Samantha Jayne Eastman

Isn't she lovely... Isn't she beautiful... 

Thanks Lionel Richie, you really say it best!

She melts our hearts... even at 2 am...

The Birth

For those of you who care to hear and so I have some place to document it.... (sorry, it's going to be a long post)

This was the last picture taken before she was born, about July 31, 2011

So here is how I thought my labor/delivery was going to go....

I didn't think I was really going to make it to Sept 14th, Heber was certain she would come Sept 1st; BUT I had planned to get a manicure and pedicure, have my hair freshly colored and trimmed, body shaved and I wanted to wear a little cotton skirt and tee shirt instead of those awful hospital gowns that reveal your whole backside...

Let's just say NONE of the above happened!

The week Sami was born, I hadn't been feeling well. I mean, feeling worse than just being pregnant. My feet, ankles and lower legs had been swollen for quite some time and they weren't getting any smaller and my belly hadn't been sitting well. But I was 36 weeks pregnant... so for all I knew this was just part of the pregnant experience.

The night before she was born I woke up around 1 am to go to the bathroom (a common occurrence at this point; bathroom breaks every hour to be exact). I had a sharp pain near the bottom of my sternum. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach! I tried to sleep it off and couldn't. After about an hour I woke up Heber. Something didn't seem right. I felt so yucky. Heber was so sweet and wanted to help me in any way he could, but unfortunately there wasn't much he could do. At about 2:30 am we decided to call the "on-call" doctor and see what he said. He tried to convince me I was having heart-burn pains and I should take a couple TUMS. If that didn't work after about an hour I could try going to the hospital.

I was certain what I was feeling was NOT heart-burn!!! But Heber diligently and lovingly went to the gas station during the wee hours of the morning to get TUMS. I took them (YUCK!). And to no avail, no relief. At this point I decided to try and stick it out for a few more hours and call my doctor's nurse at 8:30 am when they got in.

The nurse also tried to tell me it was probably heart-burn and to try taking Previcid instead. I still was quite certain this was not heart-burn. I told her about my swelling and how I had read that a symptom of preeclampsia was abdominal pain. She looked at my chart and decided I should come into the office and have my blood pressure and urine checked just to be sure but still wanted me to take Previcid just in case. Heber again went to the store to get the Previcid. I took it and I had my appointment at 10:30 am.

These were my feet in early July. They about doubled in size from this pic... 

Those Pink CROCKS were the only shoes that I could jam my feet into by the end...

I was also supposed to work that day. I had called my manager, Marci earlier that morning to let her know I wasn't feeling well and couldn't come in. I told her about my doctor appointment and told her I would keep her posted, as my entire office was supposed to go get pedicures that afternoon. (see all part of the original plan...)

I tried to eat some toast before going to the doctor. I could only take two bites. I decided I should get in the shower before my appointment so I was all clean for the lovely exams you experience at the OB/GYN. It had to be quick though because it was almost time to leave. So I threw on some sweats, pulled back my wet hair and put on a hat and out the door we went.

The nurse wanted a urine sample. I knew this would be hard because I had been up all night in the bathroom with my upset stomach. After a good 20 minutes in the bathroom, the nurse knocked on the door and told me not to worry, she could start by taking my blood pressure. After getting a reading, the blood pressure machine started to beep because my blood pressure was so high! She asked me if I rushed to get to the doctor. I assured her that it was impossible for me to rush anywhere in my condition! So she tried my other arm. Same response.

We went and got Heber out of the waiting room and they put me in a room to see the Doctor. (keep in mind that my regular appointment was scheduled for 4 days later and they were going to: do the step b test, check my cervix and do an ultrasound to see our baby's position and make sure her head was down) The Doctor was concerned about my high blood pressure and still needed a urine sample to check the protein levels in my urine to be able to determine if this was full blown preeclampsia or not. He checked my cervix and determined that I was dilated to 1 cm and about 50% effaced.

Next, they sent me down the hall to a lazy-boy to try and "relax" and hooked me up to some monitors to track my contractions & baby's heart rate. They were hoping sitting/relaxing for a while would lower my blood pressure too.

This is the only bare belly pic we got....

After being hooked up for about an hour, my blood pressure wasn't coming down and my urine sample came back with a lot of protein.... This is when they sent us to Labor and Delivery.... The only cure to make my body healthy again. 

