Bridger's Birth Story

The moment I knew I was pregnant, I had a bit of anxiety looking forward to when it would be time to deliver this little baby. Looking back to when my second daughter, Ella, was born, and how confusing and fast her labor and delivery was (she came so fast she was delivered at home by Talon! Read that here.), I was paranoid that something similar would happen this time around.

I spoke quite a bit with my doctor about it and joked that when I was close to my due date, that I would be camping out at the Labor and Delivery area, just to be safe. Little did she know, I was half joking.

At midnight, on Friday, November 6th, I began to have some contractions. They were different than the Braxton Hicks I had felt all throughout my pregnancy, not painful, but uncomfortable enough to make me take notice. Around 4:00am, I began to track them on an app on my phone. They were coming every 10 minutes. I got out of bed (I hadn’t been sleeping at all that night), and finished packing my hospital bag, took a shower, and got ready. At 6:00am, I woke Talon up and explained to him all that was going on. He got up, showered, and we woke my parents up to let them know we were leaving, so they could watch the girls for us. Talon was scheduled to work that day, so, we wanted to get in early enough to check and see what all was going on, so, he would have time to make it back for work, or call to say he wasn’t going in.

We arrived at the triage center at the University of Utah Hospital around 8:00am, I explained that I was “38 and 4 days along”, and told them that even though I knew I wasn’t in active labor, I go pretty fast. Once they heard Ella’s very brief birth story, they quickly got me back to a room and did some tests, ultrasound and checked me.

1 centimeter dilated and 80% effaced.

They sent me walking for 2 hours. We walked all around the hospital, back and forth, through every hall, every flight of stairs and even outdoors where it was lightly snowing. (We even snuck up by the helicopter pad to check out the beautiful birds waiting to go rescue some people) I was SO tired. I kept telling Talon that we should just head home because I just wanted to sleep.

We went back, they checked me, and nothing had changed. Bummer. They sent me home with instructions on when to come back. One nurse was optimistic and told me, “I am certain he will come today or tomorrow”, with a smile on her face. Another nurse told me, “I get off at 7pm tonight, I don’t work tomorrow, and am back on Sunday. Don’t come back until Sunday!” I already loved everyone there and didn’t want to leave!
Talon had decided to go to work that day, since we were released in time (10:30am) for him to get there. As the day went on, I had asked if he could come home two hours earlier just to help put the girls to bed, so that I could rest.

Thankfully, my sister in-law (Missy) took both Emery and Ella all day, so that I could take a nap. That was a gift!

The rest of the day, the contractions were all over the place. Some harder than others. Then, for 3 hours, NOTHING. Not ONE contraction. As you can imagine, discouragement set in. Missy had come over to spend time with me and so did my good friend, Lindsey.
We laughed, and talked for a few hours, which was so helpful, since just before that is when the contractions had stopped. They kept my spirits up!


Midnight rolled around, and those contractions started back up! I guessed it was going to be another night of zero sleep. These contractions came about every hour or so, sometimes, every twenty-five minutes, but they were INTENSE. Shooting me straight up in my bed, they were so intense. Sometime in the night, I got up and showered, just in case.

At 4:00am, I woke Talon up, apologized for waking him up, then explained what all was going on. He also worked this day, and I felt bad for messing his sleep up, again! He was excited, got up, and showered, then we both laid down on the couch to wait it out a little bit longer---just in case. I was able to sleep here and there, but, was still getting those contractions. My paranoia set in, and I kept thinking about how things were similar to Ella’s labor, and I just wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Around 7:00am, we got up, got things ready, and I woke my Mom up to let her know, we were yet again going to the hospital.

This ride to the hospital, was less than lovely. Those contractions were coming and they were painful! Not very fun when you’re strapped in a seatbelt! Luckily, they waited every ten minutes or so to grace me with their presence. (We stopped and picked up some breakfast on our way, to make sure to have some energy to what could be, a very long day.)

We arrived at the hospital around the same time as the day before, 9:00am. Of course, the staff was different this day, and so, I showed up, said, “Hi, I’m 38 and 5 days pregnant, I was here yesterday, contractions are uncomfortable and coming every 10 minutes, this is my third baby, my last baby came so fast, she was delivered at home-by my husband…” One of the nurses interrupted and said, “Let’s get you back right now.” They don’t mess around!

