July Update

Here is how this past month went!

Adam: turned 29 this month!! We celebrated by having a get together with some family in the afternoon and then that evening we went to find a spot to watch the local fireworks show (while trying to avoid parking and traffic). The day after he got a special visit from his brother Seth and his family. That was probably his favorite birthday gift because we had someone to play games with haha. He also went back to work and has been amazing at balancing his work stresses, home stresses, and lack of sleep. He is a HUGE support for me breastfeeding as well. We kinda gave up on him taking a feeding since I'd have to wake up to pump anyways but he always gets Wesley and brings him to me and also settles him down if he needs it. He is the best husband and father.

Ashley: I spent the first half of the month trying to find a new normal with Adam at work while trying to prepare for family visiting. The second half of the month, I had to find a NEW new normal because my mom had left after staying with us for a month from when Wesley was born. It was kind of intimidating being home all day with the boys by myself at first but we're getting used to it haha. I am SOOOOO grateful that my mom could come and help for such a long time. It was such a sacrifice of her energy and time but made a huge difference in how my postpartum time went.

Eli: has LOVED having family visit. He enjoyed my mom being here and was ecstatic when all of his grandparents were here along with his aunts, uncles, and cousin on my side and two uncles and aunts and a cousin on Adam's side all came to visit this month. Honestly, I was expecting a full on meltdown when everyone left after the blessing but he did so well saying goodbye. He's definitely growing up in a lot of ways! He's especially gotten more into creative pretend play recently. He will often give me cars and have conversations between them and his cars haha. I love seeing his imagination grow and process things. He loves Wesley and hasn't been too jealous of him. More often than not, he gets mad because he wants to do things like hold and feed him but he can't. It will be fun to see if they'll play well once Wesley can actually play haha.

Wesley: turned 1 month old this month! His head control is getting better but still quite wobbly. He also started smiling this month! That of course is my favorite :) He's a good eater except when my milk comes out too fast. Then he unlatches and gets sprayed in the face haha. We're still troubleshooting how to help his perpetual gassiness but we're pretty sure its my overactive letdown. He has started balding on top and looks like an old man. His favorite thing is to sit on my lap with his back leaning against my thighs as I sit with my knees up. He loves to see our faces and that is how we get the most smiles. He still wakes up quite a few times at night but occasionally will go a 3 or 4 hour stretch! He is a super sweet baby and is now over 11 lbs already so he's quickly becoming a chunk!

Special Events This Month
Fourth of July and Adam's birthday as mentioned above :)
We had Wesley's baby blessing! We were so happy that so many family were able to travel to share it with us. We definitely had a packed house that weekend! It was also the first time my whole family had been together now that Jessica is married (and of course Wesley joining us). So we had to get a family photo which was interesting with a kindergartner and a toddler to try and contain haha. It was a fun, crazy, happy weekend!

Wesley's Birth Story

After a month, it’s probably about time for me to write Wesley’s birth story before I forget haha. So here it is!

I had been having inconsistent contractions for days so it was hard to tell if I was close to labor at all. The night of the 15th, my mom, Adam, and I watched a movie and I was feeling really crampy. Not like contractions but like really bad period cramps. My due date was the next day and I was feeling discouraged that I may go late. So we went to bed. Then at about 4:30 am, I woke up with pretty bad contractions. I realized pretty quickly that they were consistent so I woke up Adam to help me through them and time them. I also had to go to the bathroom a ton xP. One of the times I went, there was bright blood when I wiped almost like starting a period which worried me. We called my doula to let her know what was going on and then labor and delivery to check if we should be worried about the blood. They said not to worry unless it was a ton and that I could just come in when my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. I debated taking a bath to help me cope but my contractions were pretty close together so we decided to just go to the hospital. At this point, I started feeling anxiety about going through labor again. Adam was busy gathering the last of our things so I went upstairs and woke up my mom. She helped me through a few contractions until we were ready to head out.

