jovi may

On Tuesday Dr. Bierer called me at work. He told me that his family surprised him with a trip to go out of town for his birthday, so he wanted to know if I wanted to be induced a couple of days early. We were planning on 11.11.11, but I was more than happy to have our baby girl right away. So I called Brad, he said, "lets do it tonight!" which is exactly what I wanted. So I left work, Brad left school, we met at home along with my parents and Reese. We went to the hospital at 6:30pm.

In the waiting room

We got all set up and Dr. Bierer came in at about eight to break my water. I waited to have my epidural until my contractions were pretty unbearable. I think i just wanted to see what I could handle. Especially after seeing Kate go natural a couple of months ago. Around ten I had had my epidural. It was awesome. Honestly, it was a major relief and I felt so much better immediately after. This time instead of my entire lower half being numb, Dr. Silver made it so it was just my midsection. It was so good to still be able to feel my legs and to be able to walk almost immediately after giving birth. About 15 minutes after my epidural I had dilated from a five to a seven. Fifteen minutes later she checked me I was a nine and three quarters, the nurse had me turn over and I was a ten. So we called Dr. Bierer. Turns out it was his birthday if we had this little one after midnight, so we all decided that we would sing happy birthday to him. He got there a couple minutes after twelve, and we were having our baby. I pushed one good push and she was nearly out, he told me to stop pushing and within a minute she was born. I didn't tear, which was awesome. As I was sitting there in the stirrups the entire nursing staff came in and sang to our baby and Dr. Bierer.

They put her on my chest the moment she was out and brad cut the cord. It was amazing. So different than my birth with Reese. It was surreal, I love my baby so much.

We snuggled for a minute as we got her dry. I thought she looked like Reese right off. Her nose is just a little different and she is definitely a lady.

The proud papa

 

The birthday kids

Momma and her girl

 

Oh, the happiness on our faces. 

What was amazing this time around, is that we weren't rushed from the delivery room to our room. They left us alone, I fed her for the first time. There was no one waiting so we didn't feel rushed to pick her name or anything. We just spent time together and bonded. She was born at 12:09 am on Wednesday, November 9th.  She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces, she was 20 inches long.

 little lady with her first bow. by now it was about 3 am. i was exhausted and so was brad. we got to bed.

the next morning my parents brought reese right over. he was so excited to meet "baby sisser". he loved her instantly. he asked if he could hold her and pet her. it was too sweet for words. he is already an amazing big brother. he tells us that we have to be soft with her, that we can't hit babies, and that he doesn't want us to change her because it hurts her (because she cries). 

little miss swollen and dressed. 

momma and jovi

daddy and his sweet pea

 brother and sister

we tried and tried to get a decent first family photo. this wasn't the most orthodox, but it's my favorite. 

snuggling. my favorite part about having a newborn is feeding her and then letting her sleep on me. it just feels so good. i love her so much. it's amazing how your heart has a little place in it, that you didn't even know existed, until you add one more little one to it. 

all ready to go home. 

halloween

RAWR! for halloween reese was a scary monster.

we decorated our car for the ward trunk or treat.

 

brad and i were bats

on halloween night we went to kade and terra's for their annual party. it was so much fun. reese really got into trick or treating this year. he actually knew what to expect and had been asking for weeks if it was halloween yet. i took him around the neighborhood with some other kids and he was SO FREAKING CUTE! he got really good at saying "trick or treat" and then ran to the next house. if no one answered the door he would yell, "too bad, so sad! let's go to the next one!" and take off.

progress

last week i was 36 weeks. dialated to a 1.5 and 50% efaced.
yesterday i was 37 weeks. dialated to a 2.5 and 70% efaced....
i don't think this baby is going to make it to my scheduled induction on 11.11.11
i think she will be here more around 11.1.11. crazy!

sweet little nursery

the quilt is finally finished! i think it turned out gorgeous. perfect for our little girl. i love how all the fabrics fit together and i love how they tie all the elements in the nursery together too. this is the first quilt that i have made all on my own and i love it. i hope it stays in my family forever.

