Elise loves Audrey

This is not an uncommon sight in our house. Elise is very sweet to share her toys. :)

Audrey's birth story

I never wrote down Elise's birth story and I'm regretting it now, so I figure I should do Audrey's while I can remember better. :) I'm also giving fair warning: it should be obvious since it's a birth story, but some of these details may be considered TMI.

The last few days of this pregnancy were pretty uncomfortable, although I think that really just comes with the territory. Little Sister (we didn't know her name yet) really liked being under my ribs, even more than Elise did. It didn't matter if I was sitting, standing, or laying in any number of positions, my ribs were sore and my back hurt. She was also head down for at least the last 3-4 weeks and seemed to have her hands/arms up by her head a lot (she still does). If I ate any sugar after dinner, I paid for it with a dance and kickboxing party directed at my cervix.

Saturday (5/2) morning, our neighborhood in San Diego was having a 5k in conjunction with the annual Fiesta de los Penasquitos. It starts at our stake center and ends at our church building, so a lot of the members of the Church get involved. Assuming Little Sister hadn't come yet, Brian was going to run it and I would decide to participate or not based on how I was feeling. I had been having more contractions throughout the week but they seemed to be mostly Braxton Hicks with a few uncomfortable ones thrown in here and there, so I ended up deciding to walk it. When I showed up, plenty of people asked if I was really going to do it, and there was laughing and joking that I was just trying to jump-start labor. (Did I mention I went to Disneyland twice the week before this?)

On Sunday (5/3) night, I told Brian I was hoping she'd come soon because I was just done with this pregnancy (probably didn't help that I gained more weight this time around). I even apologized for complaining, although he seemed to think it was allowed. ;)

Monday (5/4) morning, something woke me up around 3 AM. That wasn't uncommon for the last week, but then I couldn't get back to sleep because I started having some uncomfortable contractions. I finally fell asleep again around 4:30 or 5 and got up when my alarm went off around 7. I've been walking with friends on MWF since coming off bed rest, so I got myself and Elise ready while the contractions started up again. Since I was induced with Elise, I was a little uncertain about what "real" contractions feel like, but I suspected that these might be closer to the real thing. They kept up throughout the walk and breakfast, but I wasn't really in (much) pain and was definitely in denial. ;) I refused to time them and got ready for my regular prenatal appointment at 10:10. Between the walk and my appointment, I did spend some time in the bathroom with some digestive issues. That seemed like it might also be pointing toward labor, but...nope, still in denial.

My parents were flying in on Monday. I texted my dad to let him know Elise had woken up with a cold (Murphy's Law?) and I was having contractions. I told him I would keep them posted but was still planning on picking them up at the airport later. He responded, "If it's a choice between picking us up and going to the hospital, Go To THE HOSPITAL!"

I hadn't yet packed a hospital bag but at least had the foresight to quickly throw something together before the dr. I figured it couldn't hurt to have it in the car even if today was not the day. Elise and I headed out (I hadn't gotten a babysitter) and I continued having contractions while driving. At that point, they were more uncomfortable but I could still get through them just fine with breathing.

The nurse asked how I was doing, and I mentioned the contractions and diarrhea and said I thought it was possible I was in labor but didn't really know for sure. She asked if I'd had a bloody show yet - I had just had a little blood when giving my urine sample for the appointment. She also asked how far apart the contractions were and looked mildly surprised when I said I hadn't been timing them but they were less than 10 min apart. Dr. Dietze wouldn't normally do a cervical exam at that appointment, but with all those signs she said it would be a good idea for him to check. I told her she seemed a little concerned, but she laughed and said she wouldn't have taken my blood pressure if she was - she would have pasted on a big smile and told me she'd be back in a minute. She did think it was funny how nonchalant I was about everything since I was talking about all these labor signs but then carrying in my 2-year-old and the backpack/diaper bag like it was nothing.

Dr. Dietze came in and chatted for a minute then listened to Little Sister's heartbeat and measured the fundal height. He did the cervical exam while we kept talking and then looked at me and very calmly said, "You're 7 cm." I think I laughed a little bit and responded, "So I guess I should go to the hospital, huh?" He said he'd call and put in orders for me to be admitted so I could bypass triage and recommended that I go straight there (even with Elise) unless I wanted to risk having the baby in the car. ;) I cleaned up Elise's toys, picked her up, and headed out to get her in the car and make a couple phone calls. (Elise, of course, didn't WANT to get in the car, so we had a bit of a struggle in the parking lot but I think I convinced her by asking if she wanted Tyra to come pick her up.) I did have to start leaning over a little to breathe through contractions, but it was still manageable.

