Everett's Birth Story

Exactly two weeks ago we were driving to the hospital to have our little baby boy. That drive felt oddly like any other drive together. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were driving to the hospital to have a BABY! That's one of the nice things about being induced- you have an actual date and set time to go in. Anyone who knows me will know how much I like schedules and plans. ;) 

I was 39 weeks pregnant to the day and needed to be induced because I was still on my blood thinners from my blood clot back at 32 weeks. We were admitted to the hospital, settled into our room and started the first dose of Cytotec all before 7pm. Taylor chose our last meal, which of course was Outback Steakhouse. That's my boy! I wan't opposed to a little salmon. My second dose of Cytotec was started at 10 and by 10:30 I was having more intense contractions. Not crazy painful, but enough to be pretty uncomfortable. The nurse said if I wanted to get any shut eye I should get the epidural that night. So at 11 the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. He told Taylor to go around to the other side of the bed and hold my hand. While he prepared everything I looked up at Taylor's face for comfort, but his face only left me with more worry! ha. His eyes were huge as he looked at what the anesthesiologist was about to do. At that point, I just had to close my eyes and hold on to Taylor's hand as hard as I could. It wasn't has painful as I thought it would be. 

After we were all hooked up on the epidural we tried to get some shut eye but in a hospital that's kind of hard to do. I couldn't stop thinking about what our little boy was going to be like. At 1 am the nurse gave me my last dose of Cytotec. I was still only dilated to a 1.5 at this point so we still had a little ways to go. At 5:30 the nurses started me on Pitocin. Within just 30 minutes of having the Pitocin in me, my contractions began to be a lot stronger. So they scaled down the dosage of Pitocin. 

With my epidural I was still able to move around pretty well and feel my legs. Of course, it took the edge off. Taylor tickled my toes at one point and jokingly said, "Can you feel that?" ha... yes sweetheart I can! So he kept coming over and pushing my epidural button for me. ha (shhhhh that's not allowed). At 7 am I felt an oddly weird feeling... my legs were wet all of the sudden. I called the nurse in and sure enough my water had broken! One step closer! I also was a 2 at this point. Both our mom's were there by 8 o' clock. We were so happy to have them there to be a part of this special experience! 

Within 3 1/2 hours I went from a 2 to a 10. At that point I could definitely feel the pressure of the contractions. Everett's head hadn't dropped yet so the nurses said that we might need to wait an hour to let him drop into place. But by the time the doctor came in to check where we were at, he said that we could start pushing. We both looked at each other in shock. We are already to the pushing part?! 

The nurses showed us how to do the pushing. In the very beginning I kept forgetting what to do. I would take my deep breath in and then just take a deep breath out. I needed to hold that breath in and push. ha. We finally got the breathing and the pushing down. At 11:24 am we saw our little babies head for the first time. At that point a huge wave of emotion hit. We were going to be parents and that was our little boy! Up till that moment it hadn't quite felt real, like we were actually having a baby. But here he was and he was coming! As we began getting closer and closer even Taylor and the two mom's began taking deep breaths with me. They were the best cheerleaders as I pushed. 

The doctor finally came in and with only a few more pushes babies head came right out and his body quickly followed. It seemed like the doctor almost had to catch him. The time was 11:49 am. Our eyes welled with tears as we looked at our little baby boy for the first time. 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches of pure perfection. I watched Taylor's first dad moment as he went to cut the umbilical cord. Then it was my first mommy moment as they set our baby on my chest. His little whimpering cries were the cutest thing I had ever heard. His little fingers were flipping us off. ha... I know it was probably a pretty traumatic experience what he has just gone through, so we let that one fly. 

Skin to skin time I think was our absolute favorite. Just holding this new infant in our arms and knowing that Heavenly Father trusts us to be his parents was the most amazing feeling in the world. In that moment nothing else mattered. 

This is happiness. This is what life is all about. 

Welcome into the world our precious little Everett Jay DeHart. 

