Welcome to the world baby girl!

I can't believe our baby girl is 4 weeks old today.
It seems like yesterday we were checking into the hospital for me to be induced.  Lets rewind back to August 26th...I was scheduled to be induced Thursday evening, Dustin and I checked in to the hospital at 6:30pm we were very excited.  Although after waiting in the waiting room for almost and hour until the nurse came our and told us I wasn't supposed to be there until 8pm, we were disappointed.  The nurse told us to go get some dinner and come back at 9pm and my room should be ready.  So we went to Brass Ring and had an old time favorite, the 'lazy wing' sandwich...so yummy!  A little after 9 we returned to the hospital and my room was ready...the excitement started all over again.  The night shift nurse came in and asked a million questions and had me sign a few papers, then the fun began, she had to stick my 2 twice to get my IV started...that was no fun.  Then she gave me the cervidil to thin my cervix and help start get the labor process going, that stayed in all night and would be followed by the pitocin drip Friday morning @ 6am.  I was able to get some rest and Dustin did too on the worlds most uncomfortable pull out couch...thank goodness he can sleep on anything!  6am came very quick and I had been anticipating some sort of progress...The nurse checked me and I had not dilated at all, she started the pitocin drip which got the contractions going and I was praying that it would really get the process going...by 10am the Dr. came to check me and I had only progressed to 1/2cm.  he said he could break my water, but if he did and I didn't continue to progress the end result could have ended with a c-section.  I had decided I didn't want an epidural since the day I new I was pregnant, so the doctor said to let the pitocin drip go until 5pm and he would be back to check me again.  That time rolled around and still nothing, so he said lets try the cervidil again.  I was able to eat dinner before the gave me the cervidil again which was great cause it had almost been 24hrs. since I last ate!  After getting the cervidil I just relaxed in bed a little nervous as what to expect.  6am Saturday morning came the nurse checked me and she said my cervix was completely thinned out and I was about 1 whole centimeter.  I was soo excited!  The pitocin drip started about 6:30 am and was shortly followed by more intense contractions that the day before.  My nurse said the doctor would be in to check me around 10.  At 10:30 the contractions were way more intense and I was irritable and wanted the doctor there right that minute to check me, lol but he was in an emergency surgery.  So I asked the nurse if she would check to see if there was any progress, she did and I was 2cm, woohoo!!!  At this point we knew the pitocin was working and I just wanted the doctor get there already so he could break my water.  As I sat watching the clock and breathing through each contraction that was about 3 minutes apart I was praying that maybe my water would break on it's own.  That didn't happen and the doctor finally showed up at 1:15 which at this point I was out of the bed sitting on a birthing ball trying to ease the pain of each contraction which were 2 minutes apart at this point and extremely intense and painful.  I kept telling myself after each contraction..."If I made it through that last one I can do this", with no epidural that is.  So I climbed back in the bed so the doctor could check me and break my water...I was still 2 cm.  My best friend Alyssa had told me that the contractions get worse once my water was broke...as soon as that happened I asked the nurse for some pain medication.  It didn't take away an ounce of pain, but it relaxed me and made my eyelids so heavy I couldn't open my eyes.  At this point the contractions were about 1 minute apart and I was really hurting, but continued to breath my way through each one while squeezing the crap out of Dustin's hand and the bed rail!  The nurse checked me again and I had gone from 2cm to 6cm and I started getting the urge to push with each contraction.   At this point I was thinking, "holy cow, this is really happening!"  Then I was 8cm and couldn't hold back the urge to push.  Mean while my doctor was stuck in traffic and not at the hospital.  The nurse just kept telling me not to push yet and the doctor would be there shortly.  Well I couldn't hold back and apparently Jaelyn was ready to enter this world...I yelled out "I need to push!" and I did.  The doctor came running down the hall into my room and all I remember him saying was "I'm going to check you...oh wow there's the baby's head!" The nurse said I could push...2 pushes and our baby girl was here!  I couldn't believe it was all over, yet I was very thankful that my labor was short and I wasn't pushing for hours.  It all happened so quickly from the doctor breaking my water at 1:15pm and Jaelyn being born at 2:45pm.  Dustin wasn't able to cut the umbilical cord because it was around her neck, but she was okay...I could hear her cry and what a beautiful sound that was.
I was very thankful for all the support I had while in labor, My wonderful hubby, best friend Alyssa, my sister, mom and mother-in-law.

Date of Birth: August 28th 2:45pm 6lbs. 15oz. 19 3/4"

* Puppy Progress *

Last week was a sad week at the Bauer household.  Monday morning when we woke up about 5 am to check on the pups, Dustin noticed one of the girls wasn't moving.  He picked her up and ran into me saying, "we lost one."  I immediately started crying and tried to revive her at the same time.  She was still warm and had a full belly from eating but by the look of her, she had gotten squished under Hollywood while falling asleep after she ate.

11 pups all passed with full bellies!

Taking care of all these puppies is a lot of around the clock care, especially when there are so many!  Since the passing of the lil pup Dustin and I have been over bearing on making sure they are all okay...setting our alarm to wake up every 2 hours to check on them. 

We finally have a system where it doesn't have us up all hours of the night...Hollywood feeds the pups around 10:30ish (I'm still bottle feeding my little guy) then she comes to bed with us and she wakes Dustin up when she is ready to have them nurse about 3am.  They feed for about 1/2 hour then back to bed until  This schedule has made it easier for all of us! 

