Lynden Kristine

After weeks of anticipation and preparation our beautiful little angel has graced this world with breathtaking presence. I've finally gotten a moment between taking millions and millions of pictures and spending hour after hour staring at my absolutely perfect daughter to write her birthing story. For as short as my labor was this a pretty long story. I just want to remember every detail. :)

We had a long few weeks after my doctor put me on bed rest for preterm labor the end of April.We were told that even after being put on bed rest and taking the medication to stop my contractions, our little girl would most likely be born early. There was still a small chance that she would be born on or after her due date, but that chances were very very slim. So for the past 5 weeks we were looking for signs everywhere to let us know if this was the moment that our little girl was on her way out to meet us. We went into the hospital 3 different times during those weeks thinking "this might be it", only to be sent home with no baby. But this last visit was totally different.

I went in for my Dr.'s appointment on Tuesday May 22, and she checked my cervix; I was still 3 cm dilated and about 90% effaced. She knew I had been waiting around for so long for this little girl to come so she stripped my membranes while I was there in hopes that this might start something. Because I was already so dilated and effaced she said I just needed to get regular contractions and then come in. She gave me some labor-inducing homework and let me know that if was going to work that it should within 48 hours, if not she'd see me next Tuesday. I went home and did all the things she told me to do and started having contractions. They were coming every 3 minutes but weren't very strong so I decided to try and go to sleep and see what happened. I woke up Wednesday morning and the contractions were gone. Dan and I then went and walked about a mile around the lake by our house. Still no regular contractions, so I sent Dan off to work.

Friday rolls around and still no baby, so I decided it was time for a new mind set. I had been waiting and waiting thinking this baby is coming anytime for weeks, and that was not working for me. Plus most first time moms usually go after their due date anyway. So I decided that as long as I had this little girl by June 3rd (4 days after my due date) I would be just fine, so I gave up hopes for early labor.

Saturday morning we woke up and Dan decided he was going to paint our guest (well I guess it will be Lynden's) bathroom. So he starts working on that. I helped him do a little taping and then I did some cleaning around the house. Around 5:00 Dan decided to go do the second coat of paint. I pulled up Grey's Anatomy (my guilty pleasure during my whole bed rest) on Netflix and started a new episode.

At 5:23pm I get hit with my first contraction. I knew right away this was very different than any other contraction I had ever had. I was doubled over on the floor moaning, and Dan could hear me from up in the bathroom. At first he thought it was part of Grey's and then realized there was no other noise - just a lot of moaning. I was in so much pain I couldn't even call up to him. He walked over to the landing (still holding the paint roller) and I see him out of the corner of my eye. I told him it hurt so bad. He came down and rubbed my back for a second and then told me to time contractions and went back up to keep painting. 3 minutes later the next one hits. He comes down and realizes this might actually be it and so he goes up and tries to finish the wall he was working on, and I lay back down to try and finish my show. 3 min later the next one comes even harder. I end up doubled over on the floor again and this time start crying, and he comes running down. I told him we were going to hospital NOW. I called my Dr. and let her know I was headed to hospital.

We grabbed all of our stuff and ran out the door. The contractions were coming on much harder and started getting a little closer, about every 2 1/2 minutes. Dan drove like a mad man to the hospital as I am crying and screaming and telling him to slow down, (with each contraction he drove faster and faster). We finally make it to the hospital (we live about 40 minutes away), and Dan runs to grab a wheel chair (a little old man helped him - really sweet of him) and wheels me in. It's about 6:30 now and I am finally laying in the hospital bed having contractions about every 2 minutes. The nurse checks me and I am 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I let them know I was more than ready for my epidural.

Since I had just gotten there they needed to do a few things first, fill out a medical history form, run a blood test, and hook me up to an IV. One of the nurses there talked me through how to get through a contraction without turning into a crazy woman. At 7:30 I was having contractions coming every minute, and the most amazing person walks through the door - my anesthesiologist - and gives me my epidural. 

I lay there happy as can be because I am finally no longer in pain, and at 7:45 my water breaks. A little after 8:00 they decide to check and see where I am. My nurse, who by the way is the most amazing nurse at Hoag, Lauren, checks me and lets me know that I am complete - that is, 10 cm dilated. She said they would let me labor down a little bit before I started pushing and then call my Doctor when it seems like the baby might be coming.

