Welcome Hazel and Hudson

I have been absolutely terrible about documenting my pregnancy! I will post my birth story as many of us girls love to hear about it and it is fun to go back and read later. I'll put this sections for those who just want to read about the actual birth.

33 Weeks to D - Day (36 weeks) 
This entire pregnancy I flipped and flopped between natural vs medicated birth (if babies were head down). One thing that I've learned this pregnancy/labor/delivery/postpartum is that mother nature made your body a certain way and to do certain things. That being said, we are so lucky and privileged to live in a time of modern medicine, which does save millions of babies a year (and women too). After much thought, prayer and discussion I decided that I would in deed get an epidural. For the record, I want to write this not to defend my choice, but more so to capture my feelings for when I read this in the future.

First of all, I will back up a bit. Up until 33 weeks of pregnancy I really thought I'd make it to 38 weeks and then have to be induced. My little cervix was handling pregnancy beautifully and I was not having any contractions. At 33 weeks I all of a sudden felt my time was coming to an end. My doctor had checked me at 32 and I was high, hard and closed - he even said he thought I had a chance at going to 38 weeks. That weekend I just felt things change. I got to the point where everything was giving me MAJOR braxton hicks and I just felt different.

I went to the doctor at 33 weeks and had him check me and sure enough I was at a 2 and Hazel (baby a) was SUPER low. I was freaked out. I had not mentally prepared myself for all of a sudden being done and having NICU babies. I went and got the steroid shots to get their little lungs ready and prayed I could hold them in until at least 34 weeks, which was still 6 days away. I held on and in fact I felt like things went back and that delivery was not hours away. I had him check me again and sure enough, while still dilated (actually to a 3), Hazel's head had gone back up. Blessing number 3,478!

The Day I Started Labor
At 35.6 weeks I went to my appointment and he told me I was at a 4. However, my blood pressure was starting to get much higher than he was comfortable with at 140/100 and he wanted to see me at the hospital the next morning for a possibly/likely induction. I was really ready to be done and knowing that I was going to make it to 36 weeks, albeit by hours THRILLED ME. He event told me it was quite likely I'd go into labor that day. He was right!

**I have to mention that I have loved my doctor. I saw Dr. Oldroyd and he was the best choice possible for me. Seriously, a wonderful man who took lots of time to care for me and my twins! Totally night and day difference from my first experience (great doctor the first time around, but this was amazing). **

As mentioned previously there was one reason that I opted for an epidural this time. I decided that it was in deed in the best interest of the twins! Like my doctor and many L&D nurses told me, things usually go well but with twins things can go bad and go bad FAST and they need to be able to get the babies out within 4-5 minutes if necessary. If that happens then I am under general anesthesia which is rougher on both the babies and I. Not worth it to me AT all. 

The afternoon after my doctor's appointment I began to have more frequent "braxton hicks." To me they aren't contractions unless they are consistent and progressing your cervix forward and you are in labor. I was not sure if I was starting labor or just having an irritated uterus (wouldn't blame the poor thing, it was measuring 34 centimeters).

Going to the Hospital
That night I realized that I was indeed in labor and headed to the hospital at 7:30 pm. I checked in and they checked me and I was still a 4. Again, I would have loved to have stayed at the home to labor, but at this point my goal was to make sure the twins were both handling labor well. The nurse told me that most likely since I hadn't progressed I was not in labor but that they doctor didn't want me leaving because my blood pressure was still high. Well, by the time he got there (30 minutes later) to check me I was a 5. They still didn't think I was in labor. You know, I always assumed that once you were contracting every 3 minutes and your cervix was progressing that was labor. I knew I was in labor, but the monitor for some reason was not picking up my contractions. Finally, as the doctor as standing there he could literally see my uterus contract and said, "maybe you are in labor." By 10:00 pm I was at a 7 and they decided I was in labor! I was not angry or frustrated by any means because like I said, I knew I was and I knew babies were on their way and the doctor would figure it out soon enough.

Let's just say I could have SOOOOOOOOO gone natural because by the time they checked me again I was a 7 and in complete control. It was actually hard for me to hear I was so far progressed because I thought, man I could do this! I was shocked. honestly, I thought I was probably still a 5. Not NEARLY as painful as getting to a 7 last time.  The funny thing was, I was laboring on my back with a pillow wedged under me to keep baby b's heart rate up. This is not optimal positioning for labor AT all but I was more concerned about the safety of my son than anything. He handled contractions better if I laid a certain way.

