Kate Suzanne Howard---Her birth story

As you can see from the previous post, Kate was born Monday October 18, 2010! It's still hard for me to comprehend that she is finally here and I now have two beautiful little girls still!

I went to the Dr. on Friday, and luckily I had progressed to being dilated to a 3 and was 75% effaced. That was good enough for him to agree to induce Monday morning. YEAH! I was so happy. My sister had flown in Friday morning (just before the dr appt) and I was hoping to have the baby while she was here to help me as much as possible! So, we were scheduled to be at the hospital at 7AM Monday morning. Well, Sunday night I was feeling pretty crampy, and i just figured it was from having my membranes stripped and from more braxton hicks contractions. However, at about 2AM, I woke up with definite contractions. It was a weird feeling because I KNEW that's what they were, but since I never really had them with Gracie, I kept second guessing myself. However, they were quite regular, and prevented me from sleeping--though I did lay in bed and try to rest as much as possible. By about 5 o'clock however, I had to wake Bryant up. They contractions were getting quite strong and more regular and I just couldn't do it by myself anymore. Of course right at this time, Gracie decided to wake up and want to crawl in bed with us. So, Bry took her back to bed while Kristin got up with me and timed my contractions and talked me through them. She was so sweet, she make me some breakfast (because she said they wouldn't let me eat at the hospital, and was very worried about that), and stayed in the bathroom with me while I took a quick shower. By about 6:30 the contractions were really starting to be intense and I knew I needed to get to the hospital.

So, Bryant and I headed out and got to the hospital just before 7AM as planned. After getting all squared away with paperwork stuff, and getting the IV and into the very attractive hospital gown, the nurse was able to confirm that I was in fact in labor all by myself. I guess Kate was going to come on Monday one way or another! However, my contractions then became very spuratic. I was already dilated to a 5 by the time I got to the hospital however, so the nurse called Dr. Beller to find out what he wanted to do. To get the contractions going again, they gave me the tiniest bit of pitocin--for about 15 minutes is all, and sure enough they came back full force!

I progressed pretty quickly after that, so they called for an epidural. The poor anesthesiologist had a really hard time giving me the epidural however. He tried THREE times, and finally called his collegue to come and help him. The forth try made my legs go numb, but I could still feel every contraction and everything go in and out. Basically the epidural didn't work. But at that point I was ready to push. So Dr. Beller came in, and I pushed for about 20 minutes. That's not that long I know-but since I could feel EVERYTHING, it was the longest 20 minutes I think I've ever had to endure.

I felt Kate's head and thought "Oh good, it's almost over." I looked down and saw a concerned look on Dr. Bellers face, and then all the sudden I felt really nauseated. There were like 5 nurses in the room and at the next contraction as I pushed all the nurses pushed on my stomach at the same time. Finally--Baby Kate was born!

Come to find out, her little shoulder got stuck behind my pelvis and her heart rate dropped (hence the concerned look on Dr. Bellers face) and the reason all the nurses pushed on my stomach. And my blood pressure just dropped a bit which caused the feeling of nausea.

I LOVE seeing Bryant after having a baby. He is the proudest Daddy I have ever seen. They just took Kate to the warming table right next to my bed and I could tell Bry was so torn if he should stay with me or go to the baby (which he really wanted to do). I remember looking at him and saying "go with the baby" while the Dr. got the placenta and stuff out.

Little Kate was just perfect. She had a sweet little cry and despite getting stuck for a few minutes, had a very good APGAR score. We are still crossing our fingers that she stays as mellow and easy going as she is now. She's 5 1/2 days old now, and so far so good!

We Love You Baby Kate!

We've added another 10 little fingers and 10 little toes!!!

Well, she's here! Kate Suzanne Howard was born October 18, 2010 at 11:38 AM. We are SO glad she has finally joined our family. She weighed in at 8 lbs 10 1/2 oz and is 21 1/4 inches long. She's a big girl! She outweighed Gracie by 5 1/2 oz and is almost a whole inch taller.

So far, she has been such a mellow little sweetheart. I hope she continues to be like this and it's not just a tease:) She is absolutely perfect. It's just amazing how you can automatically love someone so much so instantaneously!

Gracie has jumped onboard the "Big Sister Train" really well, and loves Baby Kate. She says her name so cute...it sounds like "baby cakes" when she talks to her or about her. She loves to give her the binky and has been very helpful and bringing me something if I need it. What a good little helper!

I will blog about the whole birth process with Kate separately, but for now here are a few pictures of our precious new little bundle of joy! And, I promise to post more pictures soon.

Ready or Not...

With the due date fast approaching, I realize I will have this baby sooner than later! I have a Dr. appt tomorrow, and hopefully we will schedule an induction date for sure. He will be doing the membrane stripping (sorry if that's TMI for some of you!) tomorrow as well, so we could have a baby this weekend sometime! In many ways, I am so ready for this, but in many other ways I am so not! Here is my list that is mostly for me, because I am really getting anxious about this whole thing!

