A Lovely Night

I'll have to get Brynn singing A Lovely Night one more time. Caleb was dropping a blanket from the steps while she was singing and that was distracting her. For now, this is what we have:

Here's an adorable one of the kids giving Talia lots of love, like they always do:

Newborn, 3 Year and 5 Year Pictures

 

Talia and sweet kids

I took this video when Talia was awake one afternoon. I love seeing newborn eyes open!

Here's another pic from the hospital I found:

One day when I went to the bathroom I asked Caleb to hold Talia. She was a little fussy when I gave her to him and she was calm when I got back. Caleb told me he talked to her to calm her down. I've listened a little to him when he talks to her. He usually tells her about how little her features are. Once I heard him tell her, "One day you will be a mommy and I will be a daddy."

Aunt Julie wanted a picture of her new niece. I took a few. Caleb looked through them with me to help me find the best one. When he saw this one he said, "It looks like she's saying 'I love you.'" He means with her hand. He was so right.

 One more pic:

Stories:

• Brynn saw some of those black strawberry fuzzies on a paper towel. She asked what they were. I told her. She said, "Did I have fuzzies when I was a strawberry?" What? Crazy girl.
• I was helping Brynn in the bathroom. She flushed the toliet, then immediately tried to flush it again. I had told her multiple times to only flush once. So I was stern when I told her to not do that. She came up to me (crouched on the floor), grabbed my face and sang, "No one likes a frowny face change it for a smile..." I started laughing and told her that she was right, I should be happier.
• Caleb and Brynn were playing outside. They saw a dead worm. Brynn asked Caleb, "When will it come alive again?" Caleb responded, "On resurrection day." It's the answer we always tell them when we talk about people dying. So sweet!

Here are some stories I wrote before Talia was born but hadn't published:

• Brynn and I were playing with her dolls. I was Flynn and she was Belle (this is Brynn's favorite couple right now). At one point Brynn started moving Belle away from Flynn and said, "I don't have time to kiss you now."
• If Derrick and I are both home and we need to get Brynn's shoes on, she tells us, "You each do one." She'll insist we each do a sock and shoe. Funny girl.
• Caleb asks questions a lot about what things are and he is old enough that you have to answer him with more detail than a smaller child. We went to Cabella's last night and I told Derrick how the cashier had a hick accent. Caleb asked what that was and I don't think I ever answered because I had no idea what to say. It can be exhausting at times trying to think of how to explain things to him.
• Caleb has done this twice now: He'll ask if I can play something with him and I'll give him an excuse why I can't at the moment. He comes back a minute later and tells me he prayed I would play the game with him. How could I not do it then?

Talia Joan Isaacson

Born March 12, 2014
6 lbs 13 oz
19.5 inches
We picked the name Talia only a few weeks before she was born. I searched the Social Security website and found that one. We knew a Talia in college, in fact she was my roommate for a summer, but that didn't deter us. Before 'Talia' was on our radar we were talking about names one night. When I mentioned one I liked Derrick responded, "It's an ok name, I just don't think it's a pretty name. I want her to have a pretty name." I really liked that Derrick said that. I thought it was cute that he wanted his little girl to have a pretty name. We both agreed Talia was a pretty name and stuck with it. Joan, we picked after my Mom's Mom, AND my Mom, because it is her middle name too.
When I was being stitched up Derrick went over to take pictures and came back to show them to me. I was crying because of the shock of everything and when I saw these on the camera it helped me to feel a little better, while making me cry harder...crazy girl emotions. These are the pictures he showed me. I remember saying, "She's perfect," through my tears.

Here you can see the IV in her right hand here from the fluids they had to pump into her right after birth. After talking to people and hearing about their stories of their baby's cord being wrapped around the neck, I hear that all of their babies come out blue. I think because Talia came out ghost white, it got such a big reaction from the medical staff. Not something they were used to seeing.

 Her first bath:

Jenna came the first night to visit. I'm sure she was freaked out by my tired and blotchy eyes and mind. We were happy to have family close by this time to visit us.

The kids came for a few minutes the morning she was born but I was so out of it that it was only for a few minutes. The next morning Lynne brought them again and we got to have more time with them. It was so adorable.

Literally seconds after I took this video Brynn said the funniest thing. Brynn always holds her blankie and sucks her thumb. Notice in the video she just gave Talia a blankie. After I stopped recording and Talia wasn't taking to the blankie, Brynn said, "Suck it. Suck it!"

A nurse assistant made this cute name sign:

Lisa also came to visit. We are so glad our family all loves her so much!

And, this was from our last night in the hospital. My favorite time is when a newborn's eyes are open and they are happy. This was just adorable I'm so glad I grabbed the camera:

We have been home a week now and couldn't be happier to have her in our home. The kids always want to look at her. They take turns holding her. They are fascinated by the fact that Mommy's body makes milk. I love the fact that she can sleep in long stretches. I wake her up and 9pm and keep her up until midnight. For two nights in a row now she's slept for 5 hours! Crossing my fingers she keeps up her awesome sleeping!
Oh how we love this little angel, or our "dew from heaven" as her name means:

Talia's Birth Story

Caleb's and Brynn's birth stories were essentially the same: 12 hours from the first little contraction until birth. When I got to the hospital with them I got an epidural, they broke my water, I would progress to 10cm pretty quickly, push for 15 minutes and they were out. More than one doctor told me my body was made for having babies. That's why when I didn't get what was expected I felt emotional and shocked and scared but it all turned out fine.

