Christmas...Kind Of

We arrived home from the hospital on Christmas Eve, and since Lexi was on light therapy, and we were struggling with that, the Christmas holiday was kind of an after thought. Christmas morning, we got up, and Abby quickly opened her presents, then we hurried to the hospital to get Lexi's blood drawn. I felt bad, because this was the first year that Abby kind of understood what was going on, and we were so distracted with Lexi, that we weren't able to really celebrate. We were in such a hurry, I didn't really even take any pictures of Abby opening her presents.  But I did manage later in the day to get some of Abby with her new toys.

And one of Lexi celebrating her first Christmas

Even though this wasn't a "traditional" holiday, it was still a wonderful day because we got to spend the day with BOTH our little girls.

Blood Tests and Lights

The day that Lexi and I were discharged from the hospital, her bilirubin level was too high.  So she was put on lights at the hospital until we left, then we were sent home with a bilibed for light therapy that she was to be on all the time.  At the hospital they made it sound so easy for her to sleep on the bed, but we quickly discovered that she hated it.  She screamed and wouldn't sleep at all.  We went back to the hospital the next day to get her tested again, and her level had dropped enough that the doctor said not to really worry about keeping her on the lights.  The next day when she got tested again, the level went way up.  So back on the lights, but this time we got a biliblanket too to help during the times when she just couldn't stand the bed. 

We finally figured out a way for her to be happy while on the bed, we would put the bed on our laps and just wrap our arms around her the best we could.  Almost every day for about two weeks we took her to the hospital in the morning to get blood drawn, and during that time her levels would go down while on light therapy, but as soon as we took away the lights, they would jump back up.  Finally at her two week check, we came to the conclusion that she wasn't getting enough food from me nursing her.  She wasn't gaining weight, and the jaundice wasn't going away.  So, we decided that nursing just wasn't working and started her on formula.  Since then her levels have dropped and hopefully she is gaining weight. 

Welcome Lexi Grace!

Our little Lexi Grace joined our family on Mon, Dec 21st.  She was a healthy 8 lbs 7 oz.  I had decided a while ago to do a c-section, and I am so glad I did because it went so smoothly.  The c-section was scheduled for 7:30 am so we had to be at the hospital at 6:00am.  That meant it was an early morning, I got up at 4:00am to get showered and ready to go.  But once we got there things moved pretty quickly.  Before we knew it she was out and screaming.  She was put on a CPAT for  about an hour because her oxygen level was a little low.  But other than that she was very healthy.  We were both suprised at her dark hair, and her skin even is a little dark.  She pretty much was the opposite of Abby, who was pale and very blonde. 

Abby stayed at Cam's parents while we were in the hospital.  They came to visit every day, and shy little Abby wouldn't talk to me and Cam at first.  I'm sure it was a little weird and she was just trying to digest everything that was going on.  But she quickly fell in love Lexi and wanted to hold her the whole time.  I think that we will have to keep a close eye on Abby when she is around Lexi in case her "love" is too strong!

Busy Celebrating Christmas and Getting Ready

This last week we have been busy, and I forsee the next week to be more of the same.  On Friday we attended our ward Christmas activity.  They served a nice "breakfast for dinner" dinner, and of course Santa was there to hear the kids wish list.  We stood in line with Abby, but as predicted, as soon as we got to Santa, she was too scared and wouldn't let go of Cameron.  So, we'll try again next year!

One of the best parts about living in Eagle Mountain is the fun things the city puts together.  Every year the fire department drives up and down every street with Santa sitting on the fire engine.  I was really looking forward to it this year because I thought Abby would really enjoy it.  We knew they would be driving by on Saturday morning because Cam was working on call from home in case a call came in while the engine was out.  Unfortunatly, a call did come in and Cam had to go to work, and while he was gone, the engine drove down our street.  By the time I heard the sirens, put Abby's shoes on and grabbed her coat, the engine was long gone.  They must have been cruising by pretty fast because it took me only a few seconds to wisk Abby out the door.  We were both bummed to have missed it.

