first doctor's appointment

We were supposed to have a five-day doctor's appointment but couldn't make one in time so she had one at exactly one week. She was so good for the appointment and didn't make a peep when the doctor poked and prodded her. They weighed and measured her first. Her length is the same but she is up to 8 lbs now! She was born weighing 7 lbs 15 oz and when we left the hospital she was down to 7 lbs 8 oz. so she is definitely eating and growing a ton already. The doctor checked everything else out and she is doing very well. She does have a goopy eye which I guess is pretty common and we got some eye drops for that. We were also told to go get her biliruben checked again. He told us he was pretty sure that it was going down but to get it checked just to be safe. So after the doctors we went to the hospital to get it checked. The last two times we went in to have it checked they just held some electrical thing to her chest to check it, this time they actually pricked her heel and collected some blood. Poor thing did not like that. I don't think I have ever seen her cry so hard but as soon as the nurse was done squeezing her foot she stopped crying. We got the results back fairly quickly and they told us that it is definitely going away and that we don't need to worry about it.
She is doing really well. She still sleeps a lot and wants to eat the instant she is awake. The last couple of nights have been awesome with her only getting up about two times a night and sleeping in till about 9- 9:30 ish. We are so lucky to have such a good little baby.

first sponge bath at home

We decided to finally give her a little sponge bath tonight. As I went to lay her down on her towel, her umbilical cord fell off. I think it snagged on my shirt and came off (it was hanging on by a thread) but either way as soon as I put her down she let out a huge cry. I felt so bad.
So needless to say the bath did not start on a very good note. She was super mad the entire time. I was trying to hurry as fast as I could as well as keep the bink in her mouth to try to make her calm down. As soon as it was over and I wrapped her up in her towel she calmed right down. Hopefully next time will be much better.

Easter outfits

Like I mentioned in the Easter post we always take a picture of Mathias out in front of these bushes with his Easter basket. This is the fourth year of doing this. This year didn't really work out though because Easter fell on General Conference and because there was snow on the ground. So we took them today, a week later and instead of his Easter basket he gets baby sis. I got Azlyn a matching outfit just in case she came early even though I knew that was not going to happen.

When Dev came out of the bathroom after getting ready I just laughed. He totally matched the kids clothes without even trying so I just had to get a picture with all of them.

We took pictures after the guys got back from church. I brought out the bouncy because Mathias can't really support Azlyn's head all by himself yet. He doesn't really get that concept.

I liked both of these and I couldn't really decide so you get both.

Mathias is not into taking pictures at all unless it is his idea. He pretty much refused to look at the camera but would smile anyways. He is such a little stinker!

She is seriously so cute, if i do say so myself. I am gonna have so much fun dressing her up.

Wide awake. I just love it when she is wide awake and looking around at everything. She is so alert.

day 2 and jaundice

So on our second morning home we had to take her into the hospital to get her billiruben levels checked. They were 8 something when we left the hospital. When we got there the lab nurse kept calling her a him. Ok, I know she is wearing blue but come on there are flowers all over it and she is wearing pink mittens, not to mention her car seat is all decked out in pink! So when we got home I put her first headband on her. I think she looks so cute and hopefully when she is wearing one of these she won't get mistaken for a boy. Man some people are so dumb! Anyways back to her billiruben levels. Unfortunately they are higher than when we left. They are now at 14. The nurse told us to come back the next day and that she would send all the info to our pediatrician and we will see were we have to go from there.

Other than her jaundice, Azlyn is doing awesome. She eats like a champ and will take a bottle of b.m. as well as breastfeed. She also takes a binky really well and can keep it in really good. She can go as much as 5 hours during the day without eating, but then again sometimes she wants to eat every hour. I think she is gonna be a little chunky monk just like her brother was. She also goes from 0 to 60 just like Mathias did. She can be sound asleep and when she wakes up, she wakes up starving and wants to eat right then. I just really can't wait to get on a schedule. I am so tired of being so sore! I also can't wait till she gets her nights and days not so mixed up. However I really can't complain to much, she is such a good baby.

first time home for baby sis

My mom had this sign and balloons to great us. Mathias was out riding his bike around the complex with her waiting for us to get home. They thought they would see us coming but apparently we snuck in and I had to go out and find them.

