Newlywed Adventures and Musings of the Wife

6 Months!

2012-01-25T10:37:00.002-07:00

Avery is 6 months!

Stats

Weight: 13 lbs. 14 oz. (20%)

Height: 26" (75%)

Likes

Jumperoo--pretty much her favorite thing ever

Dolls

Pulling my hair

Scooting in circles

Grabbing faces

Sucking her thumb

Sitting up

Milestones

Sitting up on her own!

Changed out the stroller from the bassinet to the big kid seat.

Reaches for people to hold her

Lots of babbling

Personality

I have been loving the last few months with Avery because she is getting so much personality!

She grunts and growls a lot, especially if she wants something or is trying to reach for something.

She's becoming really independent and mostly wants to sit up on the floor by herself and play with her toys all day.

If she's happy or excited she kicks her legs and flaps her arms.

She puts anything she can get her hands on into her mouth.

Sleeping

Her sleeping is getting better overall, but it's still pretty hit or miss.

On a good night, she goes to bed around 6-7:30PM and will sleep until 7AM, waking up twice during the night to eat.

On a bad night, she goes to bed around 6-7:30PM and will sleep until 6AM, waking up 6 times during the night.

During the day she usually gets 2-3 naps for 30-60min.

If she wakes up rested, she will babble in her crib and kick the mattress until we come get her.

Another Warmish January Afternoon

2012-01-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

It took me an entire day to figure out how to change out the stroller bassinet to a seat.

I spent hours trying to remember how to tilt the seat until I realized we had a DVD on how to use the stroller

(duh)

It was so warm last Saturday and we wanted to go for a walk but when we pulled out the stroller with it's new seat configuration, it would only lock and tilt upside down. I felt like such an idiot fiddling with the stroller on the sidewalk for 30 minutes until we realized the seat was on backwards.

(duh)

So we finally got it figured out and Avery loves the new big kid seat. She kicks her feet and babbles at everything. If we stop, she gets mad and starts grunting.

This picture really has nothing to do with this post other than the fact that we walked by this giant rooster on our walk. But seriously, it was such a nice, warm day, and for JANUARY!! I mean, I love it. I think I was meant to live near the equator.

A Love (Sac) Story

2012-01-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when your Love Sac's innards spilled out under it's cover and you take the cover off to wash it because you made a cute little boy laugh so hard he threw up all over it.

And then your husband uses a rake to get the big pieces of Love Sac innards into piles so you can vacuum the tiny pieces.

We are still finding pieces.

You Heard Me

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to have some family come visit over the weekend!

These guys live in Virginia now so we haven't seen them in MONTHS and this was their first time meeting Avery.

This is Kyle's nephew.

The big one, Devin.

The little one is our GREAT nephew, Crew.

You heard me.

Great nephew.

Kyle is a great uncle.

Which makes me a great aunt.

And that makes me sound really old.

I think we finally figured out that Avery and Crew are first cousins once removed.

I think.

They are 6 months apart.

Crew is older.

Obviously.

And that means he gets to take away the toys from the little one :)

In case you were wondering (Mom), Avery isn't wearing pants because she had just had a blowout for the third time that day.

And she's not wearing a sock because she tried to eat it.

She didn't go pantless for long, but I couldn't resist squeezing those baby legs!

She's finally getting some chubby baby rolls on them and I can't even stand it.

Anyway, we love these guys and are crossing our fingers they move back west.

First cousins once removed need to be playmates.

Impossible to Forget

2012-01-17T17:10:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure there will ever be a day that goes by that I don't think about PKU. Even though it crosses my mind every day, I usually suppress my fears and worries about PKU and what it can mean for our tiny Avery. But today was like a reality slap in the face.

We changed pediatricians and we met our new doctor today. He's so much better than the last one. But even still, he knows very little about PKU. After a few minutes of explaining what we know about it, he told us he learned more about PKU from us in 5 minutes than he ever learned in medical school. This would worry me, but it seems to be pretty typical in the medical field. People just don't know much about it. He was really understanding and interested and we all just agreed to leave the diet management to Avery's team of dietitians and geneticists and he'd pretty much stay out of it.

On the way home, we had to stop to fill a prescription for Avery. A 15 minute prescription filling turned into over an hour because the pharmacists had to investigate whether or not the prescription contained an artificial sweetener that contains phenylalanine, which Avery wouldn't be able to have.

And then I came home, checked my email, and read a new study about how even people on current diet management for PKU can suffer brain abnormalities.

What. The. Heck.

I want to take a PKU vacation.

Go somewhere far away where no one has heard of it and I can forget it exists.

Oh wait, no one has heard of it.

Ha!

But it's impossible to forget.

Even though there's a lot of studies and research going on about PKU, it still seems to be a medical mystery in some ways. The unknowns are what scare me. The current treatment is relatively new and who really knows what works? It's sometimes so hard to trust that we're doing the right things to protect Avery.

You see, it's more than "just a special diet."

It's the weighing of each gram of food.

It's making a huge batch of formula every morning.

It's making sure she eats what she's supposed to in 24 hours.

It's keeping a record of everything she eats and when.

It's the weekly blood samples we have to send in.

It's ordering medical formula every month.

It's worrying about the cost of medical formula and low protein foods.

It's the weekly phone calls with the dietitians.

It's the regular visits with the geneticist.

It's fixing dinner at night and realizing she couldn't eat it.

It's the worrying each week that her levels are where they should be.

It's the fear about the future.

It's sometimes so very much overwhelming.

As a parent, I just want to protect her from everything bad, hurtful, and uncomfortable out there. I know it's impossible, but it still seems so unfair that she's been dealt this disadvantage in life.

It's embarrassing for me to admit that the only thing that usually makes me feel better is to imagine how it could be worse. There are people who have lost children, or who can't have children, or whose children are suffering from painful conditions. I'm sure if they read my story and my whining laments, they would roll their eyes and think to themselves "Oh she thinks she's got it bad!" But then again, I've done the same thing to others.... in my head, of course.

I try to look on the bright side, and there is a lot of brightness there. The future is scary, sometimes numbingly terrifying, but for right now, on Avery's 6 month birthday, she's healthy. She's doing all the things babies at 6 months can do and whenever she does something "advanced" I feel a bit of relief. Not that she's better than other babies or something, but because I think that she is still smart and her little baby brain is still healthy.

But you know what else makes me feel better?

This face.

Weekends Are My Very Favorite

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about the weekends are morning baby snuggles.

I'll bring Avery to our bed to wake up Kyle.

No one's in a rush to get to work or anything.

So we can just enjoy the sweet baby cuteness as long as we want.

Weekends are my very favorite.

A Born Sports Fan

2012-01-14T21:20:00.002-07:00

I would say that we took Avery to her first Jazz game but I think maybe the scrimmage counted?

So I guess now she is a Jazz veteran.

They played the Lakers.

We hate the Lakers.

We ended up getting to the game almost 2 hours early so we watched the players warm up.

Side Note: Can I just mention here how much I love this little owl hat my sweet friend Kim made for Avery?

It's getting too small for her but I still make her wear it because it's so cute.

Also it totally matched her owl hoodie.

And Avery practiced spitting up.

On chairs.

On stairs.

On walkways.

She has great aim.

We are trying to make this girl a born sports fan.

I think it's the only way to survive in this family?

This face.
I mean, I die.

Oh January

2012-01-09T10:44:00.002-07:00

I normally HATE January.

It's cold, snowy, smoggy, dark, and disgusting.

But I think January is flirting with me this time.

We spent an afternoon playing outside in January.

It wasn't cold, snowy, smoggy, dark, OR disgusting!

(well, the brown grass was kind of disgusting)

In fact, it kind of felt a little like spring.

I probably should feel bad for people who need the snow, but I'm neither a skier nor a snow plower so I'm just going to say thank you, January. Thank you for not sucking this year.

I just hope this doesn't mean we're getting snow in the summer.

Because that would be devastating.

Bottle Holder

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of months, Avery has been working on holding her own bottle.

I fully support this new development.

A Complaint

2012-01-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Okay I love my husband and all but his obsession with barbecue sauce is a little off-putting sometimes.

I mean, the man puts it on EVERYTHING!

I'll spend all this time seasoning a delicious cut of meat and cooking it to perfection only to watch him massacre it with barbecue sauce.

I partly blame myself for introducing him to Sweet Baby Rays, a family favorite.

Just the same, rather than wasting my cooking, I feel like I might as well just slap a hot pocket on his plate.

It's not like he'd even know the difference under all that barbecue sauce.

On the other hand, when I do occasionally ruin dinner, I can always douse it in barbecue sauce and he'd eat it just the same.

Mustachio

2012-01-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

I briefly mentioned earlier this week that Kyle was competing in a mustache contest at work.

I am proud to announce that this here is a prize winning mustache.

He won FIRST place!

I mean, it's not like I'm surprised or anything.

This baby took a lot of work to be perfect.

(the mustache)

My bathroom sink suffered the most.

I'm still finding whisker pieces.

(so gross)

Mine and Avery's faces were also victims of the mustache's prickly ways.

But we all took one for the team so Kyle could win:

1 movie ticket (because no one would want to go with that)

1 large diet soda (which quickly became mine)

1 candy bar (which never made it home)

He done me proud.

New Year's Day Trip

2012-01-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's pretty much become our tradition that when Kyle has a holiday, we drive to the Diary Keen in Heber City for milkshakes.

And oh my gosh are you in for a lot of Avery pictures!

(you're welcome?) (I'm sorry?)

When I first slipped these glasses on Avery's face she cried the saddest cry ever like I had really hurt her feelings.

She got over it fast though.

And then we got in the car and I hurt her feelings again.

Nearly 6 months old and this baby still hates being in the car.

But I mean really, could this face be any cuter?

I die.

Totally dead.

Ok moving on.

These shakes are our most very favorite shakes in the history of shakes.

The Dairy Keen really knows how to shake it.

hah.

On the left is the remains of my turtle shake and on the right there is the empty cup of Kyle's fresh raspberry.

In the end I had to admit that I kind of liked his better.

I'm a sucker for fresh berries.

Unrelated: That lady in the background there said she thought Avery's outfit was so cute.

My response was "Thanks, I dressed her myself."

And then she looked at me weird.

I don't know.

Was I trying to be funny?

I should probably stop trying to be funny.

P.S. this was my last milkshake for a long time.

Resolutions, ya'll.

Okay now brace yourselves because the rest of this post is going to be full of adorable baby pictures.

You know it's my style these days.

The theme here at the end is "Avery Found Her Tongue."

And just one more for good measure.

Ok I'm done now, I promise.

Happy 2012

2012-01-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Alright well now I'm playing blog catch up.

Has it really been almost a whole week since New Year's?

