The MegaWedding

This link came in my email this morning.  It's 5 siblings in Arizona who all got married on Friday in the Mesa Temple.  Seems like a good way to save money and get it all over with at once.

5 couples in same family marry on same day - FOX 10 News - Phoenix, AZ | KSAZ-TV

Too bad for the guests who had to bring multiple presents.  Maybe all five could share one blender?

Be Kind

Did you know that from the time I left on my mission until the day I married Dave in the temple I lost 68 pounds?  Of course, there were eight years between those two episodes but it was still a major accomplishment, one that I have always been very proud of.

Pregnancy was not kind to my body.  I didn't exactly start off at my wedding weight but I have now set a new all-time high.  I was looking at pictures of myself from the last several weeks and it is time to make some major changes.  The books, magazines, websites, experts all say to give yourself nine months to get the weight off -- it took that much time to put it on.  OK.  But I'm impatient.

I read a blog post by another new mommy earlier this year and she said she was trying to be kind to her body again.  I wholly agree and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  

So, it's time to exercise more regularly, eat more fruits and vegetables, enjoy more whole grains, drink more water; and it's time to STOP the all too frequent sugar binges.  I need to be much more kind to this body.  After all, I only have this one and I need to take care of it.

No more Cold Stone for me!

Now that you all know about my resolution, be sure to ask me each time you see me if I am being "kind" to myself.  And I had better be able to respond, YES!

Gerber Baby

My little guy could be the next Gerber Baby!  Vote for him starting September 4th!

New Calling

Just before the baby was born I was released from the Young Women's organization in our ward.  I have never cried so much at leaving a calling.  It was the hardest but most rewarding thing I have ever done in the Church -- except maybe my mission -- and I still miss the girls.

But this week I was called to be Activity Days Leader.  Now I get to work with the pre-young women and I couldn't be more excited!  There are lots of fun activities, projects, and services to come as my cohort and I help these little tween girls establish a pattern of righteousness before we send them off to be young women.

photo from lds.org

Once in a Lifetime

Only once in the lifetime of a car will the odometer read the same number as your zip code.  I happened to capture mine. 

Cousins

Doing a little family history the other day, I found out that Dave and I are related!  It seems we are something like seventh cousins once removed.  Here's the chain:


Chelsea > Wayne > Sherman > Ada > Breneman > Anna > Christian & Susannah

Dave > Todd > Alton > Simpson > Eva > Amos > Mary > Christian & Susannah

Guess that makes us "Kissin' Cousins"!

Nursing

As we were going through our challenges with infertility I knew that the one thing I would miss most, if I couldn't have my own children, was the opportunity to nurse our babies.  Funny, I know.  I looked forward to that time I would spend with our babies rocking and nursing them and really bonding with them.   To me, it is one of the most beautiful attributes of womanhood.

But no one ever told me how hard it is to nurse!  And those who have also struggled aren't very vocal about it when they should be.  It seems that we all have war stories and it's time to share them.

In the hospital I had a difficult time getting Benjamin to latch on.  When we finally connected, he would keep nursing and nursing and always seemed so hungry.  Before the first day was over I was already frustrated with breastfeeding.  I thought it would be so instinctive and simple and it wasn't at all for either myself or my baby.

The first few days at home were the worst.  Dave kept us supplied with ready-made formula bottles while I waited for my milk to come in.  Meanwhile, I was in tears most of those days because [I was an emotional, hormonal wreck] my baby wasn't getting his nourishment from me and I felt like such a failure at motherhood. 

Around day six I thought the milk supply was here but after pumping for nearly an hour we realized it was only a trickle.  I called my doctor who prescribed a lactation medication but he warned it would make me drowsy.  It not only made me tired it made me have crazy thoughts.  I stopped taking it after one day.

We then learned about Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle herbal supplements (highly recommended by lactation specialists).  These actually worked and within a few days I was producing much more milk.  But by then Benjamin was attached to his formula.  Once again, I was in tears.  That dream of rocking and nursing my baby was more or less shattered, but I wouldn't give up yet.  I told myself that I had to keep trying to nurse until he was six weeks old.  After that, I could give it up all together and I couldn't feel guilty about it any longer.  Even formula-fed babies turn out just fine and can grow up to be president of the United States.

In the midst of all this drama, I shared my story with several other ladies in the ward.  Just about every one of them had a similar saga to tell about trying to nurse their first babies.  I was grateful to find out I am not alone but I wish I would have known their stories before I had to live my own.

