We belong in the Zoo

One week ago we were at the zoo with our own little monkeys, and Amy and Dallin. Since it was Memorial weekend it was crowded, but there is lots of space at the zoo so we didn't mind too much.

"Hmm... he looks like my brother!"

"Rroar!"

"Hello Mr. Alligator!"

"Look at those tigers fight!"

"Skip, skip, skip to my Lou!"

Following the elephant foot prints!

Last family picture with just four.

"Hey! You with the stripes!... Mr. Zebra!"

This is what Myra does when I tell her "Say Cheese"

Myra was afraid of the flamingo's, and being the protective sister she is, she tried pulling Bridger away.

He didn't seem to care, so she did what she could to protect herself ;).

 It was a fun day at the zoo! The weather was so pleasant, it was perfect! We parked at the top of a hill, and I really think carrying Myra up to the top, with her sitting atop my belly, aided in my cause of getting baby Sawyer moving his way on down. I was so glad we could get this fun visit in before baby time!

First Days of Life

5/26/2014
Day 2...

First morning with his eyes open!

Today was a big day! At the hospital we get constant attention.

Sawyer: got lots of testing, blood work, and his circumcision done.

Me: I relaxed through a complimentary massage(!!), finished my book, fought boredom, walked up and down the short hallways for 10 minutes, I would have kept walking but Devin saved me from my boredom and we played Phase 10.

Family: Movie Party! Devin and the kids came in with a big bowl full of popped popcorn. The kids unwrapped a new movie "The Jungle Book", and we had some fun family togetherness.

One of the nurses came in to check Sawyer during our party. It seems like they often come right when its time to feed. Sawyer was unhappy through his check up, and Myra, afraid Sawyer was being hurt, started crying too.

Bridger and Myra love to hold, to touch, and cuddle with baby Sawyer. They are so happy to have a new baby brother. It was so fun to have them all come to the hospital to see us, but the calm after they left was also nice. I think I got a sense of what I'll be in for when I get home. I decided I better enjoy my alone time now just baby Sawyer and me.

Last night I was up hourly with Sawyer from 12:00- 4:00AM, and then the nurses woke us up at 6:00AM. I am going to try him out on his binkie, and hope for sleep tonight!

5/27/2014
Day 3...

Leaving the hospital!

I am so ready to go home! I can't wait to be able to go outside!

Sawyer looks so tiny in his car seat! He is so tiny that it almost doesn't adjust small enough, and I wonder if the clasp will choke him. Bridger and Myra are so excited to help Dad carry the car seat to the car! We get to take our baby home!

Saying "Home!"

"Yes! We're getting out of here!"

We have to make room for the baby at home. Not sure yet where he will sleep. He's starting off on the changing pad on the floor of our bedroom. In the hospital I noticed he slept best through the night when he was sleeping with me. Hopefully we can get him on a good sleep schedule soon.

My sitting bones are so tired from just sitting on my hospital bed for two days!  I don't feel sore other places.  I'm so eager to get out for a walk!

So nice to have Amy and Dallin with us! I came home to dinner already cooking in the crock pot.

So much love!

This is where Sawyer was first parked, until I could locate my baby things.

Blocking everything out so he can sleep!

I can't hear you! 

Nope, I can't see anything either!

What's in the Name?

Devin and I wrestled against names for quite a while. I'm not sure what it is about boy names that make them so hard.

All through this pregnancy Devin has wanted to name him Boone.
I have really liked the name Graham.

Devin thought we should stick with the trapper theme for our boys: Jim Bridger and Daniel Boone. I think Boone is fine for a nickname, or to cheer on from the stands of a football stadium, but what about when he wants to get a job? Something a little more distinguished I thought. Like Graham. It is the perfect gentleman name.

Devin and I stuck with our differing opinions the whole time, and I thought he might end up Graham Boone. I didn't necessarily want my name to win, I wanted us to decide on a name together, but nothing else I could think of did I like as well.

Devin came home last week and suggested Sawyer. It was a name we could both agree on. I love it now. I think it is very fitting for our family and for him.

Coming up with a middle name seemed equally as hard as the first name. Looking to family names, I came up with a list of possibilities. I kept bouncing back and forth between several. Devin gave the weight of the decision to me. I wrote one down, then just before I gave them the birth certificate form, I crossed that name out and put Grant.

Sawyer Grant Poulton.

Finally, a name we both agree on and I love it! It's perfect.

Grant is a name that comes down through my mom's family line. Several of these ancestors have written down their history, leaving us with their faithful examples.

David Grant is three greats to me through my mom's line. He was born in Scotland and immigrated to America. He was living in Illinois when he heard the message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was then baptized. He  entered the Salt Lake valley with President Young's company where he heard President Brigham Young say "This is the place. This is the valley... There is the lake..." He endured hardships, his first wife died in Winter Quarters when the saints were driven from their homes. He remarried twice more, his second wife also passing early.  He was called on a mission to England where he served four years. Assisting a handcart company, he crossed the plains again to Salt Lake City. His daughter Eliza Grant recounts the many women she met that told her of the many times he carried them across streams. It was such a hard journey he was never able to straighten his back after. Living south of Salt Lake he worked as a farmer in the summers and as a tailor during the winter months.

My little Sawyer Grant Poulton, I hope you will grow to become as good as the men who have come before you. There are so many great examples given for you to follow, beginning with your grandparents and down through our ancestry line. I hope you grow up loving hard work as your dad does, and as firm and true in the gospel as David Grant and many others.

We love you.

Pineapple, Cycling, and Baby!

