This is going to be a long post, so if you're interested in the pictures...they will be at the bottom. The text is mostly for me so I remember what happened.

Ashlyn Kaye Groneman finally joined our family April 1, 2010. It's no joke - she was born on her due date. Just about everyone who knows me well knows I love April Fool's day, but this year Ashlyn played the joke on me. It took 4 days for her to arrive. But it was worth it and we're so blessed to have received this miracle in our lives.

Labor:
Monday, March 29th I had my doctors appointment. He had me get an ultrasound and the baby was measuring big at 8 lbs. 7 oz. He told me there was a spot open at the hospital, and I could get induced that night if I wanted.

I was hesitant because I wanted things to happen naturally - even if I did go a week over. But the doctor said everything was developed and the baby would only keep getting bigger. This scared Bret and I so we decided induction would be the best way to go. This was completely unexpected and there was so much to do before I went in. I had to finalize things at work, so I went in until 3 to finish things up. Then I came home and Bret and I got things ready to go. At 7 :00 pm we were called in to the hospital. We were so excited to be on our way to have our little girl. I got to the hospital and they started the induction process around 10 pm. A few hours later I started feeling contractions every 2-3 minutes, but I wasn't progressing at all. The nurse and doctor explained that the baby was contracting, but it was like she was banging into a rock. So, around 1:30 pm on Tuesday I was sent home. I had no idea you could be sent home from an induction. Needless to say Bret and I were pretty dissapointed and exhausted from that night.The doctor made an appointment for us to come back Wednesday night between 7 pm and 5am Thursday morning. But I was called in earlier than I thought at 4:30 pm Wednesday. I headed to the hospital for round 2. They started me around 6 pm, and a few hours later I was contracting every 2-3 minutes again. They were big contractions, and I was finally progressing very slowly. Around 4:30 am they gave me an epidural and started giving me the pitocin. I am so grateful for the epidural invention. I don't know if I would've surived without it. My contractions were so much better!

Around 7 :30 am the doctor came in and broke my water, and By that afternnoon I was feeling pain in my back so the anesthesiologist gave me more medicine, and it helped a little, but not entirely. I was finally dialated to a 7 according to the nurse, and then I started feeling really sick and threw up. This apparently made the baby's heartbeat go crazy so the nurse had to stop the pitocin for a few hours to get the baby's heartbeat back to normal. Luckily it worked and we were both okay. The nurse said that episode I had finally dialated me to an 8. I was very happy to hear that since I had been there 24 hours already. Soon after the nurse told me that, the doctor came in and said I was only dialated to 5, maybe 6. This made no sense, and I was once again dissapointed I hadn't progressed much - in fact I degressed. (I soon learned nurses are more optimistc and try to keep the patient calm, while the doctors are more straight forward.) Around 5 pm I started on the potossin again and the contractions started heavily again, but thanks to the epidural I only felt back pain. When the doctor came back in to check on me around 8:30 pm I was still only dialated to 5, maybe 6 so he suggested doing a c-section, and we could have our baby within the next 45 minutes. He explained because of all the contractions my muscles were getting weaker and weaker, and the baby was getting beat up. He said the main concern is for us to get the baby out healthy and to keep me healthy. I was already running a fever so we decided to do it. We were ready for our little girl to come, and I couldn't handle the pain anymore.

Within the next half hour the Anesthesiologist came in and numbed me from my chest down. I don't remember much after that. All I know is soon I was wheeled into the operating room where they were going to deliver ou baby. Like I said I don't remember much, I just remember that about 5 minutes after they started my surgery a miracle occured and we had a little girl. So amazing!

After all was said and done, we found out it was a good thing we had the c-section because the baby wasn't decending. She was stuck on my sacrum (the butt bone) and not decending. I most likely would've had to have a c-section anyway. (No wonder my back was hurting so bad (: )

Like I said the joke was on me since it took 4 days - until April 1st - for this baby to come. But, it was all worth it!! We're lucky to have such a healthy, cute little girl.

