1 Month!

Little behind posting this too... but Peyton was 1 month old!

At 1 month she: 

-- smiles unpredictably

-- likes her pacifier some days 

-- sleeps up to four hours a night 

-- does not like being swaddled

-- loves being outside and swung around

-- stares at the window outside, and at the bottom of our big picture frame in the living room

-- has the cutest sneezes and hiccups

-- has a lot of hair

-- still has baby acne :(

We celebrated by going to church as a family for the first time!

She is an awesome baby and we love her so much! Can't wait to keep seeing how she grows :)

Peyton's Birth Story

I'm a little late posting this, but I was trying to tell someone the story the other day and realized that I was forgetting details. So I figure here is as good a place as any to write down the ups and downs of possibly the craziest day of my life.

On Wednesday (the 21st) morning around 6:30 AM, my water broke. I went and told Chase and we quickly decided that we should probably wait to call the doctor's office especially since I wasn't feeling any contractions. We called my mom so she could book a flight to Texas and she said she agreed with our idea to call the doctor before heading in to the hospital.

I drove Chase to school because it was raining and I needed something to do to keep my mind occupied. When I got home I finished packing hospital bags for me and Peyton and waited patiently for the doctor's office to open. The nurse I talked to told me to head in to labor and delivery. So around 9:00 Chase got home from school and we headed to the hospital!

At 9:40 we got the confirmation that my water had broken (I was glad to hear I hadn't just been peeing my pants) and we were being admitted! At this point I was extremely excited and also extremely nervous. 

By noon we got back to our labor and delivery room and Chase left again at 12:30 to go take his big test (he had asked me to hold onto Baby Trejo just until he could take his test so he wouldn't have to reschedule and take a different version). I spent the time while he was gone talking to my family on the phone - they did a good job of distracting me while I was a bundle of nerves. We even went through all of the girls' names of Back to the Future in case we needed to use one of those names for Baby Trejo. 

At 3:30 I still wasn't really feeling strong contractions, but I was starving. Luckily Chase was great and snuck me some jello that he had packed before making it back to the hospital. At 4:30 we decided to try to get things going since Chase was back for good and my body hadn't gotten the message yet - we did lots of laps around the hospital room and bounced on the yoga ball. 

By 5:45 my doctor went home for the night, so I met the doctor that was on call. She checked me and I still wasn't any further dilated than I had been at my appointment 2 days before. This was tough news to get. I had been hoping to avoid going on pitocin because I wanted to have a natural childbirth and had heard that pitocin made contractions harder to cope with. We decided to start pitocin based on the recommendation from the doctors, and to try to see if I could still do it naturally.

By 6:30 I was having regular contractions - longer and more frequent than anything I had felt all day.

The nurses continued to alternate increasing the pitocin and checking my progress. At 9:15 I was up to 2.5 cm.

Around 11:30 the contractions were starting to get pretty intense. Chase climbed into bed behind me to help with counter pressure and just help me feel better. At midnight my mom's flight had gotten in - luckily Chase's mom had come down to see the baby too and was nice enough to go pick up my mom. They came to visit us for a little bit.

By 1:15 I had made it to 5 cm! The next stretch was the worst pain I think I've ever felt. From about 3:30-5:00 AM I felt the contractions front and back and felt like I wasn't getting any break between them. I was sure that I was progressing well because everyone kept telling me that the contractions that hurt are the ones that are helping my body move along. Every contraction I had Chase wrap his arms around my back and put as much pressure as he possibly could on my lower back and just tried to breathe through it, almost in tears. 

At 5:00 they checked me again and said I was still at 5 cm. I was exhausted, so hungry, and couldn't do it any more. I asked my nurses for an epidural. It took about an hour for the anesthesiologist to be available. That hour was extremely difficult emotionally. I had been in labor for almost 24 hours (even if it wasn't active labor the whole time), I hadn't eaten, I had decided that I wanted meds to help me and they couldn't get them to me yet. Luckily it made me so tired that I barely remembered getting my epidural and fell asleep almost immediately after they got the pillows situated around me. 

At 8:00 the nurses came and checked me and I was at a 9! They increased the pitocin again to get the baby to drop as far as she could before I needed to start pushing.

