Madeline Taylor Is Here!

Because a lot happened, and I don't really want to make this post incredibly long, I'll just post what basically happened on the days leading up to and after Madeline was born.

Wednesday (11/9): Went to the doctor. Blood pressure was up again. Only dilated to a 1. Doctor scheduled an induction for Sunday evening/Monday morning. Had to get blood work done again and to go back into the OBGYN Friday for another blood pressure check (if all was okay- he would cancel the induction). Put on bedrest.

Friday (11/11): Nurse takes blood pressure and almost sends me to the hospital. Talks to doctor and says to just keep the Sunday induction.

Sunday (11/13): Waited around all day for the hospital to call to let us know when to go in for the induction. Finally got a call around 4 or 5 PM. Ate my last real meal for a few days before I went in at 6 PM. Went to the hospital and got all hooked up to an IV. Dilated only to a 1.5. The nurse gave me three doses of cytotec over the course of the night to help soften/ripen my uterus since it was no where near ready for labor. I got absolutely no sleep because I was sleeping in a labor/delivery bed (SO UNCOMFORTABLE!). I was having contractions as well, which probably is what made my back hurt so badly (with the combination of the bed).

Monday (11/14): Longest day ever. Ate a few crackers and juice as my "breakfast." Given pitocin around 7-8 AM to induce labor. Contractions started getting more painful. Got an epidural around 10-11 AM. No improvement in dilation. Nurse had to ease off of the pitocin because the baby's heart rate kept decelerating after each contraction. Eventually, I was off of it all together for a while. Around 1-2 PM, the doctor broke my water. Nurse eased me back into the pitocin slowly and baby was doing much better this time. Doctor inserted an intrauterine pressure catheter to better detect the contractions. Dilated to about a 2 at this point. Also, informed again that my pelvic arch may be too small for a vaginal delivery. The catheter eventually stopped accurately working, and they had to take it out. A few different nurses kept trying to put a new one in (like 3-4 different times). My epidural wasn't really working very well at some point in the evening. Had to get the anesthesiologist to come back in to give me a bigger dose of the epidural. Started to feel much better. After all the trying to get a new catheter put back in to measure the contractions, I was dilated to a 2+. But that wasn't much progress. Baby's heart rate began to decelerate again after the contractions. Found out just before 9 PM that I was going to get a C-Section since I wasn't progressing and the baby wasn't doing well with the pitocin.... And Madeline was born at 9:24 PM. She weighed in at a tiny 6 lbs. 11 oz. and measured 18 in. long.

As I was getting sewn/stapled back up, both of my doctors were telling me that next time, I will just have to tell my doctor I have to get a C-section because they both decided there was no way a baby was going to fit through my pelvic arch. I have not liked hearing this news at all because I seriously hated the C-section. While, I didn't feel any pain (at least not until they were sewing me back up), I could feel everything else- when they were cutting into me, all the tugging, etc. I've never had surgery, and I just don't do well with blood and cuts (I wouldn't look at my incision for days afterwards). I was freaking out the whole time they were doing the surgery, and Jon kept trying to help me get my mind off of it, but it was pretty hard!!! Jon was amazing and stayed with me the whole time. I know he wanted to be with Madeline, but I don't think I would have survived without him. I'm just thankful that I had one of my favorite doctors there to do the surgery and that the anesthesiologist was very helpful in keeping me calm and making sure I wasn't in any pain. When I started to feel some pain as they were putting me back together, the anesthesiologist started pumping a bunch of medicine into me, which is probably why I am still swollen to this day (although, it's much better!!!).


Anyways, since then Jon and I have been enjoying getting to know our little girl. But we've also been struggling with almost no sleep. I don't think Jon realized how hard a newborn baby could be, and I'm pretty sure she's an easy baby compared to many others.... I can't believe she will be two weeks old on Monday already!!! I can't wait until she is one month because, hopefully, she will be doing better with sleeping at night and with staying awake while eating (she falls asleep too quickly, thus why she is always wanting to eat/keeping us up at night). Also, we can't wait for her to be a bit more interactive and alert instead of sleeping, eating, and pooping all the time.

