Meet Big Boy

He's here. Our little angel.

The baby we've anticipated arriving for what seems like an eternity.

We've spent months preparing for this moment, the moment we would become parents. 

The moment our lives would forever change.

I'm a mom. 

It's so surreal saying that...and feeling that. I'm somebody's mom. 

I didn't know how it would feel, until now. 

I'm a mommy to the most perfect sweet boy in the world. We are completely smitten and so in love.

We were welcomed by our boy on Thanksgiving Day. Truly a blessing.

A day we will always remember and celebrate.

A turkey baby.

Carson Louis Kutter

November 24, 2011

4:06 pm

9 pounds 5 ounces

20.5 inches

Shawnee Mission Medical Center

We had no idea how big he was. Our once called "Little Man," now referred to as "Big Boy."

The most precious big boy we have ever been so blessed to call ours.

Carson's Birth story:

The day you were born. A day that deserves ten thousand words.

I will write about it here, and cherish the details, and probably embarrass you with it someday. 

But I want you to know, I will remember this day forever.

It was November 16, my due date, and we had an option to induce tomorrow. 

It was scheduled, marked on the calendar and we were ready to welcome you. We were so eager to meet you, and hold you, and snuggle you. 

Then, I got cold feet.  I asked myself:

What if it's not time? Am I rushing him? Should I let him come when he is ready? 

So we decided to let you stay cozy and not rush it, and scheduled a second induction date for the day after Thanksgiving if you weren't to arrive by then. 

Call it mother's instinct, but I just knew you would come when you were ready. 

It was a very normal Wednesday (November 23), the day before the induction. It was a week past your due date. I had the day off, already in preparation of your arrival. And the arrival of all the family. Because the next day was Thanksgiving, and we had planned to feast before we welcomed you into the world.

 I nested like any other soon-to-be mom. Folding little onesies, organizing your closet, making sure your piggy bank was perfectly placed on the window sill in your room.

The room we would soon bring you home to.

Daddy got home around 6:00 and we sat down with a bowl of spicy taco soup around 7:30 joking with each other, "maybe he'll come tonight".

Half way through the spicy soup, I started having contractions. The same ones I had felt a few days before, but then they stopped. These felt the same so I thought nothing of it. 

A few hours later, the contractions were still there and becoming stronger...and closer together.

We still didn't believe it was time. We were so unsure after everything we had learned in our childbirth classes. I didn't want to rush to the hospital and get sent home. 

So we waited.

I took a bath, timed the contractions, and made sure our bags were ready...just in case it really was the real thing. Daddy napped on the couch with Jakey. 

At midnight, I woke Daddy up telling him we needed to think about heading to the hospital. The contractions had been present for 4.5 hours and they were getting painful. They were still a little inconsistent, but I was scared of waiting too long.

We made our way into the hospital hoping it was time. Time to meet you.

 We checked in, got settled into a room, and they checked my progress. I'll never forget when the nurse said I was dilated to a three and that we headed to the hospital at a good time.

What!? We're staying? I'm going to have my baby?

Complete joy flooded our hearts. 

From there, everything seemingly was progressing quickly. The contractions were getting painful so I got the epidural at 5.5 cm and my water broke on its own at six. We made phone calls and sent texts, and tried to contain our excitement.

We were going to become parents today.

  All of a sudden, the progression stalled. I was at 7 cm, and things weren't progressing. We waited and waited and waited for things to happen.

Waiting for you to make your way down.

We tried to sleep, but were way too anxious. I couldn't stop thinking about what we were about to experience. I so badly anticipated the moment they would lay you on my chest once you arrived. 

The moment I would be forever changed.

 After 16 hours of labor, the doctor broke the news. You were sunny side up causing extreme back labor, and the contractions were not strong enough to push you down into the birth canal. 

C-section would be the best option to bring you into the world.

I cried and cried and cried. I don't know why I was so upset, I just was. We had already worked so hard. 

