Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Lincoln at 6 weeks
November 19, 2012
Mr. Lincoln at 6 weeks:
This little ball of baby is
OUR WORLD! I can’t seem to get anything
done during the day because when my little man is awake and happy I want to
play with him and mentally record each second so I never forget how perfect it
is right now! When his is awake and not
happy I want to make him feel better and when he is sleeping I want to snuggle
him, so when does that leave me time to accomplish anything? Yeah it doesn’t really, which is challenging
as Christmas is approaching!
On Monday, November 5th
J and I were cozy in our bed staring at our perfect baby. It was a wonderful moment that I just wanted
to freeze. As we were staring and
talking to our little guy he looked right at us and gave us the most beautiful,
biggest bright eyed smile we’d ever seen.
It was absolutely amazing. I’ve
seen my nieces and nephews smile as babies and I’ve heard parents talk about
just how wonderful it is to see their child smile, and I believed them, sure! But I didn’t comprehend just how magnificent
smiles from my baby would be!
Justin had this week and next
week off before he starts his new job with Freeport McMoRan (I couldn’t be more
proud and happy for him!) and we have enjoyed
spending the mornings in bed together, while staring at and talking to our
little Linc. Well this Tuesday, November
13, Linc was really staring at us and he smiled again and that is when it
really began. Since Tuesday (5 weeks and
2 days) Linc has shown off his precious gummy smile. He has this twinkle in his eyes and he opens
his mouth so wide like he is laughing with no sound, although occasionally we
get a sweet baby coo or squeak. Every
day since Tuesday Linc will give us some great smile sessions! I could just eat him UP!
Each and every time Lincoln
smiles for me I yell to Justin or poke him if he’s next to me. We love sharing the smiles together and I
just want to capture it on a camera so I never forget it!
Other facts about Linc at 6
weeks:
He is still in newborn diapers and newborn clothes. J has suggested trying size 1 diapers and I
did NOT like that idea. I did humor him
once and try one and it leaked, so we don’t need to try that again! Nope, my baby can stay my newborn forever!
We tried weighing him at
Grandma D’s house on her bread scale and I think he is about 8.5 lbs. The scale said 9 but he was dressed and had a
wet diaper etc…
He is smiling much more often
and it is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!
No really, it is!
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| Add caption |
He is still rolling over
regularly. Almost anytime we put him on
his tummy he will flip right over like its nothing!
His hair is thinning out on
top because his head is growing so much
He still loves to be swaddled
and we just tried the MOBY wrap this week and we are both BIG FANS!!!
Lincoln loves his rattle
Lincoln is now sleeping in his
crib rather than the pack n play in our room.
We leave our bedroom door open and his bedroom door open and I can see
his crib from where I lay in bed. This
helps J sleep a little better and I feel like I don’t need to run to pick our
little LInc up every time he makes a peep.
Tiff also reminded me that it will mean no difficult transition to
sleeping in a new room and new bed when he is older. He is still super close to me and it is
working out perfectly.
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| From the pack n play in our room to... |
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| the crib in his nursery. |
The last 3 nights Lincoln has
eaten for about 40 min (20 min one hour and 20 min the next hour) around 11 and
12 and then he sleeps for 7, HEAR ME …7 HOURS!!
From 12-7am. It is amazing. My little boy LOVES ME! I am really hoping that 3 nights in a row
means it is going to be a habit!
Lincoln has gone to his first
movie and he slept through every minute of it.
He slept through Skyfall – James Bond.
Lincoln went on a trip up to
the Mogollon Rim yesterday and slept all the way up and back in the car. He loved being snuggled in the wrap as we
walked him around the lake. He loves the
outdoors just like his daddy! We hope he
will continue to love the car rides too!
Lincoln survived his first
full 3 hours of church today. Last week
he slept through the entire 2 hours of stake conference. During the closing prayer in RS Little Linc
made a loud poop and had all the sisters dying laughing. Oh my little boy!
We have to tell Lincoln to sit
down in the bath tub! He likes to be
stiff as a board and he won’t relax and bend to sit in his bath chair, so mommy
and daddy have to tell him to sit in the bath tub, and he is only 6 weeks!
Lincoln also spits up pretty
regularly. It doesn’t seem to bother him
much, unless it happens after he is asleep and it gets him wet and cold.
He loves to study our faces
and we sure love to study his! He can
track things much better now and he loves staring at ceiling fans and the view
from his changing table.
Lincoln is very vocal. He sure lets you know when he isn’t
happy. Sometimes his cries scare his
mama because his face gets SO RED and he goes silent (like he isn’t breathing)
and then he really lets you have it!
Sometimes J will say, “You’re not talking very nicely to me!” or “I don’t appreciate your tone young man”
and it cracks me up and helps me relax a little. I always wondered why many parents act like
they could never let their baby cry, and now I am that very parent! It really breaks my heart to hear him
wail! He even has REAL TEARS that stream
down his face. Seriously! Break my
heart!
He still does what I call, the
BABY STRETCH. I hope he never
stops! When you lift him up and is arms
go up and bend behind his head and he pulls his legs up and arches his back…oh
my heaven!