I was immediately checked, I was now dilated to 3 centimeters, and 90% effaced. They asked where I was the day before, and I told them. Since I had progressed, they strapped me up to monitors and were going to come check me again an hour later. Boy, is it painful having contractions laying down! I almost lost my mind. Contractions were now coming every 9 minutes, which is a bit discouraging. An hour later, the nurse came back in and checked me, “You’ve progressed just a little bit.” OUCH! She did something that was so painful, I wanted to cry. She said, “Yeah, I just did something to help speed you along. I’m going to send you walking, since that’s more comfortable for you (I’m SO glad they pay attention over there!)  come back in an hour and we will check you.” (Unbeknownst to me, one of the doctors on call in the labor and delivery room had told my nurse not to let me leave. So, this nurse stripped my membranes at that last checking. And, it worked! )

During the one hour of walking around, the contractions came every 4.5 minutes, they were so painful, I would stop in my tracks, pull Talon over to me, turn him around, and wrap my arms up over his shoulders, drop my hips and breathe. It also helped to focus on relaxing that belly, and I would do my very best to just go in my own little world and focus for that minute to minute and a half as the contractions revved on. I couldn’t worry about all of the passer-byers as I was contracting.  I joked to Talon, “we better not walk too far down these halls on the wrong floor, I might not make it back in time!”

Up to the triage we went, and the nurse checked me, once again. “5 centimeters and paper thin”, that’s all she said and she rushed out of the room. I looked over at Talon, tears welling up in our eyes, I exclaimed, “we get to stay!” He said, “Babe, we could be holding our little boy in one hour!” I laughed and said, “Um, it will probably be longer than that!”
He gently placed his hands on my head, and gave me a priesthood blessing that all would go smoothly and quickly, and that all would be well with our baby boy. We were both in tears. What a humbling, sweet, and spiritual moment for the two of us, to know that it was time. Time to welcome this little guy in the world.

It was just before noon at this time, and they rushed me over in a wheelchair to the Labor and Delivery unit. It seemed like an eternity on the ride over! I was a bit sad, to be leaving all of those amazing nurses in the triage, but, didn’t sit on that very long! I was anxious to hold my baby boy, and experience giving birth again---yes, I actually do love it!

They strapped me up to a mobile fetal monitor, so that I could walk around the room, since that was more comfortable for me. But, those contractions were so intense and coming so close together, I just couldn’t get the strength to get out of bed! My head nurse, Pam was incredible! Pam! I will never forget her, and I wish I could have taken her home with me. She stood by my side, and was the sweetest ever. (Fun fact! She was the same nurse that was with my sister in-law, Missy, when she was there delivering her youngest baby, two and a half years ago. We learned this after looking through my birth photos!)

Twenty or so minutes in my bed, I had felt like my bag of water was leaking, and I told Pam. She grabbed a doctor to come check me, and the doctor told me, “You’re at a 7!” “Okay, I can do this! I’m in the home stretch!” I thought to myself.

What seemed like minutes later, my birth photographer, Brooke, showed up. She is the biggest sweetheart around! I’ll get to her more, in a minute. In the same moment, Pam told me that all of the doctors had rushed to a patient who was needing an emergency C-section. There weren’t any doctors around. Pam looked at Talon and said, “So, you might be the one delivering him after all!”

I continued to labor, laying there, thinking to myself during a very intense contraction, “I’m really not sure how much longer I can handle these!” In that very moment, I felt my baby’s head shift and slide down, then he slid again, and I hollered at Pam, “He’s coming! He’s coming!! I’m so sorry, but, I have to push! He’s coming! I can’t help it!” Next thing I know, as I’m pushing, a new lady came in and was introduced to me as the midwife that happened to be walking by my door. I heard Pam say, “the cord is wrapped around his neck-just once” A few more pushes and he was out! It seemed like the longest delivery! Even though it was merely minutes! I think I pushed for like two or three minutes. He was crying and had some fluid in his throat, so, Pam kept telling him, “come on buddy, keep crying”. He was right there, right at my face, I began to just kiss his sweet face and he immediately stopped crying, closed his eyes softly, and embraced that moment. My heart may have skipped a beat. This new, baby boy, meeting his mommy for the very first time. My heart was so full! I will never forget that split second in time, I will hold it in my heart and mind for the eternities.

Bridger Ollie Potter
Born 1300 hours. November 7th, 2015. Weighing in at 8.4, measuring 21 inches long.

Time pretty much stood still over these next few minutes. I could hardly believe it was all over. He was here. Bridger. The one that made his presence known to me months before that it was his time to come. My first little boy. My new little love. The instantaneous feeling of needing to care for him and make sure that he is protected and cared for, dependent on me on all things.

I was and am so grateful that Bridger happened to be born in a hospital, naturally and with a doctor to deliver him. I absolutely love the experience of being pregnant, and yes, I love experiencing the labor and delivery of a baby. It is something I could do time and time again because it is such a miraculous experience.

