Finally, an update!

I know I should probably just delete this blog since I never update it but this morning I have a little time so I'll give a little info on what Julia's been up to lately:

First of all, Adam and I put together a playlist on YouTube of kids songs that have cute videos to them. Julia loves to sit and watch them atleast once a day! Second: We bought Julia a walker because she loves to stand up on her feet (they can't quite touch the floor at the same time in the walker yet)! Julia is getting so good at being on her tummy for a long amount of time. She can lift her chest all the way off the ground and tries to move by lifting her bum off the ground as well. She hasn't quite figured out how to do both in sync to actually move but she sure is trying! Here's a couple pictures from Halloween this year. We went to two Halloween parties: the first night she was a chubby bunny and the next an OU cheerleader! Boomer Sooner! Thanks for continually checking my blog even though it must be frustrating to never see any updates! I'll keep trying...

Lauren~

More Julia...

I haven't posted any recents of Julia since her one-month appointment so here are a few:

Chubby baby in bed!
This is a little playmat my mom bought Julia before she went back to Oregon. When mom was here, Julia wasn't really focusing on things very well and not able to turn her head from side to side very fast. Now she's focusing on the toys for a few seconds and turning to the other side to check out the other toy hanging down. It's starting to entertain her for a longer period of time but I still have to sit there and move the toys so they make noise; she doesn't know how to grab them herself yet!
And here's Julia and I ready to take a nap after church last Sunday!
Lauren~

YAY!

Just want to let everyone know the PICC line is now out of my arm. Yay!!! It's nice to have my body back! Thank you again to everyone who has contacted me and prayed for me through this whole ordeal. I love you all so much! Okay, now look at pictures of Julia below...

Lauren~

A couple smiles

She doesn't sleep ALL the time...Here's a couple smiley pictures with eyes open to make up for all the sleepy ones of the last post:
By the way, she wears more than just pajamas, she just happens to smile a lot in the morning when she's had a good night's sleep!

(Thanks for the cute pajamas Lauren Diaz!)

Lauren~

She sleeps...

Baby Julia is such a good sleeper! As I mentioned in my previous blog, she takes at least one really long nap on an average day as well as sleep for about five hours when she first goes down at night. When she's in these deep sleeps, she'll sleep anywhere we put her and stay asleep no matter how many times we move her. So here are some pictures I've captured of her sleeping. Most are from my iPhone so they're not terribly clear, sorry about that!

She slept coming home from the hospital, her first time in the carseat...
She slept on the hospital bed when she came to visit me...
She sleeps during church...
She sleeps well in her bassinet (I'm grateful for that!)...
She sleeps on a pillow, especially loving it on mom and dad's bed!...
And lastly, she sleeps like an angel...
Lauren~

Julia is 1 month old!

I can't believe this but our sweet little Julia is one month old today! Time really does fly by so fast, so much has happened this month! Adam took her to the doctor for her one month checkup today. He ventured out with Julia all by himself! I had to stay home because I changed antibiotics in my PICC line. I don't have to carry around the pump anymore, just receive another from a drip for a half hour once a day. Yay! Okay so back to Julia: she weighed in at 10 lbs today! And she grew anothers 1/2 inch so she is now 22 1/4 inches in length! It was kind of funny today I had to list Julia's height in feet and inches on an application so I put 1 foot 10 inches! It made me laugh. So Adam did so great in his venture out today. Here are some snapshots from the doctor's office! So cute!!

"I'm so beautiful I can't help but to look at myself in this big mirror!"

"Why do they make me take all my clothes off? It's cold in here!"

"Look at my chubbs belly!"

Here's a little bit about one-month-old Julie Eloise:

She eats about every two hours unless she has slept through her two hour mark.

She usually takes one very long afternoon nap starting about noon and ending around 5 or 6pm!

Her nighttime schedule has been pretty consistent starting with 4 to 5 hour sleep and then at about 3 or 4 she starts waking up every two hours or so.

She's usually up for the morning around 7:30 or 8am.

She loves the bath! She kicks in the water and it calms her down right away if she's been fussy.

She's got a bit of baby acne still hanging on from her first break out.

Her hair has remained dark brown and her eyes are still that newborn dark blue slate color.

