Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving this year (well I guess technically last year) was a simple one. Derrick was only a few days old and some friends in our ward were kind enough to invite us to join their family for dinner. We brought a few dishes, Michael did all the cooking and shopping! Well I guess Collin helped with the rolls :)

 I was kicking myself for forgetting to ask them to take a family picture of us. By the time I remembered I was the only one not in my pj's so Derrick and I posed for a couple pictures. So glad we did or else we would have missed his adorable smile! 

This Thanksgiving I think its safe to say we were all so thankful for Derrick and to be a family of 4! (And I was extremely grateful to not still be pregnant!)

Introducing...

Derrick Alden 

Born Saturday, November 21, 2015

10:35 am

7 lbs 11 oz 20 inches long 

We are so excited to have Derrick join our family! He is such a sweet little guy and we are all in love! Now time for the story of his grand arrival, before I forget any more details. Which now that I have written it out I realize that I still remember quite a bit, even 2 months later. Sorry its a little wordy!

I had a doctors appointment at 37 weeks on November 9th. My doctor checked me and I was already 3 cm, but hadn't effaced yet. I was excited to be progressing, but in the weeks leading up to this I was definitely getting to the "I am done" phase. He was putting a lot of pressure in my pelvic area and giving me so much sciatic pain. It hurt to sit for long but it also hurt to walk. Sleeping was getting more and more uncomfortable. Thankfully though that even if it took me a long time to fall asleep I would at least stay asleep for most of the night. I was going to the bathroom all the time too! At night I could use the bathroom, brush my teeth, finish getting ready for bed and then need to use that bathroom another time before actually getting into bed. I had been having braxton hicks contractions too. I had had them most of the pregnancy, but they were getting a little more frequent, however not really much stronger.

I had another appointment on the 19th, a couple days shy of 39 weeks. This appointment was in Houston and Michael came with me. We brought our hospital bag with us hoping that I would have progressed a lot and she would just want to keep me  (I was delivering at the hospital in Houston). Unfortunately that wasn't what happened. I was still dilated to a 3, but had effaced about 60%. Before my appointment we had decided that we would ask if she would strip my membranes. Thanksgiving was the next week and my doctor was going to be out of town. And with the holiday Michael would only miss a few days of work and we could still have a full week together as a family. My doctor was more then willing and it was quick and painless. We did discuss a possible induction for the 30th (or maybe it was the 1st) if he hadn't come by then. And we scheduled another appointment for Monday the 23rd in Angleton, but she didn't think I would make it to the Monday. I had my membrane stripped when I was pregnant with Collin and he was born within 48 hours. We were hopeful it would have a similar result. I had a little bit of cramping the rest of the day but not much.

The following morning I had my "bloody show". I didn't experience this with Collin so it was a bit of a surprise. Throughout the day I continued to loose more of the mucus plug, but again I was feeling pretty much the same. I did however follow up with our friend's about watching Collin just to make sure they were still on board. And Michael did want me to do jumping jacks just like he had me do trying to go into labor with Collin. Cooking was the last thing I wanted to do so I convinced Michael we should go out, especially since it could potentially be our last night as a family of 3. We went to a local Mexican place, La Casona (which unfortunately just burned down last week. sad!) and then took Collin to the carnival that was set up for the Festival of Lights celebration happening the next day. It was a perfect evening with Collin. He was in heaven going on a couple rides and eating popcorn. I am sure the hormones were playing a role but I was definitely feeling sad and sentimental with how big he was getting and how he wasn't going to be our baby much longer. I shed a few tears as I snuggled and sang to him before bed.

The morning of the 21st I woke up to contractions around 4 am. Similar to Collin's labor contractions started fast and strong. Knowing we had an hour drive to the hospital I woke Michael up around 4:30 and called our friends to come over until Collin woke up around 4:45. By 5 we were on the rode. Contractions were about 5 minutes apart and lasting a minute or more. We called to let our doctor know we were on our way so the hospital would be ready for us. Drive wasn't too unbearable, but I was pretty discouraged to discover that they slowed down a bit by the time we got to the hospital. A couple funny things that happened- Michael missed our exit. Thankfully the alternate route was just a couple minutes longer. And around that time I turned around to discover we had forgotten to take out Collin's car seat. Thankfully I knew that these friends just happened to have an extra car seat.