Everything started just as it always did. Little contractions around 11:30pm, go to hospital around 4am. Get an epidural around 5am. Baby's heart rate is a little low with contractions but it never got below 60 beats per minute (BPM) so they monitor that but nothing to worry about. I stop progressing with dilation around 5cm so they break my water. All is as usual. Because the heart rate keeps getting almost to 60 BPM they put a monitor inside me that gently pricks the baby's head and they can measure with perfect accuracy the heart rate. They rotate my position and give me oxygen then baby's heart rate gets better. I keep getting reassured that they are doing all they can to take care of baby. Things are fine. I dilate to 6cm and contractions get harder. With a really hard contraction the BPM goes to 50. All of a sudden the doctor and 4 nurses come in and are all doing things frantically as the doctor says calmly, "We need to get this baby out now. You are only dilated to a 6 so that means C-section." A nurse puts a form in front of me to sign, which I do, and I am quickly being rushed to the OR (operating room, for you slower folk).
At this point it was so surreal. I was just talking to Derrick about how fun it would be to see our baby get cleaned off in the baby station. How nice it will be to see her and hold her and bam! I'm being rushed off for a C Section, which all I know about those is that you get cut open and recovery is really hard. Tears start rolling down my cheeks. I get into the OR and everyone is working really fast. Derrick isn't there yet because he's getting suited up. I feel alone. I feel scared for the baby and the rush into things. I start getting totally numb, even my arms are tingly. I really start crying. Derrick shows up and sits next to me holding my hand. I feel a little better but everyone is so serious and fast paced that I have no idea what to expect.
They ask me if I feel any pain in my abdomen. I say no. A minute later they say I will feel a lot of pressure like someone is sitting on my stomach. Yep, that's what it felt like. I was squeezing Derrick's hand so hard, crying but trying to stay calm.
I missed this part (and I'm glad I did) but Derrick said at that point, when we knew the baby had just come out, all the nurses were making worried remarks like, "Oh my gosh." Derrick said he was really scared then.
A minute later we hear little cries. I feel better to hear that but I'm still in distress mode. I still can't believe what's happening. I still am scared for the baby. After another minute they tell Derrick he can go over and take pictures. I told him it was ok. He left and came back to show me pictures of a perfect little girl. It took a long time to stitch me up. Which I guess makes sense but I never thought about that before. Derrick was allowed to bring her over to me and I got to see her beautiful face. Then they took her down to the nursery.
After stitching is done I go back to the delivery room and a nurse sits down to tell me what happened. Here it is: When they pulled her out of me she was as white as a ghost with the cord wrapped tightly around her neck. After they broke my water the buoyancy that was sustaining her was gone. She was in distress mode. It was like gasping for air. Not only that but the cord around her neck was being stretched out. The cord is supposed to be twisted but it was as flat as if a truck ran over it. That means she was getting no fluid. Her whiteness was from no fluid. As soon as she came out they stuck an IV in her and pumped her with fluid and she was better. If I would have tried to push her out she would have choked for sure and who knows what would have happened.
The whole time the nurse was explaining I was balling. I felt so sorry for Talia. I felt I still wasn't sure Talia was ok. I asked if I didn't come in that day if something terrible could have happened and the nurse's response was amazing, "Yes it could have BUT it didn't. Heavenly Father meant for this little girl to come to your family and she's here and she's perfect and that is all that matters." What a testimony that was to me. I knew it was true but in the stress of it all I needed to hear it. I really believe I delivered at the right hospital with an amazingly supportive, happy and trusting doctor and kind, knowledgeable nurses who know how to communicate.
That same nurse said the rule on the floor is that once baby goes down to nursery to get cleaned up they don't bring her back up but she was getting that baby to me as soon as she could because she said that I needed to hold her. Sure enough they brought Talia up to me and I got to hold the little miracle for the first time. She really was perfect and peaceful and there in my arms. We were only in the delivery for a few more minutes before being taken down to our room. Everything since then has been great. I love this little girl so much and am so happy she is perfect. I prayed for her health and wellness everyday I was pregnant and now I know my prayers were answered.

Getting weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz:

First bath:

Me (after no sleep for 36 hours, labor, C-section and over an hour of crying--don't look too closely) with Talia

Derrick, Caleb and Talia. Caleb was so proud!

Random

The weather was great last week so we played outside a bit. We played with chalk. Caleb has been working with me on math and he is getting so good at writing his numbers. I had to take a pictures of this because he wrote all these number completely on his own. He's an impressive little guy.

With the nice weather we also went to the farm and got ice cream afterward.

I was really glad Derrick took this picture on Sunday. Here's Julianne and I right before we both pop. Next time we're together we'll have to get a picture of these two cousins together!

Caleb had his first dentist appointment on Monday. He had a gag reflex while taking the x-rays but did great beside that.

Stories:

• Brynn says, "My lips are chopped," and, "I need chop stick." We've tried correcting her but she never remembers.
• When Brynn would see Derrick and I kissing she would say, "Stop kissing." Now she will tell us to kiss just so she can tell us to stop kissing.
• Brynn is always asking her single aunts and uncles about who their boyfriends and girlfriends are. Brynn thinks every adult should live in a house, married to someone. That's what she sees, so that's what she thinks happens with everyone. During Sunday dinner, with everyone here she was asking Jenna about her girlfriends (being a little confused between the boy girl thing) and Jenna answered with the names of her roommates. I told Brynn that was similar to her friends and I named the kids in Caleb's play group, "Like Boden and Blake." Brynn then said, "When is Blake going to kiss me?" Oh dear! Hopefully she thinks this is just a normal part of life and not a boy infatuation already :)
• This one's about Derrick. As we were trying to come up with baby names Derrick would often say a name he liked and it would be one of our cousin's names. The funny thing is he often didn't even know he had a cousin with that name. The conversation went like this every time: Derrick, "How about Sarah?" Me, "You have a cousin named Sarah." Derrick, "Which one?" Me, "Warren and Amy's daughter." Men are funny like that.