You and me. Together. 

For nothing it felt. 

My heart yearned for that mother-baby moment I wasn't going to have.

 No pushing. No work. No sideline encouragement from Dad.

I wasn't going to experience that special time with you on my chest. 

My heart sank. Until your daddy made me realize what was really important. 

Preparing for you. 

It wasn't going to happen how we envisioned it, but at that moment, we knew we would hold you soon.

 I'll never forget seeing you held up over that curtain.

When Dr. Geidt shouted, "Oh Krista, he's beautiful! Such a big boy! Look at those cheeks!"

Daddy held my hand tightly and we cried together. Tears of happiness. A feeling we had never experienced before.

And when your Daddy brought you over to me. We cried some more.

That moment, my sweet baby, I will never forget.

I will take time to cherish all the little things...the sweet noises you make, the many facial expressions you already have, your beautiful blue eyes looking up at me, your chubby cheeks and the way you wrap your long finger around mine.

And your yawns. And your big brother's reaction to your yawns.

What makes me so lucky to have this beautiful baby?

I can't even explain the feeling. The feeling of being your mom.

Nursery Reveal

I'm so excited to finally reveal Baby K's Nursery. It has been a long process of getting everything ready, but I am so happy with the results!

I really hope this baby is a boy. If he came out a girl, we would be in big trouble. I'm not sure she would enjoy cars, sailboats, trains and buses.

Note: You'll have to excuse the lighting on these pics. It was quite gloomy outside when I snapped them and I should have waited until later in the day.

Introducing...Baby K's nursery.

 View from doorway. The walls are more blue than they appear here.

The accent wall Brian worked so hard on for our little man. I'm in love with it. It adds just the right amount of "pop" I was looking for without adding a mural or decals or some of the other popular nursery choices.

Bedding: Transportation themed

The changing pad cover (not pictured above, but will go on the dresser) will have this same pattern.

 I love his musical mobile!

DIY floating shelves crafted by Mr. Kutter himself. I was really impressed with his skillz. He might be the next American Handyman:). Oh, and check out some of the great books we received at my shower. What a great idea to have everyone include a book rather than a card. My friends are so smart!

Yes, his name starts with a C. Any guesses? We aren't really keeping it a secret at all, it just seems more fun to not reveal it on the blog yet. I bought the C monogram at Hobby Lobby for $2, traced it onto scrapbook paper, cut out and spray glued. Easy as can be! This project was shown on YHL. Man, I just love Sherry and John.

Until I get some pictures worthy of framing, I simply framed the words "Our Little Man"

The pillow and blanket my mom made. She is so talented. The bedding set came with a diaper stacker we weren't going to use, so she turned it into a pillow for the glider. This is one of four blankets she made him:)

Extra fabric from the diaper stacker to add to a boring white lamp shade.

 Extra fabric made into curtain ties. Using the awesome Steam-A-Seam...

 I seriously love this stuff. No sewing necessary.

 Simply iron over. I have used this to patch up hems of dress pants that were coming out.

 Window Ledge: More books from the shower and a porcelain car piggy bank from Hobby Lobby I painted.

 The teddy bear bank was Brian's when he was little.

 The oar from the antique store and two framed prints I made. I blurred out his name for now:)

 At the bottom of the print, it says, "C is for CXXXXX"

I tried to match the sailboat to the bedding design.

So there you have it folks. We are almost finished! Now I just need to get all his clothes and blankets washed and get the dresser and closet organized.

Oh and I hope this baby doesn't happen to come early because Brian has to leave town for work for a few days. That would be a horrible situation.

Guess what? Tomorrow is Friday!

27 Weeks: Nursery Planning & New Ride

Hi friends!

I rolled over the 27 week mark this past week and am only three days shy of moving into the third trimester. Yikes! Boy, do I feel so behind. We are definitely making progress with the baby's room and getting prepared, but everything seems to take much longer than expected.

