birth story- part 2

by the time we got the card game cleaned up and moved the chairs out of the way,

the nurse had wheeled in all of the doctor's tools and was ready to check me again.

i was at 10 CM DILATED AND 100% EFFACED!

it was time to start pushing, even though the doctor wasn't in the room.

the nurses said they would help me push for a while first, then the dr. would come in.

i gave it my all but was starting to run out of breathe quickly so the nurse gave me oxygen.

they asked me if i wanted a mirror to watch and at first i said no.

i was nervous to see the damage that was being done ha…

will kept encouraging me to look because i would be able to see the top of her head.

i told the nurse i changed my mind so she grabbed me a big mirror.

there she was! i could see her brown hair poking out each time i pushed.

seeing how close she was to coming out really motivated me to push my very hardest.

i pushed for about 45 minutes when the nurse quickly said "STOP!"in the middle of one.

i guess the baby's head was about to come out, so she called the doctor in quickly.

dr. hansen walked in wearing shorts and slip on shoes haha, but threw his scrubs on over.

he coached me through a few strong pushes and we all watched her head come out.

i remember thinking she was such a beauty! will and i were both crying.

once the rest of her was out, dr. hansen handed will the scissors to cut the cord.

most of my pregnancy will has been hesitant about the idea of cutting the cord.

needles and blood make him woozy, but he stepped right up and cut it in the moment.

then the doctor placed sadie on my chest and we all gushed over her adorable she looked.

she was SO alert and content, with wide eyes just looking around at us.

from that moment, we were hooked. 

will and i couldn't stop kissing her and rubbing her fingers and toes.

after about a minute, the nurse asked if she could take her to check her out.

i told her she better bring her back and handed her over. 

will and our moms watched the nurse check her vitals, weigh, and measure her.

she was 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 18 inches long (actually 19 in. we found out at our 1st ped. visit).

i had 2 small tears that the doctor quickly stitched up then will brought the baby over to me.

i was on cloud 9. i've never seen anything more perfect and adorable.

after both of our moms got a chance to hold her, will took her into the nursery to clean her.

his family was there watching and helping him with the first bath and diaper change.

while they were gone, the nurses got me ready to move to our postpartum room.

once we were all back together in that room, will rolled in sadie's "crib".

it was neat to watch everyone fall in love with her at first sight.

we feel so beyond lucky that she is ours! 

we are absolutely LOVING life as a family of 3!

birth story- part 1

our sweet sadie has been here with us for 5 whole days now.

we've been oohing and awing over every little thing she does and her many cute faces.

we have bonded so much through breastfeeding already and are getting the hang of things.

i want to start typing up the birth story before i forget some of the details.

here we go…

on saturday night (5 days before my due date), my mom, will, and i were playing carcassone.

i started noticing pretty frequent braxton hicks contractions coming on.

they weren't painful, just uncomfortable and coming about 20 min. apart.

my mom said these could be leading up to the real thing and so we got super excited.

when we went to bed, they still weren't hurting much and hadn't really gotten closer together.

i thought they might just go away while i slept and didn't want to get my hopes up.

well… they didn't go away. 

i woke up at 5am with increasingly painful contractions about 10 min. apart.
i went downstairs to tell my mom and to ask my dad to help will give me a blessing.

we knew this was it so i finished packing the diaper bag while my mom made muffins.

my mind was all over the place so it took me a while and will kept trying to rush me out.

he was so anxious and was being diligent timing my contractions for me.

my contractions got to be about 6 minutes apart and hard to breathe through.

after i stuffed down 5 muffins and 2 glasses of milk, we headed out the door around 9am.

my parents had come in town 2 nights before to stay with us for a whole week.

i am so amazed at how perfectly timed things happened,

since we weren't sure they'd still be up in utah by the time i had the baby.

they followed us in their car to the hospital and we called will's mom to let her know.

when we got there the nurses all made the comment that i looked too happy to be in labor.

ha they definitely caught me in between contractions, 

but i got nervous this meant that i wasn't progressed enough to be checked in. 

my doctor must have been on call that sunday because he walked in a minute after we did.

we were relieved he would be there to deliver the baby since we'd grown close to him.

we got checked in and led to our room where they had me change into a gown right away.

will's mom was quick getting to the hospital so it was will, me, my parents, and liz there.

we thought it would be special to invite both of our moms to be in the room for the birth.

the nurse came in to check my cervix and said i was 4 cm dilated yay!

she didn't mention how effaced i was but i had been 70% at my last appt. so i imagine close.

it was nice to hear that the painful contractions were getting us somewhere.

the nurse asked if i'd like an epidural and i didn't hesitate saying yes.

when the anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later, i was more than ready to be numb.

the nurses had taught us a trick to help with the contractions, but it was getting bad.

i tried not to think about the needle going in my spine by humming and squeezing will.

it wasn't really painful, but all of that pressure scared me and i cried a little.

it was SO worth it though when it started kicking in a few minutes later.

we were watching the monitor go up to a peak and back down,

and i literally felt nothing from the contractions, not even pressure. 

at this point, the nurse checked me again and said i was 5 cm dilated.

then the doctor came right in to break my water.

i was waiting for that gush of water but i didn't feel anything.

instead i heard a gurgling noise down there a couple of times… kinda embarrassing.
after that, some priesthood holders came by our room with the sacrament.
that was really neat and perfect timing for us to partake of the sacrament.

the next few hours flew by and we played the card game phase 10 while we waited.

we only made it about halfway through the game when the nurse came in to check me.

it was about 2 pm and i was dilated to a 9 and 100% effaced. YESSS!

we were so very much excited to get to meet our little girl soon!

to be continued….