We spent the Eve with old friends and new friends eating the most delicious food & playing games.

As sad as it is to admit, it was really hard for me to stay awake 'til midnight.

It didn't help that Avery and I had been sick.

But it was all worth it because Zane and Kyle set off fireworks.

And I got to witness Kyle playing Dance Dance Revolution.

I mean, what can I say? It was priceless.

Hudson wasn't so bad either.

With all the midnight kisses going on, I thought it'd be a good time to spark an arranged marriage.

My poor daughter.

Neat Little Pile

2012-01-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

Avery pooped on the carpet yesterday.

While that in itself wasn't all that funny, what WAS funny was Kyle.

He was upstairs getting her ready for a bath when I heard him shrieking.

I've heard these screams before, so I figured she either A. spit up all over him or B. peed on his shirt.

I was pretty close.

I went upstairs to rescue him and he was holding Avery's legs in the air and doing nothing about the neat little pile on the carpet.

I about died laughing.

Avery thought it was pretty funny too.

Bath Baby

2012-01-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, Avery hated baths.

She cried and screamed so much I hated giving her baths.

So it quickly became Kyle's responsibility.

But over the last few months, she's learned to love bath time.

(Thank goodness)

Only now she cries when we take her out.

Daddy Daughter Date

2011-12-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

I had some time off for the holidays so Avery and I had lunch with Kyle at work.

And did I mention that Kyle and his (male) coworkers are having a mustache growing contest?

Finally, being hairy pays off!

(Does someone want to start a hairy leg contest? 'Cause it's winter and, well... you know.)

The winners are announced on Wednesday so he's still got a couple of days to grow a really good one.

She sits!

2011-12-30T21:01:00.002-07:00

Yep, she's sittin' up on her own!

Obligatory Christmas Post

2011-12-30T18:59:00.002-07:00

This year we spent our first Christmas at home.

It was so nice not to be traveling and just enjoy the holiday!

We spent Christmas Eve looking at lights, playing games, eating snacks, and....

Making Avery's stocking. I finished just in time! Even though my fingers were blistered.

My mom made stockings just like this for all our family when I was little and it's become a tradition for each of us to make them for our own families.

I think she liked it.

In fact, it pretty much knocked her off her feet.

Having Christmas on a Sunday was so nice! We slept in 'til 8, had church at 9, and didn't even start opening presents until 11! That's definitely a first in my life but it made the whole day seem to last longer.

This is pretty much the chubbiest my baby has ever looked.

I love that double chin!

Grandma & Grandpa spoiled Avery with a jumperoo (aka Mom's babysitter).

The first couple of days we had to put blankets under her feet so her feet would touch enough for her to jump. Now she just jumps on her toes. I love it!

Having a baby at Christmas was fun, but she was more interested in the wrappings than the presents.

In true Avery fashion, she ate everything she got her hands on.

See as follows:

Yep. If she likes it, she eats it.

After last year's Epic Christmas Failure, I was determined to get Kyle just what he wanted this year.

He only mentioned about 800 times that he wanted Cowboys & Aliens.

(such a weird movie)

I have to say, I also killed it with new basketball shoes.

Even though he ended up exchanging them.

(I still killed it)

My parents came down from Idaho to spend Christmas with us. They both have recently lost a lot of weight so I'm pretty sure all they got was clothes. Sounds fun to me!

Awhile after we finished opening presents and Avery was down for a nap, Kyle pulled out an envelope for me! He made a riddled poem that led me to the furnace room where he'd stashed one more present just for me...

A HUGE present--and heavy too!

Expedit shelves from IKEA! I've been eyeing these for years to help organize my disasterous sewing room. I have to say, it is really hard to surprise me, but Kyle always manages to pull one over on me.

I loved it!

And now we have to get ready to celebrate New Year's.

Hope you all had a merry Christmas!

Worst Mom Ever

2011-12-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the days of letting Avery sleep in the swing are over.

Until the last few days, I could lay her in there and she'd sleep soundly for a few hours... and I wouldn't buckle her in. If I buckled her in, she'd wake up.

The other day I caught her trying to roll over in her sleep. While she was in the swing! I jumped up and ran over to her just as she made it over the edge. She didn't fall though, she was hanging off the edge with her legs dangling over. Still asleep!

Pretty much I felt like the worst mom ever.

I wasn't sure if I should laugh, because she looked so cute and funny, or if I should cry because my baby nearly rolled out of the swing. And it was my fault!

She just insists on sleeping on her stomach now.
Which means she only naps in the crib from now on... and no more unbuckled rides in the swing.
And I hang my head in shame.

5 Months!

2011-12-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Avery is 5 months!

Stats

Weight: 12 lbs. 8 oz.

Height: 24"

Likes

Grabbing faces

Anything that makes a crinkly, plasticky sound

Mirrors

Fake sneezes

Chewing on everything (hands, feet, tables, books...)

Whatever you have

Baths

Books

Sleeping on her tummy

Dislikes

Anytime you wipe her face

Middle of the night diaper changes

Milestones

She can hold her own bottle!

Falling asleep on her own! Without crying!! (Or a maybe just a little crying)

Smiling at her reflection in the mirror

Started the counting foods part of the PKU diet

Almost outgrown 0-3 month clothes

Definitely outgrown size 1 diapers

Remembering how to roll over from tummy to back (she forgot for a month or so)

Lights, Basketball, and Babies

2011-12-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

Saturday was Avery's 5 month birthday so we had the best date ever!

Really it had nothing to do with her 5 month birthday, but they DID happen to coincide.

So why not?

After grabbing some dinner, we went to Temple Square to see the lights.

I love this place.

(More about temples)

We figured Avery would love the lights because she is always drawn to anything bright and shiny.

And she did.

Not only was it Avery's 5 month birthday, but it was also one of the busiest nights EVER on Temple Square. I think I may have become agoraphobic after pushing a stroller through mobs of thousands.

It's seriously such a beautiful place though.

And was totally worth the social anxiety.

And getting reprimanded for going the wrong way in the visitors center with a stroller.

Psshh.

(There was no way I was waiting in line behind 6 wheelchairs and 3 strollers to get in an elevator)

After walking around for awhile, we went back to the car for a costume change. It was getting colder and Avery was not wanting to be in the stroller anymore. And, we were heading to a Jazz scrimmage and couldn't take the stroller anyway. So we packed the baby in a snow suit over her clothes so she'd stay warm. I was dying about her reaction to being changed in the trunk of the car.

She wouldn't move!

She's a total Randy...

Avery's first Jazz experience!

My favorite face EVER.

I just can't help but love all over those baby cheeks!

Kyle filled me full of Jazz player facts the whole time.

I think I retained about 3%.

He told me I was his "Bro" for the night and he needed to unload sports knowledge on me.

Okay.

As fun as it was, she didn't last long.

Even with all the noise going on, she passed out after a half hour of scrimmaging.

We ended the night waiting a half hour for Hatch's famous hot chocolate.

Well, Kyle waited in line.

I waited in the car with a sleepy Avery.

At $5 a cup, it wasn't as good as we remembered.

Oh well.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

2011-12-16T19:31:00.003-07:00

Today we tried bananas.

I thought for sure she'd love it.

This, to me, does not look like the face of a baby who loves the bananas.

She did eat it anyway, but the general theme of the day was "let's get bananas on all of the things."

Seriously. Banana. Everywhere.

ALL of the things.

Unfortunate consequences of feeding the baby fresh banana puree:

*Every part of banana that ended up on her onesie turned it brown. (which was a lot)

*Banana puree turns brown in the fridge.

*Brown banana spit up.

I'm tempted to only feed her applesauce for the rest of her baby life.

About Sleep

2011-12-15T21:00:00.002-07:00

I hate to say anything because I don't want to jinx it.... but I think we might, we just might be getting somewhere in sleep training over here. We started the process last Thursday so it's been one full week and it's not been easy, I tell you. Katifriend has had to hold my hand the whole way via supportive text messages.

I've done a lot of reading and polling of friends who sleep train and this is what we've come up with for ourselves:

*Establish nap pattern. Morning nap an hour after wake up time. Afternoon nap within 2 hours after waking from morning nap. Sometimes a third nap around 4PM if she wakes up early from the afternoon nap. If she wakes up happy from a nap I know she is rested. If she wakes up crying, I rock her back to sleep.

*We give her a bath between 6PM-7PM then feed her a bottle and lay her down while she is sleepy but still awake.

*Then the hardest part ever: she cries. At first we'd go in and soothe her every 10 minutes until she stayed asleep but the last few days we've let her cry for up to 40 minutes without soothing her. It's heartbreaking. But the beautiful thing? She now goes to sleep on her own! This is HUGE.

For 3 nights in a row she's gone to sleep on her own (tonight it only took 20 minutes) and she STAYS ASLEEP until about 2AM for a feeding. And then she STAYS ASLEEP until 6:30AM.

I am so proud and happy right now I could cry.

I just hope this continues and gets even better. I'd love for her to only cry a few minutes before falling asleep or, better yet, not cry at all. But we're getting there.

It's been really difficult for us to come to the point where we're letting her cry it out some. Before I was born, I had a brother, Blake, who died at 4 months of SIDS. This has constantly been on my mind since Avery was born and I've worried so much about how she's sleeping, letting her cry, what's in her crib, etc.

Two things helped me get over this:

1. Avery is now older than 4 months. I know SIDS can still be a risk until she is 1 or something, but in my mind, she's older than Blake was and it feels like the risk isn't so much there anymore.

2. We were so freaking sleep deprived we could hardly function. It took a long time to get Avery to sleep and stay asleep every night and even then she'd wake up at least 3 or 4 times every single night. And that was a good night. On a bad night we were up every hour or more. No joke. We had to do something. We were desperate!

A couple of nights during the last week were terrible and she woke up a lot and cried a lot and we didn't get any sleep. But having a few days of success in a row is encouraging and I think Avery is really responding well to it now. We are also learning to read her more and understand when she is getting sleepy so we don't let her get overtired.

So there you have it. That's our plan. I like our plan because I feel like we are teaching Avery how to sleep while being flexible enough to adjust to what she needs.

I like it most because so far it is working.

And thank goodness.

I've really missed my sleep.

Hot Cold

2011-12-13T21:42:00.001-07:00

via

One of the most difficult things about marriage, I believe, is temperature control.

I am always cold. Or hot. But I'm never just right.

Kyle is always exactly the opposite of whatever I am.

The worst is riding in the car together.

In the winter he insists on blasting the heat on my face so he can warm up his hands.

His hands that got so super freaking cold walking from the Walmart entrance to the car.

Apparently in 30 seconds or less, his hands get so cold the blood practically freezes.

Or so he tells me.

I mean, it's not like he said those exact words, but I know it's what he meant.