At this point I am just in shock. Only 3 hours ago I was laying on my couch watching tv and now I am about to have a baby!! At 9:15pm my nurse asks if I want to try and start pushing and see if our little girl is ready to come out. I pushed a couple times, and she said it was time to call my Doctor to come over. (She was about 15 min from hospital). I push through about 5 more contractions and Lauren tells me I need to stop, close my legs and roll on my side. This little girl was about to come out, and my Doctor had just pulled in the parking lot.

My doctor, (Dr. Rhonda Flora- BEST OB EVER) walks in at about 9:30pm and sets up her stuff. She tells me to give a big push. Out comes my little girl's head! She cleared out her mouth & throat and told me to push one more time, BIG push and Lynden is born at 9:40pm. They lay her on my chest and Dan cuts the cord.

I still cannot even begin to describe the emotions that I had at that moment. Everything about her was completely perfect. She had these big chunky cheeks and beautiful eyes and a kiss on her lips! She also had a little mark between her eyes on her forehead, they let me know this is normal and they call it an angel kiss. I looked at her and told her that it was a Jesus kiss. Jesus loved her so much he had to give her a little kiss before he sent her down to us.

The whole experience was incredibly amazing. We are so completely head over heels for our little girl. I cannot look at her enough, hold her enough, or kiss her enough. She is so perfect in every single way, and I just feel so blessed that Heavenly Father has trusted me with such a beautiful little spirit.

Right before my epidural trying to breath through a contraction.

Dan & I

Of course my BFF, Amanda, was there to cheer me on!

Proud Daddy with his little girl!

Mommy & her angel.

Getting her hearing test done. She looked so cute like a little DJ. She passed!

Our new little family!

Our sweet little Lyndie Lou! We Love you!

Getting ready to go home!

Welcome Home Lynden!!

My awesome friend Tifany came over and decorated before we got home.

No More Bed Rest!!

So after 2 weeks of bed rest and 10 doctor/ hospital visits, I am officially off of bed rest! They are still continuing to monitor me & our little baby girl, but I am no longer confined to my bed and couch. It was a very long and rough 2 weeks. Finding out our baby was having heart problems and my fluid levels going crazy, having to leave my job early, not being able to go anywhere except to the hospital or doctors office, really became quite emotionally draining. 
I just want to thank everyone who stopped by, everyone who called, everyone who brought me treats, everyone who just thought about us, and especially everyone who prayed for us. I have such a strong testimony on the power of prayer and the effects it can have and I know that the reason things are looking so much better, and the reason I feel so much better, physically, and emotionally, is because we had so many people praying for us. So thank you, Thank you so much!
At this point they will continue to watch her heart and my fluid levels, but if she decides she wants to grace this beautiful world with her beautiful presence they won't try and stop her. We are hoping she will at least wait until Friday when my Doctor gets back from her vacation. (Which I think is VERY likely!!) Hey we might even make it to 40 weeks, I am not hoping for this, nor do the doctors think that will happen, but hey you never know!

Bed Rest Day 4

As much as it seems like it would be the easiest, best thing in the world to just lay around all day with nothing to do.. it's NOT!! Especially when you have a new house and a new little baby coming! I have been doing really well at staying down and not doing anything to help out but it's hard work!

My dad came into town Saturday and stayed the night and it was so great having him here! He was able to help Dan out with a lot of things around the house. They put together Lynden's pack n' play so she would have somewhere to sleep when she gets home. We got the one that has the little bassinet at the top, we are having her sleep in our room the first couple weeks and then are moving her into her room. Then Dan laid out my yoga mat and a bunch pillows for me on her bedroom floor and they put up her crib, (Which turned out BEAUTIFUL! Even more beautiful than I remember it being in the store!) hung some pictures, and other decor I had gotten for her room!

Then on Sunday afternoon- I got back to my yoga mat bed in her nursery and Dan put away all of her clothes and blankies and toys and books and everything. I was the dictator and told him where everything went. And apparently I am more anal then he realized because when I am doing things I just do it all analy but I don't say it out loud so it doesn't seem as obsessive compulsive as it really is. But he heard a lot of "straighten that out" "put that blanket on top of that one cuz it's cuter" "fold that better" "tuck that tag in" etc. Then I had to have a little pregnant moment and start sobbing because I should be the one doing all of this and I can't. My poor husband.. I am so grateful he is so loving and patient.

