Introducing Miss Aoife Elaine:

Miss Aoife Elaine decided to make her debut five weeks early. She has her mother's patience. Weighing in at five pounds even and 18 inches long, we are so in love with our little pipsqueak. And what a pipsqueak she is. She is ever so dainty, though I'm sure if she's anything like her sister, she'll chunk up in no time.

We had a fabulous weekend lined up. Friday we walked around the mall window shopping, bought a couple new games to add to our collection, and spent the evening playing and having a blast. Saturday we had a couple basketball games to finish up the season, and then we ventured out to Provo Beach Resort to take Claire on the carousel. Claire and I had actually spent the entire week before Aoife's arrival simply playing and spending time together. We went out to the zoo one day and Claire had her first carousel ride. I felt awful that Ross missed out on such a fun day and thought we'd try one closer to home so Ross could be a part of it too.

Sunday we were supposed to have Ross' brother, Jake, and a friend over for a fatty feast of a dinner. I was really excited about the ribs, potatoes, stuffing, and apple pie. But it didn't end up happening.

A few days prior to Aoife's birth, I had a suspicion my water was leaking. Though, at the beginning of this pregnancy I vowed to myself I wouldn't go to the hospital unless I was positive I was having a baby. Saturday night during family prayer, Ross said something about me knowing what my body was trying to tell me. An hour later I was on the way to the hospital to get tested to see if my water was indeed leaking. I arrived at about 8.I honestly thought I'd be on my way back home to to enjoy what was left of the evening with Ross. After I had picked up that fresh pineapple I was craving. Brooke was my nurse and did the initial test. The positive was so faint, she decided to wait a half hour and redo it. I was also already dilated to a 4, and she could feel the bag of water, which was pretty loose.

Brooke came in to check on me multiple times during the waiting period. I was having several contractions and started to feel sick. She told me she was pretty sure I had a high leak and that I was probably staying. I called Ross to give him the list of what I wanted in the hospital bag and had him find someone to stay the night with Claire. (Thank you Uncle Jake and Uncle Adam!) Brooke came back to do the second test and it was definitely positive. My water had been broken for three or four days and I had no idea.

It was a little strange being told "You are having a baby tonight" when I really wasn't planning on anything happening for a few weeks and didn't feel like I was in labor.

By the time Ross arrived at the hospital, I had been moved in our deluxe delivery suite and has prepped for the IV. My midwife initially said they were going to give me antibiotics and try to hold her off for as long as possible, probably delivering her in the morning sometime. Not too long after I had the IV in, Brooke came in to tell me my midwife, Sue, was actually coming in to break the rest of my water and start pitocin to get her out as soon as possible. They were worried about infection because my water had been broken for so long and decided she'd be better off out than in.

When Sue came in, I had dilated to a 6 1/2. I was in labor and would have had the baby whether I had come in to get tested or not. After she broke the rest of the water, the epidural guy came in, bless his heart. He got it in pretty quickly, however only my legs and butt cheeks got numb. Sue thought Aoife would be here in an hour, maybe 2 at the most. She was right. A couple hours later I started having contractions that made me think I was dying. It was honestly the most excruciating pain I have felt and I thought I was going to rip the handle bars right off of the bed from gripping them so hard. Luckily they only lasted a couple minutes. When Sue came in to check on me, Aoife's head was right there!

It only took a few pushes and she slid right out at 2:27 AM. I guess that's the blessing of itty bitty premie babies.) I got to hold her for just a couple minutes while Sue sucked out her nose and then she was whisked away to the respiratory specialist. After a few minutes of working with her, he came over to tell me she was going to be taken to the nursery to be worked on, which we fully expected. She was put on a CPAP machine to apply pressured oxygen to help keep her lungs open, got an IV to get some antibiotics started, and had about a million labs drawn while she was hooked up to monitors to measure her oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing rate. Ross went with her and stayed for a few hours.

She was on the CPAP machine for a few hours and administered a medicine called surfactant to help open her lungs more. At 10:30 she came off of the machine for good and I finally got to hold her. She was so tiny! My mom flew in that afternoon to help us out. It was such a blessing to have her and know Claire would be taken care of and spoiled rotten.

Tuesday Aoife got put under lights because her billi levels were going up. We left the hospital that morning. When I went in to talk to Aoife's nurse, I found myself just sobbing. It was weird leaving the hospital and leaving something behind for who knew how long. It was HARD.

