Baby Shower for Number 6

A couple of weeks before my due date, some awesome ladies in my ward (Jordan and Corrinne) decided to throw me a baby shower.  It was kind of silly, considering the fact that this is number six for me. But then on the other hand, it really is not that silly because I got rid of every single baby thing I owned.

The shower was amazing and I can't believe how many women came to support me. I felt very loved.  There were a ton of women from my new ward and then lots of old friends through the years who live here in Utah. It was so fabulous.

Michele, from my Atlanta days.

Ginger, a friend from when I was engaged and then when I went to college.

And of course my amazing friends from the Sunset ward in Henderson.

After the festivities, Echo, Alexa (her daughter) and Melanie came over to my house for a tour and a nightcap.  I had a Marie Callender's pie that was just begging to be shared.  We ate pie, reminisced, and caught up on the latest happenings. It was so fun to hang out with the ladies.

It was a perfect day.

It's a Girl!

Finally, I am not pregnant anymore!  Wahoo! I am starting to feel my old self re-emerging and I am very grateful.  Since I didn't go to church today, I was able to do a lot of baking and cooking. I reclaimed my kitchen and it felt so good. 

But you can see that I have been out of commission for quite a while. So there is a lot to update in this blog. 

My mom came into town a few days before my scheduled C-section. She was one busy grandma with the addition of three new grandchildren, Danny, Paul, and my babe. She stayed with us one night and then headed down to Provo to spend some quality time with new mama Catye, her youngest daughter.  It was nice to see her and spend some time with her. Julia was especially excited for grandma to visit.  Julia sure liked to get lots of attention from her. They played dolls and had some good bonding time together.



I headed to the hospital super-early in the morning on Monday, September 30.  I had to be there at 5:30 am to get prepped. I was pretty nervous about my C-section. I had to get one since I had already had 3.  I asked Rinar and Jamie to give me a blessing the night before and I know that it really helped me to not be so anxious.



After all the prep work, I was finally ready to walk into the operating room at about 7:45am.  The anesthesiologist, Dr. Peterson, was fabulous.  The spinal block did not hurt at all and he really talked me through everything as all of the medications coarsed through my veins.  It was not easy. The first needle was no problem, the very part I was worried about.  But once I was all numb, my body did not like all of the medications he gave me. I felt nauseous and on to the point of self-destruction. It really did not feel good.  I didn't vomit, but I felt like I was on the brink. Finally, once they began to operate, my body settled down and then it was great. 

After a significant amount of tugging and pulling, the baby emerged.  Everyone in the operating room was excited to see what it would be, a boy or girl. 

Finally we had our answer at 8:10am.

A girl!!



Meet Noelle Stephanie.  She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long at birth.  And can you believe all of that hair.  A perfectly full head of hair, a uniform coif, thick and dark.

It took a while to sew me back up, but before I knew it I was being wheeled away to the recovery room, floating on a drug-induced cloud.

Rinar went to check on Noelle and then came back to tell me that she was not doing so well. She was having trouble absorbing enough oxygen. They had to give her an IV and antibiotics and a pulse-ox monitor.

Oh great. Another one of my kids in the NICU. Drat.

I went to my room soon enough and then started to feel really crappy. I vomited several times, but finally started to feel better once all of the medication started to wear off.

After she was monitored for a while and stabilized, I was able to hold my little girl. And she is just so darling.

 

And daddy's little girl, for sure.

It was also fun to have some visitors, like Melanie. Aren't they a cute pair?

And my kids were excited to see their new sister.

I stayed in the hospital until Friday, drinking a ton of water, cuddling and feeding my baby and working on getting mobile again.

The plan was to go home on Friday morning, and everything was looking good. Then Noelle decided to scare us all and turn a little blue in the middle of the night.  They put her on an oxygen cannula and I got the bad news at about 3:00am when I went looking for a baby to feed.  It was not good and I did cry a bit.

I let Rinar sleep, though, and told him that Noelle would not be coming home with us when it was morning time.  I was discharged and Noelle stayed.  Fortunately, she stabilized and we were able to take her home the next evening on an oxygen tank.  So she has been home now on a leash, stuck in our bedroom and will be for another week or so. But Noelle is doing fantastic. She is growing and eating and looking like a good little baby.

