8.08.2012

Brothers

There were days during my pregnancy with Maverick that I was so excited for Eli to have a little brother.  There were other days that I wondered how in the world I was going to take care of a newborn while chasing after Eli.  Sometimes it really scared me!  Eli can be really crazy!  Sometimes I wondered if we were having our children too close together.  In the end I decided that no matter how far apart my children are, there will be challenges.  This age difference is going to be great.  I'm glad they are close and hope they will grow up to be the best of friends. 





Maverick came into this world screaming!  Michael and I laughed about having another loud child, however, as soon as Mav was wrapped up and cuddling with me he calmed right down.  That's how he's been ever since.  Calm and quiet.  The perfect little brother for Eli!  



8.04.2012

Maverick | A Birth Story

Wednesday, July 18th | evening
While helping my sister and brother-in-law pack their u-haul I have contractions consistently for about an hour.  I don't think much of it because I have been having contractions for weeks.

Thursday, July 19th | 2:45 am
Elijah wakes up and Michael goes in to give him a binki and I have a pretty strong contraction

3:00 am
I have another contraction.  I realize that these last two contractions feel a lot different than any I have felt over the past few months.  I get out my phone and open my handy contraction timer app.

3:15 am
Contractions have been coming every 2-4 minutes and are getting stronger.  I go into the bathroom and gather a few last minute items for our hospital bags.  When I come out of the bathroom Michael wakes up and asks, "What are you doing?"  I tell him that my contractions are coming pretty fast.  I sit on the bed and we time them together for a few minutes.

3:30 am
Michael starts gathering clothes for his hospital bag and jumps in the shower.

3:45 am
I page the midwife.

4:00 am
The midwife on call, Kathryn, calls me back.  I explain that my contractions are coming every 3-4 minutes and that I was dilated to 4 cm one week ago at my last appointment.  Kathryn tells me to come on over to the hospital.   I tell Michael to hurry up.
I call my mom so she can start driving down to our house to get Eli.
I call our amazing neighbor Mary so I can drop off the monitor so she can listen for Eli until my mom gets here.
I tell Michael to hurry up.  Again.

4:15 am
Michael grabs the bags and we walk to the car.  Just before I get in I have another contraction.  After, I look up and tell Michael that he has to drive really fast to the hospital.

4:21 am
We pull out of the parking lot and head to the hospital.  Michael helps me through some contractions and is able to run a red light.  He was really excited about that.

4:41 am
I'm checked into the triage room.  The nurse checks my and I'm dilated to an 8+.  I'm so relieved!  Glad that all the contractions have done their job.  Michael notices that the urgency increases.  The nurse does not want me to deliver until she can check me in and get me into a delivery room.

4:51 am
In a delivery room.
Midwife comes into the delivery room.
Dilated to a 9

5:15 am
My water breaks and the midwife tells me I can start pushing when I feel like it.

5:25 am
Little Maverick is born.


*Note: I wanted to do a really good job documenting this birth.  I didn't do so well with that goal.  I discovered it's a little hard to document a birth when you are the one that's giving birth!


Between Contractions














This birth was such a wonderful experience.  Kathryn (the midwife) was so kind and encouraging.  When she came in the room she kept the lights down low, calmly helped me through some contractions by reminding me breath and applying counter pressure.  The two nurses in the room quietly performed their responsibilities, helped me through contractions and joked with me between contractions.  It was just perfect.  

The moment Maverick was born they placed him right on my chest.  It was such a wonderful moment to finally be holding my little boy in my arms.  Looking at his beautiful little face I immediately felt such a special bond.  I can't quite describe it.  An overwhelming feeling of love for a little stranger.
 


I'm also really proud of myself for delivery with out an epidural. People always asked while I was pregnant why I would want to do that.  The answer, I wanted to do something really hard, I wanted to push myself.  I'm so glad I did it!  It was a great experience.  I felt so focused and in control the whole time.  I didn't even once say anything mean to Michael!  :)  The question I get now, Will you do it again?  The answer: YES!

7.28.2012

Introducing...




July 19th

5:25 am

7 pounds 13 ounces | 20 inches



We are so in love!  

7.18.2012

What ________ Looks Like



First up, belly pictures.  
Every one keeps asking so here they are.  


                                       20 Weeks                                                    28 Weeks


                                       32 Weeks                                                  38 Weeks -1 day


At this point I literally feel that if this baby gets any bigger my belly might just pop.  There really is no room left!  But compared to what some people have to deal with I really don't have anything to complain about.  I really do feel great.  

  I'm 38 weeks tomorrow which is when I delivered Eli so I'm trying really hard not to feel "done". 

 It's not working.  

I'm. So. Done! 



I still have more things to get but it's a process and we will keep chipping away at it.  For now its way more than we had.  We also have some water stored on the bottom that you can't see. 




Each boy has their own side and things are clearly labeled so Michael can find their clothes too.  :)


I wanted to make a special blanket for the new baby.  I found this idea on pinterest.  Super easy and fast.  I really love it.  I found the animal print fabric at Joann and the minky I got on sale at Fabric.com.



 I made Eli's bedding but never felt like I did a great job and it wasn't holding up well anyway.  So I decided to try again.  Libby and Julia both gave me some great tips.  After making my first pad cover and having it turn out horrible I decided to call my Grandma who also happens to be a wonderful seamstress.  She said she would take over the project for me.  And boy am I glad she did.  She gave me one completed bumper today and it looks FABULOUS!  I'm so happy I didn't have to make it.  It gave me a lot more time to focus on organizing my overflowing house!  Thanks Grandma! 


