Chase Bingham: Birth Story

I'd been in false labor for 5 days when I felt the first little "gush" that lead to many more. I always thought your water breaking was a pop followed by lots of water, soaking your pants and no doubt that your water just broke. Well for me it wasn't like that at all. Baby's head was so far down it couldn't all come out at once, so small amounts would 'leak out' when I changed positions. I also thought water breaking meant painful and hard contractions were close behind, but I didn't experience those either. But when I called the hospital to let them know what was going on, the doctor on call laughed a little and said "if your water broke, we will keep you and you will have a baby". So to the hospital we went.

The nurse did three tests to ensure my water had indeed broke. I practically cheered when she said I passed all three tests. I was going to have this little baby within the next 24 hours. I was so ready. Chase and I were led to our room where our baby boy would enter the world. I looked around, taking it all in. Once I was situated in the bed, my nurse, a sweet lady named Bree, asked about my birth plan. I'd thought a lot about this after having to deliver Elsie by C-section. I was super nervous but felt confident in my choice to do a VBAC. I wanted an Epidural, skin to skin, and alone time. Those were my three big things. So I got the juice, some pitocin to get my contractions regular, and the waiting game began.

By the time I could actually rest it was 2am. Chase and I were both exhausted. So we tried to sleep until it was time to push. 5am my nurse came to check me and I was an 8! I was progressing much faster than they expected! We text my mom and told her to hurry down. An hour later I was a 10 and they were setting me up to push just as my mom was walking in the door. I went through two rounds of pushing when the doctor decided it would be best to let my body work baby down a little further so I wouldn't have to push as long. She told me to call her when I felt the urge to push. An hour later I was ready.

I started pushing at 8am. My epidural made it hard to know where to push so I decided to let it wear off a little and not push the button for more. After a while I could feel the contractions coming and I began telling the nurses and doctor when it was time to push instead of them telling me. I really really liked being able to listen to my body and allow it to do what it already knew how to do. I was scared it would start to really hurt as my contractions got harder and closer together, but as soon as I started pushing, the pain would subside. It was amazing, but I was getting soo exhausted. I felt like I had been pushing forever. Chase was amazing through it all. Telling me how great I was doing and getting excited when I made progress.

After what felt like an eternity they told me that if I really focus and push, he could be here in the next couple pushes. So I pushed with everything I had. "his head is out!" Chase was so excited. I could tell they were struggling a little. He was stuck. Someone pushed the alarm and 3 pediatric doctors rushed into the room. I kept pushing and suddenly he was here. I heard the doctor say "He's huge!" they laid him on my chest and I just laughed. He was finally here! Born at 10:07am after two hours of pushing. Because he didn't have oxygen for 10-15 seconds while his shoulder was stuck they had to take him away to be checked.

The next 10 minutes was a blur of doctors and nurses running round. When they finally brought him back to me I just stared at his little face. He was so perfect. He looked so much like his dad. I want to say the rest of the day was spent loving on my sweet boy and basking in the newborn smell... But I lost a lot of blood and could barely stay awake. My head felt fuzzy and my body so weak. The nurses were worried a piece of placenta was stuck to the lining of my uterus because I was hemorrhaging pretty bad. So they gave me a C-section dose of anesthesia in my epidural and prepped me for the OR so it could be removed. I also got three huge shots in my leg to try and stop the bleeding... Im so glad I was numb. Luckily when the nurse came back in to check me again, the bleeding had slowed and they decided surgery wouldn't be necessary.

Later that evening after we had settled into our recovery room, I was able to really hold and look at my little boy. BOY! It is still so surreal that I have a son! His little blonde eyebrows and eyelashes, his long arms and legs, his big hands, and his hair that we aren't quite sure if its red or blonde. Oh the perfection. Having Bingham naturally was an amazing experience. It was hard, tiring, invigorating and amazing. I look at him and cannot believe what my body went through to get him here, and I am so grateful for it.

The next day we wanted to get checked out as soon as possible. We couldn't wait to get home and get settled in as our family of four! I will write about Elsie and Bingham meeting a little later... but for now here are some pictures.

 

Summer nights

Sometimes the weather is just perfect and it feels wrong to stay indoors. So we head out back to soak it all in. Picking raspberries, throwing the football, and having Elsie run back and forth across the yard as fast as she can. Ive been horrible at breaking out the camera. We take tons of pictures on our phones, but there's something about using the real camera. And I'm so happy we caught a little piece of this gorgeous evening together.