Brian said he'd meet me at the hospital, although I found out later that he was concerned about me getting there ok by myself - he did ask if he should come to the dr office to get me instead of just meeting me. I guess I figured I didn't want to leave a car at the dr, and I had made it to  my appointment just fine even through some contractions. I couldn't get ahold of Tyra, but Diana said she could meet me at the hospital and take Elise until my parents flew in. Brian beat me to the hospital, and Diana arrived not long after. By the time we got Elise squared away, it was probably about 11 and both Brian and Diana were asking why I was out in the parking lot helping them.

The front desk sent us up to triage (even though I said my dr sent me and I had orders to be admitted), where they started taking my information. I mentioned Dr. Dietze's orders to the nurse at the window, and she called someone to confirm before telling me to wait for a bit and a L&D nurse would come get me. The nurse also told me (jokingly) she didn't believe I was 7 cm because I was smiling and laughing too much.

An awesome nurse named Amy took us back to a room and got me settled with a gown, IV, monitors, etc. I think it was probably about 11:30 by then. I had been thinking it might be neat to try a natural delivery, especially since I had made it to 7 cm without too much discomfort, but I was certainly not opposed to the epidural. When Amy asked about my expectations for the delivery, I explained this and said something about getting the epidural if I needed it. "Need" was the wrong word - Amy joked that she was happy to tell me if I "needed" it. (As a side note, my non-existent birth plan would have been one sentence, something like, "Get this baby out of me - safely!")

A lot of time after this was spent hanging out and waiting, with some paperwork and stuff thrown in. We talked to a lady about cord blood donation - the public kind, not paying for private storage - and got that all set up (though there was some miscommunication and it ended up not happening after all). Brian told me stories and made me laugh through some contractions, which was surprisingly effective pain relief. Eventually, I did decide to get an epidural.

Nurse Amy came in at some point and said the doctor (not my OB) could come break my water if I wanted. He was busy with another delivery but would come after he was done. Not too much later, we heard a pop and a splash and I was suddenly very wet. ;) When the dr finally came in - he had finished the delivery but another lady was having trouble so he went there first - he found out my water had broken and said that was fine, it would just be a social visit. :)

More waiting. Amy eventually checked me again and I was fully dilated and ready to go. However, I was still comfortable with the epidural and didn't feel any urge to push, so we just waited until the dr was available and let the contractions do the work for a while. I was feeling more pressure (not exactly pain) with some of the contractions and kept saying it felt like I was pooping a baby. Amy said that was fine and I just needed to let her know if I needed to push. She got all the tables and tools set up so that when the dr got there we'd be ready to go. Unfortunately, when it came time to deliver, she had been told to take her lunch break because she probably wouldn't get one if she didn't take it then. Another nurse assisted Dr. Shipp in the delivery.

I learned something new about childbirth - somehow, it never occurred to me that the contractions are meant to push the baby out. Babies could be born with no extra help pushing, we just do it to make things go faster. By the time Dr. Shipp came to deliver, Audrey was quite far down (I think the nurse even checked and said something like, "she's right there!"). They had me push through 2 contractions and then again right after the 2nd one was done because she was practically out. That extra push was all she needed. She was born at 3:15 PM.

I remember with Elise, I immediately reached for her when she was born and said "Give her to me!" The dr then was a little surprised (and we all laughed about it later). But at Mary Birch, that's standard practice - they immediately handed Audrey to me and she laid on my chest for a while as Dr. Shipp worked on stitching and cleaning me up. (Side note: Later, he did give me a prescription for Vicodin but said if I got to 7 cm without much pain, I probably wouldn't need it and would likely be fine with Ibuprofen. I guess I must have a high pain tolerance. I don't know if I would have said that about myself before - we learn new things every day. :) I did think it was funny that it seemed like every person who came in to see me knew I was 7 cm before getting to the hospital. I guess word spreads quickly, haha.)

Most of the time after delivery and before moving to my postpartum room was spent doing skin-to-skin with Audrey, which I loved. Amy cleaned her up and weighed/measured her (7 lb 11 oz and 20 in long) after a long time bonding. I also tried breastfeeding a little bit, and she took to it pretty well.

Tyra picked up my parents at the airport (around 4 PM) and they all came to the hospital to meet Audrey. They held her and took some pictures and we hung out for a bit while my epidural wore off. Eventually they went home to get Elise and I was transferred to my room upstairs.

Overall, Audrey's birth was a very good experience. I'm grateful for all the doctors and nurses who took such good care of me (and her). We're really enjoying having this sweet, healthy baby in our family. :)

another photo dump

Since I only seem to post pictures about 6 months at a time, it must be about time for another update. :) Mostly pictures from my phone again, but I'll try to put up better (more recent) ones soon.

