Easter

This is the first post of many which will be happening today. Just trying to catch up and it will be mainly pictures. :)

Rhonda provided an adorable and memorable Easter for Levi (and his cousins). She did baskets and an egg hunt. It was so fun and so cute. The "eggs" were adorable all the boys favorites. Star Wars, Thomas the Train, polka dots, and eggs that looked like cars and had wheels on them. So much fun. Rhonda is so sweet to always provide fun experiences like this for our family.

Can you find the Easter Eggs? ;)

There are 3 in this picture.

2 here...think Star Wars. :)

Easter Baskets

New coloring book

All the goodies

Bubble Fun

All the different kinds of eggs. Adorable right?!

What else is there to life then Levi?

Levi you will be 16 months old in 4 days. Even though you are technically 2 months to young to be in nursery I took you in last week. I'm still primary chorister and ward conferences have started up. With dad being on the high council that means I have to try and watch you and lead the music which is a joke. The primary president told me to stick you in there and you did pretty good. Not that I was surprised because you get to play with toys the entire time and when toys are involved, you don't seem to miss me too much. You cried twice. The first time was because a kid pushed you down. I wasn't happy that you were pushed but I like my little sensitive boy. I know you won't always cry when you get pushed (which is good) but I feel like it's part of your nature to be sensitive to others. You're not one who's had a problem with hitting, pushing or biting others (you had a little biting problem but a couple times in time out took care of that) and you always want to be friends and play with anyone you meet!! I love this about you! I think in life you'll have great sympathy and empathy for your family, friends, and those around you. You have a very sweet spirit and I hope you always use it to help others who aren't as fortunate as you. 

The second time you cried was because it's your nap time. Church is at 11 and you go to sleep at 1 which means you are tired!! I came in both times you cried and comforted you and after the second time you had a snack and were fine until church got out. 

You've grown so much since I last wrote!! You're getting really strong and climbing up on everything you can. You've attempted to climb out of your crib but thankfully you aren't quite tall enough for that yet. You like to climb in your highchair and jump/fall off (when I put pillows down). You also love to climb a step stool we have in the kitchen so you can see what I'm doing while I'm making dinner. 

You're becoming more interested in TV but still not enough to sit down and watch an entire show, which is fine with me. When I turn something on to get my treatments done you usually run around half of the time (unless you're eating a snack in your chair.) 

You want to play all the time and would still spend all day at the park if I let you. When it comes to toys balls are your favorite (any size or type). Dogs and pretty much any type of animal gets you very excited. You do like to read but only if you can turn the pages 100 miles per second. I can barely get through whats on the page. 

You still only say mama and dada. You don't seem to be interested in talking at all but you understand pretty much everything I say and you have no problem telling me when you want something or to go somewhere whether is pointing or pulling on my clothes or hand. 

Although you really didn't understand anything about Christmas the past December you LOVED the lights! Both of our neighbors below us put lights on their balconies and when it got dark you would run to your window and point outside if they were on. You would get the biggest smile on your face and look at me and point to them and babble in your cute baby voice. It was precious! 

You are a pro eater. Well not so much what you eat (you're kinda picky) but how. About a month ago you saw me eating some pancakes with a fork and you reached for it. So I gave it to you and without a second thought you stabbed a pancake and stuck it in your mouth. I was impressed. You eat pretty well with a spoon but if it's anything like soup a lot of it ends up in your lap. Feeding time has been so nice for the past couple months. After we went to Utah for Cmas you refused gerber baby food and starting eating other foods and you only want to feed yourself. YES! I love it. 

You wave goodbye and slap hands (high 5). We're working on blowing kisses.

What do I always say? You get cuter and cuter every day and it's true!! You keep me active and healthy and life just wouldn't be as good without you in it! I love you my little munchkin

11 and 12 months!

Yes in 6 days you will be one years old!! Crazy crazy crazy!!! You are adorable (as always) and here's a little bit of what you've been doing.

- You were officially a walker (as in walking more then crawling) just before you turned 11 months. Within 2 weeks after that you never crawled.

- Around 10 months you figured out how to help me take off your clothes. So if I pulled your pants down you'd lift your leg out or if I was pulling a shirt over your head you would bring your head down while I pulled up. You'd also take your arm out of the sleeve if I was pulling on that. You'd also help me put on your clothes by stretching out your legs and making them super straight while I put your pants on. At 11 months it seemed like second nature to you. And just the other day you looked down at the velcro strap on your diaper and ripped it off. :/ Hmmm luckily it seems to be a one time thing so far. I'm not ready for the rip-the-diaper-off stage just yet. :]

- You've learned how to scream. We went through a screaming phase for about 2 weeks and I thought I might lose my mind. Literally! One day I had a break down because dad had been at work for pretty much 2 days straight (leaving before you got up and coming home after you were in bed) and for those two days you were super frustratingly clingy (you'd just follow me around the house and cry if I wasn't holding you) and to get your way you'd scream until you gagged or threw up. :( I was so tired and frustrated that one time while you were following me around and I just sat on the couch and cried. Luckily dad was home by that point and took over the parenting for a little while. :] This experience taught me 2 things about myself and parenting:

1) For the most part I can be really strong and not break down when I have to. I felt fine the 2 days dad was at work but after he was home I just let all this pent up emotion go because I knew he could take over. Poor guy... he didn't really know what to do. He asked if I wanted to leave for a couple weeks. Whaaaaaat? It wasn't that bad. Maybe just for an hour or two. :]

2) New phases are really hard for me. You still love to scream but now I feel more equipped to handle it. I just need a few days to process what's going on, how I feel about it, and how I want to handle it. There's something about a new situation that unnerves me... well maybe I should say a negative situation. Yes, your screaming was negative even if you liked it. :]

So like I said you still do it but it's better because you've calmed down a little and I've had some time to learn how to handle it.

