Made by Memilyrae

It’s true…our newest addition is already 1 week old. I cannot believe how fast it went by! And it’s definitely been a learning experience for our little family but luckily we’ve all been managing fairly well. The kids don’t pay Garrett much attention unless he’s awake, which is usually in the evening. They are very helpful giving him his binkie and for helping me reach things when I’m feeding Garrett or changing his diaper. They are still doing well playing together when I’m still asleep and except for those moments of ‘he/she is trying to kill me.’

Steve is wonderful! He’s been helping juggle the other two kiddos when Garrett needs my attention. What’s nice is that Garrett will take a bottle so I can give Steve a break from the older 2 and he can spend some time with Garrett – who is a little less of a handful at the moment. It’s so cute watching Steve talk to Garrett. And I love how Garrett focuses on him when he recognizes Steve’s voice. It’s so sweet!

Garrett is a really good baby so far. He lets me lay him down while he sleeps – either in the swing or in the bassinet (which is more than my other 2 let me do) – and does’t cry when he has a wet or dirty diaper (which the other 2 freaked once it was a little wet). Now, he DOES cry when I change his diaper … I’m guessing in part because I do not warm up the wipes … and if he’s hungry and I’m not feeding him fast enough. Which, when it comes to nursing, takes a few more steps than a ‘regular’ nursing baby. The nurses at the hospital are assuming his sucking reflex is farther back in his mouth so getting him to nurse on me is proving a hard task. We have to use the nipple shield to reach the sucking reflex but because he has to suck to start the milk flow, and the nipple shield just doesn’t cut it, I have to use a ‘teaser bottle’ of formula or previously pumped milk to drip into his mouth and on the shield to get him even interested in sucking. So. Fun.   BUT, he is nursing so I’m happy. And one day we’ll get past the nipple shield and get things rolling on an easier and more enjoyable pattern. He’s such a good kid though!

Steve has gone back to work and let’s just say I’m not sure how well I’m going to handle mornings when school starts. Right now I’m up 1 – 2 times a night to feed Garrett and then I bring him to bed (usually around 7:30 or 8:00) so I can cuddle and get a little more shut eye..and we usually end up waking up around 10 or 10:30. Nice, right? Well, with Spencer needing to be at school at 8:15 and Evie needing to be at school at 8:30, those extra cuddling times will have to be postponed until an afternoon nap or MAYBE the few hours between school drop off and pick up…but I doubt I’ll do that unless I’m super duper tired. Yeah…school should be fun! LOL

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Oh, I forgot to post pictures from when we were able to bring Garrett home. He had ‘baby rash’ (aka baby acne) on his cheeks and they must of really been bugging him because it made his cheeks all read and even a little swollen! He looked like a reversed raccoon and it was just sad to look at. He had beautiful skin when he was born, and he has beautiful skin now…but the day he came home he just looked sad. Kind of reminds me of the allergy scene from Hitch. Remember that one?

***Warning: Written throughout the days spent in the hospital***

Steve got his wish! It’s 8/9/10 and we’re being induced. 🙂

At 5:50 am we called the hospital to see if I was still scheduled to come in at 6:30- which we were and of course, we were running late. But, on the way up another woman came in much farther along so we were pushed back by a half hour – so it worked out perfectly. After 30 minutes of fetal heartbeats and contraction tracking (which I wasn’t feeling) I was checked…STILL dilated to a 1. Hmph.  Dr Young is guessing a 7 1/2 lb baby, which i’d be happy with especially since the ultrasound said 8 lb 8 oz.

9:00 am – IV in, potocin going…man I hate needles. Not only breaking the skin but getting pushed into the vein. Ugh. The monitors say I’ve been having about 4 contractions within 10 minutes and I think I just felt one….not painful, just a harder tummy.

9:10 am – my doctor decided to help things along so they just broke my water (Dr Wolf did it since he was here at the hospital already). It’s funny because I can now tell when I have a contraction…I have a little gush of water tell me so 🙂

10:50 am – I’m feeling a lot of contractions now…and they’re getting uncomfortable…I think we’re getting closer to epidural time

11:48 am – epidural done. I actually looked at the needle too. Doctor Jones did great! A little bee sting and then a few weird popping and tugs and then he administered the drugs. Its so strange having movement in your legs but having a total feeling of “my foot’s asleep”. Compared to my epidural with Spencer I was able to lay down instead of sitting up trying to curl in a ball…which is hard to do if you have a baby in the way! After he was done cleaning up, we flipped sides to change sheets and the baby’s heartbeat dropped. I have  an oxygen mask and they are monitoring my blood pressure. Good news – I’m dilated to a 4…which is how far I was when I got the epidural with Spencer. Guess I know my pain tolerance – a 4!  🙂

(that’s a self portrait…please, keep all comments to yourself! LOL)

12:20 pm – catheter is in. Yay. Oxygen mask off. Leg numbness weird! But no pain, just pressure…I’m still at a 4 and I’m ready for a nap!