**How Bridger’s name came to be**

Two months before Bridger’s due date, I was on a walk with the girls, I said to Emery, “Gosh, Em! I just don’t know what we should name this little baby boy!” As we approached our house on our way back, Emery looked up at me and said, “Mom! I know what my baby brother’s name is!” I looked at her, smiled, and thought to myself, “She’s probably going to say, ‘rainbow-sprinkles-sunshine’ or close to it” Guys- she’s a 4 year old girly-girl, of course she was going to say something cute and silly like that. Her response? “Bridger. His name is Bridger!!”
I was shocked. Then a memory fled back to my mind. I was 17, at one of my very good friends house in Round Rock, Texas. Her last name was Bridger, and I remember saying to her, “Dude! Your last name is so cool, when you get married one day, you can use your maiden name as your boy’s first name!”
Bridger! Yes! I love the name Bridger. I told Talon about it and he loved the name, thought it was cool and unique. We especially love it because it’s the name that Emery, his bigger sister came up with. Bonus points? It wasn’t “rainbow-sprinkles-sunshine”.

His middle name, Ollie, is one that we love because growing up, Talon’s favorite thing to do was skateboarding. He loved trying and perfecting all kinds of tricks, and the “ollie” is one of the first tricks to master, so you can move on to others from there. It’s the perfect little middle name for our boy.

Oh, the places you'll go!

Life.

It's so interesting, isn't it?
 It seems to present itself different, yet the same in some ways every day. Marriage, seems to bring up new possibilities each day. With new thoughts and ideas of where to live and what to do with our future, as well as how we should handle the daily functions, new ways of organization, fun things to do with the kids, etc etc. Life never gets old, nor does it seem to stay the same. This is exciting, and this is an adventure! So, life is an adventure, and our family is about to start a new one here soon.

  As many or all of you know, Talon joined the Air Force in November 2007. He was stationed out here in Las Vegas, NV and has worked at both air bases located about 50 miles or so apart from each other.  Since being married in 2009, we have had many big adventures come along our way, which we have been so grateful for. Here is a list of the few bigger milestones we have shared together. 

1. Married in April 2009.

Exiting the SLC temple moments after being sealed!

2. Talon deployed to Iraq July 2009-Jan 2010.

Talon in Iraq. Resembles Las Vegas, NV. Am I right? ha! 

3. I found out I was pregnant with Emery in April 2010.

October 2010. Maternity shoot in CA with my best friend Ashley. 

4. Bought our first house in Nov 2010.

5. Emery was born in Dec 2010.

6. Found out I was pregnant in Aug 2012.

How sweet is her hand?! April 2013. 

7. Talon put on Staff Sargent in the Air Force in Dec 2012.

At his ALS graduation. October 2013. 

8. Talon completed his associates degree online in May 2013. (Oops...no photo yet!) 

9. Ella was born in May 2013. In our home. By emergency. Read about that here. 

In the ambulance getting ready to head to the hospital, holding Ella. 

Emery meeting Ella for the first time. 

In the past 4 years and few months of marriage, we have had some pretty exciting things happen. We have called Las Vegas our home this entire time. We have loved it here. I never thought that I would ever say I "love Las Vegas". Or that I would ever call it "home". We have loved our ward and friends out here. There was a time where I couldn't wait to leave, a time where I never thought I would, where I never wanted to, and now, I'm sad to say, we are leaving.

Remember how I said that life gives new possibilities each day and we are given thoughts of new ideas on where to live, what to do with our future? Let me just say, there has been a LOT of that in the past year. And even more so in the past few months and weeks.

We have gone back and forth many times on whether or not Talon should re-enlist in the Air Force, change careers in the Air Force or go Reserves. We talked about that for the 4 years we were married. Then, about a year ago, he felt that finishing his schooling was the best option and to go for his bachelors. We both felt right about it. For the past year, we have been planning on him attending a university in Southern California. He would be out of the Air Force come November of this year, and we would live with his parents to save on money, he would do school full-time and work part-time, and I would get a nanny job so I could keep the girls with me. It seemed perfect. We were all very excited about it!

Then, a month ago, Talon was TDY to San Antonio, Tx for 7-level training and while he was there, he came in contact with a buddy from boot camp. He had messaged Talon to see how life was etc. Talon called me and explained to me about what his buddy was up to and how it was interesting to Talon. We looked into it, felt very good about it, have pursued this and now, after much prayer, discussion and tweaking things here and there...We are sure on what we are going to do. And we are moving forward with it. We are confident all will work out, but as we know (quite well, actually. Haha), plans can always change or just not work out. So, my dear friends and family. Take a peek into our new and exciting plans!
We are moving to a place that knows all four seasons, has "the greatest snow on earth", was the location for the 2002 winter olympics. Talon and I were both married there, almost all of my family live there....have y'all not guess yet?! Fine, I'll tell you...

