one half of one year = Laela!

what was once this...

... has become this...

... and i can't stand it!!!

little miss laela carolina is 6 months old today. i don't know when it happened, or where the time went... but it happened, and it went! this precious little girl has captured my heart in a way that i never knew was possible. it's been hard, but i've honestly enjoyed every minute. i've loved learning how to put myself last... after my daughter, after my husband. i've loved watching her personality take shape. i've loved watching her discover her hands, her feet, her voice, her surroundings. i now know what the word *joy* actually means.

i can't wait for more... love you lae :)

the best feeling in the world

there is nothing in the world that feels as good as this :)

obsessions with abbreviations...

so today i was on BBC on the BF board and they were talking about MOTN wakings, BFing, and LCs. then i went to the working moms board and they were talking about how they love being WOHMs, though there are a few of us that would rather be SAHMs. i went over to my birth board and they were talking about how big or small their LOs are... some have DDs and some have DSs. the ladies were also talking about their DHs, SILs and their MILs... some had not so nice things to say. there was one thread that started the drama llama and we all popped some popcorn and got some sodas to watch it unfold. i then stopped by the sleep board where we talked about NWs, NEs, EBTs and how our LOs get so OT sometimes! :)

if you have any idea what i'm talking about then you also frequent the forum at babycenter.com, though many of you may not. it has been quite the obsession since Lae was born. i credit the breast feeding board for getting me through the first 11 weeks of breast feeding Laela. there we talk about MOTN (middle of the night) feedings, BFing (breastfeeding), and LCs (lactation consultants). i credit the working moms board for getting me through the first couple weeks back at work. there are some ladies there that love being WOHMs (work out of the home moms) and others that really wish they could be SAHMs (stay at home moms). i love my birth board (those of us that had babies in January 2011) for the drama and silly things we talk about. it's also really fun to talk about what our little ones (LOs - DD = daughter, DS = son) are doing. we chat about our DHs, SILs and MILs (husbands, sisters in law, mothers in law). there is a lot of drama though and it's kinda funny. i also LOVE the sleep board. we talk about night wakings (NW), nap extensions (NE), early bed times (EBT), and how to tell if our babies are overtired (OT). there is an extensive list of acronyms in the help section. my first few days were interesting to say the least as i navigated my way through the interesting language that we use as we correspond. it seems silly i know, but it's amazing to talk to and get advice from women that know exactly what you are going through. if you are TTC (trying to conceive), PG (pregnant), or PP (post partum) then babycenter.com is the place for you! happy posting! :)

recent happenings

so life has been pretty interesting in Laela- land... that's what i now refer to as my life, because let's face it... it's all about her. :) school ended the last week of may, and Lae and i went to South Carolina for a couple weeks. she L-O-V-E-D being around her grands and aunties, and it was nice to get back to work on the boat.... where i pump in a 3 ft. x 4 ft. closet that isn't tall enough for me to sit up straight. it's kind of amazing that i get to sit on an upside-down bucket, hunched over to pump, but i'll do anything for my girl.

(pumping closet)

she and i came back out to arizona to visit daddy for two weeks and it's been so nice to have our family back together. we fly back sunday to SC where we will stay for four more weeks until school starts for me. it will be nice to see the family again, and hopefully get up to NC to see JJ's fam-bam.

i honestly cannot believe that it's been almost 6 months since Laela was born. That's half a year already! She is so stinkin cute and i just can't stand it! she babbles incessantly, she rolls both ways, she sits up pretty much unassisted, and she loves to "stand up" (obviously with us holding her). she is so friendly and will smile for just about anyone, and she rarely fusses. she loves new places and new things, and she loves to watch people. she knows her name and will turn to look at you when you say it. she has also started to raise her hands up to ask to be picked up. i can't believe that my tiny (yes i know she was never "tiny") baby is now 20 pounds and so smart already!! i just love her so much! :)

dear laela...

you need to stop growing up so fast! i mean, it is SO much fun now that you are smiling and talking, and i am excited to see how your adorable personality develops, but seriously, i miss my little cuddle bug. sometimes you want to stretch out in your crib instead of sleeping on my chest. sometimes you want to be down playing with toys instead of staring at my face. sometimes i forget how little you were. even though sometimes i wish i could stop time and just keep you little forever, i know that i just need to enjoy every moment that i have. i love you! :)

p.s. mommy has been a little busy at work the last couple months, but summer is coming, so the blog will be updated with all things laela! :)

40 hours of labor = LOVE

so the name of my blog, "dirty laundry," has taken on a whole new meaning. why you ask? well because that is my life now... dirty baby laundry! if it's not spit up, then it's poop. if it's not poop, then it's spit up. :) i love my girl though, so it's ok.

wait karly... did you mean 14 hours of labor instead of 40? cause 40 hours would be insane, right? um, yes, right... it would be insane, but that is the honest truth... i was in labor with peanut for 40, count them, 40 hours.

i don't remember all the details, and i won't bore you, but it was not pleasant. we knew that we wanted Laela on her due date of January 11, 2011... not only because it's a cool date, but because it is my Grandma Sally's birthday. My doctor said we could induce, so we did. I went to the hospital at 3 am on the 10th, they started inducing me around 4 am, and at 8:10 pm on the 11th, little Laela Carolina Barksdale came into the world. it was not an easy path for my sweet girl. we were a little afraid we were going to have to end up with a c-section. i got stuck at 5 cm and then again at 8 cm.... at 8 she was also face up and not dropping at all, and i was given an hour before the doctor was going to do a c-section. we prayed and prayed for the next 45 minutes or so, and all of a sudden i felt her flip over. when the doctor came in 15 minutes later to check i was completely dilated, she had flipped over, but she still hadn't dropped far enough, so i was given another hour... but only because laela was a champ through it all and never went into distress on the monitors. more prayers were said, and when she came back an hour later laela had dropped a little bit. not all the way, but enough that the doctor was going to let me push to see if she would come out... if not, c-section it was. i pushed for 45 minutes, and out she came. 8 lbs 11 oz, 20 1/2 inches. it was a little nerve wracking the first few minutes because she wouldn't cry. she was a little blue because she had inhaled a bunch of fluid as she was coming out so they had to suction that out. once they did, she still didn't cry... just a couple yelps and that was that.

she was beautiful and just perfect.... definitely worth the 40 hours. :)

well, i'll leave it here for now and post more later about how the last seven weeks has gone... it's had its ups and downs for sure, but it's been well worth it

Day 19-Nicknames you have and why you have them

oh this will be a fun one because i LOVE my nicknames!

here they are, in no particular order:

kar

karkar

karbar

karl

karls

karlisha

i am pretty sure karkar was given to me by my dad. he would say to me when i was younger... while thinking he was so clever and funny... "karkar, go get in the car car." and then we would laugh and it was great...

kar is obviously a shortened version of karkar, and this is what most of my friends call me. i love it...

karbar is josh's nickname for me, and i have no idea where it came from. one day he just started calling me karbar...

karls and karlisha were given to me while working at the bank last year. two of the other tellers came up with them. sam called me karls (and still does) just to be cute, and chelsea (who is african american) decided that since i had a black husband i had some street cred, entitling me to a "black" name... hence karlisha...

karl is my sister nickname. no one besides my sisters calls me this and i kinda like it that way. when you are as close to your sisters as i am you should have a little special something that only you share.

so there you have it... the ins and outs of my nicknames :)