- You love cheerios (in fact I think you might turn into one) but...

- You've become a little picky with your eating habits. I think it's more texture then taste. You like gerber veggies better then homemade ($$$) but you'll still eat the homemade pureed fruit I make. You don't like any type of meat or cheese (unless pureed.) You pretty much love any type or processed or junk foods. :] Well you love watermelon and for the month of October (so for the last 6 days) I've made juice every morning (carrots, celery, ginger, cucumber, apples, pears) and you down that stuff! Yay! We're slowly getting you off formula. You'll probably be on it for a little longer because days when I only give you one bottle (even if I give you water or milk in a sippy cup) you barely pee at all and that worries me. Maybe I just need to make sure you're getting more liquids through a sippy?.

- You adore music. You're favorite move was the "Lorax." I'm pretty sure you still like it but I needed a break so we haven't watched it for a while. Now you're really into "Prince of Egypt." You love these movies because there is so much music. Any other show I have on you don't really care about. If I need to do treatments or get something done I put one of these movies on and you're happily content to watch it.

- You love to bite things, including me and your dad. I think we pretty much have it under control. It took 2 bad bites with the consequences of a hard tap on the mouth, a forceful "no biting" and a 1 min time out before you realized this was something you don't want to do. You understood time out pretty fast also. The first time you didn't get it at all. You just cried and screamed and didn't understand why you couldn't get up. By the second time you sat there and cried but you stayed in your seat. I was impressed... even with bite marks in my arm. :] So biting people is a rarity but you still like to bite things and then rip them out from in between your teeth. After you just laugh. I don't know if it feel funny or what but as long as you're not biting people I'm ok. Well for right now... I mean you are still in the teething phase.

- You HATE diaper changes. It feels like you think I'm doing it for fun to torture you. Like I'm thinking "I'm bored... what should I do that would be amusing. Oh yeah, change my 1 year olds diaper while he rolls over to try and stand up, kicks his legs, screams, and tries to grab his poopy private parts." :[ Obviously you don't understand this is the least favorite part of my day or the fact that if you would stay still you would be done a lot faster. And it doesn't really matter what I do. I try to feed you, sing to you, watch T.V, play with toys, etc. The only thing that works is when I give you a bottle but I'm not desperate enough to make up a bottle every time I need to change your diaper... at least not yet anyway.

- Part of the hard diaper changes recently (in the last few days) is the dry season is here and your eczema has totally flared up again (you had it bad right after you born at the time.) And you get it in your crotch area. :/ It's really sad. I have to be really good about changing your diaper regularly other wise you get these awful rashes in between your legs and your scrotum gets fiery red and swells. You also get really dry patches all over your legs and arms. I'm lotion-ing you up like crazy! You also get it around your eyes which is hard because then you want to rub them which only makes things worse. I love this time of year but this has been the worst part of it so far. As long as I stay on top of it, it's not to bad.

- One of your favorite games is going into you room and closing the door. Then you wait for me to come and find you. I open the door and say "where's Levi... there he is" (in what is probably the creepiest mommy sounding voice ever) and you get so excited. The other night I was in the room with you and you closed the door. You just stood there and then reached up and pulled on the handle and opened the door. :o I was so surprised. I'm not sure I'm ready for the opening door phase either although like the diaper incident, I think for now it's a one time thing. You haven't done it since.

- You know (on and off) 3 words. You don't say these words regularly or on cue but multiple times you have looked at you dad and said "dada," looked at me and said "mama" and looked at a dog and said "dah." Although there have been times when you've seen all of these things and said nothing and sometimes when you're babbling you say "dadadadadadada" or "mamamamamama" but not looking for us. I wouldn't say you're on the verge of talking by any means but I can see you understanding a lot. I talk to you all the time and tell you what we're going to do or where we're going to go and I think it's making a difference. Actually after taking my child development class I know it is but I love to watch you trying to think through things!

- You just want to be outside all the time. A lot of times when we come home you cry. I think our apartment is just to little :/ ... which is scary because we're going to be in here for another year.

Alright enough about you. Other things that have happened.

- It was mine and Jaroms 5th anniversary. :] One of his co-workers lives out in the mountains and loves to shoot, ride horses, etc. So we went out and went shooting and had dinner with them. It was nice (and cheap) and grandma (Abernathy) came out and watched you for the day which was awesome! I didn't worry about you at all.

- I'm going to school. I took the child development class over the summer and now am taking a math class. I hope to take more then one class a semester otherwise it will take me 10+ years to get a bachelors! :/ Oh well... I'm just plugging away at what I can. I really love it. I feel like it's helped change me and my perspective on life. It's helped raise my self esteem as I focus on my own physical and spiritual well being and I felt that I've really grown and I'm using my time more wisely. I like school a lot. I love to learn new things. It makes me feel more competent and I feel like I can be a better person and mom by getting an education.

