Welcome to the World, Alice!

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 our lives were forever changed. We welcomed our little girl, Alice Rae Drake into our family and could not be more in love with our daughter!

My whole pregnancy I was hoping she would come early since my mom and sister both had their babies come early. As the weeks got closer though, I started getting worried that she would come late. It only worried me because my mom was scheduled to be with us until a week after my due date and then she had to go back to work. I knew I wanted my mom to be here to help us as we transition to having a new baby. 

I talked with my doctor about inducing if she hadn't come by my due date. The doctor typically waits until 41 weeks to induce, but after checking and seeing that I was already starting to dilate and progress, he agreed to induce me the day after my due date if I hadn't gone into labor before then. The whole week before that, my sister and her family and my parents were in town and we had a blast (see previous blog post). And like I mentioned there, we were going on walks and doing lunges all week to try and induce labor! Well, the week came and went and everyone had to go home except my mom. 

So my due date came...and nothing! The next day we were scheduled to be induced in the evening, so my mom and I spent the day in Park City shopping, eating out and getting pedicures. My doctor explained that they usually start the process with cervical softener in the evening, that way we could rest during the night while my body gets ready for labor, and then they'll start the pitocin (makes you have contractions) in the morning. When we showed up that evening they checked and I was already dilated to a 3, which was great news! I was having some contractions on my own, but they weren't very strong or regular, so they started the Pitocin around 7:30 PM.

Once the Pitocin was started, David and I watched a couple of episodes of Suits and then the contractions started getting painful. I called in my nurse and got an epidural right away, which was the best thing ever! I could still move my legs and wiggle my toes, but didn't feel any pain. They came in a little while later and broke my water and upped the Pitocin to increase my contractions. It was around 1:30 AM at this point, I was dilated to a 5, and I tried to catch a little sleep. 

About 45 minutes later my contractions were getting painful again and I was feeling a lot of pressure, so I called to see if I could up the level of my epidural (I was already hitting the button for a redose as often as possible). The anesthesiologist came in and upped it, but the nurse thought she'd check to see if I had progressed at all. She checked and I was dilated to a 9 1/2 and her head was very low...meaning I was just about ready to push! 

The doctor was called in and I started pushing around 2:45 AM. Alice was born at 3:29 AM. Even though I asked them to wipe her off before giving her to me, they definitely didn't do that. She was bloody but we were so overwhelmed with emotion it all seemed kind of surreal. Luckily my mom was able to be there during the birth and took some great pictures to capture the experience. Thank you, mom!! 

The next few hours were emotionally and physically exhausting as we attempted to figure out the whole breastfeeding thing and how to console our daughter. She screamed for what seemed to be 4 hours after being delivered and I was so exhausted all I could do was sob. I'm pretty sure the nurses thought I was crazy that first little bit. As far as the labor and delivery went, that was the easy part. The most challenging was figuring out how to feed her and keep her happy. The induction ended up being great, it would have just been better if it had started in the morning ;) Luckily, they took her to the nursery for a few hours so we could sleep. It was the best thing ever because we slept, she finally slept, and we all got a fresh start later that morning. Ever since then she has been so easy and sweet (for the most part), but we will never forget those first few hours of being parents. David and I were pretty worried. 

The last few weeks of being a parent gives me so much respect for all the parents out there, and especially my own parents- thank you!! It is a lot of work, and very overwhelming at times, but so rewarding! I just love little Alice so much and I can't wait to see how her life unfolds! 

The Final Days of Pregnancy

The week before I had Alice, my sister Carrie and her family came out to stay with us! It was a blast and so fun since I would have been so bored waiting to go into labor at home alone because I had already finished work. Later in the week, my mom and dad joined us and it was so fun to have almost the whole family together (we missed you, Aimee). Although I am so excited to share Alice's birth story, I have to document this first because I have the best family in the world and we had so much fun (and it's in chronological order). 

Here we are getting Swig sugar cookies after eating Cafe Rio. We are so healthy :) 

We went to the splash pad with these cute kids. I just love them and I'm so happy Alice has them as cousins! 

She's so CUTE:

We went to the This Is The Place park, which was actually super neat and very kid-friendly. Here we are in front of Brigham Young's house: 

We also went on lots of walks, as a way to try and induce labor!

Feeling huge and trying to do lunges (again, attempting to start labor):

And spent a couple of hours at the pool one day:

After my dad and Carrie and her family left, it was just my mom who stayed with us. She was planning on staying until the baby came to help us out. My mom is so fun and we planned some fun things to keep us busy during our days. We went to Temple Square and ran into some friends! Here we are with the Giles, our good family friends from Colorado:

And then we found Tori Clark, a family friend who is serving as a missionary on temple square. It was super fun to run into familiar faces!