We welcomed little Sawyer into our family this morning! 
First, here are some pictures, because they are the most exciting part of all. (Details at the bottom are primarily to help me remember this day...)

A quick run-down of events:
Saturday: Baby-get-the-move-on-out tricks... Cycling class and Pineapple!

Sunday: Happy Birthday Sawyer!
5 AM- I woke up, slightly crampy... "This could be the day!"
           Ate some pineapple, showered, started oatmeal, dressed
5:45 AM- Timing contractions at two minutes apart. Woke up Devin.
6:15 AM- On our way to the hospital
6:30ish- Dilated to a 6... contractions starting to become painful
7:27 AM- After three hard contractions and three big pushes, Sawyer was born!

He has hair!

6 lbs 6.5 oz, 17.5 in

First Bath:

 Visitors:

Proudly wearing the "big brother" sticker

 Our kids are crazy.

5/25/14

I really wanted to have this baby today.

Yesterday I was going to do all I could to make that happen.

Saturday started with cycling class at Lifetime, a really good workout. We went to the zoo, and walked all over. And I tried some tricks to get the baby on his way… like eating pineapple. That was a new one to me, an instructor friend from the gym told me it works.

I was really hoping for a Sunday baby, I knew it would be so much more convenient to have Devin home because I know my babies come fast! I also tested positive this time for Group B Strep (GBS), which is a normal bacteria but can be harmful to baby meaning that I was supposed to get an antibiotic through an IV four hours before I delivered. I doubted I’d have that much time even if I did leave right away, but it would be helpful if Devin was already home. I had other reasons for wanting to deliver this weekend too… I just wanted the baby out, Devin can get more time off now than in a week, and I was told they give an extra lunch for Memorial Day in the hospital! So hopeful was I that this baby would come!

I had been waiting for some signs that meant he’d be coming soon. 1)- Nesting. I don’t know if it is a normal pattern with most pregnant women or not, but my nesting seems a bit bizarre. Early Friday morning my nesting stage hit!  Thursday night I just didn’t feel very tired, and at 1:30AM I was awake and ready to get cleaning! So I emptied my dishwasher, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned the kitchen, started a few loads of laundry, read a little, went for a walk at 5AM, made some muffins, and made bread. I made it through the day with the help of a 40 minute lie down, can’t call it a true nap because it was interrupted with Bridger talking to me every so often. But I felt great! I thought if I could always feel as good as I did when I was nesting (minus the extra early mornings), being pregnant wouldn’t be bad at all!

Friday night I slept great, so Saturday I started my preparations to make way for the baby! But the second sign I was waiting for 2)- baby dropping, hadn’t happened yet. So though I was very hopeful he would come, I still wondered if he would wait the week until they induced me.

(Sub note: after testing positive for GBS, and knowing how quick my labors are, my midwife suggested we schedule an induction so my labor could take place in a controlled setting. But hospital rules are that you can’t be induced until 39 weeks.)

I think walking around the zoo and carrying Myra (she was sitting on top of my belly) helped the baby move down. I did my baby-get-a-move-on-tricks, and I let the baby and Heavenly Father know what my plans were before going to bed that night.

Sunday morning:

I woke up just after 5:00, feeling slightly crampy, wondering if it might be the start of my labor. So I went downstairs, and ate some more pineapple! Then I showered and got ready. I started timing contractions at 5:45AM, they were really mild but they were coming two minutes apart. To keep my mind off each contraction I hummed the chorus to Imagine Dragon's "Demons" song... I will probably always think of this baby when I hear that song now.  Started some oatmeal cooking and woke Devin, “Wake up and get ready! … I need you to take me to the hospital!” Grabbed my bags and my oatmeal and we were out the door by 6:20.

When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a six, and my contractions were getting more intense. However, I had committed to breathing through them this time instead of screaming (Devin’s hearing may never be the same again after enduring through Myra’s labor). When our delivery room was finally ready for us, I was feeling the urge to push. Leaving no time for an antibiotic, I breathed (with my fists clenched tight) through some super uncomfortable contractions, and finally pushed out this baby (three hard pushes on three hard contractions… some controlled screaming involved). Lucky for Devin, it was quick!

Holding my new little baby seemed so unreal. This whole time, there really was a baby in there! He came out cheesy (vermix coated) and beautiful. His little features are so perfect. And such an obedient child already! He came right on cue.

Sawyer (still coming up with a middle name) Poulton

6 pounds 6.5 ounces

17.5 inches long

5-25-14 at 7:27AM

I am feeling great. Not too sore yet. Happy as can be!

Sawyer has the baby thing down! Sleeps great, eats great!

Since we didn’t have time to get an antibiotic in me through an IV before I had him, they did some extra blood testing on Sawyer afterward. Everything that has come back so far looks good! However, because I was GBS positive, I have to stay at the hospital the full two days. So far I am actually fine with that… I like having my food delivered to me. But my kiddos can’t understand why we couldn’t come home with them… first I skipped out on church and then I told them I was sleeping at the hospital tonight. Myra was especially upset.

Both Bridger and Myra are so sweet with their new little brother. They love him to pieces and want to hold him all the time. We have to keep shushing them, they can hardly hold in their excitement! Bridger really wishes we would have named him Boone. And they really want to bring him home with us! We took Sawyer for a walk (Bridger and Myra pushing his roller crib) down the hallways. Myra was not happy when we came back to our room. She thought we were all going home!

So… the pineapple trick worked! Devin and I have three kids. Bridger astutely figured “you only had two… but now you have three!” We are now a family of five!