My doctor wanted to break my water but wouldn't until I had an epidural because he wanted me medicated in case of a c-section. I can tell you he did this out of concern for my health because I could tell he was SUPER nervous about the fact I wanted to go vaginal. He was supportive of it, but he wanted my babies out safely. **I had an L&D nurse come up to me the next day and ask if Dr. Oldroyd was nervous during my delivery and I told her he totally was. She told me he always does that with twins. I personally think that is very demonstrative of how much my doctor cares! It wasn't the incompetent nervous, but rather the type of nervousness accompanied by years of experience of seeing things go really bad on occasion.**

Broken Water and Delivery
They came in and placed my epidural so they could break my water. Honestly, getting that stupid epidural hurt worse than my contractions! I am telling ya - I could have so done this easy...oh well, I was VERY lucky to have an epidural because of what came next!

After my water was broken and the epidural placed, my labor did slow down. Finally at 1:00 am they wheeled me into the operating room because they wanted me to deliver there in case of an emergency c-section. I was at an 8 at 1:00 am and by 1:35 they told me I was a few minutes away from pushing. The doctor checked me and told me that Hazel was NOT in the right position for delivery and depending on how she came down with a push or two, I might need a c-section and I might need it NOW. He reached up there and did quite a bit of finagling (THANK GOODNESS I had an epidural) and got her moved a bit. I could feel quite a bit even with my epidural! He had me push and realized she turned enough to make delivery safe.

After 11 minutes of pushing she was here! (I pushed for 90 minutes with Saydee and made no progress so they did a vacuum extraction). 4 minutes later Hudson was born. I had to work hard to get both out. I could feel what I was doing and it HURT! The epidural numbed the contractions, but did not numb much of anything below the cervix so crowing was painful, but good because then I could get them out quicker.

Hazel Rae Oldham - Born at 1:49 am - 6 lbs 13 oz and 18.25 inches
Hudson Perry Oldham - Born at 1:53 am - 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches

They are Here!
They quickly passed my babies through the window where they had a team for each baby. They actually passed Hazel right back to me and I got to hold her. Hudson had some issues with retracting (breathing issue) so by the time he was ready to be held (a few minutes after delivery) I had already been wheeled back to my room. They took babies to the NICU because of the hospital policy that any baby born before 37 weeks MUST go for 24 hour observation. I was heartbroken to miss nursing, but I knew as soon as I had recovered enough I could go back. Problem was my bleeding wasn't really stopping and they wouldn't release me to women's center! I was in tears. I called Richard who had gone back to the NICU with Hazel and Hudson and he told me they were doing really well and rooting around for food. I BEGGED the nurse to let me go back but she said no.

Bless their hearts, the NICU actually let Richard take the babies out for me to nurse them! BLESS THEM!

Babies were in NICU for 24 hours of observation and released!

 Hazel and Hudson at 4-days old! He REALLY likes to be right next to her. It is very tender.

 Hazel right after she was born. They passed her back to me right away. You can see the red marks above her left eye where Dr. Oldroyd was moving her around so she would be able to come out. Poor girl!

 Hudson right after birth.

 H&H - 36 hours old getting ready to leave the NICU.

This is what it looked like when they were in the NICU. All those wires are just simply monitors for the babies. Nothing was wrong - just monitoring him.

LONG Overdue Update

I have been HORRIBLE at keeping up with my blog! I am sure my two readers have found something better to do, but still, I like to do this for my history keeping purposes as well.

We are wanting to sell our house and as Richard finishes up those last few finishing touches it will be up on the market! We realize the market isn't great BUT we want to jump on another deal in a home we might like a little better. We feel blessed to live in the home we do and have definitely made it our own =)

Saydee is as cute as ever! She has so much personality and has developed an undying love for Elmo! I am not big into the princess craze, (have you seen Toddlers and Tiaras)? I am quite happy with her affection towards Elmo.

We are excited for Christmas and the many new excitements this new year will bring! Even if it does include me turning 30!!!!!!

Much needed change

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Denver

We are visiting my sister and her cute little family in Denver. We have been having fun swimming, going to the park, going to the zoo and just playing with cousins! Melanie has showed us a fabulous time and kept us busy with lots of fun activities:)

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Summer Pics

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Summer Fun

We have had a crazy busy summer! We spent a week in Baltimore, a week in Utah, Boise and more to come! This past week we went camping at Heise and went swimming. Saydee is a fish! If you want to see her super excited mention the s word.

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Tell me

Tell me that this isn't the cutest thing you have ever seen. We are in utah and we have been out at the farm all day. Saydee is loving the animals. She especially likes pounce the three hundred year old cat. She has been asking for him all day.