Then come about 4:00 Monday morning I wake up to some very intense contractions. My doctor had prepared me for this and told me to monitor them and if they were regular at all to call her. They were coming every 5-6 minutes but were only lasting about 20-30 seconds each. After about the 5th or 6th one they stopped, but we both had a hard time falling back to sleep after that, so Dan decided that he would work from home that day just to be on the safe side.

Tuesday he asked if I wanted him to stay home again, but my friend was coming to visit in the morning and a girl in my new ward was stopping by in the afternoon so I told him to just go to work and I would call him if I needed anything. So Amanda came over and hung out with me for a few hours and a little after she left, around 12:30, I felt a gush of liquid. I called Dan and told him I wasn't totally sure what it was and he suggest I call my Dr. (he's quite the thinker)

So I call my Doctors office and talk to my nurse there, Joann, and she says it's most likely my water and that I need to go right over to Labor and Delivery. At this point I start freaking out, I call Dan back, sobbing, and tell him to come get me. I start running around the house like a mad woman throwing the last minute things into the hospital bag. I couldn't think straight at all! You always wonder how your going to react when the time comes, and now I know! After freaking out for a little bit however, I did settle down and as soon as Dan got home I was completely calm.

We got in the car and headed over to the hospital. They got me all checked in and started with a test to see if it was my water. The nurse thought for sure that my water hadn't broke because I didn't have a continuous flow, however she said I did have a lot of cervical mucous still and that might be what it was. After sending the test to the lab she came back in and told me that it came back posative. My heart skipped about 3 beats. I'm sitting there thinking Oh my Gosh, I am about to have this baby!

She then tells me she is still not convinced that it was my water and that they want to run a few more tests just to make sure. So they send me up to fetal diagnostics and do some ultrasounds to check my fluid levels. Everything looked normal. So I get back to my room and the nurse tells me that she talked to the Doctor there he thought that because I still had so much cervical mucous that it may have given them a false positive on the test and that he was going to come do the test himself and take it to the lab and check it himself.

He runs the test and it came back negative. They call my doctor and let her know and she let them discharge me but they said I needed to go back in today to double check everything one more time. So today I go back in at 1:00 to make sure everything still looks good and that I can keep this girl cookin just a few more weeks! But as of today we have reached our first goal! Make it to 35 weeks!

Bed Rest: Day 1

So I have been completely horrible at keeping up on our blog posting, and I always say I will be better and then never am.. so this time I will not make any promises, however right now I do have the time to keep up since I was put on bed rest yesterday when I went in for my 34 week appointment. ( I will explain why in a bit)

The timing actually worked in our favor a little bit however because 2 weeks ago we moved into our first home! Thankfully we were able to get everything moved in- the nursery painted- and most everything put away. So now Dan is trying to do all the little things that need finishing up before our sweet little girl comes!

So last Wednesday (about a week and half ago) I was taking a nice relaxing bath in my big new tub! (one of my favorite parts of our new house) And when I went to get out, it felt like this little girl was about to drop right out of me; I seriously thought she was going to. I grabbed the lower part of my stomach and tried to hold her in (as if that would really help, but I guess that was my awesome pregnant mind's reaction). Later I realized she was not really up in my ribs anymore, and I felt a lot more pressure down below- she had "Dropped".

Then that Saturday we went to get the paint to get started on her nursery. We were walking around Lowe's, and I ended up in so much pain that I had to go sit in the car while Dan finished shopping. I figured it was just all of the pressure from her sitting so low now. After we got home I was feeling a bit better so I helped Dan do all the taping and a little bit of the painting in her room. (this was like a 12 hour project that took us 2 days) We painted one wall a soft pink and the other three we did brown and cream horizontal stripes- (a lot of taping work).

After all of this I was in so much pain I could hardly walk on my own. I called the nurse hot line that is offered through my insurance and she said I should just rest and drink a lot of fluids. By Monday I was feeling a lot better, but had lots of pain all week. I figured it was just the pressure of her being so far down.

