Sheesh, Toots and the Little Lady

Hello all. It's about 80 degrees here and it's December 8th!!!

She's Beautiful!!

Sadie Coos

Life as a family

Life with Sadie has been fantastic. Sleep deprived but fantastic to say the least! With finals week behind us we have been having so much fun just enjoying this new little person in our family.
We love dressing her, bathing her, and taking her on walks. She is NOT a fan of the stroller but loves being snuggled in the Bjorn backpack.

We mostly just walk through the other apartment complexes and enjoy the beautiful San Diego weather. Other days we'll venture out and go see some sights of San Diego. She's too young for sun block but we take her to the pool anyway and keep her in the shade. She's too cute in her little bikini to not show her off to everyone.
She loves to sleep on Chase's chest and he loves it too. We're working on the whole sleeping through the night thing. I read Baby Wise twice to ensure that I knew what I was doing when she arrived and I still feel like a basket case. They say to start implementing the tactics at 10 days but I feel like letting your newborn"scream it out" for 45 minutes is just too brutal.
Chase and I about died after 10 minutes while we were trying to eat dinner. She really wants to be held all the time. It's crazy around here!!! Tommi Hymas lent us her swing and that helps a little. Sadie will last about 5 minutes in there before she starts screaming again. I still remember putting her in there the first time and watching her quietly swing back and forth. Chase and I embraced because we thought we were "out of the woods" but then she started screaming again. Whoever said parenting was easy was WRONG! (Has anyone ever said parenting is easy?)

We have since retrieved a copy of Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Heidi) and feel like we finally have a little more control. The five S's (swing, suck, side lay, swaddle and SHHH) have saved us these last couple of weeks. Swaddling along with the Baby Wise method has really worked and at 6 weeks our little lady slept 6 hours through the night!! It was so amazing to sleep longer than three consecutive hours. I am one of those people that goes completely crazy without enough sleep (just ask Chase:-).

Another problem we've encountered is how sore and painful it's been nursing Sadie. She had a tongue tie that had to be clipped because she had left me practically raw on both sides. Sometimes when she would have a spit up she would cough up some of my blood she had somehow ingested. It scared me to DEATH!! Was it her's or my blood? It was her's but that in itself was need to panic. Everytime she latched on, my body would shake in pain. It was awful!!

Once we clipped her tongue at about two weeks I healed a little more every day. I only had a hand pump (the electric ones were too expensive) and it took FOREVER to pump out her meals 6 times a day!! The sacrifice of a mother I guess. Now that I'm healed and don't tremble at the thought of feeding her every 3 hours, life is much better.

Now that she's sleeping a little more and I've got the feeding thing down, I'm not as crazy and Chase can finally have his wife back...sort of. I don't know how long it will take this whole sleep deprivation thing to wear off:-) We love our little Sadie so much that through it all, it's been more than worth the midnight feedings, and the ban on "regular music" and television.
From what I've read children should not watch TV until age two because it causes ADHD. Too many images for them to process. Mozart is supposed to make them bright and smart so Sadie has a little CD player in her room and listens to soothing tunes while she naps. I like to think she'll be a genuis one day:-). I'll never forget eating my turkey sandwiches in the car while on my lunch break at Hinzman and Associates so Sadie could hear some Mozart from the radio. I would blast that music in hopes that she could hear it from the womb. I still can't believe she's here. So surreal and superb all at once!!

Finals week

Well she's only been around for about a month and we're are MADLY in love with this little one. I really can't look at her with out choking up a bit. There's a saying that you love

your kids so much, you want to eat them....well I really just want to squeeze, kiss and hug this little thing until she's all gobbled up!! It's been so nice to have some visitors this week. We couldn't have picked a worse due date...right during Chase's finals!! He feels so torn because he just wants to be home with this little baby and has to study ALL the time. First year law students have a ridiculously hard schedule and I feel so bad for him right now.

Em came with Ruby three days after Sadie was born and it was heavenly to have her there. Chase felt like he could leave to study and I had company to keep me sane. I love my sisters. I wish we could all live next door to each other. My friends (the Jefferies) work for Jet Blue so they gave her some buddy passes to fly here. It was so nice of them!

Dad came a couple days later and then Mom right after that. They were so good at getting me up and walking around. We went to the zoo, Ikea, and toured San Diego a bit. I was pretty sore for about two weeks and I think it was good for them to have me walk it off. It was also mother's day that following Sunday so we got to celebrate with Mom.