Choosing a Name
Throughout my pregnancy we were always asked, "what are you going to name her" and we honestly didn't know. We had some ideas, but we knew once we saw her we'd know what to name her. This didn't really happen, but we were able to narrow it down to a couple names. The final 2 in the running were "Camryn" and "Ashlyn." We were totally set on Camryn but to make a long story short the pediatrician basically changed our minds and we went with the name we had all along - Ashlyn. I didn't think so at first, but that name definitely fits her now. :)

Ashlyn Kaye Groneman
What a blessing in our lives! She is the cutest little thing and we love being with her. She's super girly and cuddly. She's always crossing her little legs and holding her hands up to her face. I think that's how she sat in my stomach. Also, I rarely felt her move in stomach, and now I know why...she is perfectly content sitting without moving. I know all of this will change soon, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts. We love dressing her up and playing around with her hair. It's so long we could make a very little pony tail. She's absolutely perfect! Below are some pictures of her at the hospital and when we're coming home.


At the Hospital



Bret Scrubbed Up

Our Little Angel

1 More Week

This is more of a post for my records. Read if you'd like, but there's nothing interesting or of great importance in this post. It's just a rant of my feelings.

I can't take it anymore. Although I have a week left until my due date, I want our little girl (I'm still going to refer to her as Brue.) to get here and I want her here now! Time seems to be dragging on forever. Can't time go any faster?! She really seems to be content in my stomach, and unfortunately it doesn't look like things will change any time soon. I just really hope she doesn't come late. I don't know how much longer I can take it. Alright, enough with my complaining. I guess she'll come when she's ready. And my sister-in-law put it in perspective for me when she said she won't feel bad for me until I'm still pregnant a week after my due date. So, I shouldn't be complaining yet since most people go late with their first pregnancy. :)

On the upside - Brue isn't here yet, which means more time to prepare and get ready for her (ex: picking a name for her). I'm definitely taking my time with this aspect. I haven't really had a nesting moment that lasted more than a night yet, so things are coming along slowly but surely. Luckily, Bret is going through a little nesting period so things are getting taken care of. And fortunately, we have all the physical things she will need thanks to our great friends and family members who came to my shower and/or gave us gifts for Brue. Everything helped tremendously! She is one spoiled girl already. Bret and I can't say thanks enough for this support and the gifts we received from you all. I finally feel prepared to have a baby thanks to everyone. We've been blessed with some amazing people in our lives!!

The only problem is now...how are we going to raise this child? I'm a little nervous. Hopefully we can figure it out. One of our friends loaned us the book Baby Wise, so maybe I should start with reading that and go from there. I here it helps tremendously.

Alright, I'm done writing about my feelings. I just hope this little girl gets here soon. We can't wait!! :)

Life

This is for my own journal keeping. So don't feel like you have to keep reading. I'm a little behind in the updating area so I decided it's time to catch up on and record the major things that have been going on in our lives since Thanksgiving. Wow, I have a lot of back tracking to do.

1. Bret's parents came down Nov. 15th and stayed until the 21st. We played a lot of cards, ate, and just relaxed. We had a great time so I'm hoping they did too. I also got one of the best pedicures of my life and Bret had fun golfing with his dad and brother. It's always nice having them down here. They're so fun to be with, and we love visitors!

2. Thanksgiving - My family made the trek to Arizona for Thanksgiving. It was so fun having them here. They were here Nov. 25th - 29th. Thanksgivng would have been so boring and pointless if they weren't here. We would have been eating Ramen Noodles for our Thanksgiving dinner. :) Luckily my mom helped me prepare my first Thanksgiving meal and I think it turned out pretty well. We hung out the rest of Thanksgiving day and looked through the ads. We began making plans for BLACK FRIDAY, which is tradition in my family. We had a long, but fun night ahead of us.