- I'm also trying to take better care of myself (something else that I feel has been motivated by going back to school.) I'm trying to work out a couple times a week plus, like I mentioned earlier, I'm trying to juice every morning in October and cut out some of my more addictive candy. Yes, there is candy that I crave so much somedays I feel I will go crazy if I don't get it into my body. No more!

- We still live in a one bedroom but now Levi has his own room because he sleeps better in his own space. Plus if he was still in the living room I'd have to stay in the bedroom while he napped and he's getting to big for the pack n' play. He just doesn't sleep well in it. So Jarom and I are in the dining room. It's like living in a studio. It's not to bad except family dinners would be nicer at a table and the bathroom is connected to the bedroom which can make things difficult with a sleeping baby. He's a pretty light sleeper.

-We're a one car family. Jaroms jeep died and at this point we just don't have the money to keep repairing it or have it on the insurance. Luckily we live in an area where this isn't to hard. I have Target, Ralphs, and parks all in close proximity.

That's it for now. It's 11:50pm and you dad is asleep on the bed next to me. I still have a few things to do before I can go to bed and I need to sleep to keep up with you Levi! :] <3 p="">

8 and 9 months...

And still as cute as can be. I can't believe how long it has been. We did go on vacation to Utah for 2 weeks and my laptop died (the charger stopped working) which didn't help anything. So I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

- It didn't take long after my last post before you were crawling around everywhere. You were a pro crawler by 8 months for sure! You love to follow me around everywhere and get into everything. I love it though. I love being in the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom and seeing your little head pop around the corner.

-Soon after you really started crawling we were at Grandma Daisy's and she has too little steps that go from the living from to the dining room. You didn't even hesitate! You just scooted right up them. I don't know if that's normal but I was surprised. You're not around stairs at all and it was the first time you've ever been around them. You even got down but only after a couple attempts. :]

- You eat anything and everything (I hope it lasts.) I started making you baby food and it doesn't matter what fruit or veggie it is you eat it. You also drink the juice that dad makes which is carrots, cucumber, ginger, apples, oranges,  and a lime. We just stick it in a bottle and you love it (and I love that you love it.)

-You try to stand up without holding onto the couch. You're getting pretty good but you're still cautious.

Nine Months

-You had 4 teeth come in while we were in Utah! Two on the top and two on the bottom.

-You also took 4 steps while we were in Utah. It was kind of a fluke but I'm sure you'll be walking in no time. My cousin Rachel had you and I held out my arms. You took a couple steps, started to wobble, caught yourself, and then took two more steps and were in my arms. :] You haven't really done it since but sometimes you'll walk from our couch to the recliner. Although I can hardly call it walking since it's about one step but you're getting more brave to let go of the furniture

- You've started clapping but just a little bit. You don't understand the concept of when to clap or why but you mimic me doing it and you like it.

And here are lots of pictures!! :]

I just thought you looked so cute and proper drinking the bottle with you legs crossed. :]

We've started making you "cry it out" when we put you down so your nap times have been a little irregular because I never want to make you cry if you're not tired. So I usually wait to put you down until I know you're at a point of exhaustion. Which has lead to the next 2 incidents...

This is the funniest. I was actually going to the bathroom and you came and just laid down next to me. So I started stroking your head and within a minute you were out.

I was cleaning the kitchen and left you to eat some snacks and watch a movie. A few minutes later I came out to find this. <3 p="">

You love to play at the park and are finally old enough to do so. This is you with daddy.

 I also took these at the park. Xoxoxoxo

This picture cracks me up. You hate being thrown in the air like this and you are so stiff when dad does it to you. 

 You do this a lot lately. Well lean over the side of your highchair. I'm not really sure why but you certainly like it.

I love love LOVE you little wrinkled baby toes when you get out of the bath. 

I loved the smile. You really only did it for your eighth month and then you stopped but it was my favorite. I'm sad you don't do it anymore.

Look at those thighs! Love them. You are so chunky.

I can never sit you in front of the TV for long periods of time. You like it for a few minutes and then you'd rather play but sometimes you just have to see what's on. :]

This was one of those moments I was talking about earlier where you just pop out of no where. I love them. This time I was laying on the bed and then there you were... peeking at me from over the bed. 

Here are some family pictures that we got at the reunion. I love your face. All you aunts, uncles and cousins were yelling at you from behind the camera and making funny faces so you'd smile. Instead you just look like you're wondering what all those crazy people are doing behind the camera. 

I like this one of you better but I think daddy looks more handsome in the one above so I put both.

And this isn't about you but it is our family blog. So I thought I would post the picture of my hair. I chopped it off while we were in Utah. I loved my long hair but it was such a hassle with you. Plus I'm always having a inward battle about whether I should keep it long or cut it short. 

Before:

 After

7 Month and Other Stuff

I haven't updated in so long. Mainly because everything revolves around you and so I usually just do your monthly post but I'm also on facebook and instagram so any little picture I just post on there.

Well you are over 7 months old. You are growing like a weed but you're not changing so much when it comes to tricks. These are your new things:

~ Crawling. You're not full force crawling yet. You get up on your hands and knees and then take a couple "steps" and then fall forward but you're so long and quick that you move fast. You also pull the carpet to help you get forward.

~ You love to stand and when you're in a good position you can get up pretty good but you're still pretty wobbly and fall over a lot. Although that doesn't stop you because you love to do it!! Even if you fall on your face over and over and over! 

