Clara's birth story.

Clara Sophia is here!!

Born at 9:03 pm on May 25th.

5lbs 2 ounces.

17 inches long.

Here's her birth story: 

Friday night, Michael gave me a beautiful blessing. It was much needed and made me feel very excited and blessed to be welcoming another little spirit into our home.

I am so grateful to be married to a worthy priesthood holder.

It definitely is a blessing in our home.

We woke up on Saturday morning around 6:30 am.

Although I had been awake a while. I hardly slept that night.

It's hard to explain the feelings I was feeling because there were so many different emotions.

So much excitement and relief with a little bit of nervousness all at the same time.

We got to the hospital around 7:30 am. I had already preregistered so it took less than 5 minutes.

Before I knew it we were in our room and I was putting on my lovely hospital gown.

The nurses did the usual blood pressure and temperature and then started an IV.

The nurse struggled getting it in my left arm, so she had to restart another on my right.

After she did this I started to feel extremely light headed. And even though I was lying down I felt like I was going to pass out any second.

I was given water, a wet rag, and a barf bag. 

(Michael was in the bathroom for this part and was a little surprised to come out and see me with a rag on my forehead holding the barf bag up to my mouth. He was disappointed he missed all the action. I told him not to worry there would be plenty of that later!)

Apparently it is common to feel that way after getting an IV.

So luckily I started to feel better shortly after.

My doctor came in and checked me.

I was still a 2 and 70% effaced.

He told me that they were ready to start the petocin.

The would start it at  0 and then increase it 2 points every 30 minutes.

And so it began.

The seconds, minutes, and hours passed by.

Very slowly.

I was having regular contractions every 2-3 minutes although I swear I didn't feel all of them.

Some were stronger than others and I was definitely feeling them in my back. 

But thanks to a heating pad and the movie Shes the Man I was able to distract myself a little bit from the pain. 

Sometime during all of this I started to get extremely emotional. And just started bawling.

This is not like me at all.

And at first I couldn't put my finger on it, I just felt so weird and so empty.

And then I realized. I missed my Olivia.

I felt guilty for not being as good of a mom as I know I could've been the past 9 months, I felt sad that this was it. She would no longer be my only baby. It wouldn't just be her and I anymore.

Michael called my mom up so that we could talk to her.

I couldn't. Just hearing her cute little voice made me cry even harder. 

My mom said that she would bring her over if that would make me feel better but I didn't know if it would because I knew that at some point she would have to leave again and that would just make things harder.

It took a while for me to get control. I'm sure part of it was definitely hormonal because I usually am not known for being an emotional person.

I decided that since Michael's parents and sisters were coming up they could bring her by for a bit because I really did just want to see her.

In the mean time I was starting to get more and more uncomfortable and my back was really hurting.

The doctor came in to check me to see how things were progressing.

This was probably around 12:30 pm.

And I was still a 2. Nothing had really changed and I was on the maximum dosage of petocin.

(Oh by this point my mom was here and Michael's parents were with Olivia.)

So the doctor decided that it would be best to break my water.

Oh my gosh was that a treat ha. With Olivia I had already gotten an epidural at this point and so I don't really remember them breaking my water.

But since I didn't have my epidural I felt everything and holy cow it the weirdest feeling ever.

I seriously felt like I was peeing all over the place. Every time I moved it felt like I was peeing my pants. And I just kept saying that to the nurses, Michael and to my mom. Who definitely thought I was crazy, but it was such a funny feeling I just couldn't stop talking about it.

This went on for 15 or so minutes. Apparently it takes that long for all the fluid to drain out.

At this point, I also decided that I wanted an epidural. I had never had any intention of going natural and wanted to make sure I had it in time for the pushing phase because I did not want to feel any of what would be going on down there ha. 

My anesthesiologist was amazing and did such a good job of explaining every little thing he did.

If he said it was going to feel like I hit my funny bone on the table then it felt like I hit my funny bone on the table ect. It was a little painful but definitely so worth it. Michael stood by my side the whole time with his hand on my shoulder. Having him with me was so comforting and I knew that everything would be alright as long as he was there.

I was given my little button that I could push every 15-30 minutes if I felt like I needed a little more.

Oh how I love that button.

About 10 minutes later my legs started to feel heavy and I knew the epidural was doing its job.

Don't kid yourself though, I was obsessed with squishing and pinching all parts of my lower half to make sure they were numb. 

