Photo Dump - Jane

I've been so bad at updating things with Jane...the first few weeks were a blur! But we managed to capture some cute pictures of her and it's amazing to see how much she has grown already!!

These are pictures from July...

Dad & Jane taking a snooze

Jane with Grandma Young

Out on her first walk!

After a bath

One month old!

And these are some pictures from August...

Love her face :) 

A little blurry, but she busted out of her swaddle and just looked so cute :)

Getting the hang of the bumbo

Love this face!!!!

Looking so cute!

She has grown so much and is just the light of our lives! She has such a cute personality and it's been so fun watching her grow. I will try to keep up some weekly updates so that I don't forget things :)

Jane Mauna Clayton

**This post is a little long - so if you want to jump straight to the pictures, scroll on down!**

It all started on Thursday, June 27th. Early in the afternoon, I kept getting the feeling that I was leaking fluid...I wasn't sure if it was amniotic fluid or if baby was just playing on my bladder, but that evening, we decided to go the hospital to get it checked out for sure. We had been taking childbirth classes through the hospital here and we were told multiple times to come to the hospital and get tested if you think your water may have broken. So, we did.

We got there at about 6pm, got settled in and tested. The first test they ran was inconclusive but the second test they ran came back positive, meaning that my 'water had broken'. This meant that we were going to have this baby within the next 24 hours!

At this point, I'm just going to paraphrase the events of the labor and delivery, since it was very long!
* The labor lasted from 1pm to 2:10pm the next day, making it a 25 hour labor.
* I pushed for about 4 hours before the doctor decided to do a c-section. The reason for the c-section was because of my bony pelvis. Apparently my pelvic bone structure physically won't allow babies through.
  - As a side note, I am so grateful for modern medical science!! Without the c-section, I probably would have died in labor (you know, like 100 years ago) or my children would have died, or we both would have died. While a c-section isn't ideal, I'm glad that both I and Jane were healthy.
* While I wanted to have a natural labor, I ended up choosing to get an epidural. However, about an hour after getting the epidural, it wore off! So I had to get a 2nd epidural...that was an adventure!
* Jane was born with some extra blood in her head, between her skin and her skull. After doing some tests to make sure she didn't have a blood or brain issue, she was under observation for her jaundice levels. While in the hospital and for a couple of days after being discharged, she had to have a BiliBlanket to help breakdown the red blood cells. Unfortunately, after a couple of days out of the hospital, the doctors determined that she needed to be admitted to the NICU to be under high-powered lights to breakdown the blood faster. She was in the NICU for 2 days, which was super hard, but it was necessary and she is healthy now!

Now, that all may sound kind of like a negative labor & delivery story, but I have to tell you how happy we are that Jane is in our life and we just love her so much! She just fits right in! We are so blessed to have this beautiful soul in our lives. While there were some hard days during her first week, I wouldn't change a thing. She is just the perfect piece to our family puzzle. Parenthood suits us well, I think :)

Jane Mauna Clayton was born Friday June 28th, 2013 at 2:10pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long and she is the most beautiful girl in the world!

Dad & Jane waiting for Mom

Our first family picture :)

Boise & Graduation Pics

This past weekend, we went up to Boise because I mentioned to Danny that I'd like to go to the temple there before I get too large and uncomfortable. So we went and had a grand time!

Disregard the 'classy' bags in the middle there...

The Boise temple has just been newly renovated so it was really beautiful on the inside - lots of stained glass!

In addition to the temple, we also visited the Idaho State Capitol...

and the Botanical Gardens, which were so pretty!

In the rose garden

Also in the rose garden. I should have taken more pictures of the flowers - they were so pretty!

Danny with the Old Penitentiary in the background

And my fave, Danny standing in a meditation gazebo thing :)

We also ate at Idaho Pizza Company, which was really good! We had been lamenting lately about how much we miss good pizza. There are so many good pizza places in Logan, so we were glad that we were able to find a good place up here. Luckily, there is an Idaho Pizza Company here in Twin - our saving grace! :)

And here are some fun graduation pics that my brother Stuart took on my graduation day (May 4th, 2013).

This was taken at the request of my mom :)

Isn't he the cutest? :D

Here, Danny is explaining the laws of physics or something :P

My mother-in-law Mardee made these awesome signs to hold during the processional. And she and Danny made quite a racket with the cowbell!

Another baby update below!

37 Weeks

My belly is so big! I also got a haircut!

*Sorry if you are sick of these updates all the time - this is more for baby's sake and my sake so that I can remember all of this years from now :)*
How far along: 37 weeks
Total weight gain: +20 pounds 
Sleep: Okay - some nights are better than others :)
Best moment this week/month: Just being one week closer to seeing her! My doctor said if she is born at 40 weeks, she'll be 9 lbs...I'm not too excited about that, but Danny is, because he thinks smaller newborns are too fragile and he doesn't want to break her :P
Miss anything: Getting a full nights sleep, not having to worry about where the bathrooms are when we go places, just being comfortable generally speaking :P
Movement: Yes, not so much kicking, but just moving around. 
Food cravings: Nutella...and ice cream :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...
Gender: Girl!
Symptoms: weight gain, frequent bathroom trips
Wedding rings on or off: On
Mood: Excited - I can't believe she'll be here in less than a month
Looking forward to: Seeing her! I honestly can't believe that it's so soon that she'll be here.  

