Elise Birth Story

{WARNING: Long post and picture overload!}

My mom flew in on the 17th, thinking for sure we would be close to having this baby! I had been so antsy for SUCH a long time, and was ready to get this baby here.  What pregnant mother isn't at 3 days before her due date? Well we woke up the next morning and Bennett was not breathing very well.  {He had never been "officially diagnosed" with asthma, but he got bad coughs CONSTANTLY.  It seemed like he would get over a cold and then the next week he would have another one... I unofficially blame this on nursery! There are always sick kids in there and sure enough! Every tuesday morning he wakes up with a runny nose and a cold... gah! What can you do?} I called my pediatrician because Bennett was just moaning and really struggling to breathe.  He didn't want to do anything but cuddle in my lap.  So they told me to bring him right in.  

We got there and they checked his pulse-oxygen level and it was really low-- he wasn't getting enough oxygen. They said: "We need to get him to the hospital RIGHT now.  Normally we call the ambulance if it's like this, but if you leave right now and go straight there, you can just take him." Poor thing! We went straight to the ER and they had to put an oxygen mask on him with a breathing treatment and he did NOT like that.  He didn't really like anything to do with the doctors or the hospital! He really was exhausted at this point, and I was trying to find anything to keep him entertained.  They came in and told us that he was going to be admitted and staying at LEAST overnight, possibly two or three nights, and also that he tested positive for RSV.  WHAT? I was due in two days! And delivering at a different hospital! Of course I was concerned about Bennett and wanted to get him better, but I was also thinking about bringing a new baby home to a toddler with RSV.  Not to mention the stress of having Bennett and I both in the hospital at the same time! Can you say CRAZY? Bennett was about to fall asleep so I told my mom that I would run home and grab stuff for Bennett and for overnight, and my mom stayed with him in the ER bed while he slept.  

That was a hard two days.  Bryan stayed overnight with him at the hospital and stayed home from school on Friday the 19th.  Luckily he only had a quiz that could be made up.  My mom and I ran some errands Friday while they were still hanging out at the hospital.  She was SO SO SO sweet and thoughtful and got so many things for us... clothes and outfits for Bennett and Elise and got our garden started with vegetable plants and flowers and garden tools.  Bennett got to come home friday night, but I was still stressing out about having a newborn around the RSV.  

Saturday rolled around {my due date} and still no baby! After lounging a bit in the morning, we decided to head to the Zoo for a bit.  Poor Grandma Porter had gotten a cold {probably what Bennett had} and was not feeling super great. 

We explored the new little playground they had at the Zoo.  It was nice for Bennett to get out and get some fresh air!

Someone had to stay home with Bennett from church on Sunday and I READILY volunteered... I did not want to go to church a day overdue and have everyone say "You're still pregnant?" "When's that baby coming?" and all the above.  

SIDE NOTE: I had had a doc appt on the 17th and convinced them to  consent to an induction before the standard one-week-overdue period {totally different from Utah!}.  They set me up for Tuesday morning, the 23rd, if I hadn't had the baby before then. I would go in Monday night to prep and they would start the pitocin in the morning. I had been having LOTS of braxton hicks for weeks, some of them VERY consistent, but nothing that was putting me into labor. 

Monday the 22nd, Bryan went back to school and my mom and I went shopping again. She needed to get some things for my two sisters who's birthday's are on the 23rd and 25th, AND I needed to take my mind off the fact that the baby still wasn't here! Bryan came home from school Monday afternoon and we made dinner and got all ready to go to the hospital! I was so relieved to know this baby would be in my arms so soon.  

Empty carseat on the way to the induction!

Reading my Grandma Bangerter's biography while waiting for the nurses

When I got there, they checked me and said I was at a 3 and 80% effaced. They came and gave me a little pill... I don't even remember what it is called.  It was just supposed to soften the cervix.  They said it usually doesn't put people into labor, but just preps your body to dilate faster when the pitocin is given. My contractions were worsening, but every time they came and checked me, I hadn't dilated anymore.  A male resident whom I had never met came and said that he thought this was going to end in a C-section because my body just wasn't ready and said that we could cancel the induction if I wanted to.  Um NO THANK YOU! He was not very nice or personable at all.  He didn't want to start my epidural because he thought I would just be going home, so he would only give me morphine, although I COULD NOT SLEEP because of the pain.  Narcotics make me super nauseous, and I don't do well on them at all, so I was throwing up alot.  It was a miserable night... The morphine made me really loopy and drowsy, but it wasn't knocking off ANY of the pain.   