32 weeks

well here i am in all my pregnant glory. 32 weeks. this pregnancy has gone by a lot faster and i like it that way. i just dropped off baby girls quilt to get quilted and then the nursery will be all but finished. just need to get a couple of things for the walls. then i think we are about done. we also scheduled me to be induced on November 11th (if she doesn't come before then).

funny news!

so i haven't put it on here yet, but we are having our second baby! yay... a few weeks ago we announced it was a boy, after having been to TWO doctor appointments where Dr. Bierer told us so... but today we went to the doctor again and we found out that we are really having a baby GIRL!!!!! i was so excited about having a boy, but i feel truly blessed to be having a girl. Reese has already told plenty of people that he is getting a "sisser baby". he doesn't really get it yet, but i am sure they will love each other dearly! i am really happy today.

our honey bee comes into our world

(us leaving for the hospital)

i just LOVE our little man! he is so precious, i don't know if anyone can comprehend how much you can love a little one until you experience it yourself. it's instant. it's incredible.

we went into mckay dee hospital on monday morning at seven for me to be induced. they called us at six and we were all ready to go to be there by seven. we got up to labor and delivery and checked in and showed to my room. they got right down to it and had me change into a hospital gown and had me get into the bed. it took about two and a half hours to get all hooked up to the machines and iv's and get all the information that they needed. so about 9:30 they started me on the PIT and antibiotics. when i went it i was dialate to about a 3.5 and about 90% effaced.

(just waiting for the antibiotics)

so brad and i were just chilling out and i was reading my book while we waited for the medication to set in. my mom and dad and shanea came, to entertain us for the labor cause we figured we would be there for quite a few hours. we were, but not as long as i had anticipated.

dr. bierer came in at about noon to break my water. that was the weirdest thing i had experienced, it was like i was peeing my pants uncontrolably and it just kept coming. the contractions starting coming on alot stronger immidately after that. i was gonna wait for a while to get the epidural but the nurse said to go ahead and call for it or else he might get called away, so we called him in and he showed up about fifteen minuted later. it wasn't as bad as some people describe, yeah it doesn't feel great to get a need shoved in your back but it took the pain away really quickly. sally showed up right about then, just stopping by to see how things were going. she ended up staying the whole time and it was really good to have her there.

(sally,bentley and my mom)

my contractions were picking up pretty vigerously and when they came to check me about an hour and a half later i had gone from a five to a NINE! yeah, it was crazy! so i decided it was fine to push the button on the epidural! my butt was numb but the contractions were strong enough to have my asking brad to hold my hand. he is such a great husband, he would hold my hand and stroke my head and tell me i was doing good, really such a comfort, i love that man.

(they just told me i was a ten! VICTORY!!!)

they came back and checked me a half hour later and i was at a ten, so they called dr. beirer, and started to prep the room. we kicked everyone out and the nurse checked to see how much the baby was coming down during the contraction and it was quite a bit. then they wanted me to practice pushing. well we came to find out that if i would have practiced normally like most women the little man would have come out right then. dr. bierer got there within about ten minutes and they helped me get my legs in the stirups. it is the weirdest sensation to be able to feel and yet not feel at the same time. he told me to push at the next contraction for ten seconds at a time. the first contraction i pushed three times and he told me to stop so they could try and stretch things out a bit, and the next contraction and push his head was out! i was amazed that they were telling me to wait so they could suction out all of the mucos, then the next two pushes and he was out! it took a total of FOUR minutes, can you believe it? i was in shock because it was so easy. i had heard of things like that but i never planned on it happening to me cause i planned for the worst.

(just barely out on the scale, 8lbs 5 oz.)

they set him on my chest and handed brad the scissors to cut the cord. i looked up at brad and with tears in his eyes he told me how much he loved me, then he looked down and said, "geez, that's a lot of blood!". but dr. bierer assured us that it was totally normal. unfortunately i tore a bit but it was a labial tear which is pretty uncommon. but it truly hasn't been that bad.

brad went over to where they were cleaning up the baby while the doctor delivered the afterbirth and sewed me up. the best part was the family was waiting right outside the door cause for some reason shanea had walked back by our room and heard him crying, and got everyone gathered, they were in aww that it had happened so fast also. brad's mom and debbie had also arrived by that time. and i think kade and terra showed up during the birth also. so when they got reese wiped down a little bit and had him wrapped up, brad teased them all by going out the door for a minute to show him off. you could hear all of them just going on and on. it was wonderful.

(if you look closely you can see that glisten of tears in brad's eyes)

when brad came back in the nurse told us we should try and breast feed right then. and she left the room to clean up and so we had a few minutest to ourselves. we still didn't have a name picked out. i told brad that he didn't look like a sam, and brad said ok, then brighton or jude? and i wasn't loving either one, and we decided against brighton, and then i asked brad if reese was still an option, and we just knew right then that he was our little reese william. jude lost and reese is perfect. i love his name because it's a family name, not just something random.

