What's Happening At The Lewko House

We're trying to get Jillian to sleep in her bassinet/Pack 'n' Play/crib instead of on us. However she is not a fan of being put down. Mommy and Daddy have a hard time letting her cry and also want to get their sleep so she ends up...
...snuggling up and sleeping with us a lot. We really will try hard to break her of this but first we need a little sleep of our own!

Also, she has found her fist. She's not super coordinated with it yet but it helps her along sometimes. We desparately tried to introduce the pacifier a little earlier than recommended but she wasn't crazy about it yet.

Jason and I are doing pretty well. Sleep is still an issue as you can see. We try to switch off so we each get some good sleep but we still are pretty deprived. Jason's catching some z's with our little girl as I type this. We've had so many visitors. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and brought food. We haven't had to cook in 2 weeks! I am hoping that life feels "normal" soon. It still feels like some weird, extended vacation. I have a "to do" list that is barely touched and the days go by SO fast! I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

My Hungry, Hungry Hippo Gained Weight!

Does she look bigger to you? Ok, so it is hard to tell from this photo but Jiliian gained weight! In four days she gained...
... 12.4 oz! Wowza!

Family Portrait At One Week Old

I promise it's Jillian in that blanket!

My Weekend By Jillian Lewko

Grandpa Ron and Grandma Joy came to visit me.
I went on my first walk outdoors with mom and dad and Brody.
Brody used my mom as a pillow while I was eating.
Cousin Ethan came to see me.

Cousin Ethan didn't notice I was a person at first, I think. Uncle Ron helps introduce us.

Today Grandma Pam and Uncle Taylor are visiting me. I really am popular!

Blogging With Baby

Yay multitasking!

First Trip to the Pediatrician

Alert and ready for her first check up.
Jillian is now 6 lbs even. I was concerned as she was born 6 lbs 10 oz but everyone (including the doctor) has assured me this is normal. She has a weight check next Tuesday.

Jillian loves when Daddy holds her. An interesting fact, Jillian measured at 19 and 7/8 inches at the doctor today. Though Jason and I would love to believe this indicates she will grow very tall, it is common to be off on babies' measurements as they are such wiggle worms.

Brody Meet Jillian

The introduction of Jillian to Brody feels like a continual work in progress. He was so excited to meet her on Wednesday and his excitement has not waned. He will calm down around her but we think it is because he forgets she is there. She will make a noise or move and suddenly he is concerned and excited again. Each visitor also agitates him and it takes awhile for him to calm down. In the first day or two I saw him more tired than I ever have. I swear he was getting as little sleep as we were. We are very hopeful that as we settle into a routine, so will he. I'll keep you posted.

First Bath

Yesterday was Jillian's first bath. As expected she was not crazy about stripping naked and having water on her. You remember that when you're older, young lady!

Jillian Makes Her Debut

Jillian JoAnn Lewko

Born 11/17/2008 at 11:40 A.M.

6 lbs. 10 oz.

19.5 inches

I went into labor at 7:15 A.M. Everything went REALLY fast. I was already having close contractions by 7:45 or 8:00. We jumped into the car at 8:30 to drive to the hospital, me screaming the entire way (Grandma Joy has a voicemail message to prove it!) When I got to the hospital I was already at 8 cm. In the next 15 minutes I went to 10 cm and started pushing at 9:30. 2 hours and 10 minutes (!!!) of pushing later, our little Jillian made her way into this world.

Daddy carries Jillian into the house for the first time. We were released on Wednesday midday.

A first family portrait at home.

Happy Birthday Bonnie

It was my twin's birthday last night. We met at Red Robin at North County Fair for some food and chaos. There were easily a dozen kids and a couple babies. As I still have not yet popped, Jason and I were able to go. Danielle and her boyfriend Johnny drove down from Orange County and Lissa was out from Athens, GA!
It was great to see Lissa for a few hours (and her boyfriend Nathan and sister Jo). I wish Jillian would have made her big debut before she came though!

Bonnie's son Cayden and Jason were having photography wars as we were leaving. Here's a great one Jason got. Cayden was using Lissa's camera and I'm a little scared of what kind of photos he got!

XOXO, Jason

My birthday present from Jason came in the mail yesterday. For those of you that are tragically unhip (or perhaps have better things to do than watch a show about rich highschoolers and their unrealistic, outrageous lives) this is a shirt depicting a character from Gossip Girl. I have been slightly obsessed with this show in the past year, and with this character in particular. My loving husband has accepted my TV crush on Chuck Bass and ordered me this fabulous t-shirt. I will be modeling it for you all soon.

Where Is She? (I Don't Know, I Don't Know)

So we're still three days away from her due date but Jason and I are getting rather impatient. We want to see our little Jillybean! I had a doctor's visit yesterday, 11/11, and no difference. I don't know what I was expecting as I have had zero contractions but since I jumped from 0 cm to 2 cm to 3-4 cm in less than 2 weeks with no contractions, I just thought I would keep dilating until this baby slipped out of me. We'll keep you posted...

