Something About Karlee

Alicia had the baby on Wednesday 10/21 at 33 weeks 4 days. Baby weighted 4 lbs 7 oz and stayed  in the NICU till she was ok to be released. Unfortunately, the birth father decided at the last minute that he wanted to raise the baby however, because the baby was premature and needed to be breastfed, she went home with her mother when she (the baby) was released on Tuesday 10/27/09, although the father does visit her quite often.  The baby has been re-named. We wish the Alicia and the father luck. Here are some pictures of McKenzie Nicole.

Karlee’s bedding is on it’s way! Here is a picture of what her bedding looks like. We got everything but the window valance’s. (well, not the lamp and pictures lol) We’ll get those later if we decide to.

Blossom Bedding

Karlee’s Stroller & car seat came! I’m certain she’ll love them as much as we do!  We made a point to get a free 3 day trial of consumer reports so we could get the best, safest, easiest car seat & stroller for Karlee. The Chicco Keyfit 30 was the top rated out of infant car seats with an score of 88 out of 100. (with “Excellent” for all the categories that were listed.) They also gave it their “best buy”. Because of it’s easy to install and use as well as “fit to vehicle” (which is the safety factor). It’s extremely simple to use, you literally click it in the base. It click’s in and out in a matter of seconds. Same with the stroller. The car seat click’s in and out of the stroller with the press of a button.

Here are a few pictures.

The car seat fits right in the stroller. It works out really well so that Karlee will be extra protected on rainy days. Oh and side note, Nikko is scared of the stroller LOL.

The doctor said there is a chance Karlee will be born by 10/31 with an induction date of 11/17.  We are still preparing for her, so we’re hoping she stay’s put till 11/17!  Here is some of Karlee’s new furniture:

Nursery set

Glider

Karlee was 30 weeks 3 days yesterday but she measured at 35 weeks due to excessive amniotic fluid.  Her doctor said she could be born as early as October but he is thinking she will be able to hold off till November (probably early November).  Since her birth mother, Alicia, went on bed rest, I had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. I’m not sure if it’s instincts or just me being paranoid… LOL.  Alicia says it’s just us being parents, which was very sweet of her and I really couldn’t have asked for a kinder birth mother.

I’ve added Karlee’s latest ultrasound picture from yesterday.  It’s 4D and she’s cuter than ever.

Edited to add that Alicia is off bed rest now but has been told to take it easy.

We are absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to raise Karlee.  Family on both sides (and friends as well) are all very excited and can’t wait to meet her. Karlee will also be the first girl on both sides, so there’s additional reason for excitement.

I’m still trying to figure out a “theme” for the nursery. That’s me though. Gosh forbid I just buy something and put it in the nursery. Nope, I’ve got to go all out. I’ve waited WAY too long for this.  With the amount of time I have had to think about this, you might ask, “Then why don’t you know what you want?”  Well I thought I did. Then, when I found out we were having a girl, my brain started going “hmmm, oooh, aaahhh”.  Now I can’t decide! My aunt is a painter and has offered to paint murals, so that is influencing my decision on potential themes.

Alicia has been on bed rest for a while now. Maybe a week, I’m not 100% sure. She was having lots of BH contractions so the doctor thought it was best she go on bed rest in fear of her going into early labor. Last time I talked to her she said she was starting to feel better so that’s good. Typically bed rest and fluids tend to help with BH contractions. Karlee is also very active and likes to kick and flip a lot.

Last week we were contacted by a young lady, Alicia, who is seven months pregnant and wants us to adopt and raise her little girl.  We have only been in the queue for adoption for about eight months, so this is definitely sooner than we imagined.

We were brainstorming by randomly spouting off names to each other and when we heard the name “Karlee”, it had a special ring to it.  Since the name Alicia (also spelled Elisha ; pronounced “uh-LEESH-uh”) is a family name, we naturally granted Karlee a middle name that reflected the heritage of both her birth mother and her adoptive family.  Thus, her full name will be Karlee Alicia Klick.