Yesterday was quite a day. Mostly horrible. Lynnden cried and screamed herself hoarse during the day. There was no soothing her for endless hours. As such, we didn't even get to church.
Thankfully, she fell asleep late that afternoon and we were able to go to Grandma and Grandpa Lords for a delicious dinner (Chinese noodles for everyone but me...a special ((and equally delicious)) stir fry for me - the mom that is going dairy and gluten free for her baby).
But the really special moment that made this day particularly memorable happened as we were on our way home again.
We were pulling out of the neighborhood and Ammely waves good-bye to the houses and says "Bye Grandma, Bye Grandpa. I love you."
That was her very first fully said "I love you."
Typically, we say "I love you Ammely," and she will respond with "too," or "I too." No love. No you. Just too.
So Grandma and Grandpa Lords...even though you were not there to witness it you should know that you have the honor of having Ammely's first "I love you."
The little lady who had been growing inside of me for 40 long weeks has finally made her way into the world.
She is lovely.
We are SO glad she is here.
And I for one do not want to forget all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) details of her arrival. So here is her documented birth story.
Even though the entire pregnancy is long, I think the last four weeks take the longest. Every single day you wonder, "Is today the day?" Especially when the doc seems to think that could be the case too.
At 37 weeks I went into the doctor and he said I was already dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced and that he wouldn't be surprised if I went into labor sooner than later - that he'd see me the next week for my appointment - if not then sooner to deliver this baby. Yahoo!
Except that didn't happen. So at 38 weeks I go in and now I'm a "loose" 2 cm and 70% effaced. So I'm still making progress and once again the doc thinks there's a really good chance I'll go into labor any day.
Nope. My 39 week appointment rolls around. This time I'm dilated to 3 cm but only 75% effaced. The doctor strips my membranes and seems pretty confident that will send my body into labor within 48 hours. We schedule me for an induction though just in case. I have contractions on an off all week long but they never progress into anything regular.
Yup, you guessed it. My 40 week appointment rolls around (June 24th - due date) and I still have no baby. However, I am 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced and only two days away from induction day. So even though it's looking like I'll be induced again, I'm optimistic that everything will go pretty quickly once it starts. I mean, I'm already dilated to a FOUR. With Ammely, my entire labor was spent getting me to a four. Then I went from 4 cm to a loose 9 cm and ready to push within 45 minutes.
The next day I spent going over my house and hospital bags making sure everything was just right. I desperately wanted to come home to a clean house and had spent the last month making sure everything was just so before bed or leaving the house. That night we got some Sonic (hello dirty Dr Pepper), read some scriptures, got blessings (me and Ammely), then went and picked up my mother from the airport (Yay! She'll be here for the whole experience and will be able to stay at home with Ammely!).
The next day was induction day, aka "Baby Day." My appointment was for 5 a.m. and, miracle of miracles, when I called at 4 a.m. everything was running smoothly at the hospital and I could ACTUALLY go in at 5:00. Yahoo!
Ammon and I finished getting dressed, said goodbye to Mom and Ammely, grabbed some toast and mango and headed to the hospital.
We made it with no problems and snapped one last pregnant picture before heading inside.
We checked in, went through the paperwork and then Nurse Susan came out to take us back to my Labor & Delivery room.
She was wonderful. She went through more paperwork (do they call it computerwork these days?) and then at 6:30 she checked me (still 4 cm and 75% effaced) and started me on the Pitocin.
At 7:00 it was shift change so Susan introduced me to my new nurse, Cherie. Again, she was wonderful. Very attentive. Very patient. Very informative.
Also, the anesthetist came in, introduced herself and explained the process of the epidural. Whenever I want it, I can have it.
Ammon and I decide we're going to do a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon since they have all four of them on the television.
We start number one.
Contractions are coming quite regularly but are totally manageable. I mean, I still looked like this:
However, around 8:30 Dr. Layton comes in and breaks my water. Afterwards, he hangs around for a few minutes and says he wants to see my next couple of contractions because "they should start getting a lot worse."
Nurse Cherie pipes up and says, "Yes, look at that smile. We're going to wipe that smile off her face."
Great.
They only spoke truth. (Note: there are no more pictures of me until after the baby arrives, ha!)
The following contractions were horrific. After only fifteen or twenty minutes of these intense contractions, my sweet husband asks what he can do to help me through the contractions - "What do you want?"
