Rex’s new friend.

So the other day I took Rex to go visit my cousin and her baby Isaac who is about 2 months older than him. Since they are both still pretty small…they didn’t do much interacting with each other but it was still cute to see them together. Here are a few pics from the day

“Uggh mom! I’m so bored can we leave yet?”

 

“Hmm…what can I do to get us out of here quick?”

“Hehehe…I got it…something she will never expect…now I just have to be really sneaky…”

“Errh…ehh…grumpf…pfif…”

“Ahhh…mission complete…”

 

“Evil exploding diaper! (Cue evil laugh) Mwahahaha!”

Ok that’s not really what happened but I thought the pictures fit and were funny…Rex has a pretty expressive face sometimes and provides us with much entertainment :) We love him so much!

2 months

Today Rex is 2 months old...well since I'm writing this at 11:55, by the time I post this he will be 2 months and 1 day....lol

Well today he had his 2 month appointment and he is 8lbs 4 oz! that is double what he was at birth! he has also grown 3 inches and is now 19 inches long. He is getting to be such a big boy! 2 months has flown by. I returned to work this week and it was hard. I do like being back and being around grown ups but I miss Rex everyday.

Anyway here are some pics to show how much he has grown. I don't remember how old he was in the first 2 pictures but he was still in the hospital and about 4lbs. 8oz. The other 2 pics are from today. (I think you can click on them to see them bigger)

 Big yawn!

Crafting....

So I like to do crafts. All sorts of crafts. While I was pregnant with Rex I made a few things for him. First off, I got a car seat from Andrew's cousin, however it had been in their garage and was all dusty and gross so I decided to make new padding for it. I wish I took before pictures of it but I forgot. It was an ugly dark brown plaid color and it was just dirty and gross but here are the after pics

I also crocheted this blanket for him

His name...just letters from Hobby lobby covered in cute paper and modge podge :)

7 weeks old

I can't believe how time flies! My little baby is 7 weeks old! Although technically since he was 5 weeks early, he should only be 2 weeks old. But Rex is doing good and gaining weight. His weight yesterday was 7 lbs 3 oz. so he has gained 3 lbs 2 oz since birth! He seems so big compared to when he was born even though he is the size of an actual newborn now. He is now in newborn size diapers and some newborn clothes although he still fits into most of his preemie clothes. I love watching him sleep-he looks so peaceful and cute and frequently smiles in his sleep. I also love when he is awake. He has the cutest bright eyed little face and looks so alert and curious. He sleeps like any newborn and is up every 3-4 hours during the night.

Sasha is a cute "big sister" to Rex. Although she does get frustrated with us since we won't let her lick or get too close to him. She gets really curious and concerned when he cries or makes any noise and makes sure to let us know by nudging us (as if we don't hear him lol) a few times she has tried to give her toys to Rex so he can play with her. It's cute.

Here is Rex when he is 1 day old so you can kind of see how small he was and how much he has grown.

 

 Rex at 5 weeks

 Rex at 1 month

 Rex at 7 weeks

 Andrew is such a cute dad!

 Smiling in his sleep!

How babies get here....

Ok maybe this isn't how ALL babies get here but this is the story of how Rex Warren Wilkins made his way into our world on August 15, 2011.

I first want to say that I feel really blessed. I had a very easy pregnancy the whole time with no major complaints. Even though the whole birth and having my baby in the NICU hasn't been how I thought things would happen and it has been hard at times, I still feel glad that everything has been working out and that I have a wonderful baby boy.

The story actually begins on Wednesday August 10, where I had my 34 week appointment and I had elevated blood pressure and high protein in my urine which can be a sign of Preeclampsia (Some of you may know it better as Toxemia) My blood pressure had been perfect through out my whole pregnancy and so this was definitely not normal for me. So I was sent to the hospital to get a blood test done to make sure my liver and kidneys were ok and was also handed this giant jug that I was supposed to collect my pee in for the next 24 hours so they could get a better idea of the protien analysis and make sure that one time wasn't a fluke (I know REALLY GROSS!) On Thursday I turned in my jug and on Friday I got my results in the evening cuz we were up in the canyon all day with Andrew's family for their reunion. My midwife said my protien was really high and she wanted me to come into the hospital immediately to do more testing one me and make sure my baby was still ok.

We got to the hospital and I got an ultrasound and then was hooked up to a bunch of machines to make sure the baby was ok and then also had a blood pressure cuff to monitor my blood pressure and found out my blood pressure was 172/116! They then started telling me if they couldn't get my pressure down then I would be having the baby very soon. I had to get an IV and they gave me medication to try and get my pressure down and also gave me a steroid shot to help Rex's lungs develop faster in case he did have to come early, however the steroids need 48 hours to have the best effect. My dad and brother came over and helped Andrew give me a blessing to help comfort me and bless that things would work out for me and Rex. I had to stay overnight but thankfully my blood pressure did slowly come down and I got to go home the next day but I had to be on bed rest and was also sent with some medication to help control blood pressure.

