First Weeks

Having my mom here was wonderful.  She helped out so much – doing laundry, cleaning, and being super supportive and loving; reassuring me that I was doing a good job as a mom. 

Grammer loves her little Maddy!

The Monday we came home from the hospital, we had to bring Maddy to the hospital a couple of times when she got home because she had jaundice and the doctor was concerned about her gaining weight, but fortunately she ended up gaining weight, and our little baby girl didn't need any supplements.

The first couple of weeks being parents have been amazing.  My favorite Maddyisms:

-she sleeps with her arms up by her face (“touchdown Maddy!”)

-she hates to be naked, does NOT like her tummy being washed

-snorts like a little piggy

-sticks her tongue out like a little turtle

-has spasms when she is trying to nurse; gets so excited that she starts 

huffing and can’t start sucking to nurse

-loves her binky

It is so absolutely amazing being a mom.  I never knew that I could love someone this much.  She is so wonderful and so sweet.  I just look at her and want to do everything that I can to protect her and keep anything bad from ever happening to her.  There is not a moment during the day that I don’t think about her.  She is truly everything to me.  I have had some crazy moments – call it sleep deprivation!  I woke up in the middle of the night and thought that she was in the bed – that I had swaddled her and then couldn’t find her in the bed.  I woke up Mitch all worried and told him that I couldn’t find Maddy, so he was looking in the sheets, then I told him that I thought she had rolled under the bed – and he stopped me and said that Maddy was in her basinet.  That was honestly the worst nightmare that I have ever had – and I was awake!  I continue to wake up during the night wondering if I fed her or not.  I also went shopping with my mom while Kim watched Maddy, and when we were about to head home, I realized that I couldn’t find my car keys anywhere – we searched all over, and then I found them in the car – and the car was still running!!  Not good! 

The first few weeks of having Madeline and being a mom have been so much easier than I thought.  My mom and I went for walks, Maddy was sleeping pretty good and nursing pretty good, and I didn’t have any breakdowns…until my mom left.  Then I started to get more emotional, but for the most part I have been doing and feeling great. And it was so wonderful that after my mom came to visit, my sister came a few days later.  It was so wonderful to have her here, and she was such a great help and support to me too.  We had our fill of frozen yogurts and going for walks and just enjoying being together. It was so sweet to see how much she loved her new baby niece too - Maddy you're Aunt Erin sure loves you a lot!

Welcome Madeline Annette

WE HAD A GIRL!!!!  Madeline Annette was born!! She came into this world on October 25, 2011 at 9:02 pm!!

So much has happened since then, but I will back track to fill in all the wonderful details.  Mitch and I went to the doctor on Tuesday October 25, 2011 to have a non-stress test ultrasound.  While we were there the nurse said that our little Bubba – because we didn’t know that little Maddy was in me! – was doing great.  So then we went to have an ultrasound to see how she was growing, the doctor said that she was actually decreasing in growth.  That she was now in the 18th percentile, her abdomen had gone from the 4^th to the 3^rd percentile and her femur went from the 14^th to the 1^st percentile.  The doctor doing the ultrasound said that she was going to recommend that we get induced today.  I was so nervous.  I thought that little Maddy (still Bubba to me) was going to be early because the doctor we saw the week before said he thought she should be induced on Thursday, but it scared me so much to hear that she was decreasing in size.  We then went and saw Dr. Kinghorn, we asked me how I was doing, and I said nervous, I went over with her what the doctor who gave the ultrasound said, and Dr. Kinghorn said that she agreed with the recommendation to have her induced.  Mitch asked Dr. Kinghorn to comfort me in how little Madeline was going to look because I had an image of our little baby being disproportionate; Dr. Kinghorn told us that out little one was going to look just fine.  That she wanted us to get induced because she didn’t want to wait another week in fear of the placenta not working well and having to do a c-section. 

