Piper's Birth Story

Piper's due date was February 12th but since Clayton came early (and you really never know when babies are gonna come) we didn't know when to have my mom plan on coming out to Cali. We decided on February 9th. If Piper came earlier than that we had someone from church willing to come watch Clayton until my mom was able to come. This of course gave me crazy anxiety because I wanted to be able to plan when things were going to happen aaaaaand again you can't do that with kids.

February 9th (a Monday) came and Grandma was able to come out to Cali and stay with us. Once she was with us my anxiety went away and I was totally ok with baby girl coming. She decided to wait a little longer.

Wednesday night my mom and I went to the San Diego Temple and while I was in there I had a couple contractions but nothing crazy. We got back to the house pretty late I said, "well I'm not having this baby tonight" and we all went to bed.

After sleeping for a bit I started having contractions and they got really strong and pretty close together but not close enough. I went do the bathroom and it was blood tinged so I woke my mom asking if I should go. She said yes. So, I woke up Kyle and we got ready to get to the hospital. On the way to the hospital my contractions completely stopped, so I thought "Oh great they are going to send us back like they did last time with Clayton."

We got to the Navy hospital at 2:00 am. In case you are wondering that is a perfect time to go to that hospital because you don't have to look for great parking and junk because no one is there! I got out of the car and all of a sudden... my water broke. At least I hoped it was my water that had broken. "Um Kyle I think my water just broke. Unless I just peed myself which I don't think I did." I was completely soaked and had to walk across the whole complex from the parking lot to get to where we needed to be. I tried holding Kyle's hand but he was like "No way, you touched that stuff!" It was kind of funny. I probably would have done the same thing. While walking I just kept leaking, which is an interesting thing when you are completely soaked and it just won't stop coming! "Kyle it won't stop!" (We probably could have made money on YouTube with how ridiculous I looked trying to walk into the hospital).We walked past a couple of people that were guarding the doors but other than that I didn't have to be too mortified for looking like I had peed myself hardcore.

Once we got to Labor and Delivery I had to sign in and tell them when my water had broken. Which had been two minutes before. They said I was staying. Woot woot! I was in. Because I had Group B Strep during my pregnancy I had to be on Penicillin during my labor and delivery. They got me the IV in the triage room and we waited to get into a delivery room. I was still dressed from the waist up so I was wondering how that was going to work with the IV once I had to get in a gown. A little while later I found out. The nurse we had was named Marie and she was great. We went into the bathroom and I got completely undressed (with her help) and got the gown on. It was quite the ordeal but she was a pro. Nothing like standing completely naked 40 weeks prego in front of someone holding your IV. No shame at all. It is like once you are at the hospital all your guards are down and you don't give a dang. At least that is the case for me. I could care less. ha! Thank goodness for kind nurses.

Once I was settled into the room I got my epidural. Kyle was sitting in a chair behind us and the lady (can't remember her name and I didn't write it down) asked if he was gonna be ok watching. He looked at her, smiled, and said "Ya. This isn't my first rodeo."  I think she was a med student and was very interesting. I know you need to sit still while getting it done or else bad things can happen. Well, I tried to sit still but I kept having contractions and would twitch a bit when she tried putting the needle in. I didn't think I was moving a significant amount but she kept telling me to sit still. I was thinking "lady! I am trying to sit still!" Eventually I must have sat still long enough because she was able to give me the epidural.

All went well with the epidural and things were going great. Heavens I love those things. It was kind of funny because I was numb from the waist down but my arm kept hurting really bad from the Penicillin I was on. I had to put ice packs on it quite a bit.

Because that hospital is a hospital where there are a lot of medical students, Marie had someone with her to teach. Later, I was asked if it was ok if other students came in and watched and I didn't mind. I said "as long as none of them faint" (during my delivery with Clayton one of the med students almost fainted).

 I got my catheter put in but something weird happened and I started to feel woozy and started to pass out. Marie tried talking to me but I wasn't all the way there and I felt my body losing consciousness. My blood pressure dropped so I got put on oxygen. The whole rest of the labor and delivery I wore the mask (except when pushing). I'm still not exactly sure what happened but I am glad there were people there to take care of me.