We have finally applied a coat of primer to the room (bye bye fugly lime green) and painted the trim white. Woohoo! It's one big white box as of now, but will soon be transformed into a cute, yet classy (hopefully!) nursery for Baby K. We are ready for paint, just struggling a bit with paint colors/ideas. The furniture comes Friday, so let's keep our fingers crossed that we get a whole lot done this week. Here's our thoughts as of today. Yes, it changes daily:)

I hope to have a mini-reveal soon.

Speaking of mini...we got a new family vehicle! Introducing our new ride:

A mini van!!

Ok, just kidding. We didn't get a minivan, but I will say that they are super functional and definitely made for having a family. I've made a road trip in the Greens', and they are quite comfortable.

Rather, we picked up a Toyota Highlander. It was only a matter of time before the Mazda had to go. Brian loved this car, but it is much too small for a baby and all their gear.

Bye bye Mazda. Brian was pretty sad, but he's pretty excited about our new family car.

So spacious! Now, when we travel, I don't have to worry about Jakey Boy trampling Baby K in the back seat. Jake can have the third row all to himself!

I didn't like the whole "buying a car" process and how long it took last weekend, but we are both in love. And...we sold Brian's car in three days on Craigs List. Yes, three days. I'm a pretty happy lady. I semi-pushed for us to do a trade in, because I was so nervous we weren't going to be able to sell it quickly on our own. However, Brian ensured me it would happen. Sure enough, a 16 year-old girl from Branson. MO, now drives it. 

Time for an update on the protruding belly and Baby K.

How far along: 27 weeks
Size of Baby K: 14.5 inches long, almost 2 pounds
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Head of cauliflower. (What!? Some of these are weird!)
Total weight gain: Still don't know...probably 20 pounds. Doc appt next week.
Sleep: Seems to be better lately, back pain isn't as bad as it was surprisingly
Movement: I think we might have a future soccer player. Or just a little man who can kick some ass.
Unglamorous body changes: Ready for some honesty? Gas! Yep, major symptom of pregnancy. Pretty much sucks.
Food cravings: This week was Thai food for some reason. Had it twice. Yummy.
What I miss: Sipping on a glass of wine on the back deck
Strange experiences: Having bigger boobs! I was the girl who was called "Kansas" in middle school because I had no hills, so this change is weird for me. I finally bit the bullet and had to go buy new bras. Why? Because my normal ones have too much lift/under pad and were making me look like a pregnant chick that was trying to flaunt her ta-tas.
Milestones: He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes and sucking his fingers!
Best moment this week: Planning the nursery

26 Weeks

Another week down and another week closer to the third trimester! Only two more weeks. Can you believe it? I seriously feel like just yesterday I was living the easy life with no worries.

These days, my mind is consumed with daycare, child birthing classes and what brand of bottles to register for. Boy has life changed for me.

We accomplished a lot this past weekend on the baby front. We started cleaning out the baby's room (currently an office), started registering, and purchased baby furniture! I have no idea where we are going to put all this crap and make room for all the baby stuff, but I'm taking it one day at a time. Who knew that a tiny little person needs so many accessories? A swing, a bouncer, an exer-saucer, a jumping swing...the list goes on and on.

This is the future room of Baby K. Don't worry, we will be saying buh-bye to that horrible lime green. This was the color the previous owners had it...it's quite fugly in its current state, but was actually quite cute for their little girl. They had it accented with pink.  

 Most of the crap that was in the closet. It was definitely our "junk closet." Some of our finds were quite interesting, including:

• A DU composite from 2000 (I laughed at how much hair Brian and all his friends had back then! Ha!)
• The x-ray from Brian's skiing injury in Colorado
• Old College binders, files, folders and projects (Hello...Media Planning proposal, why did I keep you?)
• A Cox cable connector box from my apartment in Manhattan
• Ten baskets (Why do I keep everything?)
• Our Unity Candle from our wedding
• A caricature drawing of Brian and I
• A cork board of college pics that hung in my college house on Bertrand
• A travel bag that had sand lingering at the bottom

And we had to say goodbye to that office furniture. Sold it for some much needed moo-lah!