Now I'm on to the weekly appointments which is exciting! :)

Weeks 35-36

No picture this week - I kept forgetting to get a picture and by the time I really meant to do it [today, now at 36 weeks] it was too late :P. But here is an update on how things have been the past couple of weeks:

How far along: 36 weeks (as of today) - one month left, people!
Total weight gain: +17 pounds 
Sleep: Okay - I've been having a hard time with falling asleep lately. I've been getting restless legs so it's been difficult, but working through it.
Best moment this week/month: Getting the last of the baby stuff we need - it feels good to be a little more prepared! :D
Miss anything: Getting a full nights sleep, not having to worry about where the bathrooms are when we go places :P
Movement: Yes, not so much kicking, but just moving around. 
Food cravings: not really, but I've been eating a lot of Nutella lately
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...
Gender: Girl!! Still no name yet (and even if we did have one, we wouldn't tell, haha)
Symptoms: weight gain, stretch marks, less sleep
Wedding rings on or off: On
Mood: Excited - I can't believe she'll be here in a month!!
Looking forward to: Seeing her in 4 weeks!

Tonight, I finished a project I've been wanting to make for baby girl and it's so cute. I followed the instructions on this blog, The High Heeled Hostess. She has a lot of cute craft ideas and this one seemed pretty easy. Anyway, here's how it turned out:

In other festivities, we went to Twin Falls Western Days a couple of weeks ago, which was fun. They had a parade, which lasted a long while, but it was pretty good. They also had a festival-type thing at the park with booths, food, and carnival rides so we checked it out and enjoyed the live music that was going on. They said it's bigger than their 4th of July celebration, so I'm not sure what we'll be doing for that holiday...Western Days was good, but the 4th of July should be great, so we might go to Rupert for their festivities that day :P

We also went to the temple up here, which was really cool. It's fun to go through new temples! We're planning on going to the Boise temple this weekend. 

And lastly, even though we are only living here for 3-4 months, our ward here has given us a calling! We are in the nursery 2 Sundays a month. Since this ward is a family ward, they have a lot of kids. Danny really likes it because he gets to play with toys all day, which makes 1-4 church go by a lot faster. :)

33 Weeks & Other Twin Falls Adventures

33 weeks! Not sure what's up with my hair... :)

How far along: 33 weeks (as of yesterday)
Total weight gain: +15 pounds (yes, I've gained 5 pounds since last time...kind of depressing :P )
Maternity clothes: wearing daily now
Sleep: Okay - I've been having a hard time with falling asleep lately. Our childbirth class instructor said that sleeping in a recliner might help so I may have to try that :)
Best moment this week/month: Seeing baby girl in an ultrasound! It looks like she is going to inherit my chubby cheeks :) But she is so cute, I just can't wait to see her!
Miss anything: Getting a full night of sleep
Movement: Yes - lots! Danny was finally able to feel her hiccuping the other day :D
Food cravings: licorice, ice cream...anything sweet :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...
Gender: Girl!!
Symptoms: weight gain, leg cramps, itchy belly
Wedding rings on or off: On
Mood:Glad that the ultrasound went well and that everything is going great.
Looking forward to: Seeing her in 7 weeks!
Since I had an ultrasound, they gave me some pictures of her. Here are a couple of the 3D ones where you can see her chubby cheeks :)

Another face shot (don't worry about the thing on her head...it's just with the 3D imaging - that's where her head is resting against the uterus)

In other activities, Danny and I have been busy trying to see all there is to see here in Twin Falls. We've seen Shoshone Falls (called the Niagra of the West)...

Twin Fall...

 

and the Hagerman Fossil Site!

Apparently the Oregon Trail goes through here...but we weren't really able to see anything.

The Snake River!

We also visited a creamery (CloverLeaf Creamery) in Buhl, which was really good! And we also saw some BASE jumpers jumping off of the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls. Here's a video of what the jumps look like - it's pretty intense to watch. It's over 400 feet high!!

Anyway, other than that, we've just been enjoying Twin Falls, trying to get the most out of it that we can. More updates to come! :)

31 Weeks, Twin Falls, & Graduation!

Forgive my looks - today was kind of a hectic day!

How far along: 31 weeks (as of today!)
Total weight gain: +10 pounds
Maternity clothes: got a bunch of new maternity clothes!
Sleep: Okay - occasionally interrupted by leg cramps :/
Best moment this week/month: Feeling baby girl move a whole lot more
Miss anything: Getting a full night of sleep
Movement: Yes - lots!
Food cravings: Not really...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...
Gender: Girl!!
Symptoms: weight gain, leg cramps, itchy belly
Wedding rings on or off: On
Mood: Starting to get a little anxious - am I ready for this?! :)
Looking forward to: Seeing her in 9 weeks!

As many of you know, Danny and I moved to Twin Falls this past weekend. We are here for an internship that Danny has with Glanbia, which means that this baby is going to be an Idaho spud. I met with my new doctor yesterday and everything transitioned well, I think. I will have to get an ultrasound next time to check my placenta (it was low-lying at 20 weeks) so I'm kind of excited to get to see her again before she comes :)

The move to Twin Falls was a success! Everything went well and we appreciate all who helped us move, whether it was in Logan or Twin. Danny started his internship on Monday and seems to be enjoying it. I am working from home until baby comes, which has been good as well.

Another thing I should mention is that I FINALLY GRADUATED!!! My brother Stuart took some pictures, which I'm hoping to get soon, so I'll post those once they come. Finishing school has been such a huge goal for me and I'm so glad I actually finished! Thank you to my family (especially Danny) for the support you've all shown me while I've been going to school. Here are just a couple that Danny took of me about ready to walk across the stage. 

That's it for now - I'll try to post more often with our adventures from Twin Falls!! :)