Every night between 7 and 11pm she has her fussy time where she gets a little bit of gas pains. If she has a screaming spell, it only lasts a half hour at the most and that has only happened two times.

She's almost outgrown the bassinet! The way she likes to sprawl out when she sleeps is almost too much for that little bed!

The noises Julia makes are so hilarious. Especially the ones she makes while trying to wake up! It takes her forever to wake up so she grunts and squeaks quite a while before crying for some food.

She absolutely loves her changing table in the bathroom. We're not sure if it's the noise of the bathroom fan, the lighting, or the comfort of the table itself but she loves it in there! We always joke that we'll put her bouncy seat or swing in there and leave her in there to hang out for a while! (But of course we don't...)

Anyway, those are just a few things about Julia. I wanted to mention that this whole month my mom has been here so she has made all these and more discoveries about Julia along with us. She flew home today and we will miss her terribly! Julia loves to wake up in the morning and smile big for Grandma Jules!! Thanks for all your help these last two months mom, we love you!

Lauren~

A lot has happened...

A lot has happened since my last post. Yes I was home for two days after bringing Julia home. No I did not stay at home long. I got home Thursday the 17th with Julia and Adam. Early Saturday morning I woke up with a pulsing headache. Adam got me up and made me eat and drink some water. My blood pressure was unusually high but after getting up and around it went back down and I was able to go back to sleep. Saturday, during the day I was napping. I was woken up again by another headache. This time it was worse. My neck was also tightening with every heartbeat. I took my blood pressure again and it was sky high. I called my doctor and Adam, both of which suggested I go to the emergency room.

So there I went and Adam met me there. I underwent a couple tests; a CT scan of my head and a spinal tap. Nothing unusual came up with the tests so I was admitted to the maternity ward with a diagnosis of late onset pre-eclampsia. Normally this would occur in a pregnant woman and the cure is delivery but sometimes it comes on late. So they put me on a magnesium drip for 24 hours to prevent any seizures and to lower my blood pressure. I didn't feel well at all on the magnesium and I was worried the entire time about what would happen when they took me off of it. In the meantime, Julia came to visit with my mom which lifted my spirits considerably! That night, Monday morning actually at 12am, they took me off the magnesium drip and I went to sleep.

I'm not sure what time it was when I woke up but sometime in the early morning, before 6am, I woke up from an alarm going off on those things they put on your legs to keep circulation going. They had come unhooked or something so a little beeping alarm was going off. I went to reach for my glasses with my right hand but for some reason I couldn't grab them. I just thought I was sleepy so I got them with my left hand and put them on. Then I went to call the nurse to come turn off the alarm. I found I could not talk normally at all. I started screaming for Adam out of fear and he came right to my bedside. The nurse also came in and so did a few other people. I had no idea what had happened but they quickly got my stuff together to move me to ICU.

That morning is a little hazy but first they wheeled me to get another head scan. They found that I had a brain hemorrhage that had caused a mild stroke. Wow! I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was actually okay really. I was taken to ICU where I stayed for four days. During that time I had another CT scan where they looked at all the veins in my head, and an MRI to look at the hemorrhage. They never really found what caused the hemorrhage and the stroke.

Anyway, I was moved back to maternity so I could see Julia. It was so great to hold her again. I missed her so much. My parents were so wonderful to take care of her while Adam was at the hospital taking care of me. My dad flew down that Monday afternoon after I had been moved to ICU. He stayed at the apartment with my mom and Julia. The original plan was to get released from the hospital on Saturday, June 26th. But I got more bad news when an infection developed in my arm at an old IV site. It was pretty nasty looking and they told me I had to stay in the hospital to receive some heavy duty antibiotics for four more days. It was a little devastating but I got through it okay. The doctor of infectious disease told me I would have to have a PICC line installed to keep receiving the antibiotics at home for a couple more weeks. When I finally got to come back home, Tuesday the 29th, a home nurse came over and taught Adam how to give me the antibiotics and take care of the PICC line. The whole hospital experience was crazy and scary.

So now I'm home, with a PICC line in my arm and a stupid bag that I have to carry around with it but it's so nice to be out of the hospital. I go back on Monday to see the infectious disease doctor and hopefully get this thing removed and have all my body back! As far as my speech and hand go, I feel like I'm still having a little trouble talking but everyone else seems to think it's improved back to normal. My hand is a little weak. I bought a hand strengthener at REI yesterday to work on my finger strength and of course I've been working on the piano. So I'll keep working on recovering from the stroke and see where it takes me by the end of the summer!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I feel so supported and loved and appreciate everyone who has contacted me at the hospital and here at home to show your support.