The rest of the weekend was pretty boring being on bed rest. On Monday morning of the 15th, I had to go back to my midwife to see make sure things were still ok. My blood pressure was elevated again despite the medication (although not as high as on Friday). She wanted me to head over to the hospital and make sure things were still ok with me and the baby. Andrew had to go to work so we asked my mom to come take me but she couldn't go until the afternoon so I sat at home resting until she could. When we got to the hospital, I had another ultrasound, and then was strapped back up to the monitors. My blood pressure wasn't too high but as I sat there, it kept climbing even after taking more blood pressure medication. I was there forever. Andrew even got off work and came and around that time, they decided that things were getting too dangerous and that I would need to have the baby. I was checked and was already dilated to a 3. I was given an IV and put on something that would prevent me from having seizures from the high blood pressure. Since I was only 35 weeks pregnant they wanted Rex to be born at the Provo hospital in case he needed the NICU. (I was at Orem hospital) So I was transferred via Ambulance to Provo.

When I arrived, they checked me again and I was now dilated to a 4 (this was a surprise to me since I wasn't feeling any contractions) They decided I could try and deliver normally if I was induced and as long as my blood pressure didn't get worse and the baby was ok but I had to have an epidural in case things changed and i need to get a c-section but also so I wouldn't feel the contractions which could make my blood pressure higher. I was slightly disappointed cuz I wanted to try to have my baby naturally without any drugs or epidural but my safety and the baby's safety were more important. At this point it was around 8:00pm. With the help of the IV, my blood pressures was staying in the 160-170's. I got the epidural at 8:30, and was induced at 9:00, By 11:00pm I was dilated to 10 and by 11:31 Rex Warren Wilkins was born!

I only got to hold him for a few seconds before he was rushed away to the NICU. He had to be there for an hour and a half on a ventilator to help his lungs expand properly since he wasn't strong enough to do it on his own but after that he was fine and able to be released. We got to spend a bit of time with our baby in my room but at around 2am we asked them to take him to the nursery so we could sleep. I was really drowsy from all the drugs and also my blood pressure was still high so I was still on the IV to prevent the seizures but it made me really dizzy. Every time I moved my head even slightly, the room would start spinning and I wasn't able to walk yet because of it. In the morning, I tried breast feeding him a few times but he wasn't getting the hang of it. The doctor came in and suggested they re-admit him back to the NICU so he wouldn't get dehydrated. He explained that some babies born before 37 weeks are not able to figure out how to eat on their own but once he could figure it out, he could go home but that would mean we wouldn't be able to go home with him.

When he was in the NICU, they noticed every once in a while his heart would stop and he would also stop breathing. They said this wasn't typical for a baby born at 35 weeks so they thought he might have meningitis and wanted to do a spinal tap. We agreed and when they did the tap, there was blood in the spinal fluid (it isn't supposed to have blood) This meant he had a brain bleed. They took him for a MRI and found he had blood on both sides of his brain which can be very irritating for the brain and was causing minor seizures that were causing his heart to stop every now and then and also stop breathing. They hooked him up to a brain monitor by putting probes in his head to monitor the seizures. They couldn't find any cause for the brain bleed and it was no longer bleeding so his body would have to just re-absorb the blood and then his problems would stop. They said as long as it never happens again, we may never know what caused the brain bleed. Their best guess was that it happened in labor possibly because the stress my body was under or because my labor went so fast.

After a few days, he stopped having the breathing/heart stopping episodes and he was back to "normal" and had no more seizures after that first day in the NICU.  He now just needed to figure out how to eat to go home. He was being fed by a tube through his nose that went to his stomach and twice a day I got to go and practice feeding him until he caught it on and then I could do more feedings. He got better and better each day until he FINALLY got to come home Sunday September 4, 2011 and we are so happy to have him with us!!! He spent 20 days in the hospital and we are glad to be able to finally start our new "normal" life as a new little family! We already love him so much and look forward to getting to know him and being his parents.

Summer Update….

So I’ve been meaning to blog for a while…I keep getting on and reading everyone else’s blogs but I’ve yet to update mine…so here’s my update…hopefully not too long.

So at the beginning of the Summer, Me and my mom went to a Yanni concert! I’ve always loved listening or playing his music on the piano and when I found out he was coming to Salt Lake, I had to go! It was great and wonderful to hear his music live! He is a great musician/composer and his music is always uplifting. He said in the concert he always tries to write songs that sound happy and positive, and he doesn’t like songs that sound sad. If you have listened to his music, that is definitely how is music is!                               My mom and I at the concert

Yanni! (picture is not the best quality…it was dark!)

