Taking on a new role

For my Literacy Class, taught by Brad Wilcox,

I have to make a regular habit of writing every week

in a journal or blog.

So this is a really good excuse

 to get my Blog up and running again!

Our little family has taken on many different new roles,

and we many new updates to report :)

First off, we have moved to a condo in Pleasant Grove!

With Matt finished with classes at BYU,

getting a new job,

and outgrowing out little apartment,

we decided it was time for a change :)

With this new move,

we are now in a family ward at church.

It is so refreshing to have a primary

and youth programs back!

Obviously with this change, we received new callings!

Any guesses??

Well I'll tell you :)

I have been called to be the primary chorister

and Matt is the Executive Secretary!

Talk about big callings!

We are a little nervous but excited to be thrown in

and learn on our feet to get to know how to serve the ward.

We were both set apart today and it was beautiful.

We are grateful for these opportunities to serve.

Matt will be gone for meetings a lot on Sunday

and during the week,

and I teach singing time to the nursery and primary during church.

I have personally loved this calling so far,

and I it so fun to teach and interact with such beautiful children.

I have also survived my first week back at BYU!

I'm currently taking 18 credits 

with teaching in the classroom the whole month of November.

It was really really hard to leave Jordyn the first day.

I even cried on my way out the door.

I am so blessed to have Matt stay at home 

and watch her while I am gone.

He works from home and I take classes during her nap,

so it hasn't been too big of a hassle for him yet :)

But I will tell you it still was so hard to leave!

I LOVE being a mother 

and I have treasured this summer 

where I could just be with her.

It is quite the change to be back in school

with homework, projects, and tests,

but I am so close to finishing.

I just need to push through to the end.

I will be graduating in April so the end is in sight!

I have some amazing professors who are very understanding

and validating how hard it is to be away from you baby.

It's such a blessing to have them work with me.

This is what Jordyn (and Daddy)

made for me when I got home!

So in our week:

 Matt works 40 hours a week

and has meetings for his calling.

He also takes care of Jordyn a lot more.

I have to prepare singing lessons every week

and do the Primary Program in November.

I also have class, homework, and teaching in November.

I also get to come home to our sweet angel Jordyn

and play with her while I make dinner.

Needless to say we are busier than ever,

but we are loving our life.

The sacrifices we are making are worth it!!

We are also finding that we are getting more done

than we ever have!

Ironic huh??

With all that being said and giving those updates,

here are some fun pictures of what else we have been up to :)

With moving into our new place,

we have been able to be outside a lot more.

The clubhouse has a pool

and Jordyn has loved kicking and splashing in the water.

We have also loved going to the local parks,

taking hikes,

and soaking up the sun!

We have a little porch,

and Jordyn loves to go out and watch the rainstorms :)

We have loved having family come to visit us this summer as well!

 

Jordyn sure loves spending time with her friends,

even if it is while the moms are running errands :)

We also got to go miniature golfing

and see a movie for our Anniversary.

Thanks for reading our little update!

There will be more to come I promise :)

Becoming a Mother: July 6th

I sat down to write out my entire birth experience to share,

but I couldn't find the right words to convey

such a sacred and special experience. 

But somehow when I sat down to write about becoming a mother,

the words seem to flow :)

So instead of forcing a detailed birth story,

I will share about how I became a mother:

It all started on July 5th.

Due to my blood clot I developed at 36 weeks pregnant,

I had to be induced and give birth in a hospital,

which was bitter sweet news.

I was sad I couldn't give birth at my birthing center,

but it meant that my family could make it from California to the birth.

We checked into the hospital at 6:00am.

We got comfortable in our room,

and I had Matt give me a blessing.

It was so beautiful and it calmed all my nerves.

In the blessing he mentioned that we would have

positive interactions with my nurses and doctors.

The thing that stood out to me the most,

was that he blessed that our baby girl would be ok 

throughout the whole process.

In anticipation for this day,

that was what I was most worried about.

I just wanted my baby to be ok.

Around 7:30 I started Cytotec to get things started.

I was only going off 4 hours of sleep,

because who can sleep when they know what will take place

that next day??

