2 weeks in the life of Rebecca

Rebecca has had a busy two weeks. She's already been to the doctor three times, which means traveling to Durango, CO for each visit. She helped us celebrate Ryan's 4th birthday as well as my mom's birthday. She has been to a going away party (for my friend Linda) and a bachelorette party (for my sister, Liana). She went to her first playgroup where her brothers showed her off to all their friends. Plus I'm sure I missed more she has done this last two weeks. So basically if she keeps this up she will be as busy as her mom. ;)

Make a Smilebox photobook

At her two week check up she weighed 6lbs 2oz and was 19 1/4in long. A few days before this appointment she began having trouble sleeping at night plus she was gagging a lot while I was nursing her (even to the point of loosing her breath completely, which is very scary). The doctor checked her out and she seemed to be in good health but after we talked more we realized that these were the same symptoms Dylan had as a baby. He was finally diagnosed with acid reflux at 2 months old...he began the medication and was instantly transformed into a very healthy, happy baby. So the doctor put Rebecca on acid reflux medicine which has helped 99%! She only wakes twice a night to nurse, rarely gags, and hasn't lost her breath since beginning the medicine. I'm so happy we caught this early with Rebecca because it was a miserable 2 months with Dylan before we finally got him treated for it, not to mention the fact that he had to nurse every 2 hours until he was 8+ months because of all the problems the acid reflux had caused him. Anyways, she is a very calm precious baby and we really enjoy having her in our family!!

Please check out the photo book above of her over the last two weeks!

Ryan is 4!!

We celebrated Ryan's birthday on his birthday the 25th of July. Ryan had been planing his party since April when he helped with Dylan's party. He decided he wanted to have a "Cars" themed birthday (this is the third year he asked for that theme, lol). He chose who to invite and helped me make the invitations. He was a great little party planner, I'd like to think he gets that from me. He assigned all of us tasks...Dad was to bbq the hotdogs and hamburgers on this "griller", Yaya was to make potato salad and a cake, Mom was to take care of the decorations, Dylan and Liana were to help with anything Mom needed. When he asked his Yaya and Papa (my parents) to make the cake he didn't know what he was in for. They surprised him with the awesome Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Sally cakes on the day of the birthday. (They put a lot of work into those cakes as they didn't use molds or anything like that!!)

Part of Ryan's planning was that he wanted to have his friends come play in the sprinklers and kiddie pool when they came to his party. He helped set it all up, then he had a blast!! Here are some pictures of his party in this slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Rebecca Lynn Stromberg

Rebecca was born July 18th at 11:24am. She weighed 5lbs 15oz and was 18in long.

My water broke at 3:45am...Jason didn't believe me but he still loaded the boys and the van to head to my mom's house. We arrived at my mom's house and dropped off the boys to my step dad at 4:30am then with my mom driving headed to Mercy Medical in Durango CO. We arrived just after 5am where the confirmed that my water had broken but that I was only 3cm dilated. We took a long walk around the hospital before heading back to the room to sit on the birthing ball for a while. They checked me again and I was 4 1/2cm so I got in the jacuzzi tub to relieve some of the pain I was having from my back labor. I spent over an hour in there (it was very nice and soothing), when I got out they checked me and I was only 5cm so we decided it was best I walked some more. After another walk around the hospital I was at my breaking point. I was tired, achy, and the contractions had been coming every 2 minutes since 5am. My mom and Jason kept talking me through the contractions and convinced me we should head back to the room where I could rest for a bit. Once we got back to the room they checked again and I was 7 1/2cm. I was ready for some form of relief but my mom and Jason kept telling me to hang in there. After they set up the room for the delivery they checked and realized I was 9cm. It only took three pushes and 10 minutes total to get Rebecca out. She arrived at 11:24am. She had the umbilical cord rapped around her neck twice and once around her body but she was okay and healthy.

All in all it was only 6 hours of hard labor total. Of course this does not include the last two weeks that I have been having contractions but that will all soon be a blur. Other than being exhausted today I am doing well. Rebecca is doing awesome, with no signs of jaundice and all her test came back with wonderful results, so even being a little over 2 weeks early she is doing great!! She is so tiny...even the newborn clothing swallows her. =) We were released today at 11am! We picked up the boys at my moms house and are now home spending some family time together!

Swim Lessons!!

Ryan and Aaron have been taking swim lessons over the last two weeks at the Kirtland High School swimming pool. No one else would let Aaron take lessons because he is not yet three years old but after talking to the director of swimming in Kirtland they let him in the program. They had a blast every day and it worked out great because as soon as lessons were over we would head over to the cafeteria for lunch then home for naps. On Thursday they both passed Level 1 swim lessons!!

We wanted to put Ryan in lessons because he is really timid around water. I think part of that is because he has always had tubes in his ears so we had to be extra cautious and he had to wear plugs in his ears which in turn made him almost fear swimming pools a little. Well I watched him over the last two weeks turn into a good little swimmer. He can go under the water now (although he doesn't like to,lol), he can float on his back with very little support and overall is very comfortable in the water now.

Aaron on the other hand had no fear of the water which scarred us to death because he had no problem just jumping in. He learned all the skills he needs to safely get in and out of the water plus he now spends a good amount of time just going under the water.

Meanwhile, Dylan wasn't old enough for lessons yet so he would sit on the bench and cheer for the boys. He would yell at them to swim faster, jump in the water, stay in the water, and anything else he could think of. He didn't care that all the other adults were listening and giggling at him, he just had to make sure they were doing the right thing at all times. (I think he gets that bossy side from me.)

Today I took them swimming at the Farmington Aquatic Center. It was so nice to not have to be in constant fear. They all did really well and they really understand all the rules of swimming much better now. I normally keep them in the wade pool so they can all walk around and I don't have to worry about anything but today I took them to the big pool. Dylan wanted me to teach him the things he had seen the boys learn in lessons. While the other two could push off the wall and swim to me plus if they went under they would swim right back up. Ryan and Aaron even went down the little slide. It was so much fun , I can't wait to take them swimming again!!

The end is insight!

I had my regular appointment with my midwives this Thursday. Well wait let me start off by saying I spent last Saturday night in the hospital with contractions every 5 to 6 minutes. They released me Sunday morning after checking me and seeing no progress with my cervix. I returned to the hospital Wednesday evening with contractions every 3 minutes lasting a minute long. Needless to say I have had none stop contractions for the last two weeks. They stay pretty consistant however my cervix is not progressing any.

After several meltdowns throughout this week I had a long talk with my midwife on Thursday and she was so sympathetic. She went ahead and set an induction date for July 27th. I'll go in at 7:30am, they'll put a pill on my cervix that will take an hour to be in full effect then they suspect we'll have our baby girl sometime mid morning on the 27th. She checked me again and says I am 3cm dilated, 75% effaced, and a -1, so she doesn't think I'll hold out until the 27th but at least I know the end is insight.

I really have enjoyed this pregnancy however the last couple weeks have been very trying for me because the contractions I'm having are not just braxon hicks...they are strong contractions that take so much of my energy out. Plus I have had a lot of swelling in my hands and feet making it difficult to move around and do things. I have had no patience and all I want to do is sleep. I am getting good sleep at night but by mid morning I'm already exhausted from all the contractions. It doesn't help that I have OCD because then I want my house to be perfect at all times so I push myself really hard to stay on top of everything, not giving myself much of a break.

Of course this baby can come at any time before the 27th but if you haven't heard anything from us before then, then I'm sure you will be hearing from us on the 27th! Until the day comes wish me luck!! =)