Pearls For Latter-day Saint Women

My friend, Alicia, is a contributor for a new blog called "Pearls for Latter-day Saint Women." She asked me a few weeks ago if she could do a little interview with me for it. If you're interested in reading it, you can click here. --Lindsay

More Inappropriate Aiden Stories

Those of you who have read my blog for any extended period of time know that Aiden is constantly giving us a good laugh. Most the time, it has something to do with body parts or bodily functions. Well, he's done it again! Here's some funny Aiden stories that have occurred lately.

Story #1: Surprisingly, this one doesn't have anything to do with body parts, but is funny nonetheless. Last Sunday, my parents volunteered to take the boys to their ward for the day. It was Stake Conference in our ward & the boys weren't really looking forward to a "two-hour-long Sacrament Meeting" (as they called it), so they jumped at the chance. Last Sunday, Poppy picked the boys up in the morning & took them to their church. Well, as it turned out, the Young Men & their leaders were in charge of Primary for the day so that all the women could go to a special Visiting Teaching lesson that was being given in Relief Society. The Young Mens' president was conducting Sharing Time & asked if there were any visitors. Aiden proudly raised his hand and started walking up to the front. The guy asked him what his name was & Aiden told him. The guy misunderstood & thought that Aiden had said his name was A.J. So, the guy said to the Primary, "Okay, everyone. This is A.J." At that point, Aiden stopped him & said in a very firm & semi-annoyed voice, "No! Not A.J. My name is Aiden! A-I-D-E-N!" Yes, he spelled his name so the guy was sure to get it right. Oy vey! What a kiddo!

***Note to readers. The following two stories include words about body parts. I have decided to spell out some of the inappropriate words with hyphens in between the letters. My reason for doing this is so that the sickos who google these kind of words will not be lead to my blog. Just an FYI.

Story #2: When I was in the hospital right after I had Vivvie, my parents took the boys to all sorts of fun places. One night, they took the boys to McDonalds for dinner. While they were eating, Poppy decided to play a game with the boys. He would give them a letter and they would tell him a word that started with that letter. He was picking letters that people's names started with. For example, he would say, "What starts with C?" Then the boys would respond with "Connor & Cohen." Well, one time, Poppy asked, "What starts with P?" He was expecting to hear the boys respond with "Poppy!" But, instead, Aiden blurted out (at the top of his lungs), "P - E - N - I - S!" Yes, pretty much everyone in the restaurant heard him.

Story #3: I have been nursing Vivvie, which has brought up several interesting conversations with the boys about breastfeeding. One time, Aiden came into my room where I was nursing her & asked what Viv was doing. I told him that she was drinking her milk. He replied with, "She gets milk from your BRA?!?" I told him no, that she wasn't getting milk from my bra. She was getting it from my B - O - O- B, because Mommies B - O - O - B - S make milk for their new babies. I then went on to say that the polite word to use to describe this was "nursing." He said okay & went on his merry way. Well, a few days later, he came into my room again while I was nursing Viv to ask me a question. While we were talking, Vivvie decided it would be the perfect time to be done eating & unlatch. I tried to quickly cover myself up, but it was too late. Aiden saw everything. Then he exclaimed, "Mom!!! I just saw your NURSING!!!" Apparently, he misunderstood our previous conversation & he now thinks that the polite word for B - O - O - B - S is "nursing." Oh dear! After I stopped laughing (about 2 minutes later), we had another conversation to sort out the misconceptions from our previous conversation.

So there you go. More fun Aiden stories! We love you Aidenator! Thanks for always giving us a good laugh! You are the best! --Mom

Vivvie's Two-Week Stats

On Monday, we took Viv into the pediatrician's office for her two week checkup. How is she two-weeks-old already? Actually, I guess she's about 2 1/2-weeks-old now since it's already Thursday. Time is FLYING by! Anyway, Miss Vivienne is growing like a champ. Here's her stats:

Length: 19 1/2 inches

Weight: 6 lbs. 9 oz.

