Kelsey's Birth Story

My third sweet lady was born on April 2nd, 2016.

Kelsey Parker Curtis
10:59am
8lbs 11oz

I guess I'll start at the beginning.  I was anxiously awaiting this baby the whole last month of pregnancy.  I don't remember feeling as 'done' and ready for a baby to be here as I did with Kelsey.  I had an ultrasound at 38 weeks and I asked on a whim if the tech could tell me how big she would be and she said 8lbs 13oz.  I thought she was crazy!! If that was the case I should have had her yesterday!  Both Hayley and Melanie were about six and a half pounds, so that fact that she was going to be so much bigger didn't help my waiting.
My step dad had a really invasive knee surgery on March 31st, so my mom was not going to be able to be around for the birth and really the first month at all which really made me sad.  But, with those circumstances I was really relying on Tyler's parents and his Aunt Beth Haynie who lives close by in Mesa as well as potentially some friends in case it was the middle of the night.

Saturday morning (the 2nd) I woke up at around 6:30am to a dream that I was in pain from a contraction but still sleepy I couldn't quite tell if it was also real life.  So I stayed awake waiting for the next contraction to come eager to know if today was the day.  Sure enough around 6:45am there was another.  Then at 7:00am there was another, so I got my phone out to start tracking and at 7:10am I finally told Tyler what was going on.
"I've had 4 contractions in the last half our or so....should I call your mom?"
"YES!" (as he jumped out of bed into the shower)

I still felt pretty good and all of my contractions were in the front of my uterus which didn't happen with either of the other girls and comparatively, they were really tame, but by the time Aunt Beth got here at around 8am my contractions were only about 6-7 minutes apart and I started having to pause and lean on something just so I could relax the rest of my ab muscles that would have normally helped me stand up.  I had put my makeup on (with primer no less...I was going to look good in pictures since this was the only time I'd gone into labor during the day!)  , triple checked my bag, got the girls breakfast, and tried to eat a pancake (which really didn't feel like a good thing to do).  Don and Jessie got to the house from Tucson around 9:30am and we were all on the couch watching General Conference.  I started to get this yucky feeling in my stomach like I had to go the bathroom and not much happened but I knew it was just my body trying to clean itself out.  I was still able to talk and once a contraction passed I felt totally fine!  Not like back labor....the breaks were not breaks just a minor decrease in back pain.  These uterine contractions were easy to recover from.  Around 9:45am I started to feel the contractions wrap around my back and in turn, the desire to kind of rub my back to ease the pain.  They were about 5 minutes apart.  I gathered my things and told Tyler I was ready to go.  In my head I thought we'd just hang out a bit at the hospital since I didn't feel totally in labor like I remembered with the others.  With Hayley the car ride was unbearable but I really did feel fine a majority of the time with this labor!

We pulled into the parking lot at about 10:00am.  I told Tyler, "We can probably just hang out in the car for a bit, I just didn't want to look like a moaning cow with such an audience".  I was able to labor in the middle of the night with the other two; no kids, no relatives.  Tyler didn't really care what I said and just kept moving me toward the hospital doors.  We checked in through ER and I remember feeling so calm compared to last time that I seriously thought I was way too early and not ready.  The triage nurse must have felt the same way because she hooked me up to monitors and said I was only 4cm dialated, she was going to watch me for 10 minutes and call the midwife to see what we should do.  Well....not 5 minutes later back labor seriously kicked in.  I was on my left side clinging to the bed rail and telling Tyler to push harder with counter pressure on my back.  I learned later that he was nearly kneeling on my back in order to push as hard as I was asking him too and I had the bruises to prove it the next day!  I remember Tyler saying, "Honey, these aren't 5 minutes apart anymore" then the next thing he said was, "Where is the nurse? Her 10 minutes are up".  At the point the back labor was everything I remembered it to be and more.  It was all I could do to keep my composure and the nurse reminded me to keep my moaning low so I could keep control.