Now for a prego update!

How far along: 26 weeks
Size of Baby K: 14 inches, a pound and two thirds  (he's growing like crazy!)
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): English Hothouse Cucumber
Total weight gain: Not sure...and I'm not sure I want to know:)
Sleep: Still just middle of the road. It's definitely better when your husband doesn't wake you up after coming home after midnight from work happy hours.
Movement: Still very active. My favorite is when you can see him move from just looking at my belly.
Unglamorous body changes: Growing outwards, swollen hands (my ring is fitting more snug)
Food cravings: Still anything cold! Watermelon, I can't get enough. And for some strange reason Caesar salads.
What I miss: Summer Shandy
Strange experiences: Got sick exactly one week ago 15 minutes after going to bed. It was odd, however, I have had other strange vomiting experiences since the sickness has passed. One time, about 6 weeks ago, I had to run out of Nebraska Furniture Mart to throw up in a bush. No lie.
Milestones: His testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum -- a trip that will take about two to three days. How's that for a milestone!?
Best moment this week: Purchasing baby furniture and registering!

Prego Update (Finally!): 25 weeks

Well friends, it has been almost a month since I last blogged. Sigh.

What have I turned into!? I really never thought this blog would fall so flat, but let me give you a little insight as to what my life has been like lately.

Yes, I'm pregnant and tired, and I complain about me feet and my back (did I mention how hot it is outside, holy smokes), but to be completely honest, this blog doesn't suck due to baby Kutter. Well maybe just a little.

We have traveled somewhere every weekend in July. Yep, four weekends in a row for me. And three of those include long nights staying up past 1:00 AM. Watch out folks, this lady is looking for some props! Or just a cookie. I really like cookies these days. And ice cream. Or both, mixed together. Blizzard, anyone?

If you ask me, I'm a pretty active prego chick. I have all kinds of fun trips and adventures with friends to tell you about (with tons of pictures). But really, I haven't had one minute to even think about blogging. However, my counterpart at work gets back next week! Can I get an All-eh-freakin-lu-ya? OMG, I am so pumped to not have to work so many hours.

I am now 25 weeks pregnant and boy do I have a baby bump. I swear it showed up over night. Even a guy at work said "Man, you are really starting to look pregnant!" I replied with a sarcastic, "Why Thank you." He then proceeded to say he didn't notice it much until now. Well thank you coworker, thank you for pointing out the obvious fact that I have a baby growing inside of me and it's only going to get bigger. Have you seen how tall my husband is? I swear, if this kid is more than 9 pounds, I might have a heart attack. Don't get me wrong, I want a healthy baby boy, but I'd prefer he stay under 8 pounds. My goods will appreciate it:).

In other news, I got a promotion at work. Wahoo! I am now big timin' it with a senior in front of my previous title. My responsibilities haven't changed one bit, but I'm a happy camper.

So, a good friend of mine pointed out one of her friend's blogs to me: It's called Cubbies and Nooks. She is prego and blogs about her experiences in the most hilarious ways possible. I literally almost peed myself when she started using words such as dookie and miracle shit and provided funny illustrations with her posts. I wish I was that funny. Check it out if you want a good laugh.

Well after reading some of her posts, it made me realize just how sucky I have been with this blog and documenting this beautiful time in my life. I know I will want to go back someday and read all about my glamorous experience:). Right?

Anyways, she inspired me to write more about how I'm feeling and what's going on with all these crazy changes, so I have stolen her nifty idea of prego tidbits and slightly altered it. I plan to do this weekly from now until baby comes. It's a goal people, so don't get your hopes up!