My body tolerated the cytotec well and things started to slowly progress.

I was then started on a low dose of pitocin

and that really made the cramping start!

It started out as an upset stomach,

but slowly got worse and worse.

I started at 1cm dilation and had a long way to go!

I was having too many contractions with the pitocin

and my body wasn't handling it very well

so they had to lower my dose.

I was only supposed to be having 2-3 per screen.

Once they lowered my dose,

I was able to manage them a lot better!

At this point I could still talk through my contractions,

 but they were getting worse.

It was around 1:00 that I finally got to 2cm,

and it was decided to break my water

to help progress things.

I had a TON of amniotic fluid!

It was the weirdest feeling when they broke it.

After it was broken I felt my stomach.

It was not as round as it used to be.

I could actually feel the baby a lot better.

She was just on the other side of my skin!

The rest of the afternoon seemed to go by really fast,

but my progression was slow.

I brought my own birth (exercise) ball to labor on

and that helped at ton!

It gave such good support to my whole body.

I also loved the ice chips :)

The day dragged on and I used my breathing techniques

I had learned in our birthing class.

I took a couple doses of fentanyl to help take the edge off

the contractions.

However, the more you use it the less it works,

so I couldn't use it too much.

By 7:00 that evening, the pain had really hit.

I was only about 3.5cm dilated.

I was starting to feel discouraged at this point.

I had been in labor for about 12 hours 

and I wasn't even half way done.

I was exhausted, hungry,

and dying of thirst.

I had snuck a couple sips of Matt's gatorade,

my sister's slushie,

and a few goldfish,

but that was all I was running off of.

I had no energy to get through the contractions!

The evening continued as kind of a blur.

My midwife Carrie Ann arrived

and gave me amazing labor support.

I remember begging for an epidural

from the intense pitocin induced contractions.

Everyone in the room knew I did not want 

the epidural so they would not give it to me.

At those moments, I hated them :)

In the end though, I was so grateful they didn't let me!

One of the amazing things about laboring naturally

and with no epidural,

is being able to move in labor.

There were many positions and options for me

to help manage my pain.

In addition to the birth ball,

the hospital bed was able to convert into a chair.

This was called the "throne" position.

The hospital also had a "peanut ball" for me to use.

It is an exercise ball, just in the shape of a peanut.

This was my favorite to use in labor.

It really got things moving and it was comfortable.

I used it to lean on and to straddle.

A little before midnight something started to change.

I was in the bed focusing on getting through contractions,

when I felt the urge to push.

I opened my eyes to look at Matt by my bedside,

and told him to get a nurse because this baby was coming!

He looked startled and started to get scared.

This meant the baby was coming 

and would have to come out of me!

The part I was super nervous for.

The nurse came in to check how far dilated I was,

and I was only 7cm.

She told me not to push and to breath through the contractions,

because if I pushed I would swell my cervix.

At this point EVERY contraction was a wave of pushing.

I could not "breath" through the urge to push!

It was near to impossible.

After a few more contractions where I pushed through half

and "breathed" through the others,

I kept saying this baby was coming!

The nurse checked me again and I was  finally complete at 10cm.

However, I still had to "breath" through them

since the doctor was not in the room yet.

The nurses started to scramble 

and I was not going to "breath" through another urge to push. 

I just let this baby come because I knew someone would catch her!

I had a few more sets of contractions,

and she started to crown.

After 17 hours of laboring naturally,

and within 20-30min of feeling the urge to push at 7cm,

she was born at 12:23am on July 6th.

I was amazed at how when Jordyn decided to come,
SHE CAME!
7cm to birth in that short amount of time.
It was almost as if she didn't want to be born on July 5th :)

I had some amazing skin to skin bonding moments

with my sweet baby.

I was finally a mother and there was no better feeling.

I was filled with such joy and love

that I cannot describe.

Our families were there to see our sweet babe.

It was such a joyous moment!

This little bundle of joy has completely changed our world.

We would do anything for her,

and I would go through the birthing experience anytime

if it meant getting this precious gift at the end :)