(our little family)

reese was much too tired for eating so he and brad made their way to the nursery to get a real bath and get his foot prints. i stayed behind and got wheeled into my room, thank goodness for sally cause she and bryce carried all of our stuff over to the room. when i got to my room i just about fell cause my legs were so numb. it's really weird being a patient in the hospital, you kind of get used to random people seeing you naked and helping you go to the bathroom and cleaning up after you. it's nice and awkward at the same time. i am really grateful to all of the nurses and cna's at mckay, they made me comfortable and went out of their way for us several times.

(grandma and grampa holding him for the first time)

brad brought in the baby and the family went crazy all taking turns holding him and loving him. i really don't remember much more of what happened that night other than eating and getting poked and prodded at by all the medical people. i remember them coming in and asking if he had ate or pooped at all and i was thinking, i can't even feel my legs, how am i gonna get up and change him?

i think the lactation lady came in and showed me what to do, because that night at about midnight i heard reese fussing just a little bit so i got him out of his bed and decided to try and nurse without any help. brad was fast asleep on the little pull out couch. i was starting to try and nurse and he got the hiccups. it was really a sweet moment for me, because when i was pregnant i would feel these little tiny "kicks" down low and i knew back then that they were the hiccups. so we sat up and i talked to him and told him how much i loved him, how his daddy loved him and just told him all the things i thought about how he is the perfect little boy for our family. he had the hiccups for about a half an hour so we had plenty of time to talk. and then he latched right on and ate like a champ. and then while i was burping him he fell asleep on my chest, and his little body just melted into mine. and i knew at that moment that my life would never be the same, and it hasn't.

it's amazing how much joy and love a little baby can bring into your life, especially as a mommy. i have always loved being an aunt and have been since forever. i remember when my sister had her babies and the bond i had with them was enormous, and yet with reese it's uncomparable. he is mine, part of me, part of brad and a little love factory. it has been so wonderful being a mom.

we stayed in the hospital for two nights. it was really nice getting meals brought to you and nursed a little bit before going home. ice packs are a ultimate soother. and it was so fun haveing all our friends and family come and visit.

brad was so incredible too, because he never wanted to leave my side, he would stroke my hair and tell me how much he loved me and how good i was doing through the whole thing. i have the best husband in the world. no one compares to him. i love watching him with reese, his eyes are filled with love and amazement constantly. he loves to snuggle him and has been the primary diaper changer.

well that's how reese came into our lives, we worship the little creature with all of our hearts and i am so grateful to heavenly father for blessing us with something so tender and dear.

Monday is the BIG DAY!

went to the doctor today and he is scheduling me to be induced on monday october 20th. yay!!!

time's a flyin...

ok. it is already the middle of july! how is this even possible???? it seems like the summer hasn't even had time to begin. but apparently i am wrong cause it is already half way over. the craziest part about it is i am about to be in my third trimester! oh my gosh it has totally snuck up on me.. i am beginning to panic a little that we still don't have a house (or anywhere to live for that matter). but i am sure we will be on our way before this little baby comes. last week we got our 4D ultra sound. it is so cool, you can totally see his features, and i swear this baby is a little tiny version of brad, you can already tell that his mouth and lips look like brads. if he has anything of mine it might be my eyes. he kicks me all the time. especially when i haven't eaten any sugar for a little while. (definetly something i would do!) anyway, nothing major is going on these days, so i haven't posted anything for a while. we went and put a down payment on the most comfortable rocking chair in the world, so while we are up at night feeding our little man we will have a nice toasty, cozy chair to lounge in. and that is it for the big purchased. (go us!) minus the house.. =)

take offs and landings

we went and did quite a bit of shopping this weekend! we tried to get most of the big stuff out of the way, and i think we did pretty good! i think we ended up spending about $1000.00, that is alot for one weekend but we thought that maybe there would be sales because of it being memorial day weekend.. FALSE! not on anything we wanted, but that's ok.

i absolutely LOVE the bedding, the set includes the bumper pads, the diaper storage thing that hangs on the side of the crib, the valance, the sheets, the dust ruffle and the big comforter. we also got the matching lamp and the mobile. the helicopters are my favorite.

we went looking everywhere for cribs and i tell you, they want a pretty penny. we went to a little store called cuddle haven and ended up getting one for about $400.00. most that we saw that were comparable were running for $600-700. so i think we did alright, it looks black in the pic but it's really a dark brown called espresso.. takes me back to my eintiens days.

and our final purchase was our travel system stroller. i checked out all the graco's and we just really like the simplicity of this chicco one. everything snaps in and out really nicely and i love the bright green color.

