Mommyhood...

This was a tag on facebook, and Kaycee posted it on her blog.. she basically said, "If you read this, do it.." and because I do most everything I am told.. I am doing it here too.. and I am doing all three pregnancies, because, if you don't know me, I so love the memories!
1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes.. but came sooner than we thought.. we were told that it would take "a while" after I got off of birth control.. try less than a week.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Lynn- SOOO EXCITED!!! I told everyone who would listen to me, that day...
Ashley- Relieved that I was right.. the early results EPT was WRONG!! Both times..
Peyton- Happy.. I am pretty sure I had an early miscarriage before her.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
Never!!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
Lynn- 22
Ashley- 24
Peyton- 27

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Lynn- Took a pregnancy test after I was hungry all the time, and wanted vegetables right before bed..
Ashley- Got sick smelling seafood in Olive Garden, followed by going totally hormonal on Merrill for not observing Valentine's day.. which he NEVER has..
Peyton- Pregnancy test after discovering my clothes didn't fit.. oh, and craving a pint of Ben and Jerry's every day, and eating ALL of it in one sitting..

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Lynn- Merrill
Ashley- Jaclyn
Peyton- Brooke?
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Yes! Yes! Yes!

9. DUE DATE?
Lynn- December 6, 2002
Ashley- October 15, 2004
Peyton- February 23, 2008

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Lynn- Yes, a little, but it was like Amanda's, all day long.. it ended pretty fast.
Ashley- Same thing..
Peyton- by far the worst... I thought I was having a boy for sure!!

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Lynn & Ashley- Sandwiches and vegetables
Peyton- Sweet, red meat, and root beer floats.. that's where the addiction started..

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
People telling me how big I was.. grocery store workers telling me what sex baby I was having by looking at what groceries I was buying or how I was carrying the baby...
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Girl..

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Some times! :)

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
Lynn- seriously about 65
Ashley- 35 (I learned my lesson)
Peyton- 30
Still have the Jabba the Hut gut...

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Three?
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
One was.. other two, nope.. they were family.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Lynn- No
Ashley- No
Peyton- No

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Ogden, all three times...

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Lynn- went in at midnight, had her at 9:15 am.. so if my Roy high math skills are correct.. a little over 9 hours.. :)
Ashley- Went in at 7 am, she was born at 12:53.. via c-section
Peyton- woke up at 2:30ish, in labor.. got to the hospital at 3:40ish (I put it off a little to see if it was "real"..) had her at 4:45 am

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Mer-Bear :)

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Lynn- Merrill, Mom, Kev, Darlene, Dad, Jaclyn.. good ol' Doc. Healy..
Ashley- Much the same crowd... + Lynn and Clint.. sub doctor Swift for Doc Healy..
Peyton- Merrill, Darlene, Doc. Bierer..

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Lynn- Natural
Ashley- C-Section (LOVED IT!!! Awesome recovery!)
Peyton- Natural (VBAC- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Yuppers!! Lots!!

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
Lynn- 7 lbs. 12 oz.
Ashley- 8 lbs 2 oz.
Peyton- 8 lbs. 14 oz.

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
Lynn- November 24
Ashley- October 5
Peyton- February 13

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Lynn Marie
Ashley Marie
Peyton Marie.. all after mom.. Mindy Marie ;)

31. HOW OLD IS HE/SHE NOW?
Lynn- 6
Ashley- 4
Peyton- one week away from 1!!! (sniff..)

Happy Birthday Lynnie!!!