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH!!!!
(photo curtesy of google) 

 Talon will be attending UpperLimit Aviation to become a helicopter pilot. (!!!) Thankfully, the G.I. Bill will cover all of schooling, which will total well over $100,000! There is no way we would be able to afford this if it weren't for Talon being in the Air Force. Such a blessing! Talon is going to be very busy with pilot's school as well as attending full-time credits at a college there in SLC. He will also be getting a part-time job somewhere. (TBD) 

Talon is scheduled to be done with work sometime in the end of September. We have our house almost all packed up, on the market right now and hopefully going to sell soon! We are sad to leave, but so, so excited to start a new chapter in our life. We have created many friendships here and we have been so blessed in our time here. We are looking forward to being with friends who we have known a long time, and with some of my family as well. It's going to be an adventure!

I'm sure you'll be seeing many more photos something like this in the near future...

August 2013- Second time up in the helicopter to see if it interests Talon. It did. Obviously.
 

Homemade chocolate cake - yes. I made it! Betty Crocker at your service!

I have always wanted to bake a cake by scratch. I have always wanted to bake a layered cake.  I also didn't want to just make one for fun, because then I would have an entire cake to eat by myself. That would be awesome bad, I know, so I waited for the perfect opportunity.

A few weeks ago, we had a lot of my family in town for the weekend that Ella was blessed. My brother Jason happened to be celebrating his birthday that Friday. So, guess what? I took that opportunity to feed a lot of people a lot of cake. And it was amazing! Probably hands down the best cake I have ever had. I will be using the recipe again in the future, that is for sure!

Want to hear something funny? After baking, layering and frosting this 2 layer cake as well as cupcakes, I did my best to make it look beautiful. And it looked pretty good!
 I had to drive it to the hotel everyone was staying at, and since Talon was out of town, I had it on the floor nicely placed on a pan with a lid so it wouldn't get dirty. Sadly, with all of the turns, the top layer of the cake slid off. HAHA. Seriously. I felt awful. It looked awful. But, before we embarked on the delicious challenge of eating it, I was able to put it back together mostly and it still tasted amazing!

Since I am all about sharing that which I love, I am going to share with you how I made this amazing cake. It is a very moist chocolate cake, with homemade whipping cream between layers and a homemade chocolate ganache. Yes, I know. AMAZING.

I'll direct you straight to the source of the chocolate cake and then explain what I did differently.
Find that recipe here. The recipe made enough for 2 round cakes and 15 cupcakes.

Now, the recipe calls for hot coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker, nor were any of the people I was making the cake for, so I googled the heck out of what I could substitute the coffee with. Lots of suggestions were just water, tea, liquor (again, not going to use liquor! haha We don't drink alcohol and there were a lot of kids at this birthday celebration!)  or some other liquid form I could use. I chose to use Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix. I found it at Target! Anyway, it worked out just fine! I made sure to make the water hot before mixing it with the cocoa and before adding it in the batter.

The last two ingredients are used for the frosting. I did not follow that, I found this recipe here that was perfect. On that note, the ganache wasn't setting quick enough for me to spread, so I whipped it up with the electric mixer until desired consistency. This made it very creamy and fluffy. I liked it like this!

For the whipping cream, I mixed up heavy cream and sugar until the flavor was just right. Mmmm.

After both cakes cooled completely, I put a whole bunch of the whipping cream on the first cake and then layered the second cake on top. Make sure to fill in any spaces on the side!

Be sure to assemble cake on a greased location because the cake will stick to wherever you place it!

Looks like a giant Oreo, right? 

For the cupcakes, I took out the center section and filled with whipping cream. Then frosted with the ganache. (Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to head out the door and didn't get a finished picture of it.)

The final product. Mmm. I'm craving some now! 

Let me know if you try this cake out! I can't wait to make it again. The greatest thing? It's rich, but not so rich that you take one or two bites and can't finish it. No, it's worse better, because you can't stop eating it and you just want more and more and more.

Enjoy!

Baby Ella's Birth Story

If you want the shorter version, skip down to “Sunday, May 5th.” Or for the shortest delivery version, jump to May 6th!

Ella's Birth Story

Before even getting pregnant with Ella, I decided I wanted to do things a little differently with my second pregnancy and labor than I had with my first. I wanted to focus more on my health by working out regularly and eating better during pregnancy, and my ultimate goal was to have an unmedicated hospital birth. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I had talked with my doctor and she advised, “Labor at home until you feel like driving in the car to the hospital sounds awful. My patients that do this usually show up at about 8 cm.”  Perfect!, I thought. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. The hospital I would be birthing at is just over 30 min, so I had to take that in account and maybe leave a little earlier than she suggested.

To prepare myself to actually live through the contractions and not want to give in to that amazing relief of an epidural, I read through and studied the book, “Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way." This book literally explained things so perfectly and gave me the instruction and confidence I needed to know that I could, indeed, have an unmedicated childbirth. I felt prepared, healthy, and ready by the time my 40th week approached.

