Who is Who?

Do all siblings look this alike as newborns? Do you know which baby is Aurora and which is Derek?

Birth Story 2

Once again, this post is more for my benefit since I'm still not writing in my journal regularly. It is detailed and contains all the correct terms, so feel free to skip it.


February 16 was my regular weekly check up with my doctor. I had told him repeatedly (as I had told almost all my friends) that I was fine going late with this baby and that, if possible, I wanted to have him March 1. So at my weekly appointment we joked about having the baby February 29. We had joked about it before and, once again, I mentioned how I wanted to wait until March. He proceeded to check my cervix (I had been 3 cm dilated again but only about 30-40% effaced) and we talked about something else while he was doing so. He finished and after we finished our conversation, I asked if there was any change. He replied "Well, you're still a three, but it's a loose three so I went ahead and stripped your membranes just a smidge." I was floored. Stripping my membranes with Aurora sent me into labor the same day. I was not ready to have this baby and I was nervous about what stripping my membranes a "smidge" meant. I didn't say anything to him at the time and left. I needed to go to the fabric store and, while there, I started cramping. Not contractions, just strong cramps that were completely inconsistent in time and length.

I got home and tried to take it easy and the cramps subsided off and on. Greg had to be somewhere at 6 pm and didn't get home until 5:20 pm. Then Aurora needed a bath, which I hadn't done in months because it's hard to lift her in and out of the tub when I'm that big. But she really needed one and I decided to do it anyway. By the time Greg got home at 8 pm, the cramping was painful. We put Aurora to bed and that's the point where we both got a bit nervous and thought maybe this was serious. I was in complete denial on the outside and inwardly having a panic attack. Again, I was not ready to have this baby. I hadn't packed for the hospital.  I hadn't pre-certified with our insurance. I was supposed to present at a church activity in 4 days. Laundry needed to be done. We were supposed to go grocery shopping that Saturday. I hadn't made the blankets or car seat covers (the fabric was why I went to the fabric store). I hadn't passed an exam for school I wanted to. My sister-in-law, LaDonna, wasn't flying out to help me for just over three weeks. People that were on my list to take Aurora were either out of town or would be very inconvenienced. I called my sister, Kristen, to ask her to be on call for overnight--just in case. Greg took our main car to put gas in it. I refused to pack for the hospital. I was supposed to have ONE MORE WEEK!

By the time we went to bed, the cramping had stopped but I was having bad back pain. I didn't know what back labor would feel like and my doctor hadn't told me what position the baby was in, so I thought maybe the baby was just moving down. We went to bed and I was able to sleep a little amid the tossing and turning. Greg was able to sleep marginally more. Finally at 5 am I was so uncomfortable that I gave up and got out of bed. I started playing around on the computer but the back pain was getting more intense so I started timing it. Turned out the back pain was coming every 5-7 minutes and lasting for 30-40 seconds. Hmm, sounds like labor. I was still unsure though since I had back pain with Aurora two weeks before she was born simply because she was moving. With Aurora, it lasted about an hour and then stopped. At 6 am, I decided to get int the tub and try to relax. It helped a lot and the back pain even stopped for a while. Still, after not sleeping well and being in pain, I decided Greg was not going to work that day. At 6:30 am I got out of the tub and told Greg what had been happening. The back pain started up again and by 7 am I decided we were going to the hospital to see what was going on. I started packing for the hospital and called the insurance while Greg got ready. Since it was now morning, I texted my friend Stephanie and asked if we could drop Aurora off. Of course she said yes, so Greg got Aurora dressed and ready to go. By the time we were ready at 8 am, I was in significant pain and breathing through each episode.

