Happy Happy Birthday...

Happy 1 week Birthday Eli! You have turned our lives upside down and we love you for it. You are so sweet when you sleep and I love it when you look all milk drunk after a feeding. At the moment I feel like a milking cow trying to help you pack on the pounds as you are slowly returning to your birthweight. You are our world!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Bath Time

Couldn't decide on which one to post, so I posted both. Notice the curls. Think Blue Tuxedo (Amy).

Relaxing, all warm and snuggly.

Elijah Day One at Home

Peaceful Dreaming

Looking at Mama

Catching some Zzzzs (He does this a lot)

Flowers from Grandma A

Wide awake after a feeding

First Car Ride

Swaddled

Looking cool in his Air Jordan beanie (Thanks Devin!)

Not happy about all the tags and bandages hanging off of him

Elijah Videos

The Labor Room



Hiccups



First Car Ride

More Elijah Photos

First Family Photo

Taking a Snooze

Looking at the World

I'm so Cute, Right?

Having fun in Picasa

Daddy Time

The First Diaper (I'm glad the meconium phase is over)

Mommy Time

Labor Day

So to begin, I had my a doctors appointment on Tuesday the 21st. I was dilated to a 3 and my blood pressure was a little high. Nothing to worry about. But to be on the safe side my doctor had me get some blood work done that same day. My doctor received the results of my blood work Wednesday the 22nd at 11:30pm. She called us at home and told us that we needed to go to the hospital so that they could monitor me overnight. We got to the hospital at 11:52 pm. My blood platelet levels had dropped from 240 to 140 and my liver enzyme levels were high. These are classic symptoms of HELLP syndrome which is a variant of pre-eclampsia. I had no indication that anything was wrong because I felt fine. But if something like this were to get out of control they would have had to do blood transfusions and all sorts of scary things and the baby would be at very high risk. So after spending Wednesday night at the hospital and people coming in every couple hours and sticking me like a sewing tomato, my doctor came in at 8:30am Thursday the 23rd and said, "Guess what? We are going to have a baby today!" She checked me and I had already dilated to a 5 on my own just since my last appoinment. She broke my water at 9:12 am. They hooked me up to a magnesium sulfate drip to control any sudden rise in my blood pressure and prevent seizures. This stuff made me super puky and I was dry heaving everything 15 mins and that stuff makes you feel really hot. So we had a big fan brought in and Matt dabbed at my face with a wet washcloth. I had steady contractions starting at around 10am. When I was dilated to a 6 almost 7, I received my epidural at 11:ooam. God bless that anesthisiologist, he was a miracle worker. At 1:15 pm I was dilated to a 10. They let me rest and discend on my own til around 1:55pm. I pushed about 5 times and baby boy entered the world at 2:03pm! He had a small little cry and is as cute as a button. I got to hold him for about 2 mins after he was born then Matt took off with the him and the nurses to the nursery to do a bunch of tests and clean him up. I was stuck in my bed until 7pm because I had to stay hooked to a catheter so they could monitor my urine output to make sure my kidneys were doing ok. And they had to keep me on the magnesium drip until my blood pressure was stable. So I didn't get to see my baby again until around 8:30pm! I was so sad, and still in shock that we had just had a baby. He was pretty lethargic for the first 12 hours because of the magnesium drip I was on. They were concerned about his respiratory system and lack of responsivenss, but as of now he is doing great. The only thing is he can't control his body temperature on his own very well so they have to keep him in the nursery a lot under the "McFry" warmer, which means we don't get to see him as often as we'd like. As of right now I am doing really well and baby is steadily progressing and we hope that he gets to come home on Sunday. I'm able to pump and give him the colostrum I produce and they syringe it into his mouth in the nursery. I'm determined to have him be a breastfed baby, it just might take a little more time and effort than I expected. It is still so surreal that we have a baby. We are so glad that everything turned out ok and that our Heavenly Father was looking out of us and our little baby. It just goes to show that life is what happens when we're making other plans. And my mom hopped on the first flight our and got here around 7pm yesterday. She's an angel. I cannot express enough how wonderful the doctor and nurses were. They were huge blessings in keeping us calm and relaxed about the blur of events. Thanks to all our family and friends for the congratulations and wanting to help with everything. We love you!

He's Here! 4 weeks early!

Baby Boy Anderton (we have yet to pick a solid name for him-we are leaning towards Elijah Marriner Anderton)
Born: July 23, 2009 at 2:03pm
5lbs. 11oz
18"

More details to come of all the drama behind the scenes, but to tide you over here are some cute pics of our new baby boy. We love him more than ever.

We're having a baby!

Contraction face, note the white knuckles on my ice cup.

After epidural- heaven.

Baby boy

Dad holding baby for first time

Baby holding Daddy's finger

Pure cuteness

Say What??!

