Introducing . . .

Austin Clark Earley
August 29, 2016

12:06 p.m.

8 lbs 3 oz

20 in

Aurora's Birth Story

Considering I'd had contractions/braxton hicks for over two weeks and most of those contractions would take place between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. and my body made pretty much no progress (I jumped up to a 3 dilation but stayed that way for those last two weeks) I was exhausted when Aurora finally decided to come along. In fact, since I technically went past my due date (the doctor's office had it listed as January 9th even though they'd been telling me the 10th the entire pregnancy), we even had an induction scheduled for the upcoming weekend. I wasn't too worried about that--I figured she'd come when she came, but since she was also sitting completely in front, my body was feeling the wear and tear of my third pregnancy and I was ready, ready, READY to have her join our family!

January 12th we got ready for bed and I got Adelaide to go to bed but Azucena really struggled so I just read to her, played games, and put on a movie, hoping she'd settle down and sleep. Around midnight, I realized that my contractions were finally starting to get serious. I'd been timing them and they were still about 7 - 12 minutes apart. Then, after 3:30 a.m., they started to come more frequently--about 5 minutes apart. Around 4 a.m., I started to pack my hospital bag (it's tradition for me to leave it until the last minute) with Azucena helping me because she was still awake. Unfortunately, I said something about getting ready to go to the hospital to her and Clark somehow heard the magic phrase in his sleep and woke up (I'd been planning on letting him rest until 6). So he got dressed and helped take everything to the car, along with Adelaide, who woke up.

Since it was before regular hours, we had to use the emergency entrance. Clark went to park the car while I walked in with Azucena and announced I was in labor. They were very nice and called a nurse to bring me a wheelchair and take me to labor and delivery. He made sure to wait for Clark to come with Adelaide and then whisked us away to the check-in. The nurse there decided that since we 1) had two toddlers with us and 2) I was technically four days past my due date, she'd go ahead and take me to my room instead of just making me get checked in the triage area. Happy day! Then, when the nurses checked how far along I was, they said I was at a 6. HUZZAH. I thanked them because the last three hours of contractions had really stunk and if I was still stuck at a 3 I would have hurt something. :D

 My view from my bed. The chart on the left was to help the nurses keep track of us. :D

I was able to get an epidural around 6 and it was administered differently than it had been in Utah. I had to sit up on the bed and hold on to Clark while the anesthesiologist gave me the medicine. Super weird and slightly awkward. But it did its job and helped me relax and get a little rest before they told me to start pushing.

Some members of our ward had been kind enough to offer to watch the older girls while we were at the hospital, but I felt really, really bad asking someone to come get them at 5 in the morning, so Clark and I seriously waited until it was closer to 7 before bothering anyone. Soon, it was just the two of us in the hospital room waiting for checks and updates. Also, they broke my water a little after 7.

Around 8:30 the nurse and my doctor checked me and let me know that she hadn't dropped a whole lot but that maybe if I pushed, she'd drop. Clark said to go for it, so after a few minutes, we got everything set up and I officially started to push at 8:55. It wasn't as quick as Adelaide's birth, but by 9:03, she was out! She was very calm; she didn't cry until they took her over to the warm table to weigh and measure her.

MAN did she hate getting cleaned up and measured. :D

 Our first picture of the three of us. We were all so tired!

 First bath.

 I love the burgundy bow the nurses put in Aurora's hair.

 Grandpa with his third granddaughter. I also love Adelaide's expression as she loves on her baby sister.

Aurora's welcome home sign! (We came home 30 hours after she was born.)

Baby #3 is a . . .

Today was ultrasound day! Clark nearly gave me a heart attack because he didn't get home until 25 minutes before the appointment (usually we leave the house half an hour early) because work has been crazy since last week. We got there just in time, though, and there was more craziness:

• the sonogram technician informed me that my bladder was completely empty (WHAT?! I drank FOUR smoothies an hour beforehand and I had to pee {but wasn't allowed to} when we got to the office!)
• because my bladder was empty, the baby wasn't "buoyed up" which made it . . . interesting/uncomfortable to have the ultrasound
• turns out I'm having Braxton Hicks. I can't feel them at all, but while the tech was looking inside me, I had a couple and she showed me the uterus seizing up and stuff. Cool, but creepy.
• the baby was also completely uncooperative--the technician would try to measure the leg and the baby would start to kick like mad, so she'd move on to trying to measure the umbilical cord and the baby would wrap its arms around it and block it off, etc., etc. Needless to say, this was my longest ultrasound appointment--over 45 minutes long.