They wheeled me to a delivery room and asked me to move beds.  I told them no...haha!  I could feel her head in my pelvis.  I didn't want to move with what feels like a basketball between my legs!  The nurse said, "The contractions are not going to get any better, we need you to just scoot a few inches and you'll be right on the bed".  That was the first time I had opened my eyes in maybe 10 minutes.  I remember pleading in desperation for 'some demerol or something' because I just didn't think I could do it.  Bless the nurses heart, I'm sure she knew how soon Kelsey would be there so she just said she was going to get my IV started (come to find out later she was just doing it to give me pitocin after labor to help my uterus shrink back because she knew full well I was going to have a baby any minute but starting an IV would make me feel like relief was coming).  I also remember thinking, "I better relax and open my legs so this baby can actually come out".  I was so tense.  This labor was more true pain than I remember from the other girls as well.  I felt like I was literally being ripped in half at my back.  My body started to bear down which I love because you know that's the beginning of the end.  All of the sudden my water burst!  That didn't happen with the other girls either!  I yelled, "My water just broke!"  I think at some point I also yelled, "I'm totally pooping!"  (I'm obviously not that worried about decorum in the middle of labor).

I don't remember the feeling of her crowning at all.  After my water broke it was all a blur.  Someone said, "Keep pushing!" and I said, "Why?!  What happened?!" and someone said, "Her head is out!  Now get the rest of her out!".  I gave it a solid push and she slipped right out!  10:59am.  I said, " I can't believe I just did that guys!!"  She was pooping everywhere, it was like her body could relax too.  I asked if I could hold her right away and the nurse asked if I wanted her to clean Kelsey up first and I said, "There's already blood everywhere, I may as well have poop on me too".

Sweet Tyler always cries when we have a baby and I love that about him.  He always says, "You did it!  You did it!" and kisses my head.  I love that about him too.

So....4.5 hours from start to finish.  It was so weird to leave the house in the daytime to go have a baby!  Tyler's parents were shocked when we literally called an hour later to tell them Kelsey was born.  I would have never guessed she would show up so quickly!  I love having a little baby to snuggle and hold on my chest.  She is a little ray of light in our crazy house.  I'm not sure if I'm more patient or if she's not as needy, but even when she cries I don't mind.  I'm so calm with her.  I love that.  Welcome the our family Kels!!

We Did Our Own Family Pictures

Christmas Sunday

We took turns with the ladies for Christmas.

Family picture coming soon!  

Didn't want to ruin it for people actually getting a card.

Personal Trainer

So we're finally getting into a routine around here since the little one is starting to take regular naps during the day.  I decided today was the day to try and sneak a legitimate workout in, so I put in my favorite 10 minute DVD and prepared for Mel's breakdown when the television came on without watching Dora the Explorer.

She started whining so I just ignored her and kept doing my squats.

Then they offered the harder version of the workout move and I hear her yell at me...

"DO IT MOMMA!"

"I can't Mellie, it's too hard for Momma right now"

"NO MOMMA!  DO IT!"

This repeated for the remaining five minutes of workout time.  Then I was all done, doing a few stretches, and she pulls out a yoga DVD....

"DO YOGA MOMMA!"

"We already exercised Mellie, it's time to shower"

"NO MOMMA!  YOGAAAA!!!"

If anyone needs a personal trainer to yell at them and make them work out, you can borrow my 2 year old any morning :)

Baby #2 Breakdown

I seriously can't believe that I had a baby 4 days ago!!

I've had quite a few requests and it will be nice to have it documented, so here we go!

Monday the 13th I decided to take Mellie to the mall.  She wasn't feeling well, but was well enough to still want to run around, so I figured the mall was a good place to keep her mind busy but her body still.  I also thought it may be nice to get out of the house since after having a baby I knew I'd be stuck in the house for weeks.  I seriously had no intentions of 'walking myself into labor' but I suppose that this may have started it all.  I pushed the stroller and walked for a solid hour!

