London Elizabeth

We are home and are adjusting to life with our sweet baby girl. Ben, Brooklyn, and I are still getting over colds, and hoping and praying that London doesn't get sick too. Little Miss London is such a sweet baby and has been super good so far. She is pretty mellow, eats really good, and is sleeping pretty well (as long as she is sleeping in a confined place like someone's arms or her carseat.) : )

So, here is the birth story. Thursday morning, February 18th, I was scheduled to be induced at 7 AM. I couldn't sleep at all the night before, blame it on nerves, and my cold. I was up and ready to go at 4 AM. Ben and I went to the hospital and got all ready. They hooked me up to an IV and we waited for things to get going. We enjoyed watching our shows and the Olympics. Dr. Leavitt came in first thing that morning to check me. I was still at a 1 and effaced to 80%. They started me on Pitocin to speed things up. Dr. Leavitt came back at 12:30 and broke my water, such a crazy thing. I had my epidural @ 1:30, but was still progressing pretty slowly. Once I hit a 7 about 4:00, things started going pretty fast. By that time, I was ready for a nap, and super hungry and thirsty. Thank goodness for those flavored ice chips. : ) I was a 10 about 6:00, and started pushing at 6:35. I was having a hard time, and then Dr. Leavitt realized that she was posterior, meaning that she was face up, which I guess is the hardest way to deliver. Little Miss London was born at 7:14 PM. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inches long. She is just beautiful.

I had some complications. I bled A LOT, Dr. Leavitt was worried, I could see it in his eyes. They started giving me all of these shots in my leg to try and stop the bleeding. There were 2 BYU-I nursing students that had been following me the whole day who were in there too. I could tell things were serious when one of them got all wide-eyed and reached out to hold my hand. They finally got the bleeding to slow down, and then Dr. Leavitt had to manually clean out my placenta, because it wouldn't come out on it's own. Craziness. Ben was just sitting back in the background holding our sweet little girl, trying not to look too worried.

I finally got moved to a new room about 9 PM. They had me on about 5 antibiotics, and that night my temperature was 102. They think it was because I lost so much blood and that Dr. Leavitt had to clean me out like that. The doctors and nurses were seriously in every 1/2 hour to check on me. So much for sleep. My fever finally broke that next morning, so I was on the mend after that, minus the antibiotics they kept pumping in me.

We were able to come home on Saturday afternoon. Little London had borderline jaundice, so we had to take her to the hospital every day for the first three days to check her bilirubin levels. Finally on Tuesday, she was down, so we are in the clear now. She is so sweet and we love having her here. We are adjusting to life as a family of four. Brooklyn has been really sweet to London. She is really concerned whenever she cries, and is great at throwing out diapers for me. She pats London's head and says, "It's alright little fella." Really so sweet.

I will post pictures as soon as I can. . . I am just so grateful to have this little baby here. This time around went much better as far as delivery and doctors and everything. I loved Dr. Leavitt and my nurses, and am so glad that they were able to keep calm and take such good care of me. : )

London Elizabeth Watts

Born Feb. 18th, 2010 @7:14pm
6lbs 9oz
More details to come...

Baby Update . . .

I just thought I would give a little update on us. I am 39 weeks today!!! Yay! At my doctor's appointment last Thursday, I was 1 cm. dilated and 80% effaced, no different from the 2 weeks before that. I have had a lot of contractions, just nothing regular. On Saturday as we were out running errands, I told Ben that the baby had dropped. I seriously feel like I am walking around trying to hold a bowling ball between my legs, crazy!!! I can't sleep at night, I just can't get comfortable. :( I am ready for this little lady to come on out. At my appointment last week, we scheduled my induction for this Thursday, the 18th. Good old Dr. Leavitt, who I LOVE, told me he doesn't like to have you go past your due date if you have gone over before. With Brooklyn, I was two weeks overdue, and then they FINALLY induced me. Not this time. The only problem is that B caught a cold on Sunday, and now of course I have it. It's mostly congestion, but that is still no fun when you can't take anything to help. I think the game plan is to wait and see how I feel tomorrow, and decide from there whether or not to go ahead to and be induced on Thursday morning or reschedule for the next week. I would love to have this little girl out this week, but I would also like her to come out when I am not sick. : )

As for other big news, Brooklyn went to nursery all by herself this last week! We were so proud of her. And, we just love our new ward, everyone has been so wonderful and friendly, I love it. It is so nice to be settled, feel welcome, and have great neighbors.

That's all of the news for now, we will keep everyone updated on what goes on.

Save NASA's Constellation Program!

This is Ben here; I usually don’t ever post but felt strongly about this. As many of you know I used to work for Lockheed Martin in Colorado before moving to Idaho and working for the Idaho National Laboratory. In 2006 Lockheed Martin (while I was there) won the contract to build the Orion spacecraft which is set to replace the current shuttle and is part of the Constellation program. My father who also works for Lockheed Martin is the IT Manager for the Orion program that is jeopardy. He sent me this video today and thought I would pass it on to all of you. If this program is cut it will not only hurt the Denver economy but many cities around the United States as well.

