Hospital Stay

Winnie Palmer Hospital is the best place to
have a baby. We had another great experience
and felt well taken care of. Here are some
pictures from Piper's first few days.

Warming up in the nursery

Holding hands with daddy

Hospital bath

 All cleaned up

"I'm a girl!"

Piper and Dr. Merritt (my OB)

Cuddle time with mom

Piper's first visitors: Grandpa Bill

(who was in town for business)

and big brother Corbett!

Corbett was in awe: we had told him

for months that mommy had a baby in her

tummy and that it was still growing.

At the hospital, we explained that the 

baby was "all done growing!"

Corbett admiring his baby sister

Corbett was so gentle and sweet.

Hugs!

I missed my boy while I was away.

First family photo

Corbett giving Piper a stuffed

bunny that he helped pick out.

Time to head home

First time outside

Strapped in nice and tight

And we're off!

Officially a two kid family.

Meet Piper!

Introducing our newest addition,

a sweet baby GIRL!

Piper Dawn Deines

Born April 16, 2014
at 11:27 pm
6 lbs 11.5 oz
19 1/4 inches long

Here is the story of her birth:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

8:15 am
I went to the doctor for my 38 week checkup.
Jake and Corbett accompanied me.
I was 4 cm dilated and the doctor discussed
induction the following week, but told me
she would be surprised if I made it to 39 weeks.

9:00 am
We had an ultrasound, because I was
measuring small and the doctor wanted to make
sure everything was okay. The baby looked great,
but at one point the ultrasound tech slipped
and used a male pronoun, reinforcing my belief
that we were having a baby boy.

10:00 am
Corbett and I dropped Jake off at work
and went to Einstein's, where we shared
a cinnamon raisin bagel and watched the
cars and buses drive by on Orange Ave.

I started feeling periodic contractions but
they were not painful so I assumed they were
Braxton Hicks contractions or perhaps
a result of my exam that morning.

1:00 pm
I took a nap while Corbett was napping,
and the contractions seemed to go away.

4:30 pm
Corbett and I went outside so he could
ride his bike. The contractions were back; still
not painful but starting to feel more regular.

6:00 pm
We picked up Jake from work. I told him
I was having contractions but wasn't sure if they
were "the real thing" or not. We went to Target
to pick up a few things and the contractions started
feeling more intense. After Target, we ducked into
a nearby nail salon and I got my eyebrows waxed.
If the baby was coming soon I wanted
to look good for pictures!

7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Got dinner for the boys and tried to rest,
but couldn't get comfortable. The contractions
were getting stronger and more regular. I decided
I better go and get checked out, so I texted the
neighbors to come stay with Corbett and
finished packing my bag for the hospital

9:30 pm
Arrived at triage and spent an intense
20-30 minutes waiting to be seen. My
contractions were coming every 2 minutes and
lasting 1 min each. Once the nurse called me back,
she quickly sent me to a room. At this point my
body was starting to shake and the nurses were
acting urgent. They checked me and then
started running me up to labor/delivery.

I informed everyone that I was not planning
on a natural birth and asked for an epidural if
possible. Found out later I was dilated to 9 cm
but they called the anesthesiologist anyway.

10:30 pm
Got the epidural and met the doctor on
call (Dr. Scott). He asked if I was ready to
get things started and I asked for a few more
minutes to get used to the idea...
Everything was happening so fast
and I was a little in shock!

10:45 pm
Dr. Scott broke my water.

11:00 pm
Started pushing.

11:27 pm
Baby came out and I teared up
when I heard that beautiful first cry.
The first thing Jake said was,
"I can't see what it is!"
Then, in a surprised voice,
"It's a girl!"

She was placed on my chest and once again,
our lives were forever changed.

First picture

Cutting the cord

Getting acquainted

Perfect little fingers

Tiny toes

The official weigh-in

Testing out her "pipes"

Footprints

Happy Mama

Proud Daddy

Mother and Daughter

We are in love!

Second Pregnancy

Life gets busy, and we took a lot

less pregnancy pictures this time around

than we did with Corbett. But here

are a few, along with some details

about my second pregnancy.

Weeks: 4

Occasion: Our anniversary, and the

day I found out I was pregnant

Location: Siesta Key, FL

Weeks: 22

Occasion: Christmas

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Weeks: 29

Occasion: Family Beach Vacation

Location: Siesta Key, FL

Weeks: 33

Occasion: My sister-in-law 

asked to see a belly photo

Location: My bathroom

Weeks: 38

Occasion: In labor!

Location: My bathroom

This pregnancy was pretty similar

to my first. I started feeling sick around

week 8 and started feeling better around 

week 14. I only threw up once.

I can't say I had any major food

aversions or cravings this time around.

I ate because I needed to, but food

in general did not taste as good

as it does when I am not pregnant.

Total weight gain was 30 pounds

(more than I gained with Corbett).

Once again, I measured small and

so I had to have a few extra ultrasounds.

Both times the fluids looked great and

the baby was growing normally.

The only major difference between

this pregnancy and the last one was that

I had "bacne" (acne on my back) for the

first half of the pregnancy. It was a little

painful, but eventually went away.

I wondered if that difference meant I 

was having a girl this time...

I definitely started feeling more

tired towards the end, and started 

taking daily naps when Corbett napped.

This pregnancy also felt longer than

my first, even though it ended up being

a week and a half shorter.

Overall, I feel blessed that I had

such an uneventful pregnancy and 

that I felt pretty great for most of it.

That being said, I am enjoying not

being pregnant anymore!