Harper Olivia Kozlen

Harper Olivia Kozlen was born July 11, 2013 at 6:47 pm. She was 8 lbs, 21 inches long and absolutely perfect.

Stephen and I were instantly in love. 

 I mean look at that face! So perfect. (the tiny one, not mine. ha)

Stephen wrote a great blog post about the labor. You can read it here. A few of my additions are below.

• All the classes we took and none of the first steps they tell you are going to happen did for us. We didn't labor at home for more than 2 hours and there was no 5-1-1 (contractions 1 min long, 5 mins apart, for 1 hour). I woke up to contractions ranging from 9 to 4 mins apart (they are supposed to be consistant before you go to the hospital). Then within a half hour they went to 1 min long, 6 to 3 mins apart. Another half hour and they were 1 min long 2-3 mins apart! 

• Chewie wanted to be near me when I was attempting to get comfortable on the couch. Comfort didn't happen but it was nice that he wanted to help me out

• We were mins from walking out the door when I remembered how I wanted to get a picture of me in my last hours pregnant. In my mind this would have happened in the hours of laboring at home we didn't do. haha Instead this picture was taken seconds before/after a contraction when we needed to be walking out the door to the hospital. haha
• In my mind it didn't take almost an hour to walk from the doctor's office to the hospital, it felt much quicker. But it did feel like it took an hour to get an epidural and in reality that was 15 mins. haha
• I had no idea I was having back labor. Looking back at it now all the signs were there, as I could only get comfortable standing with Stephen rubbing my back, but since I had never been in labor before I had no idea that was what was going on! 
• I had been very concerned with back labor and paid extra attention during all the classes on the best ways to labor and deliver with back pain. Too bad I was in too much pain to know what was happening. haha
• Fun fact for you...When my mom delivered me I was sunny side up (back of the babies head facing the spine) as well, giving her back pain AND when my grandma had my mom she was also sunny side up! I knew this fact which is why I was paying attention in class, even though there isn't any proven correlation between how your mother gave birth and how you will. 
• My nurse told me after we did some practice pushes and she thought Harper's head would be able to be turned with delivery that all morning both her and the doctor were sure I would have to have a c section. But with my stellar pushing skills (haha) and the fact that Harper was able to be turned as she was being delivered (she never did turn on her own when I was laboring down) we were able to deliver her vaginally as we intended.
• My nurse was AWESOME. She was no nonsense, told us how it was and was really supportive and helpful. The doctor who delivered was also amazing. They worked so well together you could tell they were a team that enjoyed being paired up when it happened. 
• Stephen was my rock. He was truly amazing and I will never forget the looks on his face while I was pushing. He was so excited and so proud of me it was unforgettable for sure.
• I was unsure of how birth would go, I mean you really have no idea. I would go from thinking "yeah I bet I could do the whole thing natural" to "maybe I'll just get an epidural right off the bat". I really really wanted to stick to my plan of getting to 6 cm and deciding from there. My main reason was I didn't want to be stuck laboring in bed, especially since you have no idea how long it will take you to get to 10 cm. When the doctor first told us I was 3-4 cm the amount of pain I was in I was a little disappointed cause I was thinking there is no way in hell I can make it to 6 with this pain. Walking definitely got me to where I wanted to be and further. I am proud of myself for sticking it out and choosing to walk, even if it was miserable and took an hour. :) 
• Looking back the whole day seem's so crazy and it feels like it went so fast. I labored for 8 hours and pushed for 2 (1 hour and 57 mins actually). I never once said I can't do it. I had my best friend by my side (oh and my mom, dad, sister and mama came and said hello for a while too when I was just hanging out waiting for her to turn). In the end I got to meet the most important person in the world to me. Worth it all I would say. 

After labor was an intense few hours/days. Stephen has also already done a blog on the whole experience you should go read here. 

I was able to hold our sweet Harper after she was born but she was quickly wisked away to the NICU. Stephen went with her and my mom came and sat with me while the doctor finished things up. Once I was able to leave the delivery room and be moved to my recovery room they wheeled me to the NICU to see Harper first. Here we are hanging out for the first time :)

Week 40

Where: International Fountain, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA

Week Recap ~

Our baby girl showed up at 40 weeks and 5 days :) This post was started, but never finished since we went to the hospital before week 40 was completed. Since SO much has happened in the last week and a half a lot of this might just say I can't remember. hehe

