Baby Oakley

Now that Oakley is almost a month old I am finally getting around to posting about it. Life is busy with two kids!

Here I am about to go into the hospital to be induced Tuesday August 9th.

Here is the story of Oakley's birth. Sorry it is kind of long and detailed but I want to be able to remember it all.

We got to the hospital around 7:30am. We had to wait for a little while to get checked in and then they took me upstairs to get changed. They checked me and I was dilated to a 4. They hooked me up to the monitors and it showed that I was having some contractions. Nothing regular but still, why wasn't I feeling them?! I had all back labor with Saylor so I really had no idea what regular contractions felt like and I didn't know what to expect. They put a little tablet up inside of me that was supposed to help dilate me some more and hopefully get my contractions going. We had to wait for two hours to see what would happen. When they came back to check me I was between a 4 and a 5. The doctor told me at that point I could either go home and wait for things to get started on their own or he could break my water and put me on pitocin. I was not leaving that hospital with out a baby! So I told him to go ahead and break my water. (This was around 11am) I wasn't that into going on pitocin and I asked my doctor if we could wait and see if breaking my water alone would get things started. He recommended that I start on pitocin because once your water is broken you need to deliver within 24 hours and he wanted to make sure my labor started soon. Right after he broke my water the nurses came in to get an IV started for my pitocin. My mom, Kirstie and Saylor showed up about then since I told them things were going slow and they might as well visit. The nurses poked and poked and couldn't seem to get a vain. I was starting to get really annoyed because my contractions suddenly started coming really fast and really strong. They started out in the back, then the front, then I was feeling them in the front and the back at the same time. I remember my labor with Saylor not being very bad at all because you get a break between your contractions to recover. These contractions were coming so fast I was hardly getting a break. My mom decided to leave with Saylor so she wouldn't have to see me in so much pain. (This was around noon) Kirstie stayed even though Ty warned her it could be the most horrific thing she's ever seen to witness child birth. Ha. They had to send in like 3 different nurses until someone finally got my IV in. Before they could give me my epideral and start my pitocin they had to go check my blood count or something so they left for a while. I kept telling Ty I needed my epideral right then. I kept asking and asking where the anesthesiologist was and Ty kept telling me they were on their way and I would say someone needs to tell them to run, I am dying here! I told Ty several times that I was going to die from the pain. It really was the worst pain I had EVER been in. Finally the doctor came in. He checked me and I was now at a 7. He also informed me that it was much too late for an epideral. He said they could give me some meds for pain to take off the edge and he thought that I would be able to handle it with that. He thought I could handle it?! That made me freak out. At this point I was getting hysterical and I began begging my doctor to give me an epideral. He just very calmly let me know that by the time they could give me one my baby would already be born. In my mind I kept thinking, why would anyone ever want to do this naturally? This is awful! So they gave me my meds and checked me again and I was a 10! It was time to push! My meds kicked in just in time for pushing which I was so thankful for. All the sudden I was super happy and felt like I could enjoy the moment of giving birth. I could still feel everything but it no longer felt like I was going to die. Being able to feel also made pushing a whole lot easier. I pushed three times and little Oakley popped right out! It was the coolest feeling ever! Oakley was born around 12:45pm which made my labor less than 2 hours!

Me and Ty were so happy to welcome baby girl #2 into our family! We were instantly in love.

Ty giving Oakley her first diaper change

I LOVED having Kirstie there for the birth. She didn't think it was gross at all. She said it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

A nice thing about not having an epideral was I felt totally awesome right after I gave birth and I could hop right out of bed. I was SO happy!

I was so excited for Saylor to come to the hospital to meet her sister for the first time. At first she was a little timid but she quickly warmed up to her and was so cute!

Saylor giving Oakley hugs.

Saylor is such a proud big sister! Every time Oakley would cry Saylor would say, "She wants me!"

As soon as I saw Oakley I thought she looked just like Saylor!

