Carson Oaks Trost - August 16, 2018

From my journal: 

"I was lying in bed and had heart burn - darn ravioli for dinner- and was hot and couldn’t get comfortable. I felt a gush and knew my water was breaking....Then I called the OB (my water broke about 9:50 or 9:55). The doctor on call said to probably head in soon since it was a fifth baby. I texted Mary Anderson who had volunteered to come spend the night with the kids and watch them. She’s so cute- she was excited for me. I hadn’t put all my bag together and figured I had hours at home in labor to do that but my water kept gushing and it was kind of comical- like how am I going to pack while dripping in the carpet and floor? I had most things piled and just put them into a bag. We left about 10:30. I had been worried about the 1 hour 20 min drive to the hospital. But I only had about half a dozen contractions and they weren’t all that bad. And traffic was a dream  When I stood up from the car, more fluid leaked down my leg into my shoe and we waddled into the labor and delivery. The nurse giggled since she saw my wet pants and I told her I needed to use the bathroom....We skipped triage and came into a room where they’ve been monitoring the baby for the last 30-40 mins. I’m having contractions but they’re not really painful. She checked me and said I’m a 3-4 cm. She was going to text page the doctor and monitor the baby for a little while. So, it’s kind of boring. Just hanging out....At 12 am I was a 3-4 cm. At 5 am, I was a 4-5. That was discouraging. They said they’d like to start Pitocin at 7am and the nurse recommended if I wanted an epidural, do to it before the Pitocin. So I got an epidural at 6. Baby’s heart rate kept having decels so they didn’t want to give Pitocin. They kept having me move. They gave me oxygen- Landon said that was a good idea. They tried this catheter that added water up into my uterus to cushion the contraction Incase it was tightening in my cord. It didn’t work as expected, but I think the checks/ irritation of the water helped dialate me sooner. I couldn’t stop shaking from the epidural (?).  They seemed to think that was ok. They’d ask if I felt pressure in my bum. Finally when I said yes, they checked and I ready. The nurse asked, “Do you want to have a baby now?” I said yes, of course, knowing that we all didn’t want his heart rate to decel as it was for much longer. They broke down the bed and got ready in a few mins. They had me push- during contractions and in between contractions. With the first, they rotated him since he was facing upwards. The cord was around his neck. It was 10 mins or less of pushing. It’s weird pushing with an epidural. They laid him on me, delayed cord cutting, and didn’t even take his vitals til 2 hours later. He wanted to nurse right away and nursed for like 2 hours. 

Mom and Dad came at noon. Nat, Marin, and Sophie came at 4. Landon came back with the kids at 6. Melissa will be here about 8:30. I’ve had some good food delivery. 

8 pounds 5 ounces

14” head

21 1/2” long

Born at 8:38 am

We delivered at Fairview Clinic in Edina.  It was a good experience with great nurses.  It made all the long drives for doctor appointments worth it.  Since my family was so close, they came and visited.  Landon headed home around noon to pick up the kids from Mary Anderson's house.  He hadn't slept all night, so he took a long nap and then brought the kids to visit that evening.  They loved Carson right away! They were so excited to see him.  Lexi called him "my baby brother".  They wanted to hold him.  In fact, they were even trying to find a way that they could stay with me in the hospital room and spend the night ;-)  They were really bummed to leave but we told them we'd be taking the baby home the next day.

We didn't settle on his name for several days.  By Tuesday, I called into the hospital to finish filling out the form.  We decided on Carson Oaks Trost.  Carson, just because we liked it, and the kids especially pushed for it.  Oaks for Elder Oaks.  Landon mentioned Oaks and a couple other general authorities and we settled on him because we both really enjoy his conference talks.  Also, some bonuses: Caron is the name of Nancy Drew's dad and I loved those books growing up. Also, Oak for oak trees.  I love plants, we have Oaks in our backyard, and they grow acorns which squirrels like and Landon loves squirrels.  Just fun little sides ;-)

Brit walked into the family room and saw my cuddling Carson like this.  He grabbed my phone and took a pic. I'm glad he did!

I love when newborns are so out of it after nursing!

August 2018

Whew! We made it to August.  Here I am in my pregnant glory ;-)  I'd have to look up the date, but this is probably 38/ 39 weeks pregnant.

After Ty got the hang of riding a two wheeler, he was constantly riding.  He upgraded to a bigger bike (Brit's used one) but that ended up breaking.  It was pretty cheap from Toys R Us and had had issues with the brakes for a while.  So, lucky for him, he got to pick out a bike! So we got three new bikes this summer! 

Lexi enjoyed holding a frog on a family walk.

Taking her kitty for a walk.

My 39 week glory.

Wrestling with Dad.  He pushes them off and they laugh and climb back on.

We went to a park where there was a lot of clover.  I mentioned to Brit that if he found a 4 leaf clover, maybe that'd mean I'd go into labor ;-)  Well, he actually found a 5 leaf clover after a loooong time searching.  And you know what? My water broke that night!  I pressed the clover and laminated it into a bookmark for him.

