Skiing and Medicine

Skiing!

Getting ready at the car.

At the table where we ate lunch.

Rachel on the slopes.

Bruce on the slopes.

Last Friday, February 10, 2012 Bruce and I went skiing. It was awesome! I have never been skiing- which may be surprising since I grew up in Colorado and attended college in Utah- and I had good time. Bruce has been many times so he taught me. We rode a lift to a slope with a green (easiest) and a blue (harder than green), but the green run was closed for an event so I had to ski the blue run. It went fine. I sort of fell off the lift when I should have glided off and I fell a half dozen times on the first run, but made it down and enjoyed it. Bruce was a great coach with enough advice that I improved, but not so much that I was aware of how slow I was going. We rode a different lift and did a couple greens, then did blue runs the rest of the day. By the end of the day I was confident on blue runs, sore, and satisfied. I am trying to convince Bruce to take me again... something about the price of lift tickets is holding him back.



Hailey has done some funny stuff recently. She's had some drainage in her eyes, a runny nose, etc so we've been giving her Tylenol before bed. When we were in the car one day, she said her eye hurt. I told her we'd get some medicine for her eye when we got home. When we got home Bruce gave her a medicine cup with the medicine. Hailey tilted the cup to pour the medicine into her eye. Bruce intervened before any damage was done, but had to laugh.

McKayla Rolled Over

McKayla rolled over! On Sunday, January 15 we were at Scott and Lisa's house. I was playing Barbies with Hailey and McKayla was on the floor beside us. I put her on her stomach and when I looked over she was on her back. I figured it was an accidental roll, so I put her on her stomach again. Then, I watched her roll over. I called Bruce into the room, put her back on her stomach, and we both watched her roll! We haven't seen her do it since Sunday, but three times in a day is pretty impressive when you're less than 6 weeks old.

October to December

Since the last blog post was in September we have quiet a bit to recap.

October & November

October and November passed in a blur with school, an occasional sprinkler job, mowing, and regular house tasks occupying the days. We enjoyed an outing up the canyon for dinner. Thankfully we pre-cooked our tinfoil dinners, so the wet wood I brought was less of a problem. Whoops.

Hailey and Bruce around our fire in Provo Canyon.

In November, we also enjoyed a trip to Temple Square as a family. Hailey enjoyed seeing the sights.

Rachel, Hailey, and Bruce at Temple Square.

December
December brought a cold whether, Hailey's 2nd birthday, a new baby, and Christmas.
December 5, 2011 McKayla Camille Sommerfeldt joined our family. Ryan and Jen were married two weeks later, and my mom came to help with the girls around the wedding. It was great to have Mom around while Bruce was occupied with school. After my mom left, we spent time with Bruce's extended family. Hailey loved playing with her cousins and we enjoyed the time with family.

We spent Christmas at the Sommerfeldt's home. All of Bruce's siblings and their families were there so Christmas was much like Christmas' growing up- big and noisy. Hailey missed most of the excitement of Christmas morning because she wasn't feeling well and had a swollen eye. She snuggled on my lap with both eyes shut while everyone open presents. Eventually, I gave her some allergy medicine, the swelling subsided and she resumed her normal activities, but not until most of the presents had been opened and the other kids were off playing. Good thing she's too young to know that she missed the most exciting day of the year.

January
Bruce started school and we resumed normal life. Bruce is taking 18 credit hours and working. He's been working on an urgent project, so he's been working more hours than usual, but thankfully the first weeks of school have not been too demanding, so we still enjoy time with him.
I have been trying to establish a routine at home that includes housework, playgroup for Hailey, trips to the library, crafts and other activities, walks, and naps. The house is never as clean as it should be, and I'm tired more than I'd like, but overall life is good.

Hailey

Hailey balancing on Bruce's hands.

Hailey's vocabulary has erupted. She loves to ask "why?" and "what are you doing?" and can communicate most anything, though there are a few occasions when we can't decipher her words.

Hailey and McKayla

Hailey had an adjustment period after McKayla was born with a touch of jealousy as she adjusted to Mom's spit attention, but after a week or two she adapted. Hailey loves to help take care of McKayla. She gives her a bottle, rocks her rocker, get the diaper and wipes for Mom and Dad, and holds McKayla on the couch. Hailey also lifts the car seat from the couch to the floor when McKayla is in it, covers McKayla's mouth when she cries, and assists in less helpful, but cute ways.

Bruce and Hailey reading a book. Hailey LOVES to read.