I read to Lynn from my journal this morning, about the day that she was born... I warn, all the details are here because if my house were to burn down, that journal wouldn't survive but it will here :)...
November 24, 2002
Happy Birthday Lynn! She was born today at 9:16 am. She is 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 20 inches long. She has Merrill's eyes and nose. TONS of dark long hair. She is as Merrill would say, "adorable!". She's absolutely perfect! She is breastfeeding well too, when she isn't too sleepy. I had kind of a sad day yesterday. I was just going to miss being pregnant & feeling her move. I basically held it in all day. We went to Sandy's to eat with mom, dad, Joe, Jackie, the girls, and Clint. We all had a good time but I felt a little funny. I felt dizzy and a little crampy. I felt worse when we stopped off at Wal-Mart to get a couple of things. Merrill took my last "pregnancy picture" and I lost it. Just thinking that it was the last for this pregnancy made me sad! Merrill is so good though! He just loved me. We rented "Enough" and "Copycat" to bring to the hospital. Then I took a long bath and tried to relax. My pains didn't go away and my mucus was pink too. We relaxed and just waited. Merrill gave me such a beautiful blessing! He blessed me with everything I was concerned about. He also said how much my Heavenly Father loved me for bringing this spirit into the world. He told me I would be a wonderful mother, that I already am, so not to worry. He's so good! We got to the hospital around midnight but rode the elevator up and down a few times because we couldn't remember which floor labor and delivery were on. We checked in and got stuff rolling only to discover that I was 3+ centimeters and 80% effaced and I was contracting! We had a little scare as soon as I got hooked up to the monitors, her heart rate dropped and they had to lay me down and put oxygen on me. Mom and Kevin came around 1:00 am. I thought they had me on pitosin the whole time, but they really hadn't. I was doing it all on my own! So it would have been today anyway!Dr. Healy broke my water around 2 am. Around 4-4:30 am I got my epidural and then they started the pitosin. Merrill slept then and I did off and on too. When I got my epidural I was at a 4+. Around 5 am I was a 8. Ans things just kept going! At 7 am she told me I was a nine and we would push soon. That's when dad, Jackie, and Darlene came. I started pushing around 7:30 and Dr. Healy didn't get there till about 9 am. I got to look in the mirror and I saw her crowning and saw the shoulders pass through. Before I knew it, I had a baby girl on my tummy! Merrill did so good! He helped me push and rubbed my temples. He's so good to me! Everyone thinks she's so cute! She has chubby little cheeks and a double chin. She is mostly Mer but I can say she has my hands ;). Merrill held in all emotion until everyone left, then we both cried. It was the neatest experience! Right now it's 9:45 pm. We've had little sleep but are loving our time together as a brand new family. Everyone is so excited, especially Hallie. We are so blessed! We love you so much Lynn!Happy birthday my 6 year old! I love you!!!

Peyton Marie...

So here she is...21 inches long...