Summer Updates 2018 - Olmsted County Fair

This was our 3rd of 4th time going to the Olmsted County Fair.  It's close, free, small, and the kids love it.  Here's Ty testing out a tractor:

The kids each got to pick a treat.  Cam and Lexi picked cotton candy.

Ty got a funnel cake and Brit got an ice cream cone.

They also got to do some rides and attractions.  Here everyone is a winner!

Lexi had her first visit to the dentist where she actually got her teeth cleaned (she went 6 months ago where she brushed a stuffed animal's teeth).  She was a champ!  I think the sunglasses and Mickey Mouse helped.

Just a common scene at the table.

I looked out the sliding glass doors of the kitchen and saw Lexi eating her canned peaches and pears outside on the deck.  She reminded me of Little Miss Muffet.  That's a dress that Mom saved for me because I wore it.  She loves that dress and wears it often.  I just thought it was too adorable to pass up a picture.

Melissa took this picture.  We met her and Sophie, Marin, and Nanny at a playground in the cities for one of my last ob appointments.  I picked up Little Caesars Pizza after my appointment.  It was a hot day but a fun new playground.

Summer 2018 Updates - Mudman Race

Ty was shakily riding a two-wheeler in the fall of 2017. But it wasn't until this summer that he made up his mind and practiced over and over on his own and got comfortable on it.  Here he is in the Gibbs Elementary School parking lot.  It was super hot outside, and since I was already hot being pregnant, I stayed in the car while he practiced.  I think it also helped to see the Andersons riding bikes and possibly wanting to show them he could do it too ;-)

For the Fourth of July, we usually buy fireworks from the tent in Walmart's parking lot and the kids can earn them through school work.  We haven't gone to the city's night firework show because it's also so late and we have young kids.  The kids don't know anything different and love what we do!  Notice the headphones on Cam.  It's always a little more fun and less scary when things aren't so loud.  Brit and Ty had fun lighting off the fireworks on our driveway.

We spend a lot of summer mornings on playgrounds with the Andersons.

I've wanted a Cozy Coupe for a long time.  I put a request to purchase on RochesterMama, the LDS email group in Rochester, MN and Chelsea Baumgartner let me have theirs! They moved this summer and were looking to pass it on.  It's been fun!

Many summer mornings, we took family walks and bike rides.  The boys biked, and I walked and pushed Lexi in the stroller.  Since I was slower, they'd have to stop along the way.  We usually went about 1.5 miles and had a certain loop where we used the Douglas Trail for part of it.  Many times we ended up at the Gibbs playground for a short while.  When I think about the summer, I just think about being hot and pregnant.  Whew! Glad that's done now :-)  Cam LOVES his balance bike and can really cruise.  He kept up pretty well with Brit and Ty.

Some times, Lexi  had to ride her "Ze-ba".  All my convincing didn't work, so I let her go down our side walk and then park it by a neighbor's utility box.  It was always there when we got back and fulfilled her need.

Sometimes going back up the hill from Gibbs to our house took a long time because Lexi liked to pick the flowers.

Brit finished reading the Book of Mormon and, as promised, got $500! That was Landon's promise to him.  He promptly bought a Nintendo Switch and Star Dew Valley.

Kev purchased the rights for the Mudman Race and the people below participated.

The boys did an amazing job! I'm not sure they loved it when it was happening (they weren't huge fans of getting muddy and bubbly to where you can't see or breathe) but I think they felt proud of themselves and have a nice t-shirt and memory of it now that they're clean.

Summer Updates 2018

I like my Asiatic Lilies! They're short and beautiful.

Look at this! We have a nice backyard.

I was scared to find Lexi like this, but impressed at the same time.

Brit got a new bike!

Summer Update 2018 - Utah Trip

In June, we went to Utah.  Here's us waiting for Landon to get the rental car.  Lexi's so cute :-)

We rented a home in Provo/ Orem area.  Here's Hailey playing Phase 10 with the boys.

And Jan playing Tic Tac Toe with Cam.

We went to Bridal Veil falls.

The kids ended up climbing partly up the falls area.  They really enjoyed it.  Landon said he loved that trail there.

Also - not pictured - is the HOURS we drove around looking at cities to live and work.  The kids got a lot of screen time.  One time, I ended up driving around myself.  I went more north to Alpine and Herriman, etc.  It felt scary to consider moving to Utah.  Things are so brown compared to Minnesota.  Things just feel different.  But I tell myself I like changing things up.  After a month or so out west, it'll feel more normal.  We found several locations for a practice and Landon looked at them.  We ended up settling on one in River Bottoms area in Provo.  

We went to a free splash pad.  Rochester completely lacks for any water parks/ splash pads, so it's exciting to know we'll have a few splash pads in Utah!  The kids loved it.