A "Bumpdate"

I'm 23 weeks today and I seriously cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy and has flew by. This little boy will be here before we know it. I cannot wait. Looking back through the pictures on my phone, I got sad that I haven't taken very many "bump" pictures. When I was pregnant with Elsie I took tons of pictures, wrote her cute little letters, and documented every kick and contraction. With this second baby things are different. I have a toddler that keeps me on my toes. Not that I am any less excited for this baby, but my attention is spent on my little girl that is here now. Its still fun when I feel him turning flips and when we lay in bed at night Chase and I just lay there feeling him kick and move around. Anyways! Here are some of the pictures so far from this pregnancy:

This is how we announced to our families

16 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

Almost 23 weeks

Fourth of July Weekend

Let me begin by acknowledging the fact that I haven't blogged in months... Im lame, whatever. Also this is going to be long with a major picture overload. Sorry in advance.

This weekend was one for the books. Chase's parents drove up from Arizona and oh, did we do a lot while they were here!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the 3rd... But we went to a golf course where they had tons of booths with food, popcorn, face painting and anything else you could think of. Then everyone spread blankets out and kids slid down the hills and played catch while we waited for the sun to go down. It was incredible how many people were there! At 10:30 the fireworks show started. It was the coolest thing because the fireworks were literally right above us filling the entire sky! But because it was so late Elsie was falling asleep and didn't get to fully enjoy the experience. It will definitely be something we look forward to for next year!

For the fourth we went up to Hyrum to see Chase's uncle and family. Chase's grandparents were also up there visiting from Az so it was nice to see them too. We spent the afternoon and evening out on the front porch enjoying the beautiful day. The kids rode bikes and skateboards, caught butterflies, and played on the swings. Since it doesn't get dark till about 10 up here in Utah, we lit off some small fireworks for the kiddos around 7. Elsie loved the colors and was just giddy over all the excitement. And of course her cute dress was made by her Nana.

On our drive home from that night, fireworks filled the entire sky. As we drove down the freeway they were everywhere we looked! You could see at least 10 different shows the entire hour and a half drive. It was awesome and such a perfect ending to our day.

The rest of the weekend was spent swimming, eating great food, lighting off the rest of our fireworks, and making our yard beautiful. Chase's parents, as well as grandma, grandpa and uncle who came down from Hyrum, helped to clean up our yard. All the beauty of spring had died off and this was our first summer here and we weren't exactly sure what plants to cut down, what flowers to plant, or even the best mulch to buy! So they all took charge and showed us what we needed to do. It turned into quite a long day of work and I am so grateful for all of their willingness to help get our yard looking more beautiful than ever!

Sunday we were also able to see Grandma and Grandpa Thompson as well as Chase's aunt and uncle who live in California. They came over and went to church with us which was so nice! And Chase's mom bought Elsie the cutest dress so we had to get some pictures at the park in front of the church.

This morning everyone left and Elsie was so so sad. It was a very busy, crazy, fun weekend and I am so glad we got to share it with people we love. Thanks Nana and Bompa!!

Flying with a toddler

It's been a few weeks that we've been home from AZ and we are already planning another trip back! We got to spend time with our favorite people and we just never seem to have enough time. Chase's best friend Jon got married March 7th and it was so nice to have an excuse to get down there. Chase was on a business trip in Mexico until Thursday so he got there just in time for all the wedding day festivities.

Because we wanted to spend as much time there as we could, Elsie and I had to fly separate from Chase. I've done it many times before, but as she has gotten older its gotten much more difficult. Last time I flew alone with her was almost 6 months ago! She was barely walking. So I knew I had to be prepared. I decided to only bring a small backpack with us and borrow clothes, and the essentials from my mom and sister. So I had very limited space. Here's what I made sure to bring.

•Coloring book + crayons. (I need to find triangular shaped crayons for furture...)
•Ipad with movies, games and headphones so no ones gets annoyed.
•Snacks... I brought a tupperware of her favorite crackers and we made fruit loop necklaces for her to wear and eat.
•Normally Elsie only gets her binkie at night time. But I brought one just in case her ears were bugging her or I needed to shut her up.
•Easy grab wipes and diapers are essential. Heaven forbid you have to change your toddler on the plane.
•Empty water bottle that you can fill it up at a drinking fountain once you pass through security.
•Toothbrush. Elsie LOVES her toothbrush so I figured it would work if nothing else was.
•Also be sure to bring a blanket. It gets cold on flights sometimes and its nice to be able to bundle baby up.