Then on Thursday- I went over to the mall to exchange a shirt I had gotten for my maternity pictures (which were supposed to be today- not happening) on my lunch break, and as I was walking back to my car I felt a gush. (if you get grossed out by this stuff you can skip this paragraph.. otherwise keep reading..) I thought oh no, did I just pee myself? I heard all of these horror stories of people being later in their pregnancy and peeing themselves. Then I wondered if maybe I was leaking amniotic fluid or if my water had broken.

I tried walking as fast as my little pregnant self could to my car, got in, and took a look to see what happened. I knew within seconds what it was- I had lost my mucous plug. I got on my phone and called my doctors office and left a message for the nurse, Joann, to call me back. I got back to work and she called me back within a few minutes. I explained what had happened and she said as long as I wasn't bleeding or having a watery fluid then I should be okay, and to wait to come in to my appointment tomorrow; otherwise if the watery stuff started coming, to head over to labor and delivery. Luckily, there was no watery stuff.

So then on Friday I go into my Doctor appointment and explained everything to her and let her know I thought that she dropped last week, and she decided to do an exam. So first she checked me- everything was perfect, not too much swelling- good weight gain- etc. Then she checked baby. She was doing perfect too! Measured in at 34 weeks, and her heart sounded perfect.

Then she does her exam.

First she did a culture to make sure I wasn't leaking any amniotic fluid- PASSED! Then she checked to make sure I didn't have an infection- PASSED! Then she decided she would check my cervix. Her face became concerned. She became serious, and calmly told me I was dilated to a 2 and 60% effaced. And by the way, both of these numbers at 34 weeks should be 0.
She then let me know that if I had not come in and gotten checked, I would most likely be having a baby next week. She put me on strict bed rest- bed, couch, period. And gave me a prescription to take every 6 hours to stop the contractions.

She said we need to get to at least 35 weeks, because 35 week babies are take-home babies! I want a take-home baby!! :) She also let me know there is a very, very small chance I could still make it to 40 weeks - but we'd be lucky to make it to 37 - and that right now our first goal is to make it to 35. Then hopefully 36. She said after that they won't try to stop it, but I need to make to at least next week.

Dan is rushing trying to get all of the things done by himself that we thought we had 6 more weeks to do together. He put a shower liner on my side of the bed last night under the sheets (in case my water breaks in the middle of the night- good idea people- I hear there is no "drying out" amniotic fluid from a mattress). He just installed the car seat, and I made a list of everything to pack in the hospital bag. My dad gets here today and he's going to help him set up the crib and finish putting her room together.

Hopefully we still have a few more weeks to let her get a little bigger and a little stronger. But either way we just pray for a happy healthy little girl! And I will just enjoy this resting and relaxing until my sweet little girl comes from her Heavenly Father's arms to ours.

Are there TWO lines on that stick??

YEP!! IT'S OFFICIAL THERE IS A BABY DAMANDA ON THE WAY!!!

September 18th 2011 was a day Dan & I had been looking forward to for a while, and it turned out more memorable than either of us had planned. We were celebrating our 1st Anniversary, and had a few ideas of things that would be fun to do that day.

It was a Sunday and also the weekend of Stake Conference, so we got up and went to the church. While we there I began to feel VERY tired.. which is pretty normal for me, but this was a different kind of tired - (and I may or may not have been weirdly cranky too - I might have snapped at Dan and told him to "hurry and just find a chair and sit down!" he gave me a weird look.. I'm not usually like that). This was the kind of tired that I just wanted to curl up on the floor of the cultural hall and fall asleep next to the kid that was doing that in our row.

We finally (when you're that tired, yes, 2 hours does feel like FINALLY) got home and I thought "I might be pregnant." We had been trying for a few months and so most anything during the past few months felt like "symptoms" but I thought we might as well just check. So I took out a test I had bought a few weeks before and peed on the stick. We waited the three minutes then saw what seemed to be a positive line in the "your pregnant" box.

We both had a hard time believing this, and wanted to be certain that it actually was positive, so we jumped in the car and went to buy a test that was a little more obvious. We ended up getting one that would tell us either "pregnant" or "not pregnant". Fortunately, I had no problem peeing again (I am sure you can guess why), and sure enough, it read "PREGNANT". We both started crying and hugging. We could hardly believe it! It was the BY FAR the BEST 1st ANNIVERSARY EVER!!

