Am I Awake?

As many of you know, having a newborn in the house is a big job...I mean it's a HUGE undertaking at times. Sometimes you're lucky if hair gets brushed that day. The days often fly by as a blur and you're left wondering if it's daytime or nighttime. Now that Sydney is almost two months old, she's starting to be a little bit more normal as far as routine is concerned. I have a minute, so I thought I would do a quick post.



First of all, my birth story. I was due on November 15th, but I was feeling so miserable that second to last week, my doctor and I scheduled an induction for November 12th if I hadn't gone into labor by then. Well, November 10th rolled around and Dan had to work overnight until 4:00 a.m. I didn't think I would be going into labor anytime soon, so he went to work as usual. In the early morning hours I started having really strong contractions that weren't stopping. I finally broke down and called Dan home from work at 2:00 a.m. what was now November 11. Annoyingly, by the time he got home, about a half an hour later, the contractions had stopped so I thought it was just a false alarm. It turns out it wasn't.



I went back to sleep and woke up at about 9:00 a.m. with hard contractions. This time, I knew it was for real. We called my mom at work, so she could come home to watch Ethan, while we went up to the hospital. The ride in the car to drop off Ethan and then the ride up to the hospital was the longest car ride ever! Finally, we made it up to LDS Hospital and got up to the Labor and Delivery ward. They got me into a room and had to ask me questions while I had to stop every couple of minutes to breathe through contractions. By this time, they were about every two to three minutes apart. They asked if my water had broken and I told them I wasn't sure. Apparently, it doesn't always "break" sometimes it is just "leaking." Anyway, it turned out that my water had broken. That meant not being sent home for a false alarm. You know, even though I knew I was in labor, that's always the fear, that they'll just send you home thinking you're the crazy pregnant woman who doesn't know what she's talking about. After we were sure that I was in labor and not crazy, the blessed anesthesiologist came in with my epidural. I had already endured about five hours of labor at this point, so relief was wonderful.



Anyway, the labor went on for quite a while. I progressed quickly at first and we thought I would probably have the baby before 7:00 p.m., but the hours kept ticking by and I was stalled out at 8 cm. They did some checking as to why and it turns out Sydney was "sunny side up" meaning she was head down, but facing toward the ceiling not the floor. They tried various things to get her to turn over, turning me on each side, doing an amnio infusion to give her more room to turn, etc. but nothing was working. Babies in this position often make for labor longer and harder for it to progress. I really wanted to be done by this point. I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours and I was tired, let alone just being in labor is hard work, even with the epidural. While Dan and I were alone in the room for a few minutes, I asked him to give me a blessing. It wasn't long after that, I was ready to push, but first the doctor had to turn her. He was able to turn her face down and she was out within four minutes of me starting to push. That was a big change from the 45 minutes of pushing I had with Ethan. Sydney was born November 11, 2009 at 11:32 p.m. She was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 in. long.



After Sydney was out, they had to work on her a little to help her breathe. She had swallowed some meconium. She hadn't swallowed much, but it was still giving her troubles keeping her oxygen saturation up. They worked on her for about 25 minutes and then she was fine. Everything in the delivery room was okay and we stayed in the delivery room for a while.



Afterward, in my post partum room I had some minor complications, but the nurses were able to work on me and I was fine. Because of me being out of commission though and not being able to feed Sydney that first night, she had some blood sugar issues and had to be put on an IV. She also went to the NICU for a couple of days. She was okay, but it was hard not to have her with me the whole time I was in the hospital. The two days I was there as a patient I had to go to the NICU to see her.



Our time in the hospital was also marked by a fire. Some construction was going on between the 8th and 9th floors on the other end of the hospital and a fire was sparked inside the wall. Some of the sparks got into the ventillation system so a good portion of the hospital smelled like smoke. They had to move the NICU babies over to a part of the regular nursery because of the smell. That turned out to be a good thing because she was a lot closer.



