of presents and dinner was tasty and delicious even if I must say so myself.

Isn't she precious? I LOVED her in this cute little outfit!!


Saturday, December 18, 2010

Hi!!

My name is Alexis, but you can call me Lexi. I am one month old today and mommy can hardly believe it. I was born with my eyes wide open and I rarely shut them even today which makes mommy yawn alot. She mentions this thing called sleep and says she needs it but I think she's crazy. Who wants to sleep when there's so much to see and do?!

I was standing at one week and it's one of my favorite things to do besides eat. Speaking of my favorite things, I REALLY love bath time and being in the car. Some of the things I'm not a big fan of are getting my diaper changed and being dressed, but I am getting more tolerant of these tasks as I am learning they are necessary.

Here are some pictures of all of my cuteness for you to enjoy. Mommy is also including a video of some of my awake time from last night since this is how I spend most of my day.

P.S. Mommy wants me to apologize for the fact that all of these pictures are loaded in a funny order but I'm sure you don't care as much as she does. =)

This is me in rare form doing that sleep thing mommy talks about. It usually only happens after I've worn myself out from all of my exploring.


This is my Papa Gatliff and I adore him. He says the funniest things. I'm so glad he came to spend some time with me or should I say to spoil me in holds that mommy is to weak to do for an extended period of time. I love you papa!
This is mommy feeding me a bottle. She was devastated to learn she couldn't breastfeed after doing it for 3 weeks but I'm a happier baby now that I'm getting all of my nutrients and mommy can focus and getting healthy again too.

I love spending time in my Boppy. It props me up just right so that I can see more things.


Me and my Grammy Gatliff cheesing for the camera. I love her sooo much and was so happy she got to experience my birth. Plus her being here helped mommy out alot since she had some difficulty recovering and getting that sleep stuff.


Isn't this the greatest picture? I'm sooo loved. Mommy refuses to give up on trying to get Grammy and Papa to move here even though she knows it's a battle she can't win.


Look at me!! I'm such a happy and good baby. I love this little pink Winnie the Pooh outfit and my pink headband.


This is my mommy and me commemorating my one month milestone. She got a new haircut and we all like it.

Watch out world! I'm going to be mobile in no time. I've already rolled over a few times and surprised even myself. This is me attempting that roll over thing again. Practice makes perfect.


As you know I have two brothers, Hopper and Chase. They do the strangest things like run up and down the hall catching this thing called a ball. I can't wait until I can run too. Mommy and daddy can't wait until I can throw the ball for them.

This is me in my usual state of awake. This was taken at 11pm last night. As you can tell, I love to look at the house and talk.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Birth Story (Long)

Alexis Isabella Lavallee
November 20, 2010 @ 10:52a
7lb 15 oz
20.25 inches

Sooooo...as you are well aware, I was planning a birth center delivery with a midwife. Totally unmedicated and as non-hospital as possible. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be. =(

In the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I developed gestational hypertention which means I became allergic to the placenta and the only way to "cure" it is to deliver the baby. I was put on bed rest at week 39 in hopes that my BP would stay below 140/80 but it did not. They were performing tests on me every day whether it was a NST or blood test or urine test, you name it, they did it. My midwives officially dubbed me high risk 2 days before my due date and transferred me to an ob/gyn.

I saw a different doctor everyday from the date that my case was transferred. They were all really great but I felt misplaced. They all had different risk levels they were comfortable with and the doctor I saw on Friday, November 19th decided that it was no longer safe for me or baby to continue on. I believe my BP was 161/83 that morning. The real risk for gestational hypertention is seizure, placental abruption or stroke. They've seen people seiz at much lower BPs so I was immediately transferred to the hospital for an emergency induction. Do you see where this is going?

They gave me cytotec and in 4 hours I was still only dilated to 2cm. At that point, I believe my BP had spiked to 175/117 (somewhere around there) so they administered magnesium sulfate and gave me another dose cytotec. Let me tell you about mag sulf. It is the devil's drug and is probably used to torture prisoners of war. It is an evil medicine. It feels like someone has thrown gasoline on you and tossed a lit match. OUCH!!! Plus, once it was administered it means that I was confined to the bed and my only labor options were left side or right side. Do you know how hard it is to labor and those are your only two options?!?!

About two hours after the 2nd cytotec I coughed, my water broke and things really got rolling. Long story short, I went from 2cm to 8cm in 2 hours. My contractions were lasting between 2-3 minutes and were peaking 2-3 times. I was getting about a 15 second break between contractions. Finally at 8cm, after an extremely emotional and physical day, I screamed for the epidural. They administered it about 30 minutes later and my labor practically stopped. Oh, and my BP dipped so low they had to give me meds to speed it back up. How's that for ironic?

