Big Sister

We knew shortly after Emery was born when we were supposed to try to add to our family, it was sooner than we had planned but we both knew and could't deny it.  I posted previously about my experience with my Granma dying, in it I mentioned that I asked her to do me a favor and take care of our babies that were supposed to come to our family and send them WHEN IT WAS THEIR TIME. At that point we had been trying for a baby for a while and knew for some reason that it would be a while. Months passed, a year passed, more time passed and no baby. "Infertility" is a hard thing, but we never felt bitter or angry because we knew that Granma would keep her promise and send our baby when it was the right time. 

We were coming up on the two year mark of trying for a baby when we thought that there was a chance I was pregnant. We didn't want to get our hopes up too much, we had just had the week of Grandpa-Great in the hospital, him dying and his funeral, but I felt like I knew that this time I was pregnant. We came home from Idaho and finally got up the courage to go and buy a pregnancy test. 

It is all in the Lord's timing. He knows exactly when we need things and how to make a sad time in our lives happier. We were sooooo excited that we finally got to add to our family! We gave Em these pajamas shortly after, but told her that they said "Emery is the cutest" when she asked. 

Another little story to go with this, I am not a very patient person. I am constantly praying to Heavenly Father to help me work on my patience. Shortly after the new year I was praying and thinking about things I wanted to work on, I thought about this and started to cry, I realized that I had been ignoring the biggest way Heavenly Father had been trying to teach me patience. It was just a couple of weeks later I found out that I was (am) pregnant.

We are so delighted for this little GIRL to join our family and when we finally told Emery she was stoked!

Enjoy the Journey.

Emery Kate Fielding: A Birth Story

The last week of pregnancy seemed to go at a normal pace. We went to the dr. on Thursday and she stripped my membranes. I had heard it was terrible but it wasn't that bad, just a lot of pressure. The next hour after that I had pretty regular contractions, but then it went back to just one here and there like I had been having for a few days. Friday started with garage sales, and I used my belly to my advantage to get good deals- "Does it help that my baby was due a week ago??" lol I had contractions off and on all day again and we went to the Orem Summer Fest that night. We were also introduced to the crosonic and half priced shakes-a favorite now for sure!!!

  Saturday we went to yard sales again and once again I used the bump to my advantage to get deals. It was crazy windy and our plans to go to the parade changed to just staying in. We went to dinner at 5 guys-(all I have been wanting lately is a good burger!!) and came home and watched a movie. Then we heard the fireworks start and decided to go drive state street to see them. After that we headed for shakes at Sonic. 

Sunday morning I woke up to the "bloody show" and text my mom, she was on her way (which she was going to be a bit later anyways because I was scheduled to be induced Monday morning). Jared decided to stay home from church too because I started having regular contractions about ten minutes apart; they only lasted for about an hour and then back to every so often like I had been having. My mom got to our house about one o'clock and Jared was boxing the last of the SEVEN bikes he had listed on ebay. (He felt bad boxing them on Sunday but knew it would be much easier to get them done  before she came.)

That afternoon we went through fabric that my mom had brought down and the rest of the stuff she had brought me. We went through my hospital bag as well as what I was planning to take for our little one. Around 6 we decided to start dinner. During this time I started having noticeable contractions every so often-nothing major at all but they were more frequent than they had been. Jared and mom did whatever they could to have me walk, stand up, sit down, bend over, squat, etc. Their ideas were ridiculous sometimes but they thought they were quite clever. :) My response to them was to bounce. Up and down until they passed. Jared and mom thought they were quite comical. At 7 my mom started timing them and keeping track. They were regular and between 5-10 minutes apart. After we finished dinner we decided to go and show my mom the houses that we had found driving to yard sales that are huge! As we were driving around contractions continued and I had to figure out how to bounce my way through them in the car. I figured it out but all I will say is it was quite funny looking and Jared and my mom pretended not to know me when we had to stop at lights.