~ You love to jump...and jump... and jump but only while I'm holding you and helping you so I've been getting a good work out!

~ You still have no teeth so it's been hard to feed you anything you have to chew. And we've completely weaned you which was bitter-sweet. You do formula, baby cereal, and pureed baby foods. In fact I just got a book from Amazon that has a bunch of all natural recipes. :]

~ We sold the Ellen Origami stroller and got a Graco Jogger which we both love more. I've been walking so much more with you and you love it also. 

~ About a week ago you fell off the bed (you're just to mobile) so we set up the Pack n' Play in our room. You take naps in there and fall asleep and night and then we transfer you. 

Living in a one bedroom is so fun... or not. 

Alright well I haven't had a lot to post like I said because of Instagram and Facebook but I do have a bunch of photos that I put on Instagram that I'll do here:

May is CF awareness month and you've been great at helping me with my treatments... kind of. Usually you get into everything so I stick you in the exersaucer and put on the "Lorax" (oh which is your favorite show... you love the music) while I finish.

I registered for school. I finished Pathways a year ago and became a full fledged BYU-I student. I finally signed up for my first classes and I'm super nervous! I'm going to have to be really dedicated and not lazy at all. :/ Hmmm not a strong suit with me!

You went to the bay for the first time and loved it and if you can tell from the upper left picture Dallen came home!! YAY. We love having Uncle Dallen back from his mission

Random but I NEVER take pictures of me and I liked how these turned out plus there is a  reason why I took these. I've decided to wear my hair all natural. Yep I shower at night, scrunch it, and let it dry while I sleep. It saves SO much time which is what I was looking for. I just don't want to spend a bunch of time on my hair instead of with you (or cleaning, eating, treatments, relaxing, or soon to be doing school.) I've had such a hard time debating between long and short hair. I'm going to try this for a while.

Remember how I said you love to stand. Well you love to do it most when I'm trying to put you in your car seat because you don't like to sit in it. As soon as I try to put you in you wiggle out of my arms so you can stand up and look around.

And last everyone says you look like Jarom. I think you're a pretty good mix but this is a picture of me and Dallen. I definitley think you have some Abernathy genes in you but you still have your own look. You're just Levi. :]

6 months

Wow you have grown so much! I can't believe it. I feel like every day you are doing something new and surprising me. I love it.

A lot of it started when I was in the hospital a week ago. I was there for about 10 days and your dad, Grandma and Grandpa (Abernathy), Aunt Lahren, and Nonz really stepped up to the plate and helped take care of you so I could focus on myself and get better. Kathy has also been amazing in helping since I've been home and taking you so I could do my home IV's and focus on treatments. Well I was in the hospital for 10 days and I feel like my little newborn is gone. I mean you're still a baby but boy are you growing fast. Here are some things you're doing...

You've been rolling over from stomach to back for a while but now you can roll both ways and you LOVE to do it. You're a rolling over fool. :]

You sit up all by yourself. I still worry about you on tile or any hard flooring because you still fall over occasionally but you are awesome at using your stomach muscles and pulling yourself back up and balancing if you start to fall over. Plus when you do fall you're pretty good and just rolling your back so you don't whack your head. You just hold your head up until you're all the way down and then lower it.

You also love to sit up in the bath. I keep the water running and you love to sit there and play with it.

For the past 4-5 weeks you've been standing by yourself if I put your hands on the side of the crib or whatnot but only for a few moments. Now you're getting a lot stronger. You stand pretty well and just a few minutes ago you were sitting on your bum and the bumbo was next to you and you used it to pull yourself into a kneeling position. What?!?! You are so crazy strong. It's all because of your dad. He's always throwing you and playing games with you that make you use your muscles!

Speaking of being strong you know that trick you used to do with your dad where you would sit on his hand and he would balance you. You still do that but now you stand... by yourself. You're awesome.

Just yesterday you were in your exersaucer and you started jumping. You've been "jumping" for a while when I hold you under your armpits and really like it. Yesterday you realized you could do it by yourself and you still really like it! :]

You eat baby oatmeal. That really started while I was in the hospital because I didn't have you enough to nurse you all the time. You've also tried avocado, banana, greek yogurt (mango flavor), my green smoothies and like them all. I haven't started veggies yet but you love chewing on raw beans, carrots, and bell peppers.

You don't have any teeth yet but I'm good with that. I don't have to worry about you biting me and a dentist told me the longer it takes for kids to get there teeth in the stronger they are. Hopefully that's true because the dental gene isn't good on ether side of the family. You do want to chew on anything and everything and you're drooling a lot so I feel like they're coming but, you've pretty much been like this since 3 months old. So I really don't know what's going on.

You're in 9 month clothing and 12 month fits you loosely.

Oh and just a side note... it doesn't matter if it's your kid or someone else's poop STINKS! Everyone says "it's different with your kid." It's not.

5 months

Well we've just been little sickies over here... at least me and dad have been. Luckily you've haven't caught anything to bad so far but your right eye is watering a little (which seems to always happen when you're sick) and you're nose is more congested then usual but you're still my happy smily boy. You are so adorable I love you so much!!

Well I decided not to do a 4 month because I did your 3 month so late and there just wasn't too much to update but here we go with 5 months...