So, because the epi slowed my labor they gave me pitocin to speed it back up. I hated the way the epi made me feel so I demanded that they turn it off, which they did. A few hours later I was pushing and had her out in about 7 pushes or under 50 minutes.

She was born "sunny side up" which explained some of the intense pain. Of course most of that was brought on by all of the meds they had me on.

Needless to say, my labor and delivery was as far from my plan as possible. The only thing that would have made it worse was if I needed c-section. Thank goodness I did not. Our ultimate goal was a healthy mom and baby which we got so I can't complain. However, I am still having a tough time accepting the hand I was dealt and have been mourning the loss of what I felt was best for baby.

Lexi is healthy and beautiful and is more than I could have hoped for. Everyday is something new and we are figuring it out together.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

35 Weeks and Counting

So I'm a little over 35 weeks along now and I realized the other day that I can count the number of remaining weeks on one hand! It was a little unsettling yet very exciting at the same time. As everyone already knows, this pregnancy hasn't been easy on me and I'm ready for her to be out but by having her out that means breastfeeding will start. Have I mentioned how overwhelming breastfeeding seems to me? I know we'll figure it out but I feel totally unprepared. I'm sure that's common for first time mothers. =)

I had an appointment yesterday with the midwife. While overall I'm still looking good, my blood pressure was up. Not high but definitely elevated for me. We decided to wait until the next appointment to see what my blood pressure is before doing any lab work. AND despite the fact that I'm now wearing those oh so sexy compression stockings, the swelling isn't getting any better. Luckily there is no pitting so that's good news. Because of these finding I talked with my boss today about making modifications to my work area so that I can get my feet elevated like the midwife has required. Fingers crossed that this helps.

The best news is that despite the fact that I've been sick this entire pregnancy, I'm still gaining weight even if it's not much. Despite my low weight gain, they are estimating Lexi will be around 8lbs!!!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Baby Shower

My parents came to visit over Labor Day weekend and I am lucky to have a friend kind enough to throw me a baby shower during that time just so my mom could attend. How wonderful is she?

Deb my FABULOUS hostess.


The decorations were adorable. There were little dress napkins and a washcloth bouquet. How cute?!?! Plus there were cupcakes, some pink lemonade and other yummy treats.


We played a couple of baby games. The first was the diaper game. There were several diapers that contained different types of chocolate candies. It was gross and hilarious. I'll spare you all of the pics but the one of my mom and dad. Her face says it all and she's no stranger to a dirty diaper. However I think what makes this pic so funny is her face in comparison to my dad's. =)


After the games, I was requested to take my seat in the new mommy chair. Bring on the presents!!!!!
I walked away with sooooo much loot. Lexi is already extremely spoiled. This is something we will have to work on.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Ginger's Visit

My sister came to visit for a week and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together. She kept her phone on vibrate and only texted occasionally so we were actually able to have a conversation. It was GREAT!!

Unfortunately, Mark got sick and spent most of the days she was here in the bathroom, poor fella. I was like a single mother taking care of him and getting her ready for a wedding on Saturday. I guess it was practice for my days as a mom.

Here are a few pics of my sister and her date Abe at the wedding. Isn't she BEAUTIFUL? I think she was the prettiest girl there. =)


The boys love their Auntie Ginger. They were sad to see her go. After all she did play with them and love on them and let Chase pee on her. LOL


Ginger and Chase on the one occasion he didn't pee on her. =)


Hopper and his Ginger...he just loves to love.



We didn't get many pics of us until the last day. We went to Pike's Market and then ate lunch at the Hard Rock before coming back.






No I'm not wearing makeup and yes this does look odd. We took like 5 pictures and none of them turned out. Ginger was adamant that we get a picture of the two of us that showed off my baby bump. The problem was that when we were standing together my belly engulfed her and it looked like I had two heads. Thus I rotated and this was the result. LOL


Ginger snuck a pic of me using my belly table. Chase is in his usual position while I'm on the laptop looking utterly bored since we aren't playing ball. This is an extremely unflattering picture.


This has got to be the funniest picture taken to date. All credit is given to Ginger. She wanted to see Mark and I compare the size of our bellies. Mark wins...for now. I like to call this kissing bellies.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Our Lady Peace

The concert was a ton of fun despite the fact that I didn't know any of their songs. The venue was gorgeous and we had amazing seats. It was a fabulous evening. I haven't seen Mark have such a good time at a concert before. He was really digging EVERYTHING!