Endowed & Sealed for All Eternity

It was the weekend of Friday Sep 23, 2011, and it started with Amanda’s endowment session. We awoke on Friday morning, and after many last-minute preparations such as packing, getting lunch together, etc, we left a little before 11am. We arrived at the San Diego temple with a few minutes to spare before 12:30pm, since Amanda’s endowment session was at 2pm. As we approached, Amanda remarked how she was really starting to feel the butterflies; I felt a little nervous too. As always, the temple was beautiful and majestic as we pulled up, helping to calm us. We took a few deep breaths before getting out of the car. We were ready.

Amanda’s mom, Kris, was already there, waiting to be Amanda’s escort. We all entered the temple and went through the necessary paperwork for Amanda’s first time. Then, before I knew it, she was taken away from me – in good hands, however, between her mom and the temple workers. I waited for a temple worker to come for me, who escorted me to the men’s locker room. I did some temple work for a little while, then the time was upon us.

Joining us for the endowment session was many of our family and close friends – Mom & Dad Smith, Mom & Dad Eichten, Allison & Hector, Brittney, Andrew & Jen, my friend Matt Sandberg, and our friend Lynn Rothey. It was so great to see them. It felt so good to see them there – a joyous reunion. Alas, my brother Eric could not be there due to work, but he did arrive later in the evening.

I remember seeing my wife Amanda in the temple – she looked beautiful and pure, more so than I had ever seen her. She was smiling and glowing. It warmed my heart. The endowment session was phenomenal, the Spirit was so strong, and it touched us deeply to share it with our family and friends.

Afterwards, Amanda and I quick went to check in to our hotel room at the Sheraton, then headed on over to PF Chang’s for our post-endowment family and friends dinner. More loved ones joined us - Garth, Sherri, & Olivia, my brother Eric, Todd & Dena, Brittney’s baby Oliver, and Amanda & Nathan. The food was fantastic – it was a great time.

Amanda and I eventually headed back to the Sheraton. We wanted a good night sleep for the next day – a huge one in our lives, even our eternal lives. We pre-ordered room service breakfast. We didn’t need to get up that early – we just needed to be at the temple by 9am, for our sealing was scheduled for 10am.

I approached our temple sealing not necessarily with nervousness, but more with a sense of anticipation and excitement. It was a feeling of finally arriving home, a feeling of accomplishing that which must be, which I always knew must be. I had simply been waiting for it, patiently waiting. And now it was here, and I was ready.

All systems were smooth in the morning, and we arrived at the temple on time. Kris came with us in the car from the hotel – she was again to be Amanda’s escort. My Dad met us at the temple – he was to be my escort. Again, we (Amanda, Kris, and I – there was only room for three in the little room) went through paperwork with a temple worker, after which I met up again with my Dad and a new temple worker – a young guy who was to be my official temple escort. He was a really good guy. We went up into the men's locker room. In the meantime, Amanda and her mom were doing the same – it was a little different for them because she had a special bride’s room to get ready in, with her mom helping, while I just had the plain locker room. Hmm… inequality? Haha, j/k.

When Amanda and I were both ready, my Dad and Kris were taken to the temple sealing waiting room, while Amanda and I were escorted into the celestial room. We were lucky to have a few moments in that beautiful room together, alone. The celestial room in the San Diego temple is truly amazing, and the Spirit was so strong. We heard someone softly crying for joy in the room, which was moving to us. We spoke together, thought, prayed – it was a wonderful moment.

Eventually brother Romulo Casos, our sealer, came in and met with us in the celestial room. He talked to us for a little while, getting to know us better, and us him. He was a caring, warm-hearted man from Peru, with full, white hair and a kindly smile. We really liked him. He explained to us exactly what would happen in the sealing ceremony, so that we knew what to do. He departed, we waited a few more minutes, then they came to get us. It was time.

They escorted us to the beautiful large sealing room close by. I remember entering and seeing so many familiar faces of family and friends turn to us – it made me so happy to see everyone. Amanda and I sat down next to each other with Amanda on my left. Her mom was next to her, and my mom next to me. The sealing ceremony was beautiful. Brother Casos spoke about using the example of Christ to help guide our marriage and our relationship. He spoke of charity, and referred to Moroni 7. Brother Casos was without guile, very sincere, and such a nice man.