So apparently the baby has dropped without my knowledge and I'm already dilated to a 3. I guess that explains the sudden waddling on my part. I think this baby may be coming a little bit sooner than we expected. I'm thinking 2 weeks at the most. Wow.

Baby Sunday: 36 weeks

This week has been consumed by more dejunking and "nesting". We went to a an Infant Safety CPR class, which was good and a little funny. Our practice doll only had one arm and a very creepy face. But really who knew there were so many steps to properly install a car seat? Time consuming. We saw to the new Harry Potter movie on Thursday. It was good, not my favorite but good. Friday Matt made me watch the Invasion. This is the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I hate scary movies. We are stuffing in as many movies as we can into our schedules before the baby comes. Saturday my neighbor Stefany hosted a baby shower for me with all our neighbors and few of my friends from church. It was soooo much fun! I got some really cute clothes and lots of practical items as well. I swear I have the best neighbors alive! Thank you thank you thank you! They are so fun to be around and chit chat with. And of course there was amazing food and treats. Matt was an angel and swept and mopped the floors for me, and vacuumed the house while I was gone. I know I say it all the time, but he really is the best. Don't worry I'll post more pics of the shower once I get them from Stef.

Homemade cake, gorgeous!

Blue chocolate covered strawberries, yum.

Me with pretty cake

The spread

I don't know why I look like I'm grimacing in this pic, but this was the coolest milestone calendar I have ever seen.

More gifts

Instead of wasting time and energy on decorations that get thrown away, Stefany and Christy put little buckets of baby stuff around the room that I got to take home with me, very thoughtful and cute.

And now the baby room looks like this! Packed with goodies for the little one.

Baby Sunday: 36 weeks

Here's a little snippet of the peanut in action. He got camera shy once I started filming, but you can see my belly move in the first 15 seconds.



Obsessions/Rampages: Now I can fully concentrate on getting everything done with the baby room since I've had my last baby shower. I've got oodles of stuff to organize and sort through. I'm pretty much in full "nesting" mode now. That is all I can think about. I start my weekly appointments with my doctor this week so I'm very anxious to see how big the baby is and how my body is progressing. Matt and I are still negotiating on a name, we'll see who wins :)

Elations/Worries: Elated to meet this little boy! I can't wait to wrap him up into a little burrito and snuggle with him. Worries- I had a serious bout of indigestion, stomach ache etc.. all last night. I'm staying home from church today just in case I have to puke or something. I think I may have been a little overzealous with all the yummy food at the baby shower yesterday and now I'm paying for it. Oh but I must say it was worth it, so delish.

Aversions/Cravings: On the menu this week: Rolaids Soft Chews-Wild Cherry Flavor. The following gives me heartburn: food :). My food habits have become reminiscent of my 1st trimester. Cereal, fruit, plain salads, potatoes. Except now I can barely finish a bowl of cereal without feeling like I'm going to burst. Very odd, it all just happened in the last couple of days too.

Baby Sunday: 35 weeks

Holy Cow, we only have 5 weeks left, unbelievable. Anyways, this week was very fun. I've been able to experiment with a few new recipes, my prints for the baby room arrived, we rid our house of a bunch of junk (and yes we've only lived here a year and we already have junk accumulating). I have been diligently selling all of our movies on Ebay so I waste a lot of time shipping movies, posting movies and answering questions. We hope to use the extra moolah to buy a new camera. Friday we went to a new Mexican restaurant which we found to be very yummy. Saturday we went to to a marathon child birthing class. And a marathon it was! We were "classroomed" out by the end of the day-9am-4:30pm. We saw lots of videos with extremely outdated hairstyles, went on a tour of the hospital and the birthing wing, learned relaxation techniques and basically everything you've ever wanted to know or not know about the birthing process. The nursery only had one baby in it, ONE BABY! Definitely a contrast to the nurseries I've been to in Utah which typically house what seems like 1,000 babies. I was very impressed with the quiet birthing room and the postpartum rooms. I think we will be very happy with our choice once the time comes. And can I just tell you how wonderful Matt is?! I think he was only a few of the 15 men at the class that was actually amazed watching the birthing videos instead of grossed out and disgusted. I love him. Today, we are chilling at home enjoying the Sabbath and watching my stomach grow right before our eyes:)

Baby Sunday: 35 weeks

Belly Shot: You'll notice an increase in my Sunday dresses being long because I can't shave my legs without breaking a rib:)

Obsessions/Rampages: Getting rid of junk is an obsession, we've had random things just lying around the house that all of a sudden started bugging me. We filled 3 trash bags full of clothes that Matt never wears and we are evaluating the rest of our pictures and frames and what we really want to keep and what must go. I love dejunking. I'm hoping to have the baby room all done in a couple weeks. I have some things I want to paint and put up still. I've also been obsessed with finding a good pediatrician around here. There are so many to choose from that it is a little daunting, but I think I have it narrowed down to a couple so now I need to make appointments to meet them. Rampages- People are starting to give me the pity "How are you feeling?" question. I feel like I should be full of complaints and things to whine about when people ask me that, but I really cannot complain. This pregnancy has been very good to me and the few minor aches and pains are nothing that I feel justified to whine about, especially when all around there are women who can't have babies or have a very hard time carrying babies. I just feel extremely grateful and pray that these last 5 weeks will be as good as the last 35.