(I can read between the lines)

The problem is, I cannot stand to have the heat blowing in my face.

It makes me car sick and crazy and sad.

It is approximately an 8 minute drive from our house to Walmart.

The whole way there and the whole way back is a constant battle for temperature control.

And at night you'll find me sleeping under a pile of blankets while Kyle is sweating to death.

Changed?

2011-12-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

via

I think becoming a mom has changed me.

And I don't mean just the clothes-are-always-covered-in-spit-up kind of change.
Or the I-only-wear-mascara-on-special-occasions kind of change.
Or not even the 4-hours-of-sleep-now-sounds-like-a-lot kind of change.

You see, late one night while feeding the baby in our old green chair, I started thinking about what it might be like to go skydiving. I mean really, skydiving?!? This has never even been an option to me. I wouldn't say I'm scared of heights, but I am terrified of falling. I hate falling-type roller coasters (okay so that means all of them). I hate turbulent flights. I even kind of hate elevators. So skydiving? Skydiving has never even been a thought.

But something got me thinking that maybe it would be really cool. Life changing maybe? And I think someone told me once that it doesn't even really feel like you are falling at all? I got really excited thinking about it, even though not in a million years could I ever talk Kyle into doing it with me.

And then I remembered a story I recently heard about an old woman who waited her whole life to go skydiving and it ended tragically.

Maybe I'm not so changed after all.

Santa Baby

2011-12-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

I think maybe I should rename this blog "Avery Adventures" because it's pretty much all about her anymore.

Sorry, guys.

Hope you like babies!

I promised myself when I became a mom I wouldn't let my blog become 100% baby but the truth of it is, I don't know anything else anymore! I'm so out of touch with life before baby.

So it's either, I don't post much at all, or I post about Avery.

So here's more about Avery!

We took our Santa Baby to the church Christmas party.

No one tried to sit on her lap, though.

Hah.

Bald dad's are great for teething babies!

His favorite is when she spits up on his head.

Or when drool runs down his face.

What a good dad :)

Very Busy

2011-12-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering where we've been the last few days, we have been very busy not sleeping.

This is all Avery's fault.

I mean, I hate to point fingers.... but it is kinda true.

In 3 days, the longest she slept in one interval was 2 hours and the "best" part is, she seemed totally happy about it! Normally she'll crash by 7:30 PM every night. Last night she stayed up until 10:00 smiling and giggling no matter what we tried to do to put her to bed. It's kind of hard to be mad when she's being so cute.

We're *this close* to trying the 100% cry it out method. Only we just can't do it. We do let her cry for 10-15 minutes at a time, but usually she gets so worked up it takes twice as long to get her calmed down again. And then we're sad.

But do you know what else makes us sad?

Not sleeping.

Poor Kyle had to go to work today with pretty much zero sleep.

I keep telling myself that this is just a phase and we'll get through it... she'll learn to sleep better... she'll finally cut teeth... she'll figure out how to roll the other way in her sleep (instead of just getting stuck on her belly)... it could be worse.

(?)

Pretty much this solidifies the fact that I am 100% NOT ready to have another baby just yet.

Not that I'd been thinking about it or anything...

And here's a gratuitous pic of Avery being cute.

It's what gets me through the tough times.

I like to call this one "West Side" for (hopefully) obvious reasons.

(And anyway you could say that we do, in fact live on the west side...)

Oops

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I broke our waffle iron.

I broke it trying to waffle my cheese & pastrami sandwich.

It's okay though, it was totally worth it.

...Even though...

2011-11-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided that 4 months is my favorite age so far...even though Avery still wakes up 2-20 times a night and therefore we have been severely sleep deprived for over 120 days.

I mean really, she is so cute I could scream.

Especially in her new baby skinny jeans.

4 months is great because:

She's interested in toys and grabbing at things and babbling on occasion.

Sometimes, if I'm really patient, I can make her laugh.

She stops crying at night when she hears our voices.

She's trying really hard to hold her own bottle

Her personality is starting to really come through.

She is so fun to play with!

...even if we're still sleep deprived.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Avery spent her first Thanksgiving with family in Boise.

Much to our surprise, she slept the entire 5 hour drive there.

Also to our surprise, she hardly slept for 3 nights after that.

She felt left out during dinner, so she sat on my lap and reached for everything on my plate.
But later she got her applesauce.

After dinner was the annual Turkey Bowl and for once, nobody got hurt!

It was getting cold but Avery wanted nothing to do with me. She was only happy when I put her on the ground wrapped in her blanket with Sophie. What can I say? She's a girl who knows what she wants.

I begged Kyle to go Black Friday shopping with me but he decided to stay home and ~~sleep~~ watch the baby. But guess what? Jamie was there to shop with me! Jamie and I were roommates like forever ago and her cute family has been living in Dominca for like forever so I was really excited to spend some time with her. We shopped all morning and into the afternoon, then later that night we all met up for some Applebees. Seriously, don't we have such cute kids?!?

Saturday was yet another Boise State football game so a lot of the family got together to "celebrate." Avery even wore her blue and orange! Which she later pooped all over. But that's another story.

Cousin Karli even shared her toys!

They are about 9 months apart I think?

While we were there we even talked my sister into taking our family pictures!

If you live in the Boise area, you should hire her.

She's pretty amazing.

(k2 imaging)

It was definitely hard to say goodbye after a great weekend with family.

It was especially hard to say goodbye to all those free babysitters...

4 Months

2011-11-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Avery is 4 months!

Stats

Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz.

Height: 24"

Likes

Baby massage

Pulling Mom's hair

Cameras

Swing

Riding on Dad's shoulders & slobbering on his bald head

Toys

Books

Chewing on blankets

Spitting up

Dislikes

Booger removal

Going to sleep

The car... still

Milestones

Laughing

Rolling from back to tummy

Holding her feet

Eating solids (applesauce!)

Cloth Baby

2011-11-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to this post about cloth diapers, people are always asking me if we started using cloth. I have resisted for 3 reasons:

1. Avery has been to small for the one-size cloth diapers we bought

2. The PKU diet has me shakin' in my boots and I haven't wanted to add any extra work to our daily routine.

3. Watching an older baby every day (and changing his diapers) is making me think twice about washing that crap (literally).

But we were running low on disposables yesterday so I decided to break out the cloth.

You know, just for fun.

Cutest baby I've ever seen!

Right now we only have Fuzzibunz petites (I don't think they even make petites anymore). They're supposed to be narrower through the waist, which is good for our skinny Avery, but they barely fit snugly on the tightest snaps. They come up so high on her and are so bulky that I couldn't bend her at the waist to sit her up.

The added bulk made her clothes fit a lot tighter too!

I could barely snap up her onesie.

And the added bulk gave her some serious junk in the trunk.

Pros:

I didn't have to run to the store to buy diapers (at least not right away)

It held everything in

Her little butt stayed dry

She looked dang cute in them. Even with the junk in the trunk :)

They were easy to wash

Cons:

They are sooo much more bulky than disposables

She couldn't sit up

Her clothes barely fit over them

So the jury's still out on this cloth diapering thing.

Applesauce

2011-11-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

We were eating dinner at the table and Avery just wanted to sit with us. So I plopped her in the high chair and she watched us eat. She was so interested in our dinner, we decided it was time for her to try baby food! Because of PKU, we are starting Avery on applesauce because apples have very little PHE (maybe none?) so she can eat them all she wants without raising her PHE levels.

She was hesitant at first and even made a few faces, but then if we didn't keep the applesauce coming fast enough she'd scream and throw her arms around until she got another bite.

I think that means she liked it.

Even if most of it ended up on her clothes.

Silver Lining

2011-11-17T21:43:00.001-07:00

via

By now it's probably pretty obvious that PKU is not something we expected to experience (crap, I'd never even heard of it before Avery was born). However, it has given us the opportunity to meet really cool people and have experiences that we never would have had otherwise.

While it sucks a lot most of the time, I guess even rain clouds have silver linings.

In just 4 short months (my baby's 4 months old today!) this PKU thing has become a major part of our lives. It's now something that I'm really passionate about and as much as I wish I'd never heard of PKU, some days I feel like it just might even be a blessing.

(But when I'm pissed off about it later, don't remind me I said that, k?)

So last week I was interviewed by a reporter from The Salt Lake Tribune for an article about IPAD (Intermountain PKU and Allied Disorders Association) and some recent fundraising for PKU research. My part in the article is very minor but it was a cool experience and I think it's even cooler that PKU is getting public exposure. The fundraising and the article have really got me thinking about what more could I really do? I've never been much into politics and my contributions to non profit organizations are limited. And, *ahem* our own funds are pretty limited.

So what could I do?

Little old me?

I certainly can't enter a bike race.

I have no celebrity power...

Maybe I can become a reality TV star, make it as a B list celebrity, get recruited for Dancing With The Stars, and win lots of money for charity!

Yes.
I think that is the path for me.

(I mean, a quote in the SL Tribune is a start, am I right?)

See?

Something that totally never would have happened if we weren't going through all this.

Silver lining, right?

Here's a link to the article: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/neighborhood/52882318-85/oliver-pku-protein-amy.html.csp

Half the fun...

2011-11-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

Half the fun of having a baby is making them do stuff that makes you laugh.

(The stove was not on. Just in case you were wondering)

Ready for their ride into the sunset!

A Confession

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

via

Hi, my name is Kourtney and I love to eat raw dough.

Cookie dough, bread dough, pie dough, noodle dough, biscuit dough...

It's nearly impossible for me to bake something and not save a little for myself on the side.

Confession: I made biscuits last night (the kind from the can) and I saved an entire raw biscuit for me to eat later. That later is now.

I know this can't be good for me, but I can't stop.

It's like a drug.

I need the dough.

Pumpkin Soup

2011-11-14T16:08:00.001-07:00

I pureed vegetables on my bedroom floor.
With a food processor.

Because Avery was sleeping.

It was worth it though, because I made a ridiculously delicious pumpkin soup half from a recipe and half from my own dangerous creativity.

Well, not that creative.

I mean, it's soup.

But it was so good.

And I even roasted & pureed my very own pumpkin.

Watch out Betty Crocker!

P.S. Remind me next time to let steaming hot vegetables cool first before tasting them.

I totally burned my tongue trying to see if the carrots were tender yet.

Lesson learned.

From the beginning

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

People are always telling me, "Kourtney I want to see pictures of you and Kyle before you were married!!!"

Ok that's a lie.

No one has ever said that to me.

But I bet you were thinking it!

No?

Okay.

Too bad.

You are in for a real Post-tastic treat.

You see, I had to download Picasa because Blogger hates my pictures now and the only way to upload pictures properly is by using Picasa. Pain in the ace. But it's not all bad because Picasa managed to dig up pictures from the depths of Computerdom, some of which I didn't even know I had!