I wanted to go to church even though I as pretty much still waddling at that point. It was my first Mother's Day and I really wanted to be sung to by all the primary kids. I was ridiculously emotional and it probably wasn't a good idea, but I got my flowers anyway and was later told by the other moms at the ward that usually when you have a baby, you stay home for a couple of weeks, if not a month. I'll have to remember that the next time around.

When everyone was getting ready to leave I was really sad and begged Em to stay a little longer. My mom asked me if I was scared to be alone with the baby and I wasn't ashamed to say "yes." I don't know what I'm doing!!! I hope I will be a good mother. Everything is so wonderful and foreign at the same time. My life has turned completely in a different direction. I guess I just want Em to be there as my "training wheels" for a while. It was so fun to have them here and I am so grateful they traveled so far to help.

Now that finals are over Chase and I can really sit down and enjoy this new precious gift we have been given. I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

She's home!

I have finally come out of my cave. It's been a hectic week and wonderful at the same time. Sadie ended up coming right in the middle of finals at USD. Chase studied in the hospital room and then took off to the library once my parents and Em arrived. As long as someone was there I didn't worry if he left for a while. I'm still scared to be alone with a new baby.

We still can't believe they let us take her home with us. With him studying all night at the hospital I was on Sadie duty most of the time. By the time we were ready to go home they sent a social worker to my room after a breakdown in one of the Baby at Home classes. I was crying because I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open and I was so sore I couldn't get out of my chair. Back in my room (after some serious feet shuffling) I had finally fallen asleep and Chase told her I wasn't depressed, just tired and if anyone else woke me up I would probably lose it! Why do people keep coming in my room!!

Chase and I were talking about the fact that usually it takes a while to meet and come to love a person. In contrast, it's amazing how with a baby it takes less than a second to instantaneously fall in love with this new little person in your life. My heart is literally bursting!! I love this little girl so much!! She is such a little sweetheart and very well tempered (nothing like her mother) and is absolutely adorable. I wish all everyone could see her! Well I need to go feed her again so toodles for now.

She's here!

This post has been a long time coming. I've had very little time to even sleep let along write, read, or do anything for myself:-) Chase and I welcomed our little Sadie Elizabeth 12 days ago on May 8th, 2:30 p.m. She is a chunky little thing. She weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 22 inches long! She's absolutely perfect! In fact, I can't look at her without weeping. I really feel as if I have a heavenly being in my presence.

It all started on Monday morning around 2 a.m. when I started to feel some contractions. At first I wasn't sure because we had a false alarm in April. After about an hour I finally woke up Chase and we started timing the contractions until about 5 a.m. when they were five minutes apart and hurting me like crazy. In fact they hurt so bad I almost vomited from the pain. I started to get really scared and cried in bed while Chase rubbed my back. I love him! We decided this was the real thing and headed to the hospital. When we got there I was dilated to a 5 and they strapped me up to a monitor to see if Sadie's heartbeat was regular and healthy. I still remember squeezing Chase's hand during each contraction. It was an awful feeling of pain. The nurse finally told us that these were real contractions and that we were on our way to have a baby!

This immediately made me emotional and I got a little teary knowing that I was about to meet my very first daughter, Sadie Elizabeth Cannon. They took me up to the delivery room and got me all ready. First they put an IV in my veins so I wouldn't dehydrate and then the doctor came in to give me the WONDERFUL epidural. He was such a great doctor (way better than my OB). I was really scared for the needle but his English accent helped distract me. All of a sudden the pain went away and I was totally relaxed. Those women that go natural are CRAZY!! Epidurals and the BEST!!

Chase studied for his final while I tried to read my book. Chase eventually couldn't focus and read my book to me. My water broke and I was dilated to a ten before I knew it. My OB (Dr. Stanco ...name fits the person for sure) was at her clinic with other patients. She told the nurses to have me start pushing, thinking it would take me a while to get Sadie out. She was wrong. I pushed for about and hour and her head appeared w/ no doctor, just the nurse who was actually wonderful (I wish she could have delivered the baby). Dr. Stanco finally came after making me wait 45 minutes (while Sadie just hung out, ripe and ready) and 15 minutes later we had a little Sadie!!

Chase watched the whole thing as her head and then shoulders appeared. He was very brave. I thought he would faint seeing all the blood but he did very well. He even cut the umbilical cord. I loved Chase before, but after going through this with him I literally love him a million times more! He was so great. He just kept kissing my forehead as we both wept and watched our little lady give her first itty bitty cry. She was actually quite calm afterwards and hardly even cried. Chase said she gave a huge frown and screamed when she came out. Cute!

