Pics from my Mom's Phablet (phone + tablet)

I love my kids!

Elias Glyn Evans

Because we wanted to have an in-home blessing on Sunday, March 3rd, I needed to have Eli by Friday to ensure that I would be home in time. I had a scheduled induction for Thursday 6:30am, I was 39 weeks 5 days along. The night before we packed our hospital bags and then pretended to sleep until our alarm went off at 5:30am. I rolled over and saw that there was a voicemail on my phone... it was the hospital saying that there wasn't room for me that morning and that it was probably not going to happen that day. I was BUMMED to say the least, but at the same time I knew Eli would come when he was supposed to come so I should just enjoy the family in town while I had it and not worry about the details.
At 9:30am the hospital called again and said that there was an opening but I had to be checked in by 10am or else I'd lose my time slot. (Seriously? Hospitals are weird.) We rushed out the door (we being me, Jon, and Jon's mum) and left the kids with Jon's dad. Kudos to Jon's dad for juggling my crazy kids all day! :)
We arrived on time, but my nurse was not available until almost noon so we spent two hours chatting in my delivery room and watching Jon and his mum eat lunch. I inquired about the option of just having my water broken to jump start labor but I was sternly turned downed saying that the doctor was on a schedule today and wanted to deliver as soon as possible. Little did he know that I would be LIGHTNING FAST!
So by noon I was hooked up to pitocin, I turned the lights down low and turned on my selected labor music and got in the zone. They couldn't find a birthing ball that wasn't flat (figures) and so I instead stood next to my bed rocking side to side and using my learned breathing techniques to deal with the ever increasingly strong contractions. Oh, I forgot to mention, when I arrived at the hosp I was dilated to a 3. By 2pm I was a 6 and still holding strong to my med-free plan. I felt pretty great.
Pretty soon the contractions were so strong that I no longer felt strong enough to keep standing and so I instead laid on my side and clung to the bed railing. The next 20 or so minutes were a blur to me... absolute HELL. I was moaning and on the verge of screaming, clinging to the bed rail and convulsing in pain with each overlapping contraction.
From 2pm to 2:30pm I went from a 6 to a 10.
Shortly after 2:30pm I held up my white flag and said that I wanted something for the pain. Luckily, the nurse informed me that even though I was a 10 they were still able to provide me with something... if the anesthesiologist could get there before the doctor did to deliver Eli. I was satisfied. I knew the next person through the door would be pain relief or the doctor giving me permission to push. The next thing I was aware of was a sharp pinch in my back. It was the anesthesiologist giving me a spinal shot (same drug as an epidural but just a one-time shot instead of a catheter). He administered the shot right where I was, I didn't have to shift at all. This was good because at this point the contractions were happening on top of each other and I was NOT moving from clinging to the bedrail, there was no way I could consciously sit up and bend over for a shot.
Within seconds the relier came and I was in heaven. Also within seconds the doctor showed up, and I was ready to push. So to recap, at 2:30pm I was a 10 and the doc/anesthesiologist was called. At 2:45pm I received the shot and at 2:50pm I was in position to push. ELI WAS BORN AT 2:52pm! That's how fast things happened. He came out in one push.
You may think, "Aw, that's too bad. She made it all the way to a 10 without the meds and then gave in for the last 5 minutes." But honestly, I don't regret my decision one bit. Not only did I not have to experience the "ring of fire" but I also didn't have to feel a thing while I was being stitched, leaving me able to enjoy the time right after Eli was born. Holding him was amazing, all that dark hair. He looked like a spitting image of Ethan, just slightly smaller. 7lbs 14oz, 20.5in. That's all for now... more to come later. :)

Comparison

Utah: Where everyone suffers in silence and no one hangs out

*Warning: This is a rant. This is me spitting out my feelings. I'll feel better afterwards. I may even deny writing this post in the future, but for now... well, here it goes.