When we got home from our drive we were just hanging out trying to make sure we had everything in the hospital bag that we wanted. My contractions were close enough together that we decided to call our good friends Dave and Julie Neal to see if Dave could come help give me a blessing. While we were waiting for them to come my mom started braiding my hair. It was half finished when they got to our apartment at about 9:30 and I received a beautiful blessing. Every time I had a contraction I would run into the kitchen and bounce in there because I didn't want Dave to make fun of me for the rest of my life (he is a big joker!).  They stayed for a while reminiscing about when they had their first child, and helping us pass the time, and my mom finished braiding my hair. . After they left I decided I wanted to get in the bath. Jared sat in there with me, but I shortly got out as I couldn't bounce in the tub. While I was in the tub my mom's cousin Kathy arrived. 

I got out of the tub and we went downstairs. Kathy was looking over my contaction times and was amazed at how close they were and the fact that we weren't at the hospital. She turned into a drill Sargent and started telling me when I needed to have another one-which usually happened. She called her husband Mark and he agreed that I should go-another one to go with everyone else's besides mine in the room. I thought they would just send me home, but I gave in and said we could go.

As we grabbed everything we were planning on taking and were heading out to the car I was still dragging my feet about going. Kathy bounced out to the car with me as I had another contraction. We got to the hospital at about 11 p.m.. They took me back and started hooking me up to monitor me to see if they were going to keep me. A nurse came in to check me and that was one of the worst experiences I had through this whole thing. In my opinion if you are a nurse in labor and delivery 1. you should be friendly and not cold towards patients and 2. you should NOT have long fingernails. It was more painful than having my membranes stripped.  I was at a 2.

My mom and Kathy came back to my room and I told my mom how terrible the nurse was, she took care of it right then and had my nurse switched. The charge nurse came in and talked to me about my experience and told me who my new nurse would be. About 1 they decided they would keep me because I would be coming in later that morning to be induced anyways. The charge nurse came in and started my IV (I was gbs positive and had to have meds). In my opinion you shouldn't come into the room and say that you aren't very good at doing IV's. That was the other bad experience through this, getting my IV. But I got it and the pain there helped me keep my mind off of contractions (to a point). The pain started getting pretty intense in my back but I didn't want to get an epidural. They told me that there was a medicine that they could give me through my IV that they could do once an hour. I decided to try it. As soon as I got it I felt like I was on laughing gas at the dentist and said that it was happy medicine. It allowed me to sleep off and on, but not for a long time. Jared and my mom laughed about the change because I was kinda loony-in a good way. (At some point Kathy had been sent back to our apartment to sleep and come back in the morning)

Just before 4:30 a.m. I got up to go to the bathroom and was in tears. I was in so much pain and just stood there hugging Jared crying. He and my mom started talking to me about getting an epidural, I just cried and told them that I was so stupid because I couldn't handle it. I felt like I was just stupid but I decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and was joking and laughing and such a nice guy. My mom stood next to me with her jacket held out blocking Jared's view (he was sitting in front of me) from the needle. This was the worst part of the whole thing for him. :) After I got the epidural I was able to sleep some again off and on. But then they watched her heart beat and decided I needed to be put on oxygen. We put on The Princess Diaries and I watched some here and there as I was awake. A few hours later they let me take it off but I don't know when that was. Every time they checked me I was half centimeter more at the most, sometimes not changing at all. Dr. Clark came at 8 a.m. to check in with us and see how things were going- we had previously met one of the residents who was working at the hospital at the time and we liked him as well. They ended up putting fluid back in to cushion her, and keep her away from the meconium. She told us that she was going back over to see some patients and teach, and would keep in contact and watch my monitors.

At some point Kathy came back, and kept everyone company. At 9:30 I was checked and I was still only at a 4.5.  At 10ish I think my mom and Kathy went and got some breakfast. I was starting to feel things and had a little moan. Jared just stroked my arm and it was exactly what I needed. They got back and sent Jared to get some food telling him that they could stroke my arm and do what I needed while he was gone. Shortly after he left I told Kathy it felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. She told me that meant that I was ready to push she thought. My mom went and told the nurse and she came in saying she would come back and check me as soon as Jared got back. At about 10:45 Jared was back and she checked me, I was at a ten! We couldn't believe it! We were amazed I had gone that fast after only going a MAX of a half centimeter an hour. Jared headed to tell my mom and Kathy standing outside and did a little dance when he got to the door. They totally thought he was joking too! The nurse grabbed the resident (who had just left the floor with 3 women in labor to fax some stuff because none of us were close) and they had me do some  practice pushes. At 11 Dr. Clark got there because they decided not to do rest and descend because of how low she was, it was time to push.

