3 months old

Thomas is 3 months old today! It seems like it has flown by faster than it did with Maybrie, probably because I am keeping with two little kiddies instead of one now! Thomas has been growing out of his fussiness for the most part. He sleeps pretty good stretches at night, often 6+ hours, but he is still sleeping in his car seat. I can't get him to stay asleep laying flat in the bassinet or crib for more than 15 minutes. It's frustrating, but hopefully he will grow out of it and move to the crib soon. He is getting stronger all the time and holds his head up pretty well. He like to sit in the bumbo, in the bouncer, in the corner of the couch, or just lay out on a blanket. It has been nice to sit him down and have him actually be content for short stretches of time while I get other stuff done. The best new thing he finally started doing over a week ago is smiling! He has such a cute smile. Brian, Maybrie and I have been loving his sweet smiles, coos, and occasional laughs. He is starting to show his little personality. Here are some pictures of our 3 month old:

Watching his first BYU football game with daddy.

We're training him young! Go cougars! :)

Getting stronger

And now for his sweet smile... the angle of this picture REALLY enhances his chub!

Happy boy

So loved by his big sister Maybrie

He likes bath time now too.

We love you Thomas!

Thomas' Birth Story

I have been meaning to complete Thomas' birth story. The last three months have been a little crazy and finally I got it done! You don't have to read it all but if anyone is interested here it is. Happy 3 months Thomas!

On Tuesday, June 14th I went to my scheduled doctor appointment. I would be 37 weeks the next day. My Dr. told me that if I was dilated to a 5 I could go to the hospital and have the baby. They could help me with some petocin since I would be full term. The doctor checked me and I was indeed dilated to a 5. He decided to hook me up to a monitor to watch the contractions for an hour and then check again. If I changed we would go to the hospital. I got all hooked up and no contractions were showing up. At this point I had had so many contractions and been in so much pain that it was hard to tell what pain was what anymore. I was so upset by the idea of again going home to wait for who knows how much longer that I completely lost it and bawled my eyes out. They went ahead and unhooked me since there was nothing to see. The doctor said to "give him a chance" and let him check me again before I left. The second check was about 40 minutes after the first, and lo and behold I was dilated to a 6! I was shocked and didn't understand. The doctor said that the monitor probably wasn't picking up the contractions simply because my cervix was way back behind the baby's head. He told me to go to the hospital and he'd meet me there! I can't even begin to explain the sense of relief that came over me.

Since Brian met me at my appointment straight from work, we drove home to drop off the work truck and then drove to the hospital in our car together. During the car ride my contractions really started to pick up and I was ready to get to the hospital and get some drugs. I checked in at about 5 pm. It took a little while to get all checked in and get the IV going. The nurse burst a vein twice trying to get it in… ugh! I was really impatient waiting for all of the IV fluid to enter my system so that I could get an epidural. There was a shift change an hour or two after I got there and when my nurse walked in I looked up and said, “Oh, I know you. I like you. Good.” She smiled and said thanks. Her name was Dani and I had spoken to her on the phone for about twenty minutes and had her as a nurse a week or so prior on one of the nights I went in to try to stop contractions. She felt like a sister and was very laid back. I was so relieved to have a good nurse for the actual delivery.

By the time the anesthesiologist came up and gave me the epidural, I was really hurting. It wasn’t as smooth and painless going in as it was when I had Maybrie, but it wasn’t bad either. During the first half hour after receiving the epidural, I thought I could feel it starting to kick in. But I soon realized that it was only in my mind. I was having extremely intense concentrated pain on my left side with each contraction. I found myself singing “I Need Thee Every Hour” in my head each time a contraction came, focusing on the words to push through. I was actually quite amazed with myself and the fact that those were the words running through my head instead of profanity (which entered my mind during a few of the other painful moments of the previous weeks). The nurse kept giving me more medicine through the epidural until I was maxed out and it was pretty clear it wasn’t working. We tried laying me on my left side to see if the medicine would drop over onto that side. It didn’t work. The anesthesiologist came back up and said he was sorry it didn’t work on the left side, but that there wasn’t anything he could do. I was livid!

Around 10 pm or so, the doctor checked me and I was still just staying dilated at an 8. By the way, can I just say how much I loved Dr. Maganito and the fact that he was there at the hospital checking in throughout the whole process. He was so awesome! So, he said that the position of the baby’s head was preventing my cervix from dilating completely and that we had to get the cervix moved up to the front. I was feeling so much pain and pressure to push already at this point. The doctor talked me through some pushes while he actually reached in and moved the cervix himself. It was crazy and painful. Once it was in position he said that he would come back and check on me in an hour and see if I was ready to push.

