Alexandra Verity Pictum

I've been wanting to sit & write down Lexa's birth story. More for my reference than anything & I just haven't had the time. (I'd rather sit & snuggle my sweet newborn). But here I am at 5 am feeding her & so I guess I can just do it now!! 

Exactly a week ago- time & everything I was being prepped to meet my baby girl. After a long wait at the hospital. 

Last Tuesday morning- the 19th of May I had a routine doctors visit to check if I was dilated & whatnot. Before every visit at the doctors they check my blood pressure & weight gain- along with a urine sample. That morning I didn't feel all that great. I had a pretty bad headache but didn't think much about it. My blood pressure at the doctors office was 150/110. High. The girl that took my blood pressure was sure it wasn't right & said she'd manually take it after I saw the doctor. I was only dilated to a 1 & not effaced whatsoever. I was feeling really frustrated. After going thru pre-term labor & expecting my baby early it didn't seem like she had the same idea & was pretty comfortable. While I was sitting in the room my doctor came in & said my irons sample came back with high protein & my blood pressure was too high & he wanted me to head right to the hospital to get tests ran. Just to be safe. My blood pressure was taken again & it was exactly the same. Oddly enough even heading to the hospital I was extremely calm. I can remember trey asking if I was nervous & I kept telling him no. He said "we could be having a kid here in a few hours" & I wasn't freaking out at all. I was really calm & ready if that's what was going to happen. 

When we got to the hospital I asked trey to take a picture of me. & he responded with: "I don't think now is the time for pictures" but I felt deep inside that i wouldn't be pregnant much longer & needed to document it! 

You can see in this picture I'm pretty swollen. & I was exactly 38 weeks pregnant. 

On our way up to labor & delivery I was feeling a little dizzy. We got there & they were expecting us- we were put into a labor room & we waited for someone to come see us. The first nurse came in & said they would admit & induce me soon. NO. That's not why I was there for just yet. I was supposed to just get a few tests ran first. She ran my blood pressure & took a urine sample & once again they were high. We were admitted a little after 3:30 if I remember right for preeclampsia. I changed into a gown & trey gave me a blessing. After the blessing I felt even more at ease. Times like these make me grateful for my husband & the priesthood that he holds. The blessing said that everything would be fine & the baby would be healthy & that's all that mattered to me. 

After IV's & blood work we waited until 8 when I was given a pill (vaginally) to help efface me to prepare for labor. I was having contractions really often. Every minute to two minutes. They were starting to get more painful in my back. At midnight I was checked again & still hadn't really progressed. Only to 60% effaced- but not soft. I was given another pill & had to wait to see if I progressed anymore. The entire time my blood pressure was being super bipolar. It would go up really high then be normal. Then go up & come back down. At about 3 o clock AM my nurses came in & were observing my contractions on the monitor. Every time I would have a contraction- Lexa's heart rate would dip down. They called my doctor & at 4 am they were told not to give me anymore meds because my blood pressure wouldn't go down & my baby was stressed. At 5 AM my sister & Trey went to get breakfast at McDonald's & my mom & treys mom stayed with me and slept. I WAS JEALOUS. I was so hungry & wanted to eat but wasn't allowed anything but ice chips. Lame. I needed food.  At about 5:45 AM my nurses came in & were talking to me. My mom was asleep on the floor & treys mom, Rose was half awake half asleep listening. I remember laying there as my nurse said they talked to my doctor & he decided that they didn't want to risk anything with the baby's heart rate dipping- & that an emergency C-Section was going to have to happen. I told the nurses "well can you gimme a minute cus my husband isn't here!" I called & thank goodness trey was pulling into the hospital parking lot. They had scrubs for him to change into & we- both moms & my two sisters (all of them were there with me while I was at the hospital) said a prayer & then there we were being wheeled away to have our baby. 

It all happened really quick. From the time they told us we'd be having a c section to it actually to us being wheeled out seemed to happen so fast. I was taken into the operation room first & was given a spinal. It numbed me from my chest down. Completely numb. I couldn't feel anything. Trey came in & they started the surgery. Trey peaked over the curtain a few times & I'm really glad he was able to watch. I could feel the doctor tugging but I didn't have any pain at all. Trey told me "She has so much hair" & I started crying. She came out & I heard her cry & cried some more. My baby was here & I was a mom. I didn't plan on having our baby via C-Section but it worked out just fine. She came into this world healthy & that's all I cared about. Trey went over with her as I was being stitched & she was being cleaned up. I couldn't believe how big she was. 

They brought her over to me & I saw her face & instantly fell in love. She was perfect. 