Fun, huh?

Here's a chronological look at how it all began.

Starting, of course, from the beginning.

(October 2008)

This was really soon after we first met and I was really sick.

Kyle had just come back from a trip to Boise and brought me my very first Boise State shirt!

Picking out a movie at the end of our first date (October 10th 2008)

First Halloween party as a couple.

He totally held my hand.

(This was the last time we both dressed up for Halloween. So sad)

Ahem.

Our first kiss was on a hike very near this sign.

A November hike.

Christmas together at my parents house.

New Years in Salt Lake.

Kyle took me home to Boise.

That's the blue turf behind us!

Spending Easter at my parents' house.

A trip to Yellowstone.

May 2009--he proposed!!

The *famous* Caldwell fireworks for the 4th of July

(The show stopped 10 minutes in because of a problem and we all had to leave)

My first Def Leppard concert (Kyle's 6th....)

And then, well, we got married!

The end.

It Might Be Love

2011-11-09T19:20:00.002-07:00

This is Hudson.

He is one of Avery's potential arranged marriages.

People still do that, right? :)

He wanted to hug Avery all night and I couldn't stop laughing!

I swear it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

City Adventure

2011-11-09T08:26:00.002-07:00

On Monday I took Avery on a big city adventure!

We spent the whole day in Salt Lake.

We visited my old office and Avery got a lot of attention from my coworkers.

I wanted to introduce Avery to some of my favorite things about the city.

And she pretty much slept through most of it.

Avery's first trip to Temple Square!

Yep. She's sleeping.

Avery! Skyscrapers!

And she's still asleep.

We stopped in at Hagermann's, one of my favorite places for a tasty sandwich.

mmmmm.... turkey pomodoro.

It has cranberry jalapeno jelly on it! And havarti! And roasted tomatoes!

I die.

She missed every tasty bite.

At least she wasn't asleep the whole time.

But then we visited the book store, where Avery was not only awake but decided to have a full on scream-fest in the children's section.

There's nothing like a water feature to soothe a screamy baby.

I love having adventures with this baby girl.

A Drama

2011-11-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time we drove 1 hour and 15 minutes to a surprise party for one of our favorite friends. (Happy birthday Abby!) Kyle and Avery and I were hanging out at the party pre-surprise when the following conversation ensued:

Avery: WAHHH!!

Me: Kyle, would you grab a bottle for her?

Kyle: Where are the bottles?

Me: In the diaper bag.

Kyle: There are no bottles in the diaper bag

Me: WAAHHH!!!

I forgot the bottles.

2 hours previous I had carefully packed 3 Enfamil + medical formula bottles for Avery and even packed an empty bottle, gram scale, and extra formula just in case. We were planning to be out partying until who knows when and we were sure as heck going to be prepared with lots of bottles.

Bottles that I left in a cooler on the kitchen counter.

I totally wanted to cry. I had a screaming, hungry baby and nothing I could feed her. I couldn't run out to the store and grab something (her medical formula gets delivered to us once a month). I couldn't even breastfeed her (although I did contemplate it... I'm totally dried up though).

I guess if it was really bad I could have just given her regular formula and prayed she wouldn't have brain damage from one day of high PHE levels, but I am a control freak and a perfectionist and also did I mention a hypochondriac? So pretty much that was out of the question. (I'm a trifecta of emotional crazy)

We were able to stay long enough for the birthday surprise but I was really sad we could not stay. And even more sad it was my fault :( I did, however, grab a sucker on our way out and 10 minutes down the road I let Avery have a taste. It got her to stop screaming and she sucked on it for a long time before finally falling asleep, her cute little face covered in red, sticky sucker!

I'm pretty sure our pediatrician would not be pleased.

Shhhhhhh. It'll be our little secret :)

5 Reasons

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

5 REASONS WHY I LOVE HAVING A KYLE

1. He always takes out the garbages

2. He kills the spiders

3. He changes all the clocks during daylight savings

4. He almost never forgets things we need when leaving the house

5. He often does all the laundry

PKU Q&A

2011-11-06T21:32:00.002-07:00

I get asked a lot of questions about PKU and while I am still learning the ins and outs myself, I am happy to share what I can and flattered that so many people take an interest. I'm going to do my best to answer some of the common questions I get.

What is PKU?
PKU is a genetic metabolic disorder that makes it so that Avery can't process the amino acid phenylalanine (PHE). Too much PHE builds up in the brain and can cause severe brain damage. However, with careful diet management, the PHE levels can be kept low so that Avery will not have brain damage and can lead a normal life.

Newborns are screened for PKU at birth because there are no symptoms of it and no other way to tell that a baby has it. I am so thankful for newborn screening because PKU is a rare disorder and we would never have known there was anything wrong with Avery until it was too late. Screening for PKU started like in the 1950s I think.

How did she get it?
Kyle and I are both carriers of PKU and each of us had to have passed the gene to Avery in order for her to have PKU. I take comfort in knowing that it's not just my fault she has it--it's Kyle's too! ;) Because it's genetic, each child we have will have a 25% chance of having PKU.

What is the diet like?
Right now Avery isn't even eating baby foods yet so her diet consists of a medical formula mixed with regular baby formula. The amounts of each are prescribed by one of three dietitians we work with (they are all on my speed dial) and we have to weigh them out in grams before mixing them. Her diet is often changing as she continues to grow and depending on what her recent PHE levels were.

When she starts eating solids, we will have to weigh each food before she eats it to make sure she is not getting too much PHE. The amount of PHE she can have a day will change as she gets older and is monitored by the dietitians.

She will not be able to eat high protein foods like meats, fish, dairy, nuts, whole grains... She will eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I'll have to learn how to make low protein breads and there are low protein foods (pastas, cheeses, breads, cereals...) available to buy, although they are kind of expensive.

She will have to take the medical formula for the rest of her life in order to supplement the protein she is not getting from foods. The medical formula basically has all of the amino acids but PHE and she will get just as much PHE as she needs every day from the food she eats.

What if she eats something high in protein?
If Avery were to eat a high protein food, she wouldn't have any immediate reaction or anything. The effects are more long term so it's not the same as having a food allergy. From what I understand, if she ate something high in protein, she would then have to eat really low protein foods for a couple days (i.e. apples) to bring her PHE levels back down. As we're learning about starting her on solids, we are told that it is more important that she not eat restricted foods because then it will be easier for her to stay on her diet. She can't miss something she's never had!

PKU Resources:

www.pku.com

www.go-ipad.org

www.npkua.org

www.cookforlove.org

If you think of a question you want to ask about PKU let me know!

I certainly don't know everything but I like questions and it helps me to learn too.

A Baby Shower

2011-11-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends, Kristen is having a baby! I helped throw her a baby shower Saturday that turned out to be quite a success, if I do say so myself.

On the menu was:

pumpkin bisque soup (amazing!)

spinach salad with dijon vinaigrette

breadsticks

cake balls

pumpkin spice cupcakes

sugar cookies

Traci made the soup and it was so good I'm wishing I had more of it right now!

Traci are you reading this? I think I need that recipe :)

I asked Kristen to bring baby pictures of her and her husband, Michael. It was so cute to see them as babies! They're going to have a gorgeous baby girl, I have no doubts.

I used this printable for everyone to leave wishes for the baby.

Co-host Traci and baby Gabe!

I pretty much sucked at getting good pictures at the shower. First, because I had a very needy baby in my arms most of the time. Second, because my camera died a few minutes into the party :(

But I was able to capture some baby love between Avery and Hudson.

They are only a few weeks apart!

They were totally holding hands.

Congratulations Kristen and Michael!

Just a couple of birds

2011-11-02T12:11:00.000-06:00

For Halloween, Avery was a duck and Gehry was a rooster!

This was totally unplanned.

But they totally coordinated costumes.

And I totally loved it.

Then I totally took a bunch of pictures.

I Just Don't

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

As we get closer to starting Avery on solids, the reality of PKU and it's suckiness is starting to weigh on me. Especially with the holidays coming up. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It kicks off the Christmas season and features some of my very favorite foods. Foods that Avery can't eat!! Turkey, stuffing, pies, rolls... *sigh*

I recently went to a low-protein cooking class for people with PKU and learned how to make low protein breads, pastas, cookies, pizza, and veggie nuggets. It was in some ways comforting to learn that these foods are going to be doable, but also still overwhelming because I can't just go out and buy a freaking loaf of bread for my baby girl. PROTEIN IS IN EVERYTHING!!!!

I had a mini breakdown about it while trying to make formula the other day. I have to weigh regular formula and medical formula by grams and mix it in a big measuring cup and divide it up into bottles every night. I was in a hurry and the scale kept resetting and I had to re-measure each formula several times and by then I just got really pissed off. And then I cried. I can't just make a regular bottle like regular people for babies with regular diets. It's a reality that sometimes hits me hard.

In truth, I really don't want to do it. I just don't. I don't want to mix the formulas. I don't want to make low protein foods. I don't want to keep diet records. I don't want to take blood samples. I don't want my baby to be different.

But there's the other side of it all. The side that is my love for her. I love her so much and want so much for her that I will do it all. I will mix the formulas. I will learn how to make every low protein food I can find. I will keep the diet records. I will take the stupid blood samples. And as much as I hate it all, I love that Avery girl even more and that's what keeps me going.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!

Avery is representing today because she's the only one of us who will be in costume.

I know.

We are lame.

But we are excited to hand out candy to trick or treaters tonight! We missed last year because we were out of town so this is our first Halloween in our house. Send your kids our way!

These photos were done by my very talented sister at K2 Imaging. Hire her. She's awesome.

You Know Why

2011-10-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

(i was going to put a picture of a spider here because i don't like to post without a picture but googling spiders is going to give me nightmares. so no spider pictures.)

4 Experiences That Contributed to My Major Spider Phobia

1. I grew up in Oregon and one day hobo spiders decided to take over. They were literally the size of a large peanut butter jar. I know because we tried to catch one in a jar once. So I was having a sleep over and we were watching that volcano movie (I can't remember what it was called because the spiders were far too traumatic) when one of the giant hobo spiders ran out from no where, over my legs and into the popcorn bowl. You have no idea how loud I screamed. All of us pre-teens ended up on the couch screaming until my dad came down with a can of Raid.

2. While I was going to college I lived in this cute but creepy old house with Jamie (hi Jamie!) and there were a lot of dead spiders lying around when I moved in. I should have turned around right then because one morning I woke up with an itch on my stomach and when I looked down I saw a FREAKING SPIDER CRAWLING UP MY SHIRT!!!!! Major trauma. I slept on the couch for 3 weeks.