Me with my throw up bucket :D

Come 6 a.m. I was so relieved to see my familiar resident, Dr. Hood, the one who approved my induction.  She told me they would go ahead and start the pitocin and take it from there.  I was still at a 3.  Gah! Well they came in an hour later and said I could get my epidural, so it was around 7:30 a.m. that they finally came in to do that.  Hallelujah! I love that thing.  At about 8:30 they came and broke my water, and I was at a 5.  

Bryan went down to get some breakfast and to meet my mom there and bring her up to my room.  My friend Annalisa came and watched Bennett and brought my mom to the hospital so she could be there for the birth.  Well at about 10:15 my mom and Bryan walked in and I said, "I am feeling a lot of pressure down there, I think I need to push." So I called the nurse and told her, and she sent a nurse practitioner student and a resident in.  The resident asked if the NP could check me for practice.  She said, "Oh, I would say a 5 and 90% effaced." What? I was at a 5 almost two hours ago! I said, "Really? That's it?" and the resident said, "Let me just confirm that..." She came over and checked me and said, "Oh no, I just felt your baby's head! You are crowning and ready to push!" Thank heavens!! The NP was a little embarrassed after that and kind of backed away... :) Well they got everything set up and three contractions later at 10:41 a.m. we had this:

A BEAUTIFUL baby girl!

We love this sweet girl so much!

More Baby Projects

38 weeks on Saturday!

As much as I would just like to twiddle my thumbs until the baby gets here, we have been busy with lots of baby projects lately! Well, lots of projects in general, but baby especially. 

We painted a dresser for Bennett's new room, and then we stained our kitchen table and painted the chairs.  Pictures on another post!

BABY-WISE: Here are the before and after pictures of painting the baby's room.  If we were having another boy, I wouldn't have a problem with this paint color, because it actually goes with the boy bedding, but we needed a change for a girl!

Bryan taping off the edges

DURING: The Clarks are so awesome and came to help! I watched the kiddos in the basement to stay away from the fumes...

AFTER: I LOVE how the color turned out! 

I made this name banner with scraps from the bedding. It turned out cute!

I know, you are all thinking, "Blue?? For a girl??". But isn't it just the perfect shade of blue? I love it. It goes right with the blue that is in the quilt (an extremely lighter shade of it) and it's not overwhelming at all.  

LOVE how the mobile turned out. We used a wreath wring from JoAnns and sprayed it white.  Then I cut out the butterflies with my Silhouette and strung them with clear thread.  The fabric I just ruffled and then hot glued around the ring.  It's just perfect!

The bow holder! Amazing Krista Clark had the idea for this one.  She used this frame for her little girl's (who is now almost 5!) bow holder, but isn't using it anymore, so she regifted it to me! AWESOME! I gave her a strip of my scrap fabric from the bedding and she covered a board with batting, fabric, then CHICKEN WIRE! Genius. Love it. 

I have a lot of cute onesies for summer time, but not really any bottoms to go with them. So I looked through my scraps and my patterns and  adjusted a pattern slightly to get these! The original pattern is for a diaper cover, pretty much.  So around the legs it had an elastic casing, like the top.  But I liked this look better, so I just cut an extra strip, gathered the legs and sewed it on.

These are the first ones I made... they ended up being about a 12M size.  I'll save them for next summer! I like the fabric though, and I have lots more, so I'm going to make another pair of these in the smaller size. 

I adjusted the pattern and made this smaller size in some stretch denim that I had left over from a pencil skirt.  You can't tell from the pictures, but they are much smaller and will definitely fit Elise this summer!

I found this pattern for Toms inspired baby shoes on pinterest, so I knew I had to give it a try! The denim ones were a little thick, so I couldn't make the elastic over the top work, but I still love how they turned out! 

After I made these first ones, I ended up buying the baby pattern for $4 so I could make different sizes.  

These ones are actually made CORRECTLY and will stay on better. Cute cute!

If you can't tell, we are so excited for this little girl to join our family! 

