Sunday, October 31, 2010

halloweenie


kavi wanted to be a monkey this year. sadly, my boy has gotten too big for me to pick out his halloween costume, however, paisley let me make whatever i wanted for her! an owl it was!
::hoo hoo::



at our neighborhood halloween spooktacular:


 later that night, we went to our ward trunk-or-treat.
oh, my kids had a great time---but they brought home way too much candy for me to eat!

and our favorite halloween decoration this year:
our yarn wreath:





hope your halloween was fabulous!


Thursday, October 28, 2010

i have three kids

 how did i become a mother a three?

don't answer that.

i can't believe that i am responsible for three little ones.
and wild little ones they are!
while things are running relatively smoothly around here, 
having three kids is hard work!
i definitely have way less free time for myself and feel like an official "busy mom."






but i wouldn't change having these three wild ones for a thing in the world.


Tuesday, October 26, 2010

engaged in monterey



on the last friday in september,
kelly and her new fiance came to visit.
he had purposed that morning, then planned a weekend getaway to monterey.
how sweet?
and how sweet that they stopped by to visit little old me:)
my mom watched the children while we dined on the wharf.
 



i'm so happy for my best friend and her new love.
congrats you two!!!


Monday, October 25, 2010

happy sunday...



... from a couple o' grumps


Saturday, October 23, 2010

carter's birth story



i'm fascinated with birth stories, but if you aren't, you don't 
need to read this post. i'm just warning you that it's lO n G.

my first two children were natural early arrivals. i was sure this one was going to come even earlier. i was measuring 2 weeks ahead, and my braxton hicks were out of control. for three weeks straight, every night was an almost false alarm. i would start having regular contractions, get excited, then they would just disappear. i began to try all the "tricks" to induce labor. walking, sex, even castor oil. these were all useless; and i should have known. as my due date approached, i started to get more frustrated. i soon begin to doubt my body and it's power to do this. did it forget how to go into labor naturally? was everything okay? out of desperation, i finally scheduled an induction 6 days after my due date. i made my doctor swear that he would break my water before trying pitocin. my sweet mom even had to buy a later flight out after being here for two weeks already.

so tuesday morning it was. october 5th at 7am. monday night was surreal. knowing that i would have my baby in my arms the next day was a weird feeling. i was extremely nervous. this is how i described it to david," it's like knowing you're about to be stabbed, instead of someone stabbing you out of surprise...you're bracing yourself with anticipation." that night we went out to ice cream as our last night as a family of four. it was bitter sweet. change scares me, even good change.

with my bag packed and alarm set, i fell asleep around midnight. 1:20am i woke up with a REAL contraction. i knew right away that this was the real thing. i thought it so funny that for those 3 weeks i could have thought it was the real thing. it's like i forgot what a real contraction feels like. this one was different. when the next one came about 14 minutes later, i was so relieved that my body did this by itself. no induction needed!!!!  a couple contractions later, i ran into my mom in the hallway as we were both heading to the bathroom. i started giggling and told her i was in labor. we laughed at the irony of the situation. my contractions got hard very fast. they went from 14 minutes apart to 9, then 4 in about 2 hours. during those 2 hours, i was in bed & then hopped in the shower. i remember the water hitting my back and thinking, i'm going to need an epidural for this one.  {i had had an epidural with my first, but endured a beautifully natural birth with the second. i wanted to go naturally with this one, but wasn't absolutely determined and hadn't really prepared myself for it.} i woke david up around 3:20 and told him to hurry. apparently HE didn't have HIS bag packed. he kind of scrambled around while i labored. they were getting painful, so i started to rush him.

we arrived at the hospital at 4:00 am. it was quiet and peaceful in the halls and the lady at the front spoke in a whisper. david had that giddy excitement that only an expectant dad can have. he attended my every flinch and need. if only it was always like that:) as i crawled into the hospital bed, i begged to be checked. the contractions were piggybacking each other and the breaks were less defined. the nurse checked me and said "in between a 3-4." what? i had been dilated to a 3 for a couple weeks already! by this time, the back labor was in full force and i had no rest. i looked to my husband, who was holding my hand and said," i need the epidural." i knew what he would say next: "you are doing great shalynn, you can do this." i replied, "no really, i've already done it naturally, i NEED the epidural." later he told me that he could see it in my eyes. he could tell the difference in the labor between this one and paisley's. after he gave me the okay (don't know why i felt like i needed it) i told the nurse that i needed an epidural stat. she tried to talk me into some other drug first. NO WAY. any of that makes me drunk and throw up. as i waited for the anesthesiologist, i did all i could do to survive. i had a rhythm with rubbing david's hand and staring at a light in the room. the contractions hit my back with as much force as my front and there were no breaks, just peaks.

