Video of Adalyn!

There was a request for some video of Addy moving around. It is kind of hard to tell in pictures what she looks like because she changes her facial expression a lot. So here you go.

This is her first sneeze! (I think so anyway)


We were watching the movie, Food, INC. She was totally into it!

Comparison

Adalyn

Brooklyn
Adalyn
Brooklyn

The Birth Story

The past couple of weeks have been crazy!! Since I was measuring so big so early, I was positive that Addy would be born ahead of schedule. I really did not expect to still be pregnant at Thanksgiving. Everything worked out really well, though, so I'm glad it happened the way it did. My measurements evened out towards the end and my belly never got to the 80 cm that I had anticipated, lol. In fact, the last couple of weeks, she was measuring right on.

So anyway, my mom and dad and my sister and her family all drove up (separately) from California to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. They got here on Wednesday the 25th. We went out to dinner, perused Cabela's, and made pies that evening. My sister had agreed to stay here until the baby was born so she could watch Brooklyn for us. I was scheduled to be induced on December 1st (the earliest they could fit me in.) However, Tyler was anxious to get back to work and my parents were heading out on Saturday the 28th. So, everybody was quite adamant that I do a lot of walking to get the baby to come. (Sorry it didn't work!) On Thanksgiving, the girls and kids stayed home and cooked while the boys (men?) went and played football and hiked the Y. It was a low-key dinner but very nice to be together. We put the kids to bed and watched a movie that night. On Friday, we all went to Gardner Village and did the scavenger hunt for elves doing various activities. It was just a little bit too cold, but still fun. The girls got sugar sticks at the end. Then we went to Cafe Rio for lunch, yum! In honor of Black Friday, Katy and Tyler went shopping while everyone else napped. Tracy and Lauren came and visited that night.

On Saturday, Katy and clan spent time with the Nichols family in Salt Lake and we went to the mall with my parents. The goal of being at the mall? To induce labor. Again, no dice. We did get to go out to Iggy's for lunch which is always a plus. My mom and dad left for St. George that afternoon while we watched the BYU vs. Utah game. Okay, Jason watched the game. Brooklyn and I took naps. Sunday evening after church we went over to Tracy and Lauren's for pizza dinner. It was delicious and the kids had fun playing with their cute little nativity set and reindeer antler headbands.

Monday was, I thought, my last day to do whatever I wanted before having the baby. We took the kids to the cute Christmas storytime at the library in the morning. Then we went to Costco and had samples because Brooklyn had been begging to go for the past few days. This is where Katy decided that Utahans are "vicious." Never get between Mormons and free food, lol. You really do have to be prepared to fight for that little square of toast with grape jelly. Afterwards we went to Emmett's and Ethel's for lunch and ice cream.

We then went home to put the kids down for naps. After getting Brooklyn settled, I checked the messages on our phone. Guess what? One of the calls was from the hospital. Apparently, they had 11 inductions scheduled for the following day and were hoping to get a couple of us in there early. I called them back and they asked if I could be there in 15 minutes!!! Luckily, I had my bag all packed and Jason and I just grabbed it and left. It was so nice to not have to do an emotional goodbye with Brooklyn. Plus, she had just spent the last several days with Katy and was having so much fun with Lucy that I didn't worry about her waking up without us at all. Apparently, we weren't even missed.

Upon arrival to the hospital, they whisked me into a delivery room and started putting on monitors, IVs, etc. By 3:00 pm, I was all hooked up to pitocin and starting to have contractions. We thought for sure we'd have a November baby. Things progressed slower than anticipated, despite having my water broken an hour or so later. Eventually I asked for an epidural. I wasn't really having much pain, but I was feeling more and more pressure and didn't see any reason to let the pain start. Okay, so the real reason I asked for it was I was sick of having to drag all the IV equipment into the bathroom and the fluids they were giving me were making me really have to go!! After the epidural (and accompanying catheter) I was a lot more comfortable. It was a good thing I asked for the epidural when I did because the anesthesiologist was headed to a surgery and if I had asked any later I would have had to wait.