Little Man is 10 Days Away

There are honestly no words to describe the emotions we feel right now. Is it possible that we get to meet baby E in just 11 short days? These past 2 weeks have felt like the longest of my life and flown by all at the same time. I don't know how that's possible but it is. We will see how these next 11 days go... I just want our little man here! At night, before bed, I seriously stare at my bare squirming belly and just try and imagine his little face, hands and feet. I can't wait to meet him. 

We have been quite busy these past few weeks. We have been working on getting our yard put in, in attempts to finish it before E gets here. And when I say we, I mean Taylor. My dad and brothers have also been a HUGE help. Looking at our small little lot you wouldn't think that a yard would take long. But sprinklers are a beast no matter how big your yard is. I have also been working on the last finishing touches in E's nursery. It' s our favorite room in our whole house. Probably because it's the only one that's decorated. ha. I have been doing a lot of little projects DIY style and it really has come together. (Pictures Coming!) Taylor has also started his last year at BYU! YAY! 

Also in the past week, I had another baby shower. My mom's side of the family threw it and let me just say that it was adorable. I feel more than blessed to have such supportive and loving family and friends. There are not enough thank you's to go around! This shower was mustache themed if you couldn't tell...

The most adorable mustache straws, and the most adorable mustache cake you ever did see. 

Okay... so  this might look disturbing without an explanation. This was the first game that we played at the shower, it's called, My Water Broke. Everyone takes an ice cube and whoever's is the first to melt yells out, "My Water Broke!" People had them in between their hands and in their mouths all in hopes to get their water to melt. Some of ours didn't melt all night! Stubborn little babies. 

Another hilarious game. This is the diaper smelling game. I'm sure there is a cuter and better name out there, but I don't know it. So the diaper smelling game it is. There is mashed up food or melted candy in each diaper and just from looking and smelling it you have to try and guess what you think it is. Many laughs were had and many faces were pulled during this game. I didn't do so well with my score. I only guessed the most obvious ones right. Reese's, M&M's, Kit-Kat...pathetic I know. ha. 

The soon to be Great- Grandmother, Grandmother, and Mother. I'm so grateful I have such wonderful examples to look up to! 

This game involved everyone drawing what they think baby E is going to look like, with a pencil on a plate on top of their head. Oh and Without picking up their pencil. hahaha another hilarious one. We had babies missing bodies and babies with four butt cheeks. So funny. 

36 Week Pregnancy Update

Forgive the bathroom selfies, but I really don't have any other pictures besides the ones I take every week to measure the bump. It's sad, but I swear life has just been so crazy lately that we haven't taken ANY pictures. This definitely needs to change and i'm sure it will once the baby gets here. 

Week: 36 WEEKS! (The FINAL countdown!) Today at my appointment we confirmed that I will be getting induced one week early due to the blood clot. The doctor said that we are right on track for that date. Which means that we are having a baby in 3 WEEKS! Is this real life? 

Size of Baby:  This week baby DeHart is the size of a Large Cantaloupe! (19-22 inches, approximately 6 pounds) This boy sure is packing on those pounds because these movements have definitely increased in intensity in the past few weeks. 

Developments in Baby This Week: Most all of his systems are fully developed! HE'S ALMOST READY! 

Weight Gain: I have gained 27 pounds overall. My belly button is not so much an innie any longer but rather a well defined outie.

Movement: Like you wouldn't believe. I swear he never sleeps. Taylor and I will just stare at my belly for hours on end, watching his  giant rolls and bumps. Some of them have gotten so powerful that at times they even take my breath away, literally. If this little boy is as active as he is in the womb, we might be in trouble. The busy boy thing was definitely passed down from his father. I hear Taylor was quite the rascal as a child. ;) 

HICUPPS! I felt Everett hiccup for the first time on the 19th! Tay and I were laying in bed and I kept feeling this consistent  movement. I hadn't thought anything of it, but after it continued regularly every few seconds I knew that these were hiccups! Everyone had told me about feeling your baby hiccup when you are pregnant, but it hadn't happened yet so I figured I might not experience it. But i'm so glad I did because they were the CUTEST things ever!