Vegas, San Diego, and Everything Else

At the end of September, Jon and I went to Las Vegas as a last little "getaway" before our family of two became three. We were able to stay for FREE at Jon's parents' timeshare. Unfortunately, only 20-30 minutes after leaving for Vegas, we got a flat tire.



So we drove to the next town since we were in between towns and had to get ALL FOUR tires replaced (apparently, Jon was planning on doing this before winter anyways). There went $700-800 that we were NOT planning on spending. Thanks for ripping us off, Big O Tires. We would have gone to another tire place, but that was the only one in the town. That pretty much put me in a bummer mood the rest of the way.

We eventually make it to the timeshare, and we were MUCH closer to the strip than I thought we were going to be. But it wasn't too bad...

Our room:






We were both pretty tired from our drive down that we just got dinner at a restaurant downstairs and watched TV the rest of the night. The next day, we headed to one of the many outlet malls in Vegas to get Baby Girl some cute clothes! I loved it, and I think Jon was enjoying himself in the Carter's store but was done not much longer after that. Then we went swimming later in the afternoon, which didn't end up being as much fun as I had hoped because the pool was indoors. It was 90+ degrees in Vegas, and it would have been wonderful to be swimming outside under the sun instead of inside of a stuffy and humid room. Oh well. It was free- that's what I kept telling myself.

The following day, we got up, packed, ate breakfast downstairs at Einstein's, and headed off to my parent's in San Diego. I forget how much I hate eating out in California because they list the calories next to each item (I think Vegas was the same way at some places too).



See what I mean? Gross. It sure does make you think twice about what you order. At least I never finish a whole plate of food at a restaurant...

My Mom and I drove Jon to the airport super early Monday morning because he was headed to Arkansas, while I stayed with my parents in San Diego. We spent the whole week apart, which was not very fun. But I did enjoy all the shopping that my Mom and I did. She just loves buying clothes for her newest grand baby (and I wasn't going to stop her).

The loot baby got from the Carter's store from Grandma:


The left side is what Jon and I got in Vegas, and the right side is what my Mom bought (and there's lots more!!!):


The cutest ruffled pink dress ever (one of many dresses my Mom bought for Baby):


Pretty much the rest of my time was spent sitting in the recliner, watching TV and crocheting...


Yes, my Dad hung that stupid flag up for the BYU football game (and left it up for a few days). This was before they finally got a new TV stand for their new TV...

My first crocheted hat:


I went to Babies-R-Us one day by myself and got to park in the "Expectant Mothers" parking (my Mom was pretty excited to park in the same kind of spot when we went to the mall):


And I bought Baby Girl a San Diego Padres hat!


The following Monday, Jon flew back into San Diego, and I picked him up. We went to La Jolla for dinner, across the freeway from the beautiful San Diego temple (where we were married!). Then we went down to the beach to check out the glowing "waves." You can read what I'm talking about here. And that was pretty much the extent of our trip; we headed home the next day.

Since then, we've just been trying to get everything else that we needed still for the Baby and her room. I've spent a lot of time with my feet up because they keep getting pretty swollen (especially at church!).

Jon spray painted a few things for Baby's room:


The IKEA dresser with new pink spray painted knobs:


I read this book:


I have crocheted quite a bit:




And I wasn't kidding about my feet:




Thus, I have decided that I can only go to one hour of church. Otherwise, my feet look like that for 3-4 days afterwards.

I made curtains out of some sheets (not perfect, but they'll do):


Jon and I finally drove the Alpine Loop to see the beautiful fall colors:




Pink and green paper triangles for a bunting garland:


Baby's car seat is ready to keep her warm (now get here, Baby!):


What Baby Girl's room looks like during the day when the curtains are closed (VERY PINK!):


More crocheted goodies (there's a few more, but I'll wait until Em gets her package to share):




And the current state of Baby's room (still a work in progress- the walls at least):










My appointment this last week went okay. My blood pressure was up again (I think- they used the wrong cuff again). Still no dilation. AND the doctor told me that my pelvic bone structure may be too small to deliver baby. AWESOME. I was pretty depressed about that bit of news the rest of the day and following few days because I REALLY don't want to get a C-section.... And if that is the case, then all my other babies would have to be delivered by C-section as well. Ugh. Which also means I can only have like three safely (from what I've read). Ugh again. I want AT LEAST four of my own babies. The doctor said he wasn't sure though, so I'm hoping he's wrong.