Our family is very blessed.

I think I have always known for a few years now that I was supposed to have one more girl. The thought had crossed my mind many times. It was no fun being pregnant and I was pretty darn whiny about it, but I absolutely love the result...and not being pregnant anymore!

 

 

 

Catye and Mike Have a Baby

Monday was an incredible day.  I got the call I have been waiting for from my sister Catye. It was time. Her baby was coming.  I was so excited. I really hoped to be able to be there for the birth of her first baby. It was such a privilege.

Catye went into labor in the morning. I got there just before lunch. And then we waited. At about 6:30 she started pushing and it lasted for two hours. Amazingly enough, I was able to stand there and help her for most of it. But then I got tired and thought it was probably a good idea to have a seat and rest.  The doctor came in at about 8:30. The news was not that good.  The baby's head was up instead of down and he just was not going to come out.  There were two options: forceps or a c-section.

It got a little intense. Catye started to get a bit panicky.

Look, I have had 3 c-sections and am getting ready to have number four. I told her it was not a big deal. If they had to do a c-section, it would be fine.  Catye was very fortunate that she was under the care of a very experienced doctor and so they chose to use forceps.

There was a lot of tugging and pulling. Thank goodness this girl had an epidural.

But, it was all worth it.  Look at that chunker!

Paul, 8 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches long. Catye was not that big, but man she made a a nice chunky little rascal.

He is so precious. I am so proud of my little sister. She was definitely a warrior.

Now it is time to be a mama.

Welcome to the world, Paul. You are lucky to have two wonderful parents.

Danny Jay

My brother Jamie and his wife Leah had a healthy baby boy, born last night at 10:38: 7 lbs, 21 inches long.

He was a few days late, so we all thought he would be bigger than he was. I must really grow large babies, because Harry was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was only 36 weeks, and a twin! Holy schnikeys!  I guess every kid, every pregnancy is different. You never know.

Leah is doing great and I think that Jamie doesn't haven't a clue that he really is a father. He is a bit bewildered, as it just has not sunk in yet.

I took Eli with me to the hospital to see my new nephew. I don't think it has sunk in yet for me either, that in another month I am going to have one of these for myself.  Whoa!  With that said, I made the mistake of posting his picture on Instagram, and not clarifying that it was my brother's baby. Naturally, everyone thought it was mine.  I tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but it wouldn't surprise me if people are really confused at the end of September.

Anyways, welcome to the world Danny Jay. There are a gaggle of cousins waiting for you when you get home.  I hope you can survive the onslaught.

My Baby is Beautiful...OF COURSE!

For all of you moms out there...

I just love people so much more when they tell me how beautiful my baby is. I mean, isn't it totally obvious that MY baby is the most gorgeous, cute, adorable baby out there. Please!

I ran some errands today with Eli. The twins were home with the babysitter. I took him to the Post Office and as we were waiting in line to get stamps, several people in front of us were just staring at Eli in complete adoration. He made them all smile. Needless to say... OF COURSE. I mean, when you have the most beautiful baby on the planet, the whole world stops and smiles, right? At least, they better.

Then we went to an outdoor mall called Town Square and I was enjoying some frozen yogurt with Eli. He was in his stroller and I had just given him a Lorna Doone and it was all over his face and clothes. He was a wreck, but it goes without saying that all of his gorgeousness just radiated through the slobbery cookie.

A man named Brian came up to me and told me he was from a talent agency and he told me I had a beautiful baby (DUH!). Then he asked me if Eli has done any modelling. I told him that he has not. Then Brian gave me his card and asked me for my phone number. I gave him my number. I was about to give him my social security number and credit card information, but he didn't ask for them. Brian told me he would call me next week.

Soon Eli will be so famous and you will see him on every Gerber label they sell at fine retail markets. I mean, when you have the most beautiful baby on the planet, these things are just inevitable.

There is absolutely no way that I could ever get manipulated by anyone through my kids. Uh huh, no way. I am much smarter than that.

Hold on a second, the phone is ringing...

Okay, so that was Brian and I just had to run and get my wallet. What do you expect? Golly. I don't have my credit card number memorized...yet.