Hand-me-Downs

This preemie outfit is my favorite. It has little cherries on the onesie with a cute dress over it.
Here is Hailey wearing it at 2 weeks.

Hailey again at 2 weeks.

Now here is Hannah 3 days old.

She quickly outgrew preemie sized clothes while it took Hailey 2 months to graduate out of preemie clothes.

Hannah went into the hospital for her 5 day check up (which she was really 4 days old since we didn't want to go back on a Sunday) and weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz. She is growing so quickly.

Bath Time

Here is Hannah's first bath at home. I don't like giving sponge baths because it's hard to keep the baby warm and Hannah didn't like it either. Luckily her cord fell out early (by Sunday night). This is still a good picture to see how big she is. I'm still amazed by that since Hailey had the hardest time with gaining weight. Robert grew faster than Hailey but not nearly as fast as Hannah.
I love my sweat pea and fell very blessed to be a mother. There's nothing like holding a brand new baby.

Hannah Coming Home

These are pictures of Hannah at home on Dec 17th. I don't like to stay at the hospital for long so I was released about 22 hours after arriving. Since Nathan still had one more final to complete and there's nothing for him to do at the hospital, he was hardly there after Hannah was born.

Darlene and Wayne stayed at my house on Thursday to help out.

Hailey really likes babies.

After everyone went down for nap time, Hailey and I were talking about our family members. (I like that day Elmo was talking about families on Sesame Street). Through out the pregnancy there was mommy's Hannah and Hailey's Hannah. I asked her where was mommy's baby Hannah and she answered correctly. Then I asked her where Hailey's baby was and she pointed to her tummy. I couldn't let my 3 year old be continuously pregnant so I introduced her to her baby Anna. She loved her right away and no longer thinks she is pregnant.

Here are pictures of Hannah on December 18th. Hailey and Robert fight over holding Hannah. It's great that she's loved.

Hailey adjusted quickly to Hannah being home. The only change we see in her was that she had more accidents which was expected and frustrating. That only lasted 2 weeks though.

Robert on the other hand, is more fussy and whiny. He is sent to time out a lot now. He misses the attention and being held. I feel bad about this and try to be with him when I'm not busy feeding Hannah.

Pictures with Santa

Here are our Santa pictures that were taken at the Ward Christmas Party. This Santa is the best Santa I've seen. His suit is very nice and his beard is real. I've seen some "off" looking Santas at the mall. One Santa was too tall, thin and young with a ridiculous fake bread that wasn't attached well. Anyways...
Hailey was very shy at first even though she was so excited to see Santa.

He got her to warm up to him a little bit.

However, Robert on the other hand, did not like Santa.

Not even for 5 seconds for a little picture. He wanted nothing to do with sitting on a stranger's lap.

December 15th

So like every other pregnant lady, I had to go potty in the middle of the night, this time around 2:30am. I went back to bed. Then my stomach started hurting, and it went away. It came back again about 10 minutes later. I started to time it and it was official; I was in labor! Knowing I can't sleep through it, I went downstairs at 3:00am. Since I had a 10 minute break, I started on the dishes, then watched TV, and finally around 5:00 had breakfast. I decided to called Darlene at 6:00 to see if Wayne could watch the kids since he has no other responsibilities during the day. However, I stopped having contractions by that time. I was devastated and confused since I didn't have a false start with other kids. After an hour of no contracts I tried to go back to bed. I still didn't want Nathan to leave (there was a grading committee he needed to be apart of) since I didn't know when the contractions would start again.

Around 9:30am we went to the mall so I could walk around some to see if that helps. However, by 10:30 we knew they wouldn't came back and I took Nathan to his office. He came home at 2:00pm so I could go to my doctor's appointment.

I told them how the baby is moving less and the nurse had a hard time getting a steady heartbeat. The heartbeat range was 110-130 which is a lot slower then her normal rate. The nurse also found protein in my urine and my blood pressure was slightly up. The doctor checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced. He was concerned about toxemia (which cause pre-eclampsia) and we set up an appointment for me to get induced at 6:00am the next day. I was afraid of getting induced by knew Hannah need to come now whether she wanted to or not.

So, after I got home I made Nathan's birthday cake and got things ready to be induced in the morning. Wayne said he could be here at 6:00 to watch the kids and Darlene would join him after work. Also, I couldn't watch Chloe for the rest of the week and informed her mom about it.

Around 4:30pm, the contracts came back but were once again only 10 minutes apart. So we had a nice dinner for Nathan's 28th birthday.

Then he opened his presents.

I bound some e-books he printed, which Nathan appreciated.

Hailey and Robert wanted to help with the unwrapping.

From my parents, Nathan got Battlestar Galactica DVDs Season 1-4. He was very excited and grateful for it.

Then we had cake and ice cream. Hailey helped with the sprinkles and the extra candy decorations.

He blew out all the candles in one breath.

I'm so thankful to Nathan and had fun trying to make his birthday special.