• Total weight gain/loss : +41 lbs (my final total)
• Sleep : I can't remember :) 
• Best moments : Harper showed up! Also, my mom, dad and mama were in town and we got to spend a lot of quality time together while waiting for Harper's arrival
• Movement : Does coming out count? haha
• Symptoms : Uncomfortable! I was definitely ready for her to show up. It was getting hard to be comfortable in any position - sitting, standing, laying
• Maternity clothes? : Yes, but really only yoga pants or regular pj pants. 
• Food cravings or aversion's? : I've been craving chicken salad lately, but I didn't want to make it and everywhere I looked places had nuts and grapes in theirs. I HATE nuts and grapes in my chicken salad. My mom made me chicken salad this week though and it is amazing :)
• What I am eating : My mom made some delicious meals for us while she was in town. I think she cooked every day she was over, even when she wasn't making dinner she was preparing something for me. It was so great. Having someone cook for you is always great, but even better when it is your mom. We used the grill a lot to keep the house cool.
  
  
  After our doctor's appointment on Tuesday I was feeling discouraged about when she might show up. My OB had given us this eggplant parmesan recipe, with a fun back story of people eat it and go into labor within 48 hours. She had even experienced this, but as an OB isn't claiming that it actually works she just thinks its a fun story. Regardless we went immediately from my appointment to the grocery store. Both Stephen and I were ready for me to not be pregnant anymore. 
  
  
  Stephen prepared the whole thing himself! Even the sauce was made from scratch. 
  
  He worked incredibly hard on it. It was a very labor intensive meal and took him well over 2 hours from start to finish. 
  
  The result...it was so so so good! And 48 hours later I went into labor! Coincidence? Maybe, but something got this labor moving :)
  
  
  
• Exercise : Getting walks in when I can. I don't get too far these days :)
• Gender : Girl! 
• Labor signs : 2cm now! Some more contractions, but nothing large or consistent (this was from our Tuesday doctors appointment) Obviously this changed :)
• What I miss : I can't remember :)
• What I am looking forward to : It was meeting our daughter. The days were getting closer and closer. We even had an ultrasound scheduled to check her out and start discussing what a plan for the following week would be if she didn't arrive. Most likely we would have been induced the following Tuesday. I was very anti induction so I was getting nervous that we were having to start talking about it. I was very glad she decided to come on her own!

Week 31

Where: Lummi Island, Washington (Mt. Baker in the background)

Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +25 lbs
• Sleep : Getting a little harder. My stomach has started to get uncomfortable if I don't make sure to have a pillow under it. Also, waking up a lot to go to the bathroom. When I was asleep most nights I was sleeping hard, just waking up a lot. 
• Best moments : Relaxing all weekend and being in the sun. Just spending time with Stephen & the dogs not worrying about anything/ 
• Movement : She's getting bigger, as her movements are more pronounced. She still isn't the most active one, but has her moments where she's partying in there. 
• Symptoms : Starting to have my ankles get swollen :( No kankles yet, but I am worried they are on their way. We had a few 80 degree days and that had them swelling pretty good. 
• Maternity clothes? : Yes, with the warmer weather I have been rocking mostly dresses this week. 
• Food cravings or aversion's? : Nothing in particular this week. 
• What I am eating : deer moss, wild mushrooms, salmon, rhubarb, sunflower root, sable fish, flowers, fried halibut skin with razor clams, geoduck - to name a few items from our amazing 18 course meal at the Willows :)  
• Exercise : Lots of walks. I've really been doing well with getting out and moving more. 
• Gender : Girl
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : Not having someone jam a foot or hand into my upper stomach for hours on end, especially after I have ate a large meal. 
• What I am looking forward to : Stephen has a nice mother's day planned for me and my sister arrives to Seattle next week. Also, I have a day off work to hang out with her next Friday and who doesn't love a day off work! :)
  
  
  Other Happenings:
  We spent all weekend in Lummi Island. We did pretty much nothing but relax. We didn't even watch tv other than a few sports events. The view from the house we rented (we have a friend who's mom owns a house on the island) was amazing. We spent a lot of time looking out at this view...
  
  
  
  The dogs LOVED it. There was a nice size yard they would roam and a wonderful deck we all spent a lot of time on. We left the door open and they would just go out and sunbath for hours. 
  
  
  
  As I mentioned, we had an amazing dinner at the Willows Inn. It was walking distance from the house we stayed in too. We got there about an hour early and sat out on the nice deck having a pre-dinner drink (me some fancy fresh squeezed juice).
  
  
  I think we had the best table (the place only has 12 tables).
  
