Growing Girl!

It already makes me sad to think of Caroline growing up. I want her to stay my baby forever. She is so sweet and cuddly! But, she is two weeks old today. I can't believe how quickly it's gone. Yesterday I took her to the doctor for her check up. She weighed 6. 9 when she was born, and when we left the hospital she was down to 6.1. I knew she was gaining weight because her face is getting chubby and she's getting the cutest little double chin. Well, she now weighs 6.14. That's a 13 ounce weight gain in 10 days! I have a feeling she's going to be a little chub-o! She is 21 inches long. I asked the nurse if she grew that much since she was born and she said at the hospital they don't stretch their legs out all the way to measure them. I always thought she was longer than 18.5 inches. She's quite lanky. She's below the 20th percentile in both weight and head circumference, but in the 78th percentile in length. She looks more and more like her daddy everyday. I always thought Eli would be a pretty girl, and now we have the proof.

Anyway, she's just in her bassinet right now, making cute noises as she slowly wakes up to eat in ten minutes. I've been doing laundry all morning. It's amazing how much we go through. Yesterday we had two blowouts and she barfed her milk all over her clothes, hair, and my bedspread. That's in the washer right now. I can look over now and see her tiny hands going up in the air above her blanket. She is the best baby! I just love staying home with her. I'm so thankful that Eli works so hard so I can stay with her. Well, I'd better get ready to feed her now.

Caroline's Birth

Caroline's birth was very interesting. I think any new mom who hasn't given birth before has some trepidation. I am no different. In some ways it was a lot like what I expected, and in others it was nothing like it. Here's how it went down.

I went to the doctor for my first exam on Tuesday, March 1. I was really surprised when he told me I was dialated to a 3 and 100% effaced. He also said she was really low down and there was a 50% chance I could have her by the end of the week. That made me so excited. I was only 38 weeks along, so that was pretty welcome news. So, I started going for walks. On Wednesday night I started having some contractions. They weren't really bad, but I still couldn't sleep. I finally dozed off at around 3, and I woke up at 6 with real contractions. We started timing them and they were two minutes apart and getting more intense by 8:00. So, we cleaned up our room, grabbed our bags, said a prayer, and went to the hospital. We got checked in, hooked up to the monitors and examined. I was at a 5 by then, but my contractions completely stopped! I was kind of embarrassed and kept telling the nurse that I really did have them. They started me on some pitocin, and they kind of started again, but not very strong. So, they kept slowly upping the dosage. By 3:00 the contractions were back and they were getting strong. Up until that point I hadn't had an epidural or anything because they weren't hurting. I decided I was ready to have one. So, I called the nurse. She said she'd get the anesthesiologist and be right there. Well, then they really picked up! By the time the nurse and anesthesiologist got there, they were right on top of each other and very very very painful. I tried to stand up to help alleviate the pain and my water broke all over the floor. The nurse examined me again and I was at a 10 and ready to go. A bunch of people rushed in, and got things ready. The hospital we were at has these beautiful big rooms where you labor, deliver, and recover all in one room. Unfortunately, those were all full when we got there, and no one had left by the time she came, so we were in the tiny monitoring room. They had to move things around to fit all the equipment in there. The anesthesiologist said it was too late for an epidural, so he gave me a spinal block instead. Let me tell you, when that thing went in, it felt like heaven! It was funny because it made me tingly from the waist down and every time someone would touch my leg it really tickled and I would laugh. The nurses said they had never seen anyone go from extreme pain to giggling in two minutes. Well, after that, the doctor came in, and they told me to push. I couldn't feel anything, and I tried to push, but I guess it didn't do anything. They used the forceps on her, and she came right out. She started crying right away, and so did I. She had a full head of hair, beautiful lips and hands, and a good pair of lungs. I found out afterwards that I actually made it all through the transition phase without medication. I didn't know at the time that I made it that far. If I had known I probably would have just kept going and pushed without medicine, because she was already there. Oh well, I'm not knocking the medicine, it was NICE! And they did have to cut me, so I wouldn't have wanted the stitches without any pain meds.

Anyway, we are happy she is here, and love our little sweetie!

Sweet Baby

I just love this video of Caroline. It was right after she ate. You can see how alert she can be. She really is a perfect baby. She sleeps for about 3 1/2 hours between feedings all night, and she is very calm most of the time. Once we got the nursing stuff figured out she stopped crying. She just kind of whines when we change her clothes or diapers. She hates being swaddled, and she poops all the time! We're so grateful that she is healthy. It was funny because after I took this video I showed it to her and she was entranced, just watching the little screen. I think I will write a blog post now about how her birth went. Enjoy the little sweetheart, I know Eli and I do.

Caroline is Here!

Caroline was born on Thursday, March 3, 2011. She is perfect and beautiful. I don't have much time now to tell the whole tale, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Baby Shower

Two of my sweet sisters threw me a baby shower on Saturday! It was so nice. I am always blown away at how generous and kind our friends and family are. Thank you so much to everyone who came or sent us something. It was beautiful. Cindy and Annie really went all out, and Eli's family helped a lot too and added some beautiful things. You'll see in the pictures: (I don't know why this is underlined!)