We got to the hospital around 6 and got situated in our room. Our first nurse was Aspen. She checked me around 6:30 and I was 4 cm but still only 60%. She said we could walk around for about 30 minutes before the nurses changed and to see if contractions would pick back up. I was feeling a little discouraged since it still wasn't a done deal that we were staying. However, after just 15 minutes of walking I insisted that we go back to the room. It was getting to unbearable to walk. Michael didn't really like that idea, but there was no way I wanted to walk anymore. My new nurse was Lora. She was great. I do feel lucky to get such great nurses during delivery. She informed us we were indeed staying. She started getting things in order and was great about talking me through contractions. I got my IV at 7:45. My water broke naturally at 8:10. I am pretty sure that shortly after is when I got the epidural. It may have been before. Michael had to leave the room so he wasn't around to write it down. Thankfully it was quick and relatively painless and such a welcome relief from the contractions. I was checked at 8:40 and I was a 6 almost 7 cm. We got a little time to relax but I soon felt like I needed a little more epidural. I pushed the button and the nurse said it takes a few minutes to feel a difference. After a little bit I told her I was feeling alright but there was still this burning/uncomfortable kind of feeling right in the center of my pelvic area. Based on my description she decided to check me again at 9:40 and surprise I was at a 10+! (I do remember responding to a text to some of the girls in my family and saying it was time to push. I later read the reply from my sister in law Tanna, it was something along the lines of who texts right before pushing. Made me laugh and I love epidurals!) She called Dr Hanson and things happened really quickly. They got everything set up, nurses started coming in, and there were a few student observers. I did a couple practice pushes and he quickly moved down into position. I pushed two more times and boom he was born at 10:35! I was totally prepared to push a third time but he just slid out on the last contraction. I was only pushing for about 15 minutes, at most. I did have a 2nd degree tear, I pretty much just tore in the same spots as I did with Collin. Everything progressed so quickly only 6 1/2 hours from start to finish, about 5 hours faster then Collin's labor. There was little down time which was nice, but I am curious (and nervous) about how fast it will go next time.

There really aren't words to describe the emotions of when you first see your baby. Its surreal, exciting, emotional and there is such a strong spirit. Michael cut the cord and they immediately put Derrick on my chest. It was love at first sight. I loved looking up at Michael and seeing him with tears in his eyes too.

It was now time for us to decide on his name. We knew his middle name would be Alden, after my mom's maternal uncle. (A fun coincidence- Derrick was born on my Grammie's birthday. Uncle Aldie's sister and my mom's mom) We were debating between Tanner and Derrick for his first name. Seeing him the name Derrick immediately came to my mind. I didn't want to say anything yet so I asked Michael what he was thinking. When he said Derrick as well we knew it was the perfect name for our little boy!

 

Our hospital stay was pleasant, the staff was all very nice and the food was much better then last time. I loved that they did the majority of Derrick's tests and his first bath right in our room. But they were still willing to take him to the nursery when I requested, especially since Michael slept at home that night. I was feeling much better then I did after Collin's delivery. The epidural may have taken a little longer to wear off, but comfort level was much better and I was moving and walking around a lot more. I did take some pain meds pretty regularly for the after delivery cramps. Those were not fun! Derrick was a natural at nursing and all his tests were coming back with great results. The nurses were so great about moving things along so we could get discharged Sunday night. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed!

 

After his 1st bath

I am so grateful for the Wilcox's willingness to watch Collin Saturday for us. Such a comfort to know he was having fun and in good hands. Michael went home Saturday night to be with him. They went to Sacrament meeting Sunday morning and then came up to meet Derrick. I had sent Derrick to the nursery while I showered and then the doctor came to circumcise him while he was there. So Derrick wasn't in the room when they got there. It ended up working out great. Collin had time to warm up to me in new surroundings. We ate lunch, had some of the "sibling cake" the hospital had for us, and went for a little walk around the halls.

 

When they brought Derrick back Collin was so excited! It was such a precious moment to hold both my boys on my lap and sing rock a bye baby. Those silly hormones made me all teary eyed again. ;) The boy's exchanged gifts- Collin had picked out a little lion that plays lullabies, and Derrick "gave" Collin a puzzle. Michael didn't think Collin need more toys. But I told him its really just an excuse to have something new to keep Collin occupied while I am busy nursing so much. They went back home and Derrick and I had a relaxing afternoon together. 

 

 Family of 4! We couldn't find a nurse to take our picture so this is as good as it gets.

 

Walking Michael and Collin to the elevator. Collin insisted on pushing Derrick. It was a bit of a wild ride and I couldn't help but laugh that this was our new life with a toddler and a baby. 

 I am also grateful for a family in our ward for watching Collin last minute so Michael could come back up to Houston for us to be discharged. Derrick was swimming in his coming home outfit. I learned my lesson thinking that he would be big like Collin. Next time I will buy a newborn size, not 0-3. We folded up the sleeves and pretending that his legs weren't all the way up by the leg snaps. Thankfully he has been able to wear it a lot since then! Collin only wore his a couple times.