It wasn't necessarily that I was scared to feel pain from my contractions because I wasn't, it was that 

ever since my episiotomy with Olivia I have some sort of anxiety of having another one or tearing and being able to feel it. It just sends shivers down my spine to think of it. So it was crucial that I be numb.

My right side was a lot more numb than my left side but the nurses kept reassuring me that I was numb enough and that if the epidural wasn't working right I would be feeling it. Although I was still feeling occasional contractions they just weren't very painful.

Michael's family stopped by and brought Olivia for a little bit.

It was so good to see Olivia even though she showed absolutely not interest in me ha. She was loving all the attention from her grandparents and aunts:)

After they left the hardest part began.

The waiting.

I was thinking that I would be in labor for 8 hours or less since with Olivia it took me exactly 8 hours and they say that you usually have a shorter labor with your second.

Well let me tell you that is so not true!

At around 5:30 pm or so the doctor came in to check me.

And what do you know, I was a 5. 

Yay! Ha.

I'm not going to lie both Michael and I were a bit disappointed and began preparing ourselves for a long night. Thinking she probably wouldn't be born until at least midnight.

Although even though my pregnancy and labor and so far been the complete opposite of Olivia's, I still had hope that once I got to a 6 she would come very fast like Olivia did.

So at around 8:25 pm the nurse came in and said that the baby's heart rate was starting to dip a little bit with the contractions which is often a sign that things are getting close.

So she checked me and I was a 6! But apparently her head was very low.

So she left and told me to call her if I felt any pressure.

Michael called my mom (who had gone home to put Olivia in bed) and told her she better come back. 

 About 15 minutes later I started to feel a little more pressure and just when I was about to call the nurse she came back in and said the baby's heart rate was still dipping and that she wanted to check me again.

I was an 8!! 

At this point I knew I was close and was starting to panic because my mom still wasn't there.

Michael called again and said you better run!

Well 5 minutes later I felt even more pressure. The nurse checked me again and said I was a 10 and that the baby was right there.

She told me not to push and ran to get the doctor.

My mom arrived and we were ready to go.

About 5 contractions later, our baby girl was born.

Things got a little intense with my last two contractions because her heart rate was dipping extremely low and the doctors were starting to get a little worried.

Luckily I'm a good pusher and had her out in no time:)

When she came out she was not crying.

They placed her on my chest and began rubbing and patting her back.

Encouraging her to cry.

Her heart rate was still quite low.

I know I probably should have been worried, but I wasn't.

I knew everything was going to be just fine. My baby was here and I couldn't have felt more relieved.

After a couple minutes she finally started to cry and her heart rate started going up.

I'm telling you, that skin to skin stuff really works!

The nurses didn't try to take her but instead let me lay there and hold my baby.

I loved this. Because with Olivia they took her right away from me.

I was able to hold her for over an hour before they took her just over to the other side of the room to get her stats and such after which they brought her right back to me.

I could not stop looking at her face.

She was absolutely perfect and I already loved her more than I could ever say.

She's my precious Clara.

After about 30 or so minutes. (I tore a little bit so it took the doctor a little bit to get that all fixed  up Sorry if this is way to much detail but I want to remember these things. Oh good thing my epidural worked right?:)) 

Michael's family had been waiting at the hospital with Olivia and it was time for her to meet her new "baby ta."

At first when Olivia sat on my bed and looked at her she looked a little scared. Like she had no idea what was going on.

But within a couple minutes she was laying down right next to me.

Clara had her eyes open and was looking right at Olivia who was looking right back.

It was the most precious thing ever.

Michael and I both started crying.

I think at that point we knew that our two little girls without a doubt already knew each other and were very excited to finally be together.

To be sisters and best friends.

Enjoy the pictures!

All hooked up and ready to go.

Let the waiting begin.

Watching She's the Man.

(That blue thing is my barf bag. Cute huh?!)

Michael's parents and sisters brought Olivia to visit for a little while.

Laying on my side trying to get my left side to numb:)

Olivia and Pa. 

Not wanting a picture!

Getting anxious to meet our little girl!

She's here!

Admiring our perfect little Clara. 

So relieved and in love with my girl.

Holding my baby's hand.

I love Michael's face in this picture.

The first thing he said when she came out was, "Oh wow I forgot how small they are!"

Daddy and Clara.

Olivia meeting her new little sister for the first time! 