Annie made a really cute table runner to match the pink and green. We had a delicious pasta salad (from Cindy), little sandwiches, fruit and dip, veggies and dip, trifle, and chocolate dipped strawberries (from Eli's sister). Everything was so good! The cake was made in ID, Eli's step-mom ordered it and Eli's mom brought it down. It was so cool! I've never seen such an amazing cake! It tasted delicious too!

Annie made Caroline the most beautiful baby quilt! She is really talented. Look at the details of the embroidery!




Everyone gave such lovely (and needed!) presents! Thank you so much!



It was great! Now we're ready for her to come whenever she wants. I started having some contractions Saturday! I think they were just braxton hicks, but still, it means something going on. I go to the doctor tomorrow and he'll check to see if I'm dialated yet. I'm so excited!! This is my last week of work. I was going to work next week too, but I am getting so tired and uncomfortable. If she comes this week, that would be great, but if she comes closer to her due date I'd like to be as rested up and relaxed as I can be. Two weeks left!!

Quarter of a Century

I had a great birthday! I was very spoiled by Eli and my family. Here's how my day went:
I got up and went to work. It's true, I had to work all day on Saturday, but it was fine because I was getting nice calls from family and friends all day (thanks!) and they let me go home early. So, Eli picked me up from work and gave me my presents. He gave me a gift card to Down East Basics (one of my favorite stores), and then as we were supposedly driving home, he went a different way. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but we ended up walking into a massage place. He had gotten me an hour long pregnancy massage! We were stopping by so I could make the appointment. I was so excited. I'm going Wednesday evening, so I can get completely relaxed before bed. I can't wait! It will feel so good! Eli has really spoiled me this Valentines/Birthday week. He said he wanted to make sure to spoil me now because he won't be able to for the next few years, with the baby and medical school we will have no money. I really appreciate all that he's done. I get to get my nails done, get a massage, and get some new clothes when I have the baby. He really listened to me when I would mention things that I wanted and went out and surprised me with them. He is the best!
Eli's parents gave me a really pretty necklace/earring/bracelet set and a good quality thermometer for the baby/family. I also got to go out to eat on Friday night with my sisters Annie and Cindy at Olive Garden. It was delicious. We felt bad that we weren't with all the cousins though. Maybe next time!
We had a family dinner at home when I got home from work on my birthday. Eli's uncle was in town. Then we all went to see Unknown at the movie theater. It was pretty good. It was more like The Bourne Idenity than Taken, but I liked it. It had an interesting plot twist that I did not expect.
Eli and I got to the movie first to get tickets for everyone, so we had some time to kill. I walked over to Down East, just to see what I might want to plan to get with my gift card, only to find that all of their sale things were 50% off the sale price. I got a really cute cardigan, belt, and bracelet for $20! Eli told me to save the gift card because it was such a good deal! I was so excited! I am trying to make an effort to be more fashionable, by building quality pieces, as Stacey and Clinton would say. I did wear my cardigan, unbuttoned of course, with the belt on the outside, to church on Sunday. I got lots of compliments and I realized it is really fun to dress nice and feel good about yourself!
In Caroline news she is doing great! 3 weeks till the due date! She is definitely stretching my stomach as far as it can go. I think she's dropped a bit. She still likes to move around a lot, but she hasn't been getting the hiccups as much as she used to. It used to be she would have the hiccups everyday like clockwork at 10:30 p.m. But, it's been a few days. I wonder if she's gotten better at swallowing in there. We were given a beautiful blessing gown for her yesterday. And I mean, the most beautiful dress you've ever seen! We are planning on blessing her on May 1st. We're hoping that she comes early, but not until after Saturday. My baby shower is on Saturday and my sisters and friends and family have worked really hard on it and I would hate to have to cancel it. So, she's welcome to come any time after Saturday. That's the update for now. We'll keep you posted!

25

I am going to work longer today than I anticipated. Sadly, I finished my book yesterday and took it back to the library without finding a new one (I didn't have time to go in and peruse the shelves). So, in an effort to do something in between calls, I am going to write a list of 25 things I want to do before I die, in honor of turning 25 soon.

1.Have at least 4 children.
2.Visit the temples in the US (this is going to be difficult because they keep building more temples. I'm not complaining though!)
3.Get Eli through medical school and residency.
4.Learn how to quilt.
5.Build up a huge repertoire of healthy and delicious recipes I can cook at the drop of a hat.
6.This goes along with #5, but get to the point where 65-5% of our daily food is raw.
7.Become a certified Pilates instructor.
8.Travel to every continent.
9.Serve a mission with Eli.
10.Learn how to garden- by this I mean have a successful vegetable garden, and plant beautiful flowers throughout the yard that I can pick all summer and make bouquets.
11.Live close to my sisters.
12.Be able to stay home to raise my kids.
13.Maintain a healthy weight.
14.Build up a big personal library of fiction, non-fiction, and gospel books.
15.Go to one more Neil Diamond Concert so our Caroline can hear him singing her song.
16.Become a master scriptorian.
17.Deliver at least one baby naturally.
18.Go to Disney World.
19.Go on a cruise.
20.Do a triathlon.
21.One day own a nice house, with a large yard where I can plant peach and other fruit trees, a big garden, lots of flowers, and have room for the kids to run around and play.
22.Take an art class that teaches me how to paint.
23.Be as awesome of a grandma as my grandma was.
24.Be someone that others think of a positive and uplifting.
25.Ride an elephant!

That's my list off the top of my head. What is yours?