All Tuckered Out

We are dragging at our house. Since Lizzie's arrival, our restful nights have been replaced by many hours of late night television. (Did you know that Nate Burkus replays at 3:00 a.m.? Score!) Making the adjustment to a family of 5 has its challenges, but we are loving every second. There's nothing like having a newborn in the house. Who knows if we will have any more kids, so we are not wishing these sleepless nights away. In the meantime, we'll be burning the midnight oil. But, due to the lack of sleep and the insane number of infomercials I watch, I may just end up with a few extra knife sets and a Perfect Pillow.

The Week in Review

Here's what I know: Sometimes, life is hard.

Here's how I learned that:

On Monday, Lizzie had a scheduled appointment with the pediatrician to check her jaundice levels. A couple hours before her appointment, she spit up mucus through her nose and mouth causing her to go all different shades of purple. We rushed her to the doctor's office to get her suctioned out. After suctioning, she seemed to come back to normal. Relief. While at the doctor's office, she had a few blood tests which revealed the highest level of jaundice her doctor had ever seen. So, we were sent home with a bilibed to break down the jaundice.

Later that night, while laying on the bilibed, she had another episode of choking. We rushed her to the E.R., where again, they suctioned her, and she checked out healthy. They watched her for a few hours and she didn't have any more spells, so they sent us home.

On Tuesday, she was to spend the entire day on her bilibed to help with the jaundice. At 4:00, she had another choking spell, so Sam rushed home and we got her back to the doctor--in just a diaper. Her doctor decided that he had seen enough, and we were admitted to the Children's Unit at the Riverton Hospital.

That night, they poked her more than I ever care to remember. She screamed and screamed, and I felt completely helpless. She was put on medication through an IV, and placed under a warmer to help her keep her temperature up, since she was having trouble doing it on her own.

On Wednesday morning, she had two more choking spells, so they ran a series of tests to figure out what was wrong with her. They were fearful of a lot of things, mostly meningitis, but thankfully, she passed the tests and started to show signs of improvement. Her temperature came back up, her jaundice levels went down, and she was eating without choking afterwards.

We stayed at the hospital until Thursday night at 8:00, when she reached 36 hours without any choking spells, and proved that she could keep her temperature up without the help of the warmer and medication. They believe that she has a really bad case of reflux, and since she is technically a "preemie" she couldn't keep her temperature up without assistance.

Now, we are back at home, and so far, healthy. She is responding well to her medication, and she is a completely beautiful, happy baby.

Throughout the week, I had plenty of chances to reflect on our blessings:

• The priesthood. As soon as we checked into the hospital, Sam gave her a blessing that she would be able to handle all of the tests, and in the end, be healthy.
• Family. It didn't matter what time we called, or what we needed both of our families showed up and helped. Halle and Chase were always well taken care of, and we are grateful that we didn't have to worry about them while we were dealing with Lizzie.
• A nearby hospital. We have been there so much, they should name a wing after us.
• Doctors and nurses. Lizzie quickly became the favorite patient, and she received excellent care.
• Friends. You know who you are. Thank you.

We are so happy that Lizzie seems to healthy again. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Lizzie's Arrival

According to Sam, Jimmer Fredette put me into labor, and he may just be right. On Tuesday night we were watching the BYU/Utah basketball game, when Jimmer drilled a half court shot right before halftime. I jumped up in excitement, and then quickly sat back down because I had a contraction. That was followed by a series of contractions for a few hours, when Sam finally talked me into going to the hospital.

I drove myself 3 whole blocks to the Riverton Hospital, where our friend Vickie was luckily working that night. (Sam stayed home with the kids to see if they were going to keep me before heading over.) I was monitored for a few hours when they decided that I was definitely in labor. I called my parents at 1:30 a.m. to go and watch the kids so Sam could come over to the hospital. They were at my house by 2:00. Amazing! Thanks Mom & Dad!

