Isn't that what that show is called on TLC? I just wanted to add a little cheesy ambiance.
So I've told some of you, and Matt's told many more. But for those who haven't heard the story of Noel's birth, here it is.
June 2, 2009
(Times are approximate. Matt wrote down the more specific times, but I don't feel like going to get my journal. This is pretty close though.)
6:30 am - We're supposed to be checking into the hospital, but we're really just leaving home. I was a little sad to be off to a late start. Time to get the show on the road.
6:45 am - Check into hospital.
7:30 am - Start pitocin.
8:00 amish - Dr. Harward comes in and breaks my water.
Very soon after 8:00ish - Contractions start hurting BAD. I wanted my epidural right away so much. I don't like being in pain like that. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was busy, and we had to wait longer than I would have preferred.
9:00ish - The anesthesiologist finally came and gave me my epidural, and I was starting to relax and feel good. It really was only about an hour of those heinous contractions, and they were short. I realized many women have it a ton worse than I do. Still, not the most fun hour of my life. Or Matt's for that matter. He didn't like watching me hurt so much.
9:10ish - The nurse comes and checks me. I was about 4+/ 5 cm.
10:00 - The nurse checks me again and tells me I was complete. It took me a minute to process what she meant and then another minute to believe her. After my water broke with Amy I dilate quickly but not 5-6 cm in 50 minutes. That was pretty awesome. Especially since I couldn't feel any of it.
Over the next little bit, the nurses and doctor and other people involved were in and out a lot getting things set up. Apparently it was a really busy day at the hospital so they weren't ready to have me push as soon as I probably could have. At that point I really didn't care. They'd get around to delivering the baby soon, and I was feeling great.
10:43 - Everything and everyone was ready. The nurse reminded me of what I needed to do to push. I guess I did ok.
10:46 - Noel was born. As soon as they got her weighed and checked, they brought her to me for some skin to skin bonding time. I loved it. I don't know if it is quite real yet during those first few minutes of holding your new baby that this person is really your child. You don't even know her yet. And yet, you are so happy to have her. (And to not be pregnant anymore.)
My recovery has gone amazingly well. I was very alert and comfortable throughout the day. I could walk around by myself, and I got to go to the nursery to see Noel get her first bath. Of course I am tired a lot. And there have been times in the last 8 days where I have had quite a bit of pain, mostly abdominal. But I am really grateful for how good I have felt.
Noel sleeps like a champ. (Good thing Newborns come to us so sleepy so we can take care of ourselves too.) She had some jaundice, but we haven't had to take her in to test it since Monday. Apparently it's going away. And she has been more alert today and yesterday than the previous days. At night, she wakes me up - or sometimes I even wake her up - to eat only twice. And she eats and then goes right back to sleep. That's super nice. Hopefully she'll transition to sleeping through the night well when she is old enough to do that and not need to nurse in the middle of the night.
Speaking of Noel the champ, she is awesome at nursing too. She had it figured out from the first attempt. Amy and I struggled quite a bit more than this when we were first learning to nurse, so Noel's abilities impressed and pleased Matt and me very much. Her only struggle with nursing is staying awake. But she's not as hard to wake up as Amy was either. How wonderful.
So typing this post has taken up a few of my precious minutes where both my girls are sleeping. I want to wrap up so that I can get more rest myself. Noel need to nurse, and then nap time for me (if she'll go back to sleep.)
Wednesday, June 10
A Post about Poop
Number of packages of diapers we had when we brought Noel home from the hospital: 1 1/2 (we took home the rest of the diapers we were using in the hospital.
Number of days old Noel was when we had to buy more diapers: 6 (and it was the very beginning of the 6th day.)
Average number of times I change Noel's diaper during a feeding - particularly a nighttime feeding: 2. (Sometimes 3) She likes to go right after I change her diaper. Seems a waste of diapers, but what do you do.
Number of times Noel has gotten her "torpedo poop" all over me: 2. I quickly remembered the lesson we had learned with Amy, that when changing a newborn's diaper, you need to have the new diaper already under the bum to catch whatever might come out while you are still in the process. Because it shoots. Luckily Matt's been around both times to help me recover from the shock of suddenly being pooped on and to help clean up.