Around 8:45 we started getting me ready to push. I was feeling kind of nauseous so the nurse gave me an oxygen mask and some wet washcloths. Luckily that helped the nausea go away! At this point I was ready to push and was feeling a little nervous again, but I was so excited to meet our little girl! My nurse and doctor were great about coaching me through the pushing - I was very glad to have their help. I pushed through three or four contractions and she was here! Peyton Emma Trejo arrived at 8:58 AM. She was 7 lb. 4 oz. and 19.5 inches long. 

After she was born Chase got to cut the cord and we got to hold her for a few minutes before they needed to take her to a transitional nursery to check on her breathing levels and monitor her blood sugar.

It was such an amazing, special day for our family and while I'm not sure I'd sign up to do it again right away, I'm so grateful for every part of it. It wasn't what we had planned, or even close to how I imagined labor would go, but our sweet Peyton is perfect and here and we couldn't ask for anything more! We love her so much and are so grateful to be starting our life as a family of three!

I also have to say that my love for Chase has grown more than I thought possible since having Peyton. Seeing him be a dad to her is one of my favorite things in the whole world. I'm extra grateful to have him beside me for all of this and everything to come. 

Things I Want to Remember

So Baby Trejo is supposed to be here in less than 3 weeks! I'm so, so excited and also so nervous. There's just so many unknowns. But there's not too much I can do about it until then, so for now I'm trying to take in these last couple weeks and there have been some things that have come across my mind that I want to remember. In no particular order they are:

- How cool it feels to feel her move inside of me

- How fun it is to see Chase's reactions when he gets to feel her move

- The excitement we feel for her coming so soon

- That picking out names is way harder than I thought

- Nesting instinct is a real thing

- So is pregnancy brain, and pregnancy exhaustion

- How funny it is to not be able to see my toes while I walk

- That walking around on hot days is way harder than I thought it would be, and then so is sitting down (this was taken at an obstacle course 5k that Chase with his parents did that I played photographer for, I got this break while they waited in line for one of the giant water slides)

- How much more I already love Chase seeing him get ready to be a dad to our little girl

- That I can feel the prayers, support, and love from people that want things to go well for us (thank you!!) and how AMAZING that is

- That she already has more clothes than I think she could need and I still feel like I have to stop and look every time we pass the baby section of a store just in case

- The huge desire I have to hold her in my arms already

- That I'm also ok with her hanging out in my belly for a little longer

- She already feels like she has such a strong personality, that some days I feel like I know her and other days I don't know how to imagine what she'll be like

- That I can do hard things that I never thought I'd be able to (especially if I'm patient with myself and take my time):

- How much more I appreciate my parents and grandparents already (I'm sure this will exponentially increase in the near future)

- That I can feel how much my Heavenly Father loves our baby already

- How excited I am for General Conference this weekend to learn more about how I can be a good mom, wife, daughter, etc. 

- How generous and nice everyone we know has been about this change in our lives

Mostly I want to remember how much I'm loving this time in my life. Even with Chase's crazy school schedule, the big changes that are coming, not being able to sleep through the night, and the overwhelming number of unknowns that are constantly in front of us, there are so many good things going on right now and I couldn't just ignore them. 

This time last year...

.... we were cleaning up our apartment and starting a long drive in a large moving truck down to Texas. We were so excited for the adventure we were starting together. Being in a new place, Chase starting at a new school, moving into a new ward, me getting close to graduating, but most of all doing it together without family super close by.

One year later, I've loved what we have been able to do together. I've loved getting closer to Chase. We've made really great new friends. We've moved again already. We've taken fun trips. We've settled into new roles together. We've learned more about ourselves and more about each other.

And now, we are SO excited for the new adventure coming up by starting a family together! Sometimes I still can't believe it. Then I feel her move, or get to see Chase's face while he feels her move and it gets so much more real. Most of the time I'm feeling capable of figuring out things that I'm sure will come up. Every once in a while I get overwhelmed with the idea of being responsible for a tiny little person, but then I remember how many people have done it before us, and how many people we have cheering us on and it gets really exciting all over again.