Finally, it was time for me to go home, but Sydney couldn't come with me. My pediatrician arranged for a "hotel stay" for me so I could feed her during the night. Dan came home and stayed with Ethan while I stayed with Sydney in the hospital. It was a rough night to be away from Dan after having just given birth, but I was glad to be with Sydney. We got her discharged the next morning. Dan and Ethan got to come and get us from the hospital. It was the first time Ethan got to meet his sister because of all of the H1N1 flu restrictions on visitors. Nobody under 14 unless they were ill was to be in the hospital. They were only making exceptions in some end of life situations. Ethan was so excited to meet his sister and to have me back home. He is such a good big brother. He is so protective of his sister.



So now, here we are about eight weeks along and things seem to be going fine. There were some bumps in the road with breastfeeding because of my PCOS, but with the help of a medication and some supplementation, things seem to be improving. Now that things are further along, It shouldn't be a month between blog posts.



Until next time...

Holy Crap It's October!

So yesterday, as I was being poked and prodded by the phlebotomist at the doctor's office for my glucose test, I looked at the calendar. I can't believe it's already October! Life is going pretty well for us. We're just spending a lot of time together as a family and preparing for this new little one to come into the world. As far as how I'm feeling, that depends on the day. Most days, I do okay, but I'm definitely having to take it easier than I used to. I have to stop myself from over doing it. I have just over six weeks until my due date and, although I'm ready to be done being pregnant, I know she's not ready yet to come out and we're not ready yet for her to come out. It seems like there is so much to do.

Another realization hit me yesterday. I'm going to be a mother of TWO! How crazy is that! My mom and I went shopping for some baby items and, of course, Ethan was with us. As we were walking out to the car, I suddenly realized that I won't have the convenience of carting just one kid around for much longer. I wonder how that is going to go. We'll see I guess.

As far as Ethan goes, he is LOVING preschool. He loves his teacher and he loves going. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, we had to keep him home because he was sick. He asked about going to school every half hour because he was "better now" until 8:00 p.m. that night! I'm glad he loves school. We're working with him on the parts he struggles with, mostly not getting too overwhelmed by being around that many kids. It's a totally new experience for him, but he's showing improvement every day.

Also, I think...knock wood...that Ethan is finally potty trained. I'm sure we'll still have accidents, most kids do, but so far so good. I ran out of Pull-Ups last Thursday and by the time we got home from the circus it was too late to go get some. He slept in underwear that night and hasn't looked back. I'm so happy for him. He's starting to get more confidence in himself. I credit that largely to school. It really has helped him be more independent and come out of his shell. He has had to rely on himself more and not wait for mommy and daddy to help him with everything. He hasn't had an accident for at least 5 days...not one. Pretty amazing stuff. I'm SO excited. I was not looking forward to the possibility of cleaning baby poop and cleaning Ethan poop at the same time.

My life is a simple life. I get up, take care of my home, take care of my family, work, and love my family and friends. I may not have an exciting life, and to be honest most times I prefer it that way, but I really do love my life. We don't have fancy cars or lots of money, but we get by. We have what we need and a lot of what we want. I'm really grateful for that. I'm glad I have the life I have.

My Life Today...

Today has been kind of a lazy day for me, not really by choice. That one was made for me by the little (really huge) one in my belly. I've just been taking it easy. I went to a doctor's appointment today. I'm 31 weeks and still going strong. Baby's heartbeat sounded good and my blood pressure and everything is great. It's so nice to have a pregnancy where you actually feel halfway decent most of the time.

I'm getting excited for our little girl to get here. I'm excited for the new experiences I'll have this time around. I'm really excited for Ethan to be a big brother. I think he's really starting to understand what is happening thanks to Jenny having her baby. It kind of helped him realize that the baby does eventually come out of mommy's tummy.

Let's see...what else...Oh, I've been nesting like crazy, like cleaning things you wouldn't even think to clean on a regular basis. The other night I just HAD to clean underneath my bed. Weird. I don't think I'll ever get used to that compulsive nesting instinct when it happens. It's just so strange. Part of the nesting thing is the preparation thing. It's been driving me a little crazy that we don't have my office moved so we can put the nursery together yet, but I know we've got time. It will get done...hopefully.