So, this post is for all of you first-time moms.  Some of you won't have any troubles nursing your babies; right out of the womb you'll both be old pros.  However, others of you will struggle like myself.  Dry those tears and remember that you're not alone and you're not a failure!  Find a friend who can sympathize and get yourself some blessed thistle.  It will all be okay!

Benjamin is older than six weeks now and I'm still nursing and supplementing.  He seems to think that I am his appetizer and the bottle is the main course.  I'm grateful we can still have our bonding time and it really is great that Dave gets to help and bond with the baby over a bottle.

Benjamin's Birth Story, part 3

I went to bed Sunday night excited for the graduation party I would be throwing my sister the next day. By 11pm I was up again. The dull pain in my lower back was just annoying enough to make sleeping difficult. I ended up on the couch, changing positions every hour trying to get comfortable. At 2:13am I was dozing in a sitting position with my feet up on the exercise ball when a sharp contraction woke me up. It wasn't too much longer before I realized I was in labor!

Knowing I would stick to my plan to labor at home as long as possible, I didn't bother waking Dave. At 3:15 he came to check on me. I was sitting on the exercise ball folding laundry. I told him I was in labor and his response was, "Let's see how things go and if I need to I'll call my receptionist in the morning to cancel patients." "No," I replied, "you are definitely canceling patients today."

We timed my contractions. They were about 5-6 minutes apart but only lasting 30-45 seconds, sometimes less. Certainly not strong enough or long enough to head for the hospital.

With nothing else to do, I sent Dave back to bed telling him one of us needed to be well rested. But he was back in the living room ten minutes later and informed me that he was going to the office to finish up some lab work and straighten his desk before he took the next few days off. When he got back we would go to the hospital. And so he left for the next hour.

While he was gone I puttered around the house tidying up, ate a little snack, and breathed through each contraction. They were getting more intense but still only lasting about 30 seconds. Dave returned at 5am and by 6:15am we were on our way. But I wondered the whole drive if it wasn't too premature to be going to the hospital. After all, I could still talk through the contractions and they only lasted about half as long as all the books say they should.

We checked in and I dressed in the hospital gown. The nurse came to hook me up to the monitors but told me she was about to finish her shift so she would send the fresh nurse in as soon as she arrived. Shannon, our labor and delivery nurse, was an angel! We are so grateful she was the one to help us through.

She introduced herself around 7am and started asking all the questions about my birth plan, pain levels, etc. When I said that the contractions were bearable and short she figured I would be dilated to about 3cm but because I was overdue they would let me stay. We were all surprised when she checked me and I was already dilated to a 7! Inwardly I was so grateful I had accomplished the first part of my plan to stay home as long as possible. Shannon could feel the baby's head in the birth canal and a bulging sack of waters that was still intact.

I spent about 20 minutes on the fetal monitor (the baby's heart rate was doing great!) and 40 minutes walking the room of every hour for the next few hours. At 10am a resident doctor came in and broke the sack of waters. Because the baby's head was so far down he plugged the hole and only a trickle came out. After that the contractions really started intensifying.

I was walking the floors and eating flavored ice when a particularly painful contraction came on. I flew to the sink, spit out the ice, and held on to the counter for dear life as I breathed through the contraction. It soon subsided but it wasn't long before the next one hit and I could feel an intense pressure down below -- like I needed to push. I worked through it but that pressure increased over the next two contractions and I finally told Dave what was going on. He ran for Shannon.

At 11:30ish she put me in bed and asked one of the other nurses to call our doctor. When she heard that he was still at his clinic and the resident doctor had gone to the O.R. she panicked slightly but still got me ready to deliver a baby and said it was time to push. I'm not sure my body was entirely ready to push but at this point I was in enough pain I was losing control and all I could do was follow instructions. So, on the next contraction, I pushed.

I pushed through about three contractions before the resident arrived and by the next contraction the doctor was there. I kept pushing and they could see the baby's head crowning but it was a little stuck. That's when it was decided to give me an episiotomy. Again, I don't recall them asking if they could do it. Maybe they did but those moments are all a blur. On the next contraction there was a terrible burning sensation - I'm pretty sure that was the cut. Then the following contraction and push brought a great sense of relief. Our little Benjamin was born at 12:18pm with a gush of water following him!

They immediately put him on my chest. He was so perfect! His eyes were open and he was relatively calm. I couldn't stop looking at this beautiful little boy that we had fought so hard to get. The doctor started stitching me up and the nurses wanted to weigh and measure the baby but I wouldn't let them take him from me until the doctor had finished -- I needed a diversion from this new pain.