- I think the biggest change is you are rolling over. A lot! You love it. The first time you rolled over was about a week after your 4 month birthday but your arm was in the way and you didn't totally understand what just happened. Then within the last week you've been a rolling over FOOL! Oh and it's from back to stomach... which is funny because you don't really like being on your stomach but you love to roll over. We're still trying to work with you on stomach to back but those darn arms keep getting in the way. :]

- I don't know if you're babbling more but I have been enjoying it so much. You have so many different sounds and I love laying you on your back and giving you toys so I can just watch you play and "talk."

- And speaking of giving you toys you love playing with toys. You have totally become interested in playing and chewing on everything you can get your hands on. In fact you reach for my phone constantly whenever I'm on it. You're also constantly reaching for my fingers to chew on them. You just want to chew chew chew!!

- You really like your exersaucer. Which is nice for me because I can get a treatment session in (kind of) while you play. Except your favorite toy is also your worst enemy. There are about 3 toys that when  I first put you in you love... but after a few min you get angry that you can't take them out and chew on them. Haha I think it's kinda funny.

- I don't think I've done a car seat update. You still don't mind it when you're awake but when you're getting sleepy you get really angry when we put you in there. Probably because you know you'll fall asleep which leads me to my next point...

- You really are starting to fight sleep. I guess being awake is just so fun now. :] You still sleep great... once you're asleep. I've even laid you down and made you cry it out a few times because you just get angry when I hold you and you're falling asleep and you do everything to keep yourself awake. You cry for about 5 min in bed and then you're out. Sometimes I'll stick you in the car seat and rock you to sleep. You like that to and you sleep pretty well in the car seat.

- You are going bald. I mean you've always looked like a little old man but you pull out your hair when you're eating or tired so now you have a bald spot on the top of your head. I should probably shave it but I sill think you look better with some hair then with no hair. Plus you have cradle cap and you do have some hair on top that still covers it.

3 month

So I'm super late on this post. I could probably just wait until your 4 month. :] Here's just a few things about you.

- You are sleeping in your crib on your mattress. Before we had you in a portable bassinet in the crib. You've had so many sinus issues I wanted you propped up a little but that bassinet was getting way to small. About a week before we transitioned you I started napping you in there on your back. Your naps weren't very long and I was worried you were going to stop sleeping through the night. Silly me... I forgot how amazing you are. On Friday night we laid you down (propped up on a boppy) and you did great. Saturday we did the same thing but half way threw the night you slid off the boppy and stayed asleep. Sunday we canned the boppy and you've done great ever since.

- You're still consistently sleeping through the night. From about 11pm-8am. Your naps have also gotten better as I started sleeping you in the car seat in our bedroom where there's less noise. It's made you happier in between naps too. You sleep for about an hour and thirty min to two hours.

- You're standing great (well as long as we're helping balance you) but muscle wise your pretty much on your own. You also walk when I'm holding onto you. And for your last big boy trick daddy has you sit on his hand and you'll sit there and balance all by yourself.

- You've stopped spiting up so much. This makes me very happy. But you have started drooling more.

- I definitely cannot have chocolate. Your poops have totally regulated.

- You don't really like to suck on things but you like to chew them. You don't take a pacifier and when I give you my thumb you just want to bite it. You also discovered your thumb probably around 2 and 1/2 months and you love to chew on that also. Again not suck... chew. :] It's funny.

- You still have hair but I didn't really realize how much you've lost since you were born. I mean I'm with you every day so you transitioning is so subtle to me. It's also turning red!!

- You're in 6 month clothing but can still squeeze into 3-6 month and can also wear 6-9 month.

- We haven't had you weighed at the doctors in a while but the other day I weighed myself and then you with me and subtracted the difference and you were 16lbs!! You are one big boy!!

- Even though we're less then 2 weeks away from you being 4 months holding your head up is easy peasy and has been for a while. By 3 months you had it. It's amazing how strong you get in such a short amount of time. I can't believe all the growing you've done.

These are lots of fun pics. You were around 3 months in all of these. I only have more recent ones on my phone. I'll have to add them to your 4 month post.

You in your babiators. :]

 You still love sleeping with your hand over your face.

Dressed you up. Loving your cute shoes. 

Bed head.

Hello chubbiness! 

My little pillsbury dough boy (or not so little)

Smiles (in 6-9 month clothing)

Doing some yoga. Haha it's just tummy time but you are so strong! 

Just the two of us

This is how you feel when I pull out my phone to take a picture of you. 

Haha you look so funny in this pic.

2 months old...

on December 13th. I'm so bad at getting around to posting on your birthday. Although 2 days doesn't make a lot of difference and I've started keeping a pen and paper handy during the month so I remember things that are changing that I want to write about.

Well in the past couple weeks you've really started reacting to me. I LOVE it!!! Right after you feed and you're super content we just spend some good time together while I make silly noises and talk in my baby voice and you think it's so funny. You also smile when I stroke you under your chin and on your cheeks. Every once in a while I get a little giggle out of you but that doesn't happen to often yet. You are getting more and more smily and it is so fun. You have never been so cute!

Along with reacting you also make the cutest cooing noises and although it's most likely coincidence you seem to mimic you dad when he makes them. He'll coo a few times and then you do. Then he does it again and you do it again. Once he even coo'd 3 times, then you did it 3 times, then he did it twice and you did it twice. You think it's funny and smile a lot while it's happening.