Hailey blowing out the candles on her horse-shaped birthday cake.

Hailey loves to ride in a "big girl seat" with a seat belt, rather than in her car seat. She loves to cook food in her play kitchen, "go to work," and "go for a run." When she goes to work she puts on her backpack, gets her musical push toy, says, "I'm going to work. See you later." goes from the living room to her room and back to the living room where she announces, "I'm back." She enjoys playing with Emma. Emma and Hailey especially enjoy playing with play doh, going for walks with their dolls, and playing with "guys" (the figurines from Tangled).

McKayla

McKayla has been a different parenting experience than Hailey. I remember Hailey sleeping very well, fussing only when hungry or messy, and being an easy-going baby. McKayla is in the process of learning how to sleep well, must be burped and kept upright after feeding, loves to be held, and occasionally puzzles me with her fussing.

McKayla resting.

McKayla had trouble gagging in the hospital, so when we brought her home we had her sleep in our room. That's sweet, but I'm not a co-sleeper. Babies are noisy and it seemed that I was either awake feeding, burping, and changing her, or I was awake listening to her periodic gurgle, gasp, or grunt, hoping she wasn't choking. After a being home a few days she was no longer gagging and would have been moved to her crib, but by then Grandma Waite was in town and held her at night. That was wonderful- it relieved me of the noise making, allowed McKayla to get the snuggling she wanted, and limited my night waking strictly to feedings. After Grandma left we slept at Scott and Lisa's, so McKayla joined us for part of each night.

Grandma Coleen Waite and McKayla. McKayla is wearing the blessing dress my that Grandma made for her.

She feeds about every 2 hours which is tiring for me, particularly since she had to be burped. By the time I wake up, feed, burp, and soothe her back to sleep, I'm only a hour and half away from the next feeding. When the holidays ended, we returned to our apartment and McKayla would start the night in the crib, but I would often fall asleep on the couch while feeding, or while soothing her back to sleep. These days I spend most of the night on the couch with McKayla, but she's getting older, so hopefully she'll start sleeping better.

McKayla Camille Sommerfeldt

McKayla was born on Monday, December 5 at 12:39 PM in Timponogas Regional Hospital in Orem, UT. The drama proceeding her arrival is as follows:

Thursday, December 1 I had a routine doctor visit. I was dilated to a 3 and all appeared to be well. I asked the doctor about his policy regarding induction so I would know what to expect. He said he can do an induction as early as 39 weeks and that he would already be at the hospital on Sunday (my 39 week mark) performing an induction. He would be leaving town on Monday, so if I wasn’t induced on Sunday I would likely deliver with a doctor I had never met. I had asked about his induction policy as a point of interest and had assumed I would go into labor naturally with this baby, so I was surprised by the offer. I expressed some uncertainty and asked what effect an early delivery would have on the baby. He said that assuming the estimated delivery date was accurate, baby would be fine and possibly do to better at 39 weeks because it is less likely to pass a stool in-utero.

It was exciting to have the option of delivering a week early, but caught me off-guard, so he suggested I think about it and call back with my decision. I texted Bruce, then called Bruce to get his opinion. Then I called Sarah and then my mom. Everyone seemed to think it was a good idea, it seemed to be good timing for Bruce’s school schedule, and Hailey’s induction went well.

It seemed a little unnerving to choose when to deliver, particularly if anything were to go wrong, but I decided to be induced. I called his office to tell them of my decision. They told me the hospital would call me with details. I expected a call that day, but didn’t hear from the hospital. I called the doctor’s office Friday afternoon, but they could not give me any details. They referred me to the hospital.

I called the hospital and a slightly irritated nurse told me that I would have to wait until Saturday after 6 PM to know what time I would be induced. She explained that elective inductions depended on doctor and room availability. From that conversation, I understood that the doctor schedules the induction time with the hospital and assuming the hospital has room, the induction occurs. So I waited for details and as I waited I became nervous. I read about induction, but all information was about inductions after 40 weeks. I could justify the decision- it was convenient; if the doctor thought there was a risk he wouldn’t have presented the option; lots of babies are born naturally at 39 weeks or less….- but I still felt uneasy.

By Saturday night I wasn’t sure that I wanted to call the hospital for details. I felt committed but also felt nervous. Finally, the nerves subsided and I called the hospital. They told me I had been scheduled for Monday morning. I told them that was fine and we made arrangements.