Wednesday she was off of the lights and I could hold her again! By Thursday she was off the IV and had taken one whole feeding by mouth, though it wasn't until Friday we hit a turning point. I decided to switch to bottles for the two feeding that I get to come in for. Since making that change, she has been taking her entire feedings and doing wonderfully. It's been such a blessing to see her progress. We also got to take Claire in to finally meet her new sister. Because of the IV, she had to stay in the nursery and Claire couldn't go in. They let us use an empty room and wheeled Aoife in for some family time. Aoife was wide awake and she and Claire checked each other out for a while. Ross got Claire to touch her, though only with one finger. She wasn't too sure about the baby and didn't want to hold her. We tried helping her, but every time Aoife got too close, Claire pushed her off of her lap. She gave her sister a good bonk, which Aoife didn't care for, but over all Claire did great and it was so fun introducing them.

Sunday her Dr. decided she was doing so well, she was going to double her feedings. Now, every other feeding, she gets a bottle instead of using her feeding tube. Those went well yesterday, so this afternoon they're going to try one back to back feeding and see how she does. She is also now receiving fortified milk, so she gets more protein and calories to fatten her up. Hopefully if all goes well, we'll get to take her home in just a few days, rather than the week I was anticipating.

I have really felt the Lord's hand as well as everyone's prayers through all of this. In the beginning I had a really hard time. I blamed myself for her being born so early, wondering if it was the entire pineapple I had eaten the day before, or my not knowing my water had broken DAYS ago, or this or that. I sobbed every time I went in to feed Aoife. It got to the point where the nurses, and Aoife's doctor were getting worried. Between the physical therapy, billi lights, helmets, and NICU visits, these two little girls are building me a stronger backbone.

We love our dainty little pipsqueak, and even though the doctors and nurses think she was more like a 34 weeker, her timing couldn't have been better. Aoife is doing wonderfully and is known throughout the hospital for being a sweetheart, though with an attitude. She is famous for pulling out her feeding tube and taking off the monitors. The hospital administration as even come by a few times to see this bossy girl. Her nurses often get tired of fighting her and leave her feeding tube out until it's time for her to eat. She is just like her sister and knows exactly what she wants. Every one of her nurses have said she is the sweetest baby and so good and easy. Even when she's awake, she doesn't cry and just looks around. I was so worried about having a colicy baby, it's a relief to hear each time I go in. Let's hope her disposition doesn't change when she comes home!

Fuzzy Friends.

Claire's first Christmas, my cute little sister gave Claire a lamb. Claire became so attached to the fluffy animal. I'm afraid if I ever lose it, Claire will explode. This animal has special powers. It makes her fall asleep, and fixes every ache, pain, and owwie.

Ross wanted Aoife's animal with special powers to be from him. Friday night we had a little family fun night. We ventured to the dollar store to find Claire a couple treasures. She picked out a sparkly glitter baton and a book containing her latest obsession, Elmo. With our prizes in hand, we headed for Toys R Us in search of the perfect companion for Aoife. We spent a while browsing the couple aisles of furry friends, but to no avail. Luckily Babies R Us is right next door.

The selection was a little smaller, but the size of the animals were more what we were looking for. Claire spotted Elmo on some gift wrap and I kept an eye on her as she pulled every piece of merchandise with Elmo off of the shelf while Ross searched through the animal piles.

It didn't take very long to limit his decision to two animals. A fluffy pink bunny, and an adorable monkey. Ross said he felt like this gal is going to be a monkey. (With two little girls running around, I feel like we're ALL going to be monkeys.)

As we were walking toward the car, Ross jokingly said that we're all ready for her and she's ready to come. As funny as it was, that night I started having some pretty heavy contractions. I debated about going in to the hospital to get checked out, but decided against it. In the beginning, I told myself I wouldn't go in unless I felt like I was dying. I think we just went in one too many times with Claire and every experience was still fresh in my mind. Spending hours in a hospital in a breezy gown only to get sent home with a piece of paper telling me to take it easy just doesn't sound appealing to me.

Saturday I finally got around to sewing Aoife's quilt our of fear she'd be coming sooner than we expected. It took a huge load of stress off and I decided now that she has her cute monkey from Daddy and I have my matching nursery, she really CAN come.