Not quite sure what to think.

(I love that Clara is holding my finger, so precious.)

My two girls just staring at each other.
For quite a while.

This obviously caused some serious crying from both Michael and I.

It was such a sweet and spiritual moment.

I'm sure we'll never ever forget it.

There's our girl!

She definitely looks like Olivia in this picture:)

Same size as her big sister was!

Olivia holding Clara for the first time.

She loves her so much.

Having a baby is by far one of the most spiritual and wonderful experiences I've ever had.

I feel so very blessed to be a mother to two perfect baby girls and can't wait for the upcoming adventures we'll have as a family of 4!

Some cute videos.

Here are two very cute videos of our Olivia.

I'm working on a few blog posts about our little Clara and her arrival.

So stay tuned for that.

She is obsessed with this song and sings it all the time!

Reading one of her favorite books.

Go Dog Go.

She is just the cutest.

Vacuuming, otterpops, and my ya pos.

This little girl is such a good helper. One of her favorite things to do is help me vacuum.

She loves getting it out of the closet all by herself and then will say, "mommy's turn, yiya's turn."

It's adorable.

Enjoying a sunny day here in Salem.

In fact it was so hot that we both literally ate 10 otterpops each!

For some reason Olivia has gotten in the habit of dumping her milk out of her sippy cup.

She does it at the kitchen table, in her bed, on the floor. Really everywhere.

It's been driving me crazy and we are in the process of nipping that little habit.

Well one day, I looked over to the fireplace and saw a huge puddle of milk with all of her "my ya pos" sitting right in it.

Their hair was soaking wet and it really was just sort of gross.

So Olivia took a bath and so did her my ya pos.

And then I proceeded to yes blow dry and comb their hair.

Ha, can you believe I am styling my little ponies hair?

But I really didn't want their hair to be a tangled mess.

So twenty minutes later after a little bit of work I had a nice clean baby and 5 nice clean my ya pos with  styled hair.

I love being a mom!

I love him.

(A paragraph in a love letter Michael gave me on April 19, 2009)

"I promise to you that I will be your safe haven, that harbor where you can rest after treading on stormy waters.  You don't have to worry, because everything's all right.  I'll be your constant Bella, your one sure thing in life. I'll honor and cherish you and respect you.  When the morning sun rays dance on your olive skin and wake you every morning, when the evening stars sing love to your ears, when our children are screaming for dinner and you don't feel as if you can stand on your feet even one minute longer, and most importantly, when the morning of the First Resurrections dawns brilliant and bright, you won't have to wonder where I am, or what I'm thinking or doing.  My devotion is yours forever, and you can fall asleep every night knowing that, just as I always have from the foundations of time, will be right by your side with my hand in yours.

I've been wanting to write this post for quite some time now, but have keep procrastinating because I feel like it is impossible for me to express in words my gratitude and love for my husband.  I want whoever reads this (mostly our children) to know how much I love their dad and that no matter what we've been through and will go through the love I have for him is eternal and only grows stronger with each passing day.

I feel like the past nine months have been some of my hardest.

I never imagined in a million years that being pregnant would be as hard on me as it has been.

Olivia's pregnancy was so different.

Physically I don't think I've ever been so sick, so tired, and in so much pain, for such a long period of time.

Emotionally I've felt exhausted, like I'm not being the mom or wife I should be.

I've felt guilty.

Guilty for laying on the couch all day while Olivia runs around making messes, guilty for having to have my husband come home from a long day of school to a messy house, a child that desperately needs attention, no dinner, no clean clothes, and a not so nice me. 

But he doesn't complain. Instead he has not only continued to fulfill his role as a student, father and husband, but he's taken over mine as well. He's cleaned, fed us dinner, picked up endless foods and treats to satisfy my neverending cravings, taken care of Olivia, and taken care of me.

I honestly can say that I've probably done the dishes 10 times these past nine months.

Without me even having to ask, he sees what needs to be done and does it.

I could go on and on about all he's done, all he's put up with, but I won't because that isn't what's most important.

What's most important is that no matter what he's been there for me, by my side holding my hand.

Just like he said in that love note 4 years ago.

And that means more to me than anything else.

Besides having such a hard pregnancy there have been other things that Michael and I have had to work through, hard things. Things we're still working through. But these things are making us stronger,  bringing us closer, and increasing our love for each other that much more.

Life isn't easy, it wasn't meant to be.