Later Saturday afternoon, we headed to Provo to go to Cam's parents for a family Christmas party.  We had a nice ham dinner and spent time watching the kids play and visiting with one another.  Cam's mom got Abby a little baby doll, and of course she loves it, and now it goes everywhere with her.

Monday, I had a "girls day out" with my friend Jolynne.  We went and got pedicures (such a nice treat when your 9 months pregnant) and did some shopping.  I picked up a few of the last items needed for the baby, and just spent some time without the kids.  It was a much needed break because my patience is running really thin, and poor Abby is almost always on the recieving end when patience has run out. 

Tuesday, I had my FINAL doctors appointment.  Finally a little progress, I'm dialated to a two, and a for sure date was set for the c-section.  Monday, December 21st, here we come!  That means I only have a few more days to complete my long to-do list.  Hopefully, if I keep busy, time will fly by, and before I know it, our little baby will be here!

A Quick Update: 37 weeks

Today I had my 37 week dr appointment.  Everything is still going well.  Unfortunatley there is no progress yet, I'm not dialated or anything.  So now I'm even more grateful for the scheduled c-section since it looks like I won't be going into labor anytime soon.  Usually I have been measuring one week bigger, but this time I measured a week small, which is mind boggling because I feel like my tummy is HUGE and growing by the minute.  However, the end is in sight (less than two weeks), and then the real work begins!

Tis the Season

Yesterday we officially started our holiday festivities by putting up the tree and decorating the house.  It's so cute because Abby LOVES to see houses that are decorated with lights.  She say's "Oh, so pretty!"  I think this Christmas will be really fun to watch Abby experience all the fun and excitement.

We did a lot of the decorating while Abby was napping, but saved putting the ornaments on the tree so she could help.  (This is the face Abby makes when you tell her to say "cheese", it's cute, but not really close to a smile.)

We also decided it was a good day to go to temple square and see all the lights.  We are going to have to squeeze in as many activities as we can before the baby arrives, so we are starting early.  Abby loves to look at pictures of the temples, so we knew she would really get excited to see one up close.  On the way up to temple square we stopped at the IN-N-OUT in Draper that just opened.  Cameron grew up in California, so since he's been living here, he's dearly missed the beloved restaurant.  It was packed inside, so we took our food and ate in the car.

Living with a 2 year old, it becomes quite obvious the phrases that are spoken often in the home, because she picks up on them quick.  When we got off the freeway in downtown, Abby kept saying "almost there" even though she really had no idea if we were or not.  I guess we tell her that all the time : )  I still feel like we are unprepared for the cold, we tried to bundle up, but I found that some of the essentials are still missing, hats and gloves, and right now, I don't have a coat that fits.  You'd think we'd never experienced a Utah winter before.

The lights are always so pretty around the temple.  Of course we had to make stops inside all the buildings.  It's a great chance to get warm for a minute, and we also get to act like a tourist and take pictures of everything.   

Inside the tabernacle.

In front of the temple (it's getting pretty difficult for me to hold Abby).  We all had a great time.  It's so fun to share these fun holiday traditions with Abby.

Thankgiving Day

Well, Abby must have known it was a holiday because she started the day at 6am.  She came running into my room, and jumped on my bed.  We layed around for a while, and once Cameron got home from work around 8am we officially started the day.  Cameron's family was coming to our house for dinner, and we were supposed to provide the pies and rolls.  I lucked out this year, because Cam offered to make the pies.  He had a apple pie recipe he wanted to make and share with everyone.  All I had to do was put the Rhodes rolls out to thaw and rise.  SO EASY!  But I did have some last minute cleaning to get done.  Thankfully, we got all this done, and I even had some time to relax for a few minutes (which was dearly needed because of the early morning rise). 

Once everyone arrived, us girls pretty much stayed in the kitchen trying to get all the food going and stuff, and the boys, well, I don't know what the boys were doing, probably fighting or playing video games (the usual).  Dinner was so good, you can't really beat a full spread of Thanksgiving favorites!  We then played some games and just visited.  It was a nice day spent with family.