"I want the epidural."
Ok.
Somewhere between 9 and 9:30 the blessed anesthetist comes in and gives me the epidural. It works beautifully. On my left side. But I can still feel everything on my right side.
So they keep up-ing my dosage. Slowly, I feel less and less of those contractions on my right side but it doesn't go numb.
By 10:00 I'm starting to feel a lot of pressure (well, on my right side) and I ask Ammon to check and make sure everything is okay. He takes a peek and spots some blood and notifies my nurse.
The nurse in turn checks me and informs us that the baby is in the birth canal and my body is ready to push.
We get the anesthetist back in the room and they give me what I think they called a "sit up dose" which they assured me would make me completely numb very quickly.
Anesthetist: "The other doses would never have caught up with your body. This WILL make you numb."
Nurse Cherie reminds me of how to breathe and push and says we'll do a few practice pushes. We do.
She suggests not pushing for the next twenty minutes and just let my body's contractions naturally take the baby a little further down without wearing me out with all the pushing.
After those twenty minutes we do another one or two pushes and everyone can see that this is going to go very quickly.
No more pushing for me until they can get the doctor there. They call Dr Layton and he shows up within ten minutes or so.
I remember looking at the clock at 10:55 and thinking "Okay, here we go. I'm going to start pushing now and the baby will probably be here around 11:30 or a little later."
Everyone starts coaching me through some pushes and mere minutes later I can gear our baby crying (they didn't even have to suck stuff out of her mouth) and I can see on Ammon's face that our baby girl is here. Another push or two and they're laying her on my abdomen and letting Ammon cut her umbilical cord (which is apparently shorter than usual).
There was a lot of activity and emotion in those few minutes and I truly expected it to be much later than it was - imagine my surprise that her birth time was 11:02! Hallelujah! Mere minutes of pushing and only 4.5 hours of labor!
She was here! And it was quick!
The next couple of hours were spent trying to wipe down, calm, feed, measure and warm my baby.
She was NOT happy those first few hours of life. But once everyone finally stopped poking her and just let her lay out under the heater, she was contented as could be.
During that time Grandma Baysinger came to see her - her first visitor (and one of her name sakes)! Unfortunately, she didn't get to hold her so we asked her to come back with Grandpa later.
A while later little Lynnden was happily keeping her temperature up and at long last Daddy got to hold her.
From there we got moved to our recovery room and poked and prodded some more. (Note, we only got about 30 minutes of the first Pirate movie done - no marathon for us, haha!)
Meanwhile, our next set of visitors eagerly awaited the green light to come inside (Ammely, Grandma Breakall, Grandma and Grandpa Lords and Aunt Tammy).
Apparently, while they were all at lunch Ammely told Aunt Tammy that she wanted to go shopping for a balloon. So they did. AND she got a "Big Sister" button on her shirt too. Is she not the cutest Big Sister in all the world?
Finally, the nurses were done with us and our visitors could come inside. Here we are, the four of us for the first time.
For some reason, most of our family shots were crazy blurry. Oh well.
The conversation for the above picture went something like this: Ammon: Ammely, who is that? Ammely: Mommy! Ammon: Yes, but who is THAT? Ammely:Baby.
Ammon: Yes, what baby? Ammely: Maggie!
Ammon: No, it's not Maggie. That's your sister. Ammely:Sister...?
Ammon:That's Lynndnen. Ammely. Lynnden.
Afterwards, we got me scooted over on the bed and Ammely got to hold her baby. I'm pretty sure they love each other already.
Ammely: "She's cute baby!"
Then Lynnden got passed around and eventually Grandma Breakall got to hold her too (Lynnden's other name sake).
A little while later, after our visitors had gone, I finally got all of my needles and ropes and tubes and wires removed from me and I was able to change into my comfy PJs - I felt almost human again! And Lynnden got into some comfy PJs too.
We spent the rest of the evening getting to know our daughter...and watching mandatory (and not mandatory) videos so that we would be able to leave as soon as possible.
Also, Grandma and Grandpa Baysinger DID come back that night and they got to hold her this time around! Did I get pictures though? No. Sigh.
The rest of the night went pretty well too. We did send Lynnden to the nursery for one portion of the night though - she was fed and changed and still not happy. And we were exhausted. So off she went and we got three hours of uninterrupted sleep - and it felt like ten. SO glad we did that.
