4 Month Update

We're a few days late but Peyton is 4 months old! She is growing just like she should - 50th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. The doctor said she's making her own curve to follow which sounds about right for her. Doesn't quite do things the way any of us expect haha. 

This month she:

-- has found her thumb! We're excited that she's found a small way to soothe herself since she's still refusing the binky

-- is sitting up in the Bumbo regularly

-- has started being really stubborn about tummy time. She can be really good about it when she wants to be, but if she's not liking it that day then she is sure to let us know

-- loves to show off her big gummy smile, especially after sleeping well

-- is the most unpredictable sleeper (she went a little while sleeping about 7 hours straight, but has also had nights of getting up every 2 hours, sometimes every 3 hours, sometimes she'll sleep for a while and then not want to go back to bed... mom and dad are hoping that adding solids to her diet will help regulate this a little more)

-- has turned into quite the chatterbox. She loves to talk to herself and blow spit bubbles, especially in the car when she can see herself in the mirror

-- wore her hair in a ponytail for the first time! Mom is obsessed with it

-- has started fitting into 3-6 month clothes, but must have short legs because she still fits into 0-3 month bottoms

-- loves to look around and see new things

-- still loves bath time and kicking in the tub

-- loves to be outside, even if the sun makes her sneeze the cutest little sneezes

-- is getting so much better at using her hands - grabs onto anything and everything she can, even if she can't hold onto it very long

-- loves to suck on blankets and her mittens and her shirt

-- realized she hates the blowdryer and the vacuum

-- likes looking at the pictures in books

-- arches her back and twists around but has shown no interest in rolling over

-- likes to scratch herself all over (we just found out she has eczema and are hoping that will stop soon)

-- has figured out how to pull off her "no-scratch" mittens - especially from her right hand

-- went for her first stroller ride around the duck pond and loved it

-- still isn't loving her carseat, but is doing much better

-- loves to play peek-a-boo with her blanket

-- occasionally giggles, but they are hard to come by, and don't normally come with a smile

-- loves coming to primary with mom and dad and getting extra attention from the sunbeams

Love Our Little Girl

I have no idea how I made this... but it showed up in my pictures so I thought I'd share it... even though it's from her 3 month photoshoot.

I love this little girl! She laughed for me/because of me for the first time yesterday and my heart melted after a hard day with her. Funny how a good smile or a little giggle can turn my whole day around :)

3 Months!

Our little girl is 3 months old and is starting to show so much more of her personality! We are loving it!

This past month she:

-- has started holding her head up while sitting if mom or dad are holding onto her torso or her hands
-- loves to smile, sometimes when she smiles too big she can't maintain eye contact
-- kicks and wiggles around much more than normal
-- is moving in her sleep some more (lots of mornings or night-time feedings we'll find her completely sideways from the way we put her in her crib)
-- still calms down the fastest with bath time or laying on top of the dryer
-- hates to not be able to see whether it's because her headband/bow has fallen over her eyes, it's dark out, or the wrap covers her eyes
-- loves to look around and take in her surroundings, especially at the grocery store (until she falls asleep)
-- still has the craziest hair that we can't figure out what to do with - it's almost long enough for a little ponytail so hopefully that will come soon!
-- is finding her voice more and more, she loves when mom and dad coo back to her or repeat the noises she's making
-- likes to listen to dad beatbox and try to figure out where the sounds are coming from
-- seems to be getting into more of a regular schedule with her days, we're hoping this will help her sleep more consistently at night!
-- loves to have mom and dad blow or whistle into her hair
-- is figuring out how to use her hands
-- just in the past day or two has started grabbing onto toys that are put on her chest or hanging in front of her (we're not quite sure how intentional it is yet)
-- loves when her daddy comes home and plays with her
-- is fascinating to all of the older babies we hang out with, they want to touch her and seem excited to find something/someone smaller than them - she doesn't seem to mind for the most part
-- has started drooling everywhere
-- is liking tummy time more than before, but still won't pick her head up off the floor for more than a second at a time

Sometimes pictures don't quite go as planned haha

2 Months!

Our little Miss Peyton is 2 months old! We love her more than ever and are loving seeing the new things she is learning and doing.

This month she:

-- Consistently slept 4-6 hour stretches during the night (sometimes even up to 8!)
-- Learned how to smile
-- Loves her daddy
-- Smiles big when daddy whistles into her hair
-- Speaking of her hair... It goes straight into an afro after bath time but we love it.
-- It's also the first thing everyone notices about her
-- Has big beautiful, blue eyes
-- Has started to find her voice and occasionally coos
-- Loves to be put in the swing and sleeps well there
-- Loves bath time more than anything else
-- Has started to discover her hands but sometimes has a hard time finding them to suck on (we feel bad, but it's very funny to watch)
-- Is much more alert and loves to look around
-- Loves being outside
-- Gets called Stinky, Stinker, Baby Girl, Peyton Lady, and Sweet Girl
-- Most of all makes mom and dad feel like the luckiest people in the world, especially when she smiles at them!

Peyton's Blessing Day

On November 29th we had the awesome chance to bless our Peyton girl. We were lucky enough to have so many family members and friends come and visit us for the Thanksgiving holiday and for the baby blessing! In the LDS church we bless new babies using the Priesthood (special authority to use God's power on earth - for more information look here). Both of Peyton's grandpas, as well as some of our close friends got to stand in the circle to help Chase bless her. It was such an amazing day and Chase did a great job! Peyton looked beautiful in her blessing dress, which was the same one I wore when I was blessed as a baby. It was so great to be able to have the blessing during a time of year when we already were expressing gratitude for the blessings we have in our lives. Here are some pictures from the special day:

(she loves to kick her legs ^ look at the couple pictures above this - we think it's adorable!)

(I loved getting to have her wear the same dress that I did, and that my old bracelet almost fit her!)

I love this family of mine!

All of our family that came to visit!

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.