I feel like you get better and better at eating. I'm not sure how this is possible except you because you've always been a pretty good eater. Maybe I'm just adjusting to it better. :] I guess you are eating better out of the house with a cover. And you stay latched. Although your latch has always been good (I've never had any cracking or bleeding) you've always come off a lot and never had a very strong suck. You stay latched on one side the entire time until your done which also makes eating out easier since I'n not having to re-latch you multiple times. You have started spitting up a lot. That's a bummer because your soak your outfits. Not with every feeding but with most. I just wait an hour before I change you.

The one sad thing is I don't think I can eat chocolate anymore. Any time I have chocolate you seem to get constipated, have a lot of gas, and then blow out your diaper. It doesn't seem to be a dairy thing (which I'm really happy about). Just when I eat chocolate.

You are still an AMAZING sleeper. In fact in the past 4 nights you've given us 7-8 hour stretches. You sleep WAY better when you're warm (like sweating when you wake up.) You've outgrown your swaddle but dad found a great way to swaddle your arms with a blanket and then we stick you in the softest warmest outfit (that we use more as a blanket) and you sleep so well. We also cover your face a little and that helps you sleep longer too. You started this on your own and it worried me at first but you just sleep better with something over your mouth (plus it's not pushed right up against you.)

You still have all your hair and it's growing. We've already trimmed it once around the ears but it's getting to the point where you could use a hair cut. :] I think it's your best feature! I love it (and so does everyone else.)

You love love LOVE being outside. You calm right down and are so content whether you're in a stroller or baby carrier. You sleep better too. You're still eating every 3 hours but when we're out of the house you'll give me up to 5 hours.

You're started to outgrow your 3 month clothing and getting ready for 6 month. Again not really weight wise but height! You're our long boy. :] Although weight wise you're doing very well for yourself. My friend has a baby scale that we weighed you on 2 days ago. 12.5 pounds. :[ It makes me sad how big you're getting but I'm glad you're such a big healthy growing boy! (You're dad uses you as weights and works out with you.)

You are great at holding your head up. It's still wobbly but you can hold it up for a few minuets before  you're ready for a rest.

You also like to "stand." I'm still holding you under your arms but just barely. I'm mostly making sure you don't fall over. You have some pretty strong legs.

You're starting to be enraptured by the T.V. If it's on and I'm walking you around the house (usually to get you to sleep) and your eyes just happen to find all those bright lights, you really like it. You just stare and stare and stare. I'm going to have to be more careful about T.V. :] I admit I have the T.V on a lot because I love the background noise and it helps me feel like I'm not going crazy.

You don't really like tummy time. You cry when it's happening but it's your "I'm annoyed" cry so I usually make you cry it out for a little while. Also when you're upset like that you actually get more upset because you're trying to hold your head up more. :]

One Month Old...

2 days ago. :] I didn't forget it was your one month birthday, I just didn't write about it. Like everything else in life, sometimes it feels like you've been here for way more then one month and other times I can't believe it's already been a month. Although life with you and the holidays does feel like it's moving by very fast right now! I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas will be here. And I would just like to say I'm SO excited I wont be pregnant over the holidays!! I'd much rather have a baby then be pregnant.

Well onto you. I'm going off my one week post of you.

You're still a great sleeper! Hallelujah!!  You are more awake in the morning but you're pretty content. After I feed you I can get about an hour before you're ready for some attention. Then as the day goes on you get more and more sleepy. After your 3-4pm feeding it seems like you're pretty much ready for bed. You'll also give me about 5 hours of consistent sleep at night and then you're ready for the day after your 6-7am feeding.

You're good at eating too and it has become much easier. We're still slowly attempting eating out of the house as you still feed for a good 40min-1hour (I miss one of the three hours at church.) So when we go out it's either fast or it's good enough that I can find somewhere to feed you for 40min. I still don't like feeding you out though because a lot of times you'll only eat for 20min and then it throws off your entire feeding schedule for the rest of the day and it makes you fussy. You don't go to the bathroom as often when you're eating and you'll eat with wet diapers. You'll also eat with poopy diapers but only when you poop WHILE you're eating. I still have to change you before you eat or you refuse to latch. You also either burp really well or not at all. When I can't get you to burp you spit up for a long time after you eat. When I do get you to burp you don't spit up at all.

And you still have milk come out of your nose when you sneeze during a feeding. :]

You still love holding my finger when you eat. In fact you prefer it. You also love holding my finger at other times also.

Swaddling has really changed. We don't swaddle you too much during the day but man we wrap you up as tight as possible at night (that's how we're getting these lovely 5 hour gaps in between eating!) You slept so well when you first came it really didn't matter but now that you're flailing your arms everywhere you like them strapped by your side. *You still like sleeping with your arms by your face*

You like the carseat except when you're hungry. Then anything under 30mph isn't good enough to get you to sleep. Other then that you still don't seem to mind it to much.

You still have your hair!! :] YAY! And we already cut it around 3 weeks. It was getting pretty long over your ears and you had this little duck tail in the back so I just grabbed some siccors while you were sleeping and trimmed it. 

You also still have your goopy eyes. :[ Well the left eye cleared up and the right one got worse. Then they both got bad. Now the right eye is cleared up and the left eye is worse. I'm still putting breast milk in your eye and that does help a lot. 

You still fit in newborns but you've gained a pound. When we weighed you a week ago you were 8lbs 2oz. You look so big to me! It makes me a little sad but I do love seeing you grow up. I've truly been enjoying every stage.