After dropping off Aurora, we got to the hospital around 8:45 am and they wanted to triage me before deciding to admit me. At 9 am, I was already 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced (stripping my membranes helps your cervix efface...obviously it works really well on me). They admitted me and hooked up the IV penicillin. I have a type of strep called Group B Strep that the baby can contract through the birth canal, so I have to get penicillin before delivering the baby. They wanted me to have two doses, and each dose has to be 4 hours apart. So, since they started the first dose at 9 am, they didn't want me to deliver until after 1 pm. The back pain was still intense and they wanted me to lay in bed while getting the penicillin. That's when I asked for the epidural. Luckily the anesthesiologist was fast and I was much more comfortable shortly. At 10:30 am I started throwing up and asked them to check me again. I was already 7 cm and the nurse said my water was really close to breaking. Since they didn't want me to deliver for another 3 hours, the nurse said they weren't going to check me again and wanted me to try to not move much. Fine with me since I had the epidural.

We hung out, chatted, watched TV, and played around on the internet until 1 pm. They started my second dose of penicillin and said they were going to go call my doctor. A few minutes later, my doctor's partner walked in and told me that my doctor was skiing with his family that day and wouldn't be here to deliver the baby so he would take care of it. I was so much more mad after that. He stripped my membranes, forced me to go into labor, and then he LEFT? Not okay. I had met his partner before, though, so I was comfortable with him delivering the baby. They checked me again and I was almost 9 cm, so the doctor came in and broke my water. By 2 pm, I felt different and called the nurse. She came and checked me and I was 10 cm dilated, so we started pushing. After a few contractions, she had me stop and went to get the doctor. The doctor came in around 2:20 pm and we started pushing again a few minutes later. After just a few more pushes, Derek was born at 2:32 pm. I only pushed for about 10 minutes total. It was pretty funny because a medical student AND a nursing student were both following my case (with my permission) and so the doctor was explaining stuff to the medical student more than he was talking to me, but the nurse was great so I didn't mind.

He's really been an angel so far, except he takes forever to eat (about an hour each feeding) and consistently fills his diaper within 10 minutes of us changing it. He's a lot like Aurora in that he's textbook newborn....I can usually set a clock by him eating every 3 hours. He was jaundiced the first week and had to have a UV light blanket for a couple days, but now is doing much better. His two week appointment is tomorrow and I'm positive he's above birth weight, so at least he's getting something from eating so slowly (or maybe so much?). Aurora loves him and kisses his head several times an hour, waving goodbye and kissing him before she leaves to go somewhere, before a nap, or before bedtime. More pictures very soon.

Introducing...

Derek Gregory Greenland

was born February 17, 2012 at 2:32 pm, 

weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz., 20 inches long.

Yes, that means he's almost two weeks old. I'll post the birth story in the next few days. So far he's a very easy baby and Aurora loves him. He came a week earlier than expected but we're elated to have a little boy to add to our family. Here are some pictures:

Christmas 2011

For the sake of documenting Christmas before Valentine's Day comes around, we had a great holiday. My last day of work was the day before we left, so I was very excited to leave. Unfortunately I didn't take a single picture and the videos that were taken are not blog-worthy as they are of us dancing with family on the Wii and I don't need that documented on a blog. We went to North Carolina as this is the last year I was willing to travel with a kid for Christmas. Aurora adored having her cousins and a dog around (even though the dog is as big as she is). Her cousins thought she was adorable and were more than willing to watch and entertain her so we could relax a bit. My sister asked her son, who is 4, if they should keep her since she's so cute, but he said no. :)

Christmas morning came and Aurora didn't wake up early enough to open presents before church so she opened presents afterward. I think the biggest hit that we got her was a ball that she puts shapes into. She also adores a ball she got when we got home and some alphabet blocks and puzzles her Grandpa and Marilee got her. Overall it was a great trip and, despite being super uncomfortable on the planes from being pregnant, I'm very glad we went since I'm not sure when we'll make the time to go out again.

Halloween, Dude!

While searching for a Halloween costume for Aurora, we came across someone selling a Squirt (sea turtle from Finding Nemo) costume that was just adorable. We bought it and Aurora was so cute in it. However, I didn't realize how fitting it was until we watched Finding Nemo again. In it, Marlin says to Squirt "You know, you're really cute but I don't know what you're saying!" Totally, dude.

At first she didn't want to keep the hood on. Then she figured out she was getting candy (a little too quickly, I might add) and no longer cared. Notice the yellow thing in her mouth? Yeah, that's candy. And yes, it's still in the wrapper.