3. I ventured into my parents unfinished basement in order to clean out some boxes of childhood memorabilia. I was emptying a box of books and when I took the last book out, a bajillion tiny little spiders came pouring out from under the bottom box flaps. A bajillion. No joke. I don't think I ever went in that basement again.

4. Two weeks ago I was coming in the house from getting the mail when I felt something fall on my head and roll off my arm. I glanced down to see what it was. You guessed it. It was A SPIDER!!! Major major trauma. Now every time I go through the front door I look all around the door frame to make sure this never happens again.

The Secret

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

Baby Bjorn = The Secret To Getting Shiz Done

Sometimes this baby of mine wants nothing more than to be held. These are times when I break out the Baby Bjorn and go about my biznas tandem style.

She happily drools all over the fabric while I can do stuff like:

Paint the bathroom

Recover a lampshade

Clean the house

Do laundry

Put on makeup (yeah right. like ever do that anymore)

Work from home

Blog

Wash dishes

Fix a meal

Things that are decidedly not appropriate for this mom & baby set up:

Napping

Showering

Jogging

Changing diapers

But sometimes a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.

p.s. My girl loves to help me type.

High Hopes

2011-10-28T15:00:00.000-06:00

I have hopes that with Gehry hanging out with us during the week that Avery will develop superior social skills.

I don't know that my plan is working quite yet.

Avery still doesn't really know what to think of Gehry.

But Gehry thinks she's pretty great.

Don't worry Gehry.

She'll come around.

Baby Outing

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week we packed up the baby and went to a pumpkin patch with our friends Randy and Dani.

Well okay so it was less of a patch and more of a nursery, but we had fun.

Pretty much it was a good excuse to take more pictures of Avery.

Can you blame us?

We're in love.

I don't know what this face was for but it freaking cracks me up.

The End.

Petrified

2011-10-27T21:15:00.000-06:00

Avery looks scared.

Probably because there was a spider in our pantry.

Friends, I am petrified of spiders. Like seriously bad. I once thought that maybe I would outgrow this phobia, but I think instead it has gotten worse.

I was reaching for the peanut butter when I noticed the hairy monster hanging from a shelf. I was frozen in fear and wished that Avery was old enough to kill it for me.

And then I sent Kyle a text:

"There's a spider in the pantry and I'm FREAKING OUT!!!"

His response: "Kill it."

He just doesn't understand. If there was a snake in the pantry do you think he would go in there and kill it? Hell to the no.

So I strapped Avery in the Baby Bjorn and stared at the spider trying to figure out what to do to get it out of the pantry without touching it or knocking it into the depths of my food storage. I even considered staring at it until Kyle came home so he could kill it. (You know as soon as you take your eyes off a spider, it disappears only to reappear somewhere even worse. That's how they get you.)

After a lot of fearful contemplation I devised a plan. I'd catch it on the end of the duster and throw him outside. That way I wouldn't have to touch it and maybe it would get tangled up in the duster so it wouldn't fall out. So I grabbed the duster and stared at the spider.

15 minutes and a few quick prayers went by before I finally got the courage to go for it. I screamed the whole way out the door and threw the entire duster on the front porch where it would stay until Kyle came home.

But finally we were spider free.

Glam

2011-10-26T12:43:00.001-06:00

Halfway through each day I have an important decision to make: change mine and Avery's spit-up soaked clothes (again) or suck it up because the next outfits are going to receive the same fate?

She was especially talented today because she managed to projectile spit up in my hair while sitting a foot away from me. Mmmm crusty hair.

Other highlights from a day half gone include:

a spilled glass of water

diaper rash

lots of poopy diapers

and even more spit up

I know what you're thinking. Being a mom is sooo glamorous!

It was time

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Well, it finally happened. I quit breastfeeding. I just had to. And I cried about it.

Here's why I quit:

Avery wasn't gaining enough weight and her phenylalanine levels were too low

She would only nurse for a few minutes and then try to beat me up

It was impossible to keep my supply up

I couldn't even pump anymore

I got nauseas from smelling like maple syrup (thanks, fenugreek)

Here's why it's not so bad now:

It's easier to monitor how much phe she is getting

I don't have to deal with annoying nursing bras

Bottles are easier (kind of)

She's less fussy (I think she was hungry a lot before)

Other people can feed her too

She's now gaining weight at a faster rate than most babies (she's finally on the charts at 6% for weight)

She's getting cute chubby legs

I don't smell like maple

While it's certainly not what I had planned, I want what's best for Avery and right now that means moving to formula.

3 Months

2011-10-24T12:58:00.001-06:00

Avery is 3 months!

Stats

Weight: 10lbs 1oz

Height: 23 1/4"

Finally in 0-3 month clothes!

Likes

Sitting up (with help)

Baths

Babbling

Watching sports with Dad

Books

Dislikes

Tummy time

The nose sucker

Nap time

The carseat

Being in the car

Milestones

Rolling over

Holding her head up

Eating her hands

Grabbing at toys

Kyle Loves Movies

2011-10-11T09:33:00.002-06:00

happy Kyle the day he bought his blu-ray surround sound system

Kyle loves movies.

Like, a lot.

I think his loves go something like:

1. Family

2. Boise State Football

3. Movies

4. Def Leppard

So I think it's kind of ironic that he married me because I have never in my life purchased a movie for myself. Kyle has hundreds. I mean, like close to 1,000. It's a little ridiculous.

Kyle takes his movie watching very seriously around here and it can sometimes be a really long process. First, he has to pick out a movie. The movie we are to watch is usually determined by whether or not I am likely to fall asleep during the movie. If I am not so tired, he picks a movie I haven't seen. If I am so tired, he picks one that we've both seen and that probably wouldn't matter if we didn't finish in one night.

Next, he loads the movie and pauses it right as it's about to begin and I sit staring at a paused TV screen until we can finally get this show on the road.

Then, he has to "get situated." Depending on the time of night, getting situated can mean piling up pillows and blankets, turning off lights, popping popcorn, or scooping ice cream. If there is anything to be eaten during the watching of the movie, it has to be prepared right now.

An hour later, we can finally start watching the movie.

But by then I'm tired, and I usually fall asleep. :)

Typical Day

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Actual Sequence of Events:

Wake up

Change baby's diaper

Feed Baby

Baby spits up all over pj's

Change baby's clothes

Baby spits up all over outfit

Change baby's clothes

Baby spits up all over outfit

Change baby's clothes

Put a bib on baby

Baby spits up on bib

(genius)

Baby naps

Baby wakes up

Baby poops all over outfit

Remove baby's diaper

Baby pees on carpet

Change baby's clothes

Feed baby

Play with baby

Baby naps

Baby pees on couch

Baby wakes up

Change baby's clothes

Baby spits up all over outfit

....

You get the idea.

I get now why babies=laundry

I'm on a roll tonight

2011-10-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

We bundled up and went for a walk tonight. Avery is almost 3 months old and while she is finally too long for a lot of her newborn clothes now, she is still too skinny to fill out the 0-3 months. She's practically swimming in her little jacket and I had to roll up the sleeves! But at least she was warm!

I do love the cooler fall weather but I am soooooo depressed that winter is coming. I hate winter so much I can't even stand it. I think someday we need to move to a place that only gets occasional snow. Or none at all. I hate winter in Utah. It makes me sad just thinking about it.

After our walk, I was trying to fix dinner and managed to slice my thumb open on a can of corn. I knew it was going to happen as I tried to pry it open with the back of the spoon but I ignored my better judgment for some stupid corn. (Yes, I used a can opener first, but it left some parts attached.) It bled like crazy and I cried while Kyle tried to stop the bleeding and I told him I was going to die a bloody death or at the very least perhaps need stitches. (What? Me, dramatic?!?)

He assured me that neither was the case and bandaged me up and finished fixing dinner.

What a good husband.

And then I fell down the stairs.

Sharky

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

So Kyle got me this Shark steam mop for my birthday and I was so excited to use it, I got up at 6am to get the floors ready. This thing also vacuums hard surfaces and by 7:30 am I had all the floors vacuumed. But when I went to mop them, I could not get it to make steam. I tried for an hour. I was sad.

3 phone calls and 2 hours of driving from JC Penny to JC Penny* with a screaming baby, we returned home at 9 pm with a new steam mop. And I was so excited to use it, I stayed up late to mop all the floors :)

I don't think our floors have ever been so clean! I would say that it has saved me hours of mopping, but I never mopped the floors anyway. Kyle always did it. Maybe that is why he decided to buy me this? Hmm...

*Dear JC Penny, the next time I call ahead

to make sure you have an item in stock

and your salesman says "Yes we do"

please remember that liars go to hell.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-10-07T20:23:00.000-06:00

So I had a birthday last week. (September 28th)

I'm now 27 years old.

Exciting huh?

I was in Idaho and Kyle was in Utah so I spent the day with my lovely sister.

We had breakfast at Merritt's, a divey place in Boise that sells tasty scones! I love this place and it's grossly unhealthy which make it perfect for birthday breakfast.

I got Avery a new toy for my birthday!

And in return, she got sick.

I think we went through 20 something diapers in one day, and she had her first diaper rash and fever. I was so worried over her that I forgot I was going to make myself a birthday cake until late at night.

But I made it anyway. Rainbow chip frosting has pretty much been my favorite ever since I can remember so I made a mini rainbow chip cake.

10 minutes after I frosted it, it looked like this.

Apparently you are supposed to let a cake cool or something before you frost it? I'm obviously no baker.

So we slapped on some more frosting, of course.

And Avery helped me blow out my candle.

Like how she's eating my arm?

Kyle came back to Boise Friday and brought with him my birthday present!

It's a steam mop!!!

It's just what I wanted :)

Happy birthday to me!

I'm starting to really feel old.

Treasures

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

I hit up a ton of thrift stores while I was in Idaho! It was so nice to go to some different places and I got some great treasures!

Kyle's mom and I spent about a half hour looking for the letters to spell Avery. Apparently E's and R's are hard to come by. I also grabbed a couple of K's for Kyle and I although I don't know what I'll do with them. I'm planning to put Avery's blocks on a shelf in the nursery, but I'm also thinking about maybe making some kind of wall art with them... maybe. These were $.35 a piece and now I'm wishing I had bought more!

I don't even know what kind of basket this is but it was $2 and I couldn't leave without it.

This is a rather large, old wine bottle. There were 3 different shapes and now I'm wishing I'd bought more of them too!!

I instantly fell in love with these turquoise glasses and knew I had to have them! We totally needed new short glasses anyway.

DOILIES!!! Kyle was really NOT happy I came home with these :)

(He hates doilies)

Source: u-createcrafts.com via Kourtney on Pinterest

I saw this doily table runner on Pinterest and I've really wanted to recreate it. I think I'm still a few doilies short, but I'm getting there!