Victoria, B.C

Last weekend we took a trip to Victoria, B.C. to see Our Lady Peace. This is a Canadian band that has had some hits on U.S. radio but is HUGE in Canada. Anyway, Mark really likes this band and wanted to see them since they would be soooo close. I was looking forward to a break from this craziness that has been our life recently so win-win. Yay long weekend!!

Mark upgraded our room to a beautiful suite which was a wonderful surprise. And this was the view from our balcony. This is looking at their government building and you can see the ocean in the background.



This is the Empress Hotel. It's a Victoria landmark and has quite the history. Every afternoon they have an afternoon tea event with pastries and there is a dress code. These people are serious about thier tea.




I didn't know it but that weekend there were many events happening around town and that Saturday was Victoria Day so all of the boats in the harbor were decorated in celebration.



This ship was one of a kind. Made me think of pirates so of course I needed a picture.

Who knew Darth Vador played the violin?


Mark and Darth.

We had a wonderful time and the weather couldn't have been better. I got hungry in the afternoon so we got a hot dog from a street vendor. Something I NEVER thought I'd do because of how germaphobic I am but it was very yummy. The baby gave it 2 thumbs up. :)
BTW...we saw a couple of killer whales on our way back home but it's difficult to see them in the pictures.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

First Baby Bump Pic

I made Mark take a picture of my baby bump this afternoon so that my mother can see I'm going to be even bigger than she was with me. I apologize ahead of time for the blurriness and the fact that I look like I'm in mid stride. This was the best photo out of the 3 he took.

13 wks 6 days

Saturday, May 8, 2010

First Baby Pics & Bras

We had our first ultrasound on Wednesday (5/5/10) and got to see our little person for the first time!! It was soooo exciting. I was grinning from ear to ear and Mark was having a hard time trying not to cry. The doc had some difficulty getting close enough to the baby so he had to go another route (if you know what I mean) and the kid still wasn't having it. Sound like anyone you know? =) Everytime the doc got close the baby, it would move away. It's definitely an active one and I can't imagine what I'll do when I can actually start feeling the movement. Exciting and scary at the same time.

In other news, I went to the Maternity store today to pick up some capri's and some new bras. Well, the lady measured me and I've gone from a 38F to a 38I in one month. WTF?!?!?! I about died the first time I got measured and now I don't know where I'm supposed to buy my nursing bras. The lady was kind enough to give me the number of a woman in Tacoma who custom makes nursing bras for pretty cheap so I'll have to give that a try. Fingers crossed that I can get some relief soon.

Anyways...some of the ultrasound pics are included below for your enjoyment. I'd include a baby bump pic, but there's really nothing to see and since I HATE having my picture taken anyway I thought I'd wait until there was something for you to look at.
Our Little Peanut
Peanut Profile
The baby was moving all about and here we caught it rolling over. I was amazed at the fact that it looked just like a little person yet the baby is only 2.25".
This was my FAVORITE picture. I actually teared up a bit. I LOVE those little baby feet!!!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Gray Hair

So today, I spotted my very first gray hair. One would think that I would be upset and immediately want to color said hair; however, I was totally fine with it and even embraced it. I finally have some sort of outward proof of all the craziness that has been my life. So not only will I turn 30 this year and welcome a new baby, apparently I am turning gray too. Do you think gray hair looks good with green eyes? I guess we'll just have to see.

Monday, April 19, 2010

First Prenatal Visit

Today was our very first baby visit with our midwife. We REALLY liked her and I fell in love with the birth center!! We basically went over our medical history, she took my vitals and 4 vials of blood and we attempted to hear the baby's heartbeat. Unfortunately, we weren't successful because my uterus was tilted. =(

Between you and me, I think the baby was just already displaying how much like it's mommy it's going to be. It will do things when it wants to, if it wants to and apparently it wasn't in a cooperating mood.

Monday, March 15, 2010

A Lesson in Patience

This pregnancy is going to be my biggest lesson of patience thus far. I'm ready to hear the heartbeat, know the gender and see it's face. I'm thinking of writing a process improvement for pregnancy to reduce the "life cycle." Am I an engineer or what? LOL

Thursday, March 11, 2010

BIG NEWS!!!!!


We just found out tonight that I'm pregnant! We couldn't stop laughing. I walked like a zombie up to the office and layed the test on the desk in front of Mark then told him I needed to go to the grocery store to get a 2nd opinion. LOL

While on our adventure he told EVERYONE!! He was absolutely beaming. It was so cute. =)