Amy likes "helping" me change Noel's diapers and has also taken to throwing them away in the diaper pail for me. That's nice.
Number of days old Noel was when we had to buy more diapers: 6 (and it was the very beginning of the 6th day.)
Average number of times I change Noel's diaper during a feeding - particularly a nighttime feeding: 2. (Sometimes 3) She likes to go right after I change her diaper. Seems a waste of diapers, but what do you do.
Number of times Noel has gotten her "torpedo poop" all over me: 2. I quickly remembered the lesson we had learned with Amy, that when changing a newborn's diaper, you need to have the new diaper already under the bum to catch whatever might come out while you are still in the process. Because it shoots. Luckily Matt's been around both times to help me recover from the shock of suddenly being pooped on and to help clean up.
Amy likes "helping" me change Noel's diapers and has also taken to throwing them away in the diaper pail for me. That's nice.
Tuesday, June 2
Show Time
Here is a video of Noel just looking around.
This is Amy coming into our room and meeting Noel. Time for first impressions!
This video is of Amy holding Noel for the first time. She LOVES her little sister!
And this is a video of Amy after we took Noel away from her. She wasn't so pleased.
This is Amy coming into our room and meeting Noel. Time for first impressions!
This video is of Amy holding Noel for the first time. She LOVES her little sister!
And this is a video of Amy after we took Noel away from her. She wasn't so pleased.
Welcoming to the World
The newest daughter in the Parks family:
Rose is after my (Matt's) aunt, Rose Parks.
She was born on June 2nd, 2009 at 10:46am. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20.5 inches long. She has brown curly hair like her Mom and Mom, Baby, and Daddy are doing wonderfully.
Noel Rose Parks
Rose is after my (Matt's) aunt, Rose Parks.
She was born on June 2nd, 2009 at 10:46am. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20.5 inches long. She has brown curly hair like her Mom and Mom, Baby, and Daddy are doing wonderfully.
Monday, June 1
The Day Before the Baby Comes, Part 1
7:00ish - wake up. I don't know why. But then I started thinking about all the things I would love to get done today. That always makes it so I can't fall asleep again.
8:00 - go with Matt, Amy, and Melissa (who slept over last night) to Burger King because we were out of breakfast stuff.
8:30 - drop Matt off at home so he can get ready for work and take Melissa to work. Go to Macey's with Amy to pick up a few things including snacks for the kind family members who will be living at our house with Amy while we are gone at the hospital.
9:30ish - get home, take the groceries in the house real quick and then back to the van to clean up. The van is totally messy right now. It needs vacuuming which I don't feel able to do at this point. So I'm taking it to a car wash. But first I had to get all the trash and junk out of it. At one point I was putting something in the back and then shut the door to go get in the side sliding door. Of course, I had the keys in the ignition because I was listening to my book on CD while working. So Amy took that moment to lock the doors. I was locked out. She's done this to me once before while I was scraping snow so you'd think I would learn my lesson. Apparently not. There was a nice UPS deliverer there at the time who called the Orem police department for me. Apparently they break into vehicles for free. So a very nice man came and opened it up for me. The funniest part was when Amy started waving to me and to the UPS lady and smiling really big. After she left but before the police man got there, Amy took advantage of the opportunity to get all the garbage I had already bagged up out of the bag and spread it on the seat and floor. I just stood there laughing. So everything is fine. Before long, we'll go get the van cleaned. And make a few more copies of the van key to hide around/ give to a neighbor.
8:00 - go with Matt, Amy, and Melissa (who slept over last night) to Burger King because we were out of breakfast stuff.
8:30 - drop Matt off at home so he can get ready for work and take Melissa to work. Go to Macey's with Amy to pick up a few things including snacks for the kind family members who will be living at our house with Amy while we are gone at the hospital.
