A New Year, A New Goal

Hi all!  It is a new year and I am adequately jazzed!  I am going to try to change the tone of our family blog instead of just being my insights to the events that happen in our lives to a review of projects, recipes, activities with the family, books, music, etc.  Hopefully you will find something here that you enjoy and will bring a smile to your face.  I love to create and make, but I am also a little lazy (honesty-just one of my best qualities) so I aim for all things simple.  I turn to pintrest for inspiration but tend to simplify things just a bit or tweak them to make them my own.  I hope to share with you through out this year some of the things that I love about being a mom and housewife.  I am looking forward to the recipes I will share with you (all will be tested and Jamie approved- I see no point in passing on sub par info, only the best from me!) and hopefully we can laugh and giggle a little together.  Next week I am planning on posting a recipe and hopefully some pics from a project I am going to do.  See you next bat time same bat place!

Family Update

I love my life.  I have a sexy husband and an incredible little boy, great brothers and sisters on both sides of our family and amazing parents (both sets!).  We live in a comfortable home with great neighbors, we are blessed to have our needs met.  We are learning about being apart and hating it, so that's always a good sign, yes?  B is growing and learning so much and I love watching him, he is different every day.  I am so blessed.  Heavenly Father takes wonderful care of us, supplying us with what we need, compensating for our shortcomings as individuals and parents, I am thankful for a God that is present and aware of our family.  Leo works so hard and has been blessed with a firmer, fuller understanding of his studies as he is preparing for his boards.  I have been blessed with projects and the ability to work on school for myself while Leo is working on his degree.  I do miss my family in UT but I am finally realizing that I do know what I am doing and I am a competent person that can do all with God on my side.  I am thankful for the experiences that I have had in my life to prepare me for this grand adventure that I am on with my eternal family.  We genuinely enjoy each other.  That is a huge blessing to me and one that I don't take for granted.  I love it all.  Every moment of responsibility and the "payoffs" that come after fulfilling that responsibility.  I wouldn't change a thing about my life (except maybe having Leo home more).  

What a delightful 9 months

Baxter is such a big boy! We can't believe how much fun we have with him and the joy that he brings to our lives. This is his Halloween picture, at playgroup he dressed up as a bear and for trick or treating he was a monkey.
Baxter is also doing great at growing his teeth, getting his haircut, army crawling, and (dah-dah-dah-dah!) pulling himself up! He has been trying for a while but on Friday he finally did it and since then he has pulled himself up on toy boxes, his walker and the couch! What a big fella!

He says "Hi" and "dada, daddy, dad". He waves and can even walk when we hold onto his hands. The other day we went in to get him out of bed and he was trying to stand up so we had to move his crib mattress down.

We also went to see Santa yesterday and he loved it! He was quite taken with Santa's beard and kept smiling at him. We are getting excited for Baxter's first Christmas season and can't wait for him to get to open his presents and play with the paper and boxes but leave the actual gift for next year.

Baxter is HERE!

On Monday, March 28 I had the most amazing experience, one I had been hoping and preparing for my whole life, my sweetheart and I welcomed our first child to the world.

It was an incredibly spiritual experience. I was blessed throughout my pregnancy to be surrounded by people who helped me look forward to labor and delivery as a divine experience. For the few days leading up to the experience I listened to hymns and talks about motherhood and God's mercy and love. I prayed that everything would go well and that Baxter would be safe. When contractions became regular on Saturday night I borrowed a page out of a book by pioneer women and made strawberry freezer jam. Yes, it is more simple than everything else that super women have done through the ages, but I was still pretty excited about getting it done.

We went into the hospital on Sunday afternoon to find out that I was still only dilated to a 3 and were sent home. I spent a lot of time in the shower that day to ease the contractions. We tried to relax and wait for the inevitable. On Monday morning the contractions were about 6 minutes apart lasting just over a minute we went to the hospital and they monitored me for an hour and I dilated from a 4 to a 5 and admitted us!

We got cozy in our room. After about an hour I was a 6 and wanted to go for a walk. We walked around for and went back to the room, the doctor told me that I was giving labor a bad name and he couldn't believe that I was walking around dilated to a 6 and not on an epidural, then he broke my water. I waited about an hour and the anesthesiologists came in to give me the drugs. They tried 10 times to get the epidural to stick. The needle they used to administer the local anesthetic couldn't get to where it needed in my spine and I felt every single twinge and movement as the epidural needle snaked through my spine. For just over an hour that was my life. I lasted about 45 minutes before I started crying and Leo came and stood right in front of me instead of to the side holding my hand. He looked right at me and every once in a while I saw his eyes dart to watch what the doctors were doing. He told me after that he watched as they pulled my tissue and blood out of my back as they tried over and over. Finally we all agreed it wasn't going to work and I was going to hit it all natural.