Until then we're trying to make the most of the time we still have just as the two of us, when we get to set our own schedule and can pack pretty light if we decide to do a day trip somewhere :)

I'm sure in a year or so I'll look back at this time again and be overwhelmed by how many amazing things have happened that I couldn't have predicted, just like I am now. I can't wait!

Christmas Break!

So, I'm a little late, but we had an amazing Christmas break. We spent it with Chase's family, starting in Texas and then headed to Arizona to see Chase's grandpa and for Romney and Cami's wedding!

We went to Gilbert for a cousin's wedding, and that temple is beautiful! We were glad we could make it and that we got to see so much family. We went to St. David and stayed with Grandpa Trejo through Christmas. We went and cut down our own tree, which was so much fun!

When we got back we decorated the tree with home-made decorations and the Christmas lights that Grandpa Trejo had. Spending Christmas with Grandpa was so much fun. It was great to get to know him better and to hear all of his stories and insights, and play games with him (he killed all of us in Rummy 500).

We also went shooting Christmas day. It was windy and cold, but we had a blast. I married into a family of sharp shooters. 

                                

                          

Next up was the wedding!! Cami and Romney looked SO good and we are so happy for them! I'm sad that we didn't take more pictures, but I'm super excited to see the professional pictures they get back. We're really glad that we got to be a part of their special day!

The last day we were there we got pecans from Grandpa Trejo's pecan tree and said bye to Grandpa. I'm glad that we got to spend time in Arizona (even without a white Christmas) and so grateful for the best in-laws that made my first Christmas away from my family such a fun trip. I married into a really great family and am super grateful for the guy who made that possible :)

Thanksgiving 2014

Chase got a full week off of school for Thanksgiving and we decided to go spend in with my family. We flew into Charlottesville and spent a day there before heading up to New York City for a few days. We had so much fun and were so glad we got to spend that time with them! We also got to see my cousin Lauren and her husband Brian which was super fun (we didn't take a picture though... oops).

We were OK about taking pictures, but missed a lot of chances partially because it was freezing outside and we didn't want our fingers to freeze haha. 

We went and saw the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial museum, the tree in Rockefeller Plaza, and did some fun shopping around on Black Friday. We got to see the big piano at FAO Schwarz and tried to stay away from too many crowds. We also got to go see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Wicked. Loved loved loved both of them.

Statue of Liberty

Thanksgiving dinner 

Rockefeller Plaza

I am so, so grateful for so many things // My family (immediate and extended) // The time I get to spend with them // A wonderful husband // The chance that both of us have to be in school right now // Getting to live in Texas // New friends and old friends // Close by and far away // Getting to travel // A healthy body // Warm house // Food to eat // Netflix to watch (haha) // And so, so much more // I'm especially grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ // And the chance to celebrate Him this Christmas season // Also for selfies like this left on my phone (love her tons) //

She's gonna kill me...

// Also pretty sunrises like this that make getting up for early flights a little bit easier //

All in all a pretty great week! Let the countdown to Christmas begin

...........

P.S. I cut my hair and got to donate it! It was a surprise for everyone but Julia, so I had to be pretty secretive about it. But it's been a really fun change so far! 

Halloween plus an Update

Life has been pretty busy around here. 

Chase has stayed busy with school - classes and test seem never ending and I'm not even the one taking them! We look forward to weekends as a break from all the classes, especially our Sundays when Chase doesn't study and we get to spend all day together.

I'm staying busy with my class, applying for student teaching, substituting here and there, trying out new recipes, and recently working on our Halloween costumes. 

We're both loving teaching the Sunday School class for the youth in our church and getting to do that together. Still loving board games when we find time, and dinner dates with other couples from our ward or from Chase's dental class. 

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When we were talking about Halloween and what we wanted to be. We wanted something fairly simple, but also something we both were interested in. We ended up deciding on our costumes of Calvin and Hobbes and had so much fun shopping for the parts of our outfits we didn't already have in our closets and putting it together. It required a little bit of sewing and lots of sharpie-ing but I'm extremely proud of how they turned out! 

Our ward Trunk-or-Treat was two days before Halloween and our costumes weren't quite ready. We threw some things together out of our closets to end up as a 50s couple. Funny enough, some of our friends dressed up as Doc and Marty McFly from Back to the Future and we ended up looking just like Marty's parents. It was great.