*Mckinlie-1 Month*

Dear Mckinlie-

You turned 1-month-old on April 10th. It's so crazy to think that you are that old already. Your original due-date was April 08th/9th. We love having you here so much. You bring so much joy to our home. What did we ever do without you? You smile so much and rarely cry. You are such a trooper. You spent a few days after you were born with your mommy in the hospital and you got to spend some extra time with Dad and family members.
You love to sleep in Mom & Dad's bed and love to cuddle. You finally have started to get little fat rolls and they are the cutest ever!
We love to dress you up and put pretty bows on your head. You have everything pink and girly and always look so cute. Our landlord, Karen Jensen of Shine Photography took some beautiful pictures of you a few weeks after you were born. You were so good during that session and shocked her. She said you were the easiest newborn yet to take pictures of. You let us pose you in the cutest ways and we got the greatest pictures that we will cherish forever. You are so dang cute. You look like your dad in most ways, but you have your Mom's big blue eyes.
I love spending my days with you and am so grateful that we can make arrangements for that to be possible. We are so excited for what's to come and for the chance that we get to watch you grow-up!
We love you smiley baby! :)

Rough Times

So Kinlie-Rae-Rae was born on a Thursday. We got out of the hospital Saturday morning & went to her shower and ran errands. I was feeling great! That lasted until Monday when I started having extreme chest/stomach pains. I just pushed through it for most of the day and dealt with it. Mckinlie had to go back to the hospital daily to get her Bili levels checked, so I took her to the hospital and was pulling out when I realized that the pain was more severe than I could handle & it could be pretty serious stuff. I went down the street, pulled over into a parking lot and called my dr. They told me to go into the emergency room right away when I said chest pain. I panicked, having to go into the emergency room with severe chest pain (I literally thought that I might die. I didn't know if it was a heart-attack or what) and a 5-day-old baby was not my idea of fun or easy. I called Trevor at work 30-40 min away. He called his sister, Stephanie who lives in Lehi (10-15 min away from American Fork hospital) and she loaded up her poor kids and left for the hospital right away. I was rushed into a room and they started an iv and took me in for some tests. Meanwhile while I was in severe pain, they probed me for where they could find the debit card in my bag for a $200.00 co-pay. OUCH! Meanwhile Stephanie, my angel that day came and watched Mckinlie in the room while I was taken away for scans. They had to push dye into my IV and realized that it wasn't in the right way, and had to put ANOTHER IV in my opposite arm.

After all the results came back, they couldn't figure out what it was and sent me home. Trevor got there just as we were packing up and helped me take baby home. The pain continued all that night but if they couldn't help me at the hospital, I figured I'd just have to live through it.

The next day Trevor went to work & my mom came to stay with me & help me with baby. The pain was sooo bad that I couldn't get up and I was gripping onto my bed and shaking it so that I wouldn't scream because I was trying to be tough. My mom was so freaked out because whatever I had was getting worse, so we decided to take me into the doctor. We got an appointment for a few hours away and I tried to take a nap. I woke up screaming & she had to call the doctor and demand an appointment RIGHT THEN! We loaded up the kid and put the address in the GPS since I was new to the Lindon area. It was literally 2 minutes away from my house and I was SO grateful for that TENDER MERCY!! The doctor couldn't figure it out and sent me home with pain meds (they don't sit well with me) and anti-nausea meds. I started getting delirious at that point and threw up all the meds I had (TMI, I know)
That night I laid in bed screaming of how I wanted to die and be done with the pain & Trevor was at his breaking point. He took me to the ER again & said that I had to stay and they had to treat me SOMEHOW that time. Another $200 copay and the same tests again, determined that I had SEVER PANCREATITIS.
I was admitted to the hospital and stayed from Tuesday to Thursday. During that time, I was taken off of all food and water and was pumped full of water and morphine. I was off of all foods for a week & I lost ALL my baby weight and then some. Poor Mckinlie was passed around to family members, since it was hard for her to stay in the hospital with me.
Luckily we had great family that brought her by the hospital everyday to visit me & who helped with grocery shopping and house up-keep.

Long story short we had a rough start at being a family, but here we are now & we are loving it! Things have been so disorganized and crazy, but I hope to blog often so we can keep record of Mckinlie's life and good memories!