I was not prepared for the transformer bed! I was shocked when they started pulling it apart and grabbing things getting ready. The resident told my mom they were ready and things were going. Jared was amazing! He was there next to me and kept me going. When they asked if I wanted to see her head I responded with "Does she have hair?" That is all I wanted to know. :) Jared did awesome. (At some point I felt like I was going to throw up and started coughing but luckily I didn't.  Also the nurse called Jared Justin... totally random.) She came at 11:48 a.m. right before lunch like Dr. Clark said. She weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 in. long. They hurried and took her and the NICU team took her and started suctioning her  so she wouldn't breath the meconium and they kept saying "She just keeps pooping." I could hear and see my mom peeking in the door trying to take a picture. Jared went over to take pictures so I could see her. I had a comforting feeling that Emery was okay. I knew that was who she was. Jared came back over and showed me the pictures-I just wanted to see her for myself and hold her. It seemed like forever but it was about 20 minutes later I got to hold her. I looked up at Jared and said "I know who she is, do you?" He responded that she was Emery and what did I think her middle name was? (We had talked about this name and prayed for her by name for 2 weeks but when we headed to the hospital we were both pulling for different names. And when Dr. Clark asked me what we were going to name her-while I was pushing-I didn't even say Emery) I knew her middle name was Kate and he agreed, but we still didn't tell people because we wanted to make sure.

After a little while Jared took her to the nursery to get a bath and they packed me up to take me to recovery. A few hours later when mom and Kathy went to get lunch Jared and I talked and agreed that was who she was/is and when they came back we told them.

The next couple of days in the hospital were spent visiting with family and friends who came. I honestly only slept for a maximum of 2 hours during each day, we just had so many visitors. It was nice that my mom was able to come and stay for a while after she was born. Then we headed to Idaho with her! We came back for almost a week and headed back for 10 days. (During the back and forth Jared finished finals for his classes).

We cannot believe she is here and already 4 weeks old!!!!! We love her so much and are so thankful she is in our family.

Enjoy the Journey.

Orem Summer Fest

Friday June 8 we went to the Orem Summer Fest with Julie, Jill, Savanna and Kennedy. It was fun to just be out and walking around seeing the booths. Jared went on rides with Kennedy after Savanna did the two "scary ones" with her. 

 These are also some of the last pictures of me pregnant. (Don't worry since these pics I have had my hair trimmed and it looks much better-yikes I didn't realize how bad it was!!!)

Enjoy the Journey.

41 Weeks

How far along? 41 Weeks

Total weight gain: 25ish I think
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Yes, great the last 2 nights
Miss Anything? A large wardrobe
Movement: She has been in my ribs this week, I don't know why she decided this was fun all of the sudden but she did!
Food cravings: fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only the normal things that I think smell gross.
Gender: Girl 
Belly Button in or out? the top half is flat the bottom is in.
Wedding rings on or off? off, Jared's extra band
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Meeting her! Jared has all of his homework done and got his finals pushed back a few days! 

(UPDATE: On Thursday they stripped my membranes and I had lower back pain all day. I had 5 contractions in the first hour afterwards and then only a couple the rest of the day. I slept great that night and woke up well rested on Friday. Friday morning I lost my mucus plug, so it was encouragement by body was responding somewhat. Other than that I have felt normal. I am guessing she is staying put until she is served her eviction notice by the Dr. on Monday. They will call us when they are ready for us-Dr. Clark said it could be as early as 5 a.m. We are excited to meet her finally!!!)

Jared's "fashion glasses" I got for free at a garage sale. (terrible pic of me)

Enjoy the Journey.

40 Weeks

(I had actually already gotten in bed but put clothes back when I remembered to take the pic. And of course a cell phone pic so not amazing quality but it works.)