This week you get 2 updates because I am very behind: 23 and 25 weeks

How far along: 23 weeks
Size of Baby K: 11 inches, just a little over 1 pound
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Mango
Total weight gain: I had gained 10 pounds at 21 weeks so maybe 12? We don't have a scale at home, so this will be hard for me to keep track of accurately.
Sleep: OK. Not great. Back pain sucks. And I wake up 2-3 times a night to pee.
Movement: A few flutters, but no kicks:(
Unglamorous body changes: getting bigger of course, almost non-existent belly button (not an outty yet), darker veins
Food cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary. Ice cream, pickles, anything cold. The weird thing is...before pregnancy, I didn't like ice in my water or beverages. Now, I can't get enough of it.
What I miss: My daily cup of coffee. I still have it a couple times a week, but not every day.
Strange experiences: Brushing my teeth makes me gag. This started very early on when I was really sick and has since continued. I wonder if it will ever go back to normal post pregnancy?
Milestones: Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds his keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now - such as Jake barking or the vacuum won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.
Best moment this week: Started really thinking about the nursery and getting excited for the planning. We are SO behind, but will soon enough have a nursery.

How far along: 25 weeks
Size of Baby K: 13 1/2 inches, a pound a half
Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): Rutabaga. Go ahead, click the link. I didn't know what this was either:).
Total weight gain: I had a doc appt this week, so this is accurate! 14 pounds.
Sleep: Still pretty mediocre. Thinking I might need to see a chiropractor.
Movement: YES! Kicks galore! And ones you can see. What a surreal experience.
Unglamorous body changes: The obvious - getting bigger, starting to not see my feet, thicker hair (even my hair stylist noticed)
Food cravings: Icee's from gas stations. Love them. Probably because of the coldness.
What I miss: Being able to wear whatever I want. My wardrobe choices are slowly diminishing to fewer and fewer choices. Boo.
Strange experiences: Hot feet. Brian calls them my "heaters". I can't sleep with my feet under the covers, so they hang out over the side of the bed. I have even had Brian put bags of frozen vegetables on them. It's pretty much heaven.
Milestones: His wrinkled skin is beginning to smooth out and he's starting to look more like an actual newborn baby. He's also growing more hair - if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.
Best moment this week: Seeing Brian's excitement when he felt Baby K kick for the first time.

You might be wondering why I look like absolute crap in the above photo. Well, it's because I had the worst experiences with air conditioning yesterday. At the doctor's office, the power had went out --- so no AC. I was absolutely miserable for an hour straight. Then, I had to stop by Hobby Lobby on my way home and it seemed that the AC wasn't on. I was sweating bullets. I asked the cashier what was going on and she replied, "Yeah, we haven't had AC for 3 weeks." What!? That's insane! It was 110 degrees yesterday! So, I was forced to shower right when I got home. I felt disgusting.

More posts to come on our recent adventures. Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week!

Baby K Revealed

I signed into my blog today for the first time in weeks. Where have I been? The dashboard/backend has completely changed and I don't typically do very well with change. Why is the editing window so freakin' small? I better get used to it though because life is about to change big time come November!

The Kutters have been busy...including finding out what we're having.

It was such a cool experience. And one that I will never forget.

The Ledbetters hosted a revealing party for us and it was so much fun! We really enjoyed sharing our special news with some of our closest friends.

Here's how it works:
Each person comes wearing the color of shirt they think the baby is. Blue was very popular.

Next step, the parents-to-be come out wearing the color of shirt of what they are having. And if you want to include the whole fam, include your dog!

And the verdict is...

IT'S A BOY!!

 Jakey is going to be a big brother!

He had a bow on when we first came out, but that didn't last too long.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the party! We appreciate all your love and support!

Now, time for the sonogram pics!

 

Other than the exciting news of our little man, we are busier than ever. Sorry blogging has taken the back burner for me, but I promise to step it back up someday.

Next up, something every weekend in July and then hopefully we can plan the little stud's nursery and get registered!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!!