The next morning was another series of pokes and prods. But both Lynnden and I passed everything and we got the "ok" to go home that afternoon.
Not before we got a few last visitors though - Mom and Ammely came back (SO grateful that Ammely got to spend this time with Grandma - she was happy as could be).
AND Brigham, Jenn and Ephraim came to say hello! AND they brought ice cream - which Ammely was not upset about.
So we strapped Lynnden into her carseat...
...waved goodbye to our room (1102...pretty cool since she was born at 11:02!)...
...and packed up the truck and headed home to start this newest, grand adventure...
...life with TWO precious girls...a blessing indeed.
I am now 38 weeks pregnant and hoping this baby decides to walk out of the womb at any moment. However, since she has not decided to start that process yet I figure I might as well do a little catch up on this here blog. Maybe that's what's holding her back. She knows there are a few memories to document before they're totally dwarfed by her arrival. So baby girl, here we go.
Peaches
Our peach tree had it's very first fruit-bearing season at our house. And it actually produced! They were small...
...but delectable (the birds especially thought so...sigh).
Seriously some of the best peaches we ever tasted.
We're eagerly anticipating NEXT year already - there should be more and they should be bigger. YAY!
Memorial Day Weekend
This year Memorial Day weekend was looking to be a bit ordinary for us as Ammon had to work all weekend - Friday, Saturday AND Monday. Bleh.
But then the rare and unexpected happened and this not-so-exciting holiday weekend turned into a special treat.
Grandma AND Grandpa Breakall came into town to see us!
Do you know what happens when they BOTH come to town? TWICE the spoiling happens.
Truly.
This is what happened less than an hour after they landed on Arizona soil.
Yup, that is a brand new stuffed lion for the Ammely girl from her Grandpa Breakall (lions just happen to be her very favorite animal).
She loves this lion.
What is his name? Well, after a few minutes of brainstorming Grandpa and Ammely decided on Whiskers. Whiskers is now part of the family.
As if that wasn't enough, the very next day Grandpa took Ammely on an adventure of her very own.
Note that Whiskers is nearby for this adventure.
Ice cream. Dates with Grandpa are the best.
Was Ammely the only spoiled girl? Nope.
Look what a very wonderful Daddy saw on my wishlist and had sent right to my doorstep!
Isn't it the most beautifulest bed set in all the whole wide world? I just need to paint our room and it will be on the verge of perfect. I love this bed set. More every day.
PLUS, he fixed some bizzare issue our car blinker was having AND hung up our retractable extension cord for us.
We all love it when Grandpa comes to town.
I wish I had been better about documenting this weekend but I wasn't.
There were Spades tournaments for the men folk (I do believe that Ammon and Boyd took the "trophy" this time around).
There were days in Grandma and Grandpa's swimming pool.
There was shopping for the girls (in the which Grandma did MUCH spoiling for us too - especially for the little girl on the way).
There was a day at the cabin with Aunt Tammy and Uncle Patrick.
There was a BBQ at Mama and Daddy's (which fortunately other family members documented, thanks Belle!)
There were late night talks for me and my mom and Prisonbreak marathons for Ammon and Dad.
But the ONLY picture I took was this one (all the others were donated by Grandpa):
But I guess it pretty well shows how much we LOVE Grandma and Grandpa and how VERY glad we are that they came and spent some time with us.
Ammon's Weekend Off
Because Ammon worked the holiday, his office had the following Friday off instead. Not wanting to waste a long weekend, we decided to go exploring this state in search of an awesome camping/fishing destination.
So we headed to Greer.
The drive was long but enjoyable.
The destination was beautiful. Truly beautiful.
The fishing was terrible (Wrong bait? Bad luck? Bad spot? Who knows.)
The Ammely was...part angel, part devil. Perfect baby on the drive and at the campground. Little she-devil at the lakes.
This is my "What were we thinking? I'm 36 weeks pregnant and my first child is a terrible two year old" face.
She did have a few good moments at the water though.
Like when the shoreline was walking friendly and Daddy let her help with the fishing pole.
Or when she happened upon a pink dog leash someone else had lost.
The camping was...not so awesome.Even though our tent WAS awesome!
There was nowhere to pitch a tent without paying for it (Is that an Arizona thing? Or just that neck-of-the-woods?).
And we were in bear country. Which meant one sleepless night for the protector of the family.