I just am grateful I picked Michael to be mine, to go through the wonderful and hard things of life with.

To be with me side by side hand in hand forever.

Despite hard times and trials.

Michael and I are so very blessed.

We are blessed to have each other.

We are blessed with the most beautiful perfect little girl.

We are blessed with another beautiful perfect baby girl who we will be meeting in just 3 short days.

We are blessed with incredibly loving and supportive families on both sides including extended.

We are blessed with a cute apartment and a car.

We are blessed with the opportunity Michael has to go to Law school and for me to be able to stay at home and be a mom.

And we are mostly blessed with the knowledge we have of the gospel, that we are never alone, and that we forever and always will be a family.

So for today and for always I am grateful for my Michael.

The love of my life, my eternal companion.

I'm so proud of the incredible person, husband, and father he is.

And how hard he is working in school so that he can support our family.

And how he's always striving to be better.

I couldn't have picked a better person to share my life with.

I love you Michael.

She's coming!!!! (May 25th that is.)

At my most recent doctor's appointment, my sweet doctor said it was time for me to be done.

He said that the earliest he could induce me was 38 weeks.

So Saturday, May 25th is the day.

We will arrive bright and early at 7:30 am and it will be the day we FINALLY meet our baby Clara.

Unless I go in to labor before then:)

I can hardly wait.

6 days just seems like so long, but I know it will be here before we know it!

Until then I have 1 non-stress test and 2 ultrasounds scheduled this week.

So unless something isn't right with those, this baby will be born Saturday.

My mom is coming on Wednesday thankfully. We can hardly wait.

I feel like I have so much to do, yet I feel like everything is completely ready for her arrival.

I'm just making lists of things to do to help the time go faster:)

So here's to 6 days and counting!

I can hardly wait to hold my sweet baby girl in my arms.

It's been a long and hard nine months and it's time to finally meet her.

My baby sleeps in a toddler bed now.

We've had this cute little bed for a while now but decided that it would be nice to make the transfer before Clara comes.

Even though Clara will be sleeping in my room for a while I still would like her to take a nap or two every day in the crib so that she gets used to it.

At first, Olivia was not pleased with the idea of giving her crib to the baby. She would say, " Yiya seep dis bed, baby ta seep new new bed." (Olivia sleep in this bed, and baby Clara sleep in the new new bed)

Michael and I would talk her through it by telling her that she was a big girl now and that baby Clara was too tiny to sleep in the big girl bed and needed Olivia to let her use her crib.

Luckily Olivia agreed and has made the transfer with out too much difficulty.

Except for the fact that she gets out of her bed a few times every night/nap before finally falling asleep. 

She was doing this in the crib as well so it is nothing new.

So our current issue is figuring out how to get her to stay in bed.

Olivia is very stubborn and we've tried a lot of different things including letting her pick a treat/toy from a little bag if she stays in her bed.

But so far that hasn't worked.

We currently take her binky for 20 minutes or so when she gets out, which she HATES.  

But it seems to be working so we are hoping for a night really soon that she stays in her bed.

This is the hard part of being parents. Especially first timers.

So if you have any suggestions, feel free to share!

On the bright side, once she falls asleep she stays in bed for the duration of her nap or until around 7:30 am in the morning. So at least I don't have to worry about her wondering around in the middle of the night.

(I should probably knock on wood now!)

Anyway, isn't she just the cutest little thing in it?

Michael and I love to go check on her and just stare at her little body in that big bed.

I'm not going to lie, it makes us both sad and we definitely don't like that she is growing up.

We just want her to stay tiny forever!

No baby yet.

I had my ultrasound today with the perinatologist.

Our little one is currently weighing in at 4 lbs 9 ounces.

Everything is still measuring around the 5th percentile but the perinatologist feels like it would be best to keep her in there a little longer.

Which could mean days or even weeks. Most likely around 38 weeks at the latest. Which is still 1.5 weeks away.

I will still have the usual 2 ultrasounds and 2 non stress tests a week.

These appointments are definitely getting old. I feel like I live at the doctor's office and like they are just waiting for her to show signs of stress.

Which I don't want to just wait, I want to get her out before she shows signs of stress!

But I do trust my doctors so I'm going to have to hang in there.

The news was a bit disappointing, mostly for selfish reasons. Like I  can hardly wait to be done being pregnant and I of course am so ready to meet our little girl.

