Strait-Jacket Smiles

Take a look at that cute smile! Most people cringe at the thought of being tied down in a strait-jacket, but not if your an infant. These little swaddle-helpers for the swaddling challenged parents that we are have proved to be a life saver. Aubrey loves her strait-jacket, most of the time. Just look at the smile we have as proof :) Brian brought her in to me last night as he wasn't able to get her to settle down. So as I was talking to her she started to just smile, tons. Of course we had to document with lots of photos! Aubrey's first social smile for mom and dad happened on December 12, 2010.

If you look closely on little Bree's left cheek, she's sporting a dimple! When she smiles, it reminds me of the dimples that my red-headed cabbage patch kid had. I think I actually still have that doll with all of my prized stuffed animals in storage. Maybe one of these days I can rummage through my storage unit and get a side by side comparison on those dimples.

By the way, taking a photo of an infant smiling with the delay shutter of our digital camera is hard to do!!!!

Bubbles...

I've noticed lately that Aubrey has this thing for blowing bubbles. Luckily we've had a chance to capture a few of those bubble-making faces. In fact Aubrey's first photo with her daddy just minutes after she was born, she was blowing bubbles in her little full-lipped mouth. Granted you may have to look a little hard as some of the bubbles are hiding behind her receiving blanket. Take a look at this cute, "I've just been fed 5 0z of milk," dazed look.

Blessing Day

Today, December 12, 2010, was Aubrey's Blessing day. Yes, we are following the tradition of 3's with Aubrey. The 12th day of the 12th month; 2 + 1 = 3; 12 is divisible by 3....etc.

Aubrey's Garside Grandparents came to visit for the special occasion all they way from San Diego. It was so fun to have Brian's parents share in the joy of holding our little bundle of joy for the first time. We are sad to see Susie and Blake leave; we hope they will come back and visit soon. Susie did a great job of capturing Aubrey's smile on camera and in her blessing dress while I was finishing getting ready.



I'm planning to get some really good use out of the JCPenney Portrait studio sitting fee that I paid for that is good for 2 years for as many sittings as we want. It looks like I'll even be treating my brother and sister to another family photo shoot when my sister comes in to town for Christmas in a week.


Aubrey was such a good sport. Her dress that she got at her baby shower from her Grandma Lafleur was beautiful. It had netting underneath the dress and flowed an additional 10+ inches past her feet! She did so well during the blessing in not fussing too much. I don't know how Aubrey did it as I could tell she was hot in the dress. The thought of sitting in a warm, itchy dress would make me want to scream.

We're looking forward to many more heart-melting smiles. Hopefully we'll be able to master the art of capturing those smiles on the camera! It's hard to take photos of an infant; my sister needs to move back from Utah to help take my photos!

The following were in attendance for Aubrey's blessing: Blake & Susan Garside; H. Keith Lafleur; Steven & Kay Lafleur; Richard, Erin and Eraleigh Lafleur; and Mom and Dad Garside :)

We wish my sister, Gwen, and Brian's sister and brother and their spouses (Alissa & Brandon; Brandon & Kelsey), as well as Grandma Kimball and Grandma Jones could have been present. We miss you all and can't wait for the day you get to meet your niece/great-granddaughter in person.

Aubrey Mireille Garside is here!!!

We are excited to officially post our first blog and to show off our beautiful baby girl. Aubrey was forced to come into this world a week early as it was recommended by the doctors. After about 18 hours of induced labor and with the cervix not getting any bigger than 5 cm, the doctor said it was time for our last resort, a c-section. At 3:33 AM on 10/28/2010, we welcomed Aubrey Mireille (pronounced mirror-ray; it's french!) Garside. She weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long. Aubrey's maternal great-grandmother insists that Aubrey's lucky number is 3 as she was born at 3:33, she is the 3rd grandchild, the 30th great-grandchild born to the great-grandmother's 3rd child which happens to be the 3rd daughter of the great-grandmother. Mom and baby are doing well; we're all learning to adjust to one another and the lack of sleep we're all getting! Of course a birth announcement wouldn't be official without photos from the hospital. Those will be uploaded shortly after we figure out how to use this blogger :)

As promised...

A first time birth experience wouldn't be official without photos! So I've posted some of the photos from when I was in the hospital. Here I am in the labor room, laboring away -- epidural and all :) I went into the hospital on the evening of October 26 to be induced. I was given cervidil to "ripen my cervix". Nothing like having my lady parts being compared to ready-to-eat fruit. Early morning around 8 am on October 27, I was given pitocin to help induce the labor and begin contractions. When I was dilated to between a 3 and 4 I decided to go ahead with the epidural; I think that was around 11 AM. After many hours of laboring and with my cervix not dilating past 5 cm, around 1 AM on October 28, my OB said it was time to go with our last option - a c-section. We prayed and called our parents to tell them what was going on and asked for them to pray that the c-section and birth would go well. I was concerned about having a c-section, not because of the incision itself, but for how well and how difficult the recovery could be. Let me just say the first time the nurse made me get out of bed after the surgery (approximately 24 hours after birth) I recall making the statement that whoever voluntary asks to do this is crazy! Additional photos below describe what transpired during LDR (thats Labor, Delivery and Recovery for those of you who do not know).

Of course we needed to get a close-up of my contractions and the baby's heart rate.

















And to make it all complete, here is a photo of me in the middle of my c-section. Thanks Bri for capturing the moments!

It should be mentioned that I was completely freezing during this time, hence the look of "get this baby out of me, I'm freezing!" My teeth would not stop chattering the entire time. Also, it should be noted that I'm in a crucifix position. They put a ton of warm blankets on top of me to try to keep me warm and both of my arms are out to each side. I'm not sure what the full reason is for this, but I don't recall it being the most comfortable of positions.

And the fruit of my labor, literally :) The last photo is the first time Aubrey was held by her father. I didn't get to hold our little Bree until after I was wheeled to recovery and had a chance to sleep and rest.