And then we followed that up with Cheesecake Factory, where my good friend from home, Shannon met up with us for lunch! 

The next day my mom and I went up to Park City to shop the outlets, grab lunch, and get pedicures. Here we are at lunch that afternoon:

And getting pedicures:

That evening, since I hadn't gone into labor yet, I was scheduled to be induced. That will be the next post :) but a huge thank you to my family for being SO FUN and coming to hang out with us! I love you all! 

37 Week Pregnancy Update

The Final Countdown!!

Time this past month seems to have gone by SO slow! But then at the same time, I can't believe our little girl will be with us in just a few weeks. Too crazy!

We finally are feeling ready for baby girl. The nursery is basically done and organized, the sheets and blankets are washed, and the diaper bag is packed for the hospital (with a few going home clothing options I can't wait to put her in)! I am getting so excited to meet our daughter, although I occasionally have bits of anxiety and fear when it comes to delivery and being a parent in general. I really have a lot to learn! I am just praying that everything goes well at this point. 

I feel very big and just overall ready to not be pregnant! She moves a ton, which is great, but sometimes gets so uncomfortable and obnoxious. I still have heartburn that comes in waves. Luckily, I've been taking Zantac + Tums occasionally so that seems to resolve the issue. I wake up super achy and my hips/low back have been popping lots, especially when I wake up or am in the same position for long periods of time. I did get a Groupon for a prenatal massage this week, and it felt amazing! I am also ready to have my body back and be able to wear normal clothes. Sorry for all the complaining. It has been an easy pregnancy overall, but it's still weird to experience all these changes.

Here is a more up-to-date picture of our nursery. Eventually we'll frame some cute pics of our little one and get them up on the wall

David and I also celebrated our 3rd anniversary a couple of weeks ago by going out to eat at Cheesecake Factory. It's so fun being married to this guy and I can't believe how much life has changed in 3 years. We can't wait to see what this next year brings (lots of changes I'm sure)! I am 35 weeks pregnant here:

Last weekend, we did the Living Room Hike with some great dental friends. I was almost 37 weeks pregnant here, and was so slow and way behind everyone! It's not too long of a hike, but it was definitely a workout for me. I originally tried to stay super active during this pregnancy, but I haven't been very successful, so this challenged me (in a good way).

Abbie, me and Jessica

And here's one last one of David and me. He didn't leave my side and stopped with me every time I needed to stop, even when we were way behind the group. I could tell it was difficult for such a competitive guy to go so slow! He has been so patient and encouraging through this whole pregnancy and I can't thank him enough. Our little girl is lucky to have him as a dad!

I also got together with a group of dental wives & students to celebrate our baby girl. Froyo for the win! It was so fun to get together and am so grateful to have them through dental school!

Hopefully we'll have a baby soon!!

Remembering Grandpa Reed

For the last two years, David and I had the opportunity to live with an older gentleman named Reed. Shortly after moving in, we started calling him "Grandpa Reed" and he truly felt like our grandpa. Our living arrangement was that we had our own space downstairs, however we shared a kitchen with him upstairs. We made dinner and ate it with him almost every night, in true family dinner fashion. It was a positive experience for everyone and we loved our time with him!

We got to know a lot of fun stories about his life. He would have been 97 next month (on my due date, July 13, actually), so he had experienced a lot in his nearly 100 years of life. He attended BYU during the great depression, was an officer in the Navy during WWII where he liberated Japanese camps in China at the end of the war, worked with Eleanor Roosevelt in the National Security Department in D.C., and had a successful career as a hospital administrator over VA hospitals around the nation.

Although he had many accomplishments during his career, he was always first a faithful church member and loved his family more than anything else. He and his wife served in numerous callings in the LDS church, including two full-time missions. The first was to Ghana, where they were the first missionaries ever to serve there. They sacrificed a ton while living there, including living on dirt floors and nearly starving during a drought year in Africa, but were faithful and loved serving the people. Their other mission was in Salt Lake City, where they reorganized the Temple Square Mission to what it is today with sister missionaries. Sometimes he was hard to learn about because he was so humble and hated talking about himself! But that was just one of the many great traits he had.