May 2nd 2013 - 2 days before due date: I began to have actual contractions. They started at 3:40pm. I kept an eye on them, and noticed them coming every 5 min for a few of them. Then they went up to 10 min, then 7, 10, 4, 8, 5, etc etc. They weren’t consistent in how far apart they were, but they kept coming. After 2 hours of this, I sent a text to my best friend Ashley, (who lives in Utah and wanted to be at the birth to take my birth photos) I informed her of my contractions just to give her a heads up. She had a 7 hour drive ahead of her, so I wanted her to be alerted ASAP so she could get here in time for the birth. Emery’s labor had started out the same way, and those contractions eventually grew closer together and led me into active labor and a birth. (From first contraction to birth it was 21 hours.) So a few hours later, after more irregular contractions, Ashley hopped in her car and headed this way. The contractions continued all night long. She arrived at 2:30 am and that uterus was still doing its thing. We really felt like we would be having a baby very soon.

May 3rd, 2013:
After some well needed sleep, we woke up and to our dismay, the contractions weren’t as consistent. But they kept coming. Every once in awhile I would get a few hours where the contractions were strong and consistent, then they would die off and come back a little while later. Talk about a tease! Luckily, we took advantage of the time together and had a lovely day. My Mom, (who had driven out a week before from Utah), Ashley, Emery and I spent the day at the mall being spoiled by my Mom. She bought us MAC make up, and we had a delicious lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It was a lovely day spending that time together. Ashley and I haven’t had much girl time since we both had our first child, so this time together was very well deserved. (Did I mention that Ashley left her sweet 20 month old baby boy at home with her husband? Yes, she did. Luckily, the two of them had a very eventful weekend with family and friends in town, and so they kept busy while Ashley had time with me. It worked out great!) 

May 4th, 2013- Due date!: Due date came and went with the same ol’ silly contractions that didn’t seem to want to progress. So we made Saturday a fun day as well-- we went out to breakfast, made a Target run, (Ashley went for a literal run as well-did I mention she’s 31 weeks pregnant, too? She was my workout buddy during our pregnancies, and my mentor with the unmedicated birth preparation as well. Thankfully to her and my loving and supportive husband, I had a very successful pregnancy.) and drove all the way to the other side of town to eat some very yummy Cafe Zupas, as well as tried the delicious and famous frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity on the strip. It was a very fun day, yet, no baby. 

May 5th, 2013:

For those who want the shortened version, start here. All you need to know: I had been having constant contractions that weren’t very consistent in their timing for 3 days. My best friend drove out from Utah to be there for the birth that hasn’t happened yet. I thought I had been in early labor this weekend because I was experiencing the same things I did in early labor with Emery.

My birth plan that was previously discussed with my doctor was that I would labor at home until I couldn’t bear to sit in the car for my 30 min drive to the hospital. In theory, this would allow me to arrive at the hospital soon enough yet late enough that I wouldn’t need an epidural. 

Sunday made my baby girl officially “late." Past her due date. (Em was born ON her due date, so I had figured this baby would either be early or right on time.)  I wasn’t too sad she wasn’t born on her actual due date, especially when I woke up Saturday morning and found out that it was “Star Wars Day." “May the 4th be with you." Look, I like Star Wars and all, but I just didn’t want my baby girl born on that day. Maybe I would have felt differently if I was having a boy?

We woke up and got ready for church. At around 10:00am I noticed some cramping along with some loss of the plug. I tried to ignore it though, because well, my gosh! I had been teased all weekend. I didn’t want to read into it and not deliver any time soon. We went to church and I continued to notice cramping here and there but nothing too intense. Again, I did my best to ignore them. Ashley and I decided it was best for her to head home because she had to get back to her baby. (Plus a 7 hour drive is really long and we didn’t want her to get home too late.)  She decided she would just fly out if I felt I was having the baby the next day. We felt confident in that decision and she went on her way. About 45 min later I received a phone call from her and she said she was on the side of the freeway because her bumper on her car fell off. Talon, Emmy and I left church a few min early and went to save the day. Talon duct taped her bumper back in place. As he was doing so, Ashley and I joked that maybe this was a sign that she should just turn around and go back to our house. Again, we thought that since my contractions were still not consistent, it was more important for her to go home to her family. 

Around 4:00pm I looked at Talon and said, “I would be very surprised if this baby doesn’t come by tomorrow night. If this stuff isn’t real and isn’t going to progress, I will literally be shocked.” So I chose to lay down and rest for about an hour and then got up and we finished some last minute things.

Emmy had a hard time going to sleep that night, which was sort of random because she has been amazing at it for quite some time. It was around 10:00pm that she finally went to sleep okay and I decided I would try to sleep as well. 