The rest of the day was normal, went about my business cleaning house and making dinner, finally convinced that my baby wouldn't be coming early.  Because Mel wasn't feeling well, she woke up around 1am, so I went in to rock her and help her get back to bed.  I picked her up and got a contraction....I laid her down and got a contraction....I got into my bed and got a contraction.  Up to that point I hadn't had any contractions at all, so I definitely started thinking.  By that point it was about 2:00am. 

I woke up Tyler around 2:30am and told him I would probably have a baby soon and I would call our moms in about an hour.  30 minutes later I decided to go ahead and call them and Tyler decided to take a shower.  In the 10 minutes he was in the shower I went from hesitantly calling moms to swaying on my hands and knees on the bed.  My first few contractions that night were in my uterus, but they hit me in the back hard around that time.  Weirdly enough, people say that uterine contractions are easier, but after having both, I would take back labor.  Maybe it's because I know how to handle them, but I think it's easier to find relief with counter pressure...you can't push on your gut to make it feel better :)  Tyler told me to stop being stubborn and made me call a neighbor at 4:00am so we could go to the hospital. 

I totally rode to the hospital with my knees on the seat, thankfully it's just a 5 minute drive.  We got to the hospital around 4:30am and I swear the emergency department check in ladies were just having the best time ever as I stood with my hands on the counter swaying my hips and starting to moan to control the pain.  I had 3 contractions at the check in desk and 2 in the wheel chair on the way up to the OB department.  The nurse looked at me and said, "I think we're going to take a risk and just skip going to triage".  I looked at her and said, "I think that's a good idea". 

I had the most amazing nurse who checked me and I was 5cm...my goal before I got the hospital!  She let me labor on my hands and knees in the bed and was so encouraging.  She knew I wanted to go natural and had the perfect phrases and support strategies to help me through it.  She would talk me through contractions and Tyler would push on my back like crazy.  I would literally melt into the bed in child's pose for the 30 seconds between contractions and then come back up to my knees when I got another.  I asked the nurse to check me to see if I could get stadol because it was so intense, I was at 7cm, so no pain medicine for me!  At that point things got serious and I just focused as well as I could. 

Some people say they think about a happy place or picture the baby coming down and out of them but none of that was working for me.  The ONLY thing that I could focus on at all was what I needed to do in my garden and my to-do list for the young women at church.  As crazy as it sounds, as I got into transition it's almost like the pain became more tolerable.  I think my brain and body had become slightly numb to the pain because it was so intense.  Don't get me wrong, it was still crazy-town, but not as bad as it seemed to be at around 6cm. 

The doctor got there at about 8cm and broke my water around 6:00am, my mom finally got there around 6:20 and my body started pushing on its own.  I was still on my hands and knees and I just couldn't bear to turn over and deliver on my back.  Thankfully my doctor was AMAZING and just let me stay right there.  She got out the mineral oil, put on her catching gloves, and let me deliver my baby. 

Hayley Mae was born at 6:37am! 

I rolled over they put her on my chest, Tyler cut the cord, and the doctor just let us sit there for about 30 minutes while I breastfed her and delivered the placenta.  They didn't even weigh her or move her until after 7:00am.  It was an amazing experience! 

2nd Time Around

We're down to single digits folks!!  Just shy of 9 weeks and we'll have a new sweet little girl in our home!  I am getting excited, Tyler is totally excited, and even Melanie is ready! 

Here are some ways my sweet girl shows her sister love already:
- Flashlights on my belly...doing her own ultrasound
- Laying her head on me and grinning ear to ear with excitement when she feels a kick
- She puts diapers on everything!
- Rocking her baby dolls
- Making me laydown on her blankets next to her babies and tucking us all in

I am so anxious to see a friendship blossom between my two little ladies. 

Keeping up the tradition!

Helping dad with the star

We always got to put the star on the tree when we were kids...and though she's still too little to technically 'put it on' we let her adjust it and make it just how she wanted it.