How far along? 40 Weeks

Total weight gain: 25ish I think
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep: Yes, but interrupted by 2-3 bathroom trips. :)
Miss Anything? A large wardrobe
Movement: She just shifts from side to side, staying mostly on the right. At night she moves around gently like crazy while Jared puts his hand on her.
Food cravings: A hamburger, cereal.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only the normal things that I think smell gross.
Gender: Girl 
Belly Button in or out? barely in, Jared checks it by the Hour sometimes!
Wedding rings on or off? off, Jared's extra band
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Meeting her! We are just so anxious but everyday means more homework done and closer to the term ending for Jared.

Enjoy the Journey.

Scripture Study

Last night Jared looked up "lds thought of the day" as he has he past few nights for our scripture study. (We have been getting in bed late and I have been so exhausted but these little tid bits have been exactly what we needed to heard and have provoked some really good conversations about how our life is changing.) 

This is exactly how he read this quote with the part in between the dashes added without hesitation. It made me smile.

“In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that --especially when giving birth--. When disappointment and discouragement strike, and they will, you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed.”

–Jeffrey R. Holland, “For Times of Trouble,” New Era, Oct. 1980, 15

Enjoy the Journey.

Motherhood

I was told I couldn't go to church today because of how exhausted I am and my head hurting. So I was sitting here listening to KLCE online and this song came on. It perfectly describes what I have been thinking about lately.

"To Bring Them Back to Me."

Sometimes I think about my life 

unsure of what to be. 

My friends and family give advice; 

They want what's best for me. 

Of all the things they see in me, 

What should I become?

 I need Thee, Lord,

 to help me choose,

 that Thy will may be done. 

Will I be prepared to fill woman's role,

 Accept the Lord's will with all of my soul, 

To raise children up, 

to love them, to lead? 

Will I take the time to bring them to Thee? 

My mother loves unselfishly, 

helps others in their need.

 She loves the teachings of the Lord

 and teaches them to me. 

Of all the things that she could choose,

 she chose the will of God, 

To love and lead us back to Him 

As hand in hand we walk. 

My mother prepares and fills woman's role, 

Accepts the Lord's will with all of her soul. 

She's taking the time to love and to lead, 

And she's taking time to bring us to Thee. 

As I prepare for motherhood

 And children I may raise, 

Be near me, Lord, that I may teach, Inspire in loving ways. 

Help me to walk the path that brings My children back to Thee, 

That we'll find joy throughout our lives, 

Together on our way. 

And I will prepare to fill woman's role, 

Accept the Lord's will with all of my soul.

 I'll raise children up, I'll love them, I'll lead, 

And I'll take the time to bring them to Thee.

 And as I prepare for children to raise, 

Be near me that I may bring them to Thee.

I have been blessed with an amazing mother who held me by the hand to "Bring me back to Him." She has and always will be my example in motherhood. I have learned so much from her as I have watched her quiet but GIANT example. In my eyes she casts a shadow of example far taller than her 5'5" body does. She is patient, kind, and loves unconditionally. She is always willing to do something for another person, which is something that I have really tried to apply into my life. 

 As I am preparing for this next step of motherhood I pray and hope that I can do the same thing with my children; that I may lead them back to Him. What a blessing and a responsibility it is to be entrusted by Heavenly Father to raise one of His choice Spirits. Jared and I cannot wait to meet her and get to know her better. We are so ready to have her (more fully) in our home and learn and grow with her, as well as other children that will come into our home in the years to come.

Enjoy the Journey.

39 Weeks

Here is another picture taken at 39 Weeks-before a morning of yard sales. :) 

Enjoy the Journey.

39 Weeks

Thank goodness for cell phone pictures. :)

(Sorry about the weird highlighting behind the words.)

How far along? 39

Total weight gain: 24 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes and sweats. :)
Sleep: lots and lots
Miss Anything? nope
Movement: All of the time. The dull ache in the right side of my ribs grows throughout the day as she pushes on them, but she doesn't kick them, She gets the hiccups several times a day. She moves a lot when we get in bed which is fun for Jared to be able to feel her going crazy.

