Labor and Delivery

My pregnancy with Evan was much different than with Curtis. Besides having 3 previous miscarriages, I had gallbladder issues that were most likely caused by basically being pregnant for 2 years straight. I also took progesterone supplements at the beginning of this pregnancy. Increased hormones can be causes of gallstones and gallbladder problems. On top of the gallbladder issues I had elevated liver enzymes and bile acids, and periodic itching of my hands and feet. These things are called cholestasis of pregnancy, and have the potential to cause stillborn babies. 

So, a few weeks ago after another itching episode I asked to have my bile acids tested. Before this time I had been tested for elevated liver enzymes but not for the bile acids (which is the main indicator of cholestasis). The levels came back higher than normal (although not incredibly high). I was referred to see maternal fetal medicine at the hospital, where an ultrasound showed Evan was measuring quite small (although I think this is because my dates were off) and they confirmed that they wanted me to deliver at 37 weeks due to the increased risk of having a stillborn baby in the final weeks. 

After having Curtis I was excited and set on an unmedicated delivery. Knowing I would be induced was very disheartening as inducing labor makes the contractions stronger and (supposedly) more painful. I decided I'd see how things went. 

On top of all of this we were in the middle of a house renovation that was already taking every waking minute of our time trying to get it finished in time for the original due date of May 30th. Needless to say I was  extremely stressed. Instead of 5 weeks we now had only 2. I'll go into more detail when I write about the renovation, but I have to say that we were so blessed with family and friends who helped us so much. We could never have been ready in time if it weren't for them. 

So, the night of May 8th we worked all day and were up till 2am re-installing baseboards, cleaning, and packing for the hospital. We were up at 5:30am to get to the hospital by 7am. 

Thursday May 9, 2013

We checked into labor and delivery at American Fork Hospital at 7am and were shown right to the delivery room. I changed into the lovely hospital gown and we got started on paperwork and the IV. The nurse who did the IV put it in my hand (I should have been more outspoken about it) so I ended up asking for it to be moved to my arm. Our nurse's name was Mary Ellen and she was awesome. She was with us the whole delivery. The midwife on call was Claudia, and I was glad because she is one of my favorites at the clinic. She was also with me most of the day, and helped a ton with the laboring. 

They started pitocin around 8:30am and contractions started soon after. The worst part for the first few hours was having to use the restroom every 20 minutes with all the cords attached to me. So annoying. Soon after contractions began they inserted a little balloon thing to help me dilate and progress faster. It was definitely unpleasant. A couple hours later I had progressed to about a 5 and my contractions were much stronger at this point. I decided to continue without medication. 

My mom came around 1pm and labor continued to progress. Claudia helped Mike and my mom find good pressure points to help relieve back pain. Several hours passed but it honestly felt much quicker than that. I was able to get in a good position for most of that time and somehow found a way to relax and breathe through the contractions. It was actually pretty hypnotic at times. 

A while later Claudia checked my progress and discovered that baby had an arm on top of his head that was preventing him from descending. She tried to move it out of the way (which was by far the most painful part of this delivery) but he wouldn't budge. I tried different positions but he still wasn't moving his arm out of the way, and I started to lose focus at that point. Labor was extremely painful at this point and I finally understood why women are always screaming in the movies when they have babies. It hurt! Claudia then called the OB on call to come see if he could move the arm out of the way. Again, this was the most painful part of the whole thing. After the baby still wouldn't move his arm, and somewhere in the midst of most likely passing through transition I got an epidural because there was a chance I would need a c-section if we couldn't get the arm to move. 

I finally felt some relief with the epidural, and was grateful it wasn't as strong as the one I had with Curtis. I was still able to feel contractions and pressure. 

Literally 30 minutes later (maybe sooner) I felt a lot of pressure and change. Baby had crowned, his hand had moved, and he was ready to come. Another 20-30 minutes later and he was in my arms. Mike assisted Claudia the whole time, caught baby when he came out, and cut the cord. It was such an amazing experience! Baby came right to me and got to stay there for a good amount of time. It was heaven holding my new tiny boy, and I was so grateful I was able to have the birth experience I was hoping for. 

Evan Mark Kitto

5lbs 9oz

Things to remember...