In the end, we finally found out (or are at least 99% sure) that we're having another little girl! We announced it on Facebook by having friends pick between "A Little Princess" and "The Little Prince" as our daughters' bedtime story tonight. And despite our third daughter giving us so many issues with measurements and such, she's very healthy and active, which is definitely the best part of our appointment today. :)

 Our little one's footprint. Adorable, right?!

She was sucking on her thumb almost the entire time. :D

Except when she made the "neener-neener" face. Stink.

18 Weeks!

Here we are, pregnancy number three and it's been pretty crazy! I took the pregnancy test May 7th and got a big ol' positive! Since we'd been trying for almost a year to have another baby, I was super, SUPER excited. Unfortunately, this pregnancy was a little more like when I was pregnant with Azucena: lots of days filled with nausea and exhaustion. Having two toddlers to chase after definitely doesn't help with the energy. The days that both girls take simultaneous naps (like today!) are HUGE blessings.

So now that we're about a week away from having the ultrasound, it's time to make your voice heard! Do you think a little boy or a little girl will be joining our family? Here are a few "clues" so you can make your educated guesses:

*Other than being required to eat about thirty minutes after each meal, I haven't really had cravings (just like my first two pregnancies)
*We had an appointment the day before my 18th week milestone we went in to check the heartbeat and it was sitting at a pretty 140 bpm (both girls were 155+)

 17 weeks, 6 days                                              18 weeks, 2 days

The Birth (in pictures)

Here are a few pictures to elaborate on Adelaide's birth story:

Week 39 (November 29)

Just after getting checked into the hospital (can you tell that I haven't slept well the last two nights?)

  

Adelaide, just minutes after being born. Can you see her dimple? She has another one on the other side. :D

 

The three Earley girls                 I love the signs they make in the hospital!

Here's my daughter. You can definitely tell she and Azucena are related. She has Azucena's nose, but her hair is MUCH darker (ethnic hair, for my old roommates that read this), and her cheeks are a different shape (plus she has those dimples!). I'm pretty sure her eyes will go dark, too, because they're a darker baby-grey than Azucena's were. I love the little things I'm learning about Adelaide and the fact that she has a different personality from Azucena already.

Thanks for indulging in my photo dump!

Adelaide's Birth Story

Our second daughter was born today. We love her so very much!

The medium-ish lengthed story:

I started having contractions Saturday night just before 11 p.m. (Why? Because my body hates sleep.)
They were about 8 minutes apart and lasted until about 8 in the morning

Then they quit. Sort of. I'd have two, up to four, contractions every hour throughout the rest of Sunday. This meant we went to church so I could have choir practice and so we could attend and participate in Sacrament meeting.

Afterward, we headed to Riverton so we could be closer to the hospital and so Azucena could be with her grandparents already should Clark and I need to hustle to get checked in.

But the contractions remained irregular.

We said good night a little after 8, packed up, and headed home for the night so Clark could rest up for work. We hit a really awesome rainstorm (that made us use back roads since the highway was freakin' scary) and started to settle in about nine in the evening.

Since Clark and I had spent most of Saturday night awake/packing the hospital bags that we'd been neglecting, we were pretty tired and were both very grateful that Azucena fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep when we got home. We discussed our options of when it would be good to go to the hospital. I reminded Clark that we had an appointment with my OB/GYN scheduled for the next morning, in about twelve hours. We agreed to do nothing until then. We went to bed and began to sleep.

Then the contractions got pretty icky.

Around one in the morning, I started to wake up every five minutes or so to painful contractions. Really, really painful. They weren't strong enough to take my breath away, but I couldn't move for a good 30 seconds each time they happened.

At 4:30, I gave up and woke Clark up, asking if it would be all right to drive down to the hospital to get their opinion on my condition instead of trying to hold out another five hours for my doctor appointment. Clark was a sweetheart and immediately sat up, got dressed, and packed stuff in the car.

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5:30 and were admitted to a triage room within 15 minutes. Just before 6, the nurse checked my progression, declared me dilated to a 6, with a bag about ready to burst, and told me we'd be having a baby very soon.