and 8 pounds, 14 ounces...
So here's the whole story...
I wake up, 2:23 am, think I felt a pain, but not sure, because of the night before... do the bathroom thing. Get back to bed in time to have Ash come and tell me that she needs back tickles. I think, okay... I can pay more attention to what that pain was. She's asleep. There's another one. I get up, awkwardly, of course... go downstairs to see if this gets any better, or worse... I switch laundry that I didn't do before we went to bed. There's another one, worse. I turn on the computer to get some pics printed off for Lynn's pre-school project of Freddy. See, I'm thinking that this is pretty serious. I decide that maybe I should call mom. It's 3 am now. She is up, knows it's me, obviously... "Hi hon!" There's a smile in her voice.
"It's time."
"I'm on my way."
I go to get Mer up. It takes a little longer than I thought...
"Mer, it's time."
"Did your water break?"
"Nope, but this is getting pretty intense..."
He's up, Ash is still asleep in the bed. We are gathering last minute items. I forget my rings, which leads to some interesting questions later... He gives me a blessing. I'm feeling good.
I go get the pics to put them in Lynn's backpack. I am a nut... I post...
Mom gets here.
Last minute instructions. Some tears of excitement... Here we go...
Merrill stops at every stop sign and red light. What a good guy. These babies are getting stronger! As we drive down to the ER entrance, I tell him that whatever I said about going natural, I was crazy. The first person I want to see is the anesthesiologist (I spelled that right on the first try!) and they'd better not triage me! We get there and even the security guard knows this is for real.
"Let me guess where you need to go," he says while getting a wheelchair, "4, labor and delivery."
"No, I need stitches." gg (giggle-giggle) I am sooo funny!
I tease him as if he's all knowing, and ask if he knows which anesthesiologist is on call. He doesn't. He wheels me to the L&D desk. Three ladies are there, talking and laughing. He tells them I'm there, and they all turn and look at me, like, yeah, right. They start in with the questions.
"Name... Birthdate... DUE DATE..."
I got quite the look over the top of the glasses when I answered that one.
"Doctor..."
One of them takes me to pee into the awesome little cup, and change. I am having another contraction, I can't pee! I am having enough trouble just getting undressed! The gown has snaps on the sleeves, which are un-done. Yeah, I am ready to wrap it around my body and walk out, this hurts!!!
She has me lay on the little triage bed (yes they were going to TRY to triage me.) and she asks if my water has broken. A little something leaks out whenever I have a contraction. Could that be it? Just a small tear? She tests it, and it's not. She thinks I am crazy... UNTIL she checks me... big smile of satisfaction comes onto my face...
I am a 7 and 1/2.
She talks into her little walkie-talkie thingie. Once I am out, walking to my room let me add, the nurses are a little bit more receptive.
I get into bed, and it hurts. It's like five to four. They are asking questions. I am so pleasant when I am not having a contraction, and then have to answer with nods or shakes of my head when I am having one. I ask the nurse who's the anesthesiologist is, Doctor Silver... LOVE HIM!!! They go to call him and Doctor Bierer. They check me. I am at 8 and 1/2. The questions finally end, the "drug dealer" is there. I am hurting, but poor Merrill!!! I have him hold my hand. He's stressing. I tell Doctor Silver to do whatever he did on the day Ash came. He asks if he's done my epidural before. I told him yes, and what a good job he did. He asks if this is the same dad that was here with me the last time... see, questions...
I have Mer take a pic of me, after the epidural is making me feel good. He is just shaking...
It's 4:12 am now. The nurse checks me. 9 and 1/2 and she can feel my bag of water. Dr. Bierer gets there... boy does HE look tired! There's some chit-chat. Talking about his new pool table... was he playing pool or sleeping? The nurse updates him. He breaks my water, and we are pushing. It's about 4:20 am.
I can't feel a thing! He tells me I am doing so good. I tell him not to lie, it won't make me feel bad, I can't feel anything. He says I am really doing good. Darlene, Mer's mom gets there. Push!!! There's hair! Lots of it! She is so excited. We find out why it's slow go.... a couple of more pushes, she's face up! A couple of more pushes, and she's out! 4:47 am...
They weigh and measure her. I am still so astonished at how much hair this little girl has.
The weight and length come in.
I am shocked!
Two things I was told my body would not be able to do:
1- birth a baby over 8 pounds vaginally
and 2- birth a child who is face-up.
But I had a priesthood blessing. I can do anything!!! (If it's Heavenly Father's will, that is...)
Apparently, the umbilical cord is a record maker...Phone calls are made. (Brooke's was the funniest!)
The girls come later that morning.
They are too cute. Ashley is going to have to have constant monitoring... she thinks she is a little mom.
We leave that night but don't get out of there till this morning. Guess who's coming as we are leaving...
Dr. Bierer... poor guy!
When I am in a different kind of mood, you can expect a post that will be about insurance companies, and nice little "rant and rave"... paying before we are discharged is not as smooth and organized as one would think. Oh, and I got "the kernel bill" the day before we had our chunk of a little girl too...
Stay tuned! Same bloggin' time. Same bloggin' channel!

Ummmmm.... whoo-whoo-hee-hee...

My contractins have begun... We're off!
*(Like the above misspell? I was really in labor!!!)*