-Things were so much less "rushed" with this birth. The nurse and midwife were calm, helpful, and made us all feel comfortable. Things were allowed to progress as they should. I didn't have to have any stitches and recover was so much faster this time.
-Even though I had an epidural at the end, I still feel like I've experienced a natural birth. I'm excited to do it again.
-Evan was so tiny!
-Nursing was still difficult the first 24 hours, but he caught on quickly and is a pro.
-We had much fewer visitors than we had with Curtis, but it was a blessing to have more alone time with my little family.
-Curtis loved seeing his new brother (although the excitement wore off for a few days after).
-After staring at Evan so much, Curtis seemed so grown up and so big.
-We took Evan to the nursery for both nights we were there. We decided it would be best to get some sleep after basically pulling an all-nighter the night before. When we had Curtis I stayed up all night and held him, worried he would stop breathing.
-We wanted to leave after 24 hours but Evan's blood sugar wasn't consistent enough for us to leave. 

Evan Mark Kitto

He's Here!

Evan Mark Kitto

May 9th, 2013

5 lbs 9 oz
17" long
Born 5:04pm

Feeling very blessed to have this angel boy here! 

Three Days

I am sitting in our first home, listening to the hammering, nailing, and sawing of wood floors going in downstairs. It's currently 12:19am and I hope we don't wake up the whole neighborhood. But, we can't stop until it's finished. About two weeks ago we found out that baby boy needs to make his debut 3 weeks early due to ICP (cholestasis). I don't have a very severe case of it, and, in fact, I think I barely have it at all, but there is a much higher risk of having a still born baby after 37 weeks. So, he will be joining us this Thursday, May 9th. Three days until life changes forever, again.

Bye-bye three weeks of preparation and time to get settled. Instead, we had basically 10 days to get everything ready to move in. Painting, cleaning, putting in floors, moving in, etc. We moved everything in this weekend and we'll definitely be able to live here. But it's definitely not going to be to the point where I wanted to be as far as having things organized. When Curtis came I had everything ready at least a month in advance. Everything in our home was spotless and organized.

I'll be luck if we make it to the grocery store before Thursday, let alone make freezer meals. Heck, we may not even have any couches to sit on. But, life will go on.

The house is feeling so much more like home. I'll take some good "after" photos as soon as we get things put together a bit more. I'm really excited to be here. We have great neighbors and an awesome LDS ward. There are two separate nurseries because there are so many little kids Curtis' age. He's already made some great friends...as have we. I feel confident that this is where we need to be right now, and I'm grateful that things worked out the way they did. The timing couldn't have been better (even with baby coming early).

I'm so excited to see Curtis with his baby brother. He's going to be such a wonderful friend and example to this boy. I can't wait to see them grow up together and become great friends.

And those are my thoughts in the middle of the night.

Oh, and if anyone is getting rid of couches, a twin bed, a TV, or TV stand....we'll gladly take them off your hands!

Pregnancy Update

I always heard that, after your first baby, subsequent pregnancies go by much quicker. While I wouldn't say it's gone by quicker--especially since I've basically been pregnant for a year and half--I will say that I don't find myself thinking constantly about being pregnant. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not always thinking about the arrival of this baby, or about how big he is, or about what I want the nursery to look like. I haven't posted hardly anything about it, I'm not working on any baby projects, I hardly read anything about babies besides the short weekly updates my phone sends me each Thursday morning when another week has passed. 

But, none of those things mean I am not overjoyed at the thought of welcoming another baby into our family. It's no secret that we've had a difficult time getting baby #2 here, and for that fact alone I am completely full of gratitude that we've made it this far...

27 Weeks and 3 Days... A little under 3 months left. 

This little boy is a miracle baby. I no longer take pregnancy or the ability to have children for granted. This past year I've spent many nights contemplating the possibility that my body might not actually be able to carry another baby to full term. It is not always easy. It is not always possible. And we are not always in control. So, rather than writing many posts on what stroller to buy, or how the nursery is coming together, or what blankets I'm sewing, the thoughts I really want to share are that I am extremely grateful, and feel blessed beyond words, that we are having another baby.  

I'm grateful for all the kicks, for the sleepless nights, and for my growing belly. I'm grateful for my little family of three...soon to be four.

Hang in there baby boy. We want you with us for a long, long time.

16 Weeks

20 Weeks

24 Weeks

It's a Boy!

Baby Boy #2

Due to Arrive

May 30, 2013

We couldn't be more excited!