Because my water had broken we were on a time crunch to get Piper out. So, I got put on Pitocin to help me dilate faster. After that we just waited... And waited... At 7:00 am the nurse shifts changed so I got a nurse named Jamie for the rest of the time.  And then we waited some more. Kyle was in and out of sleep in a chair and I was somewhat in and out of sleep too. Every once in a while Jamie would come in and check on me (not checking how dilated I was, but checking everything else) but mostly we just chilled in the room. Then it was a while of no one checking on me. After waiting for so long I wondered if I had been forgotten. It had been a while since someone had checked on me.

 At about 11 Jamie came in  with the midwife and they checked me. The midwife said she didn't like doing checks often during labor so that's why she had waited for so long to check me. I was dilated to 10 cm so they prepped me for pushing. I was pretty scared because I had pushed for a really long time with Clayton. The midwife left and was gonna come back to deliver Piper. At 11:07 I started pushing and I felt like I knew what I was doing. Kyle was right next to me putting the oxygen mask on me in between pushes.

Side note: the human body is incredible. And another side note: my husband rocks.

I had pushed for a little bit and was making progress. Then all of a sudden, mid push, Jamie said "Stop! Hold on" So I stopped. Apparently, Piper was going to come out that push and she needed to call the midwife in (I feel bad that I don't remember her name. It was just who was scheduled that day at the hospital. That's how it works with the military) to deliver. So, she came in, got situated and POP at 11:27 am out came a healthy, beautiful baby girl. I only pushed for 20 minutes! It was awesome. Kyle cut the cord and immediately they let me hold her. I wasn't expecting that but I surprisingly didn't mind. 8 lbs and 1 oz and 21 1/4 inches of perfection with the exact same dimple as her older brother. Oh, and of course the long feet and toes like Kyle.

The only complication was that I got a hematoma and had to ice it the rest of the hospital stay. And of course the nurses had to check on it every once in a while. Oh, and I fell down in the bathroom trying to sit on the toilet because my legs weren't completely back to normal from the epidural. Ha! It was pretty funny actually and I definitely laughed at myself.

 The postpartum room we were in had two beds and two tv's which was nice because Kyle was able to have his own bed and not a chair. The nurses were awesome and the day nurse (Matthew Cole) actually was buddies with one of Kyle's staff sergeants. The corpsman that came in with Cole was very odd though. I wondered if he had just recently started working there. Our night nurse crocheted a beanie for Piper during her shift which was very sweet. We were well taken care of and I am extremely grateful for the amazing people who helped us. We only had to stay in the hospital til the next afternoon and then we were able to go home and have Clayton and Grandma meet sister. All in all it was a very smooth, easy delivery and a great experience.


Ever since Piper became a part of our family it has been crazy to think about how life was before her. We all adore her. Even though I'm still getting used to being a mom of two, I'm so happy she is with us and I feel so blessed to be her momma.

The Move/ Cali

So, Kyle was "supposed" to be back at the end of August. Of course "supposed to" is relative because it always changes. Well, someone decided to change it again and he was extended another month. I already had an apartment and a moving date before the extension. My parents offered to just let me continue staying with them and move to Cali closer to when Kyle would be getting back. Well, there was a problem. Kyle had emailed me dog craigslist posts. He has always wanted a German Shepherd and we knew that was going to be the breed we would get. I had gone to the valley to see one, fell in love, and they said they could hold him til I moved. So, my parents would have had a dog in their yard and I just didn't want to be a hassle. I figured staying with the plan and moving in August would be a good choice. I could get the apartment ready and get Clayton, and the dog (Duke) all settled.

The weekend before the move my dad borrowed a trailer from Mike Hardy (Thanks Mike!!) and a truck from John Dalton (Thanks John!!) and we packed up all my stuff. On August 19th we drove to Phoenix and stayed the night in a suite (Thanks Dad!!). We all had our separate spaces which was fabulous because my child has issues sharing a room. ha The next morning I picked up Duke and we continued our drive to San Diego. Clayton rode with my parents with the truck and trailer (so there were more hands to help with him) and I drove my car with Duke.

We stopped in Yuma (terrible place to stop) for lunch. It was ridiculously hot and we were maneuvering between a new dog and a baby. Fun stuff. I made it to San Diego before my parents, signed papers, got the keys, and took Duke to the dog runs and waited for my parents.