I've been working on leaving things to the Lord lately. There are a couple of things I'm not quite sure about as far as getting things done and taken care of when the baby comes. I know that if we are righteous things will work out. I just have to remind myself of that every once in a while. I guess that's normal. Hormones magnify the urgency of knowing the "plan" though. I guess that's why they call it faith. You have to get from A to B somehow and you can't always plan the somehow. Sometimes you have to let the Lord work it out for you and be patient while he does that. Patience has never been something that is easy for me, but hopefully I'll learn it soon so I don't keep getting the patience trials.

I guess that's it for now. Not much else going on in our lives.

Until next time...

Neglecting My Blog

July is always a busy month for us. Two holidays, plus my birthday, plus preparing or going on vacations that usually happen during this time takes up a lot of time. I realized it has been almost a month since I posted, so I decided I had better get on that!

The Fourth was great, as usual. We had a great time the night before at the Granite High fireworks in South Salt Lake with my parents and Josh and Elisa. Dan was working so he wasn't able to go. They also had an open house at the school that night for all alumni of Granite. The school is closing and 2009 was the last graduating class. I got to walk around in the halls a bit and say goodbye to my school. I'll always be a Mighty Farmer though! It was really weird to be in those halls again. It brought back so many memories. After the walk through the school, we had some yummy food at the little fair they hold before the fireworks. Ethan got to get up inside a real fire truck. He was really excited about that! We really enjoyed the fireworks.

On the actual Fourth, we did the usual things. Ethan and I went to the Kaysville parade with family. I had to hike all the way to the porta potties twice, but at least Ethan didn't have any accidents! I think he kind of thought it was cool to go in them. After the parade, we had lunch at my Aunt Sharlene's house and the kids swam in the kiddie pool in her backyard for like three hours. They loved the water. Ethan really enjoyed all the kids his age to play with. The night ended with the time honored tradition of going to the Davis High fireworks in Kaysville. It was really fun. I was kind of sad Dan couldn't be there due to a screw up with his schedule, but we made the best of it.


Things were pretty uneventful after the holiday, until my birthday. I really had a great day. Dan cleaned the house for me and he took Ethan shopping to get me something special they could give to me together. This year, it was a card that played music, which Ethan had to show me about 50 times throughout the day, and The Office seasons 1 through 4 on DVD. I loved it. I also went in the afternoon for a bit of pampering and got a pedicure. It was so relaxing. We topped the night off with dinner at the Olive Garden. It really was a great day, probably one of the best birthdays I've had.

As for the pregnancy, things are still going really well. I've actually lost 2-in. off my hips since the beginning of the pregnancy. I'm not trying to lose weight, but it's happening anyway. What a weird problem to have. The doctor says everything is good though. The baby is still growing and she's the right size and everything. Her heartbeat is really good as well, so that's definitely a good thing.

Now...on to today. Some people in the family went to the parade in downtown Salt Lake, but I'm pregnant, Dan worked last night so he wouldn't be going, and Ethan is 4, so I decided to opt out on that. We did go to Grandma Page's for some great barbecue though! Ethan had a great time watering her flowers and playing in the dirt. He also got to play with Dion, one of my cousin's foster kids, for a little while. They're the same age and they get along really well. He had a really great time. It was nice to sit and visit.

I'm sitting her now waiting for it to rain so it won't be so humid and I'm working in my office, a nice relaxing end to a fun day. I'll try not to let it be so long before I post again!

So It's A...

GIRL! Dan and I went in for the sonogram today and everything looks great. Baby is developing healthy and everything. Also, we found out that we will be having a little girl!

It's so amazing seeing that little person up there on the ultrasound screen. I mean, I've been feeling her move around some, but to know that she's really, really there is just beyond belief. It's such a miraculous event that pregnancy and birth are even possible in this world. Looking up at that screen as the sonographer went through explaining everything just left me in utter amazement. I feel so blessed.

