The best two years

Happy two years of being married to Shawn and I! Seems like just the other day I met Shawn for the first time. Every year we have another major thing happen. Within our first year of knowing each other we got married, next year we bought a house, and the next had a baby. What will this next year have in store for us???

To celebrate another happy year of marriage, we left our baby (I know three weeks old and I left her, so sad) with my sister Lyndsay and had a few hours to ourselves to go to dinner at Tucci's (where we had our wedding luncheon) and walk around CityCreek for the first time. It was nice to be out with Shawn, but I will admit, all I could think about was getting home to my little girl. 

Dinner was pretty good. Pretty much had the entire restaurant to ourselves till the very end of our dinner. I joked with Shawn and told him he shouldn't have rented out the entire restaurant for ourselves, it was big enough to share. 

City Creek is nice to walk around. It has gorgeous fountains and a waterfall there. I thought it was peaceful. While there we also got frozen yogurt which was delicious.

First picture we took Shawn had his new phone in
the picture....I told him I was the 3rd wheel.

Empty restaurant. 

My fettucini alfredo

Shawn's farfale

Pretty Fountain

Until next time...

A month of changes

I can't believe that my little girl is already a month old, it went by so fast! So how has the last month been you might ask? It has been the hardest most tiring time of my life, but also the happiest. The first few weeks were the hardest. My emotions/tear ducts were out of control (didn't help that I was extremely tired) and I was having anxiety dealing with all the changes. Now not to say that I am perfectly fine now, but I'm doing a lot better. Correction, WE are doing a lot better.

Leili is growing like a champ! It's so cute because she is getting chunkier every day it seems. I swear every morning when I am changing her out of her pjs and into clothes she has developed a new roll of fat on her thighs. She, like all newborns, still sleeps a ton. I constantly wonder if she sleeps too much and that is when my mom reminds me that babies sleep a ton. (And she is so good at it!)

Passed out after a bath.

Fell asleep sitting on my lap resting on the boppy.

She looks so tiny here.

We are still working on getting her to switch her nights and days. She is however the cutest little night owl/day sleeper ever! During the time that she is awake she enjoys being held and talked to. She enjoys her bouncer and swing. She loves her binkie. She also smiles a lot when she is half sleeping half awake. We try to give her a lot of tummy time, but she doesn't enjoy that as much.

Sleeping wise, right now she gets a bath at 9:30 (doctors suggestion to help her realize there is 24 hrs in the day) and then eats and then is rocked to sleep. She sleeps from 10:15ish to about one or two in the morning. For the most part she will wake up and be up for about two hours at a time at night (this is what we are working on fixing). After I get her back to sleep, she will sleep anywhere from two to three hours, rarely making it four hours. The hardest part is trying not to engage with her at night. We read somewhere to help them realize its night time, you keep it dark and don't engage with them. Keep it to the basics at night, diaper change, feedings, and rocking back to sleep. And right now, when I am trying to get her to sleep she will look at me with her big eyes and smile. It's so cute and even when I am exhausted I can't help but to smile back and tell her how cute she is.

A few days old and waking up from her nap.

Awe just love her!!!

Tummy time a few weeks old

My progress? Well I have a few more pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I would like to loose more than that though and get back to my pre-wedding weight. That would be a nice accomplishment.

Going back to obligations I have is going to be hard for me. I keep thinking I don't know how to live my life that I had before the baby. One thought that scares me is going back to work. I got a little emotional the other day and told Shawn I will most likely miss all her firsts. First time rolling over, first crawling, etc. He told me, "we will just tell your mom not to encourage her to do those if you aren't there." That just made me giggle and of course he was joking....I think. We are working very hard to make it so I can stay home eventually. (Those new couches that we want at RC Willey will be a long time coming.)

Now I'm not one to sit in the bathroom and take pictures of myself, but I was feeling good this day and I wanted proof that I was looking good too even though I was sleep deprived and stressed.

Feeling like a hot mama!