Andrew and I hiked up to the Battle Creek falls with some of his cousins in June. Sasha got to swim in the deep part of the creek and had a blast but she was scared of the waterfall hehehe.

 

The waterfall and Brooke and Jason

Sasha playing in the creek

Brandon and Sierra

Kayla, Alex, Andrew and I at the falls

We also went to the Strawberry Days Rodeo with Andrew’s family. It’s a tradition every year.

The mamas and their colts

Over the 4th of July, we went camping with some of Andrew’s cousins up near Strawberry Reservoir. We got an awesome secluded camping site so the dogs were able to wander around and have fun. The site had an awesome view of the Reservoir but I forgot to get a picture of it! It was great to get away and go camping. I’m glad it is something Andrew and I both enjoy. Just beware…I LOVE my dog and so the next few pictures may have a lot of Sasha…

 

Andrew and Jason enjoying the nice cool day

Sasha, Diesel and Roxy all playing

And now they’re pooped…

At the lake

Sierra and her “crazy eyes”

Andrew and Katie playing horseshoes with Jason and Brandon

Sasha and Roxy became new best friends

In July, we got to celebrate my Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s 50th wedding anniversary. They rented a huge mansion for the whole family to stay in for the weekend and we had lots of fun playing games, going swimming, and had a nice sweet program to celebrate my grandparents.

The BEAUTIFUL cake my Aunt Michelle made for my grandparents and those flowers are edible!

Here are some pics of our goofy family Karaoke to love songs from the past 50 years for my grandparents. The picture above is my uncle Lyle, Andrea, Katelyn, Erin, Jana, and my Aunt Judy.

Uncle Bryant, Aunt Taryn, Addison and Cameron…(the rest of their kiddos are hidden)

The Michelson Family + the Burgis: Kaylie, Stacey, Nate, Eric, David, Sam, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Shauna.

 

Alyssa, Uncle Derek, G & G Smith, Aunt Michelle, Emmily, Lyndie (Kyla is hidden)

 

Aunt Kim, Lacey, Jacob, Brianna, Brendon, Uncle Stuart

And then lastly, I guess an update on me. Right now I’m at 34 weeks. I’m starting to “waddle” everywhere now heheh. I’m really “enjoying” the summer and swelling up like a balloon with the summer heat…but thankfully it hasn’t been too bad. My weight is staying right on track and the baby is sounding healthy and moving a ton! That is one thing I am going to miss once he is born. I love to feel him kick and move.

My mom and Andrew’s mom came over the other day and helped me paint the baby’s room :) it looks great. I can’t wait to get pictures up once it is all done.

Here I am at 32 weeks…Please ignore the messy hair and tired face…I was getting ready for bed.

20 Weeks! Half-way there and……

I’m 20 weeks preggo this week and we got to have an ultrasound to check how the baby is doing and find out what we are having We are happy to announce that we are having a baby BOY! We really didn’t have much of a preference either way but we are happy to know what our baby is so we can start planning and buying stuff! We are also glad it is a boy because we only had 1 name that we agreed on and it was a boy’s name so we won’t have to worry about a girls name until the next time around. The name we want for our baby is Rex (Middle name still undetermined) Wilkins.

Here’s the best ultrasound picture from our appointment. Sorry it is not the best quality, its a picture of the actual picture.

Baby Rex laying on his back. You can see his facial profile and his belly. The grey blob in his chest is his heart and if you look closely you can see the chambers.

I was going to post a pic of the baby boy “proof” but I' don’t really want that posted all over the internet to humiliate my child later in life…You’ll just have to trust me on this…or come to my house and I’ll show you the pics :) All his measurements were good and in a healthy range and his heart was beating at 154.  He was a bit fidgety and was moving in all sorts of directions from laying on his belly, to his back, to his side, to his belly again…It was cool to see him moving around in there!

Well I’m halfway done and I can’t believe how fast it has gone by! It just scares me that before I know it, my baby is going to be grown up! I’m able to feel his little kicks every day now even though they are just light “taps” or “nudges” but it is getting stronger. It’s not strong enough yet that I can feel it from the out side, I can just feel them inside me. Hopefully Andrew will be able to feel him soon :)

 

Left to Right: Belly at 20 weeks, 15 weeks, and 8 weeks

My belly is slowly getting bigger-Some days I feel huge and other days It seems like I’m hardly showing. I’m pretty sure my belly changes size/shape as the baby moves cuz In that 20 week picture I look huge and I definitely don’t look that big all the time! When I’m laying down and I change positions to my side, it’s weird to feel my whole belly “plop” over and sometimes I can feel the baby “plop” inside of me too! All these pregnancy things are so awesome and cool and it is still weird to think that I have a little human growing inside me but I’m so excited to me him in a few months!