Another hour passed and I was informed that it was time to start Pitocin. After an hour on Pitocin my contractions were lasting about 90 seconds were coming every minute or so, I was still only dilated to a 7. Leo sat with me and rubbed my back, I thought I was in back labor but now I think it was just the injuries from the failed epidurals as I also had intense contractions in my front. 6:15 pm came with no progress in dilation and I started feeling like I needed to push, the nurses helped me breathe through it while Leo held my hand and told me how well I was doing. Finally around 7 pm I was an 8. At 7:15 I started pushing without being able to stop it and I told the nurse to call the doctor, I wanted a c-section. I couldn't stop myself and I knew that if the baby pushed up against the cervix it would swell and block Baxter's way out, most likely sending him into distress. The nurse checked me again at 7:30 and I was FINALLY to a 10 and ready to push! She and Leo held me as she showed me how to push and I did 3 practice pushes, right as I finished those the doctor came in, covered up and we started working with the contractions and the urges. I pushed for 10 minutes and Baxter Leo Bay came into this world at 7:57 weighing in at 7 pounds 7 oz and 19.75 inches long. My doctor told me that I handled natural childbirth better than some of his patients who had planned for a natural birth. It was an amazing experience full of hope, love, darkness, excitement, anxiety, pain, elation, and peace. The experience was not what I had planned, but one that I had been prepared for. A few weeks before I went into labor I was inspired to look at techniques for if the epidural failed. Leo and I had discussed the possibility of a natural birth because I wanted to see if I could do it. I was able to be calm with Leo (for the most part) and only once make a slightly awkward demand on him. I felt things that cannot be described and was filled with so much love for our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the women who came before me and my eternal family. That was just the tip of the ice burg as love overwhelmed me and still does when I look at my husband and my sweet little boy. We did this together. We waited, we sacrificed, we prayed and now we have come to the beginning of the next stage of our journey. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It was a privilege and a blessing and I would not change a moment about it.

I Am SO Ready

This photo is me at 29 weeks. When I bought this shirt it was a little tight and I was afraid it would only last a couple weeks, but it was so cute I couldn't resist! I am now 37 weeks and 2 days. That shirt still fits me and is one of the 3 shirts that actually make me look pregnant. The rest of my clothes just make me look...blobbish. I am well within what I should have gained this pregnancy but with every half ounce this baby gains I find it harder and harder to be comfortable. It shocks me how each day changes so much, for only half an ounce!

We are trying to get Mr. Baxter out to join us as soon as possible. That being said, before I get scolded, let me say: 1. I know he will come when he is ready. 2. I know I am not technically due until the 27th, but I am officially at term now. 3. At my last doctor appointment I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced and the doctor actually felt the babies head, so I feel like this could be coming to an end. I know, I know women have been in this state for weeks. 4. I am so excited to have our sweet baby join our earthly home, I am getting anxious!

Leo keeps pressuring Baxter to come since he doesn't have tests this week, which is making me a little stressed because I feel like we are on a schedule. Plus, I would like to be able to do some more of my housework so I don't have to ask Leo to do that when he is so busy. I try to get as much done as I can, but it is getting harder to maneuver and bend. I am also excited to see what he will look like! I am sure he will look like Leo when he was little as apparently the Bay genes wipe out anything in their path. I can't wait for Leo to get to hold and play with Baxter, he is so sweet and wonderful! When we were setting up Baxter's bed in our room, Leo decided to put the bed further across the room so that if I was exhausted, he could get Baxter for me without having to climb over me. I am so thankful for how sweet he is, he takes such wonderful care of me. The countdown is on.

Cutest Daddy Ever

All during my pregnancy I have been thoroughly entertained by my sweet husband preparing to be a daddy. Leo takes care of me, runs to the store, did the dishes, basically anything I didn't have the energy to do, he took care of it. As Baxter got older he would read him stories and try to listen to him through my belly and just last week he made Baxter a HAT! It is so cute! Tonight I woke up around 12:40 to Leo lying on my stomach singing softly, "I don't want to wake up mommy, but I want to play with you Baxter boy! Are you awake?" He then proceeded to tell Baxter a super cute story about Bo-Ji the marshmallow bunny peep with the moral being to always listen to mommy "so you don't turn into a pile of goo." I don't think he knew I was awake at this point.

My favorite part of the day is when Leo plays with Baxter. I swear, they already have a boys club! Leo can put his hand on Bax and talk to him and Baxter actually follows his hand kicking and hitting. When he stops and Leo says, "Kick me!" Baxter follows directions. Leo can read Seuss in a way that has Baxter dancing and jumping like a Mexican jumping bean and there is a huge surge of happy juice running through all of us. Leo encourages Baxter to take full advantage of his position over mommy's bladder and when I go streaking for the nearest restroom Leo laughs and says, "Baxter, you are the funniest boy I know!" He gets such a kick out of being a dad already, today he was trying to convince Bax that it was time for him to come because daddy was done waiting and wanted to play with him in person. If I have any hope of getting this boy out of me before my due date it is going to be because he can't wait to see his dad. I am so thankful for my sweetie and how wonderful he is to me and already is to Baxter. It brings me so much joy to feel their connection. I know that won't always be my privilege, but right now I am loving my front row seat!

Nesting Like a Little Bird

My nesting instinct comes in short bursts around 9:30 or 10:00 pm. I start cleaning with all the dedication I can muster and then I ache. I work through it for a bit until I am sweating and have even more pain, then I find a chore I can do while I sit such as folding laundry or delegating to Leo what I would like done. I sit until I get antsy and then start cleaning again. We just did the dishes and folded laundry, but I still can't help but feel that nothing is getting done. The antsyness is welling up inside me to the point that I need to feel some movement in my legs and see some improvement or there will be hell to pay. I have to go!