You can always hear Linc make
a stinky diaper. He is not discrete
about it at all!
His eyes are a greyish blue
and we are hoping they will stay blue just like his daddys!
It sure has been great having
Justin around for a little bit before he starts his new job. We love being a family and just being
together. J is a great daddy and it has
all come very naturally to him. Nothing rattles him or stresses him out which
amazes me. He loves his boy so much and
watching them together is my very favorite thing in the whole wide world. I love these boys of mine with every cell in
my body! J is a great helper, even when
he was working he would come home and change diapers and burp Linc or snuggle
him all night right up until J himself fell asleep. He is wonderful and I am so grateful to have
him in my life.
Lessons
from a 6 week old Mom…
I
have, after-all, only had this title of a mother now for only 6 weeks and some
of the things I’ve learned are:
The
dirty house really will still be there tomorrow – but missing those precious
moments with my little man won’t be. (yes it sounds cliché but I believe this
with my whole heart, so if you come to my house and it isn’t spotless it is
because I chose to spend that time with my baby instead – haha or blogging)
It
doesn’t just take a little longer to get out the door, it takes a LOT longer.
15 minutes doesn’t even cover it. People
warn you about this and I did believe them, but I didn’t know the extent of
it!
There
really is A LOT more laundry! We only
did laundry ever 1 ½ to 2 weeks and now it is much more often. Partially because we don’t have too many cute
actual outfits for Linc (we have tons of jammies though) and because not only
is it clothes you wash, but blankets, burp rags, sheets he pees on (in mommy
and daddy’s bed too), wash cloths, towels, etc.
I swear people warn you but until it happens to you….
Hearing
my baby cry breaks my heart every time
There
is nothing more beautiful and priceless to me than seeing my husband hold OUR
son or seeing our son look into our eyes and smile at us. It is like a non verbal way of him saying, I
LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
What we know about Mr. Lincoln so far...
What we know about our Mr. Lincoln at 3 and 4 weeks:
He LOVES to suck on
anything! His hands, your finger, a
binky, gripe water, nursing, ANYTHING but from the moment he was born he has
loved to suck!
He likes to MOVE IT MOVE
IT! Our Mr. Linc is a mover! At 2 weeks old he rolled over from his tummy
to his back and he has continued since then anytime we do tummy time. I also believe he will soon roll from his
back to his tummy because he can arch his back and has almost done it many
times on the changing table or bed or floor.
YIKES! He kicks his legs and can
turn his body all around when doing tummy time.
If you lay him vertically on the blanket he can turn his body
horizontally just from wiggling and kicking his legs. Friends and family comment all the time about
how much he wiggles and moves; some even say they never worried about dropping
a baby until now because he won’t hold still.
Mr. Linc goes from 0-60 in no
time at all. There is no warming up with
him. When he is hungry or dirty he will
let you know immediately.
He loves baths. After his “tag” (as daddy called it) or cord
fell off we gave him a bath and he was in heaven. It is one of the few times that Linc will
hold still and be quiet as a mouse! He
especially loves when we wash his hair.
He loves noise like shhhshing,
music, mommy and daddy’s voices, ocean, rain, etc. He also likes it LOUD. It often calms him and helps put him to
sleep.
Our Linc loves tummy time,
well at least for a few minutes. He is great at keeping his head up and moving it from side to side (it amazes us!)
Little Linc ADORES his daddy
and will often calm down for him when he won’t for mommy. Daddy really has touch with his little mini me!
Mr. Lincoln also (usually) sleeps GREAT
at night. He will generally go to sleep
around 11 or 12 and sleep 4-6 hours. I
KNOW!! How lucky am I. We have gotten a few 5 hour stretches and
even a 6 hr stretch once or twice. We
work hard trying to keep him awake before we go to sleep and then he sleeps
really well in our room in a pack and play.
Mommy is very grateful!!!
Linc also likes gripe
water. He will always quiet down and
suck it down if it is offered. I don’t
know if it actually helps him at all but he sure likes it.
Linc loves to eat and he is
pretty good at it now. He also likes to
eat often in the evenings. Mommy doesn’t
mind at all though as long as he keeps sleeping like a champ!
Linc also loves music. The other night mommy and daddy sang to him
and he just laid in daddies arms and listened.
It was so sweet.
Linc is starting to look at us
much more and for longer periods of time.
I love staring into his little face.
Linc LOVES his changing table. He rarely (almost never) cries when we change him and lay him on his changing table. He looks around (I think he likes the contrasting colors on the wall and the shelf above his head)
Linc loves to be swaddled when he is ready to sleep
Mr. Lincoln HATES the sun in his eyes. Guess we will need to find him some baby shades :)
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| First bath with help from Aunt Merri |
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| splish splash he just took a bath |
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| Fuzzy Head after bath - we LOVE that profile |
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| He loves music - Merri and Rylee singing to cousin Linc |
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| he loves his Daddy!! |
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| I let you know when I'm not happy! |
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| I love to be swaddled |
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| One week old |
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| I love tummy time |
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| Im a pretty great sleeper! But I usually sleep best if I'm swaddled! |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
What they don’t tell you can happen after having a baby!