Food cravings: Yes. I just wanted a hamburger this week. SOOO strange for me but I had 2 (one saturday at 5 guys) and Jared made me one on Sunday. It was sooo good.
Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of In and Out/greasy food (a block away from us)
Gender: Girl 
Belly Button in or out? barely in, Jared checks it by the Hour sometimes!
Wedding rings on or off? off-Jared's extra band

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: Getting to meet her! We are so close!!! Every night we talk about how we can't believe how close we are and how she is OURS. And that we don't have to share her-but we will.... it will just take some getting used to. :)

Enjoy The Journey.

38 Weeks

(I will be 39 weeks on Saturday but this is the picture I had so I am updating this for last week and will do another one on Saturday).

 38 Weeks

How far along? 38

Total weight gain: 22 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yes or Jared's basketball shorts. :)
Sleep: lots and lots
Miss Anything? nope
Movement: All of the time. The dull ache in the right side of my ribs grows throughout the day as she pushes on them, but she doesn't kick them.

Food cravings: nope
Anything making you queasy or sick: the smell of In and Out/greasy food (a block away from us)
Gender: Girl 
Belly Button in or out? barely in, Jared checks it by the Hour sometimes!
Wedding rings on or off? off-Jared's extra band

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: Getting to meet her! We are so close!!!

Jared practicing working on Ebay while holding Diana (Mike and Shanda's baby).

Enjoy the Journey.

Daddy Daughter Talks

Jared does a good job telling our baby that he loves her, or telling her how crazy her mom is, or other random things. This week he has had a few more serious talks with her. 

After going to the bathroom 5 times in 1 hour on Friday night I asked him to have a talk with her about her joy in hitting my bladder. As he did so he told her how much he loved her and how her mom already had problems with her bladder and she should stop playing around so that her mom could get some sleep. He promised her a cookie if she listened! He told her again how much he loves her and told her goodnight. We found out that we have an obedient daughter-she listened to him and let me sleep.

At our appointment yesterday Dr. Clark told us that she thinks that Monday would be a great day to have a baby-she thinks it would just be convenient for everyone plus she would have her birthday off every few years. So last night I told Jared to have a talk with her about it so we could see if she listens. As he talked to her he mentioned how she had done a good job 2 nights in a row being nice to my bladder and he owed her 2 cookies. He continued how it would be nice if she could come Monday and told her that she would get 20 cookies if she listened! Plus another cookie if she was nice to my bladder last night! He again told her how much he loves her and told her goodnight. 

She listened and was nice to my bladder last night so we shall see if she is obedient to the rest of her talk she got! 

Enjoy the Journey.

Date Night

(on the 4th)  Jared asked me on a hot date to Chili's and the park, topped off with DI. :) I am trying to get better about bringing our camera and taking pictures!! I know it will be constant in June, but I need to document the times before that too. I am not a fan of pictures of me right now because I feel like my face looks fat in pictures. I don't feel that way when I look in the mirror, so I don't know what is going on. 

Of course a belly shot. :) (35.5 wks)

I will post pictures another time of our park adventure-they are on the other camera which isn't here right now. Also during our park adventure this girl recognized jared from at least 30 yards away he had a class with while we were engaged. Turns out their great grandpas are cousins-pretty exciting but it was crazy trying to get it figured out!


Enjoy the Journey.

Idaho Ward Baby Shower

My sister and Carol Messick threw me a baby shower for those who are in Shelley. It was so fun and they put a lot of hard work into it! The food was amazing (especially the "pizza" that Carol forgot to put out so I got to take it home), the company was great, our little one was SPOILED, advice cards were full of laughter, in the end I was exhausted! Thanks to all who came and supported us! (Somehow my mom managed to escape the camera... But I think Karissa had her camera too, so hopefully!)

 Traditional quilt tying! I actually didn't tie a knot, but this is what we do instead of playing games. (Funny Becky and Julie are there together-the same thing happened at my family bridal shower.)

 Friends!

 My adorable Grandma (and a nice shot of Becky chewing)

 Anderson Girls!

 Apparently Jared's and my sister are more alike than we knew. :)

Enjoy the Journey.