SHE'S HERE!

our sweet baby girl made her way into the world on sunday, august 3rd.

she was 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 18 inches long with lots of brown hair.

she is the most beautiful baby we've ever seen!

i will type up her birth story later but for now, enjoy a little video of her birth.

Sadie's birth

thank you to my mother-in-law liz for taking great, censored (haha) video.

we will cherish this her whole life.. the day we became a family of 3. 

finally finals

over the next 2 weeks, i'll be closing a chapter of my life and opening a new one.

i have taken my sweet time in making big decisions and working toward my degree.

this has been a long (and hot) semester but finally i'm finishing my AS degree!

i am so excited to apply for my teaching program in the spring,

and feel doubly blessed that i have the opportunity to be a full-time mom at the same time.

these next few years will get really hard sometimes i'm sure,

but i don't doubt all of the sweat and tears will pay off in the end...

when i'm holding that degree in my hand, and our little girl with the other. :)

and now without further adieu… my 38 week preggo belly next to my tiny friend and her babe.

i'm so happy i got to see them while they visited and ask her a million birth questions!

our #1 guy

this is for the guy who caught my eye 4 years ago and stole my heart quickly after.

this is for the guy who understands me better than anybody else.. and loves me anyway.

this is for the guy that always fights to protect and provide for his family.

this is for the guy that has always strived to put me first and make me the happiest.

this is for the guy that is going to be the best father to our baby daughter.

this is for the guy that has given me handfuls of foot massages late at night.

this is for the guy that has wiped away my tears and kissed away my insecurities.

this is for the guy that is quick to try something fun or explore a new place with me.

this is for the guy that is always first to say "sorry" even when it's not his fault.

this is for the guy that believes in me and my abilities more than even i do.

this is for the guy that doesn't settle for mediocrity and dreams big.

this is for the guy who can't stop talking about holding his "little sweetie".

this is for the guy that lights up when we talk about anything sports or traveling.

this is for the guy that can make anybody laugh, even in another language.

this is for the guy that loves to kiss my nose and cuddle before bed.

this is for the guy that tells me he loves me after every conversation without fail.

this is for the guy whose blue eyes i melt into every day.

baby girl and i are the luckiest for having this man at the center of our lives.

we love you so much will!

utah baby shower

yesterday my mother in law and sister in laws threw me and baby girl a shower.

it was mostly will's side of the family that came to this one and it was good to see everyone.

the snacks and goodies were delicious! i'm sure i tried at least 2 of everything. :)

the decorations were so cute and perfectly themed for summer time.

here are some pictures that my awesome mother in law took:

i don't know if i'll ever be able to take the diaper cake apart, it is too adorable!

our jogging stroller, yay!

elizabeth is going to be such a great babysitter in a couple of years. :)

"grandma's biggest joy"

 my sister in law katie made the cutest little popcorn buckets!

my sister in law, chelsea, and me due 2 weeks apart. yay for cousins!

it's hard to believe in less than 4 weeks we could be holding our sweet girl in our arms.

hopefully she lets mom and daddy finish up their finals first, but if not that's okay too.

we're so anxious to welcome her into the world!!!

4th of july

we had a great 4th of july weekend with friends and family.

on the 3rd, we watched the eaglewood fireworks with our friends.

there were sparklers, snow cones, and great conversations involved.

it was such a fun late night!

on the morning of the 4th, my brother and his family came to our neighborhood parade.

my nieces and nephews all decorated their bikes with patriotic drawings and streamers.

even the youngest had flags on the handlebars of his stroller!

they helped me decorate my bike and we all rode in the parade together.

the parade ended at a local park where there were treats, kid games, and face painting.

we crammed as many donuts as we could into our mouths and did most of the booths.

the kids were way more creative than me and got some extravagant art done on them.

after the carnival, we went back to our house for lunch and played with the dogs.

we love when our dogs get practice being around kids, since they don't get much.

elizabeth especially had a strong connection with them.

that night, will and i ate some traditional american bbq at joe's bbq.

then we put on some patriotic music and watched the west jordan fireworks from the car.

when we got home we let our dogs out to potty and they did really well with the fireworks too.

banks and milo have been around them before and it didn't really phase them.

poor max got startled a few times by the really loud whistling ones but still watched them.

it is so hard to believe this was our last national holiday before our baby arrives.

as great as it was this year, i have a feeling next year will top it by far. :)