Bed Rest

For those who have not yet heard, my doctor recently put me on bed rest. I went in on Monday for my 37 week appointment, thinking it would be as all my appointments have been...take some measurements, take my weight, ask some questions, and go home after 20 minutes. Well, when the doctor measured my belly, he seemed rather concerned that it was only 31 centimeters instead of around 37 centimeters, as it should be at the 37th week. He decided I should be administered a non stress test and an ultrasound immediately.

Well, all I can say is thank goodness Blake was at my appointment (everything had been going so smoothly, he'd stopped coming to the appointments with me months ago). Taylor was with us too and seemed a little out of sorts that mommy had to be hooked up to machines over the next hour. The non stress test showed that there was enough fluid around the baby, but if it got too much lower, induction would be necessary. The ultrasound came back mostly positive as far as the baby's head size, lungs, heart, bladder, kidneys, etc. The one area of concern was her abdomen. It was the size of a fetus at 34 weeks, not 37 weeks as it should be. This indicated that maybe my placenta had stopped doing its job and was no longer providing her with the nutrients she needs.

After hearing these results, the doctor decided that the baby may be better fed outside of me than she is inside of me right now. He said I will definitely be induced by week 39, but that she may need to come out as soon as this Friday, July 1st (my due date is July 17th). He put me on bed rest for the next few days, giving me strict orders to do nothing but eat a lot and lay down. I go in tomorrow for another non stress test and exam to determine if I will be on bed rest for one more week or if it's time to just get the baby out so she can get better nourishment.

Personally, I kind of hope I am scheduled to be induced on Friday. I don't like just sitting around worrying about her, wondering if she's actually getting fed inside of me. I want to get her out so I can make sure she is getting fed. I think my doctor is hoping my cervix will be more favorable by my appointment tomorrow as I have been at 1 cm and 75% effaced for 2 weeks now...not ideal for inducing, maybe resulting in a c-section. I'd prefer to avoid the c-section, but my main priority is getting my little girl out safely and getting her fed. I'm just glad we made it past week 37 so she has attained full-term status.

It has been a pretty unexpected turn of events, but Blake and I are trying to prepare for the possibility of having our baby in just 48 hours as best we can. Poor Taylor can sense a change and has been especially clingy to me, wanting to be held and cuddled by me a lot more and saying things like, "I want to cry like a baby does." She also had potty-trained herself for over 2 weeks with no accidents and now is right back in diapers, scared of her potty seat all of a sudden. I'd had a feeling we might experience some digression as the due date neared, but (as I'm sure some of you other mothers have experienced) it's still pretty impossible to "rest" when you have a 2-year-old climbing all over you.

I have to say, I couldn't be more grateful for extended family at a time like this. Both my in-laws and my family have been awesome about taking care of me and entertaining Taylor so that I can rest, a huge blessing as Blake doesn't return from work until 8pm every night. I would be much more of an emotional wreck without the love and support I have felt from all of them. Knowing that someone is playing with Taylor and making her happy at a time when I just can't is so reassuring. It helps me to focus on taking care of myself and our soon to be little girl #2. All the texts and calls from from friends, sisters, etc. have also been so appreciated. Thanks to you all...we will keep you posted on when this baby is coming...now to just anxiously await my appointment tomorrow morning.

Talkin' Taylor

I have to say, my 2-year-old is quite the talker. Her vocabulary is that of a 3-year-old's (not sure where she got that stroke of genius) and she often says the funniest things. She astounds me every day with intelligent questions and funny phrases that I'm sure she's picked up from watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (I'm pretty sure she's learned way more from that show than from me). Some of my favorite things she's said as of late:

1. On the drive home, "Look mommy, a yellow fire hydrant with blue on it!" And so it was, a yellow fire hydrant with a blue reflector on it.

2. Upon seeing red, white, and blue colored balloons: "Oh, my! Flag balloons!" She also knows what an "American flag" is, as well as an, "Argentina flag" (where Blake served his mission).

3. While playing with some spices from our spice rack, she put one container next to another and said, "Two halves make a whole!" I'll credit Mickey Mouse for that one!

4. While her grammar is unusually proper for her age ("Mommy, will you get me some more milk, please?"), there are still a few phrases she says incorrectly that are just so cute: "I want to go at Grandma's house!" Whenever we leave grandma's house, she jumps and dances in a circle while yelling, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Fun at grandma's house!"

