Parenthood

I am a mom. Trent is a dad. SO weird. It's just been the two of us for 7 years. Now Lincoln has come into our life and has made it 1000 times more enjoyable than I ever thought it could be...and it was pretty perfect before!

Lincoln came into the world pretty quickly. I was a couple days overdue and met with my doctor and we decided to induce me on the 28th. My parents were flying in the night of the 27th so this would allow them to be there. I was pretty miserable at 40+ weeks pregnant so I was pretty excited to get things going.

Trent and I woke up the morning of the 28th around 5:00 am. We got ready to go and left our house for the last time as just us! I was surprisingly not near as nervous as I thought I would be. We checked into the hospital and got settled in around 8:30 am. I was already having small contractions but they weren't really painful yet. They started me on the smallest dose of pitocin around 9 to see how my body would respond. Trent and I were just chilling in the hospital room and chatting with the nurses while waiting for my doctor to come and check on me. He came around 10:30. The contractions had gotten slightly stronger but nothing I couldn't handle. He decided to break my water. Talk about the weirdest feeling ever. I felt like I had instantly lost 10lbs. My doc said he expected the baby to be born around 7pm that evening. Right after he left the contractions seemed to be getting stronger every time they came and it was getting harder to talk/breath through them. My mom and dad were in the room at that time and we would be talking and a contraction would come and I would just have to close my eyes and take deep breaths to get through them. Then my parents left and the anesthesiologist came into the room and went over all the risks of an epidural with me and said he would come back and put it in whenever I felt like I needed it. 

Well about 5 minutes later I decided I needed it. I felt like a wimp because it was only about 30 minutes after my water had broken that I felt I couldn't or didn't want to take the pain any longer. But I decided if I was going to get it anyway there was no reason to put myself through unnecessary amounts of pain in order to appear to be strong. So the doc walks in with another younger woman and says she is new and will be putting in my epdiural while he watches.I'm at the point where I would have let my mom put the epidural in so I agree and she starts talking me through the process while she is doing it. Trent's in front of me holding my hands and basically keeping me from jumping off the bed. The nice lady kept hitting a nerve that would send the worst pain I have ever felt all the way up my back. I would wince and make weird sounds like a whimpering dog...i remembering thinking while making them how dumb I sounded. HA! She ended up having to take it out and redo it. And hit that same nerve again...awesome. By 11:15 ish the epidural was in and working like a charm. I could hardly feel the contractions anymore and my right leg was completely dead. 

My nurse decided to check and see how much progress I had made right after I got the epidural so she could update my doctor. She was shocked to find out that I had gone from 3cm to 7cm in a matter of 30 min. I didn't feel like such a wimp after I found that out! My parents came back in the room because i'm all about having distractions. We just sat around and talked and about 45 minutes later (which felt like 5 minutes) I felt like I needed to start pushing. I told my nurse and she checked me again and said I was fully dilated. My parents left and it was just me, Trent, and my nurse. 

She asked if we had taken a birthing class while she is lifting my leg up and we both look at her and say no. She said "well you'll learn as you go!" Really our plan was to have Trent up by my face the whole time just holding my hand. The nurse had a different plan for him. He was just as involved as her! I think I was more in shock that he was basically birthing our child than I was about the fact that I was about to give birth to one. (He doesn't do very well with blood) :) I pushed for 30 minutes and my doc came in and was shocked to see that I was already at that point. He said "Whoa! We're having a baby!" and then ran out of the room to get a gown on. As soon as he got back I pushed a couple of more times and Lincoln was here! He took a while to start breathing and crying (more like 30-45 seconds) but that is a long time when that is all you want to hear! I instantly starting laughing and crying because for my whole life this experience has been my number 1 fear and it was finally over! (ha, or so I thought.)

Lincoln was born at 1:45 and weighed 7lbs 15oz. He was 21in tall. And the cutest thing I had ever laid eyes on. We spent the next to days in the hospital. I have never been so sleep deprived before. But it was worth it! It was so great to be able to take him home and be in the comfort of our home. We spent one night at home and then had to go back to the hospital because Lincoln had jaundice pretty bad and they wanted to take care of it aggressively. One night in the hospital with a newborn feels like weeks. I feel so bad for people who have to be there for weeks or months at a time. I don't think I could do it. Once he was better I felt like we could really settle in at home and start living again! Those first weeks with him were a major learning curve. Learning ow to comfort him, know when he was hungry, tired, or just wanted to play did not come naturally. But little by little we are learning and loving every minute. 

Getting to spend all day everyday with him is such a blessing. I cannot imagine having to go back to work and leaving him. I would do it if I had to of course but I am so glad I don't! Lincoln is now almost 2 months old and his personality comes out more every day. The first real smile he gave Trent and I was the best thing ever. Instant joy. He started smiling pretty early on and they haven't stopped since. He is a pretty happy baby unless he is hungry. Then he lets me know he means business. He loves being swaddled and frankly has to be in order to sleep because he is always throwing his arms everywhere and sucking on his hands which keeps him wide awake! 

Lincoln can only be comforted by sucking on Trent or I's pinky. He absolutely loves baths...until he has to get out of his tub. He grunts ALL the time. Every movement is pretty much accompanied by a grunt. He snorts while breathing sometimes which I find hilarious. When he wakes up he will stretch for days. 