Immediately, the cell phone satellite over Utah got really busy. :D

Azucena left the hospital with her grandparents while we got put into a labor and delivery room. 

The nurses were sweet and helpful and one in particular made sure that she put us on the anesthesiologist's list so that we wouldn't have to wait too long for the epidural (there were several c-sections this morning). I'm just going to take a second here to plug for modern medicine: I am SO grateful that I could have that extra medicine to help me handle the last few hours of my pregnancy and the delivery of my baby girl. I have a decent tolerance for pain, but having had contractions for the past 30 hours and about 5 - 6 hours of sleep total the past two nights, I don't think I'd've had the strength to go natural. I'm not saying everyone should do it, but I am saying that I am happy it was an option for me.

8:00 - still a 6+ so my doctor asked that the on-call doctor break my bag. Done.
9:10 - 8 cm
10:15 - 10 cm, called the doctor to come in for the delivery
just past 10:25 - started pushing. During the first contraction, Adelaide lowered. During the second, she crowned. During the third, she came.

10:42 is her official time of birth.

We love her.

You can tell she's Azucena's sister.

She has lovely black hair.

She has the most gorgeous dimples in both cheeks. (The first thing the attending baby nurse said was, "does your other daughter have dimples? Because this one has dimples.")

She's wonderful and beautiful and precious.

We love her.

I can't wait to share a few pictures with you!

Pregnancy Update

Well, kids, it's another pregnancy update. Here are a couple pictures of my belly. The weird thing is, between the two, it looks like the baby has dropped. So I guess she's settling? Because there's no way she's dropped-dropped. 

The best news that I have to share is that I do NOT have gestational diabetes. That took about a week to figure out, though, and involved a lot of drama, four doctor visits, and two bruised arms. But I don't have it. Thank freakin' heavens. Also, we've reached the two week appointment point of life. :)

September 9 (27 weeks, 3 days)

September 22 (29 weeks, 2 days)

Why, yes, my hair did have ridiculous amounts of volume this day. Why do you ask?

October 2nd (30 weeks, 5 days)

Speaking of the two week appointment intervals, I actually have another one later today, so hopefully I'll grab a picture and be able to say that everything is still looking good.

edit: I gained six pounds in two weeks. Oops! (Must have been all that Peruvian and Mexican food my parents "forced" on me this weekend. Hee hee!)

October 10th (31 weeks, 6 days)

15 Months Old

Azucena,

You've grown up so much since you turned a year old! I can't believe how very different you are in just three months. It seems that overnight you became a toddler or very young woman. It's kind of crazy!

You know how to identify:

• head
• toes
• belly button
• hands
• nose
• teeth
• tongue
• ear

You know what sounds each of these animals make:

• dog
• cat
• cow (mmmmmm)
• owl
• monkey
• alligator (you open and close your mouth)
• fish (you make a fish face)
• sheep
• elephant
• horse
• cougar (that's right, this is one of your dad's proudest moments)

You can ask for certain songs:

• Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (you point at your head)
• Wheels on the Bus (you do a spazzy motion with your hands, which is how you roll the wheels)

You can follow simple commands, like when I ask you to bring a diaper so I can change you, or ask you to get a toy or article of clothing. You especially love when I say it's time for your bath. You start saying "bah! Bah!" and run to the tub and wait for me to get everything ready for you.

You started to say "ahm!" at the end of prayers.

For about a month, your favorite word was "down!" and you'd use it to mean both down and up. We finally wised up and taught you the signs for both up and down and that helps us out a lot but now you've moved on to "neh!" or "no!" as your favorite syllable. :D

Last week you started to get your two front teeth. But like your other two teeth (remember how you only have two?!) they're taking their sweeeeeet time to get here. I noticed them August 31st and they still haven't broken through the gums. Close, but not quite. Yeesh! One day you'll be able to eat regular food that isn't steamed or mushed. :D

Doctor's Stats:
Height: 31 1/2 inches
Weight: 21 lbs, 11 oz

Pregnancy pics

For those of you wondering how this pregnancy is going, the answer is better and harder than last time. :D (And I'm officially 26 weeks today!)

The pros: I was nowhere near as sick during the first trimester, I still have the energy to chase a toddler daily, I can eat just about whatever I want. 