September 12, 2012

I just wanted to remember that today was the day our little one was due. 

Thankfully I had a very good day, with only a few momentary twinges of sadness. 

Our little Angel, 

Due September 12, 2012

I wish I could have gotten a picture from the final 16 week ultrasound, he/she was perfect. 

22 Months

My baby is 22 months, and I can hardly believe it. We spent the day together, jogging up the canyon, going on a bike ride, and then watching Sesame Street after he woke up with a high fever. As horrible as it sounds, sometimes I am grateful when he has sick days because it means he will snuggle and let me hold him. He fell asleep on my lap TWO different times. It was heaven.

He's feeling much better today, and back to his active, no snugglie self. But that's okay! He's currently in the other room having some TV time and laughing at Elmo. He loooooves Elmo. Ah I love my boy!

Curtis is learning so much! He is picking up on so many words and is able to communicate much better than at 18 months.  (I have a video that I'll post as soon as I can get it from Mike's phone)

The other day we were looking through his baby pictures and videos and it was so hard for me to believe that he was actually that little! And Curtis kept saying noooo when I'd point to his pictures and say, "that's you!" The older he gets and the more personality he develops, the less I can remember what he was like as a baby. It's just hard to remember him before his sweet words, generous kisses, silly faces, and constant running. I suppose that's why I'm aching for a new baby; because I'm starting to forget what they're like. 

Last night I went into Curtis' room after he was asleep to put some laundry away, and it woke him up since he wasn't feeling well. As I went to have him lie down again he sat up, puckered his lips and said mmmm, gave me a kiss, and then went back to sleep. He really is the sweetest boy. It's hard for me not to get emotional when I think about how fast these last 2 years have gone, and how I fast I know the next 16 years will go. I'm going to miss these days. Life is too short, isn't it? Well, childhood is too short.

Happy 22 months, Curtis. I'll love you forever.

Finally

Good news!

This is finally starting to look appetizing again.

I was on the road to a permanent whole-foods, more greens, journey 

right up until week 6 of pregnancy.

Unfortunately it was nearly impossible to continue when all I could stomach was 

toast, apple butter, apple sauce, plain rice, and plain pasta.

Oh, and the occasional potato chips. 

So healthy, huh? 

What a cruel irony...

knowing the first few weeks are the most crucial to a baby's development,

but not being able to stand the sight of a salad.

I suppose my consolation is that I was the same way with Curtis,

and he turned out just fine. 

(And at least this time I have a nice Blendtec to make a few healthy green smoothies.)


Did you have any weird pregnancy cravings or aversions?

12 Weeks

I started the monthly pictures last night. 

Here I am at 12 weeks. 

I wanted to try a different location, but there aren't many options in our little apartment.

I also wanted to try a different shirt, but I think black shows the growth the best.

THOUGHTS AT 12 WEEKS:

A Big Announcement

Yes, it is exactly what you guessed....

BABY KITTO #2 

Due September 12, 2012

(Currently 11 weeks 5 days and counting!)

We are so excited for this new addition to our family!

Nineteen Months

He just keeps growing up. 

Eighteen Months

On January 22nd my baby boy turned 18 months. As strange as it sounds (and maybe it doesn't), I can hardly remember Curtis as a little baby. Of course I remember certain things, but it's hard to remember him as a motion-less, basically non-expressive, tiny baby. His personality is so much more apparent now. And boy do I love him!

Curtis' 18 month old stats are: Weight-25 lbs (36%), Head-18.75" (43%), Height-33" (66%)

Curtis is a very busy 18 month old. He is always looking, moving, talking, pointing, grabbing, poking, eating, and constantly learning. His gross motor skills are excellent, and he seems to be above average in his physical abilities. He can run, climb stairs (almost standing up without help), balance on small objects, do somersaults, spin quickly, climb almost anything (except his crib, luckily), and perform fairly complex tasks with his arms and hands. This makes for a very active and busy day around our home. Seeing as we have a very little apartment, and it's cold outside, I will often take him to my parents' house just so he can run around and play in a larger space. One thing is for sure....Curtis is most definitely a boy!

The Twinge

It happened. 

You know, the "I think I'm ready for a baby" twinge.

Yeah, that one.

I wondered when it would come. 

Hello Twinge. 