I could hardly wait to put her in some cute clothes and get a bow on her head!

I am such a happy mommy!

Our new family of four

Oakley's going home outfit

I came home to a poster, balloons and a very clean house!

Although being pregnant during a Missouri summer was probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me I love that the weather is warm enough to take Oakley out when she's so little. I was so anxious to use my double stroller!

Some more cute pics of Oakley...

Oh man I LOVE this little girl! I really forgot how much fun it is to have a baby. Having Oakley has been so much easier of a transition than having Saylor was. I guess I just knew more of what to expect and since I'm already a mom taking care of another one isn't that big of a change. I'm not saying that I have the two kid thing figured out yet, because it is still kind of a challenge. Saylor is super sweet to Oakley most of the time but she has been acting out a lot and has been super sassy because I think she wants attention. It is hard finding a balance of how much attention to give each kid. I feel bad when Saylor wants me and I am feeding Oakley and can't help her. I also feel bad sometimes for Oakley because I don't get to hold her as much as I held Saylor as a baby. Most of the time things are great though. Saylor loves holding Oakley and always says, "I love her sooo much!" and "I miss her sooo much!" She has also been very helpful and loves to help change diapers. Saylor can hardly wait until Oakley is big enough to play with her.

Still Pregnant...

So I have to say that me and Ty are both pretty shocked that I am still pregnant. We never thought I'd go this long. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I am now dilated between a 3 and a 4...how is this baby not falling out of me??!! I guess she is just not quite ready to make her appearance to the world. Meanwhile I am getting MASSIVE!! I am starting to worry that I am going to have a really big baby here. My mom and sister are coming Monday so I told my doctor that if I haven't gone into labor I want to be induced Tuesday morning. I REALLY want to go into labor on my own but I also don't want to waste time being pregnant when my mom and sister are here to help with the new baby...I'm really going to need them as I try to figure out how to handle two kids!

So at the most I've got 3 days left being this large!!! I'm trying my hardest to enjoy the last few days I have with just Saylor and trying to get lots of sleep to prepare for the crazy exhaustion that comes with a newborn. Oh but we are just so excited to meet this new little one!

Baby Update

So I am still pregnant. 11 days to go until my due date and I don't think I have ever been more miserable. This pregnancy is going on FOREVER! At my 37 week appointment I was dilated to a one and 50% effaced. At my 38 week appointment I expected to be about the same but I was dilated between a 2 and a 3 and 70% effaced!! This got me SO excited and I was expecting to go into labor any time. Ty was so convinced we were going

to have a July baby. But now it is July 30th and still no baby. Super disappointing. I have been walking every day, having dance parties and doing other things I have heard help induce labor...

I was 8 days early with Saylor so hopefully I only have a few days left!!! I told Saylor to tell her sister to come out of my tummy so Saylor was yelling at my stomach today, "Baby Oakley, come out of mommy's tummy so I can play with you!"

When I was pregnant with Saylor Ty painted a watermelon on my stomach. This time around he decided to paint a globe. I am SO huge! Here's to hoping that baby comes soon because I don't know how much longer I can last!!

4th of July

For the 4th of July and Ty's B-day we decided to take a trip to St. Louis! Before we left I made Ty some delicious german pancakes. Ty felt special that he got to be the first in the family to use the birthday plate!

Saylor always does so well in the car on long drives. She sat quietly and looked at books for almost the whole drive. (It's pretty much the only time she can ever sit still!)

These pictures are kind of out of order but here are some of the awesome things we got to do...

Seeing the arch was amazing! I loved how the sunset reflected pink off of it.

We got to see Montgomery Gentry perform right under the arch followed by a huge fireworks show! Fireworks right under the arch and over the Mississippi River was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

During the day of the 4th we went to the St. Louis Zoo. I really wasn't expecting much since it's a free zoo but I was thoroughly impressed!! The zoo was beautifully landscaped and had tons of really cool animals. It was a very hot day and it involved a lot of walking (which is kind of hard when you are 8 months pregnant!) but we had a really fun time.