Monday morning Bruce and I arrived at the hospital at 6AM. We completed the necessary paperwork and met our nurse, Erin. Erin started me on a bag of IV fluids and measured me at 4 1/2cm. Around 7AM Erin asked if we knew that our doctor was out of town. I was surprised. I had considered this situation could happen, but I also thought that the doctor scheduled inductions, so I assumed that he would not schedule an induction while he was gone. However the misunderstanding came about, we were at the hospital halfway through a bag of fluids and needed to decide if we were going to stay and have another doctor deliver me, or if I was going to pay for an NST (I don’t know what it stands for, but it means you were admitted to the hospital and didn’t go into labor). I was torn. I didn’t mind having another doctor deliver, but I wouldn’t have considered an induction originally if I knew my doctor wouldn’t be there. I wanted to experience going into labor naturally, but Hailey was already at the babysitter’s, Bruce had made arrangements with school, and everyone, including me thought that I was having a baby. We stayed.

Erin started the pitocin to induce labor. A half hour later I was in tears. I wanted to go home. It was too late, they had started the induction and I was committed. A half hour after the meltdown I was excited, glad to be having a baby. And an hour after that I was in tears again. Bruce was supportive, but undoubtedly confused. I went to sleep. When I woke up we played Phase 10, watched some TV, and Bruce called the phone company to activate his new iPhone. Around 10AM my contractions began to intensify and by 10:30AM I had to shift positions during each contraction. I was going to go without an epidural as long as I could.

Around noon, I called for a nurse. Erin came in to measure me as the anesthesiologist prepared. She didn’t tell me what I measured, but I was in enough pain that I didn’t care how much or how little progress I had made. I was shaking and so cold. Erin told me I was in transition, which had I known what she was talking about and had I been in less pain, I may have pressed on without an epidural, but alas, I did not and was not. The anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later, administered the epidural and left. As the epidural started to work I asked how dilated I was before the epidural- 7cm.

Erin measured me again as soon as the anesthesiologist left and I was 9 1/2 cm, but she felt something on top of the head. She phone for a doctor to come investigate. Luckily the doctor who would deliver was already at the hospital and came in. He confirmed that it was a hand on the crown of the head and told me that if he couldn’t get the hand to drop I would have to have a C-section. (When he felt for the hand he inadvertently broke my water). I was dilated to 10 cm. The doctor instructed me to push while he attempted to sweep baby’s hand off her head. He was successful and we narrowly escaped a C-section.

The doctor then asked the nurse to set up for delivery and as three nurses rushed to get the equipment, he attempted to get on gloves and a gown before baby slid out. McKayla was born moments later- fewer than 15 min following the administration of the epidural. Thank goodness epidurals act quickly- I would hate to pay for an epidural that didn’t work before I delivered.

 

 

I held her before the nurses weighed, measured, and bathed her. Over the next 24 hours McKayla’s body temperature was low so she had to be bundled and wear a hat. She was a healthy 7 pounds and though I worried some that her low body temperature and hairy ears were product of an early induction, she was healthy and well.

Hailey, Grandma, and Grandpa came to visit us. Hailey was excited, but a bit confused and certainly did not know all the ways her life was about to change. Ryan and Jen also visited that evening. Bruce took Hailey home for the night and the following day came back for us. We left the hospital 26 hours after delivery.

A few days later, my Mom came to help. We enjoyed her company and especially appreciated her watching McKayla while Bruce and I attended the wedding ceremony of Ryan and Jen Sommerfeldt. 

 

Hailey's Developmental Record

Just getting rid of things and found a calendar with the date Hailey first did some things:

January: New things Hailey can do this month: Smile. Stand or play in Johnny Jump Up. Ride in front pack. Crys almost every day after 4 pm.
January 17: First smiled. Smiled at Bruce
February 19: Rolled over in bed (did not repeat)
February 26: laughed when Bruce tickled her under the chin while we were in Cedar City, UT where Rachel presented her undergraduate research
September sometime: walked

Hailey, etc

Hailey

Hailey is a bundle of energy. She loves spending time outside on walks, at the park, or anywhere that she can run. We are starting to see some strong-will and stubbornness show. These traits are particularly evident in sacrament meeting at church when she would prefer to play with her friend Emma, run down the isles of the church, and climb over the benches. She actively resists being put in her car seat- every time we get in the car, and asks to sit in a "big girl seat."

Her speech has really emerged in the last month or two. She can ask for most things that she wants and what she can't ask for, she just climbs to.