We got to the hospital about 6 or 6:30 and got settled into our room. My doula Meagan then met us there. They gave me a hep lock (basically a catheter in your vein so they don't have to find one in an emergency but its not connected to anything) and thankfully I didn't need an IV the whole labor. They checked me at 7 and I prepared myself that I wasn’t going to be much but I was at 5 cm! 3 hours and I was already halfway there! For those who don’t know, I was in labor for nearly two days with Eli and I got stuck at 6 cm. Unluckily, I was having back labor again. This worried me but I tried to stay focused on my hypnobirthing. I spent a lot of time either on the birth ball or standing, always leaning on Adam and Meagan giving counter pressure on my back and hips. The nurses and my OB were super supportive of my birth plan and didn’t bother us too much. I did wireless monitoring so I could move around but it kept flipping out of place and then beeping at me which was annoying.

At around 8:50, I started to feel downward pressure and I thought I might be starting to feel pushy but I wasn’t sure. They checked me again and originally I didn’t want them to tell me the result. I said out loud “I’m only at a 5 or 6 aren’t I” again preparing myself for no progress. But I was at a 9! Two hours going from a 5 to a 9 was just the encouragement I needed to believe I could do this. Only problem now was I couldn’t go in the tub anymore :(

So I kept going and worked on breathing Wesley down with each contraction. At this point I did a lot of moaning and standing while leaning on Adam. The contractions were getting more and more intense and I was having more trouble focusing through them. They checked me again at 10:10 and I was mostly 10 cm but I still had a lip of cervix that hadn’t dilated fully due to Wesley being posterior. They offered to break my water to help move things along but I decided against it. So I got to lay on my side with a peanut ball between my legs. This was definitely not as comfortable as being able to move and I was starting to feel out of control. Adam worked hard to keep me calm but I struggled. 

At 11:20, they checked me again and I still had a little bit of cervix left. However this is about the time when my body took control and everything went super fast. I pretty much lost focus completely and started screaming with each contraction. They kept telling me to breathe but I was having a hard time focusing to take a breath so I asked for the oxygen mask to help me. Then my body started pushing without me really trying haha. I could feel him moving so I told them he was coming and at this point, the nurses told me to not push so my doctor could get there. That was pretty much the worst because I couldn’t stop it or hold back so I was just laying on the bed kinda writhing. Meagan came hurrying back from the bathroom when she saw everyone frantically going into our room. My OB barely had time to get a gown on and almost forgot her gloves before she had to catch the baby. I started full on pushing at 11:30 and my water wasn’t broken or bulging. He almost was born en caul (still in the amniotic sack) because the bag was tight around his head but as soon as he started crowning, it broke. Then he was born at 11:34 am.

They placed him in my chest and I got to do a ton of skin to skin. I noticed that his head wasn’t cone shaped and they said that was because he didn’t spend much time in the birth canal since he came so fast. He also had a ton of dark brown hair haha. My OB delayed the cord clamping and even showed me the cord before cutting it just like I wanted. At 11:40, I gave a slight push and delivered the placenta which she also showed me (I think it’s so crazy and cool that my body created an organ to sustain a baby). I only had a small tear enough for one stitch. I mostly just tried to focus on Wesley while they numbed me to stitch it.

I have to say that the hospital (Mountain View in Idaho Falls) and my OB (Dr. Huggins) were AMAZING at following my birth plan. Pretty much everything I wanted they did and never pushed on anything. I had the natural birth that I was wanting and the after birth care that I didn’t get with Eli. They didn’t do any checks or anything until at least an hour after he came out so he just stayed on my chest. He didn’t cry but just was breathing calmly. After his checks (weighing 6 lb 10 oz and measuring at 19 inches), I was super sore so they suggested I take a warm bath which felt amazing! Then they moved me to a postpartum room where we spent a couple days. Here's a post about my recovery.

Overall, I am so glad I got to have a natural unmedicated birth. Was it crazy hard? Yes. Especially the last part where I lost control of my body. Thankfully that was one of the shortest periods. But the recovery was SO much easier than with Eli. No episiotomy, no spinal headache from the epidural, and no trying to shower with a big bandage on my back. Even though a part of it was luck of a smooth circumstance, I am so proud of myself for accomplishing my goal of doing this. And thank goodness the labor was only 7 hours rather than 40!! Thank you Wesley for coming faster than your big brother haha :)

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June Update

So last month has been a whirlwind but here it is!

