We Had a Baby!

We made it!  After 240 days of being sick with this pregnancy, it is all worth it because we got our little girl today!  

May 15th was her due date and since she gave absolutely no indication of wanting to come out of her own accord (much like our other children), we headed to the hospital just before 8am for an induction.

We checked in, got hooked up to monitors, and I was given an IV.  The doctor broke my water just before 9.  I was shaking and suffering a little bit of shock from the IV that hurt when it was inserted, of course, but the pain never let up the entire labor and delivery for some reason.  The contractions came on quickly.  After I could feel them, I requested the epidural.  I had epidurals with my other births, so I wasn't worried.  However, this time, it didn't work.  The contractions kept getting stronger, faster, and more painful on top of the shaking as the shock was getting worse.  They finally gave me another epidural which kicked in just enough to take the edge off of the contraction pain.  But I certainly felt it when the baby crowned.  This whole time the nurse had never checked me, not realizing how quickly I had progressed so I demanded Tyson run and find help because this baby was ready to come out!  They paged the doctor at 10:50am, but it took him 40 minutes to arrive (instead of 10) because he didn't get his first pages.  I was in so much pain and shock and the minutes were dragging so slowly.  

At last Dr. Farley arrived, scolding the nurses for just paging and not calling him.  He threw on gloves and after 2 minutes of pushing our baby girl was born!  

She was born at 11:27am, a perfect little girl weighing 7 lbs, 7 oz (our smallest baby yet), stretching 20 inches, and with a head full of straight, dark hair.

Tyson and I each had a list of names we liked, but the only one we could agree on and felt good about was Kathryn.  It's a pretty name, we know some stellar people with that name (who have said they love their name), and it comes with the cute nickname, Kate.  We chose her middle name because besides being pretty, Tyson and I both had best friends growing up named Nicole.

Carrie and Kathryn Nicole. So happy she's here!  I feel like she is our little gift.

If I could give my formerly pregnant self one piece of advice, it would be to plan on an epidural, but prepare for natural birth, by learning the breathing and other techniques, just in case.

The kids are so thrilled to have their baby sister finally here!

We are grateful for the family who came to see us in the hospital. 

Opa and Grandma

 Singing to Baby Kate.

Aunt Kristen drove from California just to meet Kathryn on her birth day.

Great Grandma West and her 6th great grandchild.

 Tyson and his youngest daughter.

 So sweet.

 Look at that hair!

 Dressed to go home and  stretching out one last time in her hospital bed.

 Trying out her new carseat.  Not a fan.  Though she did like the car ride home.

 Our whole family leaving the hospital together on Saturday, May 17, 2014.

 Before we could bring Baby Girl home, we needed a car that would fit three carseats.  After much research, we found this little, er, big beauty.  The carseats fit with plenty of room to spare, plus the kids can't reach to whack each other anymore.  Score.  So welcome home to our 2011 Toyota Sienna which the kids have named, "Silvery Compass" thanks to the rearview mirror that digitally displays in which direction you are driving.

Home at last.  So tiny!  For some reason we have a picture of all of our babies next to Cougar (don't worry, he doesn't stay in the crib).

Welcome home Kathryn!  We love you already!

Releasing the Butterflies

A couple of weeks ago, Opa brought over 4 caterpillars for Tyler and Lydia to watch turn into butterflies.  I always stress the whole time the caterpillars/butterflies are in our house, afraid they will die before we can release them.  But it's been a tradition for 3 years now and the joy on the faces of my children, plus the knowledge that they gain, is worth the worry.

 Today was fly away day. 

 Look in the upper right corner and you can see one of the butterflies as it heads out into the world.

Lydia's Foray Into Dancing

Lydia loves to dance.  She's been waiting and waiting to do big girl activities such as dance, soccer, and preschool.  

I found a dance class nearby that admitted 3 year olds and was not very expensive.  She enjoyed Miss Emily Jane's Center for Dance for a few months (the months I was well enough to drive her to class). She got to tap and do ballet and run around to music.  I think tap was her favorite.  Like mother like daughter. :-)

On the last week of class, the girls got to dress up in their fanciest dresses and perform for their parents.

Happy Easter 2014!

Today I am grateful for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Having been ill for more months than I like to count, I have a special empathy for anyone with a chronic illness.  Because of Christ and His gospel, I know, and feel at peace knowing, that every single person will be resurrected.  No more pain and sickness, perfectly functioning bodies.  What a wonderful thing to look forward to!