Hailey has been able to open doors for a month or two and one morning when I came back from a 6AM run, the front door of the house was open. I don't lock the door when I leave because Bruce is home, and I'm only gone for about a half hour, so I wasn't sure if I left the door open, or if a stranger had opened the house, or if Hailey had opened the door, but I was alarmed and nervous. Thankfully, I found Hailey on the half-asleep on the couch and no strangers lurking in my house. Visions of Hailey wandering outside at 6AM have motivated me to deadbolt the door when I leave the house.

Hailey love going swimming. While we were training for the Kokopelli triathlon we went to the Provo Rec Center pool about twice a week. She loves to play on the steps in the 3-foot deep section, and has recently discovered that she can touch the bottom of the pool. She doesn't much care for it, but she can. She loves to ride the inflatable shark and doesn't like to share with the other kids at the pool. Thankfully she like to play other games in the pool like "Motorboat, Motorboat" and chase- where she hold on the wall and goes hand-over-hand to catch me further down the wall, so we can distract her when it’s time to share the shark. She likes to wear her cap and goggles- sort of. She does like to wear one of my old caps that has a rip in it, and she puts on goggles, but the goggles only stay on for a few seconds.

Hailey also enjoys playing with her friends in the ward. We go to playgroup on Tuesday and Thursdays and after a short lesson about a letter, the kids play. She's beginning to get the concept of letters and sounds and knows that playgroup happens regularly during the week, but we're still a bit away from actually knowing the letters and their sounds.

We go to the devotional in the Marriott Center each Tuesday with Bruce and Hailey always points to the speaker and says, "Grandpa." We laugh because Scott does sit on the stage behind the speaker, but the people around us must think she's talking about the speaker which would make Elder Cecil Samuelson, Elder Neil Anderson, and other well-known individuals her grandpa. Haha.

Hailey has had some trouble sleeping so we were locking her in her room at bedtime, but we've made some progress and she now sleeps with the door unlocked. Still on the floor, rather than the toddler bed we made for her, but at least it's in her room. Yeah!

Triathlon

Bruce running from the swim to the transition area.

We travelled to St. George, UT to compete in the Kokopelli Triathlon on September 16. Bruce, Scott, and Ryan all did the Olympic distance race. Jen did the Sprint distance.

Eric, Lisa, and I did the Olympic relay race. Eric swam one mile, Lisa biked 20 miles, and I ran 6.2 miles. Eric and Lisa did awesome, but I ran sooooo slow. My belly has been getting fatter and I've been getting slower, but I was hoping to run the race between a 9:30 and 10 min/mile pace. I actually ran it in about an 11:15 min/mile pace. The only good news is that the doctor told me not to run the race because my core body temperature would get to high. He said that if it was 80 degrees or cooler, if I ran an 11 or 12 min/mile pace or if it was 3 miles instead of 6 miles, he would be okay with it- well, he got his wish. It was a bit above 80 degrees and I ran at his recommended pace (though not intentionally).

Bruce did well in his race. He wished he went faster on the run, but improved on his overall time from last year. His swim was 36.19min, his bike was 1 hour 13.54 min, and his run was 1 hour 4.02 min.

Baby

So far all is well with the unborn baby. I have a glucose test this week- hopefully I pass.

I’m still running three days a week with a friend from my ward. My pace has slowed some, but I just got a new belly bra and notice less strain when I wear it to run. I plan to run for about another month, and then take the last month off, but if I’m still feeling well, I might go until I deliver.

May- August 2011

We've had an exciting summer.

May

In May we mowed and Bruce started Spring classes.

June

In June we mowed and Bruce finished Spring classes and started Summer classes.

I worked a few days doing water checks- I sub when people go out of town.

We saw Kevin and Laurel in Utah.

We enjoyed a vacation to Bear Lake with Bruce's extended family. The weather was poor at Bear Lake so we never actually got in the lake, but we enjoyed seeing Ben & Michelle's family, swimming, runs, tennis, and other activities. Canada, one of Bruce's cousins planned a family 10K which I ran in less than an hour. Not bad considering I'm generally a pretty slow runner and 3 months pregnant. :) Hailey loved the attention from all the cousins and 2nd cousins.

Bruce did a sprint triathlon in Utah Lake, in Provo, and did really well.

I chose a OB/GYN in Orem and saw him for my first visit. We had an ultrasound at the first visit and saw that baby is alive and well. I 'll be delivering at a different hospital than when I delivered Hailey because of a change in my insurance provider, but it's too many months out to really consider.

I taught the 2nd week Relief Society lesson and it seemed to go well.