1:00 pm the nurses (Cheryl or Hope) have to re-adjust the baby’s monitor every once in a while. He plays hide and seek with them so their alarms go off every time he’s far enough away from the monitor and his heartbeat is no longer registering.

1:45 pm it’s funny being able to lift your leg up using your hip, but it also being numb enough that your leg falls right back to the bed. I’m kicking Steve out to go get something for lunch. He’s cute – making sure I’m alright, not wanting to leave the room even though I’m pretty positive I won’t be having a baby in the next 30 minutes.

3:00 pm funny thing about that last sentence. Steve went to the car where he had a snack and drink waiting for him. After he got back the nurse came in and said I was fully effaced and ready to push…that is as soon as Doctor Young arrived. 🙂 So much for ‘not having the baby in the next 30 minutes’!!! Looks like I went from a 4 to a 10 and fully effaced within 2 hours (11:45-ish the epidural was done, 2:30-ish our baby was born)

We chatted a bit with Kristy (head nurse maybe?), she checked to see where I was, and I kept my legs closed! Lol! Our Doc arrived, got my “numb butt” (his joke, not mine)in position and my legs in the stirrups and the pushing started. It all happened very quickly…2 full contractions and on the 3rd, he was out with the cord wrapped loosely around his neck, which they just undid without trauma or drama. 🙂 It was great because in between each contraction we were all laughing and joking and it was all very laid back. Very interesting to say the least! They cleaned him, weighed and measured and took vitals so I could see and I got finished doing the labor thing. (the more disgusting details shall not be listed here for the sake of anyone who actually reads this thing!)

Steve went with him to the nursery and eventually the nurses brought him back to be with us. His cute little hat would NOT stay on – so Steve decided to wear it. Cute, huh?

We had Spencer & Evie come spend time with him – each getting their turn to hold him. Evie held him for a few minutes and then decided he was too heavy. Spencer didn’t want to give him up. We mentioned to Steve’s parents that we’re still not dead-set on Garrett and both of the kids said they now LIKE the name…especially, in Spencer’s own words, they both talk too much! (there’s a youth in our ward named Garrett that we get along with really well…originally Spencer said we couldn’t name the baby Garrett because of the ‘naughty boy’ at church. LoL!) I had a check up and my first trip to the restroom (remember that whole numb butt/legs thing? yeah…that took a little longer to clear up than I thought!) We made many phone calls and sent out texts and had some more local family come to visit.

We kept him with us until 1:30 am, where attempt after attempt to get him to nurse has failed. He just won’t open his mouth! The nurse, Ashlee, is seeing if he even has the sucking motion down or not…now it’s 3:30 am. Seems like he has the sucking motion, just a little farther back. We tried using a nipple shield (which I hated with Evie) and he made a few sucking motions. Oh, and the dirty diaper didn’t help him want to eat either. Right now they are doing some repiratory tests on him…I guess flaring your nostrils can sometimes be a sign of respiratory issues.

5:00 am (8/10/10) they’ve watched him and let him (and us) sleep but we still get those few interruptions every 2 hours.

most of 8/10 was spent trying to nurse him, getting a tiny bit of progress and then after 30-45 minutes letting him end with a bottle of formula. Even the nurse who’s the best at getting babies to nurse said “Little Buckwheat is just lazy!” and I agree! He’ll suck on a binkie, a bottle, a finger, a nipple shield (but not enough to start the milk flow) and even a tube but he won’t on the nipple. we’re taking it 1 feeding at a time and praying he’ll get the hang of it.

It’s my last prenatal appointment and we’re down to 5 days. I am so ready to have my baby…I’ll get to sleep on my back, not hurt when I change positions in bed, not have to stand for 10 seconds before taking my first steps to see if my pelvic pain is going to strike, see my feet again (yay!), and not worry about losing my pants as I walk up the stairs! Lol

So far little guy has been very active this morning…especially with all the noise of the other doc office under construction. My weight gain is ok and my blood pressure is high again…at least 2 weeks in a row…but they’re not too worried about it so neither am I! 🙂 I am “almost to a 2” so at least that’s an improvement!

I was able to have lunch with Steve – which was nice (thanks Annette) since this will be one of the last times we’ll have “alone time” for a while  – and tonight we’re looking forward to movie night at home with the kiddos. Honestly, I’m looking forward to when this baby comes, for more reasons than my selfish rants above, to having a new baby in our home, to seeing Evie and Spencer interact with him, and to have Steve home with us for a week.

Well, as you can see, I have LESS THAN 1 week left until I get induced. I’m not looking forward to being induced, I’d much rather go natural, mainly because I’m not sure if it hurts when they induce you. We have to call the hospital at 6 a.m. to see when I can come in. So it should be interesting.