36 Weeks

Here's a comparison of just how much I (or baby girl) have grown in the last 7 weeks!


Doctors are still thinking that this girl should probably come sooner rather than later. They won't let me go 7 days past my due date, but I think they're pretty iffy about even letting me go that long. The last Dr. told me that they might strip my membranes next week or the week after. I'm seeing a different Dr. next week, so we'll see what he says... They don't always seem to be on the same page, which is definitely annoying. Hopefully, my body will start to do its job soon because I really don't want to end up getting a C-section.

In other news, Jon is thinking of going to graduate school. Ugh. I mean, it's good, but I don't really want to have to keep waiting for him to finish school, especially since I thought he would be done in April. But the plan is for him to find a job (hopefully) in his field of emergency services management and do the Master's program at the same time (because you can do most/all of it online). There's two schools that Jon is looking into right now, and I definitely favor the one in Vegas. The other one is, ironically, in Arkansas. And I'm pretty sure that just won't happen, unless he doesn't get into the UNLV program. Vegas just makes much more sense as far as finding a job in his field and is a location that will be MUCH easier for us to move to. Plus, we can test out the ridiculously hot desert weather and see if Arizona (or even St. George) might be places we want to end up in the future.

An Update On the Last Post

I went in to see the doctor again Friday morning. I was somewhat nervous about (1) being sent to the hospital or (2) being put on bedrest for the rest of this pregnancy. Luckily, neither happened. Good news came back from the blood work and urine samples. AND my blood pressure was reading 120 (normal)! I was definitely relieved because the doctor I had on Wednesday definitely made it sound like this baby was coming early, and it doesn't look that way anymore. Why was my blood pressure reading so high on Wednesday? I'll tell you... the same thing I told that doctor that day (I have like 8 different doctors and 3 nurse practitioners, so I pretty much see a new one each with each visit). I had just gotten home the night before from San Diego (I was in the car for about 10-11 hours), which I know traveling can cause swelling in pregnant women. Also, I had mentioned to the 1st doctor, on Wednesday, that my first three appointments the nurses would get my blood pressure with the smaller cuff, it would read high, switch to the larger cuff, and it would read normal. However, the most recent appointments I had had (when I first found out about my blood pressure getting higher), the nurses just used the smaller cuff every time. My Mother, who used to be a nurse, told me that the difference in the two cuffs can cause the blood pressure reading to be inaccurate. Well, I asked the doctor on Wednesday if that could be the case, but he just told me it wouldn't make much of a difference if the nurses were using the wrong cuff. All he knew was that with the three most recent readings, my blood pressure had been going up, so it was enough to worry about. When I found out my blood pressure was normal on Friday (yes, the nurse used the right size cuff this time), I told this other doctor the same thing about the different cuffs and just getting back from traveling, and he pretty much agreed with me that that might have been the problem. But, obviously, they want to keep checking on me just in case. He also told me that pre-eclampsia affects the whole body, and since I wasn't feeling any of the symptoms of it (besides some swelling, which has been pretty minor and probably normal for pregnant women, in my opinion), that I probably didn't have it. It's kind of amazing the difference in opinions from two different doctors. Anyways, I'm going in for weekly appointments now, and my blood pressure is still going to be closely watched. I don't remember all of what the doctor told me what they were going to do with me at my next few appointments because he was telling me so much information while he was also checking the baby's heartbeat... and the doppler was pretty loud. I know they're planning to do a non-stress test at my next appointment, and Jon thinks some other test as well (he can't remember either). I am definitely relieved that I can get up and get things done again. Maybe this baby's nursery will be ready for her arrival after all.