I found this adorable knit fabric and I really want to make baby leggings for Avery with it!

I also grabbed this old pillowcase to make something for Avery. A pillowcase dress perhaps?

Cascade in September

2011-10-05T11:17:00.002-06:00

In case you have forgotten, I spent the whole summer being pregnant or having a baby.

So basically we did pretty much nothing cool all summer long and our September trip to Idaho was to make up for all that.

We spent the first week at a cabin in Cascade. The cabin belongs to a family friend and Kyle grew up coming here in the summer.

The cabin has a beautiful patio area and fire pit that totally puts ours to shame.

Avery hung out by the fire in her carseat.

We took advantage of having Kyle's parents around to babysit and we spent every day 4 wheeling in the mountains. This is pretty much Kyle's favorite thing to do and no summer is complete without some 4 wheeling. I decided that 4 wheeling is kind of a lot like hiking only with less effort and more noise. But you still get to see some beautiful stuff and go places I maybe wouldn't hike to.

One of the days we were up there we drove to McCall. Kyle's parents knew about these gardens that I guess are basically just someone's backyard that they've made into a gorgeous space that people can come and walk through. It was tricky to find, but worth it in the end!

If you look closely, you can see where Avery spit up on my sleeve.

I'm not sure I even knew that was there.

I've gotten so used to it...

Avery was just happy to be out of the carseat. This girl hates to be in the car!

mmmmm baby face.

I love these two!

How many more pictures of Avery do you think I can squeeze in here?

I love that she's sticking her tongue out :)

Well, that pretty much sums up our trip to Cascade.

I'm Back!

2011-10-05T11:17:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago we went to Idaho and I had perfectly good intentions of blogging during my down time. Only I never did.
So now I'm really behind.

You know what craziness happened? I left for Idaho with one baby and I came home with a totally different one. In a good way though. Avery has become much more playful and much less needy, which means I don't have to hold her 24 hours a day with a few 10 minute breaks here and there. In fact, she is playing happily on the floor right this very minute. And she likes her swing again! Sweet success!

So here's a little run-down of my two weeksish of gem state vacationing:

4 fabulous days at a cabin in Cascade

4 fabulous days in Boise with my sister

4 fabulous days with my in-laws in Middleton

1 fabulous day with my family in Boise, where we converged for my cousin's wedding

1 fabulous hour with friends we love in Twin Falls

6 long, crappy hours in the car with a baby

It's good to be home!

Eh?

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-06:00

Poor Kyle. His ears were all plugged up and we tried to remedy it at home... to no avail. First we tried the ear drops to loosen everything up but they only made it worse. After the drops he could hear practically nothing. I would be talking two feet from his face and he would not know what I was saying. Alternatively, I wouldn't say anything and he'd start shouting at me, "What did you say?" This was not good. Repeating myself is one of my biggest pet peeves and I have no patience for it. Let me just say this: Kyle's plugged up ears were not good for our marriage.

I tried to be Super Wife and ran to the store late at night for ear candles for him. They usually work but not this time! And I burned a stupid hole in the carpet!

Kyle still couldn't hear anything. He had some training for his new job in the morning and there's no way he would be able to hear anything so he went to urgent care before work and got his ears cleaned out.

Gross.

So now my husband can hear. But you know what? He can hear EVERYTHING. I had no idea he was so deaf before. He jumps at the littlest sounds now and I've had to considerably adjust my speaking volume. And all those nights he slept through Avery's hungry crying? Haha. Those are gone :)

On the up side, at least now I have a glimpse of what our life might be like as old people one day.

2 Years!

2011-09-19T07:30:00.000-06:00

Hey guess what? Today is our anniversary!

Each year just keeps getting better!

2 months and more please!

2011-09-18T21:33:00.001-06:00

Avery is 2 months old!

She is more alert and expressive now and is starting to smile a lot and eat her hands.

Pretty much I love her to pieces.

(Even though she spit up in my face last night while I was feeding her in bed.)

What I love most is getting to know her little baby personality. It's so rewarding to feel like I know what she wants or what she needs or how she likes to be held or what will put her to sleep. It's a little sad to know that she is going to grow up and one day she won't be a snuggly, tiny baby but it's also so exciting every time she does something new.

And thanks to everyone who sent me suggestions on breastfeeding! I'm taking fenugreek and eating oatmeal like it's my job and my skin is oozing maple syrup stench (side effect from fenugreek). I haven't seen a huge difference yet, but I'm still reluctant to give up just yet. And yes, I do have a pump, and no I can't hardly pump anything. It's very disappointing. And uncomfortable at that...

But can someone please remind me how uncomfortable it is to be pregnant? Because I love this baby girl so much I want another one like right this minute. It's totally against my better judgment (and life plan) but oh I just want to fill our house with babies!

Possible TMI? Oh well.

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned lately that I hate PKU? It gets in the way of my life.

Avery has to drink a medical formula every day to maintain the right amount of phenylalanine. The amount that she needs changes about every week or two so one week she'll need 4 oz. a day, then 5 then 7.5.... it just depends on what her phenylalanine levels are.

So the point of this is to say that she gets a varied amount of formula in bottles and the rest of the day she is breastfed. But all the diet changes have taken a toll on my milk supply and folks, I think I'm drying up over here. It's like it happened overnight. We saw the pediatrician Friday and because Avery is not gaining weight properly, he recommended I quit breastfeeding altogether and go to formula. But to him I roll my eyes and say "But dude, this baby has PKU and it is much more complicated than that." And then I called Avery's dietitian who fixes problems like these. My boobs must be on the pediatrician's side because they've up and quit on me and my baby is hungry! So now I have to mix medical formula with regular baby formula like Similac to make up for my lacking lactation.

In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to increase the milk supply up in here. I've dedicated my free time to making up cheers for the boobs and thinking happy thoughts. I invested a small fortune in herbal remedies and oatmeal and drank as much water as I could handle. If I can locate flax seed meal and brewer's yeast, I'm making lactation cookies.

I am determined to fight this because if I have to quit breastfeeding because of PKU I'm going to be pissed. If it was for any other reason, I don't think I would care so much but I want to be better than PKU and right now that means breastfeeding even though it freaking sucks.

Oh the Irony

2011-09-14T23:32:00.002-06:00

Alright so apparently Avery read my last post about her sleeping so well in the sleep sack and decided to revolt last night. I was up with her pretty much nonstop from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Around 5:30 I hit some sort of breaking point and maybe might have yelled something about wanting to sleep for more than 15 minutes at a time... and maybe I might have woke up Kyle. And then cried about it.

Kyle fixed her a bottle and fed her and he was so cute with her that I forgot about being upset. And then I slept for another half hour.

I usually get over the sleep deprivation around 9:00 a.m. and I didn't even notice how tired I was the rest of the day. After dinner, however, Kyle made me take a nap. I fell asleep somewhere around 6pm-ish and didn't wake up until after 10pm! Now Kyle's asleep, Avery's asleep, and I'm wide awake!

Oh the irony...

I missed some good TV tonight because of that nap. But I think that probably it was worth it.

About Sleep

2011-09-12T22:01:00.001-06:00

My biggest headache with Avery sleeping at night wasn't her waking up, but getting her back to sleep! She would eat, go to sleep, and the second I put her down in her cradle, she'd be awake. Even when I swaddled her as best I could, she would somehow wiggle herself out of it in no time.

So the other night I remembered that I had a Halo sleep sack that lovely Nicole had given me and I hadn't even tried it out yet! I wrapped Avery up and for 4 nights in a row I've had no problems getting her back to sleep. It's a miracle! Now I just need like 5 more of these so I don't have to wash it all the time.

Day of Labor

2011-09-11T20:12:00.005-06:00

We celebrated Labor Day by taking a day trip up Provo Canyon.

We first stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and then stopped taking pictures after that. The rest of our day included milkshakes from Dairy Keen in Heber City (best milkshakes ever!) and shopping at the Park City outlets which were insanely busy and we didn't even buy anything. So sad.

Kyle hiked up the waterfall, but I stayed at the bottom with Avery.

She is so tiny in the Baby Bjorn! Her head sits right at the arm holes :)

She pretty much just slept the whole time.

Except for when we were in the car and she was screaming.

This kid does not so much like being in the car.

A Story About Friday

2011-09-11T16:58:00.004-06:00

Let me tell you a story about our Friday.

I noticed Avery's soft spot seemed swollen so being the paranoid first time mom that I am, I called the doctor. I expected them to tell me it was nothing but instead they told me to come right in! Ah!

This is Gehry. He is the darlingest 10 month old baby I watch during the week. (Don't you love those big blue eyes?!) So on this Friday I had two babies to pack up with me to the doctor.

I changed 2 diapers.

I fixed 2 bottles.

I put 2 cute babies in the car.

I felt like a supermom.

At the doctor, everyone was eating up Gehry's flirty baby smile and Avery was fast asleep. The doctor quickly determined Avery's soft spot was just fine. Whew! Buuut she's only gained 3 ounces in 4 weeks :( I love how tiny and sweet she is but I was sad that she hadn't grown enough.

And I immediately blamed the stupid PKU.

Pretty much anything crappy I blame on the stupid PKU.

Having a bad hair day? Stupid PKU.

He decided to do a urine test to rule out some kind of infection that would keep her from gaining weight. So they attached a bag to Avery's little baby bum and I gave her a bottle in hopes she'd pee on demand. Well, my plan worked but the bag wasn't attached all the way so it leaked all over my pants. It looked like I had peed my pants! I was able to save enough in the bag but on my way to the door to call the nurse, it dripped all over the floor and the exam table.

I got a nurse and a receptionist to help me out and when I picked up Gehry to save him from the mess, I noticed that he had peed all the way through his diaper and his clothes were soaked. 3 of us covered in pee. Yippee!

It turns out Avery doesn't have an infection, she just needs more calories (stupid PKU). An hour and a half later I left the doctor's office with pee covered pants, a tiny Avery and a naked Gehry wearing a too small diaper the nurse had given me. I felt pretty white trash but at the same time I was so proud that I had managed it all with two babies!

Let me tell you, this is a totally different life than I was living a few months ago!

But you know what? I kind of love it :)

Fire Pit

2011-09-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

We acquired some hand-me-down bricks and Kyle used them to make up a fire pit in our backyard!

He has been wanting to do this for years. See how happy he is to be making a fire? What a manly man.

So when Avery was almost 2 weeks old we camped out for an evening and made smores! It certainly isn't the prettiest set up, but that grassless pile of gravel was useless and ugly and at least now we can use it!

In Love

2011-09-10T08:30:00.000-06:00

Def Leppard recently came to town and we left Avery with some friends for the night so we could rock.