Ready:
I am so tired of the aches and pains of pregnancy, I am ready to get this baby out!

Or Not...
But I know I will just trade one from of exhaustion in for another. It's one thing not to be able to sleep because I'm uncomfortable, it's another to be awakened from a nice deep sleep with a screaming baby!

Ready:
The hospital bag is packed, the apartment is clean, freezer meals are made and all the baby clothes are washed and hung up

Or Not...
No contractions that I could really tell this week, and the Dr. won't induce unless I'm a little more dilated:(

Ready:
I can't wait to see Gracie as a big sister!

Or Not...
Two kids! How am I going to take care of a newborn and still make sure Gracie feels special and loved? She's been my whole world for the past two years!

Ready:
Seeing Bryant once the baby is born. He is the proudest Daddy I've ever seen

Or Not...
For some reason I'm super anxious about the labor and delivery of this baby. It was so easy with Gracie (I slept through the whole thing and pushed 2 1/2 times) that I'm afraid I won't be that lucky again!

Speaking of Bryant:
What a great guy! He just lets me complain, and tries so hard to help me when he can. Despite being 9 months pregnant and HUGE, he still tells me how beautiful I am everyday! He is such a good Daddy. I love how excited Gracie gets when she sees him after he's been gone all day. I hope our girls (and our other future children) know how lucky they are to have a Daddy like Bryant! I'm so glad we came to Oregon together as a family, and he will be right next to me the whole time. I don't think I could do this without him!

Ready:
To get over being tired, slow, fat, hot, uncomfortable and anxious

Or Not....
Too bad I will still be all of those things for a while afterwards anyway

Ready:
To see our new baby girl
Have my sister here for 2 1/2 weeks
Take lots of pictures
Get back to the gym
Enjoy our new family of four

Or Not...
Going through labor--again, I'm afraid it won't be as easy as last time
After birth contractions (those hurt!)
Trying to figure out how to deal with two kids while completely exhausted
Seeing how much weight I have to loose even after the baby is born

Ready:
I am so grateful to be a mother. I realize what a privilege it really is, and how many women want children that can't have one. I hope I can make our Heavenly Father proud as I strive to teach my children the gospel.

So Ready or Not....Here we go (I hope)!

All about Gracie

I was looking back on my last several posts, and realized I haven't blogged much about the two loves of my life...Bryant and Gracie. So the next few posts are all about them!

Gracie...well she is definitely two, there is no question! Some days I LOVE this stage because she is so imaginative and cute and loving, and some days I can’t wait for this stage to be over because she is such a little stinker! How can someone so little be so dang loveable and make me so dang mad in the same five minute period of time?
I won’t focus on her naughtiness too much, since that is really not how she is usually. Basically she is just learning to be independent, and not listening to Mommy is one way to do things her way I guess. The problem is I HATE HATE HATE being ignored. When I ask her to do something like eat her yogurt at the table for example and she does everything but sit at the table because she is defying me…yeah that doesn’t settle to well! I have to look past this however, because she really is so much fun. She loves her Tigger and Pooh stuffed animals and will often have them do something like ride her bike or eat her breakfast, etc. I don’t know where she comes up with some of this stuff! She also loves to sing, and she’s getting very good at saying almost all of the words to some songs. Currently she loves Old MacDonald and a new song she learned in nursery about Elephants. So sometimes we will spend a while just singing different songs before naptime.
Her words have exploded along with her imagination lately too. Today for example, I was trying to take a picture of her on my phone and she decided she was going to be “sad” so she just got a fake sad face on and told me, “I sad Mom.” When I asked her why she said “I don’t know….I sad.” She also gets sad when she sees someone else sad. Like Cinderella for example! When Cinderella runs out to the garden crying, Gracie will pretend cry with her. It’s so sweet really!

She loves to give kisses. She loves to be tickled and tickle us! She LOVES animals. She loves other little kids too, but for some reason we still have to stay in nursery with her. She loves ice cream and fries and asks for them everyday. She also really loves babies. I think she is going to be a great big sister.
Her new favorite things to say:
MMM...it's alicious (delicious)
How you doin' Mommy/Daddy? You Okay?
Let's see
She loves to count. She can count to 10, but sometimes skips 5 and 8 for some reason
She is also learning her colors right now, which she is starting to get pretty good at...for being two!

We love you Gracie!

