Bouncy Chair!

I never knew how fun a bouncy chair could be for a 3 month old! He really shows very little interest in toys but was really having fun in his bouncy chair. I just think Palmer is so cute that I had to share these pictures...

Palmer's Story

I thought I'd share my birth experience with the blogging world since I started our blog after Palmer was born. It was an amazing and scary experience that is worth passing on. All the below pictures are at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City (UT). The staff there was absolutely amazing!!...

I went in for my scheduled 34 week OB checkup on Wednesday, April 16th, in Jackson Hole, and had high blood pressure. I've had low blood pressure at every other appointment so that was a little red flag. They re-tested several times with the same results. I was then admitted into the Jackson Hole hospital for 'observation'. I was told by my doctor that I would probably have to be on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I was about to be discharged to go home when they decided to keep me over night on an IV and continued observation. Thursday afternoon after several blood tests, they diagnosed me with preeclampsia. I ended up getting life flighted down to Salt Lake on Thursday evening. They were worried that with my high blood pressure, I could have a seizure or have a stroke. Then after a couple more tests and an ultra sound, it was decided that I needed to be induced to protect me and Palmer. While I flew down to Salt Lake, Garth had to go home and pack our things and rush down to the hospital worried sick about me and our baby. Friday at noon, they began inducing me. After 12 hours on one drug to prepare me for another 17 hours on Petocin I looked like a stereo system with all the wires and tubes I was attached to. We had several scares as Palmers heart beat would dip with contractions. The team of doctors was amazing and did an excellent job with my situation. Palmer came into the world with a support team of 3 pediatricians and I had 5 of my own doctors and nurses to deliver me safely. At 5:01pm on Saturday. April 19th, Palmer was born with his cord wrapped around his neck. The doctor took care of it quickly and delivered him safe and sound. He is such a strong man, he impressed everyone with how resilient he is. He only weighed 4 lbs, 6 oz. But was 18 1/2 inches long. Everyone thought because he was so early (5 1/2 weeks) that he would be in the nursery for at least two weeks if not until his due date which was May 26th. He was only there for 4 days proving to everyone that he was a fighter.

Now at three months he is right on track and has caught up to any other full term baby. He amazes me every day. He is a great eater and has hit his milestones like he should be. At his two month check up he weighed 11 lbs, 4 oz and was 22 1/2 in long! He'd already gained 7 lbs and grew 4 inches in two months of life! So now at 3 months I can only guess he's gained another couple of pounds and gotten even taller.


It all happened so fast it's hard to believe he is already here and getting so big. Being parents has brought me and Garth even closer together and we are truly one little happy family.

Still Pregnant-in SLC. We were in a beautiful room! It was a very nice hospital.

Right ater delivery, Palmer on receiving unit holding onto dad's hand. He scored a 9 on the Apgar test! Way to go!

Garth was hardly ever away from the nursery and fell in love with Palmer right away. He fed him all the time including a bunch of middle of the night feedings!

This is a good representation of how small Palmer was compared to Garth's hand. -look how skinny his little legs were-same size as Garth's thumb!

Update

Over the weekend of the 4th, we had two family reunions. The Durtschi side (Grant and all his brothers and sisters and their families) as well as the Hibbert side (Garth's mom's dad's brothers and sisters and their families). It was fun to see everyone and get together. I think it was a lot of stimulation for Palmer because he mostly slept the whole time...I had to work a couple of the evenings so we missed some of the festivities. On Saturday morning we went hiking up Teton Canyon with Garth's sister Darcie, her boyfriend Andrew and their adorable 6 month old, Zoie. It was so beautiful up in the mountains and we couldn't believe how crazy fast the water was. The flowers were beautiful. It was so fun to have them stay with us and we wish they all lived closer. Palmer is fortunate to have many cousins that do live close to grow up with and play with. It's nice that we do get together so often.

4th of July

Yesterday was such a fun and full day. We went to the 4th of July parade in Victor in the morning where we rode around on our cruisers with Palmer in a front carier. Then had lunch at Grandma Marian's for the Durtschi family reunion. It was so nice to see everyone. The weather was great. Not too hot, not too cold. Then our little family headed over to Jackson because I had to work. Garth and Palmer came too to keep me company but mostly because Palmer refuses to take a bottle and would rather starve and scream the whole time I'm at work than put it in his mouth! Any suggestions would be appreciated. I had an hour break between appointments so we went out to sushi and I fed Palmer. Then we got home around 10pm just in time for Driggs's fireworks. They were short and sweet. We watched from Garth's grandpa Ned's house. It is also Garth's dad's birthday on the fourth so there was a quick birthday celebration after the fireworks then we were off to bed. My most exciting news though was that Palmer slept almost 6 hours in a row last night! Which was so suprising because he slept a lot of the 4th away. It's just too cozy being caried around in the front pack and too hot to hardly stay awake I guess. I'm just hopeful that this is the beginning of the end of 2-3 times a night feedings...

First Attempt At This Blogging Thing!

So here is my first attempt. Julie has inspired me to get with it and start my blog. So here is the beginning. Plus I have such an adorable baby that I owe it to the world to show him off. A quick overview of our lives:
Garth and I were married August 18th, 2006 and reside in beautiful Teton Valley, Idaho. Life has been wonderful to us. He is lucky (and talented) enough to race snowmobiles professionally in the winter which takes us to Minnesota and surrounding areas for a good 4 to 5 months out of the year. I work for a great little spa in Jackson Hole, WY where I've been since 2004. I love being a massage therapist. We have a beautiful baby boy Palmer Christian Kaufman who was born (5 1/2 weeks early!) on April 19, 2008. He is doing very well and is such a blessing in our lives. Last summer we bought a condo just North of Driggs and have loved having our own place and some more room. We have 3 beds/2 baths so we have room now for visitors so bring 'em on! I don't want to make this too long though and discourage myself from keeping up w/blogging so...that's all for now.