9:30ish - get home, take the groceries in the house real quick and then back to the van to clean up. The van is totally messy right now. It needs vacuuming which I don't feel able to do at this point. So I'm taking it to a car wash. But first I had to get all the trash and junk out of it. At one point I was putting something in the back and then shut the door to go get in the side sliding door. Of course, I had the keys in the ignition because I was listening to my book on CD while working. So Amy took that moment to lock the doors. I was locked out. She's done this to me once before while I was scraping snow so you'd think I would learn my lesson. Apparently not. There was a nice UPS deliverer there at the time who called the Orem police department for me. Apparently they break into vehicles for free. So a very nice man came and opened it up for me. The funniest part was when Amy started waving to me and to the UPS lady and smiling really big. After she left but before the police man got there, Amy took advantage of the opportunity to get all the garbage I had already bagged up out of the bag and spread it on the seat and floor. I just stood there laughing. So everything is fine. Before long, we'll go get the van cleaned. And make a few more copies of the van key to hide around/ give to a neighbor.
The Best Walmart Trip I Ever Had
Doesn't that title sound like I'm about to write an essay for my 7th grade English Class? It really is the best one ever though, as you will soon see:
So on Saturday we went to Walmart to get me some new shoes (I'll show a picture later to help you realize why I needed new shoes) and a couple more shirts and about the coolest possible thing next to having a baby happened: They were giving out free samples of Ben & Jerry's ice cream! The samples were the "Flipped Out" treats which frankly I didn't like as much as the regular ice cream. Ben & Jerry's is the one kind of ice cream I don't put toppings on; I like it just as it is - no caramel, fudge, chocolate, whipped cream, nada - just the pure wonderful creamy yummy ice cream. Still, LIKE I'M COMPLAINING!!! I was ecstatic. As we were leaving, I got in line again and asked if they cared if I went through the line twice - they didn't - they said that was just fine! Imagine my delight! Two free samples of Ben & Jerry's! It offers some consolation to my having to miss B&J Free Cone day this year.
And that is why it was the best trip to Walmart I ever had. =)
So on Saturday we went to Walmart to get me some new shoes (I'll show a picture later to help you realize why I needed new shoes) and a couple more shirts and about the coolest possible thing next to having a baby happened: They were giving out free samples of Ben & Jerry's ice cream! The samples were the "Flipped Out" treats which frankly I didn't like as much as the regular ice cream. Ben & Jerry's is the one kind of ice cream I don't put toppings on; I like it just as it is - no caramel, fudge, chocolate, whipped cream, nada - just the pure wonderful creamy yummy ice cream. Still, LIKE I'M COMPLAINING!!! I was ecstatic. As we were leaving, I got in line again and asked if they cared if I went through the line twice - they didn't - they said that was just fine! Imagine my delight! Two free samples of Ben & Jerry's! It offers some consolation to my having to miss B&J Free Cone day this year.
And that is why it was the best trip to Walmart I ever had. =)
Sunday, May 31
Daily Post
Well, I'm slow to post today, but it's not cause the baby is here. Sunday's can be busy, and this weekend was stake conference for us. So after sleeping in (because Matt is wonderful and got up with Amy not to mention took care of her after church so I could sleep again) we didn't have too long to get ready.
This weekend has been great. We loved stake conference - all the sessions we got to go to. Last night was the adult session - the one that I was not allowed to have the baby before - where our choir sang. It was wonderful! My dad joined us fairly last minute. We rehearsed together right before we went. The choir did so great, and I am so grateful to all of them of participating and for putting so much effort and love into it. We were also really grateful to our friend, Kourtne for watching Amy while we went to conference.
After the adult session last night my parents came back to my house, and we played games for WAY too long. We love doing that. And we all had a wonderful time.
Amy did well at this morning's session. We pretty much brought the kitchen so that she would have enough snacks. That helped. And the toys. And the books. And the fact that the speakers are put up on a screen so people in the back can see. That meant we were watching a "newie" at church, and that was fun for her. She still had some struggles, but she was good.
So it's been a really pleasant weekend. I'm excited that we're less than 2 days away now! Wahoo! Tomorrow I hope to get some house cleaning and laundry done, maybe a little shopping to make sure there is good food in the house for Melissa and my mom while they are here taking care of Amy. Then we'll be all ready for Tuesday morning.
YAY!!! 37 1/2 more hours, and we check into the hospital.