  
  
  
  On Saturday we walked the beach and saw the head chef from Willows on the beach. We talked to him and found out he was foraging seaweed for dinner that night. All the food served at their dinners is foraged from the island or fished from the waters around the island. We thought it was just so cool running into him picking items for dinner, foodies meeting a celebrity. haha
  
  
  
  I love this picture of us on the beach. We were so relaxed :)
  
  
  
  Some scenery pictures from our weekend...
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We played mini golf this Friday. I killed it on the front nine!
  
  
  
  Then I let a hard hole get in my head and Stephen killed it on the back nine.
  
  
  
  Final results....We tied! 
  
  
  
  I also went to the doctor this week, starting my every two week appointments instead of once a month. I am measuring right on track and the heartbeat sounded great!

Week 30

Where: Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA

Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +23.5 lbs (almost at the "recommended" amount of weight to gain. With 9 weeks left I am hoping to just go barely over 30)
• Sleep : Fairly good this week. I had a couple nights that I didn't get a ton of sleep, but most nights I slept really hard. 
• Best moments : Well my amazing news went public, if you are someone that checks in here you probably already know the news via other chains, but my sister has accepted a job in Seattle! She moves here in a week and a half and I couldn't be more excited. The idea that baby girl is going to know a family member other than over the internet and holidays makes me tear up. Also, this week finished up the labor and delivery part of our child prep classes. Only two more weeks left covering baby stuff!
• Movement : She must be getting bigger as sometimes her movements shake my whole stomach now. It can take me off guard and startle me sometimes. hehe
• Symptoms : I have been getting tired again, not as bad as the first trimester but a lot of activity or long work days are starting to take it out of me. Also, baby brain is in full effect. I cant remember a lot and I am often at a loss for words and find myself just pointing at things cause I can't find the words I need. 
• Maternity clothes? : Yes, same as always with some non-maternity tops mixed in. 
• Food cravings or aversion's? : Nothing new
• What I am eating : I honestly cannot remember. Stephen grilled us sausage and peppers one night, as always I had greek yogurt for breakfast and I have had a ton of fruit. Strawberries were 3 for $5! the day I got them I ate a whole thing 
• Exercise : Walks! 
• Gender : Baby Girl
• Labor signs : None, but with our classes finished we should be 100% prepared right? right? haha
• What I miss : Lately I have been really wanting a beer. So this week I will say beer. :)
• What I am looking forward to : The weekend! We are leaving today to go to Lummi Island in the San Juan Islands for the weekend. It should be relaxing and filled with nature. To start the weekend off right we are dining at Willows. It is very hard to get reservations at but Stephen pulled it off for us! It is an 18 course meal, all sourced exclusively from the island.  

Week 24

Where: Ship Canal/Lake Union, Fremont, Seattle, WA (Happy St Patrick's Day!)



Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : I have no idea again! I forgot to get on the scale yesterday morning and today I am in Portland, OR and our hotel room didn't come with a scale. :)
• Sleep : The begining of the week was terrible, but the end of the week has been much better. I often think I just wear my body out so much with bad sleep taht eventually it just gives up and lets me sleep really hard for about 2 days before going back to waking up all the time.
• Best moments : Had a fun and semi relaxing weekend, celebrating Stephen's birthday. Pictures way below. Also, video chatted with some of my girlfriends this week. It is always nice to see their faces. Some of the kiddos joined as well. They are all getting so big!
• Movement : Pretty much the same as last week, movement but not a ton. She makes herself known a few times a day but isn't partying it up in there yet.
• Symptoms : Tired from lack of good sleep. Also, had more indigestion this week than I have had in a while.
• Maternity clothes? : Yes! I bought a few more things last weekend too. Just a couple more of the Gap body shirts. They are my favorite and Gap had everything 30% off. I couldn't pass that up :)
• Food cravings or aversion's? : Nothing new here
• What I am eating : We cooked at home one night! haha yes just one, but hey more than the last two weeks. Stephen made burgers on his new grill he got for the house. We also had some chineese food, small plates at a dinner out, greek. Lunches I had chicken sandwiches a few times and some salads. Breakfast was fruit and greek yogurt pretty much everyday.
• Exercise : We walked a lot around our new neighborhood last weekend. So much that I ended up pretty sore from it. I think I am pulling my shoulder's forward or something strange when I walk a lot.
• Gender : Baby Girl still!
• Labor signs : None
• What I miss : This is harder than I thought each week. I haven't been missing much. I've been fairly stressed out, so I guess right now I miss being able to have a drink to just relax and calm my mind. I'm just always thinking of what is next for everything lately.
• What I am looking forward to : This weekend. We are currently in Portland, OR. Stephen had to work here today, so I tagged along and am working from his office as well. We are going to do some small hikes around the Columbia River Gorge area, if the weather cooperates, and we have some things we want to look at here for the nursery. No other plans, we hope for it to be a relaxing, fun weekend and I think it will be!

