Skyler's Big Debut

Sunday, November 28th Josh was flying home from his vacation in Connecticut. He had flown out on Tuesday to spend Thanksgiving with his older brother and his family. Josh had been wanting to visit his brother for a long time, and we figured now was the time - before the baby came. I was scheduled to work the whole weekend so I stayed in Utah for the holiday. Also, we figured it would be best for me not to fly a month before my due date.

I headed in to work at 9:00 am and was scheduled to work until 7:00 pm. Josh's plane landed around 10:30 am and his brother Alex picked him up from the airport. They stopped off at their parents house so Josh could visit for a bit and pick up some Thanksgiving leftovers his mom had for him.

Around 11:30 am I went to the bathroom, when my water broke. I didn't want to believe it - I was only 35 weeks and 2 days along - but I knew for sure that's what had happened. I went and talked to my supervisor and headed out the door to go to the hospital.

I called Josh as I was getting in my car and explained to him what happened and told him I was headed to the hospital. He and his brother had just left his parents and were headed down to Provo. Poor Josh hadn't slept much while on vacation since he was hanging out with his brother and had planned on coming home and taking a nap - instead he was headed to the hospital.

I got to the hospital and changed into a gown and was checked by a nurse. She confirmed my water had broken and I was dilated to a 1. With my due date still a month away, she explained that a baby this far along usually doesn't have long term difficulties, but I should expect her to be in the NICU until her due date - December 31st.

A little bit later my doctor called to check on me. He let me know the nurse informed him my blood pressure was high and he said it was a blessing my water broke. He explained that the next time I came in to see him, which would have been Tuesday the 30th, he would have sent me to the hospital to be induced anyway.

Josh arrived at the hospital and they started me on pitocin. They checked me again at 4:00 pm and I was dilated to a 4. They said I could go ahead with an epidural if I wanted. I had heard so many horror stories of people waiting too long or the anesthesiologist taking too long to come and give the epidural that I decided to go ahead with it.

The nurse check me again at 5:00 pm and I was dilated to 9 and 3/4 so she went and called the doctor to let him know to head on over to the hospital.

After the doctor arrived they wheeled me into the OR to deliver my baby. They had a NICU team in the next room to check on the baby after she was born. After pushing through 2 contractions Skyler arrived at 5:52 pm, weighing 4 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 17 inches long. They took her immediately into the next room to assess her. Josh brought her back in for a moment so I could see her, then they headed to the NICU with her.

Skyler is still in the NICU and is doing really well. She only had to be on oxygen for a couple of hours, and just needs to work on her eating. With her being so early, she tires very quickly and eating wears her out easily. The nurses and her doctor have said usually once they hit the 37 week mark they really start to progress. She will be 37 weeks tomorrow, so we are hoping we will be able to bring her home soon.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can corn, drained
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 bag tortilla chips
avocado
shredded cheese


Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and garlic into a crock pot. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips. Add shredded cheese and diced avocados if desired.

Finished Crib

Last time I posted pictures of the crib it looked like this...


Josh's mom finished staining the crib last week and Josh picked it up and put it all together on Saturday. He still needs to install the board that will hold up the mattress, but he should get around to doing it this week.

Dresser/Changing Table

So this is what the dresser looked like back in August. Josh's mom was kind enough to stain the dresser for us and got around to doing it last week. We picked out drawer handles the other day and Josh put the drawer fronts and drawer handles on over the weekend. Josh's mom is also staining the crib for us and should be done with it soon.

Car Seat Canopy

My friend Nicole made a car seat canopy for her baby boy a few months ago and posted a link to the tutorial she used on her blog. I picked out some cute fabric and buttons and followed the tutorial to make one for our baby girl. I love how it turned out and it was really easy to make.