So after Dr. Kinghorn had said that, I felt a lot more at ease and started to get really excited.  Dr. Kinghorn said that she was going to call labor and delivery and have us go right down there – I couldn’t believe it!  My baby bag that I had packed was at home, and I all of a sudden felt really unprepared!  There didn’t end up being room at labor and delivery so we went home and had to wait for 2 hours.  I hadn’t eaten yet because I was so nervous about our appointment, so Dr. Kinghorn said I could have a granola bar but not to tell anyone (so the rest of the day when any nurse asked when I ate last I had to say 8am!).  We went home, I, of course, was frantic in getting things ready, and then we were off again to the hospital.  At about 2pm, they hooked me up to the plutocen, I started having contractions, but they weren’t that bad.  Just felt like cramps, so I didn’t want an epidural yet.  I kept talking to my sister every 30 minutes giving her updates.  Then at about 6:30, Dr. Kinghorn came in, she said I was dilated to 3 cm and 80-90 effacing; so she went ahead and broke my water.  It was a really weird sensation; and then, about 5 minutes later, the contractions came really hard and were really intense.  I called the nurse in and asked for the epidural.  The anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural – Mitch didn’t look!  My legs started to go numb, but the contractions were still really intense and I was having to breath really hard through them.  Our new labor and delivery nurse, Jodee, saw what a hard time I was having through the contractions and said that I shouldn’t be feeling anything, so the anesthesiologist came in again and gave me more medicine.  Again, I was having to breath through the contractions and pretty much in tears, the nurse saw this and told the anesthesiologist to come in again; after the third time of giving me more medicine, the pain from the contractions was going away, and my legs were totally numb.

Then at about 7:15pm I felt really intense pressure, and told Mitch to have Jodee come in and see how dilated I was.  She came in and said that I was at a 10!  And ready to go into labor!  Dr. Kinghorn was home (because her husband was the President of Young Men’s and had a Halloween party – she said she would be back at about 8pm, but that she didn’t think I would give birth that soon after breaking my water); so Jodee thought she was going to have to use the doctor on call.  The pressure was getting more and more intense, and Jodee said that was why the contractions were so painful because I was going from a 3 to a 10 in like 30 minutes!  I kept thinking that Bubba was going to fall out, so I had Mitch get Jodee again; she checked and told me that the baby was not going to fall out and that I was definitely going to have to push.  It was now almost 8pm and she said that Dr. Kinghorn would be there at 8:15pm.

The nurses came in and brought the table with the surgical instruments and the table that they would put Bubba for weighing and washing.  At that moment, Mitch and I were alone in the room and we just looked at each other, it became so real to us that our moment was here, that we were about to have our precious baby and become parents.  We both started crying and were overwhelmed with emotion.

From then on, things seemed to happen quickly; Dr. Kinghorn came in, Mitch ate a granola bar so he wouldn’t faint, and then at 8:30pm, they had me start pushing, Mitch on my left and Jodee on my right.  Every time I got a contraction, which I could feel but not near as intense as before, I had to push will all my might.  I have never been so tired!  My sister said that she loved the pushing part, but I was soo tired each time I did it!  Mitch was so great during all of it, he kept encouraging me and wasn’t at all faint at watching.  And then the moment came, I pushed really hard and then Dr. Kinghorn said for me to open my eyes and just give some light pushes, and there she was!  I looked to Mitch and said what did we have, and he was just in awe staring at our little angel, and then I looked at our baby and me and Jodee both said, IT’S A GIRL!!  I was so overwhelmed with love for our precious angel.  The nurse took her right away to suction out the amniotic fluid because she inhaled a bunch when she came out.  And then I heard her crying and crying.  I was so glad that our baby was okay!  All of my fears and worries vanished.  We had a healthy, beautiful baby girl.