Adam and Ashley: We spent the first half of the month frantically preparing for baby. Adam has been super on top of organizing the tasks that needed to be done to help me feel less anxious. I mostly just tried to survive each day with how severely uncomfortable I was haha. As time got closer, I had more contractions off and on which were not fun and just made me wonder when Wesley was going to come out. My mom came to stay with us on the 13th and Wesley was born on the 16th! Birth story will be coming soon. The latter half of the month was a blur of anxiety (for me), breastfeeding, and adjusting to two kids. Adam has been a champ daddy taking at least one feeding a night and I am so grateful my mom has been here to help!

Eli: The first half of the month, he was super stir crazy. I struggled to do much so we had lots of cuddle time and Netflix. Then Grandma Debby came and spoiled him with treats and new toys. He has LOVED having her here and I’m kinda nervous about his reaction when she leaves. He has done really well with Wesley and he is always wanting to help or hold him. His favorite is to give him his pacifier and fetch mommy breast pads haha. He has struggled with going to sleep which has been stressful and has led to more tantrums during the day due to tiredness. Hopefully he’ll get used to a new routine or at least stop turning on his lights at bedtime xP.

Wesley: came out of me this month! He’s spent most of his time earthside trying to get the hang of nursing and struggling to figure out how to pass gas. He weaned off of the nipple shield a lot quicker and easier than I thought. However, he still struggles with mommy making too much milk for him and it coming out too fast. He is a very sweet baby and sounds like a squealy pig when he cries. He also looks vastly different than Eli which will be fun to watch as he grows!

May Update

I thought I should probably get on writing last month’s update before the craziness truly gets started so here it is!

 

Adam and Ashley: May was spent working on our super long list of things to do before baby Wesley comes. Since we were finally unpacked, it was definitely time to get on that. So we spent most of our time organizing, cleaning, planting our garden, painting Wesley’s room, moving all the baby stuff out of storage, and getting the birth prep finished (hypnobirthing practice, packing the labor bag, writing our birth preferences, etc). I have been feeling pretty good minus some hip pain but after seeing a chiropractor I’ve been doing a lot better! Wesley sure is a wiggle worm and loves to go nuts right as I’m trying to fall asleep haha.

 

Eli: has been handling the many transitions fairly well. This month he moved from a crib to a big boy race car bed! He still will fall asleep on the floor most nights but oh well. We’re still working on encouraging him not to play with the light, plugs, or curtains but we’ll get there. Thank goodness for video monitors! He is getting more and more excited for baby brother and will often talk about him or ask when he’s coming. He enjoys measuring my belly and even tried to share his toy cars with baby brother by driving them on my belly and pressing them in saying “share with baby brother?” Haha such a sweetheart. I am looking forward to having a bit more energy after the baby comes so I can play with him more because boy does that kid have some cabin fever! My mom will be coming to help so he’ll finally get to do more than Mommy has been able to do with him.

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Goofy boy decided to wear a top hat, even to dinner at a restaurant haha; again silly boy; he likes to bring books for me to read while I lay down; cute big boy!

April Update

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Here’s how April went!

 

Adam and Ashley: This month was mostly spent unpacking our house and getting settled. Luckily we are now unpacked and now moving on to baby prep. We have also got to experience some new joys of homeownership such as calling pest control for mice, a shower faucet breaking, and filing an insurance claim due to damage from a hail storm. There are definitely some different things to deal with that we haven’t had to before but we are grateful to be investing in our home. I’m definitely feeling very pregnant and sore so it is nice that we’re getting closer to the end. Next step is prep for baby brother!

 

Eli: has enjoyed trying to get into things as we unpacked and organized but now things are settled and toddler proofed (for the most part). As the weather has gotten nicer, we’ve been able to go out a bit more which he has enjoyed. He had also learned how to hold crayons and pencils a bit better and therefore has been coloring more often. He also enjoys us singing songs and likes to try to sing them as well. His range of song requests goes from nursery rhymes to primary songs to selections from the musical Hamilton hahaha. You can tell what he hears Mom sing along to haha. He has definitely become a little ham and enjoys trying to make us laugh. It’ll be fun to see him keep developing that 

Playing with his trains; daily watching of squirrels and birds in our tree; his little reading nook; enjoying sunshine at the park!

Easter: We watched General Conference and spent time with my family who live here. We ate yummy food and Eli got to participate in an Easter egg hunt!