Head Circumference: 24.3 cm

Now, you're probably asking the same question I asked. Did she really grown more than 2 inches in 2 weeks? No...not likely. The nurse at the doctor's office said that she may have been measured incorrectly in the hospital. She said that happens a lot because babies don't like to be stretched out right after they are born, so many babies are measured smaller than they really are. Hum, you learn something new everyday.


She's starting to stay awake a little longer each day, but is still really only awake for maybe three to four hours a day. When she is awake, she focuses in on whatever face is closest to her & will just study it intently for several minutes. Every once in awhile, she will give us one of those funny "newborn smiles" and we can see two dimples, one big & one small (just like my sister Ashlee). Mike & I think it's funny that neither of us have dimples, but three of our four kids have them (Cohen is the only one that doesn't). We still can't tell what color her eyes are. For awhile, we were sure they were brown, but they are looking more blue everyday. Guess we'll have to wait & see on that one. We are loving everything about her! --Lindsay

Worth the Wait

I have waited a LONG time to have a baby that I can dress in pink & accessorize with bows & flowers. As you can see, I'm celebrating by forcing my child to wear "head pieces" (as Mike calls them) that are larger than her head...

That picture was taken right before we left the hospital to bring Miss Vivienne home with us. Here's Viv's first car ride. She slept through the whole thing...

And, she's done a lot of sleeping since then too...

She got to meet Great-Grandpa Judkins (Mike's maternal grandpa) who is 91-years-old. Notice that she slept through the visit...

Every once in awhile, she decides to wake up & show off her eyeballs...

And, yes, her flower is once again bigger than her head...

Look at these super cute legwarmers!!! My friend & old BYU roommate, Kristy, made them for her. Are they not the cutest things you ever seen? I love how they turn a plain ol' onesie into a cute outfit...

This flower isn't quite as big as her head, but close...

Every once in awhile, I do put a small flower on her head. Here's one that my friend Emily made for her. She whipped out three of these cute crocheted flower clips while she was at her daughter's gymnastics class. Someday I'll be able to do something awesome like that--or not...

Okay, enough with the bows & flowers for a minute. Here's a rundown of how our first (almost) two weeks with Vivvie has been:

Epidural Aftermath: Remember how I told you that the epidural didn't go quite as planned? Well, I ended up having a blood patch done before I left the hospital. A blood patch is where they give you another epidural & then they take blood from your arm & put it into your spine. This basically creates a scab on the hole where I was leaking spinal fluid. I think it helped with the spinal headache a little, but it didn't take it away completely. Up until last Sunday, anytime I would change positions, I would get a pounding headache for about 30 seconds. The rest of the time, it was just kind of a dull, annoying headache. In addition to the headache, my back was all swollen & stiff from the first botched epidural & the subsequent blood patch. The only way I felt normal was to lay on a heating pad. Good times! Luckily, the headache has been gone for about a week now & my back has felt a little better each day. Hopefully, that means I won't have any lasting effects from the little mishap.

Germs, Germs, Everywhere Germs: We have been so healthy this winter. We all got a minor cold right after Thanksgiving, & Cohen got the stomach flu at the beginning of February. But, other than that, we have been healthy as could be...until Viv was born. The day before Vivienne was born, Mike came down with a cold. About 8 hours after Vivvie was born, I came down with the same cold. A few days after that, Cohen came down with the cold. And, just a few days ago, Cohen came down with some other cold & an ear infection. Fun times!!! We've been trying our hardest to keep our cold bugs away from the babes, but haven't been too successful. Viv's nose has been a little stuffy for the past week. Luckily though, it hasn't been too bad. We have just been squirting saline up her nose & then sucking all the crud out. She hasn't ever run a fever which I'm grateful for. Her pediatrician said it was probably a really good thing that I got the cold right after she was born because she was probably exposed to it while I was still pregnant with her & then she's been getting antibodies from me through nursing. That's probably why she's been able to handle it so well. At least something good comes from nursing. :)

Cabin Fever: I have only left my house three times in the past two weeks. Once on Wednesday night to go to a Relief Society activity. Since the church is right behind my house, I don't know if this actually counts as "getting out." Then, yesterday, I went to Tai Pan & World Market with my mom & sister for a few hours. It was so therapeutic. And, then after that, I went to the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF! It was heavenly! Yes, I know you're totally jealous of my wild & crazy life right now!