The cons: I have to chase a toddler around and my "nesting instinct" combined with the fact that there is a cockroach infestation in our new apartment makes it so I am cleaning a LOT every day. I mean, I clean a fixture in the bathroom at least every day, plus I scrub our kitchen floor, wash dishes (whether or not they've been eaten off of) by hand every day, etc. It's kind of crazy. I'm really, really hoping the roaches go away soon so I can relax before I get huge. 

Speaking of huge, here are some pictures!

August 12th (23 1/2 weeks):

 

(I'm sticking my tummy out in this one)

August 27th (25 1/2 weeks)

Ultrasound!

Well, thanks to everyone who voted! Clark really appreciated the 63% of you who thought we'd be having a boy this time around. :D As it turns out, little Adelaide Rose is a rather demure child, not willing to show off too much during her photo shoot (she kept crossing her arms over her face and crossed her feet immediately after we checked the gender).

Saving the scans as .jpegs made us lose half the pictures, so once we sort that out, we'll add a couple more scans. Until then, she weighs about 9 oz right now and her due date is creeping closer to what I think it is, despite all measurements and what the doctor said back in May. :D

 (I love that you can also see where the umbilical cord connects to her tummy. That's a giant belly button!)

More birthday pictures

Well, as some of you may know, my camera was lost/stolen when I went on my trip to Illinois. This is HORRIBLE because it was a combined gift from Clark, my parents and his parents (which basically equates to "it was expensive") but also because our computer has been full and acting up so I hadn't downloaded the last two months worth of pictures before it was taken away. RIP camera. Anyway, now that we're visiting my parents, I'm able to use their stash of pictures to update the blog. Here are some additional pictures from Azucena's birthday party to start off the blogging craziness:

These are the watermelon cookies that we included as a bonus treat. All the rest were the fruits mentioned the first five days of the book and the cupcakes shaped into the Hungry Caterpillar.

 

 

When we sang "Happy Birthday," we lit a candle on a cupcake, then gave her half of her cake-cake. We liked the effect better. :D

Thursday

Things that need to get done today:

1. Shower
2. Azucena's nap
3. Eat about 6 more meals
4. Go grocery shopping
5. Choir practice
6. Make dinner

Things I'd like to get done today:

1. Shower
2. Take a nap
3. Eat about 6 more meals
4. Go scrapbook shopping
5. Choir practice
6. Deliver thank you notes
7. Go to a carillon concert

Things that will probably actually get done today:

1. Eat about 6 more meals

::sigh::


EDIT:


Things that got done today:

1. Shower! Woo!
2. Azucena's nap
3. MY nap!
4. Choir practice
5. Ate a few more meals
6. Thank you notes
7. Grocery shopping
8. Dinner

Announcement!

The cat's out of the bag: we're having a baby this December! We're very happy and excited and can't wait to find out if Azucena will have a baby sister or brother. We already have names picked out, but we're waiting until the gender reveal before we share too much more. Hooray!

11 Months Old!

You've almost made it a whole year, Azucena! Congratulations! I still can't believe how much you've grown. You're much more toddler-like now. You can crawl very quickly (much too quickly, in my opinion) and you can pull yourself onto any sort of surface, even the wall. You're still a little hesitant to walk on your own but you sure do love when we hold you by one or two hands and you try to run, sometimes.


This month, you started to:

• give us a "cheesy" grin (you'll look at us and smile, then squint your eyes and show your gums)
• point at or hand us what you want (which is especially hilarious when you're eating, because you'll ignore everything else in front of you and insist on something particular (usually your strawberry yogurt bites))
• hide from us. And not just in the hide-and-seek way, but you'll crawl away and not want us to follow you
• babble like crazy. You have complete conversations with yourself in your wonderful baby-talk. I love it!
• imitate sounds we teach you. For a while, you were really good at hooting like a gorilla :)

Your favorite words are da-DAH? (Daddy) and DAH-da! (or BAH-ba!, if we're lucky enough to get the b sound that day) (baby)

Pictures in a couple of days!

10 Months Old!

Happy Easter, baby girl, you're ten months old!