I have also made some freezer meals and worked on other random projects.  (Some of which I'll show you when everything in the nursery in officially completed.  Getting ready for baby #2 is a lot different than baby #1, but just as exciting.  Now I'm just waiting for him to arrive.  Send some positive thoughts my way please!  


6.21.2012

Four

Four years ago today we got married! 
The past four years have been the best of my life.
I'm so grateful for Michael and for the wonderful husband and father that he is.  


6.04.2012

What _______ Looks Like












During every stage of motherhood there are plenty good and bad things.  Here are some of the ones I have recognized over the past month as well as some other thoughts that have been rolling around my head.

No
Throwing Food
Not Sharing
Mine  
Stepping on the tops of my feet
Tantrums - He sure knows how to throw a good one
Independence - doesn't want help when he needs it, wants it when he doesn't



When he says "see ya"
How he leans in and blinks when he wants butterfly kisses
How he softly cries for whichever parent is not putting him to bed
How he learns new words every day.  Some of my favorites; yo-yo, fly, meow, moo.
How he snuggles his face into his green monkey blanket at nap and bedtime
How he sings with Michael when he is playing the guitar
How he asks for daddy about 1,000 x a day
How excited he gets when daddy comes home from work.  He watches for him out the window and then runs to the front door to give him a great big hug.
How he points to EVERY baby we see in public and gets so excited about them
How he sits on his dump truck and then turns to me and says "see ya" while waving


I have noticed that I have gone through many little phases as I have tried to discover the mom in me.  As a passed through some phases I realized that I wasn't fully enjoying being a mom.  

Then I read this quote by Anna Quindlen, "I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less." 

I knew right then, that in 10 years that would be me.  I wasn't enjoying life.  I was constantly looking for the next think I needed to check off my to do list.  Outside play time, dinner, dishes, clean up, bed.  On and on and on.  

Next I read this quote by Iris Krasnow 

"...the most important advice [I] could give mothers is to Be There."
"Being there isn't about money or even about staying home full-time.  It's about an emotional and spiritual shift, of succumbing to Being Where You Are When You Are, and Being There as much as possible." 

Since reading those wise words I have slowed down.  I've left the dishes undone once in a while, I didn't vacuum my house last week, but I did spend extra time snuggling with Eli on the couch while we read books.  And you know what, I'm happier and he is happier.  We have had less tantrums and more laughter.  I know I still have to get things done around the house but those things aren't always the most important things.  I'm slowly learning to Be There.  It's hard.  But it makes a difference.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I have also recently had a huge problem comparing myself to other moms/women around me.

Not a good habit.  I know.

I have a lot of great friends who have amazing talents.  They make bread, sew better than I do, take their kids to the library more than I do, sing to their children more than I do, and cook healthier than I do.  Some even have small jobs that help contribute to the family income.  All while keeping their kids and husbands happy.

They seem to be able to do it all!

Then I started reading "A Mother's Book of Secrets".  Just the title of one of the chapters helped me feel loads better about all of this comparing mumbo jumbo.  

The chapter is titled Be Your Own Kind of "Best Mom"

The last paragraph is the chapter says...

Most days I'm flying by the seat of my pants, but each day that I really put my heart into it I think I come a little closer to being the mom I want to be.  I want to be the best kind of mom I can be.  The secret isn't to try to be the best mom I see in so many others.  It's to analyze what my own strengths are, to build on them, and to apply what I know to my parenting.  That way I become my own kind of "best mom."  And that's what my kids need me to be.

I truly believe that my children are sent to me, to this family, for a reason.  Heavenly father knows them and me personally.  He knows that I have strengths and talents that will help me teach them.  My children need me to be the best ME, not the mom down the street.  

It's always good to improve and to try new things, but I don't need to feel pressured into doing something just because others are.  Or because the media says I should.

In fact, I think we all have different strengths for a reason, we all need to rely on each other a little more.  I don't think motherhood is a role we are supposed to fulfill alone.  We have our husbands, friends, other mothers, and most importantly Heavenly Father to help us fulfill this role.  

_________________________________________________________________________________


And last but not least, for those days when no matter what I do, no matter how positive I am, how many things I leave undone, or how "There" I am and we still have a no good terrible day, I try and remember this quote. 

"Over time, the grueling job of a mother requires one to learn everything from patience to clinical psychology.  It teaches you to roll with the punches, puck your battles, and fish a favorite toy out of a toilet that has been used but not flushed without a wince.  You become a non-judgmental driver, a nurse, and a comforter.  And with a little self-reminder, you can recognize "a stage" and leap over the exceedingly strange behavior of a child with a single bound.  

When you are "in the fire," it is sometimes hard to recognize the value of what you are learning.  But the day-by-day refining process, the problem solving, crisis resolution, mental stretching, mess clean-ups, sleep deprivation, and loving more than you ever thought possible truly makes you into a smart, aware, beautifully refined individual."  Linda Eyre, A Mothers Book of Secrets p. 20  

5.31.2012

Splash Pad


We went to the splash pad today with our friends Whitney and Max.  Eli was so excited to jump in the water.  Once I let him loose he took off and had a blast.  He came back a few times to look at Max and even grabbed his hand to "help" him splash in the water.  Eli loves babies right now so he had fun with Max.  And yes he still considers Max a baby even though Max is about ready to pass him up in height.

It was great to catch up with Whitney.  We were in the El Ed program together at BYU and a year after we graduated were lucky enough to teach at the same school.  She is so great!  I love talking to her about everything.  She is wonderful and such a dear friend and good example.