Read his obituary HERE

He was so sweet and we loved getting to know him. Here are a few of our favorite memories of Grandpa:

• Baking and eating treats with him. He had the biggest sweet tooth! Anytime I was baking, he would make his way toward the kitchen in hopes of getting a treat. Of course, I always had extra for him. One time in particular I was baking and had the live NBC musical of The Sound of Music on in the background. He came in and together we watched the musical and ate cookies. During the commercial breaks he would tell me about the musicals and shows he and his wife had seen together, as well as places they had traveled. It was so simple, but one of my favorite memories with him.
• During Fast and Testimony meetings at church, he would stand up in the aisle rather than go to the front. He would then start out his testimony by belting out "Brothers and Sisters!". The deacon that had the microphone that week would then run over to get him the microphone in time. We loved hearing his testimony of the gospel. 
• One time I had a t-shirt on that said "Victoria's Secret" on the front. I got it for free years ago, and it is extra loose and comfy (especially while being pregnant) so I wear it around the house with sweats, and always thought he wouldn't know what it was. One time grandpa saw it and said "Now, Victoria's Secret..." and I got all nervous trying to figure out what he'd say next. But he then said, "My favorite robe is from there! It actually was my wife's, but I love it so much I now wear it. I've tried to go back in there to get another one, but I can't muster up the courage to go in that store!" He was so cute.
• He LOVED gravy. On anything! Because I made dinner for our family dinners, I would try and incorporate things he liked. He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and disliked a lot of vegetables and healthy foods (like spinach, which I learned to sneak into recipes so he wouldn't notice). Many times if we had, say, mashed potatoes, meat, salad and fruit, the gravy would make its way onto everything. Truly, it would cover every part of his plate, even the salad and fruit and then he would grab a spoon so he could spoon up all the leftover gravy off his plate. We eventually just started setting his place with a spoon at every meal with gravy.
• When we moved in, he took us around to all the neighbors to personally introduce us at each house. He was so sweet and it wore him out but he was such a gentleman. He also announced our arrival to the ward each Sunday during our first month there. There was no hiding there! We always felt loved and appreciated by Grandpa. 
• He was the biggest BYU sports fan! It worked out perfectly because David is a huge BYU sports fan. Together, the two of them watched many games, and I would hear them shouting and cheering upstairs. It was funny though because during the commercials they would show old sports highlights and replays, and sometimes grandpa would think they were live! David would end up explaining to him they were clips from the past (like the 80s)...haha it was cute!

Sadly, that was the only picture we ever took of him. He hated being in pictures! But I sure love those guys sporting their BYU gear. 

The above is from Grandpa Reed's funeral. We loved the "Y" on his casket! We are so sad and miss him a ton, but at the same time we are so so happy that he is back with his wife! We know that families are eternal and that he is in a much better place. Grandpa has been one of the biggest blessings in our lives, and we can never repay him for letting us into his life, home, and family. We love you, Grandpa! And we know we will see you again someday!

Memorial Weekend in Kansas

Last month, David and I headed home to Kansas for Memorial Weekend. He had a break from school and I took a couple of days off work so that we were able to enjoy a nice long weekend away. It was our last time going home before we have our little girl (crazy!). My sister, Carrie, and her family were there as well, which was a blast! I absolutely love spending time with family and it felt so nice to be home and relax.

The first day there we took the kids to the petting zoo near our house. It was so fun and these kids are just darling!

While we were there, Carrie, my mom, and my mother-in-law, Colleen threw me a wonderful baby shower. It was so incredibly nice of them and I had the best time! The night before, we all hung out and prepped some food and decorations for the next morning. We made homemade mini quiches, which turned out so delicious and also homemade Swig sugar cookies. If you're looking for the best sugar cookie in the world, there it is (plus we added some almond extract to both the dough and frosting because it's the greatest baking ingredient). I had so much fun hanging out with everyone.

We had a great turnout at the shower and it was so nice to see many people I hadn't seen in awhile! Unfortunately, we forgot to take any pictures during the shower, but we did get a few after when we were starting to clean up, ha!

Colleen, me, and my mom:

Colleen, me, my mom, London, and Carrie

This was all Carrie's idea to throw a shower and I'm so glad she did because it turned out great! She is the ultimate party planner though, so I knew it would be a success. I just loved that they were in town while we were!

We had a blast being home, hanging with our families, and eating a ton (including Jack Stack, KC Joe's - the best!, Cheesecake Factory, Jose Pepper's, and a bajillion Swig cookies and cupcakes). I definitely gained a few pounds by my next pregnancy check-up!

I also made my dad take a few pregnancy photos for us while we were there. We just snapped some in the backyard, which was so lush and green. I always forget how gorgeous Kansas is! My dad is awesome and I am so grateful he could take a few for us.

My favorite:

Thanks for the pictures, dad! And thank you to both of our family's for spoiling us while we were in town, we had the best time and can't wait to see you all again!