Saturday night after I fell
asleep I woke up and knew I had a fever.
I felt lousy but figured it was part of recovery. I was sweating but freezing and I knew I had
a fever. The next day I tried to ignore
it but finally took my temp and it was 101.6.
The nurse and discharge instructions told us if I got a fever over 101to
call the Dr. So we called but of course
it was the weekend and the answering service told us to go to urgent care and I
most likely had a breast infection, even though there were no signs of one yet
except the fever.
J took me to urgent care and
we had to leave our sweet newborn baby with Grandma Thornburg. Thank GOODNESS
she was there or I would’ve panicked. I
didn’t want to take my sweet baby to a hospital or leave him with someone. But if you have to leave your baby with
someone, Grandma is the best! And
thankfully with all of my struggles with breastfeeding I had been pumping
plenty and Linc was great at taking a bottle (probably another answer to
prayers that I had pumped and he knew how to take a bottle)
When we got to urgent care
they said that they didn’t feel comfortable seeing me and they sent us to the
ER. BOO!
So we headed over to the ER. Once
they got us settled they had to draw blood and put in an IV port in case I
needed an IV. Well I HATE IV’s and I
told them this. I warned them that I get
sick occasionally and sometimes pass out.
So the nurse attempted to start one when she says, “whoops, it didn’t
work. Oh, and you’re going to have quite
the bruise.”
WHOOPS?? Don’t tell me WHOOPS! How about an, I’m so sorry or an apology of
some kind? UGH!
Thankfully the second time was
the charm.
Then you’ll never believe all
I had to go through just 1 week after having a baby. They had to do a catheter to get a clean
urine sample – NOT FUN after having a baby and being swollen down there! They also had to do a pelvic exam – yep, once
again NOT FUN! It was awful and I didn’t
get a reward like a baby afterwards like I did after labor.
My fever continued to go up
and all of the tests came back with no conclusive results. Very frustrating. They also kept the room freezing cold but
wouldn’t let me have any blankets because of my fever. How rude!
They told me to continue
taking Tylenol and IBprofin to keep the fever down and to call my dr the next
day. Well thanks for nothing. After a $100 copay and leaving my baby all
day that’s all I get? I was disappointed
and felt awful.
Well my fever seemed to go
down some with the medicine but 2 days later I still had it and my left breast
was sore, red, hot, and very painful AND I had awful awful cramps, so I called
my Dr and got in to see them. It is no
fun going out after just having had a baby and feeling awful. I also was so nervous to take Lincoln out
because I didn’t know when he’d need to eat etc. Thankfully Grandma came with us and was my
support!
The doctor reported that I had
a breast infection and the beginning of a uterine infection and I got a Rx for
antibiotics. I was grateful for some
answers but frustrated that I was feeling so crummy and wasn’t able to enjoy
each second of my new baby boy. I think
we are blessed that we caught it early on, especially the uterine infection
because I don’t think I could’ve handled much more.
My mom was so great at helping
to take care of me, especially with J back to work. She would bring warm compresses for my
breasts, keep me hydrated with lots of fluids, feed me, keep the house
spotless, and tell me that I was doing great.
I couldn’t have survived without her.
Thanks Grandma! We sure love
you!
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| My home team! LOVE THEM! |
I’m just glad that all ended
and now I can finally completely enjoy my precious baby!
Lincoln’s first Doctor’s appointment
We came home with Linc from
the hospital on Tuesday, Oct 9. We had
his first doctors appointment the next day on Wednesday, Oct 10. Mommy was a mess and very sore and had no
idea what kind of clothes you are supposed to wear 4 days after having a baby,
but we ventured out to the dr. Thank
goodness Daddy was able to come. (Sadly
daddy had to go back to work that next day)
The appointment went well and
Linc looked perfect. When we left the
hospital Lincoln weighed 6lbs 10oz and at the Dr. he had gone up to 6lbs
12oz. When the nurse weighed him she
asked us to take off his diaper. I told
her, “Wow you all live dangerously here!”
And sure enough little Linc peed all over her and us. It was like a hose, it shot up over his head
and got the nurse and her paper work first and then I used my hand to cover it
up as it pooled around Linc. The dumb
nurse seemed irritated and I was hormonal and annoyed with her. What did she expect and I know this must
happen all the time! Oh well. J
The appointment went great and
Linc was perfect in every way.
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| Our first outing, off to the Doctor |
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| This is not fun! |
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| Found his fingers |
Who says breastfeeding is easy?
October 29, 2012
Baby Lincoln is the most
adorable baby boy! I love every inch of
him and I love staring at him ALL DAY every day! I don’t get much done because I’ve waited my
ENTIRE life to hold him and I don’t ever want to put him down! It took me 3-4 weeks just to post pictures
and write my birth story because all I want to do is stare at and snuggle my
little man!
Coming home started off with a
bang! My milk came in the day I got home
and WOW that was a challenge. I had
heard that breastfeeding could be challenging but it had gone so beautifully in
the hospital. However since I knew it
could be hard I saw a lactation consultant each day I was there. They told me that Lincoln and I were doing
great and to keep it up. Whew what a
relief. But then after I got home
Lincoln could not latch on anymore because I was just so full of milk and hard
as rocks there was nothing for him to latch too. It was awful!