Life With Brothers: Surprisingly, "the bros" have been treating Vivvie so sweetly! Even Cohen has been super gentle with her! Cohen will come up to her & just pat her tummy or hold her hand for a minute. I thought he would be poking her in the eye & wrestling with her by now...I'm sure all of that will come at some point.

Sleep Deprivation: Vivvie has actually proven to be a pretty good sleeper at night. I didn't think she would be because she used to kick me all night long when I was pregnant with her. But, so far, she's only been waking up once or twice a night...usually at about 2 or 3 and then again at 6 or 7. I guess, technically, the latter feeding is more of an early-morning feeding...so really, she's only been getting up once a night. And, she even goes right back to sleep after she's done eating. Despite her being such a good sleeper, I am still feeling seriously sleep-deprived already. It's amazing how much sleep my body needs. I probably need at least 8 to 9 hours a night to wake up feeling really good. So, as you can imagine, 3 or 4 hours here and then another 2 or 3 hours there just isn't cutting it for me. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? I just keep reminding myself that this is the last time I'm going to have a newborn & I should try to enjoy every minute of it...even the minutes at 3 am.

So, that's a rundown of the past few weeks. We are just loving Little Miss Viv! She is such a good, sweet baby! And, she's super fun to dress & accessorize! Don't you love how I talk about my daughter as if she's a baby doll? Haha! Sorry, I've just waited a long time for all of this...

She was definitely worth the wait! --Lindsay

She's Here!!!

Vivienne Anne Storrs

Born: Monday, February 21, 2011 (President's Day)

Time: 4:38 am

Weight: 6 lbs. 0 oz.

Length: 17 1/4 inches

She's here! She's here! She's here! Little Vivvie was born yesterday & she is perfect in everyway possible...

She has 10 fingers and 10 toes...

She has a lot of strawberry blonde hair--well, way more hair than any of our boys had--and two dimples (a big one on her left cheek and a small one on her right)...


She is such a sweet, good-natured little baby...


And, I am in love...


Shhh...don't tell anyone how horrible I look in this picture. I had been up for over 24 hours at this point and just gone through the most horrible 90 minutes of my life (more on that in a minute.) Luckily, she was worth it...

Connor loves her to pieces. Aiden was way more interested in playing the iPad than meeting his new little sister. And, Cohen wasn't quite sure what to think at first...

What a good big brother...

She had lots of visitors to meet. Nana & Poppy, Grandma & Grandpa, and Tata came to meet the newest member of the family...

We all took turns loving and cuddling her...

She's such a doll...

I think I'm still in shock that she really IS a girl...

I'm having fun putting bows and pink beenies on her...

And she has Daddy wrapped right around her little finger...

We love you Vivienne! Welcome to our wild & crazy family!!

VIVIENNE'S BIRTH STORY

Sunday was my last day of work before maternity leave. It was a good, normal day. I had several contractions, but nothing out of the ordinary, considering I usually have 10-15 Braxton-Hicks contractions a day during the last trimester of each pregnancy. All my co-workers sent me off on maternity leave with a bang, including showing a timelapse of my expanding waistline on the news. I posted this timelapse on my Facebook page, if you want to see it.

As I was driving home that night, I had a really strong contraction. It was hard to concentrate on driving because it hurt so bad. I wondered if it was the start of labor, but when I didn't have any others after it, I figured it was a fluke thing and went on with life.

When I got home, I was still wired from work. I played on Facebook for awhile & ate a piece of birthday cake that my sister had sent home with Mike from Dan's birthday party earlier that evening. I finally went to bed around 1:00 in the morning even though I still wasn't feeling tired.

As I laid in bed & tried to go to sleep, I started to have some minor contractions. They just felt like my normal Braxton-Hicks contractions...nothing like the contraction I had had on my way home from work.