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Saydee and Her Hair

Saydee loves to have a bow or hats on her head. In an attempt to stop one of her little fits I told her to get her basket of bows and that I would do her hair. She came out looking like this. I'm thinking of asking her to do mine next.

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Little Miss

Saydee has a love hate relationship with sun glasses. She loves to wear them but hates leaving them in one piece

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Garage sale models

This past weekend we had a garage sale with some good friends of ours. We decided it would be most affective to hire some furniture models. It must have worked because everything is gone!

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Sick Baby :(

Last night Saydee was having a hard time falling asleep, after two times of going in there and finding her completely naked because she thinks it's funny to undress, it is completely silent. I go in to check on her one last time and she is FRYING!!!! She is laying there completely lifeless and not moving her eyes are open and her breathing is labored. NOT what a mom wants to see.

I got her out of bed and took her armpit temperature (which is lower than what it really is) and she was 104+, NOT good. We decide to take her to the doctor, but since it is closed we got to the ER. All the while I am DUMPING oils on her! I am putting on Peppermint, Melaleuca, Breathe, On Guard and Melissa quite frequently. We wait for what seems like an eternity and they FINALLY bring us back and take her temperature, which is down to 103.2.

They get us back to be seen by a doctor and she is NOT feeling good. She isn't moving and laying there just struggling. I felt so bad. They told us they didn't want to release her until her temperature came down and they wanted to run some tests on her. They didn't think anything was seriously wrong so we wanted to leave. Let's be honest at 1:30 am, the best place for her is at home in bed.

They told us they didn't want her to leave until they got the fever under control (they also commented on how good the room smelled of peppermint). We told them that we thought it had come down and they took her temperature. The nurse took it twice and said, "that can't be." He took it a third and fourth time and realized that her temperature was in deed down to 99 degrees. That is the beauty of peppermint my friends!

Today she is running around like nothing is wrong!

Funnest Week EVER

Well I am happy to report that I just experienced one of the most fun weeks EVER! The even better news is that this summer I will get to beat that! I had so much fun touring the east coast with my family and friends that I am going back this summer. This next time I will be bringing my two favorite people, Saydee and Richard!

On Sunday the 20th, I packed up my little suitcase and hopped on the Salt Lake bound shuttle. I packed my backpack chuck full with granola bars and bagels =). I successfully made it to the Salt Lake City Airport and boarded my flight to Washington DC. It was a long day but well worth the travel! I met up with a dear friend that I had never met in person. I kinda felt like I was meeting up with a boy off the internet. Fear not, my friend was NOT a bald 60 year old man, but a fun girl that is my age. I felt we made a very quick connection and I felt like we had been friends for ever.

Monday we headed to the Baltimore Aquarium! It was so fun and while I really enjoyed it, I kept thinking about how much Saydee would have enjoyed the aquarium. My sister came with us and it was fun because she is miss-biology-know-everything and was able to explain lots!

That night we went out for crabs. I am such a wimp when it comes to venturing out and trying new foods. Not sure what on earth my problem is but I did it, I ate 2.5 crabs thanks to Dan who started decrabbing my crab =). It wasn't too bad! I can now say that I have eaten Maryland crabs, which to some is a right of passage.

Tuesday we got up and got ready and headed to Ellicott City, which is a bunch of old homes that have since been turned into shops and restaurants. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and when I go back this summer, I want to finish going through the rest of the shops! That afternoon I had to work, dang me, I need to learn to take a real vacation and not work while at play. I stayed up late late late that night talking with my friend and was so sad that it was going to be my last night there :(

Wednesday I met up with the lady who owns the company that I do most of my work for. We went to a fun little Jewish Delli and I had a Schwarma (sp?). Again, I was quite proud of my adventuring taste buds because typically I would stick with something boring like a hamburger or even worse a slice of pizza. The schwarma was a pita type thing filled with stuff I didn't really recognize, apparently I live under a rock :-) It was very tasty and I would be all for going to get another one next time I visit a Jewish Delli.

Shortly after lunch I boarded the DC Metro and headed to Washington DC to see my sister and meet up with my parents. My sister is doing her student teaching at an "urban" high school. She is conquering the classroom and is a great teacher! She is not student teaching, she is actually the teacher because the teacher has been out with health problems since the Fall. That night we went to the Washington and Lincoln Monuments, it was so neat to see those!

