Fall 2013 Happenings

We blessed Matthew the last Sunday in September.  Both the Anderson's and Mitchell's were able to be there.  With David we didn't have any family come since we were in Texas, so it was so nice to have some family support!    

Over conference weekend, we went on a nice senic drive up to Bellingham.  All the trees were changing colors, it was beautiful.

 Matthew turned 2 months old on Oct 8th.  15 lbs 2 oz.  He is growing like crazy!  He smiles and laughs a ton.  He really is a good baby and doesn't cry much unless he is hungry.  His hair is starting to grow back.

We made a trip to Utah in the middle of October!  This was the first time we got to show off Matthew!  We got to see all of my siblings, my Mom and Kate!  It was a fun trip!  David and Matthew did great on the plane both ways.  Coming home home I flew by myself because Doug had left a few days before and I was so worried, but it worked out perfectly.  David had a blast with all his cousins!

Can you guess the age difference between these two?  If you guessed 2 weeks you would be right!  Crazy huh?   

For Halloween David was a train conductor and Matthew a pea pod.  David absolutely loved trick-or-treating.  He got lots and lots of candy from all the neighbors since there aren't a ton of kids in the neighborhood.  Grandma Plaster was here for a whole week during this time.  I am horrible at picture taking and wish we got more picks of this week.  We enjoyed her a ton!  David was so sad when she had to go home.
 

Matthew turned 3 months old on Nov 8th.  16 lbs 2 oz.  He is pretty much off the charts.  He still laughs and smiles tons.  He has had a cold that lasted quite a while so we ended up at the urgent care twice in the last two weeks.  He is much better now.  He is trying to roll to his side.  He is more alert and hasn't been sleeping the best.  I am pretty sure he is teething.  Lots of slobbery spit up.

David is now potty trained!  We followed the 3 day plan that Sara Young had suggested and it worked like a charm!  He loves that he is a big boy now, and so do we!

  

September Outings and Pics

Here are some pics of our life for this month.  We went on our first family of 4 hike on Labor Day up near Granite Falls, WA.  It was beautiful and Matthew and David both did superb! David has so much energy, he would do just find on some longer hikes.  Doug was gone for a week, so the boys and I took a trip down to Diana's in Shelton.  It was a nice getaway, and we always love seeing them!  We also went down to the state fair in Puyallup.  We all had a good time, David especially had a blast with all the animals and yummy treats!  Other than that we have pretty much done our day to day routines.  We go on walks to the park, read, have snack time, play with the dogs, play ball, paint, dance, have bath time and so much more.  I love my job of being a mom!      

Matthew 1 Month

Matthew is now almost 7 weeks old.  We had his 1 month visit 2 weeks ago and as of then he is was 13 lbs and 5 oz., and 24 inches tall.  He is in the 94th percentile for his weight and in the 100th percentile for his height.  I wish I could keep him this small forever!  He smiles now, and is a lot more alert and awake.  For the first few weeks of his life he didn't cry very often, but he is now learning how to get my attention.  David loves to hold him and gives him lots of kisses.  We are in love with this little guy.

 

Matthew Logan's Birth Story

The summer has quickly come and is now almost over.  We have had lots of fun this summer which I plan to post more about, but as of right now I feel the need to post about Matthew's birth before the details get too foggy.  If reading about birth stories isn't your thing, (water breaking, contractions and the sorts) this post may not be for you.

Matthew was due on July 30th.  The week before I had been checked and was super soft and dilated some.  With David I never truly went into labor on my own so I was convinced after this check that Matthew would arrive on or before his due date.  Well about a week after my due date had come and gone I was extremely frustrated.  I tried everything I could find to induce labor but nothing seemed to help.  I finally decided to try acupuncture.  I had never done acupuncture before but I simply couldn't stand on the sidelines and do nothing, even though that is really all your body requires for the most part.  I was having some contractions before I went to accupunture, but nothing too strong.  I had gone to the accupuncture Tuesday evening  came home and went to bed.  I woke up about 3 hours after I got home and my contractions were getting stronger.  I labored on and off through the night and when I woke up the next morning they were back to being mild contractions.  Pretty much all day Wed. I labored on and off but my contractions never became regular.

I spoke with my midwife Wed. afternoon and was told that if they didn't get closer together that she wanted me to take castor oil in the morning and then again 3 hours after the first dose.  I really didn't want to take it but my contractions weren't getting closer together.  So in the morning after laboring most of the night I took the castor oil.  Although it didn't have any affect on me at all until after the birth.  The time came for me to take the second dose but I decided I wanted to be checked before taking any more.

We got to the birth center at about 11:45 am.  When they checked me I was dilated to a 7.  It was great news.  We were going to have a baby and I wasn't going home.  We had forgotten the car seat at home, go figure and so Doug went back to the house (we live fairly close) and I continued to labor.  When he got back I was dilated to an 8 and we decided to break my water.  About 30 minutes later I was ready to push and about 20 minutes later Matthew was born.  At 10 lbs 10 oz.  I could hardly hold him because I was so weak and he was so heavy.  Celia was there to witness the birth and Doug was by my side the whole time letting me squeeze his hand as tight as I could.  David and my Mom came to the center to meet little Matthew and we all went home a few hours later where both Matthew and I recovered.     