THANK YOU!

Lauren~

Recents of Julia

First I want to tell everyone we decided Julia's full name to be Julia Eloise Fraley! Secondly, Julia and I are now officially home as of yesterday afternoon. She did so well on the car ride home! (This may be due to lack of sleep the day before). She literally slept all day yesterday which allowed all the rest of us to get a good nap as well! Here are a few pics from yesterday:

Flowers from Granny and Pepa Fraley:
My eyes are open!
"Look at my perfect round head! Mommy had to be cut open to get it this perfect but whatever!"
Sitting by the window to help the small case of jaundice:
Thanks everyone for all your support this week, we're glad to be home!
Lauren~

She's here!

Baby Julia is finally here! She was born at 6:21pm and weighed 8lbs 5oz and is 21 1/2 inches long! After a lot of pushing she had to come out by C Section but look how perfect she is! There's a lot going on right now in the hospital because of my recovery but here are a couple pictures of the first few hours of life! I promise I'll post more soon...

Daddy and me while mommy is getting sewed up!
Mommy and me in post-op:I'll take some more pictures today of Julia at almost two days old!
Lauren~

Last week of being pregnant...

Well today is the day! It's been a little too long (41 weeks and 3 days to be exact) and I'm going in to the hospital tonight to be induced and have my baby! She's just a little too big to cook in there any longer! We're so excited!! I wanted to post a couple pictures (while we're waiting for midnight to roll around) of a blanket I crocheted for baby Julia and just finished trimming up.
As you can see, I crocheted individual squares, stitched them together, then added a trim. Here's a close-up of one of the squares:
And here's one last picture of me from last week when I was 3 days overdue. Who would have known it would last this long?!!
I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on what's going on tonight and tomorrow. I'm sure there will be a lot of nerves, smiles, laughs, and tears (mostly from me because I'm a huge crybaby) as we welcome baby Julia into the world! Yay!!

Lauren~

"Nursery" Cubby

As many of you know, Adam and I have decided to stay in our studio loft downtown Los Angeles for at least the next year or so. Before this last week, I was kind of in a state of "I don't know where we will put the baby" until my mom came down to help. With her creative genius we began work on a mini "nursery" for baby Julia. With help from Adam, we moved our food storage out of the largest cubby we could find....right by the refrigerator. Here's what the cubby looked like when we cleared it out: Notice it is a 4x4 concrete space...not a place you'd normally think, "Hey, let's put the baby to sleep in here!" But just wait...
So we thought first of how to cover some of the concrete walls for a softer look and to keep the dust from falling on baby. As you can see, I have hung some things on the concrete walls before with Command Strips and Hooks. (The red squares in the left side of the previous picture.) So we looked around town for some cute sheets or some type of material we could hook on the Command Hooks. But...after a very successful trip to Ross Dress For Less (always a good place to go when looking for some cheap decorating) we came across some foam playmats for kids. You know, the kind you hook together like a puzzle on the floor. Mom came running over to me after getting a cart and said, "We could stick these to the wall!!" And about the same time I had thought of at least making a soft floor for the crib to go on. (By crib I mean the Pack'n'Play my mother-in-law Vicki bought us the last time she was out to visit, which, by the way, happened to coordinate perfectly, colorwise, with the foam mats we found.) So we came home and went to work sticking the foam mats to the wall with some heavy duty double stick tape from Lowe's. Here I am going to work sticking the foam to the wall, you can also see the floor is covered already.
When we finally finished, it was too cute!! Of course that wasn't all we did. We found a random nail sticking out of the concrete above the cubby that my mom thought would be perfect to hang a mobile, paper lantern, or whatever we could find that was fitting for the space. So we set out to find something and lo and behold, at Joann's there were some paper lanterns that matched our color scheme perfectly! We made a mobile out of them and some ribbon which you'll see in the next picture of the finished product. You'll also notice that we covered those red squares that I had previously mentioned, with a material that better coordinated with our little nursery corner. Here's the final product!!
And a picture of me in it....not the most flattering of pictures but I have a cold and I'm 9 months pregnant...give me a break!
Oh and here's a close-up of our little mobile. There are two paper lanterns hanging from a vintage hanger and ribbon. Fun!
And just in case you didn't get an idea of how big my belly is right now, here's a nice side view from yesterday. Look at my poor puffy feet! Only 5 more days to go! (Hopefully)
Anyway, hope you enjoyed our concrete-to-"nursery" transformation!