Thursday my parents and I put on our walking shoes and toured the Holocaust Museum and a couple of the Smithsonians. BIG MISTAKE! I should have not put on my walking shoes, but my regular old brown shoes! Seriously I got the WORST blisters ever from wearing "walking shoes." My blisters were growing blisters. By the end of the day I was hobbling around and some lady asked me if I "sprained my toe." I still laugh at that because honestly........have you ever seen somebody limping and thought...."hmmmm, wonder if they sprained their toe?" It was kind of her to ask and I don't mean to talk trash about the nice lady!

Thursday evening we took an elevator to the top of the Washington Monument which was cool. Friday we went to the Air and Space Museum and my mom and I got stuck in the WORST RAIN STORM EVER! I was tempted to strip and walk around in my nothings because I was FREEZING cold. My pants were so wet that I could have taken them off and wrung them out! They were SO wet! The rain was coming down horizontally. Seriously straight at me! It was crazy but it made the day a true adventure.

That afternoon we hopped on the Metro and headed for the bus! We took a bus to New York City where we met up with my other sister. Not gonna lie, I have the maturity of an 8-year old boy, but it makes life fun. The bus ride was really bumpy. There was one of those fancy bathrooms in the back of the bus. A man walked in to use the facilities and all of a sudden the bus driver slammed on the breaks. We hear and thud and a groan coming from the bathroom!!!! It was so funny. The man emerged from the bathroom and appeared unharmed. Seriously hilarous!

It was a great weekend in New York! That was my first experience with the city and honestly it was OVERWHELMING! I am definitely a city girl and love big crowds, shopping and walking around. I think what was so overwhelming to me was the fact that I only had 24 hours to take it all in and that is not NEARLY enough! I would LOVE to go back! In New York we went to Ground Zero, Battery Park, Central Park, Stage Delli, Stardust (DEFINITELY going there again), Times Square, the M&M factory (which is MUCH cooler than the Hershey's factory) and last but NOT least.....WICKED! Wicked was amazing!

My favorite scene in Wicked hands down was when Elpheba sang, "No Good Dead." She was amazing! She was a "new" Elpheba and I can't imagine that anybody could be better than her! It was a great night! We even had AMAZING seats! We were really close to the stage (thanks Dad).

Sunday morning I hopped back on the plane and headed home. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO ready to see Saydee and Richard! Poor Saydee probably thought that I up and left her. Thank goodness for my nightly and morningly (yup it is a word) Skype calls. I don't think I will leave a child that young again for that long. She didn't understand what was going on and has been super clingy this week. I feel bad I traumatized the poor girl.

Alll in all it was a GREAT trip and I am excited to go back this summer! It will be fun and I can't wait to expose Richard to the East Coast and hopefully convince him to move there =).

Saydee Needs a Baby!

I think everybody is keyed into the fact that I really, really want another baby! =) You know me, always great at hiding my feelings. Saydee is the one who really wants another baby! She has an unreal mothering instinct. Here is a list of things that I have caught her doing.

-At 11 months old we were babysitting a friend's baby. The baby was extremely fussy and Saydee stood by her carrier and patted the baby's head, gave her her binky and rocked the carrier. She hasn't ever seen me do that!

- She changes her baby's diapers. Yup, she grabs a wipe and then "changes" them.

- After changing her diaper a few weeks ago, I found her wiping her baby's bum. I thought that was cute. Then, a I hear a commotion in the bathroom. I go in and check on her and she has stripped her baby down and bathing the baby in the toilet. Awesome right??? Sort of......

-Yesterday we had some friends for dinner! One of the girls who came had a 6-week old baby. Saydee wanted to mother that baby! As soon as they set the baby on the floor she RAN to her room and came back out pushing her stroller. She kept grabbing his legs because she wanted to get him out. She wanted to put the baby in her stroller. It was TOOO cute. After completing dinner, I set her on the ground to go and run. I went in the other room to check on her and sure enough she had pulled all the blanket off the baby so she could see him and she was trying to put a binky in his mouth (an old one she found in her toy box).

Saydee loves baby and it is so cute how gentle she is with them. I love it!

It's Been Crazy

Check out the curls! Love the curls!

The past month has FLOWN by! Here are few events that I want to document since this is my only form of a journal! SLC trip, Utah, my birthday, Christmas, Anniversary and my Grandpa's funeral.

This time of year is crazy! I celebrate my birthday, anniversary and Christmas all in two weeks. It is not my favorite but it is okay. This year we decided to head down to Utah for the David Archuleta/Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It was AWESOME! We left Saydee at home with my parents and took off for a little getaway! It was so fun to go and look at the lights, eat my self silly and enjoy the Christmas Concert. Seriously, the performing artist makes a HUGE difference. Natalie Cole was not my favorite last year and after that, I vowed I was never going again, until that is I found out that David Archuleta was the guest artist this year. Now, I am all about going down this next year too! I can't believe that three years has gone by since marrying Richard. It has been a fun ride! Can't wait to see what is next. I am sincerely hoping that a new baby will fit into the equation sometime soon.