About ten minutes later I had the craziest feeling ever and told Brian that I thought I was going to poo or something and that I couldn’t stop my body from pushing. He tried to calm me and then stepped out to get the doctor. Dr. Maganito walked in pretty calmly with the nurse trailing behind, saying he would take a look and see if I had changed. When he moved around to the bottom of the bed everything turned into a humorous scene from a movie. He said, “Whoa! We’re having a baby!” Gloves and papers started flying as he started re-positioning the bed and foot rests to deliver. All kinds of order were being shouted out, and he even managed to poke his head out the door to Marcia (my mother-in-law) and say “The baby’s coming!” The doctor kept telling me not to push yet and I was thinking, “Are you nuts!?” He said don’t push or you will tear, and believe me I was doing the best I could! With Brian and Dani at my sides and the doctor at the end of the bed, he talked me through two really good pushes. It was the most horrible pain I’ve ever felt in my life. It was all totally foreign to me because I didn’t feel any of it with Maybrie. The next thing I knew there was crying and Thomas was lying on my chest. It was 10:45pm. I was in shock and disbelief. I was so exhausted I could barely even process the whole event. I remember he looked so big to me and I couldn’t believe that I had just pushed him out of me! A few minutes later, while the nurse was cleaning up Thomas, I told the doctor I was sorry but I was going to poo. He laughed and said, “Oh no. That’s the placenta!” Another shock… I didn’t know how any of this felt because I didn’t feel it when I delivered Maybrie.

Thomas weighed 6 lbs. 12.9 oz. and was 19 inches long. He was born at 36 weeks and 6 days, a day before full term, so he is technically considered pre-term. Thomas was kind of making a purring sound. The doctor and nurses were concerned that he was working too hard to breathe. They kept checking and re-checking him all through the night, but everything was normal. I was floored when I found out that there is no nursery at Yakima Memorial Hospital. I was so looking forward to the nurses taking Thomas and getting a good night sleep. However, without the nursery Thomas stayed in my room and his soft purring kept me up all night, not to mention I had the most uncomfortable bed ever. Due to the fact the nurse was concerned about his breathing the first night she did come in and check on us a lot. I had some help changing diapers and getting the things that I needed. However, the next night was a completely different story. I had to change Thomas’ diapers and didn’t get any sleep. The nurses actually seemed annoyed when I asked for help. I was so exhausted and upset. I couldn’t wait to get home and be with Brian so he could help. The hospital food wasn’t the greatest either. Brian enjoyed it but it just didn’t hit the spot for me. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with the Hospital and service. On the other hand, I LOVED my doctor and both Thomas and I were all right.

I couldn’t have been more thrilled to have him out of me. He couldn’t be more beautiful. I feel truly blessed to have delivered a healthy baby. The wait was worth it.

Overdue update on Maybrie

So I have been meaning to write an update on Maybrie for months now, but have been a little preoccupied since Thomas' arrival. She is learning and growing so much, and I really need to jot down some of the fun things she is doing right now before I forget.

At 2 1/2 years old, Maybrie definitely has a lot of personality. She is a little smarty pants. When first meeting someone Maybrie may seem a little shy, but don't be deceived, she will soon talk your ear off! Maybrie loves to talk and has a pretty large vocabulary. She can be found with a phone in her hand often, and whenever Brian or I are on the phone she almost always says she wants to talk, no matter who it is! After she has spent time with someone, they are usually the favorite person to pretend call over and over for the rest of the week. She is getting good at saying prayers now, which is really cute. She loves to sing. She can sing all or most of the nursery songs (I am a Child of God, Popcorn Popping, Once there was a snowman, etc.). I also find her trying really hard to sing her ABC's and sing along with Disney movies. Lately she has even been making up her own songs about whatever we are doing... it's pretty funny!

Maybrie is all girl. Here is a list of many of the things she loves right now: purses, bracelets and necklaces, phones, make up (though I don't let her play with it), having her nails painted, baby dolls (especially "Baby Belle"), her mini trampoline, coloring and drawing (especially color wonder markers), stickers, dancing (she can really shake her hips), magnetic letters, puzzles, books, shapes, colors (she is obsessed with pointing out colors and matching!), playing at the playground, going on walks (we got a double stroller off of Craig's list so she can have her own seat), going places (she's always saying she wants to go somewhere... usually to the store or the Dr.- can you tell the few places I take them to?), watching movies (she now knows how to handle DVD's and put them in the Blu-ray player... crazy!), taking pictures with the camera (I gave her our old one that is basically dead to keep her from trying to play with our digital camera), riding her plasma car in the backyard, etc. etc. I'm sure I could come up with more, but that is a good summary for now!

Maybrie can be quite feisty and even bossy. She is very particular in what she wants. She has started picking out her own clothes, which can be interesting. Her hair is totally covering her eyes, but putting clips or pony tails in to keep her hair back is like pulling teeth! Sometimes her particulars carry over to what we do too, like which seat we sit in at meal times and which blanket Thomas uses. She can throw quite a temper tantrum when things don't go her way. She is a total Momma's girl and wants me all the time. This probably has a lot to do with Thomas taking so much of my attention away from her.

Maybrie is a very funny, bright little girl. She can push my buttons sometimes, but most of the time I just can't believe how cute she is. Her little voice is so adorable right now and she just brings a smile to my face. I love you Maybrie baby!