so now the major purchases we have left to make are: a dresser/changing table and a rocker/glider.

our purchases include:
1. our crib:




2. our crib bedding:




3. our "travel system" aka stroller, car seat and car seat adapter:

pacifiers and desitin, oh the things we must buy!

so obviously we have some big news! it's official that we are having a baby boy! we are really excited about it. i always wanted a boy first because i have such great big brothers, and i love it. we have been looking at lots and lots of baby stuff and i am a little overwhelmed with all that we are going to need to buy. i made a list and it's monsterous. the good news is that we made one of our major purchases today, we bought him a crib! it is really cute, and it's pretty unisex so that when we have a girl she could use it too. (side note: i really hate winnie the pooh, i just thought that this was the best announcement!)

today i also went to my best friends baby shower, her name is amber. we have been friends for over ten years and i love her dearly. we always wanted to have babies together and i am so glad that this is happening! the only bad part is that she is living in arizona at the moment. but i still love having someone to talk to about all the crazy things that are happening yay for seeing old friends!

this is my baby list:
.bassinet (we decided to borrow a port a crib from my mom that is small enough to fit at the end of our bed so we don't have to buy one)
.crib/mattress
.dresser/changing table the best part about this is that part of the changing table turns into a night stand later!
.baby monitor
.rocking chair
.baby hangers
.toy box
.lamp/nightlight
.3-5 fitted sheets
.mobile
.bedding
.diapers
.wipes
.desitin
.garbage can
.baby powder
.cotton balls/swabs
.bath seat
.4 hooded towels
.wash cloths
.baby shampoo/wash
.baby brush
.baby lotion
.car seat/adapter
.stroller
.mirror for car
.diaper bag
.sling
.themometer
.infants tylenol
.sunshade for car
.infants mylocin (for gas)
.bulb syringe
.pacifiers
. bottles
.formula
.changing pad
.nursing blanket
.swing
.bouncy seat???
.nipples
.bottle brush
.high chair
.breast pump (if needed)
.pump accsessories/bags
.boppy pillow
.nip cream (for those of you that want to get personal)
.onesies
.socks
.burp cloths
.lingerie bag
. bumbo seat

stuff we have bought is now hilighted in BLUE

a confession...

i have been reading parents magazine ever since i worked at salmon's office, so probably for about five or six years. i started cause he didn't have any juicy magazines like people or us weekly.. well then it got to the point where i was reading it every month, and it was a little embarassing because i don't have any kids. after i quit working there, i started to have parents withdrawls, and would read it waiting in line at the grocery store, or whenever i went anywhere that had a decent waiting room. now i am happy to say that i have a good reason to read it, and now i have actually paid for a subscription! and got my first issue today! YAY!!!

It is Official

i went to the doctor yesterday and had my first ultrasound. There is definately a baby in there, but we found out it's only about seven weeks old, not nine like we thought. brad took off work and came with me and we ended up waiting about an hour before we even got called back. they said that they had to do an emergency ultrasound, and then the doctor was only with us for a few minutes cause she had to go deliver a baby. it just looks like a little smudge on the picutre but according to my family (who was reading a baby book) it already has tooth buds, even though it is only about a centimeter. so we went and stopped by brad's mom's work and showed her our pictures, she seemed pretty excited. My family was over the top as usual. i went home and took a much needed nap while brad chilled out and watched tv. it was a good day. oh yeah, so the official due date as of now is November 11. Maybe it will be born on Nicole, Mikey, Corlin or Tanner's birthday, who knows?

The Big News!

If you know me you know i CAN'T keep a secret, so here I am spilling the beans about our little black bean! Yep, we are pregnant! and due on October 28 which just happens to be my mom's birthday! We are pretty excited and i am just a little scared! To tell our families we wrapped up little gift boxes with binkys in them and gave them to our moms. My family had quite the major reaction with all of my sisters screaming and parents crying, it was really exactly how i expected them to react. Brad's family was a little more reserved, and before sally even saw the pacifier yelled, "you're pregnant!" lots of hugs that day.

it's going to be really great because lots of people that i am close to are pregnant, two of my best friends and sally. i am really glad cause i am going to need some serious support!

The other great news, is that Brad got a really good job offered to him last friday. It's for a company called ABM, and he is a supervisor! The awesome thing about it is that he gets to use a company car and gets a visa card for gas! It also just bought out another company and is going to start expanding, so brad could get a promotion very quickly! i am so proud of brad and grateful for all that he does for me.