After everything happened I was wheeled back to the room & Trey went to the nursery with her where our parents & my siblings were waiting. They all got to see here & then she was taken to run tests. Trey was with her the whole time & im convinced they really bonded because Lexa really loves her dad & is calm immediately in his arms. I didn't get to hold her until 2 hours after she was born but I was okay cus I knew trey was with her. 

Alexandra Verity Pictum came into the world at 6:49 am. She was 7 lbs 14 oz & 20 inches long. She is the perfect addition to our family & I am so grateful to be her mom. I really can't believe she is our daughter. She is so loved. 

After her birth I was assuming I'd be allowed to eat but my blood pressure was still high so I was out on magnesium sulfate- which made me feel really crappy for 24 hours. Which meant another 24 hours of ice chips. We had lots of visitors the first day & Lexa was a dream baby. Sleeping & eating perfectly. We stayed at the hospital for 2 days & were discharged. We are all doing great at home & I am absolutely loving this new time in our lives. 

10 weeks later......

this is the most recent pic of my baby bump at my cousins birthday party. 

after 10 weeks of not blogging i figured it time to update this (mostly for myself) but here we go. I AM 35 WEEKS TODAY. how how how did that happen? i am literally shocked that i only have 5 weeks until my due date- ONE week until i can stop taking my medication and let these contractions- that i am still having- happen without slowing them down, and possibly have a baby! too much craziness.

Baby is the size of: a coconut- she should be weighing anywhere between 4 & 5 lbs! she is also getting longer and longer- 17-18 in?! that is crazy to me. 

Maternity clothes: duh. thank heavens for my best friend- kaycee gave me bags of maternity clothes! its starting to get hot and i am ready to be able to just wear shorts that dont have a maternity band around them. 

Sleep: 3rd trimester insomnia has hit me hard. i can be so tired at night and i dont fall asleep until atleast 3 or 4 am. naps are great but naps mean no night time sleep. 

Movement: she moves like crazy. most people have seen her move or felt her. she is always stretching and pushing from two sides of my stomach and is either high in my ribs or low low low in my hip bones. 

Best moment of the week: i FINALLY have most of my hospital bag packed. it is still missing some stuff buttttt we are making progress with it actually being in a bag.  

Miss anything: i am totally missing sleeping on my stomach, laying on my stomach to be on my laptop, & laying on my stomach to watch tv. i also miss RAW RAW RAW sushi. 

Food Cravings: nothing ever really sounds good. which is getting annoying. i could chew on ice all day long tho. 

Anything make you queasy: i mentioned how i love to chew on ice- well two times while i have been chewing on ice i have vomited. cute. but i keep doing it. 

Am I showing: of course. this baby shows up in a room about 3 seconds before the rest of my body. 

Wedding rings: i can still wear it- my hands are occasionally swollen but it still fits.   

Weight Gain: ive gained like 20 lbs total i think. 

Stretch marks: i have some no matter how much ive tried to avoid them 

Happy or moody: i am happy and moody. i am totally over being pregnant. HA! but i am so grateful for my pregnancy. i really do love being pregnant but i am ready for this babygirl to be here. 

here are just two of the maternity pics i took with my cousin cambrie. i love them!

Bumpdate! 25 WKS!

Is it possible that I am this far along already? I am really grateful for modern medicine & the fact that my sweet baby is still healthy. This update is a few days late but that's okay. I am still on medication & still having really bad contractions. I am not cleared to work so it's really boring at home but as long as I'm doing whatever the doctor tells me I guess it's alright with me. My face in this picture explains it right. My contractions are painful. I always have a backache & I just about never get ready. It's great. 

Baby is the size of: a large cauliflower. is that a head of cauliflower? well shes getting huge. she is measuring big. almost 2 pounds and really long! 

Maternity clothes: "bed rest/house arrest" means i dont normally get dressed. cool. but i do have some maternity jeans. just because they are more comfy. i really just want dresses cus it is already way too hot in vegas and only feb :(

Sleep: sleeping is pretty much great or sucky. i pee about 1093538 times every night so thats great. plus i am having strong contractions that wake me. while i am sleeping tho it is sufficient. 

Movement: she is so nuts. she moves a lot and kicks or punches like crazy. mostly up by my ribs or really low causing me to have to pee immediately. its the most surreal feeling 

Best moment of the week: i had my glucose test- which totally suck but best part is its over! 

Miss anything: i miss work. a lot. i really love my job so it really stinks im not able to work right now. 

Food Cravings: lately i have been craving mexican food. chips and salsa. tacos. quesadillas. oh and raising canes. 

Anything make you queasy: my medication for my contractions sometimes. 

Am I showing: very much so. my belly is measuring 2 weeks bigger and my baby is measuring one week big. so thats great. 

Wedding rings: im still wearing it. i take it off at night and actually lately my fingers are really skinny. weird so its kinda big.  