My favorite depiction of the Savior by Greg Olsen.

After church, we visited family.  Today I was remembering being a kid and loving Grandpa and Grandma West's egg hunts in their back yard.  Even though I had to grow up and those days are over, it's so fun to watch my own kids enjoying their own Easter Egg hunts with their grandparents.

   

Happy Easter!

Baby Shower

My two wonderful friends, Cindy and Becky threw a baby shower for me.  I am so grateful as we don't have a lot of baby stuff anymore.  See that beautiful diaper cake above?  Cindy's creation.  Awesome baby gift!  And Becky planned fun and unique (hard to do at a baby shower) games.  My favorite was having the guests play Present Bingo.  As I opened gifts, they marked off squared such as: diapers, onesies, bottles, etc. and if they got a Bingo, they got a prize.  By far the best way to watch someone open a mound of presents!

Look, I'm out of bed!  No IVs!

Besides me, it is safe to venture that Lydia had the most fun at the shower.  Here's her Before and After. 

Lydia and Mama's Adventure Down South

Since I was heading to Spanish Fork for a photoshoot, Lydia and I decided to make a day of it.

1st stop was the hospital in Provo where Tyler was born.  See there's the omelet guy that comes twice a month and sets up an omelet bar.  Humongous and super inexpensive omelets with as many toppings (inside-ings?) as you want.  Tyson and I used to come on dates to this when we lived in the neighborhood across the street, but it's been over 5 years.   I snapped a pic on my phone (that's like 1/8th of the omelet and it filled her up) but it doesn't do it justice.  

After breakfast, Lydia wanted to drive around to see the houses where we lived and BYU campus.  I took her to the duck pond thinking she'd enjoy that, but instead you know that south staircase that goes straight up the hill for hundreds of steps?  She wanted to climb that.  Have I mentioned I am very pregnant?  Up we went.

Taking a break with Baby Tiger. 

 Near the top of the hill.

 Lydia's favorite song is "I Love to See the  Temple" so we stopped at the Provo Temple grounds.

 After a few more stops around town, we drove to Spanish Fork to see one of my besties, Clara and take pictures of her new baby.  Lydia and Clara's daughter Isabelle were more than happy to help out.  It was fun to see a mini Carrie and a mini Clara running around playing together.

He Could Bearly Stand Work Today

Sometimes going to work at midnight in order to make sure Utahns have their morning news is worth it.

This brand new baby bear cub came into the KSL studio for a segment this morning and Tyson got to hold it.  He said it purred!  Best day of work ever?  I'm sure it ranks in the top 10 at least.  

Bye Bye PICC Line

My PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) has been removed from my body!  Though I am still not 100%, I am up and functioning and taking care of my children more and more on my own every day.  The meds I receive through the PICC line IVs are not helping anymore, so it was time to get it out and move on.  Though scary to have inside my body, a PICC line made receiving fluids and medicine so much easier.  I am grateful I had it as receiving my initial IVs through endless needle pokes as nurses tried time after time to find a vein was excruciating.

Tyson became quite the proficient pharmacy expert and nurse as he cared for me and administered syringe after syringe of medications and line cleansers and routinely set up and cleaned up IV bags. 

They say when you get Hyperemesis it gets worse with each pregnancy.  Although we were more prepared in case it hit this time, the sickness is already dragging on much longer than my last pregnancy.  My heart and empathy goes out to all who have chronic illnesses and I am considering making a paper chain to count the days until this baby comes and I am no longer pregnant.  Lydia turned out to be such a blessing in our lives, at least this time I know the end result will be worth it!  I am so grateful to be blessed with one last child and we are so excited to meet this new little baby!

Rapunzel No More

After 3 1/2 years of letting her hair grow, Lydia was feeling Rapunzel-esque worried about getting her hair cut. So I took her to a fun place - Cookie Cutters in Bountiful. She did great and I was so impressed with their service! For $13.95 (plus tip) she got a good, quick haircut while zoning out to a kids show on TV, a hairstyle of her choice, a balloon, a sucker, and plenty of playtime.

 Lydia's 1st haircut was a success!  It's still long, the Stylist just braided it like Queen Elsa (from Disney's "Frozen") as per L's request.