Meeko is also doing great with her! Much better than I thought he would. I was almost certain that he would eat her or dig a hole in the backyard and run away forever. He still acts like the red headed step child though. He mopes around sometimes and gives me the saddest puppy dog eyes I have ever seen. He also has been getting into more trouble lately. BUT on the plus side, Noelle got a puppy the same weekend Leili was born and Meeko and her are already friends. He loves to play with Harlee and it take out a lot of his energy when she comes.

Off to a good start, first day home from the hospital.

Craving attention from his grandma

What we came home to one day.

 And Shawn, well he turned 26. I asked him, "what should I put about you for update in the first month of Leili's life?" He said, "I turned 26." That is all he gave me so I will add in that his five week "vacation" hasn't been a vacation. (He thought it would be and I knew it wouldn't.) He goes back to work on Halloween and I think he is excited but bummed at the same time. Leili and I will miss him during the day.

Well that is that, hopefully next post about her being two months old will have a positive report about her sleeping through the night (fingers crossed).

Until next time...

(This post is a few weeks late but was written on time.)

Leili's Room

When I found out we were pregnant my mind went full speed on decor ideas for the babies room. I was so excited and found so many cute ideas. There was just one problem, I couldn't quite settle on just one. I finally told my friend Noelle my final idea (after finding the bedding I wanted that was cute and not too expensive) and we got to work. I knew that if I kept waiting to make it happen that my mind would keep switching and drive me nuts. The room is perfect for my cute little Leili, see for yourself.

Big thanks to Noelle for spending a Saturday night painting the wall green for me! And spending a lot of time with me trying to find the perfect lettering and frame for her name.

Until next time...

Welcome Leili Ann Sloan

So here it goes, an attempt to retell the day that changed mine and Shawn's lives forever. The day our beautiful baby girl was born. The day we became parents. The day that we both felt an overwhelming love for a tiny human. The happiest day of our lives. (Only have been working on this post for about ummm a month.)

We walked into the doctors office on September 19th and I told Shawn that I couldn't believe we were back AGAIN for my weekly appointment. I wanted to meet my daughter so bad and honestly didn't think I would have made it this far without going into labor. As we waited in the doctors office I started to get nervous. I didn't want him to tell me that I hadn't made any progress from the week before.

Dr. Smith walked in the the room, "Hhhhiiii. How is the attitude in this room today?" (You could tell he was a little nervous for how I was going to react to being back again so close to my due date.)
"A little frustrated," I said
"Well, lets check your progress and hopefully we can get you going."

He told me that I was at a three plus dilated and still 75% effaced.  He stripped my membranes again and said that should do the trick.

"So I will go into labor tonight then?" I said jokingly.
"If not tonight, I would say within the next 48 hours," he replied.

I wanted to say "yeah that is what you said last time", but I kept it in hoping that maybe just maybe he would be correct.

After Shawn and I left we went to Costco to pick up some groceries and I was extremely uncomfortable. All I wanted to do was go home and lay on the couch. I was hurting so bad from being stripped again. (For those of you who don't know it makes you contract/cramp.)

We watched a movie that night and during the whole movie I was having contractions and they weren't comfy, but they weren't often enough or consistent enough to be considered labor contractions. We went to bed that night and I had my mind set that I would be going to work the next day. I didn't want to get my hopes up again so I said I know I will have her on the due date, I just know it.

Four in the morning came really fast after I laid my head on my pillow. It seemed to be the time during the last month that I would wake up to go to the bathroom. But this time I didn't wake up to go to the bathroom, I woke up to a pain in my stomach. I was curled up so I readjusted to make the pain go away. It worked for a little but soon I found myself wincing in pain again with another contraction. After a few of them, Shawn asked me if I was okay. "I'm having Braxton Hicks, I am going to walk around and see if they go away."

I was walking around the living room and much to my surprise, they didn't go away but got worse. "Shawn, I think I am going into labor. The contractions are getting worse as I walk around."
"Start timing them and we will see what happens," he said as he was all cuddled up in bed.