5. One of her favorite requests: "I want to play with you in my bedroom, mommy."

6. At church, she often tells Blake and I, "Good job being reverent," or "Just keep being patient." Before sacrament meeting started a couple weeks ago, she pointed to a bald man 2 rows in front of us and said, pretty loudly, "That boy isn't wearing any hair!" That one got a few chuckles, especially from Daddy :)

7. She is very inquisitive and often asks questions like, "What are you doing?" or "What is that?"

8. She is always concerned about others, especially Daddy. If Blake makes any noise of frustration, she immediately asks, "What's the matter, daddy?" or "Are you okay, daddy?" She also randomly comes up to us and says, "I love you, mommy/daddy."

9. Whenever we turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she has to ask, "What episode is it?"

10. She really knows what she wants these days: "I want a big girl bed, mommy" and "I want to wear Minnie Mouse panties."

11. Whenever she sneezes, she says, "Bless you!" to herself :)

She is really growing up and maturing into a little person these days. While tantrums are not out of the ordinary, they are becoming a bit more rare (knock on wood) as she has learned to express herself in more appropriate and grown up ways.

She is really smart and surprises us every day with her expanding vocabulary (how many 2-year-olds do you know that can say "congratulations" and use it in the right context? Although, when my sister was graduating from Timpview High School, Taylor accidentally combined the words graduation and congratulations to create a new word...congraduation).

Taylor also has exceptional listening skills. She is very attentive about listening when I caution her not to run into the street and knows not to push the boundaries on things like cars and safety. She has a very good sense of hearing...she always notices the sound of the "choo-choo train" that we can faintly hear from our house.

She also loves music and knows a lot of songs (ABC song, Popcorn Popping, etc.) just by hearing me sing them to her. Oftentimes, I've sung a song to her without her uttering a word of it, only to hear her playing in her bedroom and singing that song perfectly, word for word.

Overall, she is a very obedient and pleasant little girl. With the day to day challenges of family life, she definitely brings a sense of innocence and joy to our family that keeps us laughing, even through the hard times. We love our little Taylor.

When it Rains, it Pours...

Well folks, May was a rough month for us. Not only was the weather less than ideal, but nothing seemed to be going our way. Here's what the month of May looked like for us:

1. We live in the basement apartment of the house we own and a few weeks ago, the sewage backed up...from a drainage pipe right on the floor of our bathroom. Sewage water seeped all over our bathroom, hallway, kitchen, and soaked through a couple feet of the carpet of our family room. Blake took the day off work to help me deal with Roto-Rooter, All Pro Cleaning, and our home owners insurance company to sort out all the repairs, clean-up, and coverage. It took all day and we found out that, although Roto-Rooter cleared it out, our sewage pipe will have to be replaced if we don't want this to happen again. Until we can get it fixed, we are anxiously keeping an eye on that drain in our bathroom. Here's what the house currently looks like until we can get a new carpet/vinyl flooring put in:

The shirts on the floor are a "bridge" so Taylor can get from the kitchen to the family room.

2. On top of that, our car had some issues, so we had to take it in for some repairs (naturally, the same day the sewage backed up). We've literally taken our car into our mechanic every single week for different repairs for the past 4 weeks. Thank goodness we have been able to borrow a car from Blake's brother so Blake can make the commute to Sandy for work.

3. This was only shortly after we discovered that we have some pigeons living in our roof and not one of the 3 companies we have called (multiple times) to have them removed has called us back. When we finally got in contact with a company that services the Provo area (apparently a lot of them don't) we discovered it would be an expensive fix. Great.

4. Our shower broke, so we had it temporarily fixed, but our handyman told us we will eventually need to do a more intensive and permanent fix which will, of course, cost more.

5. One Saturday while Blake was in the middle of mowing our lawn, the lawn mower just died on him. Unable to fix it, we have been borrowing my dad's mower every week since. Jury's out on how much that will cost to fix, but let's just say it's on the bottom of the to-do list.

Yes, all of these things really happened in just the month of May. We can't seem to catch a break...sometimes it feels like we take 1 step forward only to take 10 steps back. Oh, well. We are getting a good lesson in humility and finding the good in even the worst of circumstances (ex. "We may be standing in sewage, but at least we have our health!"). We have also discovered once again what a great blessing it is to have such wonderful parents that have helped us and commiserated with us through it all. Let's hope the month of June proves to be a sunnier one for us...

...much like today :)

An Ode to Motherhood

I know Mothers Day has already passed, but I just had to express how grateful I am to not only have a wonderful mother, but to be a mom myself. Not every woman gets the opportunity to give birth to a child of their own and I never realized just how awesome it is until Taylor came into my life. She is, by far, my greatest accomplishment, not to mention my own daily reminder of how real God is and how much He loves us.