But mostly I just missed my baby.

You know when you're dating and in love and you think about him all the time and wonder what he's doing and wait anxiously for him to call you or return a text? That's kind of how I felt. I missed my baby girl. I thought about her the whole time. I wondered what she was doing. I looked at all my pictures of her on my phone. I imagined I heard her crying. I wished she could text me.

You guys, I am totally in love. I've got it bad.

Oh but the concert was great anyway.

Perfect Timing

2011-09-09T09:31:00.000-06:00

Bahahaha!

All by Myself

2011-09-08T21:47:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I just kind of need a break, you know?

So tonight I went out for frozen yogurt all by myself.

I went straight for the coconut yogurt and covered it with every chocolate candy bar they had. And then I covered it with hot fudge to hide my embarrassing manifestation of a hormonal breakdown.

And then I ate it in the parking lot.

Alone.

Before leaving I actually contemplated going back in for the watermelon sorbet but I felt that my insides had become coated in hot fudge. And anyway, I had already made a scene in there when I managed to dump red velvet yogurt all over myself and then lick it off my fingers because I couldn't find a napkin. I had only wanted to have a sample!

*sigh*

It's been a good day.

So Far So Awesome

2011-08-26T10:37:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it seems like I can never put Avery down without her vocalizing protest. She will usually last 10-15 minutes talking to herself on the floor or in her bouncy chair, but that's hardly enough time to accomplish the most basic of daily things such as showering. Also, my arms are tired.

In an effort to free my aching arms a little longer during the day, my mom helped us get a swing.

We took this one for a test drive in Target. She seemed happy enough for a few minutes so we packed it home and prayed she'd like it.

So far so awesome.

She's already spent an hour in this thing and is perfectly content. It's a miracle!

I love to hold this baby but sometimes my arms need a break.

Now what do I do?!? Take a shower? Eat a hot meal? Paint my toenails?

So much to choose from!

(Thanks Mom!)

One Month and Rules Please?!

2011-08-24T22:41:00.000-06:00

My baby is one month old!

Well technically one month and one week today but I took this picture last Wednesday when her one month mark was official. I just sort of guessed that probably I should be documenting monumental milestones like that. Is that what you're supposed to do?

You see the problem for me with motherhood is that there is no rule book on how to do it all right. If you know me like Kyle knows me then you know that I like rules (pretty much all of them made up by me).

"THIS is how you load the dishwasher the best way."

"THIS is how you wash your whites"

"THIS is how you make your bed with hospital corners."

I thrive on knowing how to do things the best way.

This is not a particularly agreeable personality trait, by the way. Because you know what? There are a lot of things that don't have a right way to do them and that drives me crazy. I'm always on the hunt for the fastest route, the most efficient use of time, the best way to blah blah blah.

Let me tell you one thing, this is the best way to annoy your husband because if you are me then you married a man who does not thrive on rules as such.

But I had a large cranberry limeade from Sonic tonight and oh man, it was so good. I crave cranberry like it's my job. And I'm not even pregnant anymore.

And anyway, motherhood.

I realized today that I have no idea what I am doing.

I mean I know the important things like change it when it's dirty, feed it when it's hungry, hold it when it cries...

But here's where I get lost: what do I do with a 5 week old baby all day? Aside from feeding and changing, I spend a good deal of my time staring at her cuteness and watching mindless reality television. Thanks to football season, cable has reappeared in our home. Hello Kardashians! Hello Project Runway! Hello America's Next Top Model!

Can someone please make me a freaking schedule for crying out loud?!?

Or an instruction manual?!?!!

Or lend me Baby Einstein?!?!

As much as I love Kim and Kourtney and Tim and Tyra, I hardly think these are good role models for my infant.

Of course all of this is to say that again, there are no rules.

I know this.

But seriously, it drives me crazy.

Thanks!

2011-08-11T21:35:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to say thanks for the warm response to my post about PKU. We have received so much love and support! I didn't mean to be such a downer, but it was important to me to be honest and real about my process in dealing with this news. Now that PKU is going to be part of our lives, I wanted to get it out there because I'm sure it will come up here again in the future.

I feel a little selfish for having felt the way I did about it because I know there are so many out there who struggle with things which, in comparison, are probably much more difficult. But the reality is, this really sucked for us and has been difficult in it's own right. At the same time I already feel this experience has strengthened our marriage and made our family stronger. It has also led me to have more faith and to look to God for strength when we had none. I'm now even more grateful for God's plan and purpose for us in this life and I believe that my broken heart was mended through a lot of tearful prayers.

See more about what I believe here

My Turn

2011-08-10T20:05:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, there's a whole lot of baby up in this blog lately.

But can you blame me? :)

After years of enduring friends' stories of baby poop and sleep schedules when I had no idea what they were talking about (nor did I probably care too much), I figure it is now my turn.

My turn to tell you (whether you like it or not) about how this sweet baby face was responsible for spitting up in my face.

Twice.

Maybe she did not like all those kisses?

My turn to share with the world that Kyle's secret talent is getting this baby to poop.

What can I say, the man has a gift!

And my turn to confess that I never slept better than with this baby in my arms.

Our new reality

2011-08-09T13:35:00.000-06:00

We had only been home from the hospital with Avery for one whole day when three stupid letters changed our lives forever: PKU.

The pediatrician gave us very little information when he called to tell us we needed to go to Primary Children's Hospital for additional testing. When Kyle asked him what PKU was, all he said was that it can cause brain damage. You can maybe imagine how we felt.

We couldn't get in to the hospital until the next morning and I spent the whole night worried and scared. We had no idea what PKU was but the thought that something could be wrong with my perfect, tiny newborn was absolutely devastating. I kept praying that maybe it could be a mistake.

At the hospital we met with a geneticist and dietician who explained that because of her initial PKU test results, Avery was going to need treatment right away. I thought we were just going in for additional tests, but that wasn't the case. I totally lost it. I cried the whole time we were at the hospital while trying to make sense of what they were telling us. I don't think I've ever felt so heartbroken before.

She was only 5 days old and I felt cheated and angry and vulnerable. I felt cheated out of enjoying every moment with our newborn without worrying about her health and her future. She changes so much every day and instead of soaking in her 5 day old cuteness, I was emotionally shattered and cried pretty much nonstop. I was so angry that this had to happen to her, and to us. Angrier still that, because PKU is a genetic disorder, every child we have will have a 25% chance of having PKU. Angry that everywhere I looked were people with "normal" children. And I felt vulnerable as if now anything could happen. As if something else could go wrong at any moment. It was like we had a perfect shiny bubble of carefree happiness when we left the hospital and it was completely destroyed with the news about PKU.

Avery will have to deal with PKU every day of her life and that pissed me off. I haven't been a parent long, but it's been long enough to understand that parents want to protect their children from everything possible. There is enough out there already for her to worry about in life and the thought of her working every day to manage this disorder wasn't fair. And it made me mad.

The pediatrician was right: PKU can cause brain damage. But what we quickly learned is that it is also manageable through diet and that brain damage is totally preventable. "Individuals with PKU cannot process the amino acid phenylalanine, which is present in most foods. Without treatment, phenylalanine builds up in the bloodstream and causes severe neurological complications, including mental retardation. The standard treatment consists of a strict diet very low in phenylalanine and daily consumption of special formula containing life sustaining nutrition. If the diet is consistently and strictly maintained, individuals with PKU will develop normally." from here

What this means for us is right now Avery alternates between a special (very expensive) formula and breastmilk every day. When she starts regular food we will have to weigh everything she eats and record it. She will never have foods high in protein like meats, fish, eggs and dairy. We also have to prick her heel regularly (right now it's twice a week) and send blood samples to be analyzed to check her phenylalanine levels.

Avery is now 3 weeks old and I think I have come to terms with all this PKU stuff. I expect that it will become difficult again when she starts baby food and again at other milestones and when she starts school and when she goes to a friend's birthday party and things like that. But for now, I have accepted that this is our new reality and our lives will never be exactly the way I had expected they would be.

Even if God had told me before I got pregnant that Avery would have PKU, we would not have changed anything. We would have still had her. We love her more than anything and wouldn't trade her for the world. Some of my saddest moments in dealing with this are thinking that she will never have an ice cream cone or chocolate or a juicy steak or a hamburger. It sounds so silly to even think that but food is such an important part of our culture (and especially my life!) and it is going to be very different for her. How will it be when she gets invited to a pizza party? Or to a friend's house for dinner? Or gets asked on a date to a restaurant? Or when she goes to college?

In worrying about her future one night I had the impression that Avery was born with the strength and ability to deal with this and that we need her more than she needs us. It scares me to think of the future and all the ways PKU is going to affect it, but the most important thing is that Avery will be fine. She will be healthy and unlimited in anything she wants to do in life. And as much as I wish I could take the PKU away, I am grateful she does not have anything more serious or life threatening and I am grateful it was detected before it could be damaging to her. Most of all, I am grateful we have her. She still is our perfect, tiny newborn and slowly our shiny bubble of carefree happiness is being put back together. Even if PKU has to be a part of it.

More about PKU:

http://www.pkunetwork.org/

http://www.pkunews.org/

http://www.go-ipad.org/

I hope we learned our lesson...

2011-07-31T14:28:00.000-06:00

The thing about having a baby is that a good majority of your conversation begins to revolve around diaper changes. The frequency and severity of poopy diapers become common topics of discussion. (This is why new parents stay home with babies for a few weeks: we are socially inept).

So when you notice your newborn hasn't pooped in more than 24 hours, it is advisable not to leave the house ever. But if you do, probably you should not do so without an extra change of clothes, plastic bags, a few hundred wipes, and some container for storing hazardous material because inevitably she will decide to have a blowout in the parking lot of the Home Depot. And it will get all over everything.

Then, because you are left unprepared for such dire circumstances, you will be forced to change a disasterous diaper in the back seat of the car on a burp cloth while your husband dry heaves in the parking lot. Then you will carry a mostly naked newborn around the paint department in a poop stained blanket while trying to decide if your fingers will always be poop colored. You will most definitely feel like the trashiest of white trash around but you will insist on buying the gallon of paint you came for because it took an hour to get out the door in the first place and if you go home now, you will forever admit defeat.

The best part of all: the horror of being so unprepared for a massive poo-splosion is outweighed by the reassurance that your newborn finally pooped and is visibly content and happy.

The End.

Birth Story: Avery Margaret Part Three

2011-07-30T17:01:00.000-06:00

The pushing phase was not at all how I had expected. I thought it would be... noisier. Instead it was me, Kyle, and our soft spoken and amazing nurse, Betsy. My parents hid quietly in the corner by my head to take pictures but I totally forgot they were even there. Betsy made me relaxed and focused because she was so soft spoken and calm. She was just what I needed.

