Sisters at 8 weeks

Kenz on the left, Clara on the right.

Clara Elizabeth: The Birth Story

I can't believe we actually have 2 kids! I'm a little overwhelmed by the idea (and hormones) but we're so grateful that our baby girl made it here safely.
We called the hospital at 5 AM Friday morning September 2nd and they told us we were good to come in at 7 AM. We were the last of 4 couples who were getting induced so we had a bit of a wait when we got to the hospital. We finally got into our room around 8 and got hooked up to the pitocin around 9. I was hoping to get my water broken first but the doctor didn't come until 11 to do it. I'm not sure if they were stress/anxiety induced, but I was having contractions all morning and they just seemed to get a little more frequent on the pitocin. Once she broke my water, the contractions really started working and I was soon grateful for the birthing videos I watched so I knew how to breathe through them.

Last pregnancy picture

Around 1, I was really starting to sweat and getting nervous because the contractions were pretty painful and less then 2 minutes apart with a lot of cramping between so pitocin won and I gave into the epidural. I have to say, it was a wonderful decision because I was able to relax and rest a bit until it was pushing time. So the epidural was started a little before 2 and by 5 I was at a ten and ready to push. This part was so different for me. With Mackenzie, I was in so much pain, I was begging to push and the process was incredibly long, exhausting and miserable to the point that I didn't even really want to hold her after she was born. This time, everyone was excited, including me. I wasn't sure if I would be able to feel enough to push, but there was enough pressure from the contractions that I knew when one was starting so I could push at the right time. The nurse had me push a few times through 2 contractions  and much to my surprise, the baby was crowning. She went to grab the doctor who came in with her "team", set everything up and had me push for one more contraction.

Taking a practice picture before pushing so we could make sure camera was set up right

Words really can't describe the experience of having a baby enter this world and meeting them so fresh from heaven but I was the most grateful for my epidural at this point because I wasn't focused at all on the pain, just the beauty of my new baby girl. She had the tiniest little cry when she came out and she calmed down quickly. They let her stay with me for several minutes to warm up, then weighed and measured her (7lbs. 2oz. 19 inches), swaddled her and put her back in my arms to eat and continue to warm up.

We named her quickly. We had a list of several names and Clara was one I had loved for a few years. A couple of days before she was born, Keith decided it was his favorite and so when she came to us it seemed a perfect fit. Elizabeth is a name I've loved as long as I can remember and always said I would name my first girl. Well Mackenzie didn't look like an Elizabeth to me, and Keith and I both felt it fit perfectly with Clara this time. Both are family names also which we liked.

We stayed in our room until 7:30 when we were transferred to the mother/baby unit. The night was kind of long as Clara was a bit fussy from swallowing fluid. Up until her noon feeding on Saturday, she threw up every bit of her food. I also hate how often you're checked on and poked and prodded throughout the night. At about 4:30 AM, I finished feeding Clara and she cried until 5 AM when Keith took her. Just as he took her, she calmed and fell asleep and the nurse came in to do my tetanus shot, Clara's Hep B shot and check our vitals. I was so mad at her because it seemed like it could all wait until later and she woke my poor baby up to strip her down and give her a shot. She also came in the middle of the night to take Clara away from me and put her back in her bassinet because they don't allow parents to sleep with their babies in case of accidents. She took him from Keith at 5 and scolded him also. Needless to say, I was ready to leave by Saturday afternoon!

Our friend Erica had Mackenzie Friday night and so she brought her to meet Clara in the morning and Kenz just hung out with us in the hospital until 12 when Keith took her home. You know the cliche a picture is worth a thousand words? I happen to think Kenzie's initial reaction to Clara was captured perfectly here:

In the end, she wouldn't hold her

Our original plan was to have Keith stay the night with Kenz and come get me in the morning but baby blues hit early and the thought of being in the hospital alone really everwhelmed me. So he called up a wonderful family in our ward, the Gold's, who have 2 little girls and a boy and they were happy to take her for the night and to church on Sunday. I was so grateful for that, and Keith and I had a much better night Saturday. We were discharged Sunday at noon and have loved having Clara home. She is a wonderful baby! She has her fussy times here and there but for the most part, she eats, sleeps and poops like a regular newborn.

I can't believe how much better this experience has been! While my body was more damaged this time around, I felt I was more prepared for the pain and interruped nights. Breastfeeding is still hard, but it's not as painful and I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm actually in love with getting up with Clara in the middle of the night to snuggle her and have such a wonderful bond.
Kenzie is adjusting SO much better than I thought she was going to after seeing that first reaction. She mostly ignores Clara because she sleeps so much but when she notices her, she wants to hug her and kiss and her and touch her "tiny toes and fingers." I think she can't wait for the day to be able to play with her and she's a little disappointed I'm not bottle feeding so she can't give Clara a bottle like her babies.

We feel so incredibly lucky to have great friends who watched Kenzie for us and who are bringing us meals until my mom gets here tonight. I thought it would be hard having a baby so far away from home and while it is and we wish we could be near them, Kentucky makes it much easier to feel like you're surrounded by people who love you and will do anything for you.