We went swimming at Provo Rec Center often. We bought passes so we usually go twice a week. Hailey loves the water and jumped into the pool from the deck a few times in June.

Ryan, Bruce's brother returned from his LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain. I was particularly excited about this because it meant less mowing for me!

 

July

We spent the 4th of July in Tulluride, CO with Bruce's family, celebrate Ryan's homecoming. We enjoyed a hike to a waterfall, a gondola ride, swimming, church, and 4th of July celebrations. Hailey again enjoyed time with he cousins, and we all enjoyed hearing a bit about Ryan's mission. We attended the 4th of July Parade and watched an impressive fireworks show.

Two week later we had a family reunion with my family in Steamboat Springs, CO. We stayed in a condo near the ski slopes and enjoyed activities including mini golf, a human maze, swimming in the condo pool, riding the Alpine Slide, and watching the rodeo. It was fun to have the whole family together!

The rest of July passed as a blur with key events as follows:
A failed attempt to sell cotton candy and snow cones at the Mapleton 24th of July parade- we took a generator, but ran out of gas before we made any sales.
Braden Waite's wedding.
Triathlon training.

 

August

Bruce went to Disney World in Florida for an E&Y Intern Conference the first week of August. I was surprised how tired I was after taking care of Hailey all day without Bruce’s help, but all went well. Bruce enjoyed the conference overall. He stayed in a Disney Resort and was able to go to Disney World one afternoon. He bought Hailey a Baby Minnie which she loves.

Eggs:

One day while Bruce was gone, I was in the bathroom when I heard a familiar noise. At first I couldn't place the sound, but then it came to me- cracking eggs. I bolted for the kitchen to find Hailey squatting over half a dozen cracked eggs. I couldn't help but laugh. I bathed Hailey and mopped the floor and was glad that eggs are relatively cheap. She's really quite the kitchen helper.

The following week, Bruce took summer class finals and a welcomed three week break from classes began. We spent a few days of the break working on the footboard and side rails for our bed. The finished product is beautiful.

Someday we'll make matching nightstands, but for now our project budget is depleted.

I also started recovering our loveseat. I picked up some fabric at a Home Fabric store here and will recover the loveseat and the couch for our future living room.

My mom came out to visit in the middle of the break and we enjoyed a variety of activities with her.

Friday

Friday we did my grocery shopping and other errands.

Saturday

Saturday we went to yard sales and then Eric joined us canoe the Provo River. That night Mom and Eric babysat Hailey so Bruce and I could celebrate our anniversary with dinner, a walk, and ice cream.

Sunday

On Sunday we had church and dinner at Scott and Lisa's house.

Monday

Monday we stopped at the Down East Outfitter Clearance Center in West Valley City and stocked up on shirts. They have tons of shirts for $2.50, so whenever we go there I stock up. I also got stockings for Christmas. They have names embroidered on them (not our names, mind you), so I bought them knowing I would have to rip the names out, but they are nice (Pottery Barn), only $1.75 each, and saves me the trouble of making stockings.

We then drove to Layton to visit family. Jeff and Sherrie were also in town so we had a family dinner and enjoyed the time with everyone. Hailey loved the swing set in Grandma and Grandpa Waite’s backyard.

On Tuesday we attempted family photos (Hailey is a difficult subject. She’d rather climb on the rocks, run on the grass, and collect flowers than sit still and look at a camera).

Then we went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Hailey enjoyed looking at the animals, loved climbing in and out of the window of the "Country Store," and had fun "planting" a garden. Her favorite activity was riding a pony. After the three circles around the arena she said, "More horse." Now she begs to watch"horse movies" which are 3 min videos of horses on YouTube. She also loves looking at the picture of her riding the horse at Thanksgiving Point. We get horse books from the library, make note when we drive by a horse, and otherwise humor her new obsession. Tuesday afternoon Eric watched Hailey while Bruce, Mom, and I went to the temple. That night we went to DQ for ice cream.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning we attempted family picture again with little better success. Mom left mid-morning and Bruce and I went to Mapleton to work on a sprinkler installation job. We rototilled, trenched, and spent Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday installing the sprinklers.

Classes started for Bruce on Monday and life has formed a new routine. Bruce spend most of most days at school either working, studying, or in class. Hailey and I go for lunch with Dad two days a week, have preschool two days a week, go to library story time once a week. We clean house, shop, work on projects, and go for long walks (Hailey loves to push her stroller, so we travel very slowly and stop to pick flowers, dandelions, sticks, rocks, or anything else that catches her interest) in the remaining time.