Well, contractions continued all weekend. I ended up being sent to the hospital Monday morning from my midwife appointment and got that cool piece of paper filled with suggested restrictions. The last bit always feels the longest, and I'm trying to enjoy the last couple weeks of sleep I'm sure I'll get in the next 10 years. We're just too excited!!

Valentine's.

Valentine's Day fell on a Tuesday this year. If you know us Lovelands, Tuesdays mean only one thing: Biggest Loser night.

Even Valentine's Day couldn't get in the way of our date with the couch.

Ok, we're not THAT pathetic. We actually had a really busy Valentine's Day. Ross spent a few hours working on his internship. After, he rushed off to the gym. When he got home, he didn't even have time to shower before we headed off to Lehi to go pick out tile. (We're getting our shower and entry way redone over the next few days.) I never knew there ENDLESS possibilities when it came to showers.

By the time we got home, Ross still had some homework, Claire was tired and grumpy, and to be honest, I was tired and grumpy, too.

Luckily it was Tuesday and we had something to look forward to after the critter went to bed. Ross cooked up some delicious Sloppy Joes while I gave Claire a bath. And we sat ourselves down and had sloppy joes, steak fries, and a few too many cupcakes while we watched our show. And it was wonderful.

We exchanged our gifts for our sweethearts last week. (We always end up celebrating holidays and birthdays early. The anticipation and excitement KILLS me.)

Ross got me a Kindle Fire, which Claire of course thinks is hers. And I gave Ross this beauty.

Even though we got to spend Valentine's night together, I feel guilty I didn't cook, didn't plan on cooking, and frankly didn't want to cook. I felt obligated to make it up to Ross. Here's our set up for tonight.


On the menu tonight, we have filet mignon, which has been marinating ALL day, a green salad, and rice pilaf. And of course something bubbly and delicious to sip on. It's kind of fun getting a second fun day with my two Valentines.

Tomorrow the construction starts. Updates and pictures are sure to follow! Hope everyone had a great love day yesterday!

"Claire, You Are An Impressive Specimen."

Yes, that was a direct quote from Claire's ped, Dr. Later.

Yesterday, Claire had her 15 month appointment. I simply cannot offer enough praise and adoration for Claire's doctor. I feel so lucky and BLESSED to have found him. A year ago he was actually the one who told me I needed to get checked out for PPD.

Claire loves to run. (In the opposite direction of Mom and Dad in particular.) But she's also starting to get into the stranger danger phase. In the office, Claire was conflicted. She didn't want to stay near me, but she didn't want to go near anyone else, either. When we were called back, it just turned into a disaster.

She screamed and wiggled while the poor nurse measured her head and length. When it came time to weigh her, she was impossible. We made numerous attempts to get an accurate weight before deciding it'd be better to just weigh myself and Claire. (Luckily the weight was in kilos so I didn't have to see that dreaded number.)

Back in our exam room, Claire was free to run and explore in her diaper. She was having a blast. And then he came in. Before I could blink, Claire was hiding with her face crammed between my legs.

You can just tell how much Dr. Later loves and cares about kids. He talked and played with her for a while before getting down to business. I knew I had a big girl, but even Dr. Later was amazed by how big she is. Miss Claire is in the 100th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. He had to just just sit in awe of her size for a few minutes and laugh. She's perfect, just an amazingly big, tall gal.

He then asked about her appetite, the subject that has been my main concern for months. I was shocked to not only receive some motherly comfort, but praise, too! I wish I had talked to him MONTHS ago when I checked out every book on toddler nutrition I could find. He basically told me my job is to provide the food. Her job is to eat it. Whether or not she does, doesn't actually matter. I can't make her eat anything, and she'll eat when she's hungry. She's not going to starve herself, and she obviously isn't hurting for food.

I thought I was going to cry, I was so relieved and happy. Even when I asked if it's ok that she once went FOUR DAYS without eating even a fruit snack or cheeto, he said that was perfectly fine. If she wants to live off of green beans, apple juice, and french bread, so be it!

It's always great to hear your kid is doing well and is healthy, but sometimes you just need to hear that you're doing a good job as a mom and doing everything right.

Dr. Later, thank you for taking an insurmountable amount of stress from me. I will no longer be pulling everything out of the fridge, frantic to find something nutritious for my daughter, or keep offering her food to only have her throw said food at me. Maybe I'll get to take a break from having food in my hair before we start the spit-up conditioner in a few weeks!

