Magnus' Blessing Day

Magnus was blessed on July 6th, his first day in church. I was anxious to get back to church and he seemed healthy so we did it. I made his outfit and James blessed him in Sacrament meeting. We had brunch at our house after church. 

I took some pictures with my camera, I need to upload them on our computer. Where does the time go? Oh, right, kids. 

One Month!

Admittedly, this post is late by over a month. I didn't take a picture with a sign the way I did with Mina. Now that Magnus is two months old I think that ship may have sailed. 

By the time Magnus was a month old he was already bursting out of his newborn sized clothes. He had moved on to 0-3 sized clothes and size 1 diapers. 

He would wake up twice at night to eat and he would eat every three hours during the day. 

He started to show his personality and for his sake I hope he is patient. After all, he has Mina for a big sister:

He was given a name and a blessing on July 6th by his Dad. We are so lucky to have James in our lives!

Magnus' blessing outfit was based on a vintage pattern I picked up at a Relief Society activity. I altered the size as well as turning the shirt into a onesie. 

I used cotton sateen for the shirt/onesie and seersucker for the overalls. 

We love our little guy!

Magnus!

On Sunday night I asked James to take a picture of me at 39 weeks pregnant. I wasn't very consistent with documenting my pregnancy so I figured, better late than never!  The next day was Memorial Day and we were still deciding if we wanted to celebrate with James' family or stay home. I figured we might as well go and get out of the house. We visited graves at four cemeteries and then had a barbecue at my sister-in-law's house. I was pretty uncomfortable for most of the day. James packed our water bottles with ice water and he reminded me several times to stay hydrated. By the end of the day we were tired but there was no sign of a baby. 

On Tuesday morning James got up to go to work. I heard Mina crying on the monitor so I went in to check on her because James was in the bathroom. As I stepped into her room I felt a small gush. It kept coming in a slow trickle. I hurried into the bathroom to tell James that my water had broken. I told him to hurry and shower and I was going to clean myself up. A few phone calls later we were ready to go to the hospital. 

James gave me a blessing and I made sure we took a picture before we left. Those were two things we didn't do during the false alarm of the week before.  We arrived at the hospital a little before 7 AM. I was checked in triage and admitted. My water broke completely at 7:30 and I was dilated to a 5. By 8 AM I was in a delivery room and in serious pain.

I asked about a good time for an epidural. The nurse told me the anesthesiologist had two patients ahead of me but he would come when he was available. Around 8:30 the nurse checked me again and I was shocked when she told me I was dilated to an 8! I thought for sure that my body hadn't relaxed during those contractions. Luckily, there was still enough time for the epidural. By the time 9 AM rolled around I was feeling great and waiting for Dr. Boheen to arrive. The epidural was amazing and I was giddy from relief. 

Around 9:20 Dr. Boheen arrived and checked me. I was at a 10 so she asked if I wanted to push during the next contraction. It felt so weird because I could push but I couldn't really feel anything. I pushed three times each contraction and after three contractions he was out! At 9:40 AM Magnus James made his appearance!

James cut the cord and we spent some skin to skin time while they cleaned me up. 

This delivery was so fast! I pushed for an hour with Mina and it was more painful. Imagine my surprise when Magnus weighed in at 8lbs 7oz!

I think James is a pretty proud Dad!

My parents brought Mina up to meet her brother around lunchtime. She is in love!

False Alarm

A week ago Thursday (the 22nd) James and I went to the hospital because I was having contractions. They were a minute long, every five minutes and they had been happening regularly for over an hour. I was so uncomfortable by the time we got to the hospital. While they were asking me questions in triage I started crying because it hurt so much. 

At this point I was 38 weeks and 4 days, dilated to a 4. The nurse told me the hospital's policy for Moms before 39 weeks, if I didn't show progress I would be sent home. She checked me and determined that I was still a 4.  I was surprised and disappointed that all that pain seemed to be for nothing. She monitored my contractions which had increased to every two minutes. She sent us out to walk the halls to encourage my body along. Walking at this point in my pregnancy was challenging. My hips were painfully loose and my thigh muscles would spasm. Despite this pain we walked for an hour. 

A little while before midnight we returned to the exam room. I laid down and waited to be examined again. It felt so good to lay down I almost didn't notice that the contractions had stopped. The nurse checked me again, I was still at a 4 so we went home.

I felt like we were walking a walk of shame when we exited the ER. I was so disappointed and I felt bad that it was so late. We got home around 1AM. I was pretty down the rest of the weekend. I was doubting myself and my ability to discern labor. Our bodies are so weird sonetimes. 

Our first Christmas in our new house!

The Sunday before Christmas we had a family party with James' side of the family.  Santa made an appearance and this is how Min reacted:

 She was practically inconsolable.  It will be interesting to see how she responds this year when she is two. Poor kid!

This was our front room Christmas morning, I think it was perfect!  We bought an artificial Christmas tree a month earlier and realized we had only a few ornaments.  It was okay, we'll gradually add to it.

 Our presents:

 James and I traded off on opening present and taking pictures.  Mina seemed much more interested in everything than she was last year.  It has been so fun to watch her grow up!

 We gave Mina some art supplies and a doll with a stroller for Christmas.

 I guess I was more excited to open her presents than Mina.

 Mina was more interested in joining her doll in the stroller than pushing it!

 Before we headed out my Grandma and Uncle stopped by with Mina's present.

 After that we all went to my parent's house to open presents. I think Mina started to get the hang of opening presents at that point!

 After that we went to James' parent's house.  I think Mina was pretty tired at this point:

 This was Mina's haul at the end of the day:

Our families were very generous!

Mina turned one!

Last year.  And I'm just NOW taking the time to post a few pictures.  It's hard to believe the time has passed so fast.  She has been in nursery for a few months now and she is closer to two than one!

I kept the decorations simple, I made some tissue paper pom poms and some paper banners. It was nice to be able to enjoy the Sunday and not feel totally awful and rushed.

James' parents bought Mina an adorable lady bug outfit for her birthday.  Even though it was long sleeved she didn't get too hot in it.  I was worried.

 We ate Cafe Rio style sweet pork in the crock pot and provided plenty of options for either salads or tacos.  I just wanted the day to be easy and a crock pot main course fit the bill.

 Mina opened her presents after we ate dinner.  She seemed kind of overwhelmed.

James' mom, Melanie, made Mina's adorable cake from a sketch I gave her.  She is so unbelieveably talented! Not only was the cake incredibly cute, but it was delicious as well! 

  I made a small "smash cake" for Mina.  It was banana flavored so it was "healthier." I made the mistake of putting it in the fridge so it was pretty solid when she tried to eat it!

Even though it was over eight months ago, we are still so grateful to our families that attended.  Mina got spoiled!