Elations/Worries: I had a doctors appointment this week and everything is just fine. I'm measuring right on and baby is doing great! I haven't had to deal with any swelling yet, so that has been nice. Also, I'm elated for childbirth now. Well, it comes in waves of panic and joy. Currently I'm elated. The child birthing class really helped prepare me for everything that goes on during labor and all the scenarios. I'm a planner, so I like having a mild idea mapped out in my head of what I want to happen but also be prepared if that doesn't happen. So overall I feel pretty good about pushing a watermelon out of me at the moment:)

Aversion/Cravings: I've had a serious decrease in my appetite this week. My stomach is getting very squished. The following gives me heartburn: chocolate, peanuts, and beans. I'm only able to eat maybe a 1/3 of what I normally eat and I'm full. And if I eat after 8 the heartburn arrives. But one thing that has been really good is a new frozen yogurt place we found last week. They have the most delicious fruity flavors ever and I often go to Sonic and chug a refreshing diet limeade if I'm out running errands. Anything fruity and cold sounds good.

Baby Sunday: 34 weeks

Happy 4th of July! This week has been great! It seems like I always start my posts with that, but it's true, life has been treating us kindly! This weekend Matt had Friday off so we took full advantage and did lots of things around the house, found a new pizza place, spent time at Barnes and Noble and vegged. Saturday we played tennis, which bytheway, have you ever seen a huge 8 month pregnant lady play tennis? Hilarious. I'm klutzy by nature so try tacking on a bowling ball to my torso and expect me to run and hit a ball, yeah right! I only lasted 15 mins. Then we went on a walk, then we decided it was too dang hot to walk much more than 4 blocks so we went back home and stuck our heads in the freezer. Matt helped me do some deep cleaning that has gotten away from me- literally. It's hard to bend over and sweep hair up and clean the baseboards. Then we went to Red Robin to redeem a free burger coupon Matt got for his birthday, food always tastes better when it's free. Then we went to this 4th of July festival thing that had a hot dog eating contest and some cute booths. Or at least Matt told me they were cool. We parked what felt like a million miles away and initially I thought, "Oh it's only maybe a 1/2 mile, I can walk that easy." Add in 100 degree weather + humidity, I thought I was going to die! I was dripping sweat and I could feel the beginnings of heat rash coming on, so I sat in the shade and sipped water while Matt got to see the all the stuff. I got a few, "You go girl"s for being out and doing stuff, so I felt like a trooper:) Then Matt, being the sweetheart that he is, walked all the way back to get the car and came and picked me up when we were done. We were going to stay and watch fireworks but the heat had sucked the life out of us, so we went home and hibernated in our air conditioned house, I don't even want to think about what our electricity bill is going to be this month. Today (Sunday) I got to teach the Sunbeams at church. WOW, kudos to moms with multiples! They are a lively bunch with permanent earplugs. They were very cute and would say cute things about my tummy and touch it. Yoah, the baby just distorted my whole stomach, so it's time to talk about him.


Baby Sunday: 34 weeks

Belly Shot: Normally I wouldn't post a pic of my face looking so cherubic but I can't really hide it anymore. The weight gain has finally reached my cheeks, I guess it was inevitable.

Obsession/Rampages: The baby room is FINALLY coming together. My chair came and it is more comfortable than I could ever imagine. We got his pack n' play/ bassinet. And the place that I'm ordering a few prints from will be open tomorrow and then just one more trip to Ikea for frames and a cute corner book case should do it! I can't believe he is going to be here in 6 weeks! It has gone by so fast. We are still obsessing about names. I have one I love, but Matt hasn't warmed up to it yet. Baby is much more active lately, or maybe I'm just noticing more because he's running out of room, either way it is very fun to watch. Rampage- This is gross, you can stop reading now if you want, I never realized that a pregnant woman could have so much flatulence! Really, it is embarrassing!

Elations/Worries: Elation- My body has felt really good this week, not much discomfort and I've been sleeping pretty well. Worries- I can't look at the scale anymore at the doctors office. Logically I know I'm healthy and on a good weight track but it's still hard to look at. I workout 5 days a week, weight lift 2-3 times a week and eat good so whatever my body wants to pack on is just what it wants. Not much you can do about that. But really, I've decided I hate when pregnant ladies complain about getting fat and stuff, so I probably shouldn't do it:)

Aversions/Cravings: Shredded Wheat with honey is a new favorite cereal. Water is always around and I can't eat beans-they give me the worst heartburn.