Black Friday - Bret and my brother Tyler went to the mall at Midnight to shop and to pass time while the rest of us slept until 2:30 am. Wal-Mart was our first stop since it opened at 3 am. We scoped it out, and then we left Bret and my dad to wait in the GPS & DS lines. The rest of us departed to Kohl's, which opened at 4, and then returned to Wal-Mart to check out the DS and GPS (which started at 5). It's good we had 6 of us, or we would've been stuck at every store for hours. I got in the check out line at Wal-Mart and was one of the first people so we were in and out in about 10 minutes. Not bad timing at all. After Wal-Mart, Bret, dad, and my brothers went to Sports Authority while my mom and I made the trek to Home Depot (both opened at 6 am). Once again we pulled off the line trick, one person grabs the item while the other waits in the check out line. After Sports Authority and Home Depot we made 1 final stop at Staples. After Staples we decided it was time to eat and then go to bed. We ate at the Black Bear Diner. Then, we all came home and crashed. It was a long, but exciting night. I can't wait until next year. :)

After we woke up, we went to the movie Blind Side. What an excellent movie! Later that night we traveled to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights, and they were beautiful. On the way we stopped at "Organ Stop Pizza" and ate. I would reccomend trying Organ Stop Pizza at least once if you come to Arizona. It's a pretty cool place to eat.

Saturday we watched the BYU v. Utah game, played tennis, and swam later that night. I beat my 17 year old brother - and don't worry...I was 4 1/2 months pregnant. He'll never live that down! :) Sunday morning my family left. Our fun time was over. We weren't going to have visitors for awhile.

It's a good thing we will be the visitors in UT next Month!

Calling all Mothers (or Fathers)

Our little girl will be here in less than 2 months and as we prepare for her arrival we are looking for things that our baby will need. As first time parents it's hard to know, with all the baby stuff available, what she really needs.

So, this is where your help comes in. Thanks to a friend's advice, I've decided to conduct a small survey to see what is 1 thing you can't live without when you have a baby. I know we need a car seat, crib, and stroller, but what else is a necessity? What brands would you recommend, etc. I seriously have no idea what to get and it just overwhelms me. Your help would be greatly appreciated! :)

The Holidays

I know the holiday season has already come and gone...awhile ago....but since I'm a slacker at blogging and journaling my life, I'm going to catch up now. :)

I love the month of December because it's one big party all month long. I get to celebrate my birthday, Christams, and New Years. And this year was especially good.

Before My Birthday
It all started the week before my birthday with Bunko. Val hosted Bunko and being as thoughtful as she is she surprised me with my favorite cake...ice cream cake...and gave me a card that everyone had signed. I wasn't expecting anyone to know about my birthday, but I got 12 birthday wishes and a couple presents a week before my birthday. It definitely made my week! Then a few days later Julie and Lisa took me out for a birthday lunch. It was delicious and I had a great time with them. So, thank you everybody for everything. You have no idea how grateful I am.

On My Birthday
Well, my birthday was on a Wednesday and it was a pretty uneventful day because I worked and then Bret had to study all night for his test the next day. All the calls and cards and wishes I got definitely made my day a lot better! I'm terrible at remembering people's birthday, so I really appreciate everyone who called me.

After My Birthday: B-day Gift
Bret surprised me for my birthday and said he was taking me to Vegas that weekend. So, Friday afternoon we hopped in the car and made our way to Vegas. It was a fun, short trip and a good get away. We got to our hotel, Circus Circus, pretty late (for us) and walked around the hotel for a bit and then we went to bed. Saturday we slept in, shopped, ate, and then walked the strip that night. Vegas is an amazing place. It's so dirty, yet everything is so elaborate inside the hotels and so nice. But what made the trip even more fun is that we found out Mckell and Joseph, my brother and sister-in-law, were in Vegas that weekend too. Unfortuneately We didn't get to see them until later Saturday night, about 9:30, and that's when Bret and I were ready to call it quits. Can you believe it...10:00 we call it quits in Vegas. My feet were killing me and Bret's hip was hurting. Man we must be getting old! But it was fun seeing Mckell and Joseph even if it was for a short time.