39 weeks

Here she is folks, ready to pop! The body is so unbelievable how it can grow and accommodate for a baby. I originally hated the idea of induction. I had a long, miserable experience with Mackenzie and so I was all for letting my body jump start itself this time. And then my doctor mentioned how she would induce me anytime after 39 weeks, especially because we had an ultrasound done at 38 weeks to check the position of my previously transverse baby and we found that she is now head down and perfect size to be born through my small pelvis. Knowing all looked good and the fact that I'm dilated to a 2, 50% effaced, and having multiple BH contractions every hour, I started contemplating induction in the case that I did go a week over. I really want my mom to be able to help with the baby and the thought of another month of pregnancy made me want to knock back a bottle of castor oil. So Keith and I started discussing it and I had it in my head to induce on the 9th if she wasn't here yet until Keith said "what about Labor day weekend?" Of course that weekend had crossed my mind but I wanted my body to have as much of a chance as going into labor on it's own as it could. But I can't describe the feelings I had when he mentioned the 2nd. It was a warm, enveloping peace prompting me that for some unknown reason, that date was exactly right. We both felt so good about it we didn't think about it again until Keith ran into a little conflict with his school schedule. Again as we discussed it though, the warm peace overcame me and let me know that we should stick with the earlier date. So there you have it, if she hasn't come by next Friday (day before she's due), we're forcing her out!

Showered with Love

I think we live in the most amazing ward. Everyone is so kind and welcoming and they love to throw a baby shower! I kind of resisted the idea because this is my 2nd girl and I really didn't need anything but I gave in for the sake of a girls night and the chance to be surrounded by women I love.

 Kristen was kind enough to lend us her house and Tia and Stephanie took care of the food and decorations.

L to R: Stephanie, me, Kristen, Tia

Gross picture of me but weren't the decorations cute! And the food was delicious

 

 Some of the beautiful ladies that were there:

 This was such a cute idea. Tia asked me what children's book I loved and didn't have. She then bought a big copy of it and put it on the entrance table for everyone to sign.

 Sweet little Emma makes me SO excited for another girl

 I love having pregnant friends who know exactly how you feel! Veronica on the left is due end of October with a girl and Sarah on the right is due with a boy beginning of November. My friend Amber is also due beginning of November but we didn't get a picture with her before she left. I love these girls!

 Baby girl was thoroughly spoiled with some amazing homemade blankets, and plenty of cute clothes and some essentials. Thank you everyone for your love!!!

Birthday Boy

I am the worst at documenting our birthdays. I took 4 whole pictures of Kenzie's 2nd Birthday and none of those were with her cake. This is the first birthday I have pictures of Keith. He doesn't like to make a big deal out of his birthday (or mine or any other holiday for that matter) but I think he liked being spoiled a little bit. We were lucky enough to have him home for a week long break the second week of August so he got to spend the whole day with us. We started off the day with presents- cards from our parents and his sister and some shorts and T-shirts from me. Lame gift I know, but it's what he wanted. I made him homemade pretzels using this recipe, and then a German chocolate cake using a family recipe that was delicious! That night we went to a baseball game. It was LDS night so we rode with some of our friends and had a blast. Plus, a guy in our ticket line gave us an extra ticket so we ended up paying only $6 and getting dinner because it was $1 hot dog and soda night. The next day, we went to Red Robin for his free Birthday burger and Thursday we had pizza, cake and ice cream with one of our favorite couples the Barratt's. All in all, I think he had a good birthday week!

What will probably be the last pregnancy post

I'm not planning on having the baby anytime soon, I just know I probably won't take the time to blog again. I still have lots of organizing and cleaning to do so I've got to prioritize my time! It's amazing to me how the belly can stretch out in the last trimester of pregnancy. I'm glad I actually documented it this time so I could see how amazing the whole process is. I'm feeling about how I think I should for being 35 weeks: Uncomfortable, tired, anxious, nervous, swollen, hot, heavy, irritated. Wanna know why I feel all of these things? I'm not getting much sleep these days between bathroom breaks, my sciatic nerve is driving me crazy, I've put on over 40 lbs. so that means my joints are hurting, I don't fit into my maternity clothes anymore, and the sweating is out of control because the humidity this summer has made being outside almost unbearable (my ring finger is up 3 full sizes). Despite the negative side of being about 9 months pregnant, there's lots of positives. Keith's really hit with the reality that a baby is coming, I can pull the pregnancy card whenever I want, people don't even remotely judge me for taking seconds they actually encourage it, I can fully blame my cranky mood on my hormones, and I am having dreams about this baby all of the time because I'm so excited to meet her. As frustrating as it can be to have the baby kick various organs inside of me and keep me up with her movement, I love feeling her and knowing it will be just a short time before I can snuggle her in my arms. I realize how lucky I am to have this opportunity to be pregnant again and know that every minute of these past nine months will be worth the sacrifice to bring one of God's children into our home.

27 weeks

29 weeks

33 weeks

35 weeks

Mackenzie the morning after she was born

Can't wait to meet you baby girl*!

*No name has been picked out, we have a list and we'll name her when we see her

4th of July

I've been in Idaho for the 4th before, but I'd never been to the parade or fireworks show. Both were so fun! The kids had a great time at the parade because there were a lot of bands and candy to catch.

My brother Caleb playing the drums with his high school band

 The fireworks show was wonderful. While it didn't come close to the theatrics of Thunder over Louisville, our seats were right under the fireworks and they were nonstop for almost an hour. We were so close, we ended up getting hit with a lot of firework debris. It was pretty funny to hear people shout out as they were pelted with a huge piece of cardboard.

Kenz watched for a few minutes with Kate and Taft, then hid under my blanket for the rest of it

Thanks for letting me steal all of your pictures Nycole!