As soon as we came in, Izzie Kitty had to come check her out. She didn't stay for long though and still isn't very sure about Azlyn.

We put her in her swing and Mathias had to get this certain blanket and make sure she was covered up just right. He also got the swing going for her. I think he is going to be a pretty helpful big brother.

Seriously how stinking cute is she! I just can't get enough of her.

I just lover her chubby little cheeks! You can't even see her little neck they are so chubby.

This was her first time in her bassinet. As you can see she wasn't really all that sleepy. She definitely has her nights and days mixed up. Let's hope we can end that pretty soon.

D day and hosptial stay

Sorry this is going to be a very long post with about a million pictures...

Alright, I guess I better hurry and write down our labor story before I forget all of the details. We were scheduled to be induced at about 6 am Wed morning, our due date. We scheduled the induction because I was just done being pregnant and it was nice to have a set time in advance for someone to be around to watch Mathias. We were told to call the morning of and make sure that they still had rooms and such available. They told us to be there at 6:30 but of course I can never be anywhere on time so we got there at about 6:45.

We had to get one last belly shot. Here we are at 40 weeks exactly.

I quickly changed into the ever-so-lovely gown while Dev filled out some paper work. Then it was time to get things started. I had an awesome nurse even though for the life of me I can not remember her name. (Dev's note = Bev) She was also training a student nurse, Aubrey. Anyways, it was now time for the IV. I was so not looking forward to this. I hate needles and because this was an induction there was no pain or anything to take my mind off of the IV. It took the nurse two tries to get it in and it didn't work. She said after two tries she calls someone else so another nurse came in and got it in right away, which was awesome, but it was in a retarded spot. It was on the inside of my left wrist and anytime I bent my wrist it kinda hurt.
After the IV was in the nurse checked me and said I was at a 2 and 75% effaced. This was at 7:30. At 7:55 Dr. Weibell came in and broke my water. At this point I was having some contractions on my own but they were nothing big, just like the ones I have been having for weeks before. At 8:15 I got my pitocin. The contractions really picked up not long after that, maybe 10 minutes or so. After about 20 minutes or so I had had enough of them and wanted my epidural. However, I had to get more fluids in me so I had to wait about 20 more minutes. I got my Epidural at 9:15. LOVE epidurals!! This one wasn't as strong as the one I had with Mathias. I could still kinda move my legs and such and feel a little bit, which I actually liked. With Mathias I was numb well into the next day. I got my lovely catheter at 9:30. The student nurse actually did it and I was her first live patient ( I guess they practice on dummies all the time). I actually didn't care that she was learning on me as long as I couldn't feel anything ;) They checked me again at 9:35 and I was only at a 3 and 80% effaced. Kinda bummed I hadn't made more progress. I actually stayed at a three for a few hours but fully effaced. I was so bummed about this and thought we were gonna be there for a while. Then at about noon the nurse came in and said that the baby is showing signs of being stressed. She checked me and I was at a 4.5. yay for progress. She had me lay on my left side to see if that would help and put oxygen on me. I was so nervous at this point. She came back in two minutes later and said that it was not working and moved me to my other side and watched the monitor for a few minutes. That didn't work either. I was so scared! I was hoping that everything was alright with the baby and I was really nervous we were gonna have to do a c-section. She then told me that she was putting an internal contraction monitor in me and that she might have to put more fluid back in to relieve some of the pressure from the baby (they thought that maybe she was on her cord or something). However when she went to put in the contraction monitor cord I was 9 cm dilated! I had gone from a 4.5 to a 9 in about 5 minutes. That is why Azlyn was showing signs of stress. It had gone very quickly. Not even 5 minutes later I was a 10. They called the doctor and told them he needs to come right away and he was like, "Are you sure?" They were like, "Yes, and hurry." Waiting for the doctor was not fun at all. Because I moved so quickly I could feel the contractions very well. It was like the epidural was not working at all. I gave the epidural pump a push but it did nothing, then the nurses told me it takes like 15 minutes to kick in. Hello I did not have 15 minutes. I was so nervous to push because I really did not want to feel that pain. Luckily the Epi worked good enough that I did not feel much of the pushing pain. It only took maybe 4 or 5 pushes and she was out! Azlyn was born at 12:32. I am so happy it went so fast (even if that meant more pain) and that it all went really well. I would say from start (which I count at when they broke my water) to finish it was just over 4 hours. Not too shabby. For anyone wondering with Mathias from start to finish it was about 9 hours. The nurse kept saying the second comes at half the time of the first and man was she right!