Symptoms: Thankfully, I have not had any other complications with the blood clot. I'm still on my blood thinners twice a day. Being uncomfortable I think has been the biggest symptom recently. I'm just ready for this little boy to get here! 

Random: I need to start packing our hospital bag but i'm not sure exactly what we need to pack. I've heard and read so many different lists of what to bring so any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! 

One of the weirdest thoughts is thinking about what OUR child is going to look like. I dream about it almost every night. Will he be born with hair? Dark? Light? Will he get his dad's ears? Or his mom's nose? I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE! So here are some pictures of Taylor and I as babies just to start brainstorming about what this little boy might look like! 

Showered with Love

This little boy and I have been showered with love like you wouldn't believe! I seriously have the sweetest friends and family anyone could ask for. I feel beyond blessed. Words cannot even describe the gratitude I feel. I just want to cry. (I'm sure the pregnancy hormones will aid in that...) I am so grateful for this little baby boy who is about to make his big debut into this world in just a few short weeks. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has trusted Taylor and I to be the parents of this precious little child. I am grateful I am married to such an incredible man who is such an amazing husband and I know will be an incredible father. I'm so grateful for loving friends and family that have been there to support us through this exciting time in our lives. Let's just say my heart is just overflowing with love. 

My amazing friends were the first ones to throw me a shower. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of it, I wish I did but the night flew by way too quickly. But that's what tends to usually happen when a bunch of girls get together, am I right? We had a delicious meal from blue lemon. I chose the salmon of course. No worries, Salmon is safe to eat in pregnancy if it's occasionally. If I had it my way, it would be safe to eat DAILY. We played some fun games involving unscrambling baby words. One we never could unscramble. For the rest of our lives we will never know what that mysterious baby word was. We had such a fun night chatting about all the fun things to look forward to when having a baby and some things that are not so fun to look forward to ;). Two of my best friends just had babies within the past two months so they gave me all their knowledge and then some. I still don't feel prepared, but do you ever feel 100% ready? 

The Smith side of the family were the next ones to throw a shower for me and baby E. It was the cutest little brunch at the Communal down in Provo. Aunts and cousins all attended and i'm so glad they did because we had a blast being together. They had made cute little coloring books (one of my favorite past times with my late Grandpa Smith) for everyone to draw in as we chatted about advice and tips on being a mother. I am so blessed to have so many amazing examples surrounding me as role models. 

Fried French Toast... you bet that's what this pregnant momma ordered! 

Thank you Smith family for throwing such a beautiful baby shower! 

Last night we had another shower and again I wish I had taken more pictures! I did take a picture of the adorable invite though... isn't it cute?  

First off I want to say, how did I get so lucky to have such incredible in-laws. (I just noticed how much I use the word incredible. Excuse me if this bothers you, but sometimes incredible is the only word that pops in my mind when I need to describe something that is simply... incredible. Hopefully you can follow my pregnancy nonsense.) Anyways, back to the incredible DeHart family and the incredible shower. For dinner we had BBQ sandwiches, fruit, salad, veggies and for dessert Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes!!! When it came time for the cupcakes we all gathered around the table and test tasted the various kinds. I'd have to say Salted Carmel was a winner. We played a few guessing games, guessing how many m&m's were in the bottle, cotton balls in the jar, and Q tips in the basket. I tend to always overshoot my prediction on those games. Instead of cards everyone brought children's books and wrote a cute note inside of them. It was absolutely adorable. I can't wait to cuddle up with our little man and read to him the books that everyone had picked out! I had such a fun time at the shower and again feel beyond blessed to have married into such a loving and supportive family. 

Meet our fruit baby. For the shower Taylor's mom made the most adorable little fruit version of Everett.  Isn't he the cutest?! 

33 Week Pregnancy Update

Week: 33 weeks! Only 7 more to go,  but whose counting? This whole time it's been like, oh yes we are having a baby. Now we've hit the WE ARE HAVING A BABY! It's come so fast yet so slow. Time is a weird thing when you are pregnant. 

Size of Baby: Our little man is the size of a Honeydew Melon this week! Approximately 19 inches and 4.5 pounds. 