I still can't believe we have a baby! Even now that it's been some time, I still have a hard time believing that she is mine and I get to keep her forever! The first week was good and bad. Sadie ate like a little piggy but nursing her was VERY painful. I didn't know she had a tongue tie so I battled through the pain because I was told by everyone it would get better. Well it didn't. Every time I would begin feeding her my body would shake with pain. I was completely raw!! When Sadie started spitting up my blood I knew we had a problem. I wanted to nurse her for a year and was determined but it hurt so bad!

Finally a week later her pediatrician (saint of all saints) discovered her tongue tie and sent us to an ENT to get it clipped. Chase had finals through this whole saga and was totally stressed out. Luckily my family was here so my Dad came with me to her appointment. I couldn't bare to go alone. I couldn't handle seeing Sadie in any form of pain so I went into the hallway while Grandpa stayed with her. I prayed the whole time in the hallway that God would comfort her. Through tears and an emotional breakdown I was absolutely overwhelmed with love for my little girl. Mama bear kicked in and I felt horrible that someone was causing her pain. It turns out Sadie was much braver than her Mom and barely cried. So after pumping for a month (hand pump...too poor for the good electric one) I finally healed and Sadie no longer bites down when she eats. I guess I can nurse her for her first year after all. Only the best for my little Sadie Lady!

Sadie Elizabeth Cannon!!

Sadie Elizabeth Cannon has arrived.....
May 8 2006 at 2:30 PM San Diego time...
8 pounds 1 ounce, 22 inches..... extremely beautiful....
More pics to follow.....

BORED!!

Well I don't know about this whole pregnancy thing.  I am SO sick of waiting for Sadie to come out.  My doctor offered to induce her on Tuesday because I am dilated to almost a 4!!  However, I said I wanted to wait for her to come on her own.  (Mom's orders..she's always right. My doctor will be out of town this weekend so I might be delivering with some people I don't know very well.  She offered to induce me because she'll be out of town for my due date. My thoughts are that because she's a High Risk Pregnancy Specialist and I'm low risk, she's taking a vacation because she doesn't have to worry about me.   I don't like her anymore. Actually, I never really liked her.  She was ALL business and wasn't nice to me during the gender ultrasound and told me to stop being so excited about the sex and to focus more on the health of the baby.  She also hurts me during cervical exams. Sometimes I think these  unmarried and sad women doctors have a serious chip on their shoulders.  Geez!  If you're so worried about the health of my baby, why are you going out of town during her due date.  LAME!

I took all of the advise from friends and bought a pack and play.  I think it will be good in case I feel like having her nearby  in our bedroom.  I still haven't made up my mind.  Anywho, I am guessing that I will be at church on Sunday. I have a strange feeling Sadie will be taking her time. I hope this isn't the case. Waiting for a baby to come is so boring. I have done just about everything I can think of to occupy my mind. It doesn't help that my last day of work was a couple of weeks ago. Oh well. She'll be worth the wait:-)

Holy Freaking Canolli

I'm about to have a baby and I'm laughing at what a whale I am.  I've never been this big...ever!!  I think I've gained 55 pounds!  Holy moly!!  I know we're poor but do you think I could afford a shirt that covers my belly for Pete's sake?!!  What on earth was I thinking with the above ensemble?  These maternity khakis are absolutely hideous!  They used to be ridiculously comfortable until my belly got so huge they are now constantly being pushed down and I look like I'm going for the "pregnant gangsta look" (it's hot...don't deny it:-).  I am sooooo ready for this baby to come out!!

The ONLY reason I am posting these pictures is because they're absolutely and wretchedly HILARIOUS!!  Pregnant women just look funny and that's all there is to it.  Your welcome!

Happy Birthday Shamu

For my birthday I told Chase all I wanted to do was lay on my tummy. I really miss sleeping on my back and stomach. These body pillow(s)...yes I have two)), are great but sleeping only on my side is getting really old.

We decided that we should go to our favorite beach (Coronado) and dig a large hole in the sand so I could make my birthday wish come true. It was a great idea but wasn't really as comfy as I had hoped. So is pregnancy I suppose.

Until the day Miss Sadie comes out, I'll just keep on looking like a beached whale in my lounge chair (picture withheld for fear of the reader's absolute disgust). We still had a great time at the beach and a wonderful day. We love thee San Diego.

He's an old man!!