First Time

Curtis is experiencing his first time being sick. It started on Wednesday morning with a fever and a horrible cough. He's been coughing so much that he throws up anything he eats. Luckily these past couple hours he's been able to eat a little and keep it down. We took him to the doctor today and they let us know that part of the problem was an ear infection. We got some antibiotics and are hoping it will help him recover soon.

I've been able to spend the past three days with him. Holding him, cleaning up throw-up, snuggling him as he naps. I feel so bad for our little guy. His eyes have seemed so sad. It breaks my heart.

I cancelled classes on Wednesday, and luckily my good friend Rachel helped me with class on Thursday and Friday. I hate having to miss class, but I couldn't leave Curtis. (Thanks Rach!)

Mike and I were talking about how little babies are so honest. He's not pretending to be sick, or pretending that it's worse than it is. He is reacting to how he feels. 100%.

Get better soon Curtis. We want you to feel better.

Five Months

Happy five-month birthday Curtis!

You are 5 months old today! This past month has been one of the most fun yet! You have "woken up" to the world and are learning so much each day! Mom and Dad love you more than you will ever know. We really can't imagine how empty our lives would be without you around. You make us happier than we ever thought possible. Thanks for being such a wonderful boy!

-You are still a big boy. You weigh around 17 lbs and you still have the yummiest, squishiest cheeks in the world. We love to kiss and squish you all day long!

-You started eating solids about 2 weeks ago. At first I didn't think you were quite ready, but the next day we tried again and you were a pro. So far you have eaten rice cereal, bananas, green beans, and applesauce. So far you are doing great with everything you've eaten.

-You have rolled over both ways (back to tummy and tummy to back). But, you don't really care to do it very often. No hurry though...mom's okay if you don't move around yet :).

-You are very close to sitting up without support.

-We think you are close to getting a tooth, but so far your mouth is still all gum.

-You have discovered your tongue, and you love to poke it out at everyone...especially when you smile. It is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

-You've discovered how to yell and make really loud noises. Lately your favorite thing is to try and make as much noise as possible.

-You are beginning to love toys. Mom is able to put you down more, and you are able to keep yourself entertained.

-You are still a great sleeper. You usually go to bed around 8:30pm and you wake up between 6:30 and 7:30am. When you wake up mom or dad will bring you into our bed so you can eat. Then you sleep and snuggle with mom and dad for another hour. This will have to change when school and work start again though.

-You love all of your grandparents, and boy do they love you!

-You usually take 3 naps a day. One around 10 or 11am, one around 2pm, and one around 5pm.

-You are laughing a lot now, and we love hearing it!

-You are such a happy, friendly boy. You smile at everyone and get really excited around people. When you're excited it shows in your whole body. 

We love you Curtis!!! 

You are the greatest Christmas present we've ever had, 

and the only one we need this year!

The Big Nursery Reveal!

After several months of piecing the room together, 

it's time to reveal the 98% finished product!

(Video #1: Short Version)

(Video #2: Descriptive Version)

Okay Little Boy! 

You can come any time!

We're ready for you!

Baby Updates

*Be sure to read our Urgent Adventure story in the post below

Just a few new updates...

1. Still feeling great (for the most part). I had the 2nd severe calf cramp of my life two nights ago and I've been in fear of it happening again ever since (it was literally one of the worst pains I've ever felt). I've had only one of these nearly 3 years ago. I woke up to my calf seizing and twitching and hard as a rock. I couldn't get it to stop. Then it started to ease up and it started again! Yesterday and today I have hardly been able to walk. Does anyone know what do to to make the cramping stop if it happens again? I've been drinking a ton of water (even before this happened) and eating at least 1 orange a day (potassium is supposed to help). I think I might try bananas.

I've also been having a harder time sleeping. I get really hot and my legs get restless. Also, my back usually always hurts in the morning (I'm starting to get used to it I think).

Other than those things I really can't complain. I have a lot of energy and have been able to get a lot done. I'm hoping it lasts a couple more months so I can get the nursery finished before I get huge!

2. We made our first two baby purchases! We bought our crib and changing table/dresser this week! I searched long and hard for the best prices on both items. We ended up getting both for $282.95 ($154.32 crib/$118 changing table)...and free shipping on both. I can't wait to get them set up!

3. Baby bump photo update (I think I'm graduating into another shirt for the pictures...it's getting embarrassing to see these)

20 Weeks

24 Weeks 

(looking huge)