My labor lasted about 12 hours (which seemed like 3x that). We spent the time trying to figure out a name for the new little one. Sam kept requesting "Jimmer," but I thought that was a little odd for a girl (or a boy, for that matter). The final 20 minutes of labor was probably the worst pain I've ever had delivering a baby, but finally, Lizzie made her arrival at 11:13.

She was pretty bruised at first because the delivery was pretty rough on her. We called her our little Rocky Balboa baby. In the last couple of days though, most of the swelling has subsided.

This little girl has completely stolen our hearts, and we can't imagine life without her.

We returned home on Thursday afternoon, and we are adjusting to life with 3 kids. As Sam's friend put it, we are no longer playing man-to-man defense, it's strictly zone defense from here on out.

Little Lizzie is absolutely perfect in every way. So far, she has been our easiest baby. We are so lucky to have her in the family.

Introducing...

Elizabeth Taylor

January 12, 2011

11:13 a.m.

7 lbs., 2 oz.

19 inches

Welcome Lizzie!

Dancing Queen

I have no idea where Halle's rhythm comes from. It certainly isn't from Sam or me, but she certainly has learned how to "shake those hips." She had her dance recital on Saturday, and holy smokes, the girl has learned to dance. We were super proud!

Halle hasn't ever had a problem learning the steps of a dance, but she usually doesn't smile, because in her words "it's a lot of work to dance and smile at the same time." Well, since I know that this girl will do anything for a bribe, I told her she could have a Happy Meal if she smiled the whole time. Boy, did she earn those chicken nuggets!

Way to go, Halle! You're awesome!

I Need to Get With It!

I have a mere 2 months until we welcome baby #3 into the Taylor household. You'd think with such a short timetable, I'd be busy preparing, and making sure things are good to go. But, I'm not. This poor baby has a blanket. One blanket. That's been the extent of my "preparing for baby" activity. It's not that I'm not excited, because I am. I love everything about new babies: their smell, the way they curl up into a little ball, their tiny features. I can't wait to meet this new little one.

Here's the deal: I'm still not convinced that this baby is a girl. We had the ultrasound, and the tech (who happened to be in training) told us 3 times that it's a girl, but I'm not convinced. I think it's a boy, and I don't want to go shopping for all this pink stuff, only to need a lot of blue stuff. I know, I'm probably crazy. The chances that she was wrong are slim, but there is still a chance, so I don't make any purchases.

Sam says I'm losing my mind. Or, I've already lost it. One of the two... I can't remember. So, here's my goal: I'm going to live dangerously, and flood our house with all things pink. But, just in case, I'm keeping my receipts...

Finding Something to Talk About

Warning... I'm going to break a blog "code of ethics." I'm not going to brag about my child, and I'm going to be honest. Gasp! Sometimes I feel like I'm writing about how fabulous everything is at my house and with my kids, when in actuality, most of the time, my house is a mess, the television is on too much, and my kids don't always behave (or rarely, for that matter). Now that I've got you all depressed, let me explain one of my greatest frustrations for the last few months.

Chase has been 2 for a month now, and we are still having a hard time getting him to talk--like a really hard time. He's had his hearing tested, and I had him tested for autism, since I know that slow talking is a sign of that. Luckily, both came back okay. He started speech therapy about a month ago, and I guess I thought I'd see instant results, but so far, we haven't accomplished anything. We talk to him all day, and he understands everything we say, but he's not talking back. So far, he knows the words balloon, ball, mama and dad, but even those, he doesn't use all the time. I've heard many people say that he will talk when he wants to, but as his mom, I worry that he's falling behind. He just doesn't seem to have any interest in talking.

I think sometimes as moms, we find ourselves comparing our children to other children. For me, it's hard to see other kids his age speaking in sentences and communicating with their parents, when all we are getting is grunts back from Chase.

I know in the grand scheme of things, a slow talker isn't the biggest deal, but for the time being, it's pretty frustrating. I love my little trouble maker, and I just want the best for him.

Have any of you had any similar experiences?

**I just reread this. I sound seriously depressing. Sorry! I promise to have only happy posts for the rest of the month.