I fell asleep for a few minutes around 1:30 or 1:45. Then, at about 2:00 or a few minutes afterwards, I was awakened by extremely strong contractions, like the one I had on the way home from work. I was overwhelmed by the pain. I woke Mike up & we started timing them--about 4 to 5 minutes apart. At 2:30, we made the decision that I was really in labor & we called my parents to ask them to meet us at the hospital to take the boys from us. I got up and started getting dressed. As soon as I stood up, the contractions became even more intense & started coming every 2 to 3 minutes.

The contractions slowed down a little bit as we drove in the car...back to about 4 to 5 minutes apart, but they continued to grow in intensity.

We got to the hospital at 3:00 am. As I walked through the halls toward the maternity ward, the contractions started to come closer together again. In fact, by this point, I was only getting about a 30 second break inbetween contractions. One of the nurses got me a wheelchair and pushed me quickly to a delivery room.

Once in the room & dressed in a hospital gown, the nurse checked me and said I was dialated to a 5 or possibly a 6. I told her the contractions had only started about 30-45 minutes ago & she said she would get the anesthesiologist in there as soon as possible, since the labor was progressing so quickly. I was told he would be there within 20 minutes.

Well, that 20 minutes actually ended up being closer to 60 minutes and it was the worst hour of my life! Of that 60 minutes, I would bet I was having contractions for 55 minutes of the time. One would end just another was beginning. They were extremly painful. I had never felt contractions that strong before. It was pure hell...that's the only way to describe it.

The anesthesiologist finally showed up at about 4:00 am and started doing his thing. My nurse told me that the current contraction I was feeling would probably be my last I would feel. But, I continued to feel contractions. I also started to get a massive headache. Everything became a blur. The anesthesiologist was talking to me, telling me that something had gone wrong, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I could focus on was the pain from the contractions and headache. (It turned out that he had accidently gone too far into my spinal column and had punctured the dura and spinal fluid was leaking out of my back. When that happens, a spinal headache develops and usually lasts for several days.) The anesthesiologist pulled the epidural out of my back and said he needed to do it again.

I was still consumed by the pain & didn't understand what was going on. I just kept telling the nurse that I could still feel the contractions just as strong. She asked the anethesiologist to wait before performing another epidural. She was concerned that the reason I was still feeling pain was because the I was complete & ready to push. She checked me and, sure enough, I was dialated to a 10, 100% effaced, the baby's head was right there, & the bag of water was about to burst. The doctor was called.

Because I was so close to delivery, the anesthesiologist said he couldn't perform another epidural. I was told that if I laid down, my head may feel better. When I laid down, Vivvie's heart rate dropped. An oxygen mask was thrown on my face. Her heart rate improved after that.

As we waited for the doctor for a few minutes, the contractions started to feel a little less intense & I noticed my legs were slightly numb. The anesthesiologist said that he had given me a dose of epidural fluid before realizing he had gone too far into my spinal column, so that may have been why I was getting a little relief. I could still feel the contractions, but they weren't nearly as intense. Mike rubbed my neck and my forehead to help with the headache. It started to feel better. The anethesiologist explained again to me what had happened, now that I was more aware of what was going on around me, instead of so focused on the pain. He told me that I would most likely need a blood patch given to me to heal the puncture wound to my spinal column. I would most likely have my headache until then & it could become severe at times. Oh joy!

Dr. Broberg showed up a few minutes later. I was still in a lot of pain, both from the less-intense contractions & the spinal headache. He came in and said, "Okay Lindsay, let's get this baby out of you & end this pain you're in. Alright?" He got suited up & told me to push. Two pushes later, Vivienne was out. She was "sunny side up" meaning she was born face up. This doesn't happen much & it usually takes a lot more pushing to get a baby out when they are this direction, rather than face down. I felt greatful that it only took a couple pushes for me. I ended up tearing a little in the process, but nothing too horrible. The one dose of epidural fluid ended up helping a lot. I felt pressure, but not a whole lot of pain (besides the raging headache). She was born only 90 minutes after getting to the hospital, and only six hours after I ended my last newscast.