The sealing ordinance was performed, with such a powerful Spirit and emotion in the room. It was truly a moment we shall never forget, as we got sealed together, looking into each other’s eyes, soul to soul.

After the sealing was completed, Brother Casos invited our family and then friends to come up and greet us and hug us. It was such an awesome experience to greet my family and friends in that way, in the presence of such a Spirit and joy. Thank you thank you to all you loved ones who were there to support us and share that moment!

On the temple grounds all our friends and family were waiting. We took pictures, and then many went to a picnic we held at nearby Nobel Park, where we served sandwiches, drinks, and a cake. The cake! :

It was a beautiful day, and such a great time to be able to interact and have fun with everyone.

It finally came to an end. What a truly exceptional event in our lives. In the space of 27 hours – from the time we left Huntington Beach to the end of the picnic – our lives changed deeply and eternally. What a blessing it is to Amanda and me to be sealed together forever, for her to be endowed, and for us to be starting our eternal family. We thank God every day for our blessings. He has led us to each other, has guided our path along the way, and will continue to be with us and our family always.

And we are STILL ALIVE!

I know, I know I am sooo horrible at posting! When we were dating I thought there would be so many cool and exciting things to post about once we got married and I was wrong.. ha it's just like normal life.. only we live in the same house and sleep in the same bed. Since my last post there have been a few exciting things that happened tho! I did end up getting a new job (3 months ago.. ha I'm awful I know!) It's at a new dental office in Costa Mesa so ALOT closer to home! (15 min compared to an hour and 15 min..) Which helps ALOT especially with not having to pay $4 a day to take the toll road and gas prices these days. The V8 & Hemi don't help with that either. Dan & I have planned a few little weekend trips coming up that we are really looking forward to! We want to be able to do some of these little "get aways" before we have one "on the way". We have been told by countless people to get little trips in before we start trying to have any kids because it makes it alot more difficult once they are here, and with only one income. So this weekend we are headed to PALM SPRINGS!! It's only about 2 hours away but about 20 degrees hotter!! I'm so excited!! Then Memorial Day weekend I will be going to Minnesota to meet my new nephew (who will hopefully make his grand appearance in the next day or 2!!) After I get back the next weekend we will be heading to VEGAS!! I love Vegas! (which again in about 20 degrees warmer than here). The next weekend Dan is going to Atlanta for work. Then in July we are going to the East coast for 10 days! I am SOOO looking forward to this trip!! I have been to New York twice but once was for New Years and once for Christmas so it was COLD & I didn't get the full New York experience! So we are staying with Dan's parents in New Jersey and making some trips up to New York to see Ellis Island, ground zero and times square & go to a Yankees game at the new stadium!! YESS DEREK JETER!!! Then we will be driving down to DC for the 4th to watch the fireworks at the Monument. I've heard of a few people doing this and decided we MUST do this!! I'm sooo excited!! I LOVE the fourth of July!! Then in August we are wanting to go up to San Francisco.. it's not planned yet so we'll see.. But once we do all these trips hopefully I will post about them.. no promises. ;)
Anyway on another note I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday! I am so thankful for both my Amazing Mother & Mother-in-law! I feel so blessed to have those two wonderful women in my life, and so look forward to the day when I have children & will know they have the best Grandmas ever!! Saturday Dan took me to a "non" Mother's Day dinner, we went to this place at the South Coast Plaza called Anqi. It was AMAZING! We had some fillet pot stickers to start and then I had the rack of lamb with marble potatoes and a golden curry sauce, and Dan had short ribs with sweet potato polenta and plum sauce. It was so so good! Then at church on Sunday they had the men take over for the women in Primary so Dan, with one of our our home teachers, taught my Ctr 4 class. He had so much fun with them, and like a little mom I missed them like crazy and ran from the relief society room to class room so I could see them before they left, so silly I know!
ONE last exciting piece of info! DAN & I SET OUR TEMPLE SEALING DATE!! We will be sealed September 24, 2011 in the San Diego temple!! We can't wait!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and I will try to be better at posting!!