I pumped constantly and tried to empty them (but I didn’t want to make
my body think I had multiple babies either so I had NO idea what to do!!) The first night I texted Merri at midnight
(the night before she was leaving on vacation) and she volunteered to come help
me. Lincoln had been crying for a long
time and he was trying his best to latch on.
I was trying my best too and I just cried with him. Nothing was working and I was a hormonal mess
who just wanted to feed my baby!!
After Merri arrived it took a
few minutes and many prayers and finally Lincoln latched on. This gave me hope that it was going to be ok,
but I was wrong. The next few days
seemed like an eternity and they were rough!
I was engorged and I couldn’t feed my baby which is all I wanted to
do! I would pump and he would take the
bottles but he just couldn’t latch on and Merri had left town. Thank goodness my mom was here and for
Tiffany who kept encouraging me over the phone and through texts. I would cry and pray all day just trying to
feed my Lincoln. We would sit in the
nursery for what seemed like forever just trying to get him to latch on. And if you’ve held Lincoln you can imagine
how difficult this may be because he just wiggles and squirms and shakes his
head back and forth. At one point
Lincoln had been crying for so long and so hard that J had to leave the room
because it was so hard on him and we had been struggling for so long. That was the hardest moment for me.
During these few days I didn’t
know what to do. I prayed and
prayed. Very rarely Lincoln would latch
on and I was always so grateful and relieved, but then the next feedings he
wouldn’t. It was a breastfeeding roller
coaster. Then one night J and I ran
across the street to Target to get something and we happened to stumble upon
breast shields (totally out of the blue).
I texted Merri (who was still on vacation) and she hadn’t heard of
anything that you actually wear when you are breastfeeding, but she looked it
up online for us and thought it sounded ok.
We didn’t know if it would work and we were hoping it was something you
wore while breastfeeding (we weren’t completely sure what it’s purpose was, the
packaging wasn’t 100% clear) but I was willing to try ANYTHING. So, we bought it. As soon as we got home I tried it and it was
another answer to prayers, a MIRACLE! I
loved it and would’ve paid over $100 for this amazing gadget! Lincoln latched right on AND it took a lot of
the pain away. I was in heaven and I
cried with joy and relief!
After using the nipple shield
for a few days I started to wean Linc from it and it went well UNLESS we used
his binky. He LOVES to suck on anything
and so of course he loves a binky (especially since he usually can’t find his
hands yet). And with all of our visitors
we would try to hold him off on eating until guests left and the binky could
often help tide him over. But it also
confused him and he wouldn’t be able to latch on again without the shield. Thankfully now at 2-3 weeks we’ve got it and
no longer need the shield and I will put it away until baby number 2 J. Linc can now use a binky anytime (we still
have to hold it in for him, and he prefers the soothie binkies) and he will
latch on great! However it can still be
a little challenging getting him to latch on because he moves so darn much and
will often shake his head back and forth searching for food and arch his back
or use his hands to push away. But as
soon as he starts eating he is totally relaxed.
I think what my body is doing is a miracle. I am in awe that I could create a life with
my husband, carry our baby for 41 weeks, deliver our baby, and now feed our
baby. What an amazing thing! I am so grateful for my body and for all it
is capable of. I’m grateful to be a
mother and that I am able to experience all of challenges and joys that come
with it!
And 2 becomes 3...
October 24, 2012
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| 2 becomes 3 (we had been moving into our new home and were a mess and in complete shock!) |
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| 3 pregnancy tests later... |
How do I begin to write about
one of the best days and biggest miracles of my entire life? I have to warn you this is a LONG post. I want to remember every detail so... I wrote every detail. Which is why it has taken me 4 weeks to get it up. (Also because I'd rather be staring at my baby boy or spending time with my BOYS than sitting on the computer, so it took 4 weeks and I don't care at all. At least I got it done!)
Well it all began Saturday
morning on October 6th.
Justin and I woke up and began preparing to go to the hospital. It was General conference weekend so we had
that on for a bit that morning. Pop was
also staying with us, and he ran to Ryan’s football game. I also tried to clean up as much as I could at the last minute. I ran the vaccuum and straightened up, I wanted to come
home to a spotless house and I wanted it to be perfect for my mother who was
coming up at some point to stay with us.
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| As ready as we will ever be!! |
Justin and I were ready to go
by about 11:30 and we asked Pop to give me a blessing with J. It was beautiful and very calming. Just what I needed to hear. Then Pop headed over to Merri’s and we said
goodbye. A few minutes later J and I
drove one of our cars over to Merri and we caravanned to Banner Desert for our
noon induction. We got there and Merri
started talking to some of her nursing friends while we registered. After a few minutes (12:30pm) Merri and her
friend Kimberlee Stoda (our 1st nurse) came and got us and they
escorted us back to our room, the Princess suite, #23. This room was special to me because each of
my sisters had had a baby in this room.
This is the room I was MOST familiar with because I had been here before
with my sisters when they had their babies.
It is also the largest L&D room at the hospital. It sure helps to have connections at the
hospital – THANKS MERRI!!!
