The Barton Family Blog

The next week was a blur of visits and just settling in to our new life. Breast feeding was wonderful because it forced me to sit and be of f my feet and just recover! Natalee's grandma (MawGa - so named by Natalee's cousin, Taylor) came and spent some time just enjoying her new granddaughter. I played with some photo options on my camera while she was here (thus the B&W pictures) which was really just an exuse to take lots of pictures of my precious little gift! (: Natalee had her first bath at home and firmly established the nick-name "Our Little Ducky"'. She would do this litte face where she scrunched up her nose and pursed out her lips... like a little duck. We captured it on camera during her first bath: My family came over and brought Granny & Gramps (Brock) from Washington to see their new little great-grand-daughter. My mom came and spent several days and Naomi came some too. They helped me get my house clean and under control and my mom pu...

I stayed at the hospital my full three days and I really wanted to stay one more! I was super sore and had a hard time walking and even harder time leaning over to pick Natalee up out of her bassinet at the hospital. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it at home! We left around 2 pm and headed over to the Kaiser clinic to pick up a few prescriptions. When we got home, my landlord's wife, Nina brought us down a light dinner (so thoughtful!). We relaxed and I realized how glad I was to be home! Pastor Rice & Patti came over after church and held the baby a little bit. For some strange reason (soon to be discovered) Natalee was fighting nursing. She had nursed once around 5 pm but fought me before finally latching on... and the refused after that. Patti tried swaddling here and rocking her... but nothing seemed to work. We thought maybe she wasj just tired. Johnny was heading back to work Monday (sadly) and I had a dr's appt for Natalee in Salem in the mornin...

What a joy to be a mom (& a dad!) We were a little awestruck and def. in heaven. I loved breastfeeding because it meant I got my baby back quite frequently, no matter who wanted to hold her!

Natalee arrived healthy and beautiful at 11:31 pm on March 22. She was a little bruised from all the hard work. She had this piercing little scream that daddy nicknamed the "pterodactyl" screech! So sweet. I on the other hand... didn't get to experience much of Natalee's first few hours in our world. The nurse said my blood pressure was sky high because I was in so much pain. I remember yelling at the dr's toward the end of my c-section "I can feel that! That hurts!" but they didn't pay much attention to me! My hours in recovery are a blur. I was exhausted and since I didn't have my contacts in, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open. I remember asking what times it was and Johnny telling me it was around 2 am. YIKES! I remember saying "Get the family in here! Allison has to leave for Mexico in 2 hours!" The family came in, and then Allison, Patti etc. quickly followed. We introduced Natalee Grace Barton to Naomi and told he...

6 pm: I was standing in my driveway talking to my landlord's wife, Nina, when my water broke. I was just about to leave for church so I told her I forgot something and ran back downstairs. I initially thought I had pee'd my pants, but quickly realized it wasn't stopping. I called Johnny, my mom, and Allison. Johnny was at school in Salem, my mom was at church and Allison wasn't answering. At this points I was excited but relatively calm. I wasn't having any contractions so I wasn't nervous that we were in a time crunch (boy was I right!) Johnny left school and headed over to the hospital to check me in. My mom, dad and sisters headed to Newberg to grab a few things, and then headed to the hospital. I finally got a hold of Allison (she was working) and she rushed over. I think everyone beat me to the hospital! (: I was pretty laid back which was nice I think. 8 pm We arrived at the hospital and were brought up to Labor & delivery. They checked me ...

Well I have been contemplating starting a blog for a while. I'm excited to watch it progress and have place that keeps track of Natalee's development, as well as future Barton babies! (: I'm going to start at the beginning and work my way to present day. It might take a while but I think it will be worth it! This is me around 9 months pregnant with Natalee. Now I will begin with her birth...