Future Model?

I'm a sucker for great photography! Lord knows that in the first few days of her life we took over 200 pictures, BUT I'm not a photographer and no one in my family is either (well we have some talented people on Tim's side of the family, but we live in MI, they live in OH and IN). Kids grow up so fast (I see that with my niece Madison and my two step children, Brandon and Grace). I had no choice but to hire a professional to capture her precious face as a newborn, and a professional I hired! Amanda Williams (http://www.amandawilliamsphotography.com/) exceeded my expectations. She came out to the house when Kenley was only 9 days old, and within an hour she shot over 1000 pictures of our beautiful baby girl! Here are a few sample pictures....

As soon as I get the rest of her pictures, I will be updating the blog with a slideshow - so stay tuned!!!!!

Welcome Home!

We were discharged on Sunday, August 3rd in the morning. Kenley came home to 8 pink balloons (I'm assuming that had something to do with her being born on 08-01-08 and being 8lbs 8oz) and a welcome home sign. It was odd leaving the house as two and coming home as three. All three of us took a nap, then drove over to Grandma/Grandpa's house for dinner and to introduce Kenley to the rest of the family.

Since then, Kenley has been to Ohio quite a few times to visit her big brother and sister (Brandon and Grace). She's met the rest of Tim's family, been out to eat at a few restaurants, gone shopping with Auntie Jen and cousin Maddie and yes, she's even been to school! (Brandon and Grace had open house so we all went to meet their teachers). Needless to say, she is a busy little girl.

It's A Girl

Kenley's Birth Story

Kenley Olivia Knitz

Born August 1, 2008

at 1:15am

8lbs, 8oz

20.5 inches

After 9 long months of waiting, Kenley Olivia was born on 08-01-08. We chose early on not to find out what the sex of the baby would be. Life doesn't have many surprises and this is one of the biggest surprises God can give you - so we decided to wait.

My due date was set for 07-27-08. At my doctor's appointment that week (07-30-08), my doctor decided that if I wanted to try for a natural birth, I might want to consider being induced. He was concerned that the baby would be too big for me to deliver and waiting any longer would only make the baby bigger. I did not want an induction, but at the same time I also wanted this baby out. I called Tim and told him that we had to pack our bags when he got home from work, we were going to the hospital to have a baby that night.

Our Arrival At Henry Ford Hospital

We arrived at the hospital at 8pm that night. We were settled into our room, I was given an IV, I was hooked up to the monitors and the doctor came in to give me my dose of Cervidil to 'jump start' the process. That was when it hit me - oh my God, I'm going to be someones mom within the next 24 hours!

Bring On The Pain

I went to sleep that night and woke up around 4:45am in pain! These were not the Braxton Hicks pains I was used too, these were something more intense. I dealt with the pain on my own (I let Tim sleep) until around 7am. The doctor came and removed the Cervidil around 9:30am, we were told to call room service to get something to eat and take a shower. We had a long day a head of us. My mom showed up sometime that morning and we walked the halls hoping that the baby would drop and the contractions would get a little closer together. We had to stop every 3-4 min. in the hallway so I could breathe through a contraction and either my mom or Tim could rub my back. Around 12:30pm I decided that the pain was getting a little much and I wanted to sit down for a bit to rest. Tim went to sleep and I sat and talked to my mom for awhile. Around 1pm I had to go to the bathroom - I made it halfway there when I felt this HUGE gush of water. I looked down and realized I was standing in a puddle. I told my mom "Either I just pee'd myself or my water broke". She went to get a nurse, and it was determined - my water broke! Woo Hoo - things are progressing! No more walking for me, I had to be in bed now and just wait for the impending pain (I thought I was in pain already though - oh, I was wrong). At 3pm pitocin was started and the contractions got so bad it was hard to breathe through them anymore. Pitocin is evil! The nurse gave me a birthing ball to bounce on - this made me happy while I was in between contractions, but not during. The pain was getting to the point where it was unbearable and everytime I had a contraction I would cry from pain and exhaustion. At 6pm it was determined that I was still at 3cm and only 70% effaced - they gave me the epidural anyway. Take it from me, epidurals were made at the hand of God himself. They are wonderful and I will take the needle in the spine any day over the pain I was feeling before hand. Shortly after the epidural I was 5cm and 80% effaced, but the baby was still not dropping.

Here Comes The Dr. - Time To Make A Decision

Around midnight my doctor stopped in to check on me. There was still no progress at all. The baby would not drop (stubborn child) and I was not dilating past 5cm. We called it at that point and decided to take the baby by C-Section. At this point, I didn't care how this baby came out, as long as it came out healthy. So a C-Section was the decision and I was perfectly fine with that. I got even better drugs in the epidural, and Tim put on his scrubs (he was so cute) - then they wheeled me into the O.R.

It's A Girl!

A lot of the delivery is like a blur. Compared with the exhaustion and the drugs, I was a little loopy and throwing up. According to my nurses and Tim I was babbling and kept talking through the whole thing. Apparently I wanted a play-by-play of exactly what the doctor was doing. To have a c-section is such a wild experiance. I can 'feel' the scapel, I can feel the pressure, I know exactly what the doctor is doing, yet there is no pain - such a strange sensation. At 1:15am the doctor told daddy to stand up and watch his child being born. I heard a few cries, but the baby was still inside, only the head was out, so I didn't know if we had a boy or a girl. After a few seconds I heard a louder cry and that was when Tim looked and said "We have a baby girl". I cried, they lifted her over the curtain so I could see and then that was all I remember. Apparently, I was saying that I could feel them 'putting me back together', so they knocked me out while Tim and our little girl went to the nursery.

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I finally came to around 3am. I remember Tim standing there with the most precious baby in his arms. I was babbling and not making a lot of sense, and I kept asking the same questions over and over again - I guess it took me a while to come out of the drugs. I finally got to hold my little girl though - the most precious thing my husband could ever give to me. It was at that moment that I fell in love all over again with my husband and our little Kenley.

Overall, c-sections are not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. I wish I didn't have to endure the 20 hours of labor before-hand, but that's the hand I was dealt and I'm not going to complain. My delivery was incredibly simple, I didn't have to do anything, and the recovery was not bad at all. I was actually up and walking that same week - I recovered like a champ! The only thing I did not like was that I was knocked out right after she was born. I missed the first few hours of my daughters life - but at least her daddy was there with her the whole time.

I've learned that one never really knows pure, unconditional love until they hear their child take their first breath or hold their child for the first time. Both her daddy and I are truely blessed. I can't wait to watch her grow up!