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| one of the focal points I thought I'd use was Baby D's coming home outfit |
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| My Day nurse Kimberlee |
As I got in my gown Merri took
J to see where the snacks, drinks, and ice were at. I changed in the bathroom and while they were
gone I heard a neighbor screaming and moaning in pain. I had felt so much excitement and
anticipation up to this point, and then the real nerves hit. Oh my goodness that women sounded like she
was dying and it really scared me. J
noticed the noise to and at one point he turned the sound on on the TV to drown
it out (but it didn’t help much). Merri
and the nurse Kimberlee didn’t seem to notice, I guess that much time as a
L&D nurse you tune it out. But oh my
goodness J and I were freaked out J The
nurse did inform us that she was having her baby naturally. (I went to the hospital with no plan, I was going to go with the flow and see what
happened, I didn’t know if I would get an epidural or not. I was hoping I wouldn’t get one, but J really
wanted me to and we didn’t know if I would need to get one anyway, in case my
septum tore and the Dr. needed to repair it.
I also had never felt a painful contraction so I had no clue what to
expect. However after hearing this women
I thought to myself, I don’t want to be miserable through all of my labor, I
would prefer to enjoy it and not be yelling.
I also didn't know how long my labor would last and if it was going to
be a marathon I would need some rest)
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| J and I reviewing relaxation techniques from Merri's childbirth class |
At 1:15pm Kimberlee checked me
and I hadn’t made any progress since my last appointment with Dr. W. I was still between a 4 and 5cm and a -1
station. Everything else was looking
good. However I wasn’t even having any
contractions. This was a bit
discouraging but I knew soon things would be getting started. At 1:45pm We received labor orders from Dr.
W (Start the IV antibiotics and after 2 hours of the antibiotics we could start
the Pitocin. We wanted to be sure I
received both doses of the antibiotics for the group b strep so the baby would
be safe and since I was already dialated so far we didn’t want to start the pit
too early and have our boy join us too quickly)
We waited around for a little bit watching football and listening to our
laboring neighbor and then at 2:30 it was time for the dreaded IV. I was so nervous for it but Merri warned the
nurse and they both took great care of me.
I looked and focused on Justin and they gave me lidocaine to numb the
area. Sadly they hit a valve in my first
vein and had to try again. But the 2nd
time was the charm. They had me lay back
and wet wash cloths etc on me and I did great!
They even wrapped it up for me so I didn’t have to look at it (that
helped the most I think!). Whew I was
glad I survived that. The antibiotics
were started at 2:40pm. The IV
antibiotics did burn some and that wasn’t fun but I was so hungry (since I
hadn’t eaten any breakfast that morning, I was too nervous and preoccupied)
that since we hadn’t started the PIT they allowed me to go to the cafeteria and
get some food. I was so excited. At 3:30 I ate a delicious turkey burger and
French fries with Merri and J. It tasted
so good! I thoroughly enjoyed my last
meal and I didn’t even feel guilty about the French fries since I knew my body
was about to burn some serious calories J. It was
really fun to just sit and enjoy lunch with Merri and J.
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| That's right, I got to eat! |
We headed back to the princess
suite and at 5:00pm we started the PIT.
Then every 30 minutes from 5pm to 7:30pm they increased the PIT by 2mil,
we started off at 2 mil and increased it to 12 mil by 7:30. During this time we had fun relaxing and
visiting in my room. Sam and Angie and
Jeff and Elsie all came and we just talked and hung out while I went from the
rocking chair to the birthing ball to the bed etc. There was a time where Merri even relaxed on
the bed while J and I were in the chairs.
Poor Merri had been woken up early that morning by Rylee and she hadn’t
gotten much sleep.
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| My visitor Elsie! She was a great distraction and lots of fun! |
I remember wondering if I
would ever feel a painful contraction. I
thought that when they started the PIT after 30 min to an hour I would’ve been
at least uncomfortable. But nope,
nothing. In my head I felt like our
little boy would NEVER come. Mentally I
honestly had prepared myself that I may never feel the pain of labor. My whole life I had prepared myself that I
may never be pregnant and during this pregnancy I had prepared myself that I
may need a C section. I just had no idea
what to expect as far as labor pain and for some reason I just thought our boy
may never join us. It seemed like an
eternity of being in that princess suite before the real action began. I could feel the tightening of my uterus
sometimes, but for the most part we watched the monitor and we got so excited
when we started to see the contractions become regular and form a pattern on
the monitor. We even took a picture of
the monitor when we could see 4 contractions on the screen, but at this point
they still weren’t painful.
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| See those mountains in white? Those were my contractions...woo hoo 3 on the screen at a time! |
Sammy surprised us and came
around 6:30 pm. She came in all smiles
and ready for action! Angie, Jeff, and
Elsie came to visit around 7pm. They
brought dinner for Sam and themselves and it looked so yummy (I believe it was
chick-fil-a). We just visited and
enjoyed each others company. I was so
grateful for the distraction; it really helped pass the time. I’m so lucky to have such great friends.