Yet on the other hand I really want what is best for her. And if staying in a little longer means no NICU and being able to stay with me and come home with me. I will do it.

There were a few tears shed today and there may be more shed in the coming days but I know that she will come when she is ready.

Which hopefully is sooner than later:)

For now I am just going to comfort myself by eating endless pieces of pie.

(I discovered Shari's Pies today and already have had 1 slice with two more waiting for me in the fridge!)

36 weeks.

36 weeks!

It's definitely been a crazy couple weeks with at least 4 appointments a week.

Luckily our little one has passed each ultrasound/non stress test with flying colors!

Tomorrow is a big day for us. I have a ultrasound with my high risk doctor who will be measuring every part of her (like he did 2 weeks ago) and if she has not really grown and is still measuring small. I will be induced.

My doctor said probably Thursday. 

This is the exact same thing that happened with Olivia who was born at just over 37 weeks.

Part of me is like please be ready to be born baby because I am so done being pregnant and so ready to meet her. But another part of me wants to make sure she stays in there as long as possible so that she is born completely healthy.

But I guess we'll find out tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Just a few symptoms I want to document:

*Still sicker than a dog. What would I do without zofran? Um probably die ha. Just kidding but seriously!

* Heartburn. Never have had this before but it definitely is not fun. I've heard that the more heartburn you have the more hair your baby has! Ha. We'll find out if that's true soon.

*My sciatic nerve is killing me. Some nights I wake up to go to the bathroom or to check on Olivia and it literally takes me ten minutes just to get from my bed to the toilet. I really wonder if I'm going to be permanently paralyzed or something. If you've experienced this you know what I'm talking about.

*My bladder is completely out of control. Yes, I pee my pants all the time. In fact, just this last Sunday as I was taking Olivia out to the car I set my stuff on top of the car and opened her door. In that amount of time she of course darted right out in to the busy parking lot. I obviously went chasing after her all while peeing my pants. I have absolutely no control ha. (Oh and  p.s Michael had already been in the car waiting so you know he was laughing watching this.) 

But I've said it before and I'll say it again.

 Every second of this nausea, pain, and even peeing my pants is worth it 100%.

And I can't wait to meet my baby girl.

Maybe Thursday?!

One of those moments.

To me this picture is worth a thousand words.

It is the reaction of Winston and Emerson seeing each other (even if was just skype) for the first time in 20 months.

Both missionaries now.

I could feel a part of that special bond both were feeling as missionaries and the love and respect they have for each other.

I can't explain how wonderful it was to talk to my two missionary brothers. 

It was the best thing ever.

I am so proud of each of them. They are such a great example to me of sacrifice, dedication, and service.

Both are doing so well and loving their missions.

Winston has under 4 months left and Emerson has been out for 2 1/2 months.

Winston is serving in Stockbridge, Georgia, and Emerson in Farmington, Connecticut. He is helping prepare that area for the new temple! 

Each day I pray for these two boys and the work they are doing. And I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with two of the best brothers I could ask for.

Showing off their tags!

What an incredible day it was with me in Oregon, my family in Utah, Winston in Georgia, and Emerson in Connecticut all being able to talk at the same time.

It will be a day I'm sure we'll always remember.

Happy Mother's Day.

Being a mother to this sweet girl is perhaps the greatest blessing I have.

She without a doubt has far more of an impact on me than I do on her.

And I feel so blessed to hopefully VERY soon be welcoming sweet Clara in to our family.

I truly believe that being a wife and a mother is the greatest gift I have and will ever receive.

And Happy Mother's Day to my dear mom.

I would not be where I am today without her.

She taught me how to be a wife and a mother.

And I can only hope that my own children have the same love and respect for me someday that I do for her.

I love you mom!

I can't wait to see you very very soon:)

And a Happy Mother's Day to my mother in law and all you other mothers/women out there.

Instagram picture overload.

It's super nice to have an Iphone.

I know I've said that before but I love it.

One of the things I love about it is instagram.

So here are some pictures I've posted on instagram over the weeks.

And since I'm too lazy to write a post for each one I'll compile them all in to one post.

Enjoy!

Little Olivia scared because there is a tiny spider on the floor.

I know I'm a mean mommy taking her picture before I help her!

Waiting at Les Schwab for our car early one morning.

Lucky girl got to have a little bit of Mountain Dew in her bottle.