So I waddled on over there to put on the gown I didn't want to wear and missed out on my pedicure session with the work ladies. Once there they started me on Pitocin to get things moving and started me on an antibiotic (since they didn't know if I was Strep B positive or not). They also drew some blood and were able to determine that my liver enzymes were through the roof too. My liver was what was hurting after all...NOT heart-burn!

After a few hours in Labor & Delivery my Doctor decided to break my water to help keep things progressing because my blood pressure was still escalating. After being up "there" for what felt like an eternity, he realized he wasn't sure of the baby's head position. He wasn't certain that what he was feeling was the baby's head. So he stopped, thankfully, and we did a quick ultrasound. Sure enough baby's head wasn't down, she was BREECH!

Yet, another curveball for the day! Off with the Pitocin, off with the Antibiotic and prep for a c-section! 

After I got the spinal, so I couldn't feel the surgery, I felt SUPER groggy... 

As if I wasn't already tired enough...

Here she comes, bum first (Her head is still inside me in this pic and you can see her back/bum and leg right below the Doctor's left hand)

Miss Samantha Jayne Eastman is born!

August 19, 2011 at 5:26 pm

I delivered at 36 weeks and 2 days

Little Miss weighed in at 5 pounds even, 17 inches long

Sami was able to come back to our room with us. Once there they checked her glucose levels and they were very low. Heber fed her a bottle right away to try and help but her levels weren't adequate so they took her to the nursery for 2 1/2 days. She needed a little oxygen and some IV fluids but other than that she was healthy! What more could we ask for!

We feel extremely blessed to have her in our life and we're looking forward to all the adventures that await us!

It's My Birthday...

This year has to be one of the best birthday's I may have every had. Heber has totally out-done himself!!!

For starters, girls camp was this week so Heber and I drove up for dinner and testimony meeting Thursday night. (Along the way we happened to dream up the place we'd love to have a cabin someday) And what is a birthday at girls camp without pranking the birthday girl with some silly string! They got me pretty good!

 The next morning we headed for LAS VEGAS! Heber surprised me and planned a trip to spend time together and to see the Jabbawockeez!!!!!  We have been talking about going to see them for quite some time, so I was pretty excited when that was my birthday present!

We had excellent seats (on the front row)!! So we were right in the middle of the action. Here are some pics from our adventure!

Like I said, we had good seats. Good enough that they played around a little with us...

It was a fantastic little get away. I am one spoiled little girl....

XO

Carley

Countdown Begins...

July 2nd marked the 30 week mark for our pregnancy, which means we only have 10 weeks (hopefully at the most) till we get to meet our little bundle.

I happen to love paper chains. I love to make one at Christmas time to count down, I'm pretty sure I made Heber one as a count down till we got married, so why not make one now? Seemed like the obvious choice....

We now only have 8 short weeks to get everything ready. We started taking a Lamaze class in preparation for the birth. So far it's pretty informative and a little weird.  Let's hope it pays off in the long run.

 It still seems pretty far away... but I'm sure before you know it she'll be here!

Demo Derby 2011

One thing that always seems to mark the beginning of summer for us is the Western Stampede Demolition Derby. This year marks the fifth year we've traditionally gone and dressed up like cowgirls (for the ladies) and white trash (for the dudes). This year was no exception! Where else can you watch cars get smashed up, sip on a snow cone and have your friends be the center of attention?!?

We had tons of fun and here are some pics to prove it!

 Heber decided he needed to grow some nasty facial hair so beginning in April he didn't shave... W.O.W. That's all I have to say.

The dudes in all their glory

Group shot. No I'm not wearing a pillow under my shirt, that's the real deal people!

The before...

The during....

And the after...

I'm already stoked for next year!!!!

Portland? Okay!

We have been busy trying to plan lots of get away's before the baby is here and our "free-time" is more limited. We decided a trip to Portland Oregon was just the ticket!

We stayed at the Ace Hotel, which is oober design friendly and makes Heber drool. We did lots of shopping, food trucking, sight seeing and relaxing. We also fell in love with a doughnut shop called Voo Doo Doughnuts... That is the stuff dreams are made of... Couldn't have been a better weekend!

Yes, the baby bump is in full force!

We visited the beautiful Multnomah Falls while we were there. It is the second tallest, year-round, natural waterfall in the US. It was pretty amazing!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

This year it was my turn to plan our anniversary. I decided we should head back to Vegas and see a Cirque du Solei show and reminisce to when Heber flew us there for our first Valentines Day together, while we where dating. It didn't disappoint. The show was amazing, the food was fantastic and the people watching blew our minds.

We both feel pretty darn lucky to have each other! Here's to many many more!!!