Developments in Baby This Week: These next few weeks is when E really packs on the weight. He will be gaining up to a half a pound each week from hear on out. His little immune system is continuing to develop so he can fight off all sorts of germs when he gets here! 

Weight Gain: So after my last appointment (32 weeks) I have gained a total of 27 pounds. Probably more than that now with E putting on all this new weight each week. ATTA BOY! It's been remarkable watching my body change over these past 8 months. Our bodies are incredible. Recently with the stretch marks beginning to make an appearance it's been a little frightening thinking, can I really get bigger? But today I read a blog post from Alycia Grayce Crowley (  http://crowleyparty.blogspot.com/2015/08/how-pregnancy-has-changed-my-view-on.html ) that helped me understand that most pregnant feel the same when it comes to body image. But really, these changes in our bodies are "experiences,  not imperfections." I agree with Alycia when she says, " Our bodies are powerful creations from our Heavenly Father, and we should be nothing but honored and amazed at the capabilities and beauty in them." She took the words right out of my mouth! To all you pregnant mamas out there, I recommend taking the time to go and read her post. She'll make you rethink your pregnancy body image. LOVED IT! 

Movement: I think that he is playing the xylophone on my right upper ribs. It's either that or a punching bag. He is ALWAYS up there. It's crazy because that's pretty high up there and you would think that was too high for him, but I guess not. The kicks have gotten a little more violent due to the lack of space in there nowadays. Sometimes I just yell OUCH, or DUDE... Which Taylor always responds,  is he beating you up again? Yep, from the inside out. But I wouldn't have it any other way, the stronger the kick the closer we are to his big entrance into the world.

Symptoms: Last week I flew home from California for my 32 week doctor appointment. Monday morning I had my appointment and everything looked good. As I went to work later on that day and ran errands my calf felt like it had a massive charlie horse in it. For the rest of the day I was limping around on it, it seriously hurt SO bad. My mom saw me later on that day and asked what was wrong with me. I said I thought it was just a sore muscle or a cramp or something. I left to go to the bridal shower and right as I got there my mom pulled up. She insisted that we go to the hospital to go have it checked out. I was stubborn of course, but eventually caved in and went with her.  I filled out paper work as they took my vitals and  hooked up monitors to check on the baby. Everything looked good! Then they ordered an ultrasound of my leg I was having the pain in, to check for a blood clot. They wheeled me down to radiology and lathered my leg up with jelly. After waiting back in the room for another few minutes we heard the diagnosis. A Deep Vein Thrombosis in my left calf. Can I just say, thank heavens for mothers! 

All of this had happened so fast that we hadn't even called Taylor. I thought of teasing him and saying that I was going into labor... but then again this was kind of a serious matter and I probably shouldn't freak him out any further. So we called him and told him everything. It was really hard not having him there though it all but i'm glad I had my mom there.

So moving forward... Taylor was able to finish his Internship early and come home. He is such an amazing husband. He cares so much for me and our little boy. I am so grateful for him and his love. I couldn't do this without him by my side! 

For the rest of my pregnancy I will be on Lovenox shots twice a day. Lovenox is a blood thinner so it will help the clot stay localized and prevent any future clots. I'm also supposed to "take it easy" the rest of the pregnancy. We will  have our next appointment this coming Wednesday and talk with our doctor further about the birthing plan since it will need to change with this condition. We are both very eager to hear what the next step is. 

Things like this are scary, sudden and often abrupt but we have zero control over them. What we do have control over is how we let our trials and bumps in the road affect us. We just need to trust in the Lord and know that everything is in his hands. I just recently watched a mormon message which taught this message so efficiently. It comes from Elder David A. Bednar's talk entitled, Bear Up Their Burdens With Hope. 

"Each of us also carries a load. Our individual load is comprised of demands and opportunities, obligations and privileges, afflictions and blessings, and options and constraints. Two guiding questions can be helpful as we periodically and prayerfully assess our load: “Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the strait and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?”

Sometimes we mistakenly may believe that happiness is the absence of a load. But bearing a load is a necessary and essential part of the plan of happiness."