I also made sure to wear jeans and a sweater so I could use pockets to hold our boarding passes and my ID. That made a huge difference. We chose to drop her car seat off when we checked in so we didn't have to lug it through security. Also we didn't bring a stroller. But I imagine you cant do that when you have multiple kiddos. Anyways, over all the flight was a success with only one minor outbreak when the crackers were gone... nothing an good old disney movie couldn't fix! Flying with kids is always a little scary but I'd take it any day over driving 12+ hours!!

Home Tour: Bathroom

Now its probably weird to feature a bathroom on a home tour... But I really like our bathroom. We have another bathroom in the master bedroom but it is so small. So that bathroom is Chase's and this bathroom is Mine & Elsie's. Plus its the bathroom any guests would use. Enjoy!!

This is the view from the hall. Rugs are from IKEA and are AMAZING!

Shower curtain was a lucky find at Ross. Frame and Plants from IKEA.

I love the look of this vanity, but in the future I would definitely want cupboards instead of open space beneath the sink.

Towel rack from IKEA. If you guys havent noticed yet I am obsessed with IKEA.

'Get Naked' vinyl made by my mother in law.

Im not sure which room will be next. The guest room and master still need some work... Stay tuned to find out!

Home Tour: Kitchen

Our kitchen is so small with limited counter space and an extremely tiny sink. But its ohh so pretty. The previous owners redid the entire thing with ikea cupboards, a beautiful tile backsplash, and granite counter tops.

We hung cups hooks and a paper towel holder from the bottom of the cupboards so we would have no wasted space. You can also see through to the laundry room in this picture... not sure if ill do a tour of that, we will see.

We got this butcher block island from IKEA. Keeping the microwave and my bosch on the lower shelf is a huge help in keeping the counters open. Chef Thompson statue is from Chase's friend Jesse.

Close up of the backsplash and my Valentines flowers I just cant seem to get rid of. Oh and don't mind the full sink, I didn't feel like doing the dishes.

Best idea ever. Use IKEA spice rack to hold cookbooks. And a hook for all my cute aprons.

This is the other side of the kitchen... We really have no room for a table. But we have a plan. We are going to build in a cute little breakfast nook. The bench will line the wall in that corner and i'll have beautiful open shelving above it for all my dishes that deserve to be shown off

The last thing is my lovely magnet calendar that was made by my mother in law and grandma. Its perfect for holding random pictures and all the wedding invites or cards we get. There are coordinating paper and title for each month and its always fun to change it out.

Thanks for exploring my kitchen with me and stay tuned for the next room!

Home Tour: Living Room

When we first moved into our house we didn't have one speck of living room furniture. Like none... So my Grandma sent up and old pink velvet rocking chair and my aunt (that so graciously let us live with her while we waited for our closing date) gave us her old couch. Then we found an old beat up coffee table and two side tables for $20 at a garage sale. So we got those to add to the mess. I wish SOO badly I had a before picture, but I was too embarrassed to take one. Plus I hated the room so much that we never really spent any time in there! Well not anymore. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you our new and improved living room!

Basically everything here besides the piano and chest are from IKEA. That cedar chest Chase got before his mission. He told me he picked one he thought his future wife would like. OH and don't mind the empty frame... its a constant reminder to get family pictures taken.

Couch was a steal of a deal from costco. Curtains, pillows and throws from IKEA.

Rocking Chair was originally red with bears painted on it. It was Chase's moms when she was a girl, and was passed through all her kids. Chase's dad refinished it for Elsie and she loves it.

Mirrors//Record player

picture ledges and frames from IKEA. Ampersand from Hobbie Lobby.

We are eventually going to hang a TV over the fireplace. But for now this will do. Frames are all old.

Antlers we found. Wedding bouquet=wilted...

And this is our mail box. BEST THING EVER. The mail man walks right up to our door and sticks it here so I don't have to leave the house to get it.

And that wraps up the living room. Next up, the kitchen!