At 7:30 they gave me my 2nd
dose of antibiotics and I got a new nurse named Michelle Armstrong. (Let me just say I loved both of my nurses
that had been hand-picked for me by my nurse Merri, but I felt like I didn’t
really need them since I had Merri around, she could’ve done it all – and she DID
do most of it except for the actual giving of drugs etc, but she really ran the
show in my opinion. Couldn’t have
survived without her. She is the reason
I have this terrific timeline all written down too, she is definitely a PRO at
this! THANK YOU dear sister! (I will
never be able to adequately thank you for all you did for us!)
At 9:08 they checked me again
and at this point I was FINALLY starting to feel quite uncomfortable. I was getting very mixed feelings of
excitement and nerves. I thought for
SURE I had to have made some progress…and NOPE, I was the same but my baby’s
head was a little more applied to the cervix, meaning it would be safer for my
water to break now. (If my water was
broken before the baby’s head was on my cervix there is a much higher risk for
a cord prolapse or the umbilical cord falling out before the baby, which is
very dangerous)
After they checked me at about
9:15 Jeff and Angie left. They told Sam
to keep them updated on everything. I
was so grateful to know they cared so much!
At this point I was feeling very uncomfortable and I started to be more
oblivious to what was going on in my room and I started paying attention only
to Justin and trying to breathe. After
Ang and Jeff left I was feeling what I would describe as PAIN for the first
time and I lost it. I can’t tell you why
and I can’t explain all that I was feeling but I had an emotional
breakdown. I started sobbing and I
almost couldn’t catch my breath. I was
so excited and so scared and I had forgotten to breathe and was so embarrassed
and I was just feeling so much overwhelming love for Justin. More than any other emotions, I was just
feeling SO much LOVE for Justin I couldn’t even describe it. I was so thankful to have him by my side for
this event that I had waited and dreamed of for my entire life. I was overcome by tears! I also knew that the biggest event in my life
was about to take place. Once I finally
caught my breath, Merri really helped by reassuring me that I was doing a good
job and everything was going perfectly, I was able to relax a little bit. It was just SO out of the blue I had no idea
where all the tears had come from, I was very embarrassed. I had never heard of other people losing it
during their labor!
After being checked I just
remember being very uncomfortable and needing to concentrate on relaxing and
breathing. I could no longer talk
through the contractions. When those
first few painful contractions hit me everything I had learned from my sister
and her class seemed to fly out the window and all I was thinking about was the
pain. That is until I heard Sam’s voice
remind me to breathe because I had been holding my breath (that is just what I
do when I am in pain). She reminded me
on those first few painful contractions to BREATH and that is when I tried to
focus on every relaxation technique I had learned. Breathing is HARD to do when you feel like
you have a 100 lb weight sitting on your chest and stomach. And Justin was trying to help me relax my
body by touching the parts of me that were tensing up, so he would stroke my
forehead and I would know I was tensing it up and I needed to relax it. Once I would relax that body part I then
realized that every other body part I had was tense and I didn’t know how I
could ever relax multiple body parts at once.
It just hurt too much. I was
curling my toes and my shoulders were up by my ears and my face was scrunched
up and I was squeezing Justin’s hands with all my might, everything was tense.
They reported that I had not
dilated more to Dr. Wilson and he told them to break my water. At 9:45pm Dr. Vaziri broke my water. I knew that often times after your water is
broken things can get intense fast, and since I was already very uncomfortable
I wanted the option of getting an epidural after my water broke (I still was
silently hoping that I could do it without pain meds). So at 9:50, only 5 minutes after they broke
my water it was definitely INTENSE and I was IN PAIN and I (in as few words as
possible since I felt like I couldn’t breathe at all) requested my
epidural. I also got very nauseous and
thought I was going to be sick so they quickly gave me Zofran (anti-nausea
meds) through my IV. And did you know
that they can’t just give you an epidural as soon as you want one? They have to do a fluid bolus first, which is
they have to quickly get an entire bag of IV fluids into you first which takes
about 10-15 min. YIKES! During this time where I couldn’t get an
epidural I could hardly breathe (I thought they teach you to do breathing
exercises to help distract you from the pain and give you something else to
focus on. I didn’t know that they ACTUALLY tell you to breathe because
physically it is VERY difficult for your body to breathe. Breathing was so HARD for me to do, I just
wanted to hold my breath through it all) At first I tried breathing and hissing
as I exhaled, which was a technique from Merri’s birthing class, but I found
that I was clenching my teeth and wasting to much energy. So instead I tried Shhhhshing (another
technique Merri taught us) as I exhaled with J leading me in it and that SAVED
me. It kept me breathing and distracted
me as much as is humanly possible during labor.
I don’t remember much that
happened during this short period of time except that ALL I WANTED WAS MY JUSTIN. I had brought an ultrasound picture of our baby boy and his going home outfit for my
focal points and I could’ve cared less about them, mostly because I never
opened my eyes. They were glued shut
during all of the pain. The only thing I
NEEDED was my Justin. I needed to
squeeze his hands and I needed to follow his breathing. He led me through it all. He was the only thing that existed to me at
that moment. I remember thinking at some
point, I have no idea how a single mother could do labor on her own or how a
women could have a baby when her solider husband was overseas. I am SO grateful that my J was able to be
there with me I don’t know how I would’ve survived without him.