the epidural came around 5:30. all i can say is pure elation. it didn't take long for it to kick in, and the relief was indescribable. i was giddy with relief. on cloud nine. hysterical. ecstatic! the nurse checked me as soon as the anesthesiologist left and i was a 7. david and i both thought that we would have time to rest after the epidural. not so. we started to shut our eyes and wait, but carter was coming soon.  i guess it was an hour and a half until she was born, but it felt like 20 minutes. somewhere in that time, my water broke. i wish i had been standing up or something so it would be more dramatic, because it really felt like a pop and gush!

pretty soon, the doctor was being called and nurses were prepping the room. all of the sudden, i didn't feel ready for what was about to happen. i begin to feel  lots of pressure. i let the pressure progress until the doctor came. when he was settled and told me to push, it only took one contraction. i pushed 4 times for 10 seconds each, back to back. that's it! carter kristine came out perfectly with no tearing on my part. she was suctioned and put on my chest. all i remember was laughing and giggling that she was in my arms. just laughing with pure joy and tears in my eyes.

6:56 am
9 lbs 2 oz
21 inches




besides the obvious joy of having my beautiful daughter here safe and sound, i was so proud of MY body. it's miraculous to me, the way pregnancy and delivery work. i grew a human being in MY body. i'm so grateful for the way God created my body to do this. there's nothing like giving birth, and i feel so fortunate that i've been able to do it three times...





...so far...

Sunday, October 17, 2010

silohette gift


my mom's birthday was back in august, but i just got this picture of the gift i made her.
it's not the best photo, but you get the picture.
these are all of her grandchildren's silohettes. there are already 2 more to add--
carter, and another baby coming in april...


Friday, October 15, 2010

around here

the guests are gone, 
my body is healing, 
and this little girl is already growing:


 we are all smitten




had to blur out my accidental cleavage:)



carter is in general a happy baby.
she's a great eater, and thankfully a pretty good night sleeper.
i feel so blessed once again to have things go relatively smooth.
handling three kiddos has gone well so far, 
but ask me again in a couple weeks, and we'll see.
i feel like it's too good to be true, to have this much health and love in my home...



i need to sit down and write up her birth story.
i'm still in awe of my body and the miracle of birth.
Heavenly Father created this process so geniously!


Friday, October 8, 2010

the little nugget is here


Carter Kristine Pruett
October 5 @ 6:56 am
9 pounds 2 ounces




*i naturally went into labor 6 hours before my scheduled induction. how ironic, right? we had a great delivery---only 5.5 hours and 4 minutes of pushing. she is beautiful and perfect and mine!
more details to come...

family of 4

monday night, we decided to head out for our last family night as a family of four.
an ice cream trip was in order for the fat pregnant lady anyways...



pigging out with my beautiful little family was never so glorious. i enjoyed every minute
of the night before we were to become a family of five.

Monday, October 4, 2010

40 wks 5 days



got this?
huge, right?

i am scheduled for an induction tomorrow morning.
although i'm relieved, i can't help but feel really uneasy as well.
my other two children came early and so naturally, that i just don't know what my body is doing?
i've had every sign of labor possible for the last 3 weeks, but no baby.
it makes me worried and i feel like there is something wrong with my body.
she is measuring so big and i don't think i can go any longer.
i have asked my doctor to break my water before we try pitocin.
hopefully that will kick start me enough to labor naturally, but i'm not holding my breath.
i'm trying to be prepared for anything tomorrow.
that means a 10 lb baby or a 6 lb baby?!

cross your fingers for me?

conference sunday

general conference was uplifting as usual.
what topped our sunday off, was a walk along the beach afterwards.
nana would live on the beach, if she could.
literally, she would live in a shack infested with mice, if it was by the ocean.