This weekend has been great. We loved stake conference - all the sessions we got to go to. Last night was the adult session - the one that I was not allowed to have the baby before - where our choir sang. It was wonderful! My dad joined us fairly last minute. We rehearsed together right before we went. The choir did so great, and I am so grateful to all of them of participating and for putting so much effort and love into it. We were also really grateful to our friend, Kourtne for watching Amy while we went to conference.
After the adult session last night my parents came back to my house, and we played games for WAY too long. We love doing that. And we all had a wonderful time.
Amy did well at this morning's session. We pretty much brought the kitchen so that she would have enough snacks. That helped. And the toys. And the books. And the fact that the speakers are put up on a screen so people in the back can see. That meant we were watching a "newie" at church, and that was fun for her. She still had some struggles, but she was good.
So it's been a really pleasant weekend. I'm excited that we're less than 2 days away now! Wahoo! Tomorrow I hope to get some house cleaning and laundry done, maybe a little shopping to make sure there is good food in the house for Melissa and my mom while they are here taking care of Amy. Then we'll be all ready for Tuesday morning.
YAY!!! 37 1/2 more hours, and we check into the hospital.
Saturday, May 30
Bad Dreams
Last night Matt woke me up at 4:00am to tell me that he had just had a dream that I had decided I didn't love him anymore and I wanted a divorce. He was so sad in the dream. He said he was just about to go see if he could talk me out of it when he woke up. He woke up still sad. So I reassured him that I do love him and that I will always love him. He was so cute and sad still.
His was by far the worst. But here's what I had to tell him. I had just had a dream that there was a repairman coming over to fix our floor in our front room. (There's nothing wrong with our floor, but that's beside the point.) The man was an hour late, and I think we were a bit frustrated with him. The funny thing is that the repairs he was supposed to do included pouring little shiny blue stars all over the floor. I guess it was pretty important that he did this. When he finally got there, he went straight to the fridge and asked if we had any coffee he could have. We told him we never have coffee so he opened up the freezer, got out our ice cream (neopolitan which we rarely really have), poured chocolate syrup on it, and ate it all.
Weird.
Matt said that the repairman can have all our ice cream and can pour blue stars on our floor as long as we don't get a divorce.
Cute.
After going back to sleep I had a dream about Stake Conference. It's tonight and tomorrow, and I have been working as the substitute choir director for the last 6 weeks to get our ward choir ready to sing tonight. We've worked very hard, and I am looking forward to it.
In my dream we had just gotten to the meeting, and it was about to start. That's when I realized that I didn't bring the music. I was a bit frantic. Conference started out with Clayton giving a talk. I don't remember too much about it, but it was funny. And at one point, he couldn't remember the name of something, so he went down into the congregation to ask Lauren what it was called. Then went back up to the stand.
When it was the choir's turn, for some reason we had to sing with a big white sheet covering us. And I had to pin the sheet up to the wall so that I could see in front of me - I was facing the wall. Everyone was in a column behind me about 2 people wide. So I couldn't see anyone while I led the choir, and I didn't have any music. Somehow everyone started on time when I waved my arm - which I really hadn't been sure they would do. But they weren't very good at cutting off on time, and I kept messing up too. There are a few times in the piece that the time changes between 3/4 and 4/4. I messed those up. For some reason or other, we only got halfway through the piece and then stopped. It may have been because I was messing up too much.
The next thing I remember in my dream was bolting out of the room as soon as the meeting was over and running (sprinting more like) all the way home and BAWLING. I was so upset. People tried to tell me that the choir did a good job (which it didn't), and I would just cry harder. I remember running by a few restaurants that had huge lines of people outside waiting their turns and knowing that these were all stake conference people. (That doesn't make sense as I had been one of the first ones to leave.) Another thing that didn't make sense was the fact that I was springing home. I don't think I was pregnant in my dream. It just doesn't seem like my tummy was big. And I know I couldn't really run like that today.
So those were our weird dreams. Not sure why I thought any of you might care, but I'm kind of into blogging every day now. I often have dreams the night before something that is important to me happens. And in those dreams, everything goes terribly wrong. I think I had similar dreams the night before the Ward Christmas Program last year and maybe before my talk on Mother's Day. The good thing is that it never goes as bad in reality as in my dream. And I'm sure stake conference tonight will go wonderfully.