 

So happy to be home with this sweet boy! Love how little he looks in his car seat. 

Baby Boy #2

A little recap on my pregnancy with Baby Boy #2 aka Baby Waldo, now known as Derrick. I started this post several months ago and never posted it. Now that Derrick is nearly 2 months old I figured I had better finish it and post it! Brace yourself, its a long post, its hard to sum up 9 months!

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I promised I had a good reason for my terrible blogging the past few months....

We are adding another little boy to our family around the 28th of November, and we couldn't be more excited! (although I was not so secretly hoping for a girl)

 

We found out the gender on July 14 at 20 weeks. To celebrate we made cupcakes and shared them with Michael's coworkers and then used this picture to announce it on Facebook. 

 We shared our news with family and a few close friends on May 5th at 10 weeks with this fun Scrabble "game"

 

We found out the end of March (wish I could remember the date- this is already a typical second pregnancy and I have done a terrible job of documenting). I had some bleeding Easter weekend (which unfortunately put a kink in our camping plans) and gave us a bit of a scare, but all is well and baby is healthy. Morning sickness started shortly after. I don't know if it was because I was home more this pregnancy and didn't have school and work to keep me busy, or if it was the fact that I was eating more normal meals since Michael was around to cook dinner every night (he was already in Texas for this part of Collin's) but I felt way sicker this time and threw up a lot more. I slept pretty much every day during nap time, Collin watched more TV then ever before and everything else pretty much got ignored. I couldn't seem to last more then an hour between eating without feeling sick. But I was eating the same foods and so often that I didn't usually want to eat. It was a vicious cycle. Oh and I cant forget the smells, pretty similar to Collin's, but eggs made me gag and our apartment had the worst odor, occasionally I would catch a whiff of it and try not to gag. One time I was in the shower, the bathroom and bedroom doors were closed, and I could still tell that Michael had made some eggs. I pretty much didn't cook a single meal, didnt step foot in the grocery store and barely did dishes that whole time...thank you Michael for picking up the slack! Not fun and I am so happy to be out of that stage! Life has gotten a little more normal since about 16/17 weeks.

We snuggled a lot on the couch reading books or watching shows, usually Daniel Tiger, Collin's favorite.

Some comparing and contrasting to Collin's pregnancy. Definitely sicker and more throwing up this time, but it lasted about the same length. I feel like I started showing much sooner. I know looking at me people probably thought I was crazy, but I definitely felt bigger sooner. And I started wearing maternity clothes much sooner. Although I had an annoying awkward period around 18 weeks (and of course right when we were on vacation) where my regular pants didn't fit anymore but maternity clothes still were a little baggy. Movements were pretty early with both, I want to say around 14/15 weeks I started feeling butterfly like flutters. I know that on June 28th while sitting in Relief Society at church in Wolfeboro, NH I felt his first real kicks. I had also just eaten a couple pieces of dark chocolate which I like to think he enjoyed :) He is busy and active like Collin, however with the location of the placenta (it's in the front) it's been harder for others to feel him. Michael felt him for the first time on July 3rd. My sciatic nerve pain has been WAY worse. With Collin it was probably in the later half that I noticed it more, and only usually after walking a lot. This time it was super early, like maybe 10 weeks? I feel like such a old lady sometimes, it hurts to sit, sometimes I'll get a shooting pain when  I try to change positions or stand up, and standing and walking I'll sometimes move super slow. It's seems to be worst when  I sit in a hard chair for a while or in the car. Sundays are the worst! And traveling and climbing in and out of the back of my Aunt's Honda Pilot was pretty bad. Also I notice it's worse when  I sit on the floor, which of course is hard to avoid with a toddler. I have had to pee so often, especially in the late afternoon and into the evening. He has been pretty low so I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Thankfully the middle of the night bathroom trips have been few and pretty sporadic. My skin has been super dry, which is odd considering how humid it is right now,  but I think it has been partially due to how often I was my hands from the many bathroom trips.

Cravings this time around were a little bit healthier then with Collin. We went through A LOT of pita chips and hummus. I even learned how to make homemade pita chips (well I would buy pitas then turn them into chips). Near the end I had to cut back though because of the heartburn and now that he is here I have hardly touched it. Garlic is a little tough on his tummy. My other craving was miso soup. A few times a week I'd have miso soup and them chips and hummus for lunch. When I had a hankering for something sweet Sonic shakes of summer was a favorite (half off after 8). Or chocolate milk and the sour cream glazed old fashioned donuts from HEB. There were a few times we would stop by HEB for them and then head to the park to enjoy them.