Mckinlie Rae Edwards

Born on March 10th, 2o11 at 12:04 (just after midnight)

Weighed 5.6 lbs 18 inches long

Birth story & Mom's thoughts:

We just moved to Lindon and had barely gotten settled and the house put together, when I started having what I thought were contractions. I called my dr in Park City (Larreine Sabella) and left messages for the nurses to see what to look for and what to do. Well a night passed and my message was never returned. I was really annoyed and frustrated that they wouldn't call me back with something as serious as contractions at 35 weeks. The next morning I was fed up and decided to call and get a new doctor in Lindon. The receptionist was asking me for my history and I told her about the symptoms that I was feeling the night before. She put me on hold and when she came back, her instructions were to go to labor & delivery right away. I've had a few scares and have rushed in there for things before, only to be sent home. I really thought that nothing was going to happen, and I was super busy that day. I decided to hop in the shower, call Trevor to come from work in Heber, and head to American Fork hospital. We got there and into a room around 11:30am.

Right when we got there, they put me in a room and did a cervical check. The nurses eyes got really wide and she said, " Honey, you're dialted to a 5 and your bag of waters is bulging. You're having a baby today." Well, that made me super nervous and came at me from left-field. Good thing I decided to take the hospital bags just in case. They started me on an IV and got an ultrasound of baby to make sure that she was ok. Besides being a little small, she looked like a healthy little girl. They moved us to the delivery room and we played the waiting game. I got an epidural right away and didn't feel any labor pains whatsoever while at the hospital. The biggest pains I felt were from the epidural and the IV. We enjoyed the view from our room of the Timpanogos Temple and finally around 11:20 I was ready to push. The epidural made my legs feel super heavy and weird, but I could feel the pressure from the contractions and knew exactly when I needed to push. She came very quick and easy, and by 12:04 we had a little girl!

Since she was early, they were nervous about how she would do, so they showed her to me and took her over to the corner to look at her. Daddy went and followed and took pictures to show me. She was healthy and happy so they brought her over to me and she immediately grabbed onto my finger.

They moved us over into the room we would stay in, and we all had some bonding time. We got released just in time on Saturday morning for her baby shower and Mckinlie got to make an appearance!

Our little girl started smiling right away and is such a content and quiet baby. Her daddy is so good with her. I swear he has natural instincts. He knows just what to do and doesn't hesitate to do it. He is very helpful and we are very lucky to have him.Whenever I make a comment about her being grumpy or I tease her a little, he jumps to her defense pretty quick. I don't think she will ever do wrong in his eyes. We love her lots and lots and look forward to having fun times with her.

Dad's Thoughts:

March 9, 2011 I woke up and went to work. The night before Dee had been having pretty intense pains during the night but when we woke up they were pretty much gone. So as usual I went to work and the texts came in about finding a new doctor in Utah Valley. Then a text came in saying that I might have to run home cause the doctor wanted her to come in after hearing what Dee was feeling. At about 10:30 Dee called me saying the doctor wanted her to come in for sure and she shouldn't drive alone. I rushed home picked her up and all our hospital bags, just in case....Well when we got to the hospital they checked Dee out and she was 5cm dilated and they admitted her until she was going to have baby.

We were put up in a room and Dee was put on an IV and we basically just played the waiting game. When it came to the epidural Dee was a little nervous and I definitely could not watch cause I don't do needles. Dee did great and it didn't phase her at all really. More waiting and then at about 11:25 pm she was 10cm and ready to push. After about 40 mins of pushing baby came out, pink and healthy at 12:04 am on March 10, 2011. We were able to have some time with baby and then she and I went to get her a bath, she was very good and didn't cry much at all.

It has been lots of fun seeing her change so much already, she is just so content and easy. Pretty much every-night we have to wake baby up to feed, she smiles a lot and sleeps a lot. Everytime we tell someone about her schedule, they say how lucky we are that she is so good. Yes we are lucky, she is such a good baby and is so much fun to watch and take care of.