Bennett's Birthday

Well we had a pretty good birthday for Bennett Boy! I had wrapped all his presents the night before, so they were sitting out when he woke up.  We videoed the whole thing, from him getting out of bed, to walking downstairs, to opening all his presents, so we don't have any pictures! But he was definitely spoiled. 

I went upstairs to get dressed and this is the result of what happened in those two minutes! He somehow climbed up on the piano and grabbed my cake platter that was holding these (and other...) cupcakes and pulled it onto the floor! Luckily they were covered in plastic wrap because it kind of held them in place... Needless to say, some of them survived, but these were the unlucky ones! 

This called for an early birthday cupcake...

... he mostly just liked the frosting!

After nap time, we got a package in the mail with some presents from Grandpa and Grandma Dowse! He liked getting to open more presents... 

Then we painted with his watercolors that he got.

We had to work on dipping in the water and then ONE color... he liked to dip, dip, dip!

We played the piano a little... sometimes he gets a little crazy and likes to put his feet up there! Gross. I'm trying to kick that habit.

 LITERALLY 30 seconds before everyone starting showing up, he was running and tripped on the rug under the coffee table.  He caught his whole body weight right on his head, and we heard a loud crack! This was followed by screaming bloody murder and a HUGE popped blood vessel/goose egg.  I felt so bad! It freaked me out to look at it.  He has definitely had his share of bonks and bruises, even goose eggs, but I had never seen anything like this. Poor baby...

This is the dinosaur cake! Definitely not perfect; I am for sure an amateur at cakes... but I will always give it a shot!

Bennett was so cute and blew out both of his candles by himself! AWESOME! (we videoed this... hence no pictures.)

The Group... it was a little crazy, but so fun! You can kind of get a glimpse of my lovely 9-month pregnant body... blah. Get this baby out of me!

He liked his cake and ice cream :D Happy in spite of the ginormous bump on his head! Lets just say that some children's Tylenol may have helped his mood a little bit...

All the kiddos!

Yum!!

Happy Birthday Bennett! We love you so much. 

2 year old Bennett

I know, I know. Too cute to handle, right? Well guess what? This boy is turning two!!!

I can't believe it's been two years since he was this little...

Bennett-isms:

"I YUV that!" (I love that. He'll say this most enthusiastically! He will sometimes add in "I yuv blank" when talking about something specifically)

"I jumped very so high" (Gotta love those filler words!)

"Oh my word", "Oh my goodness", "Oh my gosh" (all things he repeats from yours truly! Although the last one I don't like hearing from him... so I'm trying not to say it much ;))

"Mama, what am I sinking about?" (he asks this question all the time, and his answers are so genuine and hilarious! He'll say 'doors' or 'blankets' or 'bablanas' {bananas}, etc. What a cutie!)

"Woah, you see dat?" (when he does something he thinks is SO cool :D )

"Um, hmmm. Yeah, I tink so" (this is his response to MOST questions... it's so funny! I don't know where he got this from, but he will usually say all three together.)

"Yeah, dat's right" (another statement he uses frequently that he  got from yours truly!!)

"I need help!" (I taught him to say this instead of just whining or crying about something... it comes in handy!)

"What's my name?" (He'll ask this and then respond with "My name BENNETT!!" Then he'll say "What's Mama's name".  I always smile and tell him "Mama, silly!". Just yesterday I said that, and then he crinkled his little nose at me and said "Ma... SAL!" in sort of a 'you can't trick me' kind of voice! I guess Bryan calls me Sal most of the time :D It's hilarious the things he picks up from Bryan and me!)

"I gotta be so careful!"

"Quarter, Quarter, Half Note" (I teach piano, so he hears me doing this with my students, and will walk around repeating it long after they leave!)

And so many more...


Bennett's Favorite Things:

He loves building forts, reading stories, singing songs, doing puzzles, playing with cars and dinosaurs.

Some of his favorite books are: The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Wolf's Coming, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Seven Blind Mice, Bearenstein Bears: The Spooky Old Tree, etc. He loves reading stories!

Some of his favorite songs (that he will sing with/for me)are: Rock-a-bye, don't you cry (a Grandma Hamblin special!); Let me call you Sweetheart; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; Three Little Monkey's jumpin' on the Bed; ABC's; "The Temple Song" (I Love to see the Temple); Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam; Once there was a Snowman; I Love Trash; etc. (I know I'm forgetting something!)