You can imagine how quickly she woke up after drinking it:)

Made 10 burp cloths for baby Clara. 

I do most of the cooking around here but I'm not going to lie, Michael makes a to die for turkey sandwich. 

Cereal for dinner?

Yes this totally has been happening around here lately.

Maybe a bit too much.

At least our cereal choice is healthy right?:) Ha!

Playing with her new ball and having a little snack outside in the sunshine!

Playing at the park with dad!

Me and my cute girl.

I love her face in this picture.

I have been craving banana cream pie but have had a hard time finding a place to get a slice.

Michael surprised me one night with this goodness.

Sadly, he ended up eating most of it because it was not up to par.

So if anyone knows of where I can get a decent slice of banana cream pie let me know.

The craving is still going strong!

Running sprints one morning with daddy.

Happy hour at Taco Bell!

We love their baja blast and lemonade slushies.

Olivia got out of bed one night and we just couldn't resist letting her stay up to watch a movie and eat ice cream with us!

It was a hot day. So hot that she decided to read her books right in front of the fan!

Mailing packages of yummy brownies and cookies to my cute missionary brothers!

Packing my hospital bag.

You never know right?!

Olivia's hospital stay round 2.

This all started April 27th.

On Saturday night, Olivia started coughing and acting like she might be getting a cold so when Sunday morning rolled around we decided not to take her to church. Michael stayed home with her while I went. 

Well, while I was gone I got a text from him saying that she seemed to be having a hard time breathing. (She was starting to act like she did last time she got sick and was hospitalized.) She was also coughing very hard and it was kind of a weird cough because it sounded a lot like a seal barking. So I came home and we decided to call the doctor. 

After a couple of hours of her worsening (her chest and tummy were seriously moving up and down so hard and you could tell she was really struggling to breathe)  the doctor told us to take her to the emergency room. 

Luckily we didn’t really have to wait because our doctor had called in. Apparently some people had been waiting for over 3 hours! Well the doctor there looked at her and said that she for sure had Croup. He said all we had to do was give her a breathing treatment and a shot of medicine and that she should be fine. So, finally 4 hours later we were able to go home! Olivia seemed to be doing much better. 

However, that night things started up again. Not so much the cough but the retractions (that’s what they call it when the skin up by your collar bone and by your rib cage is sucking in really hard when you breathe). So, Monday morning I called the doctor again and we took her in. They gave her another breathing treatment (it’s a nebulizer with medicine that we hold by her nose and she just breathes it in for 15 minutes or so). He told us to take her home and come back if it got worse. Well it did. So we took her back and that is when they decided that we needed to take her back to the hospital. This time we would be staying at least the night. 

Just like last time they were all ready for us. But unlike last time we were told that she would need an IV.  It was so horrible to watch and actually have to hold her down. We did this in a room way across the hall and Michael could hear her screaming from all the way in her room. Which of course made him come running. We were both literally in tears. It’s so hard to watch your child in pain, I seriously wish more than anything that I could have taken her place. She also had to be tested  for RSV which was done by shoving a long cotton swab like thing up her nose. This was just as horrible to watch. It definitely a rough couple hours getting checked in and situated.

Well, to make a potentially very long story shorter we were in the hospital from Monday to Thursday morning. Olivia received constant medication through the IV and breathing treatments every 2 hours even through the night. A couple of the nights we had to hook her up to oxygen because her oxygen levels would drop so low.  In fact, being the smart mommy that I am I (Just kidding) came up with an easy way of giving Olivia oxygen without having to put those little tubes up her nose which she obviously hated. I would tighten the tubes and hook them right on her binky so that they were leaning right up against the top of it without going up her nose, giving her enough oxygen to keep her levels where they should've been. When the morning nurses came in to check on us they told me that every one was talking about it and they had never had anyone do that. They said it was a pretty good idea. I know, I'm bragging a little bit, but it made me feel good. After all it has always been my dream to be a nurse:) 

Olivia was definitely a favorite among the nurses. She was very cooperative and the second one would come in she would immediately lift up her gown so that they could listen to her heart. She had a couple visitors and even was given a stuffed animal dog and giraffe as well as two new puzzles. Lucky girl!