The contractions were right on
top of each other. There was only a few
seconds between each one before the next one would start again. I didn’t have time to talk or even open my
eyes. All I was able to do was say,
“epidural” or “where is he” hoping that they would understand I meant the
anesthesiologist since I couldn’t get any more words out. I just needed to make sure they KNEW that I
wanted and needed that epidural STAT. In
my mind I was thinking that I hadn’t progressed at all when they checked me
last and I had NO IDEA how long I would be in labor, I could hardly relax 2 or
3 body parts at a time, my eyes were squeezed shut, and I was squeezing
Justin’s hand harder than I thought I could and that was all energy I was
quickly wasting that I knew I needed to save for delivery. I didn’t think I could do hours of this incredible
pain and still be able to push my baby out, so I knew I needed that
epidural.
20 minutes after they broke my
water, at 10:05 Dr. Murphy (the anesthesiologist) came in and at 10:15 the
epidural was placed. I never saw any
part of the dr. (not his face or even his feet)
my eyes were shut tight in pain and I just focused all I had on
breathing with my Justin. I had heard
from others that having to curl your body for the epidural is really hard
especially during a contraction, and I was so nervous about holding still
enough because those contractions tensed up every part of my body. I remember clearly when the Dr. told me I was
in a great position, I was so relieved because there was no way I could’ve
curled my body anymore! I hardly even
know how I was able to move my body to sitting up during those
contractions. The pain was so strong and
continuous.
It took a few minutes for me
to feel any relief so J and I just kept breathing and shhshing through the never-ending
contractions. But as soon as some of the
pain subsided I was SO happy and I was exhausted. I was SO exhausted that I would describe it
as feeling druged. Like someone gave me
5 sleeping pills. I can’t remember ever
feeling so exhausted! I felt like I
could hardly form a sentence. After a
few minutes, at 10:40pm I felt some pressure and I told Merri and the
nurse. They said that warrants a
check. So they checked me and the nurse
said, “I don’t feel anything.” In my
mind I thought she meant nothing had changed or I hadn’t progressed at all and
my heart sank. For a moment I thought we
would be there for days and I would need a c section because even with all that
pain and them breaking my water nothing had happened. But come to find out she meant she couldn’t
feel the septum and I was at 10 cm and complete. In 55
minutes I had gone from 4-5 cm to 10.
HALLELUJA!! That was the
best news! At 10:45 they gave me an
epidural rebolus, which is another bag of fluid I believe and then they let me
SLEEP! It was awesome! I was so tired and they just let me
rest! I have no clue if Justin, Merri,
or Sam rested at all, but as for me, I was out.
J
Then at 11:45 Nurse Michelle
came in (who was a nurse who helped deliver Katie’s last baby Liam) and we did
a practice push to see if it was time to call Dr. Wilson and have him come
in. I was still tired but I was way more
excited than I was tired so I was ready!
She said to push (and I had no clue what I was doing there either, especially
since I had a great epidural) and right as I started pushing the nurse said,
“STOP, Stop, stop!! We will call Dr.
Wilson right now, your baby is ready!”
 |
| Ready to push and we are all smiles! Lets DO THIS!! |
I rested for another little
while and Dr. Wilson arrived at 12:23am (it seemed like it took him forever to
get there) but we just left the lights off and rested. When he came in Sam said goodbye (she headed
to the waiting room) and I was all smiles.
So excited for what was about to happen.
Dr. Wilson got changed and I knew that meant it was time. They broke down the bed and asked if we
wanted a mirror. I didn’t know if J
could handle that but he said yes and I was on board! I wanted to see if I was making progress
etc. My first push I held my breath and
pushed through my face and Dr. Wilson told me not to push in my face. After that I tried so hard NOT to push
through my face and I could actually see my baby’s head coming. I was staring at J and at the mirror and
listening to Merri as she reassured me that I was doing things right and that
everything was going perfectly! I really
needed her reassuring words! I could see
Justin’s excitement and I felt so much love for him! He was my ROCK! And he never even looked woozy! At one point we could see the top of our
baby’s head and his skin was wrinkled up and the bones were moved a little and
it worried Justin. He didn’t know that
was normal. Haha, I remember wondering
about that too, but we could also see his hair and that was very exciting! It’s
absolutely a miracle to see the top of your babies head! I couldn’t believe it! I was so glad I got to
watch it all happen!