 11/28/14 - Family hike at Rocky Mouth Canyon while we were in UT for Thanksgiving. I was about 4 months pregnant at this point.

 12/15/14 - I can't remember for sure, but I think this was the first time I ever gave Elise her own bowl of cereal and trusted her to eat it herself. She ate like a champ!

12/24/14 - New Christmas jammies! (The picture's a bit blurry if you enlarge it, but my pants and Elise's sleeper have penguins.) 

1/9/15 - Passed out on the couch because she wouldn't sleep in her bed for her nap. I suspect it had something to do with the whole "bed rest" thing I had just started. (We may have had her mattress on the floor so she could get in and out without me lifting her). 

1/16/15 - We met the Jacksons at Disneyland. Elise LOVES Minnie. (I'm about 5.5 months pregnant in this one.)

 1/23/15 - Playing outside in her jammies and Sunday shoes.

 1/24/15 - After her first haircut (besides a bang trim I did previously)! I was so sad we had to cut off the curls, but she had a gross baby mullet.

2/2/15 - We were about a month into the bed rest at this point and needed every possible opportunity to get outside. She spent a long time throwing Mickey in, climbing in after him, handing him back to me, climbing out, and repeating the process.

2/2015 - Diana offered to take Elise to the Safari Park with her boys so I could rest like I was supposed to. (I could sing Diana's praises all day - Elise loves her and so do I!)

2/9/15 - Just playing with the tupperware - taking it all out and putting it back. I wasn't even mad because she was happy and entertained. Also, she gets some crazy hair when she sleeps, and I don't always bother to comb it. 

3/3/15 - It was an awesome day for fashion at our house. 

 3/6/15 - Thoroughly enjoying her banana milkshake.

3/8/15 - This girl LOVES shoes. More recently, she has even figured out how to tromp around in Daddy's sneakers, and she thinks it's hilarious (it is). I don't know how I got lucky enough to catch this pose either, but she's certainly struttin' her stuff. 

 3/17/15 - Finger painting! I didn't trust her with clothes on, or inside, for that matter. We got some Vitamin D instead. :) She enjoyed it for a little while then decided it was actually more fun to play with the cups and lids.

 3/25/15 - What's around her feet, you ask? Oh, just her potty seat. Don't worry, I wiped it down (she's never successfully used it anyway) but not before she put it on her head as a hat. (She also has a pajama shirt from the laundry around her neck.)

little singer

I was doing something in the kitchen the other day when Brian came in and asked if I had seen what Elise was doing. Here's the video I took:

I didn't catch it in this one, but she had been putting the little book (a coupon book we got in the mail) in the door track and acting like she was playing the piano. She'd flip pages every once in a while and continue singing and "playing." We think she's adorable. :)

pictures

Here are a bunch of pictures since I've been so terrible about updates - some older and some more recent. (Forgive the quality, a lot of them are phone pictures.)

 5/22/14 - Looking at pictures in her rocking chair. This girl LOVES reading books.

6/2014 - We went to the San Diego County Fair with some friends from our apartment complex.

6/2014 - Riding the little kiddie tractors at the fair.

 7/13/14 - We wanted a picture of her wearing this adorable dress before she outgrew it, but she passed out on the way home from church. Our Brazilian friends in Columbus brought it back for her from a trip to Brazil.

8/23/14 - I ran the Color Me Rad 5k with some friends. I think Elise was less than impressed. Brian was the only spectator on the course, and people loved it (and his sign).

8/23/14 - These lovely ladies encouraged me to train for and run this race.

 8/29/14 - Watching BYU football with friends. We're pretty sure Elise is the cutest BYU cheerleader around. Go Cougs!

 9/13/14 - Playing at the beach with Grandpa Casaday.

9/28/14 - Rockin' her awesome birthday dress/outfit from Aunt Tami.

10/18/14 - Rock, paper, scissors at our ward's Trunk or Treat.

10/27/14 - Swinging at the park. 

 10/27/14 - Riding the zebra at the park. She had ridden it for the first time a few days before and knew exactly what to do when she got on this time.

10/27/14 - Painting pumpkins for FHE. She caught on pretty quickly.

10/31/14 - My secondary Halloween costume. :) (This is how we announced the baby due in May. I was about 13 weeks here.)

11/14/14 - Our little stinker hard at work spreading hot chocolate all over the kitchen floor. Could've been much worse, I suppose.

words

I can tell Elise is growing up because she's talking more and more every day. Much of what she says is unintelligible, although she seems to know exactly what she's saying. :) She frequently comes up to me and starts babbling conversations. I usually respond by nodding or saying, "oh, yeah?" or similar things.