Sunday Night And Still Prego

Ha ha ha ha ha!
What a great dinner. Okay, not really dinner but I have been craving slurpees like crazy. 7-11 is a couple exits down the freeway but the gas station down the street sells Icees. Almost as good, they definitely serve their purpose. Tonight it was Coca Cola and Orange Fanta together. Yummy. Suggested pairing: Original Beef Jerky.

To make the night just perfect: a few rounds of the Wheel!

Birthday Dinner at the Canfield's

I made it to Saturday without any signs of labor so we celebrated my 28th birthday a little early.

Mom taking down everyone's guesses as to when Jillian will arrive. We did two sets of guesses - this upcoming week and the next.
Ethan is huge! I cannot believe it. And he has Chuck Bass pants on!

The Lewko clan. Our camera battery died after this photo so my mom's camera has the rest of the family photos. I'll add more once I get them from her. I about freaked when the battery died. We had also brought our video camera to the dinner and that battery died too! What if Jillian were to have come and both had died!!! Now they are all nice and charged up!

Saturday Morning Date

Our weekend walks with Brody have taken us to Starbucks so many times that we finally earned our free drink. We decided to redeem it yesterday morning on yet another walk. We really do it for the dog.

The Quilt is Done!

The finished quilt. Once I ran to JoAnn's to get replacement thread it took about an hour to complete.
The detail of the edging. I just folded over the backing and did a criss cross stitch.

The backing pattern. I liked the fun zoo animals. I envision this quilt being one you can throw on the floor/ground and let her play on.

Nesting???

So, I haven't really felt the "nesting" instinct that all of the pregnancy books say I'll feel. I mean, I have been trying to organize her room but really I think non-pregnant Kristyn would handle it in the same way. There really hasn't been any wacky cleaning or organizing or anything... until today. We had a minor ant invasion that both Jason and I tried to control. At the end of the day I noticed that the Simple Green spray we used on the kitchen counters to kill the ants had seeped into the grout, leaving it a pretty green color. I don't know what came over me but I grabbed the Bar Keepers Friend and an old tooth brush and went to town on that grout. It has never looked better.

A Quilt For Jillian

I have wanted to make a quilt for Jillian for so long. In fact. I cut most of my pieces months ago. They have just been sitting in a bin, waiting to be sewn.
My first foray into quilt making was for my nephew Ethan. I think it turned out pretty well, but I really am not a quilter, or a sewer. I like doing it but I don't have the finesse - or more importantly, the patience - to do it well. This photo shows me quilting together the "sandwich"; the top, batting and backing of the quilt.

I couldn't do this without the loving support of my dog!

This is actually only the top layer of the quilt, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like. It has the alphabet and numbers 1-10. I am nearly done quilting the sandwich. I ran out of white thread and need to run to the store. After I finish that I will work on the edging/border.

TMI Part III: Kristyn's Stats - Not Much to Tell

So I thought I would illustrate this post with a few photos showing what great parents we will be.

No new news from the doctor. As of today I am still 3-4 cm and 90% effaced. This really is a hurry up and wait event. The doctor did offer to break my water if we were ready to get her out of there. Jason and I were taken by surprise by this and felt we wanted her to decide to come when she was ready (unless it was necessary to intervene). So, we'll keep you all posted.

The Saga of the Ceiling Fan

Jason and I both really wanted a ceiling fan for Jillian's room. We had pieces of a fan given to us by my parents. Jason had reconstructed the same model fan in our room a couple years ago and decided to give it another shot to save us some money. Sometimes it may be worth it just to buy a new fan...

The "before" shot of the ceiling.

Some of the many parts to the fan. Taylor came over on Saturday to help with the installation as I am still useless lifting anything. Well, that's not entirely true. I bet I could have done great but Jason, and my doctor, and pretty much anyone who would have found out wouldn't have even let me try.

And the "after." Jason did an excellent job hanging the fan and he was so excited to have it done!
And the icing on the cake. Jason purchased a dimmer switch for the fan so that we could come into Jillian's room to check on her and not have to turn on the lights all the way. It also has a separate control for the fan itself. He surprised me by installing this on Sunday. We amused ourselves for several minutes by brightening and dimming the lights!

Why We Love Our Dog

Because he amuses us...

Jason had a tiny bit of lemonade left in his cup. And poor Brody couldn't rest until it was his!

Knocked Up Sally & Lucy

The original Peanuts Gang

A knocked up Sally (me) and Lucy (Gabby). Muir College Advising decided to dress up as the Peanuts Gang for an outreach event we put on at lunch. Natalie made us homemade costumes and the result was 2 preggo Peanuts!

Natalie as Woodstock.

Kristyn and Peppermint Patty (Kay). Notice the red "hair" and York Peppermint Patty candies taped to the shirt.