After 3 contractions, at 12:34
am, our baby boy slid out so gently and he looked perfect! He wasn’t covered with the white waxy vernix
or anything yucky and he only gave 2 little cries (the best sound I’ve ever
heard!!!). They didn’t have to suction
him out or ANYTHING. He was PERFECT in
every single way. After they laid him on
my chest he was calm and I could NOT believe the rush of emotions and LOVE I
felt. I was in HEAVEN!! The moment I’d dreamed of, prayed for, hoped
for, lived for, had come and I was happier than ever! I could’ve stayed in that moment with Justin
forever.
 |
| Right after he was born he was already sucking away on his thumb One of the nurses volunteered rather quickly to take him over to weigh him and do all that stuff, when Dr. Wilson quickly said, “You can hold your baby as long as you’d like too.” So I told that nurse I’d just like to hold my boy. I had waited my entire life for this moment. I could care LESS what he weighed or measures, I just want to hold him and have my husband by my side. I wanted to soak it all up and never let him go unless I was giving him to J to hold. That moment is tied for the best moment of my entire life, tied with the moment I was sealed to my J. I’ve never felt so close to Heaven. |
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| J and I were so happy, I love how J's hand never left my face. It was so sweet! |
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| Then when J went over to the warmer with Lincoln his hand never left him either. LOVE! |
We named our son Lincoln John DeTemple. His middle name is for both of my grandfathers, 2 extraordinary men who I will always admire, love, and respect. I can’t wait to teach Linc about the men he was named for. He weighed 7lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long.
After a few minutes Sam came
in and J took Lincoln over to meet her.
I was still all smiles even though Dr.W was stitching me up. Sam was able to meet him and hold him for a
minute and then she said goodbye. I’m so
glad she got to meet him!! We love our
Sam!
After Lincoln’s delivery they
tried to get me up after a while to go to the bathroom. I made it in their great with Merri and the nurse’s
assistance while J stayed with Little Lincoln.
While I was in there I got sick all of a sudden and I couldn’t hear
anything and I knew I was going to pass out.
They pressed the emergency button and 2 other nurses ran in. Oh lovely.
They tried to get me up about 3 more times and each time I’d pass out
again, or at least loose all the color in my face and my hearing and I couldn’t
see anything. Eventually they got me
into the wheel chair and got me back to my bed.
It was an awful feeling and very scary.
I’m just glad there were people there to help me. Poor J must’ve been scared to death when the
nurses ran in. But it all worked out ok,
thank goodness.
After a bit more rest they
transferred us up to the post-partum floor.
Sweet Merri stayed through the night on no sleep in over lots and lots
of hours and she sat in a very uncomfortable chair the entire time. I’m so glad she stayed by our side, I was
nervous for her to leave. She was a huge
help in every way! After we got to the
post-partum floor they took Lincoln to get some tests and things done and we
all slept. It was the deepest sleep I’d
ever experienced.
During our hospital stay
Lincoln was perfect. He had no jaundice
at all and he left weighing 6lbs 10 oz.
He was circumcised and Justin went with him for that procedure but
wasn’t able to be with him during the actual event. But it all healed very nicely but it was hard
for me to see afterwards.
 |
| Our Nurse Merri - BEST nurse and help ever! I can't express how grateful we are for her!!! |
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| don't mind me, I'm all swollen from all the fluids - but I LOVE this picture of Pop and his newest grandson. |
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| Meeting some of his cousins |
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| An Angie original creation - Lincoln's welcome to the world cake! SO cute! |
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| We make quite the team! |
 |
| beautiful Gma Thornburg |
 |
| Meeting cousin Kade |
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| Aunt Katie |
 |
| And 2 became 3 |
 |
| Our friend Corrissa |
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| Snuggle time! |
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| I LOVE Lincoln's profile, isn't he precious!? But I also love seeing how small he is compared to his Daddy's hand. |
We stayed in the hospital from
Saturday, October 6 – Tuesday, Oct 9.
Justin was VERY ready to leave and get out of the tiny hospital room by
this time. We ended up having to wait all
morning and afternoon on Tuesday for the birth certificate people to come see
us. But we finally got out of
there! (Nat rode home in the back seat
with Lincoln and J drove slower than I’ve ever seen him drive)
 |
| Yawning as he gets into his car seat for the 1st time! |
When we arrived home we were
so excited and surprised to see beautiful baby boy decorations all over the
front of our house. It made us feel very
loved and special and we will never forget it!
Merri and the kids did it for us!
Like Merri hadn’t done enough for us! (Truth be told I got a little
emotional when J took down the décor without asing me – can I blame the
hormones please? ;) Then it was just wonderful to be met by Grandma Thornburg
at the door! We were so happy to see her
and have her stay with us for the next 2 weeks!
She did SO much for all of us.
She was constantly cleaning or holding Lincoln or babying me by feeding
me or bringing me things I needed. She
was another life saver! (That's another blog post)
 |
| We love the decorations! They made us feel so special! |
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| J bought me beautiful flowers! Even if his mom reminded him too :) |
I know that my pregnancy and labor and deliver went smoothly as an answer to many prayers and because of priesthood blessings. I am eternally grateful for my baby boy and my amazing best friend/husband. I know that I am beyond blessed to have experienced pregnancy and delivering my baby and I will thank God daily for this opportunity to be a mother. My dreams have come true and I couldn’t be more thrilled, humble, and grateful. I marvel that Justin and I created this LIFE together. What a miracle. I’ve dreamed my whole life of this and now my dream has come true and it is just going to keep getting better from here!
Here are some other pictures I wanted to add but didn't have time to put them in the right spot.
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| I love his hands under his chin! |
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| coming home outfit |
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| so happy together! |
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| We love our Dr! |
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| Nurse Michelle our night nurse! |
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