She was a sick baby but finally started getting better Wednesday however, they still though it would be best to keep her one more night just to watch her because at nights is when she would struggle the most. So on Thursday morning we were finally able to take her home! It was a long 4 days. Michael and I both spent every night with her. I slept in a bed with Olivia and Michael slept on a little bench thing. Neither of us really left the hospital unless it was for my doctor’s appointments or for Michael to pick up some food. We both struggled sleeping, especially me because the nurses would wake me up every two hours when they did the breathing treatments or checked her vitals. 

The doctors have diagnosed Olivia with Asthma. And so we now have our very own nebulizer in which we have to do 2 breathing treatments a day with. Each treatment she gets 2 medications.  One that helps with the asthma and one that will hopefully prevent further attacks. We have to do the breathing treatments twice a day for at least 4 weeks and then we will move down to just 1 treatment a day for another couple months. After that we will just do the treatments as needed. Like if it is allergy season or flue season or we are taking her to a place where there is a lot of dust, ect. We still don't know what triggers it which is why we have to take a lot precautions. We do have our suspicions about the Ag festival and being around all those animals and hays. Hopefully we'll eventually figure it out. We also will always have a little inhaler for her if she needs it. So that being said, she is doing sooo much better but definitely has asthma. 

Here are a few pictures from our stay. 

So tired and really not feeling good. 

She treated her little hand with the IV in it like a sore. Which it really was but she always kept it tucked up against her and wouldn't let anyone near it. 

Poor little thing.

Sleeping with my sick baby.

Isn't she precious?

One of her favorite things about staying at the hospital was the endless popsicles that she got! Every time a nurse came in she would ask them for an "osticle." It's so cute how she says it. She would even sometimes press the call button so that she could tell them she wanted one. I'm sure they felt so good on her little throat.

On the way back to the hospital from one of my appointments I stopped at the gift shop to get Olivia a balloon. And I just couldn't resist this little elephant balloon. Seriously cutest thing ever. It pretty much just hops right a long next to her when she walks. I think I may have loved it just as much as she did:)

Going for a little walk around the halls.

Michael apparently didn't know he was going to be in the picture:)

Isn't she too tiny to be hooked up to an IV and wearing a gown and such?

I think so.

We are so grateful for all the prayers on her behalf. We could definitely feel them.  It was a really rough 5 days for our family but we got through it and are definitely stronger because of it.

I just hope that was our last hospital stay for a while. 

Oh wait, I'm having a baby in a few weeks!

Ha but after that I swear we are done for a very long time!

AG Festival.

While at a doctors appointment my nurse told me about a fun festival that was going on.

It's called the AG festival. (Apparently people here really like it.)

When we looked it up and saw that there was a petting zoo we knew Olivia would love it!

When we got there we had a quick lunch of hot dogs and then headed straight to the animals.

Olivia was a bit freaked out at first and would not touch them.

She was very interested in just looking at them from a distance:)

After seeing her dad pet all the animals she decided that she might just be brave enough to touch a few!

We of course spent most of our time here because she was really loving it.

I was really impressed with how many different animals they had and how interactive they let you be with them.

A cute baby cow.

A baby goat.

Looking at all the chickens.

Some were so funny looking with their little puffler heads ha.

The big cow.

I love her little squat.

She loved petting the two baby bunnies.

They had a place where you could ride ponies but the line was forever long and Olivia is so funny about horses because she'll only ride the big ones (Riverbellsissy) and she'll only do it if Aunti Phoph and the twins are with her. So I guess she'll have to wait until July to ride!

Then, Olivia and dad got to go look at a giant bees nest.

We of course couldn't resist taking this picture!

Since it was so hot outside we decided to get a big snow cone and ice cream bar to share.

(Excuse my extreme whiteness. Oh my gosh I've got to start using my Jergens tanning lotion:))

Going home.

I tried to get her to look at me but apparently it was a little too bright outside!

It was a super fun day.

And we're just loving soaking up every second we have left together as a family of 3!

Good things to come.

Things have been so crazy around here that there hasn't been time for blogging.

Between a 4 day hospital stay, 4 appointments a week for baby Clara, trying to prepare for baby Clara, lots of nausea and exhaustion and just so much more going on in our little family Michael and I are both  completely worn out.
A while back Winston sent me a link to this video. And I'm so glad he did because we have found a lot of comfort in this message from Elder Holland.

It was just what we needed to hear.

I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did.

I watch it at least once a day.

Oh and I will get to updating the blog...very soon I hope.

For now I'm going to go make 4 batches of snickerdoodles and 2 batches of homemade brownies for my cute missionary brothers!