Christmas Break in UT
A few days after we got back from Vegas it was time to head to Utah. We didn't get there until the night of the 23rd. Which, was luckily just in time for Bret to watch the Utah Bowl game with his brothers and dad. Luckily Utah won so it was a good night for all.

We were quite busy in Utah, but it was a good busy and we had a great time. We went to some amazing family parties, had 2, 3D ultrasounds, shopped, and got to see some friends. We weren't there long so we didn't get to do everything we wanted, but it was fun being back in the snow despite the cold.

The 3-D Ulutrasound
One of the most amazing things we did while in Utah was get an attempted 3D ultrasound of our little Bruschetta. And yes, I mean attempted.

One of my good friends has access to an ultrasound machine and was nice enough to let us come in and see our baby. My poor friend wasted a lot of her time because Brue was turned to where you couldn't get a good shot, and she wouldn't move no matter what I did. I tried jumping up and down, walking around, and just about everything you can think of. After a little more than a half hour Brue still wasn't moving so she told me I could come in the next day.

So I go in the next day and little Brue is still in the same position she was the day before. She didn't want to turn. She must be camera shy and apparently likes snuggling into my rib cage face down. After another 20 minutes of trying to get her to move, she almost turned around, but then turned right back around to how she was. After a half hour had passed I was about to leave when Lindsay decided to try 1 more time. Luckily it worked!

Brue had flipped and stay put. We were just about to get a good profile shot when Brue pulled her hands across her face so once again we couldn't get a good shot. After awhile she finally moved her hand down a little bit, but then she kicked her legs up. She did not want to be photographed! We waited a little longer and Brue finally moved her foot for a minute. Thanks to my friend's patience we were able to get a few good shots. They're not great, but we'll take what we get. I really owe my friend a lot for the time she spent helping us!! Thanks!

Some updates

We finally moved and we love it at our new place! Our apartment stays cool, it has new carpet, and best of all it doesn't smell like smoke. :) Also, we finally have internet again, so I guess I can't use that as an excuse for not blogging anymore. It's fun to be in a new place and live so close to some great friends and family. Speaking of great friends and family we want to say thanks to Brady, (Bret's brother) the Iron Man, who helped Bret move most of our stuff. I got a phone call at work saying that Bret and Brady had rented a truck and moved most everything. I was definitely amazed. Also, thanks to Matt Harmon and Zach VanDyke for helping us on a mintues notice with the truck and your moving skills.

On another note, since we live so far away from friends and family in Utah, I don't get to show off my attractive baby belly to them.

Okay, so maybe it's not so attractive, but here it is. In the first picture I'm 18 weeks and in the second picture I'm 22 weeks.

IT'S A GIRL

I know I've been a slacker at this whole blogging thing, but this time I actually have an excuse - our internet isn't working. We should finally have internet again when we move next week , but I couldn't wait that long to share the following good news so I'm using the school's computer.

We're going to have a little girl join our family April 1, 2010 and we're really excited!

For the majority of my 18 week pregnancy I was convinced we were having a boy since boys seem to be the dominant gene in both Bret's and mine families. But as my ultrasound appointment got closer I decided it was a girl. I've been telling myself that I thought it was a girl because of the "mother's intuition" that you hear about, but the truth is I just wanted to contradict Bret and since he thought it was a boy, I guessed girl. And look who ended up winnning the guessing contest....me! It was a sweet, sweet day of victory. Okay, so it was nice winning but for reals it was a sweet day because we actually knew a little girl would be joining our family and we couldn't be happier! The ultrasound technician said that she was "really fast" and she was having a hard time getting a picture of her. That made Bret happy because now he thinks he has an athletic girl. Little does he know that she was just moving because of all the orange juice I drank before the appointment. Also, during the ultrasound the baby was punching and kicking me. At least that's what it looked like. Is it a bad thing my baby and I are already fighting? Hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come. Anyway, we're so happy to have a baby girl come into our family. She's healthy and everything seems to be going great. Let the shopping and floods of pink colors begin!