Off the top of my head, Elise has at least 19 spoken words we understand (whether or not they sound like the actual word) and another 5 words or phrases in sign.

Spoken: uh-oh, yeah, daddy, mama, dog, cat, up, hot, hat, sock, shoe, sit (sounds like a certain 4-letter word, if you know what I mean...), go, cracker (one of her favorites), water, cheese, Jesus, keys, stuck
Signs: more, please, thank you, all done, milk

body parts

We've been working with Elise on learning various body parts, and she's getting pretty decent with some of them (there are still a lot she doesn't know consistently). One of the ones she picked up recently was "hair."

Last night, I was reading some books to her. I noticed in the the middle of one of the books, But Not the Hippopotamus, she started putting her hands on top of her head. I was trying to figure out why and just assumed she was being silly. Then I realized it was around the time I said, "while the moose and the bear and the goose and the hare are doing their best to keep up with the rest." Hare? Hair? Sounds the same to our cute little girl. ;)

P.S. I love that book. And almost anything else by Sandra Boynton.

a picture explosion

We're long overdue for posting pictures. Here's an old one I found and some from since we moved to San Diego. (I'm trying to be better about updating but have been mostly unsuccessful in my efforts for consistency thus far.)

5/18/13 - In all of our time in Columbus, we had never been to see the Santa Maria downtown. Some friends told us about the Pirates Weekend, so we went down to check out the ship and the gun battle. Elise slept the entire time, including during the gun battle (while we were on the ship). This was the best pirate-y outfit we could come up with for her.

 

9/4/13 - It seemed like all of our cute pictures of Elise were in her bathing suit for a while. What a problem. ;)

9/6/13 - Brian and Elise at the beach (Torrey Pines) the Friday before Brian started his job.

9/13 (my camera decided you have to set the date every time you turn it on now, so I don't know the date; I think it was sometime in September...) - Elise decided she loves eating paper. I have since learned I probably shouldn't let her. (Can you see the ink on her face?)

9/13/13 - We met Brian and Kate in LA and got to see the space shuttle Endeavor.

9/14/13 - I was trying to get a picture of Elise wearing the shoes Marsha (neighbor in Columbus) gave us. You can't see them that well, but they're pink and sparkly.:)

9/28/13 - We went to SeaWorld for Brian's annual work outing. This was just before she fell asleep (poor thing was exhausted).

10/4/13 - Watching BYU football with Daddy. :)

10/5/13 - Getting really close to rolling over onto her stomach. For a while, she had to have the right motivation (in this case, tags...on the changing pad...).

10/6/13 - Starting August or September, I decided to try something called baby-led weaning. Basically, you give them fry-shaped pieces of fruits and veggies to gnaw on. She apparently loved the cucumber. She generally likes whatever chunks we give her, although it went poorly one time when she actually got a piece of pear off but didn't chew it enough before swallowing. (She's starting to figure out chewing now.)

10/15/13 - We went apple picking in Julian, which inspired us to make caramel apples for FHE the next week. The apples we picked were tiny (but surprisingly delicious), so these were some I bought.

10/18/13 - I found her this way during a nap. This was one day after the pediatrician expressed some concern that she wasn't consistently rolling onto her stomach yet. (That visit is a whole different story.) It was as if Elise was saying, "Mom, don't worry, I'm perfectly normal."

10/19/13 - Our adorable little ladybug at the PQ1 Trunk or Treat. We were hoping she would have learned to crawl by then, but no such luck. The Halls (in Columbus) gave us her costume before we moved because they knew Brian had been coveting it the year before when he saw Lydia wearing it. ;)

10/19/13 - Family Halloween costumes - snail, ladybug, and lawn gnome.

10/29/13 - 7 months old! She was 18 lbs, 13 oz and 27" at her appointment about 2 weeks before.

11/1/13 - Eating an Asian pear in her walker (which we use as a high chair since I need to clean up and cover the one I bought). She loves Asian pears and sometimes screams at me if I take them away.

11/8/13 - We hiked Iron Mountain on one of Brian's Fridays off. Brian carried her the entire time in the Bjorn, and she slept most of the way up. I forgot to grab a hat for her, so we bought bandanas. It's surprisingly difficult to tie them on a baby - it kept popping up and looking like a KKK hat (I swear we're not racist!).

11/8/13 - Om nom nom. Brian's hair was pretty gross after this.

 11/8/13 - More Iron Mountain.

11/16/13 - Brian set up his hammock on our balcony and took a little nap with Elise.