Putting an ornament 'in' the tree

 

It is so fun to have a little sweetie pie for Christmas this year!  She loved decorating the tree and wants to help wrap all of the presents, and don't even get her started about Christmas lights!

 

If we go anywhere at night we see our neighbors lights up on the way out and she starts whining and signing 'more' because she wants to see more Christmas lights.  All through town she can spot them!  It's amazing to me for how little she is she definitely knows the difference between a bunch of regular lights and the twinkle of Christmas lights.  

My Sweet Fairy

Halloween 2012: 16.5 Months

I was ALMOST the terrible mom that didn't dress my baby up for halloween because we weren't going anywhere fun.  Boy am I glad I didn't listen to myself!!

We had such a good time handing out candy and chillin on our front porch and this little girl was loving all the attention. 

(that tutu ps. cost me $3 to make...SOOO easy!)

Puppy Love

Melanie loves her puppies (they're actually nasty old beasts....but they'll always be my puppies). 

Yesterday morning she fed Joey (the dachshund) all of her food piece by piece and Joey was so patient and sat by her bowl waiting for her next bite.  That little rascal has totally redeemed herself in my eyes because she is so good with my sweet girl!

Step up from trying to feed them rocks like a few weeks ago :)

Heaven in my mouth

OH MY GOSH

I finally worked up the courage to feed my husband two things and not care what he said about it:

Chicken
Curry

This recipe is AMAZING:  http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2009/07/lime-and-coconut-chicken/

It's called Lime Coconut Chicken, but it's really more like Coconut Curry Chicken and it made me SO happy inside.  Like....SOOO happy. 

You need to make this.  It's sweet and spicy and I don't even know how to explain how it tastes. Just please make it and make yourself as happy as I am right now. 

please excuse the pride

So hang in with me for a few paragraphs while I roll in my own glory....hahaha

As you can tell from my prior post I was anxiously anticipating the end of my breastfeeding experience.  (which by the way I realized boiled down to my irrational fear of not having a constant source of available nourishment) Anyway....

There are blogs and posts and forums and websites and experts dedicated to helping moms wean their children.  Tonight, I put my sweet baby in bed after her bath NO nursing and she fell asleep as soundly and quietly as ever. 

Here is where the pride comes in...haha...I think I did myself a huge favor by following the eat, play, sleep routine and only nursing her before sleeping when it was time for bed. I usually rocked her with her pacifier to lay her down (and I also realize how lucky I am she took a pacifier).

Who knows if it will work for the rest of my sweet peas, but in the meantime, I am SO excited it went so well, especially because I was SO prepared for it to go so badly. 

the end. sorry. i know this was awkward.  :)

Putting Melons to Good Use

So....this post is NOT about melons. Stop right here if you don't want to hear about mommy-hood in too much detail or are not interested in my breastfeeding habits :)

Today is the day I eliminated our mid-day nursing session and it totally threw me off.  I was so worried about how she would feel, if she would notice, if I needed to make up the bonding time in some other form, if I was getting her enough fluids and nutrition, but I realized I should think of myself just as much. 

i love breastfeeding.

It is one moment in my day where the two of us can sit quietly.  She snuggles up to me, I watch some of my recorded shows, and I can breathe.  I'm not cooking, cleaning, chasing, playing, teaching....I'm just taking care of my baby in the easiest most natural way. 

I'm not in a hurry to wean her and I'll probably keep my morning and night nursing for another month or so....ugh....but the thought of it literally makes me nervous and sad inside.

I'm not sure if it's the reality of her growing up, if it's my selfish relish of quiet, if it's the niavete of feeling like I'm giving her nourishment better than her beets, avocado, and apricots (my milk is basically water at this point)....I can't put a finger on the reason for my feelings and maybe that in itself is what is so unsettling. 

heck.  maybe it's all of that.

This is the first time in my time as a parent that I'm feeling anxiety about a choice.  And I hate it.  But at the same time I don't want to breastfeed for another 6 months...it has to happen somehow I suppose.

Boo hoo.