The other day I was reading about Nephi and his family and how even though they were living in tents in the wilderness and eating nothing but raw meat, the women were blessed and, as the scriptures say, they "did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong" (1st Nephi 17:2). When I think of how overwhelmed I was as a new mother, especially with the grueling task of mastering nursing, I am truly humbled to imagine what trials these early saints faced.

I gave birth in a cushy hospital room with an epidural to dissolve the pain, with trained doctors and nurses assisting me, with a lactation specialist at my beck and call, with hot meals being delivered to me 3 times a day, and with prescription pills to ease the pain for the week after the baby was born. I had a warm home to return to with running water and a mattress to sleep on. I had modern day diapers, pacifiers, swaddling blankets, and drawers full of onesies. And yet, despite the modern comforts, it was the hardest experience of my life.

How humbling it is to realize how much we have. How grateful I am that those mothers of Nephi's time were brave enough to trust in their Lord and keep having children, despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges they faced. They would probably laugh at the concerns we new parents have now (what if this brand of diaper gives my baby a rash? What if my baby won't take a bottle? When will I ever have time to shower again?).

But, be that as it may, we have our own set of challenges to face as mothers of today. I feel such gratitude that the Lord would allow me the honor to raise one (and soon to be two) of His children. What a great responsibility we have to teach our children what is right. We are so blessed to have the gospel on the earth to guide us back to our Father in Heaven.

I am so glad that I have the example of my mom to show me how to be a good mother. I am also grateful for the example of my mother-in-law and glad that she raised a good son who is now a wonderful father. These women inspire me every day, as do all the moms I know. They teach by their examples and their love for their families. Though I always wanted to be a mom, I have never known this kind of joy existed. It is beyond anything earthly and I truly look forward to experiencing this joy again in just 2 months.

My Little Ballerina

Lots going on...

I'm finally back to blogging! April was kind of a rough month as I got a bad cold/fever and was down and out for over 2 weeks. It feels like someone has been sick in our family every day for nearly 3 months! Anyway, we're finally all healthy again, so I just wanted to post some long overdue pictures.

Taylor on her birthday looking cute. No reason for this one, I just like it :)

I went to visit Katie and help take care of the twins when they were about a month old and it was so fun! Getting me all prepped for a newborn again...

This one is Lyla (she wanted her arms out of the blanket) and the one above is June. Aren't they precious? Hope our next is just as cute.

And here is a family picture from a few weeks ago. You can see my growing belly (at 27 weeks). Believe it or not, this was the best shot of Taylor...2 year olds are NOT easy to photograph!

Lots more pictures to come as we will have the whole Hagen family together this weekend in Midway. Maybe then we can get a smile out of Taylor :)

Picture Overload

I realized I haven't blogged in a bit, but we sure do have lots of pictures to post! Here are a few of my favorites from the past few weeks:

Taylor cheering for the Cougars. She loves to point to each letter on her shirt as she spells out, "B-Y-U!" She can recognize Jimmer every time he's on TV and has become quite the fan.

Here are some curtains that my mother-in-law helped me sew...I seriously haven't used a sewing machine since I was like 12 years old, so this was quite the accomplishment. Quite frankly, I don't enjoy arts and craftsy things, but the ugly yellowed/stained curtains that had hung in the kitchen for who knows how many years just had to go. Thanks to Annabella for coaching me and to my mom for loaning me the sewing machine!

Here's Tay enjoying her books after my mom gave us a ride to the library. Taylor loved exploring the library with Grandma while I found a few books of my own.

Daddy had the flu and stayed home from work for a few days last week...Taylor really wanted to comfort him, so she would climb up and lay on him and give him cuddles. It was super cute, so I didn't have the heart to make her get down, but thank goodness she didn't get sick, too!

This is how my daughter watches TV (Curious George and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are her favorites). Whenever I catch her like this, I make her move to the couch or turn off the TV, but it sure does look funny :)

Taylor enjoys music and has talked about xylophones ever since Curious George played one on her favorite show, so we got one for her birthday. The other day, the xylophone episode came on again, so Taylor rushed to her bedroom to retrieve her xylophone so she could play it right along with Curious George.

Last of all, I have to hand it to Blake. He brought me these beautiful tulips (and picked out my favorite color/style without even realizing it!) just to surprise me. Tulips have always been my favorite flower as my family used to make an annual trip to the tulip farms when I was child living in Washington. My favorites had always been the ones called "Christmas Marvel" and this is exactly what they looked like, so I was very pleasantly surprised. Blake was happy he'd picked so well and said, "I just thought they were the prettiest." Good eye, Blakey :)

Taylor and I have missed him this weekend as he left on Wednesday for the NCAA tournament in Denver, CO. He seems to be enjoying watching the Cougars with his dad and brother...hope they beat Gonzaga tonight!