I started timing them at five. They were consistent, lasting about a minute (or longer) and about three or so minutes apart. At this point every time I had a contraction I would stop moving bend over and try to breath through it. About six o'clock I let Shawn know that we were going to the hospital, but first I wanted a bowl of cereal. (I was told that once you go to the hospital they won't give you food until the baby comes out.) As we left our house and my little Meeko, I couldn't help but to start getting emotional. I knew that when we came back nothing was going to be the same. Our lives were about to change drastically-- more than we knew.

The drive to the hospital seemed to be the longest drive of my life. I called my mom and let her know that we were on our way there. "Are you okay?" She asked. I started crying and told her I was fine just getting nervous.

We got to Alta View Hospital around seven. We walked into labor and delivery I told the nurse I'm here to check in. "For?" she asked. I thought what kind of stupid question is that? You have a pregnant woman who is in her pjs and has a painful look on her face, obviously it's labor. She said, "I was confused, this is about the time our inductions for the day come in but we don't have anyone scheduled today."  She then proceeded, "Okay so you THINK you are in labor, follow me." That made me chuckle, I thought I sure hope it's just not thinking and that I am actually in labor. 

We walked into the first labor and delivery room. I went into the bathroom to change into the oh so flattering hospital gown. I was hooked up to the monitors that would check the baby and my contractions. The monitors were nice to have for two reasons. First we could sit there and listen to our little girls heart beat. Second in Shawn's words, "Now I have proof of your contractions." 

My first nurse was named Katie, she was very nice and funny. She told Shawn, "today isn't about you, nobody cares about you." (He wasn't being that bad, she was just making us giggle.) She checked to see how dilated I was. She told me I was at a four plus and that she didn't think they would send me home but was going to check my progress in an hour and then talk to my doctor. 

In just over a hour it was decided that they weren't sending me home so Katie finished getting me hooked up. The IV had to be the worst part of it all. She was having troubles getting the vein so she had to pull it out and start again. Dr. Smith also came in about this time and broke my water. Let's just say I am glad it was done at the hospital. I can't imagine my water breaking somewhere else, it would be so uncomfortable and embarrassing. Dr. Smith said I was now dilated to a six and so I should be getting a lot closer now that my water was broken.

I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad so I got up and went in, while I was in the bathroom the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. He was surprised that I was dilated to a six and still up and moving around with a smile on my face. I just want to point out that he said I was tough. (This is mainly for my dad and Shawn who don't think I am tough.) 

I have heard the horror stories about epidurals and how uncomfortable they are to be put in, but really the worse part about it was the tape he had to put on me to hold it in place. When they ripped that off it was like I was getting my back waxed. OUCH! However the epidural was amazing! I don't see how anyone does labor without one. I can't imagine my contractions getting worse than they were or pushing without being numb. 

The epidural, though it was nice and made me very comfortable, it also stalled my progress. They had to give me pitocin to help me progress more. It didn't seem like it was too long after that when Katie came in to check me and told me I was at a ten and ready to push. 

Waiting for Dr. Smith to come so I can finish pushing

I pushed a few times and then they called for Dr. Smith to come. I was so excited at this point to meet my baby girl. After a total of forty minutes pushing, out she came at 2:56 p.m (and to my surprise, Shawn watched it all).  Our world was changed forever.

They laid her skin to skin on me and I couldn't believe it. My baby girl was out with a full head of hair (that was a surprise to Shawn and I). The first thing I noticed about her were her long skinny fingers, I know she got them from me. I was so happy tears of joy ran down my face. She was perfectly content laying on me and as soon as they took her off to clean her, she screamed bloody murder.

They measured her weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20.5 inches long. She was perfect! Ten tiny fingers (tiny but long) and ten tiny toes. I still look at her and think to myself, "How did we make something so perfect? How is it that this beautiful healthy baby is actually ours? How did we get so lucky?"

When they were done cleaning her they were going to hand her back to me but I said, "I think her daddy wants to hold her for the first time." The moment Shawn held her I could see the love rush all over his body. I could tell from the look in his eyes that it was a very happy moment for him.  That moment, Shawn became a dad. 