Here’s what BabyCenter says for this week:

Your baby’s waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it’s likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Last night we had the teachers and priests from our ward come to our home for a Wii game night. They had pizza, chips and dip, ice cream & brownies, and of course, music. Unfortunately our drum set wasn’t working so that left 2 guitars and 1 singer for Guitar Hero and World Tour (Metallica). The guys seemed like they had a good time, and even the adult leaders took turns showing off their skills – and when I get a chance to upload the videos – I will cause you SO need to see it (Especially you, Angela!).

My favorite thing about last night was that we cleaned up the house!!! 🙂 We had ALL of our office/storage stuff just sitting in our living room, making it feel small and cramped. I went through a few things – mainly the things that weren’t too heavy – and tried to find a spot for them either in the house, garage or getting ready to give away/throw away….but it still wasn’t enough. So last night we threw all the stuff in the under-the-stairs storage. And I’m completely okay with it! Our living room feels more open and clean and I’m not feeling embarrassed to keep everyone upstairs and away from the mess. One day we’ll go through things and clean up more but for now I’m okay with it. LOL

So Steve said I’m just a regular pregnant woman now…nearly to my due date, soreness, kankles and now swollen/water retaining feet. They are UG-LY! Seriously ugly! Or is it Ug-lay? Either way – they’re nasty. IF you want to see, here they are:

(I bent my feet in the second picture. You can’t really tell though, can you? Sick…absolutely sick)

It’s not a surprise to me…I’m not shocked by it…in fact, I’ve known it for 7+ years…but the other day as I was watching my husband read the scriptures and then say his personal prayers, I had an ‘aha’ moment.

I married an honest to goodness, deep down to the core, super duper, can’t say enough fantastic things about him, really REALLY great guy. I’m super lucky and you should be envious!

And then he posted this on his blog and I’m reminded, yet again, what an amazing man I have. Stephen is already a great example of what this video portrays – sacrificing so much to take care of us, helping us stay comfortable, and being such a strength and great example to me and my kids. I truly am lucky. Our marriage is wonderful, our friendship is strong, our love is stronger, and this is only the first 7 years.

I. Am. Truly. Blessed.

yep…so true…I’m at 38 weeks. Considered full term. Only 1 1/2 weeks until I get induced! BUT I still REALLY hope I go before then. PLEASE BABY!!!  Not a lot has changed since last week…at least with how I’m feeling…but I’m hoping my appointment tomorrow will show that I’m dilated more. That would rock. This baby is headed for  an 8 lb 8 oz birth (from what the projected weight was from the last ultrasound) and I think it’d be great if he wasn’t that big! LOL

Here’s what BabyCenter says about this week…I decided to use a different picture instead of the fruit versus the quarter picture. I always wonder how the baby is situated, especially this late in the game, so I figured I’d use a picture showing that. 🙂

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he’s over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you’ll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby’s eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he’s born with brown eyes, they’ll likely stay brown. If he’s born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she’s 9 months old. That’s because a child’s irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he’s born, but they usually won’t get “lighter” or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Okay…it was actually yesterday but isn’t she cute?

Yesterday was spencer’s first day at kindergarten jumpstart…a program his school started to help the little kids get use to the school, teachers, schedule and classmates.

Before I dropped him off I explained that a lot of it will be like preschool but more kids and a few other things, but mostly the same. I even asked him if he’d tell me if there was a cute girl in his class. Lol

Spencer was a little shy when I first took him in, but he found some building blocks and started playing with some of the other boys. I gave him high-5 and he was content with being there. His teacher, Miss Provstgaard, is super nice. She just graduated last May so I’m hoping she’ll have great ideas and be very helpful for the students.

After I picked him up and asked how it was, he was very excited to tell me all about it. The FIRST thing he told me about was the one girl he thought was cute in his class. Lol he didn’t know her name but there was another girl who was all dressed in pink. What a funny kid.

He told me about the first time they went to the tables, he wasn’t fast enough to sit with the boys so he had to sit with the girls. The second time he made it to the boys table. Lol they even played on the playground and had snacks. He really enjoyed it!

Later he told his grandma that he wanted the day to be over so he could go back. Funny funny kid.

to design! 🙂 I’ve been figuring out new little tips and tricks here and there in Photoshop (I’m self taught with all Adobe stuff so far…still have tons to learn!) and decided to use some of that to make a new digital kit…ROBOTS! Don’t know why I wanted to do Robots, but I did and can I tell you how much I love these little guys? Even the alpha made me super happy. Not as much the paper cause I didn’t feel very creative with those, but they’re done and in the kit so I’ll just get over it. Maybe one day I’ll add some more if I feel up to it. Anyway, here’s the kit preview…I seriously love these guys! Click for a closer look!