The nurses suctioned out her mouth a little more, they said that she had swallowed some fluid and got her to cry a little bit. They then brought her over to me to see her.
She really didn't cry a whole lot. She made more of a grunting noise. They took her over to the warmer and got her cleaned up a bit more.

Then they weighed and measured her. She was 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 in long! They then bundled her up and brought her over to me so I could finally hold her.

I then finally got to hold my precious little girl. I can't believe that she is finally really here! We have waited a very long time for her. It took us two years of trying and 9 months of waiting. She is so worth all of it!

Daddy's turn to hold her. I think she already has him wrapped around her little finger.

The super proud parents with sweet baby Azlyn.

Mathias seeing her for the first time. He was a little apprehensive at first. He saw me in bed hooked up to a bunch of things (iv's and the blood pressure cuff) and just wanted to go back out in the hall. I think he was a little scared. Then he just wanted to snuggle me in bed. I think that since we were gone when he woke up and his schedule was a bit messed up and there was a lot going on in the room and bunch of people around he didn't really know what to think. Plus my little guy has to do things on his own terms. But once he decided he wanted to see her it was just so sweet. He kept telling her that it was ok when she would make a peep and would rub her head and such.

He thought it was so cool when she held on to his finger. He just got so excited and kept telling her that she is so sweet and cute and that he loved her. Then being the typical Mathias he got really bored in there and started running around and driving us all crazy.

Apparently at the Timp. Hospital they take care of the baby right there in the room with you. They gave her her shots and eye goop and everything right there. They even gave her her first bath right there in the room. We had an awesome nursery nurse who included Mathias in everything. She let him help her fill up the little basin with water, open up some q-tips and place them in the baby warmer etc. She was seriously the absolute best and made Mathias feel like he was just so big and the best big brother.
Then it was time to take our stuff and everyone went to the recovery room where we would be staying. While they did that Dev and I stayed back for a bit and I fed her for the first time. She is such a champ and ate forever. After she was done we got wheeled down to our room.

I am so in love with this little girl. I seriously can not believe that she is here. It is just starting to set in that she is here and healthy and ours.

I just absolutely love this picture! She is always making the funniest faces and making us laugh .

Day 2
Just chilling out in her bed. She wasn't in there very often. She is definitely already spoiled!

I just loved how she was sleeping on her hand. She always has her hands by her face... she was even born this way. I also just love her super chubby little face!

Mathias seriously just thinks it is the coolest thing ever when she holds onto one of his fingers.

On the second day Mathias really wanted to check her out. He wanted to see her cute little hands and toes and he just loved holding her hand and rubbing her head. He just loves her so much! He is always telling her that he loves her and that when she is fussy that everything will be ok and that he is right there.

Our first family picture! I have been looking forward to this for a long time. As usual Mathias didn't really want to cooperate for pictures but rather watch the cartoons that where on in the background. Oh well it turned out pretty good anyways.

last day at the hospital

Here we are getting ready to escape the hospital and get her dressed for the first time. I forgot how hard it can be to dress a tiny, stiff little newborn. The outfit was huge on her. I think we are gonna have some fun though dressing her with all the cute little girl clothes.