You love baths and being clean. I give you one pretty much every night because it calms you so much (I put a lot of lotion on your sensitive skin after even though you hate that) and it helps you sleep!

We still don't have any new nick names. When you cry I do seem to call you hunny bunny (or hunny buns) to try and soothe you and you're still my trooper! Best little boy ever! :]

He is here! (Levi's Birth Story)

I started writing this the day after I had him and just finished today so sorry if it's not written very well. It's hard to write about a time when it's so easy to forget everything that has happened at specific times (water breaking, epidural, pushing, etc.). It's like I needed to write about everything while it was happening so this post may seem a little scattered. :]

Well he is here. Levi Anton Price came yesterday (10-13-12) at 1:54pm weighing in at 6 lbs 15oz and 20 inches long. It was quite the process getting him here. Right now my parents are here (my mom is holding Levi) and Jarom went to go get some sleep and shower at their house so I thought this was the perfect time to write the wonderful birth story.

Well this all started at a regular OB check up and stress test Friday (10-12) at 8am. As I wrote in my last blog post I had been dealing with some really intense itching which is a sign of liver problems. They had done a blood test over a week ago to see what my some of my liver levels were. When I came in for my appt. on Friday I talked to the OB to see what my numbers had been and they couldn’t find them. I went back to the lab to have another blood draw that they were going to process ASAP to see what they were. I went upstairs, had the blood draw, came back down and they had found the numbers from the previous week. I’m not sure exactly what liver number they were looking at but the normal level is 16, mine was 238! This indicated that I liver cholestasis. They still ran the second test and the liver number was the same. The OB said they wanted Jarom and I to head over to labor and delivery to be checked for pre-ecclampsia. If I was showing positive for pre-ecclampsia then they would induce me that day, if not they said they would give us up to 48 hours to get our things together and come back.

We went in and I wasn’t showing any signs of pre-ecclampsia but they still wanted to admit me. Liver chloestasis isn’t to bad for mom and when baby is pre-term they will use antibiotics to treat it but, once the mom is 37 weeks they induce her because babies who go full term are more likely to be still born. Since I would be 37 weeks the next day (Saturday the 13) they just wanted to get him out. Part of me wanted to get our things together but I was pretty nervous and I couldn’t help but think that by the time they started the inducing process the next day, I could already have a baby if I let them induce me right away. So we went in.

When I went in I was 1.5 cm dilated and 40% effaced. They started off giving me Misoprostal (a pill they place next to the cervix to help it ripen.) They gave me 3 doses and amazingly enough my water broke around 4am (at this point I was at 2cm dilated and 50% effaced)!!! I couldn’t believe it and I was so happy. Usually the Misoprostal just gets the cervix ready for pitocin but my body went into labor. The nurses were very surprised. It was such a blessing!

Then came the next big question, epidural or natural. I had studied up some on going natural and really wanted too so I thought I’d just go as long as I could. I’m sad to say I didn’t make it very far. Even before I started labor there were 2 reasons why I thought I might not go natural. The first was that I really hadn’t done a lot of research on it and going natural is not really something I think you can just jump into. I feel like that would be trying to run a marathon without training (not likely to happen.) The second set back would be if the contractions were making me really nauseated (I don’t handle that very well.) The contractions weren’t too bad at first (no nausea) but, like normal contractions, progressively started getting worse and were shooting all around (from stomach to back.) I had only had about 4 hours of sleep the night before and maybe an hour of sleep that night on and off before my water broke. This made me incredibly tired and as the contractions became worse I started crying (well sobbing really) because of pain and lack of sleep. This helped nothing as every time a contraction hit I would break down sobbing, couldn’t breath, and was shaking uncontrollably from the stress that my body was going through. I couldn't relax! My contractions were about 2 min apart (if I was lucky) and were lasting for over a minute. Many times though I would have 3 or 4 contractions back to back with no break. I had heard when you go natural that usually when you hit that moment where you don’t feel you can go on any further is when you need to push.Well about 15min before the pain became unbearable they had come in and checked me and I had only been at 5cm and 50% effaced. I almost wanted them to check me again to see if I had made some miraculous jump to an 8 or so. Probably not and I couldn't fathom what 10cm would feel like when I could barely handle 5cm so I decided to get the epidural. Another reason why I wanted to get the epidural also had to do with them checking me. I hated that! I had a hard enough time trying to relax with them up there pushing a creating so much pressure and then adding contractions on top of that was horrible. 

Getting the epidural was a lot of fun going in while I was sobbing, shaking uncontrollably, and not being able to breathe. As soon as a contractions would hit the 2 anistheologists and nurse would yell “don’t move, don’t move, you can do this!” Luckily (if that’s the right word) I have had practice holding still even during intense pain so I was able to not move and it went in well. Also the thought of having something go wrong around your spine is a pretty good motivator to not move one muscle. The only thing I felt was the lidocane shots and some pressure (but these were nothing compared to the contractions I was feeling.) I was pretty much equally numb on both sides and I could also still feel and move my legs and feel the lower contractions. By now it was around 6am and I was beyond exhausted. My mom, dad, and Rhonda were in the waiting room and my mom and Rhonda came back for a little bit to see how I was doing. Around 7am the nurse came in, checked me, and I was 9cm dilated and 100% effaced. The epidural had completely calmed me down and I had been able to relax enough that my body went straight to a 10. Well I actually was at 10cm. The nurse said 9cm so they could chart it as 9cm so I could get a couple hours of sleep before I started pushing (I love her!)