For Chase's 30th birthday I really wanted to surprise him. I'm sure he didn't think his huge and pregnant wife would have the energy to throw a surprise party and he was right. That's why I planned it with the help of the Poelman's. I think they were more excited about it than me. Heidi found some "old man" looking clothes at the thrift store and I invited everyone and provided the food. My other job was to get him out of the house. Heidi and Scott headed over there while we went out to dinner at Mimi's Cafe (the only restaurant that I could think of that sounded remotely good to my nauseated self). After dinner I apologized for not having anything else planned and told him I was feeling sick and tired and wanted to go home (he wouldn't dare argue with the prego lady..right?). When we walked in the apartment it was pitch black and once the lights turned on and Chase saw the 30 people standing in our apartment, he might have said a four letter word and grabbed for something to keep him for falling over. He later told me he almost had a heart attack. It was awesome!!! The Poelmans did a great job decorating, we turned up the music and hopefully annoyed all the loud people that drive us crazy on a daily basis here at the lovely Villa Dorado. Chase was ridiculously surprised and had a great time even when we made him wear the old man outfit. He actually liked the blazer so much, he wore it to church on Sunday. Good find Heidi!! Happy Birthday Chase. I love you and apparently so does everyone else!!

8 Months



Well Chase and I are finally done with the "construction and design" of our new little nursery.  We're really quite proud of it considering we had very little to work with.  Surprisingly, Chase has quite an eye for design and helped out a ton.  We love it so much we like to just sit in there and look around.  We still can't believe we are going to be parents in about a month.  So hooray for us!  Happy days!! I hate putting pictures of me on here and don't think there will be anymore until I'm back to "normal," not pregnant that is.  Pictures are just too unbearable to look at when you've gained 35 pounds.





We decided we didn't want to go the pink route and went for all the colors of the rainbow with an emphasis on red.  I'm just sick of seeing so much pink.  I also made her a blanket.  Look at me...I've become all domestic.  Up close you can tell that it's VERY homemade, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless.  You can just call me Martha Stewart if you please.  The one I made is the ugly one I am sleeping with.



Chase really got into the whole construction of the nursery and had many pointers.  I was surprised to find that he even had an opinion.  I was looking at strollers on eBay and he put his foot down and said "Sadie is not going to have a stroller with some other babies spit all over it."  Well, they're a heck of a whole lot cheaper!  That's for sure.  I just think it's cute how protective he already is of his little girl.  How exciting.  We are going to parents in one month!!!! 



I am just about ready to give birth.  I don't care how scary or painful it's going to be...I'M READY!!!  BRING IT ON!!!  I am sooooo sick of being pregnant.  No one told me I was going to be this uncomfortable, and if they did I either don't remember, or didn't believe them.  Chase and I feel totally prepared for her arrival, despite the fact that we still haven't taken a tour of the hospital or found a pediatrician.  I have looked under our insurance and there are about a billion doctors to choose from.  How on earth can I make this decision?  I don't want to go around interviewing doctors.  Oh well.  I'm sure everything will fall into place.  Hopefully. 

 

Lately I have felt like a gorilla.  It was the funniest thing.  I was sitting on a low stool and had my arms hanging down between my legs.  Chase and I started laughing because I looked like a gorilla the way I was sitting with my HUGE belly.  We both think this state of obesity is hilarious.  I weigh more than him now.  It's great.  It doesn't help that he keeps running these triathalons and getting all muscular. 

 

 



Chase and I have been trying to get out a lot more because we have heard how hard it is to get out when you have a baby.  Yesterday we went to the beach and just sat on a blanket for a couple of hours until the sun set.  It was pretty amazing.  I totally recommend it.  Did you know our anniversary was last week?  How hilarious is that that I am almost 9 months pregnant and having my first anniversary?  Oh well.  We LOVE surprises. 

I want my tummy back!!

Hyperventilating and a little nesting

I got a new job.  I'm working at Hinzman and Associates and they were kind enough to give me a job even though I'm the "large marge" prego lady and pretty pathetic to say the least.  Finding a job here has been such a struggle!  I can't tell you how many interviews I've had.  At first I would try to hide the belly but after a few months I had to tell the interviewers that I would be having a baby in May which pretty much says "I'm only useful to you for a few months and then I'm splitting."  I'm grateful to be pregnant but geez, it is hard to find a job.  I feel totally handicapped!  Hinzman hired me just for tax season which is perfect because Sadie is coming right after that.  My fancy shmancy BA from the University of Utah got me a job filing papers, and mailing the said papers to clients.  I feel super special!!  The best part about the job search was being told I couldn't be a teller at a bank because I didn't have previous experience.  So they're telling me that the teenager behind the counter is a better candidate because he's had two months of experience?  RIDICULOUS!