 

Other Happenings:

 

I was all over deals this weekend for baby girl. Got all of the above clothes at Goodwill for a total of $8! The jeans(Baby Gap), jean jacket and Cardinals (brand new looking!) onsie will be for when she's a little older. The white onesie and leggins(Gymboree) she will be rocking this summer. 



Saturday our new neighborhood was having a kids gear sale at the community center. We got up and walked down for the opening. We did not have a plan and were a little overwhelmed, but we did end up getting some good items and saving well over $100! Pretty good for two first time parents having no clue what they were looking for. haha! I picked out some stuff while Stephen held it or looked up on his phone to see how much items originally were. I forgot to take a picture of all our deals, but here is a book we picked up:

Haha! We loved it and it was just $1. We also got a bounce seat, a bebepod(its a bumbo) with trays, a newborn cloth diaper and a man looking Skip Hop diaper bag for Stephen.

Saturday evening we went to the Sounders vs Timbers soccer match for Stephen's birthday. We had great seats!

 

It was pretty cold, but I kept semi warm in his new Sounders hat from his mom and dad. It's so cute, I might have to claim it as mine!

Fancy dinner at home Sunday, as an early bday dinner. Dungenous crab ($4.99/lb! told you all over the deals this weekend. haha). As part of his birthday gift I cracked half of his crab for him. I am slightly better at it than he is, I have years more experiance in crab cracking. :) I will say he does do a good job, he is just slow at it. So by me doing half of his we are finished eating at the same time. 

Tuesday night we had a night out in the city after work. We went to a National Geographic Live lecture, K2 Danger and Desire on the Mountain. The speaker was the first and only woman to have summitted all 8,000+ meter peaks in the world, unassisted with oxygen. The talk was about her 14th peak, K2, and the journey to do it. It was pretty neat and inspiring. We also had great seats, up in one of the "fancy people" boxes.

Week 21

Where: Gasworks Park, Fremont, Seattle, WA

Week Recap ~

• Total weight gain/loss : +13lbs
• Sleep : Meh. I haven't slept that well this week. I get a few good hours in and then about the second time I wake up to use the bathroom I end up wide awake. I spend the next 2-3 hours tossing and turning. Poor Steve, a lot of the time this wakes him up too. At least then I have a buddy to talk to if we want.
• Best moments : Spending time with my parents. With each of us living on different ends of the country we do not always get to see each other very much. It was good to have them around. Mom and I also registered at Babies R Us while she was here. I was glad we got to do something baby oriented together too.
• Movement : She is starting to move around some more. I don't feel her a ton, but every now and then she makes herself known. Last night, after we had dinner, she was really kicking(punching?) in one spot. I let Steve know and he was able to feel her for the first time. It was really exciting. She would stop until I would start talking, then she would start it back up.
• Symptoms : Bad sleep, using the bathroom a lot more and I also have some small back aches. It is usually just at the end of long days and I feel it when I go to lay down.
• Maternity clothes? : Yup. My two pairs of jeans seem to be stretching out after just a few wears. I am starting to think they aren't the best fit. I am torn between if I should try on a different brand and get some new ones or just tough it out for the next 19 weeks.
• Food cravings or aversion's? : I haven't really listed any aversions yet, but I do have some. They are a few things that pre-pregnancy we ate a lot of. Banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) sound terrible to me. They are one of the most tasty things ever (cheap too!) and the thought of eating a baguette really turns me off. One other is something we used to eat once a week, shwarma plates from Mr Gyros. The last time we had this I felt really uncomfortable afterwards, so this is more remembering that feeling than the sound of it that turns me off.
• What I am eating : Oh man we ate a lot this week. With my parents in town we went out to a lot of good and nice meals. Crab club sandwich, fancy dinner with tons of small plates, Serious Biscuit, King's burgers, another nice dinner of crab cakes & clam chowder, sausages and chicken livers, just to name a few of the things we ate while they were here! Since we are moving we have also been eating out a lot. Not being the healthiest this week, but I am still having a lot of fruit.
• Exercise : Some small walks and a good one on Tuesday with the birthday boy! Chewie turned 6 this week!
• Gender : Baby Girl! (also my favorite thing to call her right now)
• Labor signs : none
• What I miss : A good nights sleep. Hope I can get one in this weekend when I know I wont have an alarm set.
• What I am looking forward to : Moving! We got the keys to our new rental house last night. We are going to take some things over this weekend and move our storage unit. The big move wont happen until next Saturday though. We are also going to go look at paint for the nursery!