We thought we were gonna be able to be out of there by 10 but it turns out that the pediatrician was not going to be there till around noon so we had a while to just sit there and wait and hold baby sis. I was so sick of sitting though so Dev took over my bed.

Getting in the car seat for the first time. It is seriously so weird to me still at how tiny she is. I know Mathias was about the same size once but you seriously just forget. She actually didn't mind her car seat. She was just starving by the time they told us we could go and when she is hungry she goes from 0 to 60 just like her brother did. Awesome timing.

Anyways everything went great during the delivery. I would say it was definitely easier and faster this time around. I would say the recovery is a little easier as well. The stay at the hospital wasn't to bad either minus the being cooped up in a room for a couple of days just sitting there. We had awesome nurses who always asked if there was anything they could do for us or get us, and not just me but for Dev to. I have to say I think I liked Timp. a lot better than UVRMC. So ya, that is our experience in a nut shell!

Easter

What an awesome Easter we had. Mathias woke us up bright and early at 7 (not so awesome) and we started things off with an Easter egg hunt.

The Easter bunny hid 10 eggs- 5 camo ones which had candy in them and 5 big ones that had cars in them. Mathias did a pretty good job finding most of them but we had to give him some hints for the last few. He loved seeing what he got in the eggs and got so excited with each one that he opened.

The Easter bunny got kinda lazy this year and didn't think that she hid the Easter basket very hard. It was just under some jackets on the couch but Mathias looked everywhere else for it first. It was pretty funny to watch. He was so excited to get some new movies, a book, bath colors, water paints and chocolate. I'm so glad it doesn't take much to please this little guy.

Side note: Every year that we have lived here I have taken a picture of Mathias in his Easter clothes with his Easter basket out front by a bush. This is the first year that I have not been able to do that. So many things were against us. For one, Easter fell on general conference so he did not have to dress up. And two, we woke up to snow on the ground. I guess next week we will have to get a picture of him in his "Easter outfit" and have him hold his little sis instead of his Easter basket!

The rest of the day was pretty lazy. After opening the Easter basket we had breakfast and then attempted to watch one of his new movies. Dev and I both fell asleep though. We then watched general conference. Then it was lunch time and Mathias took a THREE hour nap which meant we got to watch the second session of conference uninterrupted! After the nap we hung out at the DeGooyer's house where Mathias got to play with his cousin Holly and we filled up on lots of yummy food. I love lazy days like these. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

coloring Easter eggs

Mathias was seriously so excited to dye Easter eggs this year. He kept on trying to get started before we even had anything set up. We attempted to do some tye dye ones this year but I don't think any of us had the patience for it and only ended up doing a few that way.

This was the first one and Dev was trying to show Mathias how to do it the tye dye way. It was kinda a pain because you had to put a little dropper into some very tiny holes.

Here was my attempt at the tye dye egg. I love how I am just tall enough that my big preggo belly just rests on the counter. Only 4 more days!

Mathias decided that he wanted to try one on his own. After a few attempts at getting the little syringe thing in the tiny holes, he was so excited that he was able to do it, and all on his own. I just love watching the excitement of this kid.

Showing off the eggs that he has done so far.

Mathias and the final product!

A closeup of the final product. As you can see we only ended up doing 4 the tye dye way but it was still fun!

The eggs weren't the only thing to get dyed! I love it though, it is all part of being a kid.

Battle Creek

Even though it was a little chilly today, we decided to head up to Battle Creek and play with the RC crawlers. I see this happening a lot in the future. The boys just love it and I am so happy that they have something that they just love doing together!

Playing in a puddle.

I don't know who loves doing this more? Seriously Mathias is a mini Dev. Love it.

Do boys ever grow up... I think not.

Mathias and his jeep. The radio controls no longer work on it but it was still fun to push around!

So excited that it made it up without falling! I love the excitement on his face.