My birthday, well, all I have to say about that is that since everything was so crazy with my grandpa's funeral I will have to postpone my 29th birthday to next year....DARN! Seriously though, I am having serious issues with coping with this whole aging thing. I know that 29 is "young" but what scares me is how quickly the last 10 years went by! For real! SLOW DOWN! I also feel stressed because I would love a big family and this whole getting pregnant thing has taken me significantly longer than in the past and I am not getting any younger.

Christmas was awesome, I am very grateful I live next to my parents. I LOVE my family! I love that my mom and dad see the best in me and truly support me for who I am. They are able to look past my many weaknesses and love me anyway. They are great cheerleaders! They are also amazing grandparents to Saydee. I feel grateful that we live so close. They are great people for her to associate with. Anyway, back to Christmas, this year we did Christmas on our own. We did the traditional going to breakfast and a movie with my parents, but this year we slept at our own house and did our own Christmas morning. I would highly recommend it. It is a great way to start your own traditions and I think it is fun! Richard did a great job with his gift giving this year! I am excited about everything he got!

Saydee was super cute! She had no clue what was going on, but she got all sorts of excited when she saw her new toys! She enjoyed attempting to open presents WHILE I was wrapping them more than she did when she was supposed to be opening them. She is a doll! I can't wait for next Christmas when she understands it a little more.

Utah was an interesting experience for me. I enjoyed most of my time there. At least I know I have a home here in Idaho with a husband who loves me no matter what. I am grateful for that! Let's be honest, traveling with Saydee is not fun so we probably not be going down near as much. I had a lot of fun playing in the snow with Richard. I have learned that I am the wimpiest snowboarder ever. Seriously, my whole problem is that I am freaked out by going fast and really, I think that is a good portion of the POINT of snowboarding! I do enjoy sledding and watching Saydee in the snow. The sub zero temperatures don't seem to intimidate her and she loves digging in the snow. Apparently she takes after her dad because snow isn't so much my cup of tea.

My anniversary! WOW - three years has gone by quickly! I watched my wedding video on my anniversary just to be as cheesy as can be! Really, I have decided that I miss my wedding day! For one I miss the fact that I was 25. I can't believe all that we have been through in 3 years. Just for fun here is a list of the things we have accomplished or gone through in 3 years.

- Lived in Utah, Boise and Idaho Falls. NEVER thought I would live in Idaho Falls, even if it is just for a temporary amount of time.
- Held a combined total of 10 jobs! Really, we didn't get fired from any of them. They all ended for legitimate reasons like moving and having a baby!
- Had a beautiful little girl! Saydee has been so much fun and SO much work =)
- Bought our first home and remodeled the whole thing! Love my house!
- Bought two new-to-us cars.
- Gone on many adventures ranging from near death plane rides to camping in the Mountain Ranges of Wyoming in the freezing cold/snow!
- I joke and say three years down, 5 or 6 to go depending on how it goes, but really I love Richard and even though marriage is a lot of work, I love it! I am excited for many more adventures together.

Last but not least I wanted to talk about my grandpa's funeral! My grandpa had been suffering from dementia for the past 5 years. He was 93-years old and lived a great life. It was his time to go and I am happy that he is now at peace! It is always sad to say goodbye to somebody, but really, I felt I said goodbye several years ago. I don't think my grandpa remembered me for the past few years. That is okay, still love him! I had a lot of people offer their condolences about his passing and while I appreciated it, I really wasn't that sad! He is happy now and has quality of life! Despite my many complaints about life being too short, I am so glad that someday I will get to see everybody again! I will be surrounded by all the people I love and I am excited about that!

Phew, what a long post! Sorry to bore you all to death. I have been such a slacker at updating my blog and really I have no excuse. Sure, life is busy, but it is all about priorities!

Saydee's Favorite Things

Saydee has three favorite things and YES they are in order.

1. Grandma Fager. Most kids cry when their mom leaves, Saydee cries when grandma leaves and she has to stay with mean old mom.

2. Her pink and furry coat! NOT to be confused with her dark pink coat. Seriously, I tried to offer her the second of the two above mentioned coats and that was not a good idea. She started backing away very apprehensively shaking her head no. I think she thinks the coat is a stuff animal (her fourth favorite thing).

3. Her boots! We went to the Winco the other day and she would not go unless I put her boots on. Silly girl!

We are loving miss Saydee.