I counted his fingers and marveled at his delicate features and the dark hair that covered the back of his head (not so much on top). We did it! Finally, after two years of doctors, countless medications, hundreds of needle pricks, and overwhelming heartache, we had our little baby. What a blessing! The Lord had heard our prayers and been extremely merciful sending us our perfect little Benjamin.

Benjamin's Birth Story, part 2

Gratefully, I had a pretty easy pregnancy. I had very little morning sickness and never once ran for the bathroom. There were plenty of days of fatigue and I couldn't eat chicken for a while. But other than that things went well.

The baby was stretched out in my womb. His little feet were constantly in my ribs but because of his position I didn't "pop" until I was about 7 months along. Even then on my due date a friend told me I didn't look like I was about to have a baby.

This was taken two months before d-day.

This one is only a month away from having a baby.

In February, Dave and I took a birthing class at the hospital. Our teacher taught us all about natural labor and delivery. I didn't know I wanted to go natural but after that class and after watching several documentaries on the subject, I was sold. I determined to labor at home as long as possible then go to the hospital only when I couldn't bear it any longer. Dave started researching what to do in the event of a home birth. He is in no way an advocate of home births but he knew I was serious and decided it was better to become informed than try to change my mind.

With the nursery all but decorated and my bag packed, we waited and waited for labor to start. I thought for sure I would go early. In the doctor's office four days before my due date, he told me I was only dilated to 2. He seemed pretty certain that I would make it to my next appointment in a week and then we would start talking induction. NO!!! I did not want to be induced -- I wanted everything to go as nature intended.

I started googling all the different ways to send myself into labor: I walked the curb (Dave took a video but you won't see it here -- much too embarrassing), bounced on the exercise ball, loved my husband, massaged pressure points in my hands and feet, took long walks, and started earnestly praying that I would go into labor before my next appointment.

Then along came my due date without even a twinge of labor. So, I accompanied my mother and other female relatives to the Studio 5 taping at Hale Centre Theatre hoping my water would break in the middle of the live show. It would have been exciting but no such luck. The next day I went into Dave's office and helped him with an emergency root canal. Still nothing.

I woke up Mother's Day morning earlier than I wanted with pain in my lower back. This is it, I thought. I had a few contractions throughout the day but I still made it to sacrament meeting and the family party later in the day. By that evening, the erratic contractions stopped and the back pain more or less subsided. Disappointing. I was already overdue and more than ready to have this baby.

Benjamin's Birth Story, part 1

Over the last several months I've stumbled upon lots of mommy blogs relating the birth stories of their children. I love the idea and want to share Benjamin's birth story with you all. Actually, this might be more a story of the long road to his conception and birth.

I mentioned last year that Dave and I had been struggling to get pregnant. We went through three clinics, several doctors, acupuncture, medicines that made me go into menopause, our names on the First Presidency prayer roll, homeopathic imagery, and even a trip to the psychologist. Finally, after our fourth round of IVF, we were thrilled to learn in September that we were pregnant!!!

Within a week or two, I started spotting. Let me tell you how devastating it is to see even the smallest amount of blood when we had worked so hard to get to this point. I called the nurse at the fertility clinic and she had me come in right away for a checkup. She did an ultrasound and everything looked good. In fact, she discovered that both embryos had implanted and we were expecting twins! One of the twins was about two days behind the other but she didn't seem worried and assured us it would catch up.

However, by the time our next appointment rolled around at the end of the month, that second baby was a week behind. This time the nurse told us there is no way it would catch up and it would eventually reabsorb into the uterine lining. Then she proceeded to find the heartbeat on both babies. That made me all the more upset knowing that Baby B wasn't going to make it but still seeing it's heartbeat.

Over the next few weeks we transitioned over to our OB/GYN. Just a few days after my first appointment with him I woke up in a pool of blood at 2:00am. Dave called the emergency number and got the doctor out of bed. He said that we could go to the emergency room or wait and see him at 8am. Basically, whatever happened had happened and there wasn't anything we could do about it. In the doctor's office later that morning we had another ultrasound and thankfully all was well with the fetus. What a relief! We still don't exactly know why I bled so much but it is possible that Baby B was exiting the womb.

I mysteriously spotted one more time about a month later then finally, after a rocky start to a much-anticipated pregnancy, we were on our way to parenthood.