For the past few hours I had a few contractions that I could tell were beginning to be stronger and almost painful but again, they would be coming every 15 min, then I would have one at 7 min and then wouldn’t have one for another hour. They were very sporadic, very unpredictable. No pattern, no measured progress that would signal active labor. I continued to lose more of the plug, so I called the labor and delivery unit and asked them a question. The nurse at the front desk asked me several questions about myself and this pregnancy, my past pregnancy, etc. She told me that because my contractions were still not consistent that I should wait at home and call back when they were anywhere from 2-4 min apart for a few hours. 

11:00pm. I was laying in bed trying to sleep when I had a VERY strong contraction. At this point, I realized that things were starting to progress a little so I prepared myself for a long night. I knew I had several hours ahead of me and would probably be having a baby the next day some time. Silly contractions! They still were so sporadic! Anywhere from 7 min, 10 min, 5 min apart, then a random 3 min break with a contraction that didn’t last very long. Then it would jump back to 10 min. I was so confused. I couldn’t figure out if I was in the early stages of labor, active labor or if my body was just playing a very cruel joke on me. Either way, I worked through those contractions and kept telling myself they weren’t that bad. I expected way worse. I knew it was only going to get worse if this was going anywhere. So I did my best at being positive and totally zoned out during those contractions.

  I learned for myself, that the most comfortable way to handle those contractions was standing up, bracing myself on either my bathroom counter, or the wall and dropping my pelvis and relaxing my belly to allow the contractions to do their thing. I breathed normally through them and just did my very best to let that belly relax. (The best thing I read in that book, that I reminded myself with every contraction, was that MY job as the laboring mother is to “get out of the way of the uterus by relaxing, let the uterus do its job.” I couldn’t have done that if I tensed up my belly and fought the contraction. The contractions are there for a purpose. If I fought them, it was only going to make my labor last longer.) With the intensity of the contraction, I felt that it was hard to relax my entire body, so by bracing myself against something, other parts of my body were taking the heat of the pain while my belly was relaxed. This worked for me. I doubt it would for everyone else. But I’m grateful I learned that during those earlier stronger and almost painful contractions.

Talon did an amazing job being there by my side. He didn’t leave me once. He was the one timing the contractions and would rub my back if needed. He gave me comfort, reassurance and encouragement when I needed it. I’m so grateful I had him!

Monday, May 6th- Baby Girl's Birthday:

12:00am. I was in the shower laboring. The warm water felt great on my back and belly. It was a nice change of scenery as well. During the shower is when we noticed the contractions staying closer to 6 min or less apart. So this was good news. This meant things were finally progressing! (I was expecting a few more hours of this because that is typical with labors, and that's how it happened with my first.)

  However, they still weren’t consistent with their timing. With Emery, I was having contractions either exactly every 15 min apart in the early stages, then it progressed to exactly 10 min apart, then it went to 5 min apart to 3 min apart. None of this all over the map minutes. So that threw all of us off.

12:45am. I started having contractions that stayed closer to 3-5 min apart. Talon and I begun discussing that we would be leaving for the hospital soon. I then had a break where one didn’t come for 7 min. At this point, I got really confused. Why couldn’t they just stay close together and let me know at which stage of the game I was at? So I waited for the next contraction to see how far apart it would be. 3 minutes later I had another one. “Okay, Talon. I can’t take this anymore. This pain is so intense and I want to die. I need that freaking epidural! If I get to the hospital and I am at a 6, I am getting one. I don’t care. I tried this out, and it hasn’t even been 2 hours. The pain is so awful, I am doing my best here. Let’s go.” Talon encouraged me letting me know how GOOD I was doing and that I had to be closer than I thought because I really was doing so well. I told him we had to go.

So I went to put my clothes on and BOOM! Another contraction that was 2 min from the last. It lasted over a minute. I looked at Talon and said, “Seriously. Let’s go.” BOOM! Another one. 2 min apart from the last and lasted over a min. BOOM! Another one. I told him, “I need to go to the bathroom. We have to leave.” It was almost 1:10 am.

I went to my bathroom and what I thought was the sensation to actually go to the bathroom quickly turned to, “Um....I feel like I have to push!” BOOM! Another contraction. The sensation to push was so intense I just couldn’t not let it happen! I told him I felt the head coming. He looked at me and said, “What?!” I told him, “I think the head is coming! GET MOM!” So he ran out to get my Mom who was sound asleep in her room. I reached down and sure enough, I felt the head crowning. Talon came back and called 911. SPLASH! Water broke. Head was still there. I was so panicked. I wanted to sit down because I was having the sensation to go to the bathroom yet I knew I didn’t want to have a baby on my toilet!

Conversation I remember between Talon and Sharon the dispatcher:

Talon: Hi. My wife is having her baby! She feels the head!
Sharon: Okay. Where is she?
Talon: On the toilet. (hahaha)
Sharon: Tell her to get off the toilet. Grab a towel. Lay it on the floor. Have your wife lay on the towel. You are going to deliver this baby.