First time holding his baby girl.

Our moms came shortly after. My mom was anxiously waiting all morning and we let her come in first and she was followed shortly by Shawn's mom. The rest of the day was emotionally draining and very tiring. We had visitors pretty consistently for the rest of the time we were in the hospital. (I took very few pictures of visitors. So here are the few I took mixed with other random pictures from our hospital stay.)

Two excited grandmas

Uncle Jake and his newest niece 

Leili and her great grandma

Kasiah holding Leili for the first time.

I took this picture the first night...3:30 in the morning.

She already looks so different.

First bath from daddy.

End of the first day....I was soooooo tired.

I think I can take the trophy of looking like CRAP!!!

We were discharged Saturday September 22 and I will won't lie, I was terrified! It has been rough trying to get used to being parents for the first time. Everything is so new to us, but we love having Leili.

Dressed and ready to go home...she looked so tiny.

Ready to go home.

We love you Leili Ann Sloan and we are so happy to have you as part of our little family. 

Until next time...

The waiting game

At 38 weeks pregnant Shawn and I are playing the waiting game. It is all up to my body and this little girl as to when she will make her grand entrance. It’s funny, but I am seeing just how impatient I am. I want this little girl to come out so badly that it is all I can think about. Shawn and I have both decided that it is because we don’t know the day. We decided that if we knew what day it was going to happen it wouldn’t be as big of a deal to us, but waiting for it to happen at any moment is stressing us out.

Every morning Shawn will tell me if I am allowed to have her or not (mainly because of his work schedule) that day. I think it is funny. I told him that I am almost positive even if he has to wait for his manager to drive up to Park City and for Shawn to drive to the hospital it will be okay, he won’t miss the birth. Chances are highly unlikely of the first child being fast.

We are ready for her to come. We have her going home outfit picked out and in a bag, her car seat base is installed and her room is ready. We are now waiting for her to decide it is time. We have also both realized that as much as we think we know what is in store for us, we don’t. Let’s be honest, no one really knows until they have the baby. We know nothing will be the same, we know our financial situation will change, we know our relationship with each other will change, we know all of this and we still couldn’t be more clueless as to how it will change. That aside, we can’t wait to meet her.

As Shawn was having his “palm massage” last night (feeling the baby move), I asked him if he will miss it when she is out. He told me, “It’s her whether she is in or out.” After that we started talking again about all the possibilities and what we are looking forward to. I told him I can’t wait to feel that overwhelming sense of love that you get for your own kid. I know how I feel about my nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, Shawn and Meeko, but I know it is going to be something totally different with her. We also can’t wait to see what she looks like or who she looks like. Is she going to be a spitting image of her daddy or her mommy? Or is she going to be a good mixture of both? I also want to know how long she will be (silently laughing to myself). I bet that isn’t something most people think about, but I can’t help it. Her parents are tall, is she going to come out longer than most babies?

My last appointment that I had (five days ago) I was dilated to 1.5cm and 75% effaced. That doesn’t mean much, but my doctor said it was a big jump from the week before when I wasn’t dilated and 50% effaced. I have my next appointment on Wednesday and I am hoping there is more progress. I would hate to not make any after a nice jump like that. The funny thing about that appointment that I want to share is when the doctor was checking me. He said, “And your cervix is open.” I said, “Great, what does that mean?” “You are dilated.” I threw my hands up and let out a WOOHOO. “Now that is the response I was waiting for from you.” Pretty sure I’m his patient who he thinks gets overly excited about things.  

So there you have it, after a couple months, a baby update. All guesses are in from family and friends as to when she will be born and what her measurements are. So far three people have guessed incorrectly (Shawn being one of them) as to her birth date. So who will be correct? We shall see and hopefully the next post I do won’t be a post saying to "take her out now!” but it will be a post introducing our baby girl.

Come soon little one, we would love to meet you.

Until next time...