We put the kids to bed as usually and Nathan stayed upstairs to work on his last final.

By 8:00pm we realized that most likely these contractions will stay and we arranged for our neighbor, Kendi to watch sleep over. Hailey cries randomly in her sleep and can get out of bed so we needed someone here. I'm so thankful that she was willingly to do that especially since she had a final in the morning.

After everything was arranged Nathan gave me a priesthood blessing which was very special to me.

Now after 6 hours of contractions 10 minutes apart, they finally got closer together. We called the hospital and they said that I should drink water to make sure they wouldn't go away. That back fired on me because it made it more intense. We quickly got ready to leave and went to the hospital at 10:30pm. When the nursed check me I was dilated to a 6. From there everything got more intense. Luckily, the anaesthesiologist was already in the hospital and could come quickly. Instead of getting an epidural like I planned the nurse suggested a intrathecal which only lasts 2-3 hours but starts immediately and is easier to put in (still through the spine). By the time he came, the contractions were so close it was hard to feel one end before the next began. The nurse checked me real quick before I got injected and instead of saying how much I was dilated (a 10), told the anaesthesiologist to hurry. Nathan had to sign some paper work and couldn't be there when I had the intrathecal done. Luckily I had a long enough break that it went smoothly and it worked instantly.

The resident broke my water after that. I remember laughing and joking with the people there. I really loved that drug. After draining for a couple of minutes, they told me I can push now. So, I pushed once and saw he head and shoulders. I was amazed that it only took one push. With Hailey it took an hour and with Robert 16 pushes.

So, here I am, pain free for the moment and admiring my baby from a far while they clean and measure her. She's 6 lbs and 13 oz and 21 inches long. She came out at 12:13am on Wednesday, December 16th. We are happy that she has her own birthday.Hannah came out ready to eat. So while the doctor (who was not Dr. Cox but another doctor who was on call) and the resident stitched me up, I was able to nurse Hannah. Thankfully, we had no problems with feeding which is always my biggest worry after they are born.

Week before the due date

To me a due date is a deadline that the baby can't cross. She must be out before then and a week early is preferred. Hailey was a day late with contractions started at 6:00am. We went to the hospital around 11am and she was born at 4:30pm. Robert was a week early with contractions starting around 8 or 9am. We went to the hospital around 5pm and he was born at 7:30pm.

So, my hope was that Hannah came exactly a week early on Tuesday Dec. 8th. It's two days after St. Nick's Day and before St. Lucia's Day. However, Nathan had a big presentation in one of his classes at 9:30am and it would have been difficult to find someone to cover Nathan's class he teaches on Wednesday morning. So, we decided Friday, Dec. 11th would be the best day. If Hannah came on Friday then Darlene and Wayne could be with the kids over night and all day Saturday. The thought of her coming on or after her due date, Dec 15th, (also Nathan's birthday) was not an option.

I went to my doctor's appointment that Tuesday (the 8th) and the doctor said I was dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced. We both believed that I would go into labor any day but still set up an appointment for the 15th.

We had everything ready and committed to going to nothing since we were going to have a baby. Luckily, this being the holiday season there were a lot of events to go to. On Thursday, I went to a Relief Society Meeting (enrichment) about giving. There were a lots of cookies there and I was able to bring home two plates full which is wonderful for this very pregnant lady.

Friday, I brought the kids to a playgroup at the commons and was able to send out the last of our Christmas gifts. On Saturday, I met with a friend who is helping me make Christmas stockings. She also helped me learn more about my sewing machine which was really neat.

Saturday night was our ward Christmas party. Free food, company, and a chance for our kids to run around was want our family greatly needed. There was a really good Santa there which Hailey was so excited about. Robert also waited patiently in line (which is amazing for his age). Hailey was very shy when she sat on his lap and then Robert was put there too so we could get a picture of them with Santa. Robert screamed his head off. I didn't have my camera so we hope to get the pictures soon from someone else.

Sunday was St. Lucia's Day. So I cooked scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and sausage. I've always liked this holiday because I love breakfast food. My parents have a St. Lucia crown that my sister and I took turns wearing to wake up the family for breakfast. I'm excited for the year that Hailey will be old enough to help me cook, set the table, and when she wakes everyone up while I pretend to be asleep in my bed.

Monday was supposed to be our ward Family Home Evening but it was canceled due to the lack of people still around.

And though all these events there was no baby. I was very depressed by that thought going to bed each night and waking up to no contractions. More then just wanting this baby out and starting our new life together, I noticed a decrease in movement. It didn't bother me until it hit on Sunday that I really should be feeling her more.

On Monday, I kept track of when I felt her and on average it was only once an hour except between 4 and 6pm, she moved off and on frequently. My prayers changed into "please let her be healthy, let her make it, let me know when there is a serious problem" instead of "can we have her now since it would convenient for me."

Hannah's here

More to come soon. Hannah came Dec 16th at 12:13am. Weighs 6lbs 13oz and is 21inches long.
We are home and doing good.