Favorite songs that he doesn't sing:  "The Jesus Song" (I'm trying to be like Jesus); Whenever I hear...; etc.  He will usually ask for "Just ONE more song, mama" after every song... :D

He is starting to tell me when he needs to go to the bathroom.  This is awesome news for potty training! I am not quite ready to tackle this task, though. I think I'll wait until Elise is at least a few months old... He likes to sit on the "big boy potty" though! Just the other night he sat there and said in a strained voice: "I know it's coming..." TMI??? Sorry, it was so cute!

Recently he has been on this kick where he will buzz or roll the beginning of a word if the second letter is an "R" or and "L".  EX: blue, please, bread, etc. Silly boy.

He is sleeping in his big boy bed! We are soooo impressed and relieved that he has transitioned to this so well... although sometimes when we go in to check on him before we go to sleep, it's like playing hide-and-seek because he will climb out of bed and fall asleep in funny places!

He speaks LEAPS AND BOUNDS over what is "normal" for two year olds... he amazes me everyday!

He will walk up to me with his blankets and say "Mama, I need to cuddle" and then lay his head on my shoulder.  So sweet!

Another one of his silly favorites is to be "wrapped up".  He'll come up to me with his blankies and then wants me to wrap him up like a burrito so his arms are tucked in, but he can still walk around.  

He knows how to turn the piano on, and more specifically, the demo songs on. Then he will sit there and move his fingers like he is playing the songs! So funny!

He will climb on the piano bench and say "Sing the I Love Trash song!" This comes from the Reader's Digest Children's Songbook, and he will sit on my lap with his hands on my hands while I play and sing.  Then he will want to sing She'll be Comin' round the Mountain and many other fun songs in the book. This is one of my favorite times!!

He hates if there is something weird on his finger, or if a finger nail has broken and it's hanging off.  He will hold out his hand and say "Mama, fix my finger". 

He LOVES Daddy.  When daddy is home, he will always want daddy to do puzzles with him, or daddy to get him some juice, or whatever it is. 

He knows all of his colors. 

He can recognize the letters: R, O, B, and S

He knows all the names of his dinosaurs. (He'll tell you the color too! Ex: Blue triceratops... with excellent pronunciation :D )

He will count to about 15 before he starts getting confused with all those "teens"!


The NOT so sweets: 

He still LOVES to throw all the books on the floor.  He will just run up to the book shelf and swing his arms back and forth to knock them all off.  I think he mostly loves my reaction to him doing this, so I have been trying to not show any emotion when he does this, but just ask him to help me clean up the big mess.  Then he'll sing the "clean-up song" while we put them all back on. I would love to be able to kick this habit, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon! 

Lately he will go grab any picture frame he can reach and throw it on the ground.... Of course this results in broken frames and glass.  Ahh! One of my biggest pet peeves.... Anyways, I've had to move them to avoid this, but then I am left with these big empty spaces in my decorating. Hmmm... oh well. 

Sometimes he will still go play in the potty.  This is only if he is REALLY riled up, but nevertheless, it's icky! I try to keep the upstairs doors closed as much as possible, but sometimes they get left open. 

"MINE".  I hate this word, and I don't know where he learned it. He will say this now when playing with his friends.  It usually comes out in a grunted "miiiiinnnnnneeee", so we always have to have talks about how, yes, that may be "yours", but we are going to share our toys with our friends so they will share theirs with us!

He used to throw HUGE tantrums where he would throw himself on the floor and scream and cry for sometimes 30 minutes, but he hasn't done this in a while.  At first, I think my reaction to this would cause it to be prolonged, but I prayed and prayed about how to deal with this.  I feel SO much more calm than before and can just allow him to cry (in the corner) until he is done.  Because he is not getting a big reaction from me, he might scream for a second, but he knows I'm not going to give into what he wants, so he stops.  It has been so nice! I think the biggest part is communication.  I just tell him what is expected and give him choices, then he can choose from that.  It has worked wonders! I love having a good communicator! 

............ 

Wow, I could go on and on about this sweet boy of ours! He truly is SUCH a joy in my life.  Bryan could tell you that it's almost every night that I sigh and say "Oh I just love my Bennett boy!" He is busy and curious and sweet and smart and I just love him to pieces.  It breaks my heart to watch him grow up so fast, but I am trying to cherish EVERY moment with him. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENNETT! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!