His was by far the worst. But here's what I had to tell him. I had just had a dream that there was a repairman coming over to fix our floor in our front room. (There's nothing wrong with our floor, but that's beside the point.) The man was an hour late, and I think we were a bit frustrated with him. The funny thing is that the repairs he was supposed to do included pouring little shiny blue stars all over the floor. I guess it was pretty important that he did this. When he finally got there, he went straight to the fridge and asked if we had any coffee he could have. We told him we never have coffee so he opened up the freezer, got out our ice cream (neopolitan which we rarely really have), poured chocolate syrup on it, and ate it all.
Weird.
Matt said that the repairman can have all our ice cream and can pour blue stars on our floor as long as we don't get a divorce.
Cute.
After going back to sleep I had a dream about Stake Conference. It's tonight and tomorrow, and I have been working as the substitute choir director for the last 6 weeks to get our ward choir ready to sing tonight. We've worked very hard, and I am looking forward to it.
In my dream we had just gotten to the meeting, and it was about to start. That's when I realized that I didn't bring the music. I was a bit frantic. Conference started out with Clayton giving a talk. I don't remember too much about it, but it was funny. And at one point, he couldn't remember the name of something, so he went down into the congregation to ask Lauren what it was called. Then went back up to the stand.
When it was the choir's turn, for some reason we had to sing with a big white sheet covering us. And I had to pin the sheet up to the wall so that I could see in front of me - I was facing the wall. Everyone was in a column behind me about 2 people wide. So I couldn't see anyone while I led the choir, and I didn't have any music. Somehow everyone started on time when I waved my arm - which I really hadn't been sure they would do. But they weren't very good at cutting off on time, and I kept messing up too. There are a few times in the piece that the time changes between 3/4 and 4/4. I messed those up. For some reason or other, we only got halfway through the piece and then stopped. It may have been because I was messing up too much.
The next thing I remember in my dream was bolting out of the room as soon as the meeting was over and running (sprinting more like) all the way home and BAWLING. I was so upset. People tried to tell me that the choir did a good job (which it didn't), and I would just cry harder. I remember running by a few restaurants that had huge lines of people outside waiting their turns and knowing that these were all stake conference people. (That doesn't make sense as I had been one of the first ones to leave.) Another thing that didn't make sense was the fact that I was springing home. I don't think I was pregnant in my dream. It just doesn't seem like my tummy was big. And I know I couldn't really run like that today.
So those were our weird dreams. Not sure why I thought any of you might care, but I'm kind of into blogging every day now. I often have dreams the night before something that is important to me happens. And in those dreams, everything goes terribly wrong. I think I had similar dreams the night before the Ward Christmas Program last year and maybe before my talk on Mother's Day. The good thing is that it never goes as bad in reality as in my dream. And I'm sure stake conference tonight will go wonderfully.
Friday, May 29
A New Milestone
This morning I went to go get Amy from her bed. She had been calling out to us for a while, but I like to wait until 7 to get her if she tries to get up before that. I just think she can handle it waiting that long better than I can handle getting up at 6 or 6:30. So I went to get her... and she was standing there naked. That's the first time she'd done that. Her jammies were a little big on her and I think easy enough for her to take off. And I knew she could take off her diaper on her own. Still, it caught me a little off guard.
I also thought of yet another funny thing about Amy that I wanted to share. The other day we were getting a ride home from the mechanic's place while they kept our van. Amy and I sat in the back seat together. At one point, I blew on her forehead, just for fun. She responded with some lamaze breathing. Cracked me up. My contractions lately haven't been so bad and painful, but enough that it's a good time to practice breathing through them. Amy's picked up on it and will sometimes help me breathe through them. Plus I think she knows it makes us laugh.
Oh, and I'm still pregnant... in case you couldn't tell by the fact that I am posting on the blog but not about a new baby.