All about Bryant

Bryant is about to complete his fourth week on this first internship in Eugene. This has been a good experience for both of us I think. I have LOVED Springfield. The ward has been so kind to us, and so willing to help with anything that we need or they think we need. It’s been easy to make friends here! Mostly it has been so fun to see Bryant put his education and knowledge to work this past month. He is doing a pediatric internship, and he absolutely loves it! If you know Bry, you know how very loving and patient he is anyway. He has a perfect personality to work with kids. There are three therapists that he works with in this small clinic, and they all seem to love him as well. They have told him (and they told me when I met them last week too) that they really think Bryant should consider pediatric physical therapy for his career path. These therapists (all ladies) are awesome. Bryant has his own case load now. There are five kids that he treats by himself (with their supervision of course), but he comes up with a treatment plan for them and works with them on whatever they are struggling with. He really likes the kids too. He’ll come home and tell me about one of the kids and how cute they are. I think that makes a big difference too. Kids can sense these kinds of things and respond when they know they are loved.
For some reason, pediatrics pays fairly poorly, but there may be ways around that. I love that Bryant has found a career that makes him happy and that he is good at. So, we may be looking into some options, which will allow him to do pediatric therapy while still paying what we need to pay all of our student loans back. In any event, I definitely see pediatric therapy being something Bryant will do at some point in the future!
Bryant has also really bucked up to help me out with Gracie when she wakes up in the middle of the night. I hope this phase passes sooner than later, but for now, I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband who does his best to take care of me and help out when he can. And he lets me complain about how much it hurts to be so swollen or how bad my back aches from this HUGE belly of mine, and he just listens and asks what he can do to make it feel better. I sure am a lucky girl! I love you Bry!

Here are a few recent pictures--one at the U of O game we went to and one of the 10K he decided to run last minute. What a handsome guy!

Elder and Sister Carter

For those interested, I thought I would report that my parents have made it back home safe and sound. I was really really worried about my dad and how he would handle such a long journey. The thought of him having another "attack" (as we call them now) on a 23 hour trip was just horrifying to me. Nobody wants to think of their loved ones in pain especially! But, they made it just fine. In fact my mom said a little miracle happened (I think from all the prayers everyone has been giving on behalf of them), when they got on their really long flight from Seoul Korea to LAX, they upgraded them to first class! How cool is that first of all--flying first class. But this meant reclining seats, more room and just a lot more comfortable in general! Thank goodness!
They are currently in Las Vegas with my brother, sister in law and sister. Kristin was also miraculously able to find a doctor that could give my dad an appointment today! So, they can now get the ball rolling and get the tests, etc done that they need to and get him better ASAP. I am sure they will at least take his gall bladder out (which is a fairly simple surgery, and doesn't require tons of recovery time). It seems between his pancreas and his gall bladder he can't get rid of the nasty infection or whatever he has going on right now. It will be a few weeks still, but at least they are home and they can get things done. They are anxious to continue their missionary service--wherever that may be.
I am SO proud of them. It has been hard to come home from their mission. They love Mongolia, and for as long as I can remember they have talked about the day they will serve a mission together. What great examples I've had! This is a little set back, but one that will make their mission so much sweeter I think!

Gratitude

The past few days, I have really stepped back and looked at my life differently. This past year has been crazy--and it just doesn't seem to end! As I've reflected on what life has brought to me, I feel a deep sense of gratitude. I have a great life. My trials, though hard for me to deal with at the time, have strengthened my testimony, and really have not been that bad (though I'm sure they seemed "that bad at the moment!")

I am mostly grateful for the good health I have had throughout my life, and that my family has had for the most part as well. The past few months, my entire family has been reminded of what a great blessing the gift of health really is I think. My sister Kristin left on a full time mission to Virginia in May. She all of the sudden got so sick they sent her home in August to find out what in the world was going on. Besides a few nasty allergies and asthma, she has been a healthy girl most of her life as well.
My Dad, who never gets sick, I mean I think I can count on one hand how many times he's had the stomach flu or a cold or something, is also all of the sudden very sick. We were able to talk to him via Skype last night for a minute. He looks very skinny and worn out from the horrible ordeal his body has been through. In fact, 15 minutes on Skype just about sucked all the energy he had out of him. All he has ever wanted to do was serve a full time mission with my mom. He has loved being "Elder Carter" and serving in Mongolia. However, his health is bad enough as well that they will be sending my mom and dad home for medical care as soon as he is able to make the long travel back home. Of course, as soon as he gets better, my parents will finish serving as full time missionaries--whether here in the states or back in Mongolia.
I myself have had to deal with a rather odd variety of illnesses the past while as well. I know I posted all about how hard this pregnancy has been for me, and how hard it has been to get sick all the time with non-pregnancy related things, but it really has made me so so grateful for the good health I have had in my life. It has made me grateful that I have a healthy daughter and husband, and that the rest of my family has been blessed with good health as well. This is especially true after seeing my Dad last night. It's hard to see someone you love sick like that.

I have a great life. I have a wonderful husband. I have a beautiful daughter (soon to be two beautiful daughters!), I have all the comforts of life I could possibly need. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, and a testimony that Heavenly Father loves me. I have truly been blessed. So, instead of complaining about how uncomfortable I am these last few weeks of pregnancy, I am going to look back at this post and try and always remember all I have to be grateful for. I have a wonderful life!