Mitch was over by Maddy taking pictures and watching her as they suctioned her.  She knew it was her dad right away and held his hand.  After they had stitched me up, I was able to hold her.  She was so sweet, I couldn’t believe it.  It was such an amazing moment to hold our daughter in my arms.  Kim and Mitch came in shortly thereafter; I called my mom and we both just cried.  I called Erin and my dad and Betsy and was just overwhelmed with joy.  They then wheeled me up to the nursery floor, Mitch went to bath Maddy with the nurse.  He said it was such an amazing moment, that she didn’t like getting her belly washed, but that she loved having her hair brushed and being under the heating lamp.  It was so sweet hearing him talk about his little girl, he was just so in love with her from the start.




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Mitch, Maddy and Me all slept together in the room that night. Mitch and I didn’t sleep much.  It was
about 1 or 2am when she was done with her shower, and we had so much adrenaline from all that had happened, we couldn’t stop holding her and watching her.  The next day Kim came over again and so did Grandpa and Grandma, Beau and Sharee.  Kim brought us dinner and we decided to have Madeline sleep in the nursery.  I was so paranoid about her eating every three hours that I kept calling the nursery to have her brought in.  She just kept getting sweeter and sweeter.  

Our sweet baby girl.

Aunt Katie, Grandpa, and Grammy were there right after Maddy was born -
and of course Grammy has her camera ready!

First bath with Daddy!

Proud daddy.

Maddy had a habit of covering her hands over her face -
she's going to have to get over being camera shy.

First play date with cousin Beau - born just two weeks earlier.

Her first outfit was a little big - our little Maddy is so tiny!

So excited that Grammer is here!

On our way home!

Pregnancy Happenings

We're Pregnant!

My pregnancy has been so amazing, filled with lots of wonderful and emotional moments.  We never thought that we would end up getting pregnant through In Vitro Fertilization, but we feel so blessed to have met such amazing doctors that were able to guide us along this exciting and sometimes scary process.  On February 7th, our little embryo was implanted in me and 2 weeks and 1 blood test later, while we were in the lobby of the law school, we called the nurse to find out the blood results and...WE'RE PREGNANT!  So the pregnancy journey begins!  After questing whether I was really pregnant for the next several weeks, I began to feel some morning sickness (which would creep up during the day sometimes too); just nausea and nothing that good ol carbs couldn't cure! Let the cravings begin!  We decided not to find out the sex of our little sweetie, so during the pregnancy, the name "Bubba" stuck (I think both of us were kind  of thinking we were having a boy), so our little one was affectionately referred to as "Bubba" throughout the pregnancy.  Here are some of the happenings that occurred during my pregnancy:

Moving out of our House!

We have loved living in East Lansing and have loved our blue home!  It was such a great house for us, and we were able to do so many fun things there: people over for dinner, hosting family home evening, family Thanksgiving with my family and Mitch's, decorating huge Christmas trees (and then Mitch cutting them down in the house because they were too big to fit through the door!), Mitch planting a beautiful garden, listening to the frogs, having grills outs (or as Mitch calls it BBQs), having an engagement party and then later our first surprise baby shower (thanks to my family and good friend Rosie and her family!).  After five months of having our house on the market we were (thankfully and albeit, for me, sadly) able to sell it.  So we packed our house up in the PackRat, loaded the Trialblazer and Focus up, pulled the Focus on a trailer behind the Trailblazer, and by 7:00am on July 29th we were on the road to Utah!    

 

 

Family Pictures

For Kim's birthday this year, all of us kids went into together on her gift and gave her a family photo shoot.  Kim is the best at taking pictures, and is known for having her camera with her and always taking amazing photos.  So what better gift to give someone that loves pictures than a picture of all her kids!  Even though three of us were pregnant (Brooke, Sharee, and me) we were excited to have a family picture.  We went to The Old Meeting House in Sugar House, which was a beautiful old church building that was surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers, and a cute little pond.  I can't wait for Bubba to be in the next family photo!