Weight Gain: not sure in total. i feel like i havent gained TOOO much. 

Stretch marks: i still just have one. it looks like harry potters scar and its really red :( 

Happy or moody: both. sometimes i am so happy and sometimes i am really frustrated that my pregnancy isnt going as i planned. but thats life and im just glad the baby is healthy. 

Not Exactly Planned.

Well-  I have once again slacked on my poor blog. But now is a good time to update! Lots of friends and family know that we were in the hospital so I really wanted to write this all down before I forget anything.

Yesterday around 11- I was experiencing some bleeding and before any one freaks out- it wasn't SO much, but definitely enough to where I concerned and called one of the nurses at my doctors office. I was also having weird cramping. The nurse told me to go to Summerlin Hospital and head the the labor and delivery to get monitored- she told me it could be nothing- constipation or just her moving- but better to be safe than sorry. I headed home and met Trey then we both drove over to the hospital. we got there at 2 o clock and they right away hooked me up to the monitors. One to monitor the baby and one to monitor and see if I was having any contractions.

At first- the nurse at the hospital looked at the charts from the contraction screens and didn't say anything. I knew something was up because if they weren't happening she would have told me. While this was all happening Trey was sitting next to me- I'm sure beyond nervous. The labor doctor came in to see me and told me that I was having contractions and that they were gonna have a high risk doctor come in to see what exactly was happening. Before the high risk doctor came- I got my blood drawn and got hooked up to an IV. Trey gave me a blessing- which was a huge comfort and then the high risk doctor got there. He did an ultrasound and a cervix check and thankfully my cervix was still closed. He said everything looked fine but my contractions were about every 10-15 minutes and that made them worry. I got two injections to slow the contractions down but that shot also made my heart pound so hard. Trey could see it moving in my chest. I was grateful that the entire time I was laying in the hospital bed Trey was by my side and baby girl was moving like crazy. The injections made my contractions drop to 3-4 in an hour so they decided to send me home with medication after 7 hours of being monitored. They also ordered bed rest for a few days to make sure that the baby is good. The medication I am on has slowed the contractions down- I can totally still feel them but they are significantly slower. We certainly did not plan that for our Wednesday night but thank goodness for modern medicine, awesome nurses and doctors, and prayers. Bed rest to say the least sucks. It sounds so nice- laying in bed all day- but its actually terrible. haha I really hate not being able to get up and go somewhere if i want to. But Trey stayed home from work today- which was awesome. I am glad that Babygirl and I are okay.

Now- for a bump date! I am officially 22 weeks and 3 days today!

Baby is the size of: a papaya. Yesterday at the hospital they did an ultrasound and she is actually HUGE. she is measuring at 23 weeks and 5 days. The doctor also told us she weighs 1 lb and 5 oz. She's growing quick and healthy! YAY! 

Maternity clothes: I have yet to buy any. Thankfully my clothes still fit. Lots look weird but WHATEVER- don't really care that much. 

Sleep: is getting worse- especially with this medicine. The medication makes my heart POUND and it makes it really hard to sleep. Oh and i cannot sleep longer than 4 hours without having to get up to pee. 

Movement: We have decided our daughter is a total spazzzzz. She moves like crazy. During the monitoring we could hear her move around and it was crazy. She is totally nuts. Trey constantly has his hand on my stomach and can feel her move a lot. 

Best moment of the week: Know that she is okay. Contractions and hospital time was scary- but thank goodness she's healthy. 

Miss anything: right now- moving around. hahaha bed rest is just no fun. 

Food Cravings: Slurpees. that is really my only craving anymore. So much food always sounds good- but nothing that I just HAVE to have. 

Anything make you queasy: I have been queasy today- but I think its just the medicine. Other than that not really.

Am I showing: oh of course. She's only getting bigger. 

Wedding rings: Still on! yay! 

Weight Gain: i've gained like 13 pounds so far the entire time.  

Stretch marks: Trey found one today :( on my scar from my surgery in the philippines. Its pretty small tho. 

Happy or moody: Im happy. nothing to be moody about :) 

Looking forward to: Our doctors appt tuesday. 

Last week I looked like this. 

And this was today. She's just huge. 

Bumpdate! 19 weeks!

Baby is the size of: a freaking mango. And I didn't really think that was big until another source told me she is as big as a tomato. A big tomato. 6 in long & .5 lbs. she's growing quick! 

 

Maternity clothes: my mother in law bought me a pair of maternity jeans. I haven't tried them out yet. I can still fit most of my clothes. I live in leggings anyway :) and once it gets a little warmer I will just live in dresses. oh & do bras count? I had to buy new ones :( 

 

Sleep: it's getting so hard. I normally sleep on my stomach but adjusting to side sleeping isn't easy. & I'm still getting up constantly to pee. I have tried unisom- a sleeping aide my doctor said is safe and it did NOTHING at all for me. I still woke up constantly.