She loves digging

11.5 months old

Watchin my food breathe (it's not as horrible as it sounds...trust me)

I love to hang from the oven handle like a little kid when cookies are on the verge of done...

One of my favorite things in the world is to take the time to watch cookies 'breathe' in the oven.  Take a second and watch your cookies subtly inhale and exhale as they cook...it'll make you feel good.

Faith in my little seeds

I FINALLY DID IT!!! 

I've talked about planting a garden forever and I've been too lazy/conviced I couldn't do it all in one day to actually do it. 

 So, Friday night after the munchkin went to sleep I went out and started digging a trench to bury my boards.  Seeing my slow efforts, my hunky husband rolled up with the tractor and dug me some ditches in no time and nailed my boards together. 

Saturday morning, Mel and I rolled to Home Depot in our little white car and LOADED the trunk with fertilizer and soil...it was a stinky ride home.  Tyler picked up some chicken wire on his way home from work since I didn't have room in my car overrun with poo :)

When she went to bed that night and I unrolled chicken wire, went to town with the staple gun and even got to use my sewing skills with metal 'thread'.  (see below)

After my hardscape was complete I lugged 6 bags of 40 pound poo around my giant yard and mixed my perfect soil concoction.  Sunday morning (this morning) before the sun got too bright I went out to do my 'sowing' and planted watermelon, squash, bell peppers, and tomatoes. 

Some people think I'm crazy to do it all from seeds but to me it's about the processes.  If I get any kind of green to pop out of the grown in the next two weeks....I'm a freaking winner.  If I get any actual food from them...slap a gold medal on this chest! 

Pull it ALL out

So, I decided to get gutsy and paint my toenails will the munchkin was awake.  I know it may seem ridiculous to call this gutsy....but when you've got that little face and ten curious fingers in front of you....its gutsy, okay?

My solution was to distract her with the depths of my nail polish bag and boy did she have a good time!

She carefully removed EACH item and threw placed it aside.  I tried to pack up before she was done but we quickly realized it was vital to remove the last several bottles of nail polish before we packed up for the day...haha. 

The Ladies

Me and my sweet little girl for her first Christmas

I have an amazing friend who offered to do some pictures out of the goodness of her heart and I just love this one.  Melanie was exactly 6 months old in this picture.

I suppose....since it is the 1st...

So, last time I posted was the 1st of November, so I assume it's only fitting for me to post on the 1st of December and try and be a bit more entertaining :)

- Melanie's new favorite thing is her toes (and anyone else's toes for that matter).  If they wiggle, she wants them. 

- She's starting to really reach for things that she's interested in, especially anything I'm eating or....well....touching....hahaha

- Her hair is getting so long it grazes the middle of her eyelids, so I'm going to have to figure something out quick.  Bangs here we come!

- If she could have an endless supply of dog ears to pull and dog eyes to poke, it would probably be the best day of her life :)

- She's getting really good at playing the piano!!  She's so smart.  hahaha.  Well, we sit down together and she will bang on the keys and sing/yell a little song.  It's super awesome.

- Her daddy is her favorite pal, that's for sure!  She gets sick of my face by around 6:00....so when dad comes home around 6:30...you'd think he was a godsend for the poor child!! 

Really I think we were blessed with the easiest baby on the planet.  She's patient, she's funny, she's calm, she's entertaining, and so happy.

Addicted

.....To Indexing....

So, there is an awesome website called FamilySearch.org where you can discover your geneological history.  I'll be honest, I've never used the thing, but I know a TON of people that do. 

I got an email from a lady at church the other day explaining how you, well...I, could help the process.  Basically you look at old documents and then you computerize the data so it can be searchable.  It allows people to access whatever documents are connected to their ancenstors!

Like I've said, I've never actually used the site, but I've always been interested in geneology, PLUS, the nerd in me that isn't working 45 hours a week anymore, actually enjoys the work.

It's super cool :)

Blessing Day

On July 31st, Tyler gave Melanie a beautiful blessing and we were so grateful to have our wonderful family surrounding us.