This being my second time living in Utah, I was hoping for a change from the last time. Here's two sad stories to illustrate the "Utah-syndrome" I first experienced back in 2005-2009.

1. Left at the altar. Well, actually, left at the reception is more accurate. My bridesmaids, my closest girlfriends, a.k.a. my roommates, decided to no-show at my wedding reception. Not only did they leave me bridesmaid-less, but one of them was in charge of all the flowers for the reception. This meant that after finally getting ahold of them an hour before the reception was supposed to start and finding out that they weren't coming, I, the bride, had to run to Costco and purchase random flowers, barely making it back in time to arrange the flowers and throw on my dress. My hair and makeup weren't even done, I had an everyday hair-do and NO MAKE UP on for my own wedding reception. Seriously, weddings are so commonplace here in Utah it's almost sad.

2. Throwing my own baby shower. Yup, you read right. For my first child, I had to throw my own shower, paying for everyone else to eat and chat and run. We were on Medicaid for goodness sake. I patiently waited until I was just weeks away from delivering for someone to offer to throw something, even if it were a sprinkle instead of a shower, I would have be so happy. Honestly, I threw it because I NEEDED the gifts. We couldn't afford everything on our baby list.

This time around, Utah Round #2, it hasn't changed much. Unless you have cancer, the ward, your neighbors, even your "friends" don't know your struggles. And your achievements, like having a baby, are commonplace. It's like it's engrained in the Utah culture to keep your problems to yourself and your immediate family. No showers, parties or even a frozen yogurt run were offered to me in celebration of my upcoming baby. I know, it's baby #3, and I don't need any gifts this time around, but aren't your "friends" and ward family supposed to want to celebrate with you? As members of the church aren't we supposed to be a shoulder to cry on, not just a name on a list to deliver a meal?

I miss living in LA where I have FAMILY. Of course I don't have biological family in LA, but I was surrounded by people who LOVED me. They spent time with me, performed services for me, and laughed and cried with me... never once putting their name on a sign-up list to do it. On the other hand, I was privileged to do the same thing for them... I cannot tell you how fulfilling it was to perform Christ-like service.

I know, I know, I was spoiled in LA... and I just need to suck it up here in Utah. Some of you may say "it's what you make of it" but honestly there's a tangible, real ugly difference here in Utah and it's going to be a challenge to break down that wall. Doesn't mean I won't continually try...

Nesting Too Early

 So today marks the beginning of my 34th week of pregnancy... and I'm sad to say that I'm completely ready for this baby to come. Sad, because this means that I am literally sitting around twiddling my thumbs at this point. I started the nesting process shortly after Christmas, when we found out we were having a boy, and now everything is done. Here's a recap of what I've done in the past 3 weeks:

Researched and purchased $400 in baby stuff on Amazon.com which included the following products that I highly recommend:

-Angelcare Monitor- more than just a sound baby monitor, it senses the baby breathing and sounds a chirp when there hasn't been movement for 20 seconds. This makes it A LOT easier for me to sleep at night since I'm such a light sleeper and would normally wake up to every little grunt that comes through on a regular monitor. Now I can just have the only sound coming from the monitor be the alarm. This also means that if our baby prefers to sleep on his stomach from day one, we're totally safe there.

-Rocker/Sleeper- An oldie but a goodie for us. We LOVED using this with Corryn, it meant that she could literally chill or sleep anywhere in the house. She loved to fall asleep next to the running dishwasher or in the bathroom while I was taking a shower. Plus it's inclined which helped with gas/reflux/congestion issues.
-Glow in the dark binkies- I was thinking about making my own with Corryn. I'm so glad that they're finally coming out with these. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to search around for a binkine in the middle of the night.