Things you do now:

• You crawl up to me, look up, then throw both your hands in the air to let me know you want to be picked up
• You LOVE pat-a-cake. LOVE. You'll clap for the first bit, then wait until we say "mark it with a B" and then you'll throw one or both hands in the air. Then you'll clap to say "yay" and if we don't start over, you'll give us this look while clapping much slower so we can catch the hint. :)
• You've been able to hang out outside now, and while you were scared of grass and hills at first, that didn't stop you from exploring for very long.
• You "help" with laundry by crawling up to the basket we've just brought home and emptying it of its contents. Good thing I've been trying to keep the floor clean!
• You dance to music! You bob your head or bounce up and down or sway from side to side. This is especially hilarious during sacrament meeting, because that's usually when you choose to do the headbanging. :)

New Cousins

Azucena has been blessed to have three second cousins born in the last couple of months. I keep forgetting to get pictures of the girl cousins (sorry McKenzie and Masie!), but this is Azucena meeting little Anthony Diaz.




(This face is absolutely priceless. Really truly!)

Woe to the bather

As I read a friend's blog about how much her daily routine/expectations have changed due to motherhood, I couldn't help but laugh a little about how something as simple as showering every day just doesn't happen anymore. I loved that she seemed to take it in stride.

I don't often mind the little things that get postponed or dropped altogether because I have my wonderful daughter now, but I must confess that last night, as I pulled myself out of a warm bath that I'd only been in for two minutes because Azucena woke up crying, I was a little sad that I don't get as much "me-time" as I used to.

But I still wouldn't trade it for anything!

One Month!

Dear baby girl,

Happy birthday! Now that you've been with us a whole month, we feel like we know everything about parenting. ;) You already have quite the personality, too. You know what you want and when you want it. The only problem is, you really need to speak a language your father and I can understand. ;)

This past month:

*You were born! Your father and grandmother were in the labor and delivery room when you showed up. You should have seen the smile on your daddy's face when you first started to make an appearance. I will never forget it.

*Something that you did immediately: you never liked to be swaddled. You'd much rather have your legs stretched out and your feet uncovered. You do a similar thing with your arms, when you can. You also keep your hands near your mouth when you're eating or sucking on things.

*You're starting to sleep through the night. With the exception of the first weekend after Grandma Judd left, you usually only wake up once (between 3 and 4 in the morning). It's a huge blessing since your father has a crazy schedule with full-time work and school.

*You lost your umbilical cord (finally!). You had your parents worried for a while, since it hung in there for over three and a half weeks. But it came off just in time for . . .

*Blessing Day! You were given a name and blessed on July 3rd. Some people that came to your blessing were: Grandma and Grandpa Judd, along with your uncles Nathan and Edgar, Grandma and Grandpa Earley, with your uncle Brady, Grandpa Fred and Grandma Gardner, Grandma Earley, uncle Steve and aunt Kandice, with their son Hunter, and your cousins Jeremiah and Kasie Payne with their daughter, Kaiah. You hated your dress, but it was a gift from your Grandma Judd and everyone said you looked gorgeous in it.

*You went to your first family reunion. It was for the Gibson side, and all your great aunts (especially), cousins, and other extended family members were super excited to meet you and hold you and play with you. We even have a special picture of you with Uncle Jimmy, since he was the oldest family member there and you, the youngest. :)

*This past week you've started to figure out how to smile and coo. You don't necessarily do it at the "right times," but it's fun to watch you start to figure things out.

*You get very upset: when we change your clothes, when you have a dirty diaper, when we try to change your diaper, when we sit while we hold you.

*However, you hate baths a lot less now that your umbilical cord is gone. :)

We love you, Azucena! You're such a wonderful daughter and it's been a very special experience getting to know you the past month. We're excited for all of the many months to come!

A Couple Firsts

Azucena had a few firsts on Saturday: her first official outing and her first bath. You can see from her face which she liked more. ;)

Doctor Update #13

I just realized this was my thirteenth appointment and maybe *that's* why Azucena hasn't shown up yet. :)

Things we figured out today:

*heartrate is still good
*still measuring 40 cm
*dilated to 1 1/2 cm
*effaced a lot more than last week
*because she was checking more thoroughly (or something along those lines) she actually stripped my membranes. She didn't explain if she did a thorough job or took care of all of it (or whatever the terminology) but she did say she was a little. So, that might help this week, too. :)

We also went ahead and scheduled me to be induced next Tuesday. So, if she doesn't come on her own before Monday, we have an office visit to discuss the procedure and medicine and stuff, then we'll be contacted at some point Tuesday morning and go get ready to have her.

So, here's hoping that everything will be all right over the next few days!