Talon does as she says and helps me to the floor. I got on all fours and felt the baby go back inside a little. I felt relief. I was like, “Oh, this is good! The paramedics can hurry their tushes over and deliver this baby. I’ll stay like this.” (That was all in my head by the way)

Talon tells me, “Baby you need to lay on your back.” I hesitated. Because I didn’t want to feel the urge to push again! Then the thought came to me that if she had already crowned, it was best we get her out ASAP so there wouldn’t be any complications. I laid on my back on the towel, in the middle of my bedroom floor. 

I don’t remember much conversation detail here. All I remember is my Mom running around grabbing blankets, towels, and listening to what Talon is telling her to get. Talon is down at my feet listening intently to Sharon. I hear her say, “Now, your wife is going to feel the urge to push and you are going to see the head.”

Let me interrupt by saying, I felt at such peace. I looked at my Mom and Talon who seriously looked like they were experiencing the most horrific thing ever and I just didn’t understand why they were so panicked! I kept looking at Talon as I heard him taking guidance from Sharon and I said, “Babe. You are doing amazing. I am so proud of you. You got this. Everything is going to be okay. Guys, everything is going to be okay. I just know it.”

I don’t think they heard me.

Me: I feel like I need to push.

Talon: She has to push!

Sharon told Talon what to do, and I pushed. He said he saw the head. She told him to grab the baby’s head and to pull it out with my push and then the shoulders would come out etc. 

I pushed one time. (Surprisingly, it didn't even hurt!)

Out came baby girl! They placed her on my belly and she took her first breath. Seconds later she started crying. Sharon went on to congratulate us on doing this successfully. Then she told Talon to get a shoe string. My mom gave me blankets to wrap around the baby and made sure to keep her low on my belly so it wouldn’t pull on the umbilical cord.  Talon tied the shoe string around the cord but didn't cut it yet. Moments later two firemen and two paramedics showed up. Their job was already done. 

Proof. I delivered the baby on my bedroom floor. She is laying on my tummy under all of those blankets. 

Dr. Talon delivered his baby girl at approximately 1:25 am. I felt amazing. Baby girl was doing amazing. And I think my Mom and Talon were able to take a breath again. 

Talon holding Ella just moments after he delivered her. Notice his sweet face?  Every time I look at this photo it makes me tear up. I just love him so much. I think of how he held himself together when he wanted to fall apart. I think of his tears and he feared of hurting myself or Ella. I think of his faith as he relied on the Lord to make everything okay. 

I remember feeling really good but my legs began to shake uncontrollably. Which was rather funny because I couldn’t stop it! I couldn’t believe I just had my baby. That it happened so fast. That we both were perfectly healthy and it was not like we just went through a delivery. Paramedics checked her and she didn’t even need to be suctioned out. She was breathing perfectly. 

After some time, they helped me up on this chair that goes down stairs and took me to a stretcher that was waiting for me in my entryway. I was in shock. Here I am being rolled out onto my street with a fire truck and ambulance with their lights going all crazy like a giant disco ball in front of my house. (Was that necessary? I didn’t think so.) Where was the music? I wondered. I kept looking in my neighbors' windows to see if I noticed any curious Joes or Susans peeking through to see what the fuss was about. I kept thinking to myself, “Nothing to see here, folks. We only had an emergency delivery. Go back to bed.” 

I got in the back of the ambulance and began chatting with the paramedic who looked so young! He was the sweetest though. He was the one answering all of my questions and had all of the answers. His name was Stephen. So anyone in the North Las Vegas area, I hope if you ever have an emergency that you meet Stephen. He knows his stuff. Anyway, I found out it was his first in-field emergency delivery. I would have never known.

Baby girl (I’m calling her that still because at this moment in time we still hadn’t decided on a name.) latched on perfectly and had a little snack on our way to the hospital. But thanks to the placenta still being there, it would contract like a labor pain, so my ride wasn't all that exciting. Not fun guys, not fun. We finally got to the hospital where they took us into the labor and delivery room to make sure we were both okay, and we were. I could have told them that. But it was so comforting to hear their amazement at how smoothly everything went. Two hours after delivering baby girl, I finally delivered that placenta and WOO(!) was that fabulous. Life became 100 times happier and comfortable. Doctor finally came in after that (yes, I delivered the placenta myself as well) and said I had one small tear. So, she stitched that up real quickly and that was that.

Um, hi. In the elevator going TO the hospital after giving birth to my baby on my bedroom floor, no medication and very unexpectedly! No doctors. Just me, my husband and my mom. 

L&D staff getting everything ready to check baby girl and I out to make sure we were okay. Waiting to be moved from stretcher to bed. Holding my baby! 

Still waiting on the doctor to come and check on us. 1 hour later she did. 