After the epidural, Jason and I just hung out and watched a movie. We texted family and played games with the clock, wondering when Addy would make an appearance. At around 11 pm, the contractions were getting to the point where I was in a good deal of pain. I tried to just grin and bear it, but when the midwife told me I was still only dilated to a 7 I realized we still had some time left and asked for an extra dose of the epidural. That was pretty much the only 20 minutes of pain I had during the whole experience. Oh, that and them putting the IV in my HAND!! Why would they do that?!

At 12:40 am, the nurse told me I was fully dilated. They got everything set up and I started with a "practice push" at 12:48. I seriously thought we were still "practicing" when they told me the baby's head was out. =) The nurses all went crazy telling me how much hair she had. I didn't really believe them because they said the same thing about Brooklyn and she was pretty much bald. When they put Adalyn on my chest, it was a total disconnect. I had been picturing her as a light, bald little baby like her sister. Who was this dark little curly-headed stranger??... that was already peeing on me? They took her and weighed her and cleaned her up some. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She was born December 1st, 2009 at 12:55 am after 7 minutes of pushing. Even though the first ultrasound we got had put her due date at December 6th, the nurse said that her skin was already peeling some which usually means they are at least 40 weeks or later. I think December 1st was right on.

I got to hold her for a while before they took her to the nursery for a bath and tests. The epidural wore off pretty quickly and I was all of a sudden starving. After being transferred, examined, eating, taking pictures of the baby in the stocking they brought her in, etc. we finally got to sleep. By the way, why is it so important that the trashes in the room be emptied at precisely 7:30 every morning?? Seriously. Jason had to get up and leave that morning. Katy and Tyler wanted to get on the road to CA and we didn't have anybody else to watch Brooklyn. It was a sad goodbye because we didn't know how much we would see each other for the next couple of days. The hospital wasn't allowing children under the age of 14 to visit because of the swine flu. So, we knew Jason would have to be at home the majority of the time with Brooklyn. Before leaving town, Katy came to see Addy. We discussed changing her name. She didn't seem like an Adalyn to either of us. I think mostly because of the disconnect I mentioned before. I just hadn't pictured the baby looking like she does. However, Jason and I didn't have any other names that we both liked enough, so Adalyn stuck. I like it a lot more now after getting to know her some and calling her that. Brooklyn pronounces it "Adin." A few hours after Katy left, I got some AWESOME news. The hospital decided to lift the ban on children visitors!! It was so crazy that it happened THAT DAY!!! What a blessing. So Jason and Brooklyn got to come see me both days I was in the hospital. I was still very anxious to get home, though. That bed was extremely uncomfortable and hospitals are surprisingly noisy.

Adalyn and I were discharged from the hospital yesterday morning (Dec. 3rd). She needs to go back tomorrow morning for another billirubin test. It was high on the initial test so they ordered another one 48 hours later. That one was not as high, but they are checking it again tomorrow just to make sure she's okay. I think she's perfect. I have loved getting to know her and actually wish she was awake more so I could spend more time with her. It's nice to have the time to be with Brooklyn though. Brooklyn's got a cold, so when Addy's awake I pretty much constantly tell her to stay away. So sad...

I'm feeling surprisingly good. I never had to take any narcotics and haven't even taken much Advil since being home. I didn't tear at delivery and just seem to have more energy than I did with Brooklyn. It's a hidden blessing that Jason is unemployed right now because he's here to take care of Brooklyn while I take care of Addy. Even so, I think the only thing that would make life perfect right now is a JOB!!

We are so glad that Adalyn is here and that she is healthy. She is absolutely beautiful. Seriously, pictures don't do her justice. She makes the cutest little newborn expressions and she loves to snuggle close. I'm so excited to watch her grow and for Brooklyn to get over her cold so the sisters can bond. What a BLESSING to be a mom.

Brooklyn Meets Adalyn

As promised here is a picture with the eyes open. We even got a little smile!

Because of the swine flu the hospital has had a rule that nobody under 14 could visit the maternity ward. Well today they changed that rule! Now anybody that is not sick can visit. We were so excited for Brooklyn to meet Adalyn.