The office told me that I only had one space and that I should try to back the trailer in it. Yeaaaaah right. That wasn't happening. It was a big trailer. We ended up taking up like five parking spaces. My dad said we could get it all out in 30 minutes and he would move the trailer. He was determined. Just in case anyone didn't know, my parents are awesome. I was holding Clayton and taking some things in so I was able to help a bit. My mom was in the trailer pushing things forward and my dad piled boxes onto the dolly and brought them in the house. I was able to get boxes in the right rooms so that there was space to get everything inside. It was seriously incredible how fast my mom and dad got all that stuff inside. I swear it is a world record. I can't thank them enough.

My parents stayed the night that night and left back to AZ the next morning. It was a marathon trip for them.
I really can't thank them enough for all the help they have been during this deployment. Pretty much my parents are the best.

Things have gone really well since we have been back out in Cali awaiting Kyle's return. Clayton adores Duke and they get along really well. Duke has really taken to us and he is a great dog. He is totally different than Lady (our dog we had before Kyle deployed) which is great. Although he has his own little quirks but we like him. I know that Kyle is going to get along great with him, and vice versa.

We do live in a different complex than before, but still minutes away from people I know. It is nice already having friends out here to keep me company and to hang out with. So nice. I have also made friends in the new ward at church! I was really sad when I knew it would be a different ward because it took so long for us to meet people before,but it is going great! Happiness!

We definitely try to keep ourselves busy and I think we are doing a really good job.

Frozen yogurt date with Noel and her girls

hanging out with Bob and Elizabeth's girls

at the beach with Carola

Clayton knows how to stay  busy. Pretty sure I have the busiest kid ever!

He is the best

hanging at the park

pool day

park day

the beautiful park near our apartment

Well I have almost made it 7 months without seeing my husband. He comes home next week!!!!!! Every time I think about it my heart races. It almost seems unreal. I am beyond excited. Bexcited? Sure.I can't wait to have Kyle home!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a crazy seven months and I can't thank my family and friends enough for being so awesome. Stay posted for "yay the hubby is home" pictures and posts!!

Can't wait for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all!!!

Our Cutie

On June 1, Corie Green took some pictures of Clayton. We did them at 6:00am (good lighting), but Clayton was teething and just was not having it. She was so very patient and we got some cute pictures even though little Clayton had heck of a time. So, that being said, here ya go.

Big blue eyes just like daddy

 

 

 

I can't wait to print them out and put them all over the wall when we move back to Cali. Not gonna lie, Kyle and I made a dang cute kid. Just saying. ;)

 

Clayton is ONE!!!!!

Ok, so Clayton is one and has been for about a month. Crazy right??!! I figured a late post would be better than not posting at all. This post is all over the place, but oh well. Here we go.

a couple random pictures before church on his birthday

 

Everyone has always told me that my kids will grow up so fast and it is happening! I can't believe I have a one year old. Still weirds me out not gonna lie. Clayton is an absolute joy and I can't imagine life without him. He is a goober and yes, there are times when I get frustrated, but it is honestly worth it when I see him smile, laugh, or pretty much do anything. :)

 

Pics of Clayton's first year

 

Likes:

• pushing the wagon around the backyard, frontyard, and driveway
• giggle and crack up (I swear this kid laughs at everything :) )
• walk everywhere.... I mean EVERYWHERE
• close himself into a room and knock and talk while someone knocks on the other side
• throw food off of his high chair
• babble about anything and everything
• trying to eat rocks
• trying to eat dirt
• ok, he tries to eat everything
• talking to his daddy on FaceTime
• waving
• clapping
• playing outside
• hanging out with Grandpa
• visiting the dogs across the street
• dogs in general (even if they bark at him he laughs it is hilarious)
• being the center of attention
• dancing (anytime he hears music he is moving)
• peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Baby Einsteins

the week after he started walking

 

 

 

hanging out with Grandpa

Clayton has 3 teeth, and a fourth that is just barely coming through the gums. He just recently got teeth and it is so weird seeing him with them. Every time I look at him he looks more grown up.

My dad had a wagon that he painted and said that Clayton could have it. That boy is obsessed with it! Such a fantastic gift.

 

A week after Clayton's birthday we had a family party. It was a lot of fun and Clayton made a mess but he was in a good mood which was great.

Kyle and I love our little man and we are so blessed to be Clayton's parents. We can't wait to see what fun adventures are in our future as Clayton continues to grow.