Right after her first bath. 

We arrived in our recovery room at 5:45 am. No, we didn’t get rest because everyone kept coming in to check on us and then they had shift change which lasted forever. All in all, I was able to sleep for one hour before our day started.

Later that day we decided on a name. So! Ella Rose was born on May 6th at 1:25 am. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce and was 19 inches long. You will find on her birth certificate our home address as her birthplace and her father’s name as the one who delivered her.

Later on that day. Just hours old. Getting some snuggles in!

Well, my beautiful Ella, you made quite the entrance into this world. Yet, you did it so gracefully and beautifully. You gave us an exciting adventure yet kept it non-dramatic at the same time. You are perfect already! Thank you, my sweet girl, for brightening our lives. 

I know for a fact that our Heavenly Father had a hand in the delivery. It was because of His tender mercies that all went so well and complication free. We will forever be in gratitude. Each time I look at Ella, I give Him thanks. We are so blessed.

Oreo Cheesecake (No bake)

Yesterday happened to be Father's Day, and after going through tons of different recipes with Talon on what he wanted for dessert, he finally decided. 

 Oreo Cheesecake. 

A friend of mine had given me a no-bake cheesecake recipe and so I vamped it up with Oreos. One of (if not the best) the yummiest packaged cookies out there.

A few friends asked for the recipe, and so, I like to help a friend (or a few) out. Here you go. Not to mention I need to keep this on file because Talon has requested this at least once a month.

This recipe is easy, fast and you can eat it right away if you'd like. Although, I prefer letting it set a few hours to over-night so it's set a little better. But, feel free to dive right in.

Oreo Cheesecake (No-bake)

Ingredients:

1 package of Double Stuff Oreos
2tbsp butter (melted)
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

**Take out Cream Cheese so it can soften until ready to use.

First start with the crust:

Pulse 20 Oreos in food processor until cookies are in a crumbly state. (Leave in the filling)
In a bowl mix the crumbly state cookies with 2 tbsp of melted butter until well mixed.
Spray a pie dish/tin with some cooking spray.
Pour all crumbs into the dish, spread out and flatten nicely up to the edges. You'll have a nice thick crust. Place in freezer to help harden until you're ready to pour in the cheesecake mixture.

Cheesecake Filling:

Chop up remaining cookies (10) into bigger pieces. -Set aside.

Whip up the Heavy Whipping cream (1 cup although I add a little more) until you can move the bowl around and not have the whipped cream slide all over the place. If in doubt, whip a little more. You'll be able to form some peaks with it. -Set aside.

In separate bowl, whip up Cream cheese, then add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. (This helps so the powdered sugar doesn't go flying all over the place.) Add vanilla. Blend well. Fold in whipping cream until it's well mixed. You'll be able to tell with the different mixtures if it's well blended or not. Add in chopped Oreos until well blended.

Pour on top of crust and spread evenly. Cover with tin foil and place in fridge until ready to eat. Feel free to lick the spoon clean. You'll be happy you did. 

Here are a few pictures, although, keep in mind they were taken with my iphone. And I am not a photographer. haha

May I recommend a glass of milk? 

Even Emery was/is a huge fan! She asked for seconds. She's definitely our daughter.

I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we did.

And yes, I know. I need to blog more often. Jumping right on that.

Peace and love baby. 

The revolution of the blueberry pancake.

This is my first food blog post, well, ever.

I'm pretty excited about it. In fact, this blog was never suppose to be a food blog. It was suppose to be a "our story" blog. And well, as life changes, so does my blog. Ha! I can't promise when the next time I post about food will be, so enjoy it while you can. You should be happy I'm even blogging!

You'll be so happy with my choice of food though. Pancakes. Whipping cream. Fruit topping.

That's it.


Observe.

If, perhaps, you can't eat wheat, you can substitute for a gluten-free pancake mix.  

 Yes, this is all you need to create a little slice of heaven in your mouth. Easy, right?

Here is what you get. (Yours may turn out prettier. I won't complain.)

Psst. Don't make fun of my photo skills! 

Directions:
1. Simply make your pancakes.
2. Scoop a few spoonfuls of the fruit topping over pancake.
3. Whip-cream the edges as so. Or, if you're like me, fill in the entire pancake with the whipped cream!
4. Savor every bite. And help yourself to seconds. Or thirds.

Blueberry topping is my favorite. But you can choose the type of fruit that suits your taste buds best. Raspberry, strawberry, cherry etc

Like I said, it's very simple, and I promise you, it's delicious. When I made this, (this morning) I ate just this. But, when my mother in-law makes it, she serves it with bacon/sausage/eggs/orange juice. All I wanted today is the pancakes.

It's like, a revolution to the "blueberry pancake".

Enjoy. Let me know what you think.

xoxo, C