I'm not going to bore you with a ton of sonogram photos, because most people don't know what they're looking at anyway. ;) But, here are a couple of the good ones.

This first one is a straight on look at the face.

This second one is the obligatory boy or girl picture. For a boy, his parts are fairly obvious in the sonogram. For a girl, they look for three white dots/lines grouped together. I've circled them there. This view is from the bottom of the pelvis.

Dan and I are so incredibly excited to be welcoming a new member to our family. We're so happy!

How I Feel Today...

I'm feeling so excited today, so I thought I'd post. Tomorrow is the big day, the big ultrasound. We're opting to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl, so it's extra exciting for me. It makes it all so much more real. I've been starting to feel the baby move inside of me over the last couple of weeks. I don't really remember feeling Ethan this early, but I guess since I now kind of know what I'm feeling it's easier for me to tell when it's the baby moving.

I'm so excited to have another little one to hold in my arms. We've been waiting and praying for a long time. I know there are others close to me who haven't had this blessing yet. I know they will. I think of them often. Until then, they can hold the baby as much as they want. :)

The inevitable question of "What are we going to name the baby?" has been coming up more and more over the past few weeks. There are a couple of names I like, but I'm not quite sure yet, partially because I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl yet. When I ask Dan, it's funny, it's like he picks whatever random word pops into his head. For me, the name thing is a much deeper thing. I like names, especially middle names, to be family names if possible or have some other sort of special meaning. With Ethan, it was easy. Daddy's name is Daniel, which is also a bible name, which also goes well with Ethan. This one...well, I hope that we can figure it out. I know we will eventually.

Well, I guess I'll post more tomorrow, after I've made the phone calls to family and close friends first, to reveal what baby will be. Stay tuned.

14 Weeks And All Is Well!

Well, I had my 14 week appointment with the doctor yesterday. Everything looks good at this point. Baby's heart rate was at about 140 beats per minute, which is great. I was excited to hear the baby. It's always such an awe inspiring experience.

As far as how I'm feeling, I'm doing okay most days. Morning sickness hit me late in this pregnancy. Prior to 12 weeks, I was mostly just nauseous all the time, not really getting sick much. After that 12 week mark, baby decided to be finicky with what I could and could not eat (and when I could eat, and how much I could eat). Hopefully that will pass soon. I actually lost 2 lbs. from my first doctor's appointment so that brings my total pregnancy weight gain to +1 lb. That's good for me though. I have lots of "food storage" for the baby. Hopefully he or she will take advantage of it.

Another good thing happened at the doctor as well. I got to schedule my ultrasound appointment. It's the "big" one where we'll find out if we're having a girl or a boy. It's scheduled for mid-June, so I'll keep you posted!

As far as everything else in the pregnancy, things seem to be going well. I'm just having to slow down a bit on some days. Ethan is kind of getting it now. I asked him where the baby was yesterday and he said it was in my tummy. I guess we're making progress. The last time I asked, he said it was in my toe. He has such a silly sense of humor.

I'm excited to be this far along in my pregnancy. I'm surprised that I have my ultrasound in just four weeks! That's so crazy that we're already almost halfway!

Until next time...

Why The Hiatus?

I used to update my blog a lot more regularly than I have been over the last couple of months, especially when talking about the infertility stuff. Why have I been slow to update? Well, the long answer is, there have been a lot of things going on with me that I haven't been ready to share here yet. The short answer is, I'm pregnant!

After being diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) in January, my reproductive endocrinologist put me on Metformin and Clomid to try to get me to ovulate. Well, it worked and I got pregnant the first month on it! Pretty amazing stuff.

The reason why I decided to start sharing now is because I'm over 12 weeks along now. I'm in the second trimester.

Dan and I are extremely happy that we have a new little one coming to our family. I'm due November 15.

I haven't been feeling too awful. Just the normal tiredness and the nausea. It still isn't as bad as it was with Ethan though. So I'll keep posting as I know more, but things are looking good here.