She insisted on having a piece of candy in each hand. The only way to get her to let go of one was if a pile of candy was immediately in front of her.

I just love the little fins in back!

All ready to go out with Dad. We took her to my work, then Greg's work, then Greg took her around the neighborhood to people we knew (more to show off how cute she was than to get the candy). All in all a very successful second Halloween!

SURPRISE!

So it's not so much of a surprise considering I'm posting this nearly 4 months late, but pretend it's June/July with me.

The week after my family reunion, I solidified my decision to go back to school. I needed to finish my bachelor degree, and I figured if I started now, then we could try for another baby in December and I would have a decent amount of time to finish before another baby was born. Sounded like a plan, right? Right. So I paid my tuition. Two days later I decided to take a pregnancy test. It was positive. So positive the control line barely showed. Huh? This wasn't supposed to be possible, yet here we were, looking at a positive pregnancy test WITHOUT IVF. So what did I do? I took two more tests, of course. When both of those were positive, I kinda freaked out. Aurora had just turned 1. I just paid tuition to go back to school. My mom was dying. After I was done freaking out for the day, I called my mom. She immediately started crying and I couldn't understand her for a minute. Two of my sisters almost started crying, too. All of our siblings were surprised (not as surprised as me and Greg!) and all of them so excited for us.

As excited as we were, I was terrified I might miscarry so we only told immediate family members and a few friends. While still in North Carolina for my mom's funeral, I took advantage of my radiologist brother-in-law and his ultrasound tech co-workers to have an ultrasound. We saw the heartbeat and I immediately relaxed and started telling people. Which was probably necessary because, for those who remember my last pregnancy, I was very sick shortly thereafter and have remained pretty sick since.

So here I am, 22 weeks pregnant with a......

BOY!

Greg and I are so excited, and I'm sure Aurora would be just as excited if she had any clue what was happening. I'm due February 25, 2012, but, honestly, I'm hoping he'll wait a few days and be born in March. Then our birth months will be March, April, May, and June. :)

My Mother

As fun as the family reunion was, it was sobering as many of us realized my mother's condition was deteriorating. I haven't mentioned specifics on this blog, but she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer in September 2010, even though we knew there was some type of cancer since April 2010. After initial chemo, the cancer appeared to be eradicated, but then follow up tests to confirm it showed the cancer had mutated and spread very aggressively. By June, she was weak and, for those of us who lived far away, we knew it was probably the last time we would see her alive in this life. She had experienced horrible side effects of the latest treatments of chemo and about two weeks after our reunion, she decided to stop treatments. We all knew it was the right decision as scans showed the chemo wasn't even helping much. We went to work trying to keep her comfortable, contacting friends and family members, and making sure we were all staying informed.

My sister and I talked at the end of the reunion about things to say to your mother before she dies. Things like how she influenced you, how she taught you to be a good mother, how you're grateful for everything she did for you. And yet, when I knew the end was coming, I didn't feel the need to say those things. I don't regret it now, either. I told her I loved her, told her that we would be okay, that she had taught us well and prepared us. I think a large part of me not going into specifics was that I had already told her some of those things, but mostly I just felt that she would know those things when she died. And so I focused on making sure I was doing everything I could to help her and my family while being far away, even though that didn't include flying out to see her. She died July 15, 2011. It also happened to be Greg and I's 6th wedding anniversary. We flew out a few days later for the funeral, only staying a few days before needing to come home. The funeral was beautiful and heart-wrenching at the same time. I was touched at how many of her friends came, even those who hadn't seen her for a while.

I'm incredibly grateful to my family and her friends that helped with everything in her final weeks and in the weeks after. I cannot express how much I already miss her, or how deeply I grieve for my children who will never know either of their biological grandmothers in this life. I am so grateful to have had her for a mother, and I know that we will be together again. I'm grateful for the knowledge and testimony we have of Jesus Christ and His atonement for us, for the sealing power of the priesthood, and for the close family my parents created as we now have each other to lean on.

I love you, Mom.