After she was born, I was told to lay down to releave the headache a little. She was taken to the other side of the room so she could be monitored. After a few minutes, the nurse said that she was having a bit of a hard time maintaining her body temperature because she was "SGA", small for gestational age. Babies that are SGA have a hard time maintaining body temperature & blood sugar levels. They kept her under the warmer for almost an hour before I was finally able to hold her for the first time.

I was moved to a postpardum room, and Vivvie was able to come with us. But, a few hours later, she was once again having a hard time maintaining her body temperature & she was having a little bit of a hard time breathing. She was taken to the nursery so that tests could be run on her & she could be given oxygen. They ended up putting an IV in her head so that they could give her fluids. I wasn't able to see her for several hours during this time. Finally, I was able to go into the nursery & see her. Shortly after that, her test results came back normal & she was able to improve enough to come back to my room for awhile.

Later that afternoon, my parents brought the boys to meet and see their new little sister. My dad and Mike gave both her and I a blessing. Connor held his little sister as she was given a blessing. Cohen, not wanting to be left out, did the cutest thing. He walked over to Vivienne during the blessing & put his hand on her chest. It was so cute!

Since that time, Vivienne has been able to maintain her temperature & blood sugar and she has been breathing very well. I haven't really had many complications from the botched epidural, except minor headaches from time to time and I haven't required the blood patch as of yet. We feel very blessed to both be doing so well.

So, that's Viv's story of how she came into this world. It definately wasn't an easy one, but it was sooooooo worth it! She really knows how to make an entrance! --Lindsay

Showered With Love

Yes, I realize it's been almost two weeks since I last posted on this blog. Heck, it's been almost two weeks since I've even looked at or thought about this blog. Things have just been busy, busy, busy around here trying to get ready for Lil' Miss Viv to arrive. Speaking of Vivvie, she has been given an official eviction notice. If she does not willingly remove herself from the premises before February 22nd (next Tuesday), we will be forcing her out! Wahoo!!!

When I went to the doctor last week, she had turned again. This time, she was diagonal. Her head was mainly down, but was off to one side & then her body came across my belly at a 45 degree angle. The doctor decided that, since she's decided to be such a little gymnast, it would be best to set an induction date. On that date, he will attempt to turn her head down & then induce her before she has a chance to flip again. If he can't flip her, then I will "get" to experience a C-section. Good times!

In other interesting, but totally pointless, news...it's looking like this pregnancy is going to be the longest one I've had yet. In fact, if I'm still pregnant at 8:32 am tomorrow morning (Thursday), then it will officially be my longest pregnancy. Let me explain...all my kids have come at least 10 days early--Connor was 11 days early, Aiden was 10 days early & Cohen was 29 days early. So, up until now, Aiden has held the record for longest pregnancy. He was born at 8:32 am. Tomorrow, I will be 10 days out from my due date. Therefore, if I'm still pregnant at 8:32 tomorrow morning, Vivvie will become the new champ for longest pregnancy ever. That's not necessarily a good record to hold in my book, but whatever. I'm thinking that she just understands the concept of "fashionably late" a little better than her brothers. :)

Okay, that was a huge tangent. Sorry! This post is supposed to be about my wonderful friends & family that have "showered" Princess Vivienne with gifts galore the past few weeks. Over the course of about a week and a half, THREE showers were thrown in her honor! One was thrown by neighbors, another by co-workers & another by my sisters.

Shower #1:

Shower #1 was thrown by one of my neighbors, Lori Carpenter...with a lot of help from my visiting teacher, Jamie Andersen, & some other good friends...



Everyone who came spoiled me & Viv rotten! I was overwhelmed by everything that was given to me! Here's a look at all the lovely pink loot I took home with me that night...


I love my neighborhood! I can not tell you how blessed I feel that we were able to move into such a great place! I have heard horror stories from other friends that have moved into a new neighborhood & hated everything about it. When we moved here, I worried that the same may happen to us. Fortunately, the exact opposite has happened! Everyone has really opened their arms to us & made us feel so welcome! I feel like I've known some of these people forever, even though I've only lived here for about nine months. I just love everything about my neighbors & neighborhood!!!