Thanks to the epidural, my right leg was totally dead. Kyle was enlisted to hold it up for me so he got a front row seat whether he was ready for it or not. Betsy had a hold of the other leg, which I could still move to some degree. Betsy instructed me in the method of pushing and for the next 45 minutes I pushed along with the contractions. It was quiet and everything was so calm and peaceful.

Pushing was hard work but the 45 minutes went by fast and soon it was time to call the doctor in. Avery's head was coming close and Kyle could see her hair. I could see that he was really excited and seeing him so happy made me even happier. The doctor praised me for my expert pushing abilities. It's funny that when you're pregnant, comments from doctors like "You have a great cervix" and "You're a great pusher" are the best compliments in the world. (Later, they just sound kind of weird)

It all happened so fast: first her head was out and I could see elation in Kyle's face. Another push and Avery was here. It was 10:35 AM and I vaguely remember hearing the doctor talk Kyle through cutting the umbilical cord. Avery was immediately placed on my chest and Kyle and I admired her for the first time. I couldn't believe she was finally here!

Her little hands grasped our fingers and she tried to open her dark baby eyes. Her top lip stuck out over her bottom lip and we joke now that she looked like a little fish. We were surprised she had a lot of brown hair and noticed how long her hands and feet were for being such a tiny newborn. She must have been born hungry because she immediately tried to eat everything near her face: her hands, our hands, my hospital gown, my chest...

They told me whenever I was ready, they would take her back and weigh her but I didn't ever want to let her go. I eventually gave in. She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 inches long.

She is beautiful and perfect and she is ours.

Birth Story: Avery Margaret Part Two

2011-07-28T12:00:00.024-06:00

So this was it. I was really going to have a baby. I felt relief that we weren't going home this time without Avery and also less embarrassed for coming into the hospital with such pathetic contractions. Oh and what's more: I didn't pee my pants earlier in the day! My water had totally broke. And it didn't break all over the front seat of the car like Kyle had feared.

What they figured is that I had a small, high tear in the bag of fluids and that's why I only had a little water that leaked. I would find out later what it was really like to have your water break.

We began to settle into our hosptial suite and the nurses hooked me up to all sorts of IV's and monitors. Because of having gestational diabetes, they checked my blood sugar and they would continue to check it every hour the rest of the night. The first check came back pretty high. Remember that Cherry Coke I decided I could have earlier? It came back to haunt me. I was restricted to eating only ice chips and the nurse threatened to give me insulin if my blood sugar did not come down within the hour. It did. I was given a low dose of Pitocin and waited for the contractions to intensify.

Kyle found ESPN and my parents napped in their car for a few hours while I watched the monitor for every contraction. Hours went by and I was only dilated to a 4. It was a little depressing. The pain was getting stronger and I was surprised when the nurse offered me pain medication not in the form of an epidural. I did not know this was even an option! I went for the pain meds (call me a conformist) and was able to doze off and on through most of the contractions during the night.

Eventually I was told that I probably wouldn't progress too much until the rest of my water broke. The plan was to let me labor for awhile longer on my own and when the doctor came in, he could break my water and get things going a lot faster. I was also told that the anesthesiologist had a C-section to do at 7 AM so if I wanted an epidural, I either had to get it before 6:30 AM or I had to wait until after the C-section.

I did not want to risk missing the anesthesiologist so I requested the epidural at 6 AM. It was no big deal, but also I was still on some pain meds so that probably helped some. There was a slight shock in my right hip and I soon felt the pain from the contrations subside. Only there was one problem: I could still feel them on my left side. I started to panic, worried that the epidural wasn't placed right and he'd have to do it again. Every 15 minutes I was allowed to push my button for more medicine in the epidural and I pushed that button religiously until I no longer felt the pain in my left side.

The epidural was great. The nurse was able to turn up the pitocin to speed things up a bit and I started dilating more. Avery was turned slightly face up however, so I had pretty intense lower back pain even with the epidural. I didn't mind this too much though because I kind of felt like since I was in labor I should feel some pain. Like it was cheating to be totally painless maybe? At any rate, I was able to tell when the contractions came because the pressure on my tailbone would get really intense.

Despite the pain, I was able to get some decent sleep (and so was everyone else) in preparation for what was ahead.

A couple hours after the epidural, I felt something that I worried was the baby coming out. Turns out, it was my water breaking. It broke. And it broke. And it broke. Whenever I thought it was over, it just kept coming!

Not long after my water completely broke, the pain in my tailbone became nearly unbearable. I couldn't believe I was feeling that much pain even with the epidural and was so grateful to not be feeling the full force of labor at that point. The nurse checked me out and I was finally a 10. A 10! A perfect 10! I felt so proud of myself as if I had willed myself to reach a 10. But really, my body did it all on it's own. (And with a little help of some Pitocin)

It's very surreal to realize that your body is doing exactly what it should be doing and you have absolutely no control over it. No matter how ready I felt, I could not stop or start labor at any point. I had no control over the situation and yet my body still knew just what to do.

The delivery room quickly transformed as parts of my bed broke away and lights were lowered. The doctor came in and chatted with Kyle about Boise State. Kyle was wearing a BSU shirt, of course, and the doctor had just come from another delivery room where the dad was a BSU fan. Thinking about that now, I think I should have been a little annoyed maybe? But I had an epidural and I was relaxed and happy. I felt a calm confidence that everything was right.

The doctor said it'd probably take me 45 minutes to 2 hours of pushing and he'd be back when "it was time."

Birth Story: Avery Margaret Part One

2011-07-28T11:49:00.002-06:00

The day before Avery was born, I went to the doctor and had my membranes stripped in hopes that she would be more ready to come the following Tuesday, when I was scheduled for an induction. Before we left the office, the doctor said there was a 50% chance I'd go into labor within 24 hours. We went home expecting to be back later that night.

Our hospital bags were packed and we walked around the neighborhood in ridiculous heat. I got many mosquito bites and cursed myself for walking outside before the sun went down. We played cards and I beat Kyle (again). We drove to the gas station and ate ice cream cones in the parking lot. We drove to the lake and watched the giant moon rise over the water.

I did not have any contractions.

I did not go into labor.

24 hours passed and we were still home, waiting to time contractions to every 5 minutes. Still, nothing happened. My parents had planned to come Tuesday for the induction but we were bored and tired of entertaining each other so we asked if they'd come down Saturday night instead. We spent hours in the morning heat walking around the farmer's market eating burritos hoping one or the other would get something going.

Nothing happened.

Just before 7:00 PM, I was changing my clothes for dinner when I thought for sure my water broke. I mean, I knew it wasn't unusual for someone 9 months pregnant to randomly pee their pants but this just seemed different. Only it wasn't very much, it didn't last long and nothing seemed to come of it. I chalked it up to incontinence and we went to dinner with my parents an hour later.

So here's a question: What do you eat when you want to go into labor? My answer to you is a Tommy's Burger hot dog loaded with sauerkraut, onions and chili (aka the Power Dog). That way, if you are inclined to vomit because of the pain, it will be that much more exciting. Also drink an entire Cherry Coke even though you have gestational diabetes because you figure this baby is coming sooner rather than later and maybe all that talk about blood sugar is just a joke anyway? (Realize later that this was a bad idea)

An hour after dinner, on our way home via the freeway, I got terribly sick and made an emergency stop at the La Quinta bathroom. That's when the contractions started. (Very romantic, don't you think?)

The contractions weren't terribly painful (although the sauerkraut was) but they came every 4 minutes for a solid hour. When we got home, I packed the last of my essentials in our hospital bags while Kyle brushed up on labor by reading the birthing class book.

My parents followed us to the hospital and I started to think that maybe we were arriving a bit premature. I did not want to be sent home again but I figured that would probably happen. But still there was the question of whether or not my water had actually broke earlier in the day.

Kyle and I checked into a delivery room and my parents stayed in the waiting room. Shortly after I got hooked up to the monitors, the contractions started to die down and I thought "Crap. We're going home for sure." They did a quick test to determine if my water had broke. It came back negative. Just to be sure, they did another (supposedly more accurate) test and we waited for the results to come back from the lab while my contractions slowly dissipated into nothing to write home about. I was embarrassed for even coming in to the hospital and started to prepare myself to go home babyless. Again.

The second test came back positive! My water really had broke and I wasn't leaving until we had a baby. I suddenly freaked out a little: a mixture of excitement and elation and relief and terror of the unknown. It was just before 11:00 PM when we were admitted to Labor & Delivery.

Avery

2011-07-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

This pretty much sums up my life the past 10 days.

I am now a full-time baby-starer.

I mean really, would you want to do anything else but stare at this squishy little baby face?

Avery was born Sunday, July 17th at 10:35am.

She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 inches long.

Birth story coming soon... if you're into that kind of thing.

Picture Hacking

2011-07-15T07:48:00.001-06:00

We went for an evening walk to the park and while Kyle was shooting baskets, I hacked pictures from his phone. I may regret sharing some of these... but oh well. My sense of good judgment is rightfully impaired these days.

During our "false alarm" trip to labor & delivery.

Yes, I was in pain, but I put on a face for Kyle.

July 4th.

Scary knife.

Kyle decided to try on my maternity pants while we folded laundry.

HA!

Recovering from a surgery at 32 weeks pregnant. Super fun.

The first piece of clothing Kyle bought for the baby while shopping in St. George

(a Boise State onesie was next)

BBQ chicken pizza at the Brick Oven in St. George

Oatmeal on Kyle's birthday in St. George.

(Apparently I am always eating)

Zions National Park. Kyle's birthday wayyy back in April.

A Craving

2011-07-14T12:11:00.000-06:00

I have been begging Kyle to go to Tommy's Burger with me for months! It's a tiny shack of a place in Provo and I went there for one thing, and one thing only...

THIS. The tastiest Chicago dog I've ever had in my life. I took this picture so I could drool on my laptop whenever I had a craving (i.e. now). Seriously, if you can go, you totally should. And get a Chicago dog for me. And please savor the buns. The buns are amazing.

(That's what she said)

Kyle went with a hamburger that had BBQ sauce, chili and bacon.

He said it was amazing.

I have a hard time believing it could ever beat the Chicago dog though.

Kyle Started the Fire

2011-07-14T11:46:00.000-06:00

Kyle is having camping withdrawals since my being pregnant has kept us from going on the usual camping trips this summer. To make him feel better, we drove to a nearby campground (literally 2 minutes from our house) and had a fire. And smores. And played cards. Pretty much my perfect idea of camping :)

He tried to seduce me with his axe and Boy Scout quality fire skills.

I do my best seducing while hugely pregnant and making deliciously messy smores with Reese's.

(Truth be known, Reese's are my biggest weakness)