Here's where we're at right now... Nothing on the walls yet. Need to buy either pink or white curtains. Still have lots of organizing and cleaning to do. We just bought a dresser yesterday at IKEA, and so it has helped make the room look more put-together and added a lot more needed storage space.

My Most Recent Appointment (32.5 weeks)

Well, I had an interesting doctor's appointment yesterday. Let me backtrack to the appointment I had just before this one (before we left for Vegas and San Diego).... I met with the nurse practitioner, who told me that my blood pressure was slowly increasing and to try to avoid salty foods and get as much rest as possible. I tried to heed her instructions, but it's pretty hard to completely avoid salt, especially when you're out of town and not making your own food. I did the best I could though. If I got french fries at a restaurant, I would ask for no salt. I tried to eat sandwiches and wraps and avoid fried, processed chicken.  I did go shopping a lot while I was gone, but other than that I mostly laid/sat around watching T.V. Anyways, onto my appointment yesterday.... The nurse takes my vitals, and I find out my blood pressure is up from the previous appointment 2.5 weeks ago. The doctor tells me that I am in the beginning stages of pre-eclampsia (not completely there yet) and tells me that he could either send me to the hospital right then or have me do a 24 hour urine sample with bedrest. Luckily, he had me do the second option. Every time I had to go to the bathroom, I had to place this measuring cup type thing on the toilet seat to catch the urine and pour that into a jug, which was to be kept in the fridge (gross, I know). This definitely made me not want to go to the bathroom very often, especially in the middle of the night when I'd have to go to the kitchen to get the jug out of the fridge and then go to the bathroom and put it back. Well, I just took that jug in this afternoon, and they drew some more blood from me (and, yes, I got poked in both arms again- my veins are very hard to find). They're sending all the samples to the lab and are trying to get the results back in time for my appointment tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I'll probably be placed on bedrest.... If not, I may be going to the hospital to see what they can do for me. And, if they can't get my blood pressure to stay down, the baby will have to be delivered early. I'm really hoping my body can hold out for another three weeks since that's when this baby will be full term (37 weeks). But I did read today that babies delivered between 34-37 weeks have a very high survival rate as long as there are no other major health concerns with the baby, which makes me feel somewhat better. But, in other words, more than likely this baby will be delivered earlier than my due date... But I'm crossing my fingers for good news from the doctor tomorrow because I don't want her to come TOO early. Unfortunately, I can't really do much, and we really don't have everything ready for this baby yet. We have the major things, and I know Jon is capable of picking up all the other items. I just wish I could help out more. Also, her nursery may not be the way I was hoping to have it before her arrival since there are pretty much no decorations at this point. I guess all I can hope for now is that the baby and I will continue to be healthy and safe.

Baby Belly, etc.

Not really a fan of the belly pictures, especially since my belly was never flat to begin with... but here you go (Em):

29.5 weeks

I don't really want to see what I'll look like in 10 weeks/end of pregnancy.... And, unfortunately, by the time this baby gets out, it'll be bad weather outside to start up running again. Ugh. Guess I'll have to stick with workout DVDs.... or pray we move somewhere warmer soon after her arrival!

In other news, I'm feeling like this:

I had to buy these two cute outfits. The first is a newborn (for coming home, if she's small enough- I hope!!!), and the second is a 3 month. I love Target!

 Jon and I finally ordered the baby crib and changing table since I had a 20% off coupon for Babies-R-Us.

 Jon, I guess, assumed that baby girl was automatically going to be named Lyla Lee because I have loved it for a while now. But I told him I was still thinking and that I wanted to see her first before I made up my mind (plus, I would like him to be happy with it too). We looked at some more names online, and Jon saw Madeline, which I kind of like as well (Maddie for short). So we'll see.... We'd appreciate any other suggestions. I realized most of the other names I liked are some of the most popular right now, so I don't really want to pick any of those any time soon. I'm not really particular about being super unique (like all the weird names Utahans come up with); I just don't want baby girl to be in a class with 3+ other girls that have the same name. Sounds annoying to me. My name isn't unique, but I've only had maybe one class in my life with a girl that had my name as well.