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My little guy aka "the runt"

Jaelyn's Nursery

The nursery is almost complete!  We have a few things left that we would like to do.  Dustin and I have been working on some wooden letters of her name to hang on the wall above the crib and we are having a new ceiling fan installed this weekend.  After that we are just waiting on the arrival of our baby girl!  Today I have my 36 week check up, I can't believe there are only a few weeks until my due date!

Can a girl have too many clothes or too many shoes?? I think not!  Organizing jaelyn's closet has been quite the project.  We have recieve so many wonderful hand-me-down clothes from dear friends and are very thankful for that.  In addition to the hand-me-downs Jaelyn recieved a number of adorable outfits at the baby shower.  With all the help from my wonderful mother we wahsed folded and sorted the clothes by age.  This picture only shows newborn thru 3-6 months...the rest, 6 months to 24 months are stored in the guestroom closet until time to rotate in bigger sizes as she grows!  I'm going to have a blast dressing up Jaelyn =)

"The puppies are here!"

Hollywood and I the night before her puppies were born.

I sure do wish I only had to carry the baby for 62 days like Hollywood carried her pups! I'm 35 weeks here.

Friday morning 7-16-10 Hollywood was taken to the vet in Hollywood, FL by a friend of ours to have her pups. I was so anxious all day! Once she arrived to the vet they had to do some blood work and she just hung out until early afternoon. Around 1pm I got a phone call from Dustin...12 pups, all healthy! 5 Girls and 7 Boys. I couldn't wait for the work day to be over to see Holly's little babies. On my way home from work I went to the pet store to get formula and bottles for the little ones. When I got home I prepared a few bottles and waited patiently for their arrival, the 30 minutes seemed like eternity!

In walks Dustin with a basket full of pups, they were all so cute and very tiny. We set up the kiddie pool in the living room, lined it with towels and placed the pups and Hollywood in. She was out of it due to the anesthesia but was being a good mommy considering the circumstances. Dustin and I took turns throughout the night keeping an eye on the puppies. He had to work Saturday so I was on puppy duty! I was so thankful that my friend Alyssa and her little girl Leilani come over and keep me company for the afternoon.

Aunt Jackie and Uncle Doug came over from the west coast for a short visit and were able to see the pups and they brought Jaelyn some adorable outfits!

Saturday was a long night for us, it all began when Dustin woke me up around 10pm in a panic because one of the runt pups was limp and not breathing very well. He handed the pup to me and he was cool to the touch, we were both in panic mode but I remember what the vet told me to do if this happened. So I had Dustin dilute some clear Karo syrup with water and I fed it the little guy. I had zip lock bag with warm water on my chest and the pup on top of the bag and wrapped in a wash cloth to keep him warm. The Karo got his blood sugar up and I bottle fed him through the night. We discovered that he wasn't strong enough to latch on to Hollywood and when he was latched on he wasn't strong enough to get any milk and that is why he grew weak. We said a little prayer for him and and kept close watch every hour of the night!

Around 6:30am Sunday morning Dustin and I laid down for a little nap. We woke up a little after 9am to feed the pups...WE HAD NO WATER!!! This was not good, nor fun to wake up to after only get a couple hour nap and no sleep the night before. I called my parents not knowing what on earth to do and they were over within the hour and my step dad replaced the pressure switch on the water pump and had us up and running! I don't know what we would have done if he couldn't fix it. My mom made us an awesome dinner so Dustin and I were able to relax!

These puppies have kept us on the go this past week and are growing stronger each day. I know for sure Dustin and I will have no problem with night feedings once baby Jaelyn is here...I'd have to say 12 pups is more work than one baby!

~ Latest News in Hollywood ~

Yesterday Hollywood was able to come to work with mommy! She had an appointment at the vet for an x-ray to see how many pups she is carrying around in that belly of hers. It's funny that we are both prego at the same time =) Hollywood only carries the pups for 61 days vs. me carrying baby Jaelyn for 40 weeks!

Upon arriving to the vet I was just praying there were some puppies in there. We took one of our other dogs a few months back for an x-ray and she wasn't carrying any pups, it was a false pregnancy, it was sad. Hollywood's first litter was 6 pups, so I was thinking maybe 6-8 this time cause her belly is so big....When the vet came back into the room she asked me again how many I thought were in there. I got nervous thinking there was only going to be 3 0r 4 pups...she put the x-ray up and counted 12 puppy skulls!!!! I had never seen anything like that before. She also told me that 12 was all she could see to count there could be more...oh boy!

Needless to say Dustin and I will sure have our hands full until Baby Jaelyn arrives, we will be pros at waking up for night feedings as we will have to bottle feed the pups in addition to Hollywood nursing them. Tomorrow morning Hollywood is schedule for a c-section to deliver all those puppies, more pictures to come.

Baby Jaelyn's Shower 7-10-10

This morning I woke up to Dustin's voice "Happy Baby Shower Day!" We were both so excited to see friends and family. I was so overwhelmed with happiness and joy seeing friends and family who had traveled far to celebrate Baby Jaelyn. Seeing 2 of my college friends Victoria and marci who I haven't seen in years made my day!

My mom and best friend Alyssa hosted a beautiful shower...from the decorations, the food, cupcakes and activities everything was amazing! I have never seen so many presents in my entire life, Jaelyn is loved by so many and she hasn't even arrived yet! Boy was I glad to have Dustin there to help open the gifts =)

After the shower we had about 4 car loads of gifts and food to bring back to the house, I personally was ready for a nap! We were so very thankful to have my parents, Aunt Susan, Uncle Al, Aunt Jina, Uncle Glen and friend Cori over, they helped organize and put together all the wonderful things we got at the shower.

Finally after everything was put away and we said goodbye to family Dustin and I went straight to bed even though it was only 9pm. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!