 

Movement:I feel her ALL the time. & I love it!! I felt her for the first time about a week ago but wasn't positive if it was actually her. I can't wait until Trey and family can feel her move!

 

Best moment of the week: we have organized some of her clothes & dresses. We are really blessed with awesome family who have given us so much already! Baby stuff is so freaking cute I can't handle it.

 

Miss anything: I miss stretching my back. Hahah it's hard to bend backward when my stomach doesn't stretch anymore. I miss raw yummy sushi SO much. A rainbow roll sounds amazing.

 

Food Cravings: slurpees all the time. Even if it's freezing outside. Pizza from anywhere. Onions. I hate onions & seriously crave the purple ones. SO weird.

 

Anything make you queasy: sometimes the smell of random stuff. Dishes. I didn't really have morning sickness so that helps.

Am I showing: totally. I feel like I popped really early but then I remember that this baby could easily be on the very tall side considering her dad is 6'4.

Wedding rings: still on. I'm hoping I don't swell too much so they can stay on. Wishful thinking. 

 

Weight Gain: don't know. Nor do I really care. I'll tone it up after the baby comes. 

 

Stretch marks: none so far. I am working on preventing them!

 

Happy or moody: totally happy until I have to wake up to go to work. Sleeping all day sounds glorious.

Looking forward to: setting up her crib and planning the baby shower. 

Being pregnant is the most amazing thing. I literally can't believe how fast it is going. Thinking that I'll hit my half way mark on Monday is pretty crazy. Thanks to Marley for making pictures fun. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Pictum!

Growing up I always wanted to be a mom & I am so excited that is happening! Since I haven't blogged in FOREVER I have so much to catch up on but I figured I'd share the biggest thing, our sweet baby girl. We found out we were expecting on September 20th! My father in laws birthday. I guess if you really don't care about the details you could just skip this post- but that morning was the morning I could officially take a pregnancy test so as soon as I woke up I took the test & bam- two lil lines. Pregnant. I called trey into the bathroom & he freaked telling me I need to tell him before I take a test so he could be prepared. Hahaha but done deal! I took two more tests that day & I was indeed prego. We both were so excited but immediately so overwhelmed & nervous & a million emotions come so quick. We would be responsible for a tiny human! That's huge. We told our families the following day & they were all super excited also. We went to the doctor to confirm our baby & got to hear the heartbeat & see our baby. The doctor confirmed it was just one, bummer. & I got blood work done. 

We decided to share our news with everyone at just 8 weeks- which everyone else thinks is very early but we talked about it as a couple & felt that our baby was a baby & we already had so much love for this baby & we wanted people to know that. I had an AWESOME first trimester. Had almost zero morning sickness. No throwing up rocked. I thank my genetics. Haha my mom never got sick & I am super grateful. I am just beyond tired all the time. That's getting better everyday & I'm finally feeling a little bit more energized. 

We had genetic testing at 12 weeks & found out that we were having a girl & I was literally SHOCKED. I thought for sure we were having a boy. But I couldn't be happier about our little princess. 

As of now I am 14 weeks tomorrow! The weeks go so fast & the due date is June 2nd. We love this little babe SO much already. I love being pregnant. Honestly. Trey is the cutest ever & is dealing with me being moody very well. This baby is already spoiled & so loved. We have a name but won't share that for awhile. For now she will be Princess Pictum! 

neglect.

if my blog were a dog itd probably be dead cus i havent paid much attention to it in a few weeks...or a month. oops. but CHANGE is happening around here with our little family and we've been mighty busy!!

• I GOT A JOB! this is huge cus i was totally in need of one. so yay! i got a job as a receptionist for an awesome company and i absolutely love it. love the people i work with and REALLY love the pay. haha
• TREY HAS A NEW JOB TOO! this is great also. he is doing something he loves with an awesome company and we are both makin money! big deal! 
• we moved! maybe ill make a separate blog post about this cus its important to us. were living now with my parents  and we are loving it. 
• Trey has officially declared his major and is doing so well in school. and im so proud of him for doing something big with his smart brain! 
• we got wedding pictures! ill also have to overload this blog with those. 
• trey had a birthday and is now 23. weird. and i turned 22 & don't like it. ill continue to pretend im just 21 ;)
• football season is over & my brothers had an amazing season. Wrestling season is starting so bring on the stinky gyms. the change here is that our date night has turned into watching my brothers & I can't complain. 

dont you love how life is always changing. i sure do. it makes it fun. we love love love that new things are happening. married life is the best when i have my best friend to handle all these changes. working all day and not seeing trey is hard but i figure we have our whole lives to look forward to so its not that bad !