 

Keeping with tradition we are waiting till he is born to decide on his name and referring to him by a "womb name". Michael and I couldn't agree on one this time so we took a poll with our families. The choices were Rupert, Waldo, Cecil and Elmer. It was pretty close between Waldo and Rupert, but Waldo won. We decided on a Where's Waldo theme for our Halloween costumes this year. And we are also planning on getting him a stuffed toy that we can call Waldo once he is born (like we did with Collin's monkey, Bruno)

The closer we got to due date the more and more excited Collin got. It was so much fun to see him start to comprehend what was happening. We got him a little baby doll to help him prepare. I love these pictures of Collin feeding his doll. I don't remember showing him how to feed/hold a baby but he was such a natural! He was a good help pulling out baby clothes, setting up the cradle (although he has a hard time not touching it), and getting other baby things ready. I think it also helped that his new cousin Allison was born just a couple weeks before baby brother.

 

My friend Casie threw such a cute shower for me to celebrate baby #2. It was a fall "little pumpkin" theme. She went all out on the food! She made everything from scratch and it was all delicious! She had mini pumpkin pies, homemade cider, chili in bread bowls, and pumpkin muffins. We played a few minute to win it games, and just had a fun time sharing pregnancy stories and other girl talk. It was the perfect night to celebrate a fall baby. 

 Then Michael's coworkers surprised me with a shower on November 17, just a few days before he was born. Michael was in on this one and told me to come by the office so Collin could see him in the Charlie Chipper costume (the town mascot). I had NO idea what was going on until we walked in the break room and everyone yelled surprise. I must admit I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see him dressed as a giant critter ;) Collin had such a fun time helping open the gifts and kept saying the funniest things, like "so cute" or "so little" when he saw the gift. He is very much in a copying stage. And of course he loved all the yummy food! We didn't need a whole lot this time around but it was so nice to receive some new outfits just for baby boy and stock up on some diapers and wipes. Everyone was so thoughtful and generous!

He looks like such a big boy in this picture- fitting for our soon to be Big Brother! 

It was a typical second pregnancy and I was horrible about documenting the growing bump. I feel like I carried a little lower this time, had hardly any swelling and only gained 27 pounds. 

 7 weeks 

 

18 weeks while on vacation in York, Maine

 22 weeks at our local beach in Surfside 

 

23 weeks

 29 weeks I love how this picture captures pregnancy with a toddler

 33 weeks

 

36 weeks on Halloween 

Last picture at 37 weeks, and the night of my shower, exactly 2 weeks before he was born. Wish I had taken one closer to his birth!  

 And for comparison 37 weeks with Collin

Halloween 2015

In honor of Baby Waldo we went with a Where's Waldo theme for our Halloween costumes. It was the perfect costume for being 37 weeks pregnant. Comfortable and little fuss! And as a plus Collin LOVED it! I made the hats using the nifty knitter looms and then hunted down some stripe shirts- Collin's from Target, mine from Goodwill and Michael's we resorted to ordering from Amazon. And the glasses were photo booth props I stumbled upon at Hobby Lobby.

 

 We got into the Halloween spirit by decorating the house. I loved how our Frankenstein front door turned out. That was a quick, in between Conference sessions project using supplies we already had. We also painted pumpkins. And took a family trip to the pumpkin patch (aka over priced pumpkins scattered on the lawn in front of a local church with some props and bales of hay). We had fun walking around for a few minutes and then drove around town to the grocery stores looking for pumpkins. Which ended up being harder then expected. Lesson learned don't wait till the week of Halloween. But Michael did end up finding some when he went out later that night. I kept tradition of painting mine, Collin painted his and Michael carved. Collin was not a fan of the pumpkin guts, but he did love the finished product.

 

 

Collin was lucky enough to get to wear his costume for the few days leading up to Halloween. On Thursday we had story time at the library. Then Friday we got to trick or treat around City Hall and then helped pass out candy from Michael's office. And then Saturday on Halloween we went to our ward trunk-or-treat, which got moved in doors because of rain, and then went trick or treating around a block in the Wilcox's neighborhood. He made the cutest little Waldo!

 

 Happy to discover he still fit into last years costume. We wore it around the house one day and practiced our trick or treating.

 The kiddos insisted on holding both of Michael's hands

Collin was at such a fun age for Halloween! Last year he was just barely walking and had little interest in holding his treat bucket. This year he perfected "trick or treat please" and was even brave enough to say it most of the time and he knew to knock on the doors- maybe next year he will learn that one knock is enough ;) And he was so brave he would try to help himself to the candy instead of letting the person give it to him, we'll work on that for next year too ;)

 

Holidays are much more exciting through the eyes of a little kid! And I loved having a family themed costume. Maybe we will follow in the footsteps of Grandpa Al and just be Waldo every year!