Why I love my scar

I was watching a show the other day when women were complaining about how having children ruined their bodies. Their skin now had stretch marks, their chests had changed, and their hips were wider among other things. One of them said to the other, "At least I don't have one of those ugly c-section scars."

True, it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing thing in the world, but who's to say it's so ugly? How come scars on men are considered rugged and handsome, but ugly on women?  I've seen a lot of athletes who are stoked to show their friends their bruises from practice, or people in the armed forces who are very proud of their war wounds...and they should be. Their scars show that they are strong and heroic and willing to risk their bodies for the good of others.

But don't mothers do that too? Women, (who are typically thought of as the weaker of the sexes), have the physically trying task of going through pregnancy and childbirth. They risk a lot to bring new life into the world. Yet, any sign on their bodies that they have been through this process is thought of as "ugly." Having a c-section when I did saved my little boy's life. Because of this I see my scar as being far from ugly. In fact, I kind of love it. It's a reminder of how blessed I am to have Levi.

I think we should stop worrying about how children can change our bodies for the worse, and focus on how children can change our lives for the better. Motherhood is beautiful...scars and all.

Old habits die hard

When I was 27 weeks pregnant I had a 3-D ultrasound to see our little guy. We couldn't wait to see his little face but as soon as the ultrasound technician found his head, Levi stuck his arm in his mouth and wouldn't move it. For 45 minutes she kept trying to get a picture of him, but there was his arm covering half of his face. He would not take his arm out of his mouth for anything, (he already hated having his picture taken just like his Dad). We were joking that he would probably be sucking on his arm after he was born. Turns out we were right. Almost 7 months old and we still catch him with his forearm in his mouth. 

 

Lets hope he grows out of this before college.

Update: we have a little peanut

Mr. Levi had his well baby check-up and he is a little peanut. At 6 1/2 months he weighs 14 pounds 4 ounces and he is 27 inches long. He's in the 55th percentile for height and he's not quite in the 2nd percentile for weight. He's tall and skinny...and wicked cute. Our little boo is rolling all over the place and grabbing everything in sight. He has four teeth and puts everything in his mouth. He's starting to sit up on his own and he's even started crawling!

                                                        Yeah, Levi is pretty much the man.

Did I mention that he's absolutely adorable?

Tha Big Two-Five

Yesterday was Bradley's birthday...tha big two five. When I asked him how he felt about it, he said "old."

I've heard people say that age is just a number and how you feel is what counts. Sooo I took the liberty of looking at the hubs to figure out the age he probably feels.

He wants an old man boat car.
He loves to play cribbage and dominoes.
He gets angry when the neighbors have loud music.
He would rather stay home than go out.
He loves Don Knotts movies.
He's usually in bed by 9:00 p.m.
He loves the gameshow network...especially baggage.

No wonder he feels old. But I shouldn't be one to talk considering...

My favorite movies were made before I was born.
I own at cribbage...and sometimes dominoes.
I would rather stay in with our little family than go out any day.
I use the phrase "kids these days."
I buy my glasses in the grandma section.
I've got the humidifier on and am in bed at 9:00 p.m. too.
I love the gameshow network...especially baggage.

These are just some of the reasons why we are such a good match. If we started going by the age we feel, Levi would spend his adolescence in a retirement home with Brad and I. We're geezers. I like it.


We're expecting our AARP cards in the mail any day now.

I know this picture has nothing to do with the post...but it's way cute.

That time I had a miracle baby...

So I've decided to try blogging. I've been a total blog stalker lately, so I thought I would give it a shot. I'm not technologically inclined so who knows how long it will last : )

Anywho, today our little guy is six months old, so I thought I would share his birth story. Sorry if its a little long...It was much longer before.

On November 3, 2010, Brad and I went to our routine doctor's appointment. They told us everything looked great. The nurse was actually talking about how normal and perfect our pregnancy was going. We were on track to have our little one in 3 or 4 weeks.

Later on in the day I started getting a funny pain on my right side. Considering all of the aches and pains I had during the last few months, it didn't seem like a big deal. I had never felt a single contraction so I figured it was one. After a while I started getting this feeling that I needed to go to the hospital. I ignored it for a while and then Brad and I decided that if I still felt funny in the morning, I would go in...that was until a voice as clear as day told me to go now. We decided to call the hospital. I spoke with a nurse who didn't seem too concerned. She told me to relax and take a bath when suddenly she said, "Actually you should come in now. I'm not sure why, but I think you should come in right away."

We arrived at the hospital a little after 9:30 p.m. and they got me all hooked up to the monitors and started on my vitals. The nurse turned white when she told me my blood pressure was 195/110 and rising. She called my Doctor and he came in immediately. When he came into the room he told us that I had severe Pre-eclampsia and the only cure was to deliver the baby. They were going to do an emergency c-section in just a few minutes. Brad and I were shocked to say the least. They kept telling me to relax, but then I heard nurses say things like liver damage, kidney failure, seizure, stroke, cardiac arrest and death. After a minute of relaxing I realized they were talking about what could happen to me.

After about 10 nurses came in the room to start me on seizure medication, draw blood, and do a mess load of other things to prep me for surgery, I was wheeled into the operating room. After the spinal block I was so numb that I couldn't even feel my face, but Brad held my hand anyway. He wasn't down with the idea of watching the c-section. After a few minutes of poking around my uterus, they pulled out a beautiful 5 pound, 5 ounce baby boy at 11:06 p.m. He was so tiny, but beyond perfect. Levi was brought into the NICU where Brad went and held our son for the first time.

Over the next few days Levi stayed in the NICU where I fed him and held him as often as they would let me. They practically had to pry my son out of my arms to get me back into bed. After a few days my Pre-eclampsia got worse, which is pretty rare seeing that I wasn't pregnant anymore. About 5 percent of pregnant women get Pre-eclampsia and about 2 percent of those women get it as bad as I had it. (I should start buying lottery tickets.) I was put back on bed rest and given a whole bunch of drugs to prevent seizures, strokes and all of that fun stuff. This was the only time that I cried during this ordeal. I was so devastated that I wouldn't be able to go see my son for a couple of days. Luckily I had Brad to comfort me and bring me news and pictures of our little guy. Every day the Doctor would say I would probably be able to go home the next day. The next day would come and I would have a new problem. Whether it was a fever or a problem with my blood work, there was always something going on. After 8 days Levi and I were both released from the hospital. I'm pretty sure my body wouldn't let me go home without him.

Before we left a nurse came in our room. She told me that she was the nurse that I spoke with on the phone who had told me to come in. She told me that the Holy Ghost told her that I needed to come in and be examined, (only in Rexburg : )). Because of the Pre-eclampsia Levi's cord was almost completely clotted and my blood pressure was causing other pregnancy complications. We were told that neither of us would have survived the night. I couldn't be more grateful. The Spirit that told me to go to the hospital, the sweet husband who comforted me, the perfect son that we were blessed with, the medical staff who didn't take any chances, and the family and friends who prayed for us, all contributed to the miracle of our sweet little boy.

 

We couldn't be more blessed.