My mom and Rhonda left and I did sleep for a little bit (I maybe got an hour and a half.)

They came back in and I was having some good contractions every 2 min so we got ready to push. This started around 9:30am. Everything was going great for a while until my body only started contracting every 5min. I was making progress when I pushed but by the time the next contraction rolled around I had pretty much lost whatever progress I had made. Plus he was stuck under my pelvic bone and just couldn’t make it through (I guess I’m pretty small). This was going on for about 3 hours until a doctor came in and telling me that it was time to start thinking of different options.

The first was the vacuum where they put a suction type cup on the babies head and help suck him out while I’m pushing. The second was a c-section which would have been very difficult with how far he had already made it (I mean when I was pushing I could see the top of his head in a mirror.) I was NOT going to have a c-section. I had come too far, not to mention it would have been horrible with my CF as I need to cough and stay active. I asked if they could run some pitocin for a while to see if they couldn’t get my contractions closer together. I started feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. Luckily the OB came in and was a lot calmer about everything. He said they usually don’t go over 3 hours but every woman is different and I could take some more time as there was no stress on the baby. That helped me relax and I really liked him (he wasn’t as intense as the previous lady doctor who had come in.)

I pushed for another hour and a half with pitocin but there was no significant progress (even with the doctors hand up inside me trying to help him out.)

We decided to move forward with the vacuum. Once they set everything up Little Levi was out in about 3 min. As they were setting things up one of the nurses looked at me and said “Now you still need to push as hard as you can. I’m just going to be guiding him out with the vacuum but you still need to do all the work.” Alright I was fine with that. Then I got this part of the story from Jarom afterward…

Apparently “guiding him out” meant pulling as hard as she could, straining every muscle in her body. I started pushing and after a while (maybe 20 sec. I’m guessing) the vacuum popped off his head and she stumbled backward. Everyone kind of freaked out but did so in a way that they kept pushing me more, loudly saying, “You’re doing a great job,” “almost there,” “keep pushing.” The nurse jumped back and quickly suctioned the vacuum back onto his head and kept pulling (my poor baby!)

I just kept pushing and pushing (even though I wasn’t contracting at all) and he finally made it. Because he was vaccumed out they couldn’t give him right to me because of complications he could have (blood pooling in the head, broken collar bone, etc.) and they passed him off to the pediatricians. I asked the doctors if anything was broken and they said no (YAY!). They took him, did a short examination, and then laid him on my chest but I was in a horrible position and it was really awkward holding him. Plus I’ve never felt like more of a little kid in my life. Here they were laying this beautiful baby boy on my chest and I felt like a baby myself.

I held him for a little bit but I guess I was a little zoned out. I hope I don’t sound like a bad mom but all I could focus on was getting cleaned up and in a position where I could really enjoy holding him and looking at him so I passed him off to Jarom (everything was pretty surreal at this point. It still is I guess :]).

I tore pretty badly (stage 3). So I tore up the vaginal canal and then almost back to my rectum (at least that’s how I understood it. Stage 4 is the worst tearing all the way to the rectum.)  I also received some lovely hemorrhoids. Amazingly I wasn’t that swollen. The nurses were very surprised at how well I looked after 4 hours and 30min of pushing.

After they sowed me/cleaned me up I felt much better and really held Levi. I hope no one calls CPS on me for saying this but maybe it will help someone else who felt the same way. :] I really didn’t have much attachment to Levi when he first came. It was still very surreal when he came and he just didn’t feel like my baby. I mean I could barely wrap my head around the fact that I had just had a baby. I think part of it hitting for women is being in the hospital and having so much done to them. Maybe because I’ve been in the hospital so much and had so many procedures that  could have been part of the reason it wasn’t hitting. I don’t know why. I had never felt super attached when I was pregnant either. I mean if I had a miscarriage I would have been devastated and I obviously would have felt the same if something had gone wrong in delivering him but it just took a while before I started getting the protective/ mama bear feelings. They’ve definitely come full force since I’ve had him. Don’t mess with my baby bear. :]

I guess I felt a little guilty at first because I had talked to so many women that said as soon as the doctor laid their baby on their chest it was magic. They didn’t even realize what was going on around them. I just didn’t have that when they put him on my chest. Like I said I just needed Jarom to take him until I felt better and like I could hold him.

He is the most amazing little man. He is just so special. Everything that he has gone through since he has been here he’s taken in stride. No matter the procedure (recovery after birth, bath, blood test, glucose tests, circumcision, breast feeding, sleeping, etc.) the nurses have been amazed at how well he has handled everything. He is so strong and has already made me a stronger person. I love him so much!

A little pre-pushing kiss

Here he is

Holding daddy's finger

First time I got to hold Levi... happy and in shock that they're placing MY baby on my chest. Unreal...

If you're wondering what sweet relief looks like... the next two pictures are it. My "I don't have to be rushed into an emergency c-section/ my baby is here" face of relief. 

Trying to hold back the tears so I didn't start sobbing again plus... I love Jarom's face.

Passed him off to dad.

Showing Levi to cautious grandpa. :]

Grandma with grand-baby #3.

Getting to hold my baby after I've been sown/cleaned up. SO much better. :]