This is the first time the two sisters met.

Thank you all for your comments! We feel so blessed to have two happy healthy little girls and all of your support and love.

Adalyn is here!

Adalyn Grace Maner was born on December 1st at 12:55 a.m. She is 8 pounds 4 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark curly hair just like her Mom. Once Melody started pushing baby Adalyn was out in 7 minutes! Melody is feeling good and Adalyn is a happy baby. She just started to open her eyes and look around so I will post a picture with her eyes open later.

Pregnancy

Here I am at approximately 38 weeks.

I know I haven't written much about this pregnancy. It seems like it's been a pretty miserable/uncertain 9 months. But it has been nice to know that I'm growing a little playmate for Brooklyn in my belly. I love her so much already.

Just for journaling purposes, I wanted to write a little bit about the whole experience. We found out we were expecting in late March. I took a dollar store pregnancy test and there was a faint, faint line indicating positive. I thought for sure it was just the result of a cheap test because I had to squint to even tell if it was there. (And I really, really wanted it to be there!) I didn't even tell Jason about it when he came home for lunch. I told myself to wait a few more days and go buy a decent test. Well, I couldn't wait that long. I had a digital test that I had gotten for free with another package a while back. I had been saving it for when I was sure I would get a positive reading. It was the only one I had left, and since there was a faint line (sort of) on the first test, I decided to use it. I was shocked when I saw the word "pregnant!!" No arguing with that! I told Jason when he got home from work and filmed his reaction. We were both so happy!!

I was nauseated for probably the first HALF of my pregnancy. It was miserable. Finally, I discovered Unisom. I would take a half tablet before bed each night and it would keep the nausea in check for the following day... and help me sleep. =) That was a huge blessing.

When I first went to the doctor, I was given a due date of November 21st. Based on that date, they did the routine 20-week ultrasound at the end of July. However, the ultrasound showed that the baby was only about 18 weeks. Because of that, they changed my due date to December 6th. That is also when we found out that we were having another girl! I was SOOO happy! And Jason was too. He said that he thinks girls are easier... at least on the dad. Because somehow a daughter is the mother's responsibility and a son is the father's? I dunno.. but I'm glad he was happy. They also told us at this ultrasound that since the baby wasn't as developed as they thought, they couldn't get a clear look at her palate to see if it was cleft or not. We had another ultrasound a month later and everything looked great. The technician was even nice enough to pull out the 3-D machine and give us a few pictures of our baby looking like a real baby! She has such a sweet little face with perfect lips.

Anyway, shortly after the nausea subsided I had some major dental problems. I had a root canal, a crown, two teeth extracted, an infection, and another root canal all within a two-month period. There were a couple of weeks where all I did was lie on the couch with an ice pack on my face and try not to cry. I was able to take Lortab (they say it is safe during pregnancy), but I tried to take as few as possible because it does affect the baby. The billing for all of these treatments is STILL not resolved and has been a major headache.

After my teeth started feeling better, I got a pretty bad cold and was sick for a couple of weeks. Not long after I started feeling better from the sickness, Jason lost his job. They shut down the entire call center where he had been working. (He also graduated from college the same month, so August wasn't ENTIRELY bad.)

September was a traveling month for us. The contract on our apartment was up (we had moved there at the beginning of May), but my grandma wasn't ready to move out of her house yet (we live there in the fall/winter while she goes down to sunny St. George). Since Jason was unemployed and my schedule is pretty flexible, we decided to spend the month visiting family. We went to Arizona for almost 2 weeks and stayed with Jason's parents. They were nice enough to watch Brooklyn for us while we took a little vacation to Las Vegas for about 3 days. We couldn't believe how cheap it was to stay there. We got a hotel with free internet access and a pool about 2 minutes from the strip for less than $20 a night! We had a fun time, but I was anxious to get back to Brooklyn. It was the first time we had left her. She did great and loved being with her grandparents, but she has been apprehensive about us leaving her ever since. Last week was the first time she actually stayed in nursery by herself since we got back from AZ. And even then she cried for the first few minutes. That was never a problem before.