Shower #2:

Shower #2 was thrown by a couple of my producers, Kate Valentine & Keira Farrimond. These gals put a lot of work into this shower & it ended up being so nice! They did a princess theme & decorated everything so cute! The food was delicious too! By the way, Shauna Lake makes some awesome Red Velvet Cake Balls. I need her recipe because they were to die for! Heaven on earth! Here's a picture of almost everyone who came...



Vivvie was once again spoiled with all things pink & girlie...


After all the presents were opened, we all just sat around & talked and ate. Here's my mom, me & Debbie hanging out & chatting...

I love my co-workers & it's so fun to be able to hang out with them outside of work!

Shower #3:

Shower #3 was thrown by my sisters, with lots of help from my mom too! Here's all the gals, including Ella, right before the shower started...

This was such a fun shower! I invited a mix of people...some close family, some close friends from my old neighborhood & even some of my old roommates from BYU! It was so fun to be able to see all these girls that I love so much, but don't get to see on a regular basis!

The gift-giving madness started out with my mom giving me this stinkin' cute quilt for Vivienne's room! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen in your entire life?

The picture makes it look like it's red, pink & green...but it's actually bright pink, light pink & green. The colors match her room exactly! It is going to be hung from a shelf on one of her walls...whenever Mike & I get a free minute to eventually get it hung up (hopefully before Tuesday when she arrives).

Then, we moved on to all the other cute presents! I tell you, V is going to be one heck of a well-dressed girl! I couldn't believe all the cute little outfits/shoes/headbands/etc. she was given! These girls seriously took care of her! Here's a picture of almost everyone who came...

And all the girlie loot too...

So, as you can see, this little gal is spoiled...and she's not even here yet!!! I swear she has more clothes than me, Mike & all her brothers combined! I have had so much fun the past few weeks hanging everything up in her closet & putting things away in her drawers! Mike walked into her closet the other night and said, "I think it is seriously glowing pink in here!" And, you know what, it kind of does! I love it!! It's so fun to see so many PINK things in my house! Now, I'm just hoping and praying that she really is a SHE and not a HE. Wouldn't that be a horrid twist of fate? I think I would just die...literally, just die...right there on the delivery room table! :)

A HUGE thank you to all my friends & family that have "showered" me with love over the past few weeks! I love each of you so much! I'm so grateful to have so many great friends that are just as excited as me for this little girl to arrive! Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and everyone of you!!! --Lindsay

p.s. I'm still in the process of writing thank you notes, so if you haven't received yours yet, look for it in the next few days (hopefully)! :)

Vivienne For President

Apparently, I am giving birth to a politician...because she's a flip-flopper! She decided to turn herself around sometime over the past few days! YAY!!!

We showed up at the hospital at 6:30 this morning so I could be prepped for the ECV--External Cephalic Version (sounds pleasant, eh?). I was scared to death because I didn't know what to expect. I have heard so many different stories over the past week...some good experiences & some not-so-good experiences (more like downright miserable experiences). I had absolutely NO CLUE what to expect! That made me nervous.

They got me all hooked up to the monitors, stuck the IV in, and handed Mike a stack of papers to sign. Then it was time to sit around and wait...and wait...and wait. The doctor was late...really late...as in two hours late. The longer I waited, the more nervous I got. Where was that darn doctor?!? I was starting to get a little peeved.

He finally showed up & told us how he had just delivered twins that were 10 weeks premature...one the normal way, one by C-section. I suddenly wasn't so peeved anymore...just grateful that I was only there to have a little ECV done.

The nurse checked to make sure the Operating Room was available, just in case something went wrong, and then we were ready. They slapped the ultrasound on my belly so the doctor could see what he was doing & that's when he said, "She's already done all the work for me! Her head is down!"

Yay! If I wasn't hooked up to an IV, I would have jumped for joy! I was such a happy mama! That was a serious answer to prayers!!!

So now, we just sit back and hope she stays that way. It's quite possible that she could flip back and forth several times over the next few weeks. I'm just hoping and praying that when she stops doing somersaults, she ends in the head-down direction! Darn little flip-flopper! Sounds like she'd make a perfect candidate for president! Vivienne Storrs in 2048! Who's with me? --Lindsay