I also thought of yet another funny thing about Amy that I wanted to share. The other day we were getting a ride home from the mechanic's place while they kept our van. Amy and I sat in the back seat together. At one point, I blew on her forehead, just for fun. She responded with some lamaze breathing. Cracked me up. My contractions lately haven't been so bad and painful, but enough that it's a good time to practice breathing through them. Amy's picked up on it and will sometimes help me breathe through them. Plus I think she knows it makes us laugh.
Oh, and I'm still pregnant... in case you couldn't tell by the fact that I am posting on the blog but not about a new baby.
Thursday, May 28
Continued
In the very few minutes since I posted that last post, Amy did something else adorable and hilarious. I put our breakfast in the oven. As soon as I opened the door, from across the kitchen, Amy said hot. So she started blowing in the general direction of the oven to cool it off. She's also blown on the crock pot before when it was hot. I love it.
Silly Amy
I meant to post a few funny things Amy has been doing lately, but I forgot.
In the last few weeks, Amy has started saying prayers. She just repeats the last word of the phrase - and only does it sometimes, but it is SO CUTE. We help her by pausing after the phrase and raising the pitch of the last word so she knows that is what she needs to repeat. She won't always do it, but she does a lot. It's fun to hear how she pronounces the new words that we throw in too. When I close the prayer I always say "in the name [pause] of Jesus [pause] Christ [pause] amen [pause]" so she can learn all those words. Yesterday Amy cut to the chase and remembered to say Jesus Christ all together even though I had only prompted her to say Jesus. We were impressed.
I may have mentioned this one before, but Amy loves to point to the pictures on our wall and tell us who or what they are. On our living room wall, we have a picture of the Manti Temple, a picture of Jesus and our framed marriage certificate. Amy calls the temple dadlap. She says Jesus well. There's no way to spell her version of marriage certificate, but believe me, it's awesome.
Another great thing Amy does is say bless you after anyone sneezes. This morning she was talking in her room. (We often leave her in her room after she wakes up for quite a while because she stays really happy and says cute things. It gives us extra minutes to ourselves after she wakes us up.) This morning Matt sneezed (rather loudly) in the living room. Amy was still in her room, but I heard her say bless you. It made me laugh.
Nothing to report in the pregnancy department. I have had so fewer contractions this week than I did last week. (Not complaining about that.) So we haven't had any false alarms for a while. I'm feeling resigned to waiting 5 more days. That's not so long.
In the last few weeks, Amy has started saying prayers. She just repeats the last word of the phrase - and only does it sometimes, but it is SO CUTE. We help her by pausing after the phrase and raising the pitch of the last word so she knows that is what she needs to repeat. She won't always do it, but she does a lot. It's fun to hear how she pronounces the new words that we throw in too. When I close the prayer I always say "in the name [pause] of Jesus [pause] Christ [pause] amen [pause]" so she can learn all those words. Yesterday Amy cut to the chase and remembered to say Jesus Christ all together even though I had only prompted her to say Jesus. We were impressed.
I may have mentioned this one before, but Amy loves to point to the pictures on our wall and tell us who or what they are. On our living room wall, we have a picture of the Manti Temple, a picture of Jesus and our framed marriage certificate. Amy calls the temple dadlap. She says Jesus well. There's no way to spell her version of marriage certificate, but believe me, it's awesome.
Another great thing Amy does is say bless you after anyone sneezes. This morning she was talking in her room. (We often leave her in her room after she wakes up for quite a while because she stays really happy and says cute things. It gives us extra minutes to ourselves after she wakes us up.) This morning Matt sneezed (rather loudly) in the living room. Amy was still in her room, but I heard her say bless you. It made me laugh.
Nothing to report in the pregnancy department. I have had so fewer contractions this week than I did last week. (Not complaining about that.) So we haven't had any false alarms for a while. I'm feeling resigned to waiting 5 more days. That's not so long.
Wednesday, May 27
What does Amy Say?
If you ask Amy what Amy says she will tell you "uhhh bidja" or "uhhh bida" (long i sound). It's hard to spell words that toddlers create. But you can hear her on this video. I also think she looks particularly cute here. I don't know why she didn't do her animal sounds right here; she usually does them well. But I still like all the cute things she said.
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