-Cloth diapers- (Pictured in the armoire.) This was the biggest purchase by far, also the most researched. When I first heard of some of my friends switching to cloth diapering I pictured them soaking poop filled diapers in 5 gallon buckets and spraying them out with an attachment on the toilet- DISGUSTING! I was surprised to learn that I didn't have to do either of those things. I could literally take a dirty diaper, stick it in a garbage pail and then dump the contents of that pail straight into my washer and not touch a thing. I also pictured plastic pants and diaper pins- annoying and bulky. I was surprised to find that there are cloth diapers that pretty much look and function just like disposable. Here's to saving hundreds of dollars a month by not purchasing diapers and wipes!

That brings me to my next endeavor- sewing. I got a sewing machine from my hubby for Christmas and here's what I've whipped out so far:
-Wipes- I made over 100 flannel wipes. To use you just put them in a big ziploc and soak them with a homemade solution of water, rubbing alcohol, baby oil, and essential oil.
-Wraps- The hospital I delivered Corryn at gave us this thin flannel receiving blanket that was oddly shaped, perfect for wrapping a baby burrito. I loved using it in the beginning days because she wasn't old enough to wiggle her way out of it, it also wasn't bulky or covered in velcro, and I could use it as a nursing cover as well. Thin, flannel and perfect. Anyway, so I made two more of them out of boy fabric.

-Curtains- After we took the Christmas decorations down, I noticed just how naked our windows looked. I was wanting to use a fun bold print in our dining nook, so I found this fabric on clearance for 2.00 a yard. It's growing on me, a little too pink for my taste, but eh, who cares. I also made some Buzz Lightyear and Hello Kitty striped curtains for the kid's room. Hooray for no more pinned up blankets over their window.

-Church bag- I whipped this tote out in a morning and made it extra large and triple thick to handle multiple binders and table displays. I just accepted the calling as our ward Primary 2nd Counselor.

And my last endeavor- cleaning. Luckily, since I'm such a purger and keep my house extremely clean anyway (this is both a blessing and a curse), there wasn't a lot I needed to do in this area to get ready for the baby.
-Shampooed all the carpets
-Shampooed all the couches
-Sanitized all breast pump accessories
-Shampooed the van
-Reorganized and purged the toy room
-Washed, organized and put away all the baby clothes

As a family, we've also recently made a large change in our diet lately- the switch to whole foods. But that's for the next post...

Cell phone pictures

 I made the kids' Halloween costumes this year. Ethan's took HOURS but turned out just awesome! I made them super durable so he could wear it everyday around the house.

 These are both the same view from my bedroom window only 3 days apart. The weather sure changed fast here.

 The kids and I built our first snowman. I also finished re-finishing the frame I was given a long time ago. It now surrounds our favorite picture of Christ, beefing it up so it doesn't look so small above our fireplace.

On Veteran's Day I made jagerschnitzel,  the only German dish I know how to make. We were stationed in Germany when I was little and my dad was in the military.

This was taken just minutes after my kids got up one morning. Ethan is glued to his Buzz Lightyear toy and Corryn has found my high heels and is pushing a stroller full of random animals around the house.

Just yesterday there were 6 deer that passed thru our yard. We love living here!!!

I know, it's been forever...

 The past 6 weeks have been pretty packed. We settled into Utah life quickly, Ethan started preschool which he really enjoys. It's helping him overcome some shyness and he always singing a new song or working on a new poem.

 We've also been exploring the many many parks in our neighborhood. This digging toy is, of course, Ethan's favorite, he play with it the entire time.

 Sorry, I don't think some of these pictures are going to rotate for me for some reason.

 We've also gotten memberships to our local rec center and the kids love swimming there. Ethan was very hesitant at first, but now (after 2 or 3 more visits) he willingly goes down the big water slides.

 My mom came for a weekend and took us to a fun center complete with a rollerskating rink, arcade, and water slides. Corryn was in heaven with the music and lights show on the rink and danced her little booty the whole time.

 I also spent and week eating, breathing, and sleeping peaches. We harvested hundreds from our tree and I froze most of them.

 Yes, there are chickens and horses in our neighborhood. It's country living!

 We also spent a night in the backyard camping.

Alright, that's enough for one post. More to come...