 

More happenings:

 

My Parents were in town!

 

 

I mentioned we ate a lot :)

 Lunch at King's Hardware, one of our favorite spots.

 Birthday dinner part 1 at Staple & Fancy Mercantile.

Birthday dinner part 2 at Ray's Cafe. Thanks for the new shirt Ellen!

 

We took advantage of having my dad in town and had him take a few shots of us together. We don't have any of both of us from the last 21 weeks! Here are just a few:

Thanks Dad!

 

This post is getting long :) But I cant go without posting pictures of the birthday boy. Chewie turned 6 on Tuesday!

 After a nice walk around Ballard we went to the corner bar to celebrate with a beer and water :)

He loves going to the bar. He just chills in the booth the whole time. Happy 6th birthday buddy!

 

Ok one last thing :) I stoped during lunch one day in Marshall's and picked up these goodies. The purple & pink one will be going in the nursery. I am not sure where the black & white will go yet. We will have to see how we set up the new house. Thought they would be good for baby girls toy's. :)

 

Baby Kozlen : Summer 2013!

Stephen and I are very excited to announce (if you haven't already heard, which is probably not likely) that we are having a baby! Here is the little cutie at 12 weeks old:

 



Here is a little information about our latest adventure...

• When is your due date? : July 6, 2013
• How far along are you right now? : 13 weeks, 6 days
• Have you had an ultrasound? : Yup! 2, one at 8 weeks and one at 12 weeks
• Have you heard the heartbeat? : Yup again! at the ultrasounds (184 bpm & 162 bpm) and once with the doppler
• Sex of the baby? : No idea yet, but we will most definitely be finding out!
• Do you have any names picked out? : Not really, I have some I like but I think we will wait to find out what we are having before getting serious about it
• Is your baby going to be named after anyone? : Not that we have discussed
• Did the daddy help pick the name? : Of course he will! We will choose together
• Have you felt the baby move? : Not yet. The last ultrasound showed the placenta in the front, which can act as cushion between the baby and I, so it could be a while before I feel anything
• What was your first symptom? : I was real crabby, prompting Steve to suggest I take a test :)
• What is the baby's room theme? : No idea yet, I am not sure there will be a theme though. So far I like a lot of modern looking nursery's
• Are you ready to be a mommy? : Lets hope so! haha
• Is your husband ready to be a daddy? : for sure! he is going to be an amazing dad :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Steve and I (Chewie & Yuri too!)

2011 was a pretty big year for us, who knows what 2012 will have in store. We do know a few things: we are going on a 18 day trip to Ecuador in April, we will be getting back into shape, we will be experiencing more of what this wonderful city has to offer. We hope: to have more visitors so we can show off this place we love so much, to get to spend some short trips to see friends and family members and to not have to go to any funerals this year.

While 2011 had a few sad moments, we lost too many loved ones this year, it had a ton of awesome moments. Steve and I were so busy this summer that I stopped documenting everything we were doing on this blog. So here is a short recap of a few things we did this year...

We made a huge life decision and Steve took a job that moved us to Seattle, WA.

We rented our house in Olathe, KS sold over half our possessions and made a huge move accross the country.

The move allowed us both to take amazing road trips(separately) with our best friends.

I quit my job and then found one quicker than I was expecting.

We visited West Virginia for Rebecca and Randy's wedding. We had a great time getting to spend time with family members we don't see very often. It also was Steve's first time in WV so we did some hiking and saw the bridge and gorge.I got to go and visit with some of my girlfriends in Omaha, NE for Molly & Ben's wedding reception. It was a good time, as it always is with my friends.

Yuri went swimming and loved it. Chewie hated it so there are no pics of him.
We did a good number of hikes. This one is from a 4 mile hike to a mountain lake. Steve got in and said it was so cold he felt his heart stop! It was so beautiful. Too bad I broke one of my toes hiking the 4 miles back to our car.

We took up some water sports. There is so much water here it is hard not to do something on the water each weekend. We did stand up paddle boarding in the sound and once in a lake.

We kayaked a lot also. This is us kayaking through the arboretum, which is really cool with all the lilly pads and secret passages. You even go under highways to get to it.

We had visitors this summer too. Steve's parents and Jessica came out to visit, as did Ellen and my mom and dad.

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary with dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in town.

We got to experience the Cardinals World Series Game 6 win from downtown St. Louis, with two of our best friends.

Goodbye 2011 we had a great time!