Lake Blanche

Living in Utah for the Summer has been so great.  We have loved living by the beautiful mountains and have tried to take advantage of going hiking as much as we could.  It got a little bit harder to do later in my pregnancy, but before I was 30 weeks, we went on a long hike up to Silver Lake.  It was almost a 6 mile round trip hike to Silver Lake.  The hike was filled with lots of rocks, trees, and me walking with my hands on my hips.  But we made it, and it was beautiful!

 

Trip to Vegas

This summer has been really busy for Mitch because he has been studying for the Bar Exam.  So after he took the Bar, we decided to take a late "Babymoon" and go to Las Vegas.  I had never been there before so I was excited to go, but it was at the end of July so it was incredibly hot there!  We stayed at Treasure Island, went to Cirque du Soleil show, had sweets at Serendipity, ate at Cheesecake Factory (pregnancy cravings!), walked up and down the strip going into all the stores and amazing hotels, relaxed by the pool, and watched the beautiful water fountain shows.  On the way home, I had my first experience with In and Out and of course got a milkshake too - I will definitely experience that one again.  We packed a lot in our quick one night visit to Vegas and had a great time.  

Mom's Visit

It's been hard being away from family, especially being pregnant.  That's why I was so excited when my mom decided to come out and visit before little Bubba was born!  She came out in August and we had a great time.  Even though it was blistering hot, we went to Park City and walked around all of the cute shops and had a great meal outside.  Mitch gave us a tour of BYU - he tried to show us his old dorm room but then remembered when we stepped onto the floor and saw a boy in a towel that girls aren't allowed!  We also went for a hike around Snowbird and had lots of great meals - and of course lots of frozen yogurt!  My mom is so loving and such a great grandmother too, I can't wait for Bubba to meet her and love her as much as I do.

Dad and Betsy's Visit

I was so lucky to have not only my mom visit, but shortly thereafter my dad and Betsy, came to visit too!  We did lots of fun things with them - hiking, taking the Tram to the top of Snowbird, going to Gardner Village, shopping and eating at Park City, and visiting with Mitch's family.  It meant so much to me that my parents wanted to come out and see where Mitch and I were living, and get to know Mitch's family better.  Mitch and I are truly so blessed to have such wonderful and caring families.  

Baby Showers

I can't believe how amazing and welcoming people have been to us, and we've only been here a few months!  Kim put on a baby shower for me, which happened to be when my dad and Betsy were here to visit (which was great!), and I was overwhelmed by the generosity of Mitch's family.  It was such a great shower - so much yummy food, lots of fun visiting with family and friends, and of course, wonderful baby gifts.   Kathi also had a shower for us at her house that was from our Relief Society.  I had hardly been in our Ward very long and didn't really know that many people, and was so touched by all of the sisters that came to the shower and their love.  Even though I miss my family, I truly feel so blessed to live near Mitch's wonderful family and be part of such a loving Ward.  Having the baby showers and looking at all of the adorable tiny baby clothes, is really getting me excited to meet our little Bubba! 

My Growing Belly

           

Off to Meet our Baby!

My pregnancy had been going great, but at about 36 weeks, I started getting regular ultrasounds and stress tests because our little Bubba wasn't growing a lot.  Our baby was having a "asymmetrical growth pattern" - basically meaning that the head, abdomen, hips, and legs were not all growing at the same rate.  So our doctor had some concern about the placenta, but all tests turned out great.  When we went in for our morning ultrasound and stress test on October 25th, the doctor taking the ultrasound suggested that we get induced (at 39 weeks) because the percentages in our baby's growth had dropped drastically.  Of course, I was extremely concerned, but our doctor assured us that everything was still fine.  So we went home and then went back to the hospital after lunch (even though I wasn't allowed to eat!), and we waited to meet our new little baby - so excited to see if our little Bubba is a boy or a girl - but most importantly we just want a healthy baby.

Mitch enjoying his lunch without me - 

at least one of us could eat!

At the hospital and all hooked up.  So soon we are going to be parents,

and our life is about to get so much better!