After AZ, we went to Bakersfield, CA to stay with my family for another 2 weeks. We got to go to the fair and Jason did a couple of job interviews. It was fun to be there, but it is tiring to be traveling and unsettled for so long.

In October, we moved into Jason's cousin's basement apartment. While there, Brooklyn turned 2!! She had a great day. I wrote a nice, long blog all about it that day and it somehow got lost. Hopefully I will feel like writing about it again sometime soon. She is a happy, healthy little girl. Here are her 2-year-old stats: height: 38 inches, off the charts; weight: 32.5 lbs, 96th percentile, head: 48 cm, 60th percentile.

At the end of October, we moved AGAIN. We are currently back in my Grandma's house in Lehi. During the last month or two of my pregnancy, the baby has been measuring really big. They did another ultrasound to make sure everything was okay, but who knows if that December 6th due date is accurate or not? According to my own personal calculations, it's more like December 1st. I will be induced on the 1st either way. My lovely little sister is coming for Thanksgiving and has offered to stay with me until I have the baby so that Brooklyn doesn't have to stay with a stranger. Brooklyn loves her Aunt Katy and her cousins, so I am so happy they are able to come. Especially with her fear of being left... at least she will be left with people she knows and loves.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I had to go the emergency room. I was having flu symptoms and a persistently rapid heart rate (around 150 at rest). They took some tests, gave me some fluids, and sent me home. I ended up testing positive for Swine Flu. Luckily, we caught it in time and I was able to take Tamiflu, which shortened the duration of the symptoms. I have been feeling exhausted ever since then... which could be from the flu or from late pregnancy or both. It has been putting a damper on getting things done, though. I just want to sleep all the time. Plus, with the baby measuring so big, I feel really uncomfortable. I haven't been able to work much because I can't sit up at the computer for very long without feeling like I'm going to break in half.

I am so anxious for this little girl to come!! The first good news in a while! Brooklyn talks about her all the time and likes to lift up my shirt to see my belly. Of course, she also likes to lift up her own shirt and show me the baby under there.

We have decided to name the baby Adalyn Grace. Naming kids is so hard!! We wanted to include the name Lynn somewhere, either as a first or second name. Growing up, I was the only one in my family without a middle name twin. My dad and brother both have the same middle name and so do my mom and sister. I always felt kind of left out. In fact, I secretly gave our dog the middle name Lynn just so I would have a buddy. What a coincidence that Jason's middle name is also Lynn!! Another happy coincidence is that Brooklyn has the name. We named her after the place we met, but it fit well with our family. So, we are going to "add a Lynn." Get it? Adalyn?? (The second n in Lynn is rather superfluous, don't you think?) We both like the name and think it is cute to call her Addy for short. The name Grace is one we considered as a first name. We like the sound of it as well as the religious significance.

We are so excited for Addy to get here!!! We've been trying to walk and clean and coax her to come out as much as possible. At most, it will be just another 10 days. Hooray!!! We'll let you all know when the big day arrives and let you see pictures of our second precious little girl.

And just for good measure, a picture of Brooklyn "taking a picture" of Jason with her "camera phone" while he takes a picture of her.

Leaves and Halloween

Fall is upon us and I thought Brooklyn might have fun helping me rake up the leaves. It's amazing how many leaves drop from these two trees. And they never come off all at once. It's like a 3 month thing trying to keep the leaves raked up so they don't go into the neighbors yard. They don't have any trees and I feel bad that they still get the leaves. Brooklyn and I had a lot of fun though!

Still a ways to go!

Brooklyn had so much fun at our ward trunk-or-treat! She was really good about saying trick or treat and saying thank you afterwards. We do think Melody got the swine flu here though :-(.

We still have some snow in our backyard and Brooklyn just loves it.

Brooklyn likes to dress up and dance. She also likes to wear these glasses whenever we will let her. Church, Costco, at night, there are no limits. She also likes us to call her "superstar" when she puts them on. I'm not sure where she got that!