Child Labor.

Claire's being put to work.

Because I look like I'm going on an expedition to the moon every time I leave the house and I can't IMAGINE what kind of mess that'd turn into when we become a family of four.




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A couple days ago I found the most adorable animal backpacks on amazon. (We'll talk about my online shopping addiction later.) They had eight or so different animals and I just about died. Ross picked this one out for Claire.

So far, I think she really likes it. She keeps trying to put it on and loves poking the eyes, nose, and ears. (A wonderful alternative to mom and dad's face.) I can't tell you how excited I am to not have a 1000 pound diaper bag on Sunday.

Here's The Deal.

I want Jillian's upper body, and I want it bad.



But I want it when I go into the delivery room.

I've gained between 5-10 pounds. (Depends on the day and how much I've eaten, haha) At first it was a major concern, but after months of appointments and being told that baby's right on track and getting everything she needs, I've stopped worrying.

When we found out we were expecting, I had been working out 3 times a day, and watching what I ate with the intensity of a hawk. It was really hard to stop, and even harder to not obsess over my growing belly.

There was an amazing deal at a gym in Orem, with free personal training, so I had Ross sign up. He's been working out at home, but I think the gym will give him new motivation and opportunities. It's been hard for me watching him exercise and feel great while I help myself to a second helping of cookies. Every Tuesday we have a date with the couch and we watch The Biggest Loser together. It's something we look forward to every week, and I honestly block out my calendar for it. Last week we were at a friend's for dinner, and Ross told them we'd have to leave early because our show was on. It's been a struggle having all of this motivation built up, but being unable to do anything about it.

Last week I decided to start working out. Midwife wasn't thrilled, but was eventually comforted when I said I wasn't doing cardio beyond walking (mostly just testing out my fabulous double stroller), and lifting no more than 5 pound weights. (Granted, I've been doing between 60 and 90 of each exercise to make up for the low weight.) I've only been focusing on lifts for upper body and legs, figuring if I can get those areas going, I can worry about my belly and buns after this lady's born.

And it feels good. If I'm going to be hauling around 30 pound Claire PLUS a new baby, I better have some muscle. Mostly, I think I'm just excited for when I get cleared to really exercise and can put that double jogger to the test. I've only taken it out to walk around stores with Claire, and I'm already beyond in love. I didn't think I could love a stroller as much as our single BOB, but the duallie is one million times better and 100% worth each penny. I cannot wait for summertime when I can take the girls out for a run with mom.

Another Pregnancy Post.

Don't worry, y'all only have a little over a month left of my pregnancy posts.

I'll be 32 weeks on Thursday. When I was pregnant with Claire, at this point I was already dilated to a 4.5, feeling like a bomb about to go off any second. I've had contractions and cramping for the last six weeks or so with this one, but I haven't gone in yet. I figure, if I haven't had the baby yet, I'm probably fine, though I'm beyond curious if I have dilated at all yet.

My 32 week appointment was this morning. We started off by discovering I hadn't gained any weight. Midwife asked if I got a call about my GD test, to which I responded no. She decided to pull the results anyway to double check that everything was fine. With Claire, I was anemic, so it wasn't surprising to have the same results this time around. Except then the midwife got really serious and asked if I was eating. Yup. No worries there, pal. I am CHOWING down, usually going back for not just seconds, but 3rds combined with snacking throughout the day. I just have no idea where it's all going. Obviously I'm not too put out about the number on the scale.

I told her I started exercising last week. She looked like I said I punched a puppy, bless her heart.

As our due date approaches, I've been thinking a lot about PPD and the chances of having to go through that again and decided to bring up my concerns at the appointment. I'm really glad I did. She said that I was definitely at a higher risk of PPD with this one, especially because of how sever it was with Claire. We decided to get me on a REALLY high dose of vitamin D until my next appointment where we can reevaluate and talk about starting the prozac again that way it'll be in full effect by the time this gal is born. I love how she thinks ahead.

I feel like an old person, popping so many pills and supplements each day, but I'm really grateful for them. I'm excited about taking them. Hopefully they'll help with my energy and motivation levels. I still have a few things to get done before baby, but I haven't had the desire to do anything lately.

I think I'll get the other crib set up this week after it arrives. (I FINALLY decided to order it last week.) We'll see if Claire catches on to what's coming!