We had our second prenatal class last night, which I wasn't looking forward to since the nurse told us last week we would be watching a birth video (yuck!). I left our first class feeling really good about labor and delivery. I can't say the same about last night. I stared at the chair in front of me for about 95% of the 25 minute video (it showed 4 different births). And I still felt traumatized afterwards. I had bad dreams and really struggled with sleeping last night. At least Jon has now decided that I can get whatever I want from here on out after watching it. So something good did come from it, I guess.

Change of Plans

Over the last week things have changed a bit with the direction Jon and I are headed (mostly Jon- but it affects me as well). As soon as he finished the Fire Academy, he was supposed to be volunteering on ambulances or at a hospital to gain some medical experience. To get into the Paramedic Program, you need medical experience and 3 letters of recommendation from medical professionals. Well, I bugged him the first week he was out of school, and he kept promising he'd do it soon. The second week came around (last week), and he still hadn't called anyone to set anything up. I won't lie that I have enjoyed having Jon around in the evenings again, but I knew that if he kept pushing this off then there was no chance for the program in January (Spring semester). He would have to wait and apply for the Fall semester instead, which I really didn't want because I am SO ready to get out of Utah and ready for him to have a real job. Not that there was really any real guarantee he'd get into the program for Spring semester, and I knew it was still a possibility we'd have to stick around longer than we hoped. I just thought he would want to give it a try because who knows what would have happened. Well, last Wednesday, he asked me what I thought if he didn't do the Paramedic Program. I will admit that I wasn't happy to hear this because it's hard to find firefighting jobs in the West (where we would like to live) without being a paramedic. Plus, he'd get paid much better, and I thought he was interested in one day getting onto a Life Flight helicopter. He continued to tell me that he could still get a Bachelor's degree in his major, but he would just have to change his concentration. He told me that all he'd have to do to get the degree is take two semesters worth of online courses (somewhere around 25 more credits). I reluctantly told him that if that's what he really wants to do, then that's fine... all I've asked of him is to get a Bachelor's degree. Then I realized that classes at UVU hadn't started yet, and asked if that means he could get signed up for the classes he needed for the Fall to get it going and over with. So that brings us to today. School technically started on Monday (I think), but his advisor just barely added him to the classes yesterday (even though Jon emailed her the same night we had this conversation, a week earlier). This means that, as long as he works hard and passes all his classes, he will graduate in April!!!! But this also means Jon can start looking and applying for firefighting jobs, and we can move before he finishes school (but after the baby arrives, of course). Most of the jobs we have found have been in Texas, unfortunately. It's not really where I want to go, and it's much further East than I want to be. But I'm in the mindset that if Jon gets a job, it'll be good for us no matter where it is. He just needs to get the experience (and hopefully, become a paramedic in the first few years), and then, when a place we want to go to opens up for employment, he can apply and, hopefully, have a better chance at getting the job. Some of the other places we've found have been in New Mexico, Washington, and Nebraska. Yeah, like I said, nothing where I really want to be, but it'll have to do for now... Although, the Washington one is on an island west of Seattle and pays ridiculously well (like twice the salary of most of these other places)!!!! So I definitely wouldn't object to that! This next month Jon will be filling out applications to fire departments... and he'll, at some point, have to travel to all these places to take a written examination. Then, if the department is interested, he'll have to go back for a physical agility test and interviews. This is pretty crazy, but I am excited to see what comes of this (if anything). I just really hope we can move early next year. If not, Jon will probably do wildland firefighting again next summer (but maybe somewhere different this time??).


Oh, and I guess I never mentioned what his new concentration is, but I don't exactly know what it's called... it's more emergency administration, I think. But from what I understand, he could get a job working for a city and help to create emergency plans/evacuations specific to that city (for any kind of disaster).... if he wanted to, at least. I think that would be something he might consider doing when he gets older though.