Riding the carousel

Check out that bear back there!

The penguin exhibit was inside a super cold building that felt so good! Saylor kept saying, "I'm coldy, I need a jacket!"

The penguins were so close you could have reached out and touched them!

Inside the butterfly exhibit, Saylor loved to watch the butterflies fly all around her.

The hippo was my favorite! It was so ginormous and he was squished up against the glass so we could get a real good look at him. We tried to put Saylor next to it to get a picture and she freaked out!

Say and Mommy

Woah, I'm huge!

Everything at the zoo was so pretty. Lots of trees, flowers and beautiful waterfalls!

Hanging out in the hotel

Getting ready to go swim!

This was right after Saylor fell into the pool head first! She was leaning over the edge and fell right in. Luckily Ty was right there to reach in and grab her. Saylor loves to tell this story.

Classic Saylor, singing her little heart out

Swimming with Daddy and Dora

We also got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, do some shopping and ride the metro. It was so much fun to get away from Kirksville for a few days and have a fun little family vacation.

Here's a video of us at the concert. Saylor was of coarse jamming out to the music and making friends with everyone around us!

Summer Vacation Part Two: Idaho!

Tyler and I are both blessed to have such amazing families. After spending such a fun week in Utah we got to go up to Idaho and have another week of awesomeness. We stopped to see Shoshone Falls on the way to Boise and it was beautiful!

So worth stopping for!

We also stopped in Twin Falls and had dinner with our friends Jules and Nate. Jules and I have due dates only 2 weeks apart but Jules already gave birth to her twins almost a week ago! Lucky girl!

The day after getting to Boise we packed our bags and headed up to McCall to stay at a cabin for a few days. We were right next to a beautiful pond with canoes and gorgeous scenery.

Say and Grandpa on the canoe

There was a hot tub on the deck of the cabin and Saylor thought it was awesome!

Saylor and her cousin Thyme taking a dip

Showing off her cute little life jacket

Ty and Trent attempted to do the gallon challenge...and failed.

Having canoe races on the pond...Me & Ty against Kirstie and Trent

Family canoe ride

We had so much fun watching movies, playing games, eating tons of yummy food, taking naps and just hanging out at the cabin together.

Saylor's been asking Ty to take her to the zoo to see the giraffes for some time now so we thought we'd better take her to the Boise Zoo...

We got a close up view of the lion!

We got to walk through the wallaby habitat and one jumped right in front of us!

Riding on the giant giraffe slide

Happy Family of 3 (Soon to be 4!)

Say and Auntie Kirtie

Eating at Texas Roadhouse

Getting sno cones at the sno shack! It doesn't feel like summer until you eat a sno cone!

I was SO happy we happened to be in town for my friend Holly's wedding. It was my first time meeting her husband and I think they are totally perfect for each other, seriously so cute.

They had a dance at the reception and Saylor was loving it

Dancing with her Daddy

Saylor found a little friend and was so excited to have someone just her size to dance with!

We also got to see Chrissy & Ian at the wedding

The weekend before we left was super busy because my brother Zach was giving his farewell so there was tons of family in town. Saturday we went down to the Eagle Fun Days parade with a bunch of my cousins.

Zach gave his farewell talk on Sunday and he did such a great job. He is going to be such an amazing missionary in Mexico City! We are so proud of him. He went into the MTC on June 22nd.

Zach is such a good uncle, Saylor will miss him so much! So crazy to think Saylor will be 4 when he gets home and that my new baby will be almost Saylor's age now!

One last kiss for her Uncle Zach

Giving goodbye hugs to Aunt Kirstie, luckily we get to see her again soon when she flies out to Missouri when the baby is born!

Say with Grandma Idaho

All the family that came in town for Zach's talk

Last Family Photo with Zach

It was a great week!