Many people don’t realize but many scientific breakthroughs are directly related to the challenge President Kennedy made to get man on the moon. For Example; high speed internet, cell phones, MRIs, Cat Scans, rechargeable batteries, smoke detectors, new-age pavement, ear thermometers, fast-acting dental braces, better cardiac pacemakers, protective paint, scratch-resistant glasses, comfy sneaker insoles, WD-40, and many other medical and non-medical improvements. The space program also inspires our children to use their imagination as well to do better in sciences and mathematics.

What I am trying to get at is that the manned space program is important to everyone! Write your congressmen and tell them President Obama is wrong and has broken his promises! We must push forward beyond low earth orbit, continue America's leadership in space, and not sacrifice thousands of jobs across the country! Save NASA's Constellation Program! ...

Update . . . FINALLY!!!

It has been forever since I posted, and so this is long overdue. There has been so much going on, and it seems like everyday is just a whirlwind.

We moved into our beautiful new home last Saturday, January 16. We had quite the crew to help us out, and so the move went very smoothly. A huge thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends who brought their trucks, trailers, and muscles!

Since then, we are almost settled in . . . everything is almost unpacked (minus the basement - which I don't even want to deal with right now.) We still have some sub-contractors coming by to do last minute touch up stuff, which is fun for me to deal with. : ) We are so happy with our house, and still can't believe it's ours. I am loving my new kitchen with all of the storage and my new appliances, Ben is loving having a garage, and Brooklyn loves having room to run - I love that too!

We went to our new ward for the first time yesterday, and are so excited about it! It is nice to be in a ward that is so welcoming, and it is so nice to know that we will be here for awhile! I love it.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby girl number 2! I am 36 weeks now, and we are on the countdown! I have all of the cute little clothes washed and ready, and this week my goal is to get my hospital bag ready to go. This pregnancy has just flown by, probably because there has been so much else going on too. I can't wait to meet this little lady, and neither can Brooklyn. She tells us how she is going to take such good care of the baby and NOT give her a binky. : )

And what is a post without any pictures? So, for your viewing pleasure:

Our beautiful new home, complete with shutters and corbels.

The little miss, enjoying playing in the huge shower.

The sweetest picture of Brooklyn and Ben. The way she is sleeping is just too cute.

I'VE BEEN BITTEN . . .

AND I LIKE IT!!!

So, I know I am totally lame and TOTALLY BEHIND in this, but oh well. Over Christmas break, I started reading Twilight. I have had the book for over a year now, just lying by my bed, so one night last week, I picked it up. I could not put the dang thing down. I was reading all the time, even in the car. : ) After finishing the first book, I just had to go and rent the movie. I made Ben watch it with me. Lucky him. Now, I am into New Moon, and it is just as addicting. It's not like I have other things to do; I mean, packing, cleaning, MOVING, taking care of a child, but reading this really should be the top of my priority list - right?!

Christmas 2009 . . .

Yep, I am finally back!!! I can't believe it is 2010! Crazy. Anyway, we had a nice break from reality for awhile.

First up, my birthday on December 21. I turned the big 2-8, seriously, how can I be this old? We celebrated with dinner at Texas Roadhouse on the Saturday before where Miss B and I enjoyed unlimited Shirley Temple's. : ) Then, we had dinner at Chili's with my family on my actual birthday followed by yummy chocolate cake and ice cream. I was spoiled with gift cards to The Gap, The Buckle, cash, movies, lotion/body wash from Victoria Secret, and a new COACH wallet. So wonderful.

Then we prepared for the big day. Brooklyn was super excited about Santa coming, and kept reminding us that we all had to be asleep, although SHE was the problem. : ) On Christmas Eve after Ben got off of work, yep he had to work all day, we went over to my parents for a yummy dinner of prime rib, twice baked potatoes, and key lime pie. We visited and watched "Joy To The World" about the birth of Christ. We let Brooklyn open her new princess pajamas to wear that night. We got back home around 10, checked online where Santa was currently, and read some Christmas stories. B finally crashed around 12:30. And, then the fun began. Santa brought Brooklyn a kitchen, and so we stayed up until 2:00 to help him out.

I couldn't sleep that night, blame it on the excitement AND pregnancy, but I was up at 7, ready to go. Too bad Ben and Brooklyn were out until 9:30. This Christmas was so fun though because Brooklyn understood what was going on, and was SO excited. Ben was able to video her seeing what Santa had brought her. She loved it! *It's a little long, but the first part is the best.*

We were so spoiled with presents this year, even though Ben and I didn't get each other anything because we are getting a house. : ) We got gift cards, money, movie tickets, pots and pans, etc. for the house. Ben got a navigation for the car and I got a new COACH purse to match my wallet - love it!!! The little Miss loaded up with more princess paraphernalia than you can imagine, and enough food for her kitchen to feed anyone. : ) She also got some new games, a new baby, pajamas, a towel, DVD's, and books. We spent Christmas Day opening gifts here, and then we headed over to my parents for more gifts and food. My aunt and uncle came in later that day, and we had a relaxing day just visiting.

This past week I have kept busy cleaning, going through all of our stuff, and reading Twilight - yes, I am that behind, and I just had to go rent it the other night to watch - that is for another post though. : ) Ben has spent countless hours over at the new house snowblowing, cleaning, putting up our mailbox, putting in light bulbs, etc. We are so close, and we think that this next Saturday will be the big day. We have A LOT to do . . . packing, cleaning, moving. Fun stuff. It will all be worth it to live here:

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you all a Happy 2010!!!