Watching Lincoln and Trent play together is too much for me. That boy loves his dad! The smiles come out big time once Trent gets home from work. And of course Dad was the first one to get a laugh out of the little guy! All in all these last two months have been the hardest and yet most rewarding months of my life. Knowing that every decision Trent and I make will affect Lincoln puts a big weight on our shoulders. THIS is what life is about. I've felt that confirmation that this is the most important thing Trent and I could be doing right now over and over since Lincoln came. It's our purpose here on earth. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father trusted us with this special little spirit and look forward to all the milestones and experiences we will get to have with him.

3 weeks to go...

I haven't blogged since October... mostly because teaching took over my life and then being pregnant from December on  made it so I had zero motivation to blog. But now I'm done teaching and almost done being pregnant! I'll make a recap of the past 10 months of our lives.

Trent has allllways wanted children. I'm pretty sure from the first Sunday we were married he saw all the cute babies in our ward and would look at me with puppy dog eyes and say "Can we have one?" I would always respond that it wasn't like having a pet and that it came with a lot of responsibility. Well that lasted for 2 years and we finally decided to start a family. A few months later reality hit when I got the positive pregnancy test. I had been getting dizzy spells and could not keep my eyes open while teaching. But I just thought that was because I was a teacher and it was close to Christmas break and my body was on the verge of surrendering to 23 seven year olds. Turns out I was pregnant. Trent was beaming and I was freaking. HOW was I going to teach while having all of the horrible pregnancy symptoms that everyone talks about?

Well, miracles happen. I hardly had any "morning" sickness. I would get nauseous but if I ate or Trent forced me to eat it would go away. I slept a TON for the first 10 weeks. That was the extent of my "horrible" symptoms during the first trimester.

Trent took this at 4pm right after I had gotten home from teaching. 

 

 

 

Flattering pic I know but I was soooo tired.

All during this time Trent was going to school and starting up an internship at a chiropracters office. The timing was perfect. I would sleep non-stop and Trent would study for organic chemistry non-stop. We got to go to our first appointment and see the tiny little baby inside. That made it very real to me.
 

Telling our family was a lot of fun. Of course Jonas gave the best reaction which is expected.Once my mom found out she would call me almost daily to see how I was feeling.

During my 2nd trimester I honestly didn't feel pregnant at all. I had energy and I could eat pretty much whatever and my acid reflux was controllable. and then this happened.

March 20th - Around 17 weeks pregnant.                          

And then 18 weeks pregnant.....one week.

And that's when I realized the normal jeans had to go. Ok so I tried to fit into them for a couple more weeks with the belly band trick but it just got too uncomfortable! I have been in stretchy pants as often as possible ever since.

The bottom pic is in St. George where Trent and I spent spring break. My parents were there too and we all had a lot of fun. My mom shopped the heck out of me and Trent and my dad golfed a lot!

Before even getting pregnant Trent and I had made the decision that he would go sell pest control another year. This time in Wisconsin. Mostly because we LOVE moving and being apart is our favorite past time. (not) He left Mid-April after finishing up his degree in Exercise Physiology. He didn't want to walk for graduation so we  have no fun pictures....lame. Before Trent left we got to have our 3d ultrasound. That was so fun! We haven't had one since and i'm dying to see what baby boy McKenzie looks like!

His arms are up by his neck if you couldn't tell what those little nubs were...I ironically sleep just like that!

The next 6 weeks were excruciatingly long. They were worth it though. Trent did really well selling in that time and worked his tail off.  My family helped me a TON to get through those weeks. Especially this little princess....

and my mom! She was a saint during those 6 weeks. She came up to see me a couple of times and we even took a trip to Salt Lake together to visit my aunts. She may be crazy but I love her! :)

The end of those 6 weeks was very emotional/exciting. I had become so close with all of my kiddos and was happy to have freedom of summer but sad that I wouldn't get to be a part of all the good times we had together anymore. I had the perfect class.

see what i mean?!

 

On the last day I made a video of the whole year for each of them and I ended up crying at the end. One kid said, "teacher! You are crying!"  Thanks buddy for announcing it to the whole class! After everyone noticed they all gave me a huge group hug and then I told our class clown to tell me a joke so I could be happy. And then I looked at three of my most crazy/rowdy boys and they were crying too! It was so hard when that bell rang to see them walk out that door crying! Luckily I had the excitement of seeing Trent in a few days to cheer me up. 

When I flew into Milwaukee and saw Trent he hugged me and I started crying of course. The people around us where probably thinking why is that 16 year old pregnant girl hugging that grown man and crying? I pulled it together and was SOOOO happy to be back with him. 

Since then we have been preparing for our little man to arrive. Which takes a lot of time! Trent has been working hard selling and I have been working on Teacher's Pay Teachers and getting his nursery ready. I sewed my first pleat the other day and I'm pretty sure that means I'm officially a domestic genius. 

The last few weeks of pregnancy have been less than pleasant. Sitting up is almost impossible. Acid reflux may be the death of me. People STARE at me everywhere. BUT I am BLESSED to be pregnant and I remind myself of that every day because I have too many friends who have, are, or will struggle with not being able to and my heart breaks for them. On a happier note my teacher friend who had been trying for 4-5 years finally got to adopt the perfect baby girl! She went through a crazy amount of trials to get there so I'll take the acid reflux and the discomfort of being pregnant any day.

Trent and I will be in Wisconsin for an undetermined amount of time. He's currently decided whether he should go to chiropractic school or if he should make Pest control his career. He's been given some great opportunities so we'll see where they take us! 

Wish us two kids luck as we become parents! We are going to need all the prayers we can get! :)