In fact, it was about 3:30 a.m. and looked like this when we packed up camp for some peace of mind.
We waited by the lake for sunlight, ate some breakfast, tried some fishing, spotted some deer and then headed home. It was a long trip for such a short trip. Still, we were glad we did it even if we don't plan to return.
We just want to explore other parts of this beautiful state. You know, when I'm not so hugely pregnant.
Fourth Anniversary
Yesterday marked FOUR whole years of wedded bliss for Ammon and me. As in love as we are and as happy as we are to be together (which is, you know, like an impossible amount of a lot)...our anniversary did not have a lot going for it.
It was a Wednesday.
And we didn't even attempt to find a babysitter.
And I'm a mere two weeks from evicting another human from my body - not the most energetic or attractive state of my life.
So what did we do to conquer these challenges?
Well Ammon came home with delicious Mexican food from Casa de Mina for lunch.
And then we made reservations for home. (Thank you Dating Divas for this fabulous, last minute but perfect idea!)
One reserved couch, four lit candles in the living room, endless snacks and junk food, two delicious beverage options,several Netflix gems, one romantic letter from your husband plus three variants of ice cream treats equals a perfect, last minute, middle of the week, super pregnant anniversary.
We were made for each other.
That's a Wrap
And that about wraps up our recent adventures. To the little girl growing inside my womb - you can now come out and into the world. Our family, our home and our blog is ready for you.
We've got approximately six weeks left until the newest Baysinger girl makes her appearance. This mama is ready! Well, emotionally. And physically. I've got swelling and heartburn like mad. Sleeping comfortably? - barely remember what that is like. In fact, I've been waking up with leg crams and charlie horses lately - that's a new one to this pregnancy. Although, I haven't (yet at least) had the horrid, torturous stomach itching as I did last time. So I guess that's a good trade. I hardly fit into my maternity clothes. Just the other day I was at the library and a mother and her children were passing by to leave. After they passed by, but were clearly still in earshot, one of the little girls looks up at her mom and says "Did you see that lady with the really fat stomach?" Ha! Awesome.
Of course, some of the more practical things still need tending to - but I'm pretty sure I've hit the nesting stage which is taking care of that. In the moments when I'm not falling asleep from 3rd trimester exhaustion, I am running around tending to a hundred little chores and checklists I normally wouldn't think about. At least a portion of them are baby related.
Baby things I've done in the past two weeks:
Purchased large box of newborn diapers.
Bottles washed and organized.
Crib sheet and baby blankets washed.
Bassinet set up by our bed.
Diaper bag washed and ready to be re-stuffed with baby items.
Hospital bag packed - mostly.
Living room carpet has been shampooed (SO much better than before).
Double stroller purchased (and tested! - thanks Ephraim!)
Cleaned infant car seat - it's ready to go!
Checked out and reading books about breastfeeding.
Registered at the hospital
Baby things to do:
Organize baby clothes in dresser and closet.
Go through Ammely's current clothing so there is room in dresser and closet.
Wash pacifiers (though we never really got to use them last time around).
Investigate baby slings
Pack diaper bag
Pack overnight bag for Ammely
Put phone and camera chargers in hospital bag
Continually clean house so it's nice when we get home with baby
Making me even MORE ready for this baby to come out is the fact that I think Ammely is finally starting to comprehend that there is a baby in Mommy's stomach and that we will have a baby in our home.
For instance, she has started referring to the baby as "Am-me's Baby." Or on some occasions as "our baby." I'll say something like "Ammely, there's a baby in Mommy's belly." And she'll say "Our baby?"
And on Monday we had an appointment and Dr Layton let us take a little peek at the baby. Ammely actually sat and watched her on the screen instead of squirming around. She kept asking "What is it?" and I would tell her "That's the baby."
Then the whole way home Ammely insisted on holding the picture - she'd point at it and smile and say "Baby! Am-me's baby!"
It probably helped that it was a 3D picture - it actually looks like a baby! Isn't she adorable?
Of course, there are other times I'm not so sure Ammely understands the baby in the belly concept. Case in point:
I am sitting in Ammely's room sorting through her recent clean laundry when she starts to walk through (and ruin) my neat, folded piles. I gently nudge her away from the clothing by pushing on her stomach.
Immediately, Ammely points to her belly and says "Hey, no touching baby! Baby! No touch!"
Hmmm.
Well, she'll figure it out someday. In six weeks give or take.