Lauren~

Baby Weight?

This was Carolyn's idea and it sounded like fun! I'm setting up a little competition for guessing the baby's birthday and weight. Leave a comment to guess what day the baby will be born and how much she will weigh! Just to give you an idea, as of last Friday, the ultrasound estimated her weight at 6 lbs. 15 oz. Good luck!

Lauren~

Baby Shower & Week 37!

Well folks, I think it's time I post some pictures from my baby shower. It was a beautiful and memorable day, April 24th, 2010. My friend Lauren Posey planned a gorgeous shower for Adam and I at her Grandparent's home here in Los Angeles. Their yard was the perfect setting for a great shower! Here's a few highlights: I mainly wanted to post pictures of me opening gifts from my family who couldn't be there. Enjoy!

First let's talk about the amazing spread of food: I mean it was Southern BBQ at its best! Potato Salad, the most amazing Baked Beans ever, BBQ chicken, ribs, and brisket!! Can you say YUMM?!!Here's Adam and I in the shade getting ready to open gifts! Doesn't he look thrilled? hahaOkay here are those family gift highlights I was talking about earlier:

Leave it to Carolyn to get all crafty....She made some beautiful burp cloths, cute as ever!
This next picture is part of my mom's gifts to me - a baby calendar to fill out with all sorts of fun details before and after the birth!
This is the softest blanket EVER! Part of my grandma's gifts to me.
My mother-in-law Vicki made me a dozen burp pads and seven bibs with so many different patterns, useful and adorable!
I kept pulling so many out of the bag, pretty soon I starting stacking them up on Adam! lol
My Aunt Lynne sent me some goodies as well! Here are the cute little sneakers!
And who can forget about the dessert? My friend Courtney made these beautiful fruit tarts!!
Thank you to everyone for the great gifts and to Lauren and the Vargas' for being great planners and hosts!

Lauren~

P.S. Here's a picture of me from today at week 37! I found out today I'm already 1cm dialated! Yikes!!

34 Weeks!

I can't believe I only have 6 weeks left! (Well that's if the baby is born at exactly 40 weeks...)
Here's a picture from earlier today. If I look tired it's because I AM!See how the baby just sticks straight out? It looks so funny to me because all the baby is right in front. My doctor gets a worried look on her face every time she measures me because I measure four to five centimeters over at each appointment. She sent me in to the specialist because she was worried and the specialist basically asked why we were there because our baby is perfect! As of a couple weeks ago, she weighed 4 lbs, 2 oz. Now she probably weighs over five but he said she's the perfect size. It's just my short torso that makes the baby stick out in front like that! Anyway, hope you enjoyed laughing at my big belly!
Lauren~

Week 30!

Just wanted to show everyone what I look like lately...10 weeks left! I can't believe it, it's really getting close to the big day!
Lauren~

New Car & 500 Days of Summer

So here's the latest: Adam and I got a new car! My parents wanted to do a little trade and because they needed to take my dear Subaru away, we were able to be provided with a new car. Yay! It's a 2010 Scion xB and it's perfect for our upcoming family addition...the baby! We are going to need some more room for all the baby gear we're going to be toting around. I'm sure after stuffing the stroller in the Impreza trunk a few times we would have been ready anyway. Here's a picture!Cute right? It's a fun little car.

So I don't know how many of you have seen the movie 500 Days of Summer but I would recommend it. It's a good story and set in downtown Los Angeles! There's a few landmarks in the movie from downtown but Adam suggested we go find the famous "bench" that plays a big part in the movie. So we found the park but there were a lot of benches and we weren't sure which one was "the one" but we took a couple photos anyway because it was such a beautiful day!
Here's Adam on a bench at the spot called Angel's Knoll:
And here's me by the same bench....I'm not too proud of the picture, I sort of look like a beached whale but whatever, I'm pregnant.
Lauren~