 

This job is actually WAY better than my last one (that fired me because I was pregnant...I should sue) because I'm actually pretty busy. This CPA firm is very busy and they keep me quite occupied most of the time. The only problem is that even though I graduated from college, the high school teller at the bank is probably more dependable because he doesn't have a baby inside sucking all his brain cells out.  They call it "pregnancy brain" and I've got it!! Oh well, I'm pretty used to feeling "out of it" these days.  I can't count the times I have had a dyslexic moment or said something totally stupid.  Sometimes when I am trying to say one sentence, even a short one, it takes me like thirty seconds to get my thoughts organized.  This drives Chase crazy, he will always do these hand motions implying that I need to "keep it coming, spit it out", or "any time now."  The worst is that I've heard that I don't regain my lost or "stolen" brain cells.  I will just get dumber with every pregnancy, however I think I've decided this will be the last one for a very long time.  As of today the 20th of March, I never want to be pregnant again! But don't let my woes of pregnancy scare you.  There have been some wonderfully spiritual times as well that I wouldn't give up for anything.  It's amazing to have a growing human being living inside of you...INCREDIBLE!!! 

 

So I was reading my weekly update email from Pregnancy Weekly and they had a whole article on labor and delivery.  I was also reading about this in my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book. I was at work and started to hyperventilate.  I seriously couldn't breath!  I know it's good to be informed but I have never been one for pain, needles, or blood and was a sorry sight in front of my computer.  Here I am at work, breathing quite heavily with tears in my eyes every time I read about "holding your baby for the first time" or "hearing the baby's first cry after the mucus is cleaned out of her nostrils and stuff."  I'm actually getting pretty emotional right now just typing this.  If y'all thought I was an emotional wreck before, you should see me now.  It's insane.  I can't believe what I will cry over.  I cry if Chase leaves me for five minutes to take a shower.  I made the mistake of watching Life is Beautiful when it appeared on television.  No one was around so I could cry as loud as I wanted to and I'm sure the neighbors heard me.  I just couldn't control myself.  So lets just say I am in a state of terrified bliss if that is at all possible to explain.  I am so excited but absolutely freaked out.  That would explain the hyperventilation mixed with tears.  Geez, all those years of studying human behavior have totally paid off!  I must be some sort of genius that I just diagnosed my own freaking problem. 

 

So yesterday was my 1st wedding anniversary and because it was a Sunday, Chase and I decided to celebrate the night before by going to the symphony.  I forgot how much I love getting all gussied up and going out on the town.  San Diego is so charming at night and being in Symphony Hall was just what I needed to feel a little less frumpy with these extra 35 pounds.  It was spectacular even though Chase and I nearly fell asleep at the end because I'm prego and he ran another Iron Man that day.  We were a sad sight, I waddled in as he supported me with his limping body.  Poor kid.  It's hard to see him so fit and tan while I weigh more than him, yes that's right, I weigh more than Chase now.  That's what I get for marrying a little guy.  When we got home we turned on Frank Sinatra and danced in our living room.  It was wonderful and just proves that you don't have to have a lot of money to have a memorable anniversary.

 

 

I am in nesting mode (even though I don't feel like cleaning one bit which I've heard is one of the characteristics) and want to get everything ready for our little bundle of joy.  I've decided that I want to have diaper bags like I have purses and switch them out with whatever I'm wearing so I bought one with red in it too to wear on my red days.  Chase has a plain black one.  I guess we are all set on diaper bags.  I even got a diaper cake at my ward shower and the little diapers are so stinking cute because of their itty bitty size.  I can't get over how little they are when they are first born.  I am so excited!

 



I am going to go finish reading Baby Wise now and try to get my prego brain to understand all it's concepts.  So is it feed, sleep then wake time, or feed, wake time then sleep?  Hopefully it will all fall into place once Sadie arrives and my motherly intuition will kick in.  I hope I hope I hope. 

About the pictures.  Above is my ugly nursery because I haven't finished it.  In the picture I still have some strange things lurking around.  Like for example.  I watched someone's kid the other day and she needed to take a nap so I put a queen size bed sheet around the mattress and I just bought a crib skirt.  I'll post a picture of the finished product when it's all done.  Also don't mind the dog food looking meal I'm eating.  It's whole wheat pasta and I hate it, but it's for Sadie and all that jazz.