30 Week Photo

So, 68 days left and we are feeling pretty settled with getting stuff and being "ready". I don't know that with something this big in life you could ever feel completely ready, but we are trying. Dee is really on top of what we need and making sure we don't leave anything out. We've spend many hours at the store pricing multiple versions and styles of bottles, binkies, etc. Who knew something so seemingly simple could be so involved. The funny thing about getting baby stuff is that people say that your baby just might not like what you bought for no real reason so then it's back to shopping. Dee is the best and is a pro at all this stuff after nannying for so long. Even without her experience I'm sure she would still be a pro cause this stuff all comes natural to her, she already is a great mother and loves baby Mckinlie a lot. I love hearing her talk to baby, just like she was actually here. These are crazy and exciting times but i'm sure with how active baby is life will get much more exciting.

#1 Dad

Main Point: Trevor K Edwards is the best dad ever. Signed by: Mckinlie.

I am probably a little biased, but seeing Tee interact with Mckinlie is the best. They already have a good relationship and I love it! He reads stories to her before bed,(sounds weird, but you're supposed to read to them before they are born...I want a genius child) and talks to her all the time. Not saying I don't want to do those things as often too, but I don't always think about it. Me and her are together all the time and sometimes I forget she is there! Still love her though. He likes to feel for her moving and thinks it's fun, although sometimes he will say it creeps him out a little. She even gets really excited when he comes home or when she hears his voice. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but I've consistently tracked these behaviors and I'm convinced that is what it is. I just know that he is going to be her favorite, which is totally ok. According to the doctor that did her 3D ultrasound, she looks like her Dad anyways, so it fits.
The other day I was thinking as I watched the trashy MTV shows. I'll admit I love Teen Mom even though I know it's not the best show ever. The families in these shows are usually less than loving, and usually not very functional. This makes me very grateful for the eternal marriage that I have with Trevor and the good relationship that we have (even though my pregnancy hormones are a little crazy sometimes...at least I hope they are only during pregnancy..) I am grateful to know that Mckinlie will have a great dad that loves her and that even though I think he can be tough sometimes, she will be well-disciplined and be raised on the right track. I think everyone deserves the blessing of being a parent in a loving family at some point in their lives!

29-week update:

-Passed the glucose and blood tests. WAHHOO! I was surprised I lived through the needle part.

-Gained 16 pounds so far. Yikes! But I guess that's healthy.

-Was told by 3 people at this appointment alone that my child was very active. Happens at every appointment.

-Saw baby moving her mouth and rubbing her face on the ultrasound. Has happened more than once. I think she got the chatting habit from Trevor ;)

-It was estimated that she will be a 9-pound baby. Let's hope for my sake, she is a smaller, but healthy baby. I carried a 10-lb sack of potatoes at the store, and not quite sure I can carry her around for long if she weighs that much. I'm starting arm workouts today.

-I start going to the dr every 2-weeks for the month of February and every week starting in March.

The countdown is down to 70-something days I believe. Can't wait! :)

Temple Square Lights and 25 Weeks

Trevor's family has a tradition of going to see the temple lights and then going to dinner with Grandma Edwards. This year was MUCH different then last year. Last year: we were just dating and I mean just barely dating and it was ffreeeezzzzziiiiiinnggggg. This year: we've been married for 6 months, and have a baby 5-months in the making, and it wasn't too cold. What a difference a year makes!
We walked around and saw all the lights. I think I paid more attention this year to how pretty it was because I wasn't struggling to stay warm. My favorite was the nativity scene and hearing the little kids name the people and tell the story.
Then we went to Village Inn like always and had a good time there. This year was fun, but we are looking forward to next year when we can take McKinlie to experience this fun part of Christmas.




Miss McKinlie is 25-weeks today! She is growing like crazy. I swear she never sleeps and I love the little personality that I am seeing from her. I'm so excited to have her around next Christmas and experience everything with her.

23 weeks!

Mckinlie is 23 weeks along and still moving like crazy, what a surprise. We got a 3D ultrasound and pointed out were features of baby that Dee and I have, I am hoping that the ones she has of me she will grow out of! The ultrasound shows her having "healthy" sized cheeks and she weights half a pound more than the average at her age. She is growing fast and she is active. It's a lot of fun to see her kicking through the her belly home. It's amazing cause you can almost sense her personality at this age when trying to get her to cooperate with ultrasounds and when she dances to her favorite music. We love her and are excited to see her soon!