With David I started off in a birth center and ended up having him in a hospital due to some mild complications.  This go around, I feel so blessed to have had no complications with Matthew so that I was finally able to give birth the way I had always wanted to, drug free and in a birth center.  All in all I had an easy birth and the experience was amazing!  The two things that I learned from this birth is that one, I will never ever in my whole life take castor oil again, and the second being that babies come when they are good and ready.   

(41 weeks prego!)

Our Road of Infertility

So I have been thinking a lot about this article that I had come across on Pinterest a few months back.  I have told several people about it, but I feel like I need to post about it as well.  As many of you know it took Doug and I several years before we were able to conceive David.  It was a very frustrating and trying time for me as an individual and for us as a couple.  I just couldn't get over the fact that my body was not doing what it was meant to do.  In 2010 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).  (You can read about it here http://women.webmd.com/tc/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-topic-overview)  Basically all of my hormones were out of whack

Shortly after being diagnosed with PCOS, I ended up having surgery to remove one of my fallopian tubes due to another test showing that it was needed.  Although, once they cut me open it was found that I could keep both of my tubes, and that removal was not necessary.  So everything was deemed good except for the fact that I didn't ovulate.  After I recovered from my surgery our specialist gave us two options.  The first being artificial insemination, and the second putting me on clomid.  We had done both of these options before with no success.  But I felt very strongly that we should try clomid once again for two cycles and then move on from there if that didn't work.  The first cycle was not a success and so we moved on to the second cycle with really no thought that it would work.  We were just going through the motions.  During the second cycle I had a very strong prompting that I needed to give up caffeine completely.  I have to admit I drank a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper at the time.  It was what got me through the day, and I loved it.  But once I had this voice tell me that I needed to stop, I listened.  And it was that cycle that I became pregnant with David.  A complete wonderful shock it was!  Before that I was beginning to think that pregnancy was just not an option for me.  But I know that it was all in Heavenly Father's timing, and by listening to His promptings my body was finally able to ovulate and conceive. 

Now back to the article I found on Pinterest, which can be found here http://wellnessmama.com/5425/balance-hormones/, in the article she gives tips on how to balance your hormones.  After reading the article I realized that I had already made some of those changes that she suggests in the months leading up to me getting pregnant.  At the time I had no idea they were even linked to hormones.  I thought that I would always need clomid or some sort of intervention to get pregnant.  But I am now 32 weeks pregnant with #2 that I conceived all on my own.  So now I am a huge believer that making some of the changes she suggests in the article could help others to regulate their hormones as well.  Below are some of the changes I had made prior to getting pregnant. 

1. I stopped using margarine and only used real butter in all my cooking and baking.  Before this I never used real butter.  I had actually preferred the taste of margarine.  It grosses me out now to think that I actually liked margarine at one point, Yuck!  I also had started using more olive oil and cut back on all other oils.
2.  I stopped using caffeine, just as I had stated above.  This was the only change that I had made for only a few weeks prior to getting pregnant.  All of the other changes I had made at least 5 to 6 months prior.
3.  I got rid of all of my plastic food storage containers and switched to all glass containers.  This was all of Doug's doing.  He hated it when I would put plastic in the microwave and so because of that we switched containers.
4. I started taking a daily magnesium supplement.
5. I stopped exercising as intensely as I had been previously.  I was no longer running for extended lengths at a time.   

I know that I am not the only one that has had issues with infertility and PCOS.  I hope this can give some help to those searching for ways to help them.  Even if you don't need help regulating your hormones, it is still a very interesting article to read.  Enjoy!!!

David's T-Ball Set

So David got a t-ball set for his birthday and has been obsessing over it.  I took him to the park today and he had a blast.  Just thought I would post a video of him and some pictures!  Gotta love this little guy!!!

Birthday Boy!!! A BIG Whopping 2 Years Old!!!

David turned 2 last Tuesday (May 28th).  I just can't believe how these last two years have flown by.  He started out big and is still a big boy.  He weighs in at 33 lbs and is just under 36 inches tall.  He is becoming Mr. Independent and has been testing his limits a lot lately.  But he can still be very sweet and cuddly when he wants to be.  His vocabulary is growing but he still signs a lot of the time.  He loves playing outside, especially with the dogs.  He can spot a ball a mile away, and when he jibber jabbers, it is almost always about balls.  Pretty much he is obsessed with them or anything that resembles one.  He loves helping me around the house and gets super excited when I ask him to do something.  I know this will wear off soon, so I am enjoying it while I can.  Very seldom does he want me to rock him to sleep anymore, which makes me a little sad.  But I know I have to let him grow up.  He loves being the center of attention and loves going to new places.  He is always waving and smiling at people.  He is overcoming his need to be clean all the time.  He is truly turning into a boy and loves to get dirty when he is outside.  All I can say is that he has been the biggest blessing that I have been given.  I am so grateful I get to be his Mom and watch him grow!