Big Boy!

Oh my goodness! Robby is just getting so big so fast! He needs to STOP.

We had his 3 year check up on 5/20 and this is how he's grown:

Weight: 35 lbs - 80 %
Length: 40.5 in - 95 %
Head: 50 cm - 55 %

this was where he was at his 2 year:

weight 28 lbs 6 oz - 50th percentile
length 35 in - 70th percentile
head 48 cm - 25th percentile

So he's definitely had a growth spurt! Now when people always ask, is he tall for his age? I'll say, yes! :) We hope he grows to be taller than his mom and dad one day!

Today we converted his crib to a little toddler day bed - it's adorable. We've been talking about it for a few weeks since he recently figured out climbing out of his bed but since he usually would stay in there till I got him anyway or at least until I told him he could get out we just didn't bother. I always just thought we'd put him in a big bed when we had another baby but he's now 3 and climbing out so we'll just do it now!

This was his last time in his bed as a crib:

"What what?! I'm a big boy!"

He was so happy with his big boy bed daddy *made* for him!

He's a good kisser! :)

All ready for bed! He went to bed like a champ. We pulled the giant patrick dog out from under the crib to next to it in case he rolls out! He didn't get out at all and fell asleep within 10 minutes! We'll see how this goes though!

Free Early Pregnancy Class

So, Becca and I were talking about her childbirth classes and things and we've noticed a trend among pregnant ladies... lots of women get pregnant and pick a doctor but aren't aware of all of their choices until much later in their pregnancy and then it feels hard to switch doctors, make different choices.

When I was pregnant with Robby I knew I didn't want an epidural, I'm petrified of needles. Knowing I wasn't planning on having that as a pain relief I started looking into my other options - this led me to taking Hypnobabies. I also knew that I wanted a doula to assist me in my labor and that was a "problem" for my first doctor.

I ended up switching doctors two different times, so, 3 total doctors, till I found the right one for me that supported me in what my goals were for my birth. I even changed doulas once! The more I learned in my pregnancy and found about different options I realized those doctors weren't a good fit for me and I'm so grateful I decided to change.

THE POINT --- so my wonderful sister Rebecca is going to do a FREE Pregnancy class for people who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant soon to talk about all kinds of good stuff including:

*nutrition during pregnancy
*how to choose the right care provider
*where to give birth
*which childbirth classes to take
*how to have the best birth experience

Saturday June 19th
from 9:30 - 11:30 am
in North Orem

Email Rebecca at rebecca@gentlebirthchoices.com to reserve your spot!

I can't get enough of this stuff so I consider myself Becca's assistant and am so excited to be able to just share what we can with everyone! I'm sure this won't be the only class of this type but this is the first!

Please let anyone who is pregnant that you know and might be interested know about this class!

Summer buzz

Now that it's that time of year, you know, where we go to the pool all day long every day, I figured we needed to get rid of all that hair Robby had!



He does NOT like the clippers! But when he woke up at 7 am on Wednesday morning and he wanted to watch a show and I was trying to think of another distraction, I remembered I'd been wanting to cut his hair! So I made Rob help me before he left for work! So with the two of us helping we got a pretty decent job done... just don't look too closely! But I just LOVE his short hair and seeing his cute little head.

And we take this swimming time serious around here... we had swim lessons every day this week at 9 am and then would come home, get some food and then camp out by the pool at our house till dinner time.... we are tired. Today we swam in the straight up rain with the cloudy weather and cold temps but it was still fun.

And you've got to see this boy swimming! He's doing great! He started out pretty scared, not wanting to jump in unless holding hands, but he's branching out more every day and like a little fish! He can hold his breath for so long and float/swim around, it's really cute! I'll try to get a video of it soon! I don't want to forget this!

Happy Swimming time (aka Summer) to you all!

Consultation

Ok, here we go, full speed ahead.... STOP NOW if you aren't interested in the details of our baby making journey. :) I'll have a more exciting Robby post coming soon...

Our consultation apt with Dr. Slater went well! We sat down with her, went over both Rob and I's history, and then made a plan. I happened to get my period just the day before so it was good timing. She asked if I just wanted to do an HSG this month and see what that would show but I told her I was ready to just dive in.

At our apt Rob and I both had blood drawn and I had an ultrasound to make sure my ovaries looked good, no cysts or anything, before I started any medications. The blood draw for me would check my hormone levels at the beginning of my cycle. During the ultrasound she showed me both of my ovaries and that they had 5 folicles each which she said is what she wanted to see. Then in her words, "you don't have the most robust looking ovaries I've ever seen, but you know, it's ok, they're average." Great, I've got average ovaries. Ha! I just thought it was funny. :) But so everything in there looked good so far.

I have an apt to do an HSG test this cycle which is done at a hospital which will give us a much better picture of what's going on in there - and ps, if you're trying to call and schedule one ask for RADIOLOGY. I got bounced around with no one being helpful or knowing what the heck I was talking about for a while. And I already wasted about four hours of my life last month on the phone with both the hospital and the insurance company trying to figure out how much an HSG would cost me (somewhere between $86 and $1500, you know, somewhere in there) so we just had to decide was this important to do now or not and we decided yes so we're just going to do it and we'll find out how much it costs when the bill comes.

Speaking of the bill.... oh my... I mean, I expected to spend close to a $1000 per cycle on these treatments but at the end of our apt when the receptionist told me we owed already almost that amount I was a little flabbergasted. We had been planning/hoping the insurance company would pay for the consultation apt which is $230 and they still should but what I didn't know is that WE pay for EVERYTHING upfront and then it gets sent to the insurance company and if it's something they cover they send you a check. The consultation apt is really the only thing that is usually covered so hopefully we'll get that back. Then we had to pay for the medications separately which were an additional $300 so it all adds up super fast.

This is a lot of money for us to spend right now but we feel like it's the right thing to do for us. Even if we had to go into debt for this - I figure, it's way less debt than buying a home, still a great investment, and a worthy purpose. We'll figure it out and make it work. We might have to take a break inbetween cycles but we'll just do what we need to. It just was a bit of a shock to me how crazy expensive this is and it makes me a little sick to my stomach... or maybe that's the clomid? ;) But I can only imagine what people are paying for repeated IVF cycles or adoption and know that it is so much more and my heart goes out to you.

And I'm sharing this with you guys not to be woe-is-me but to help share the information I've learned through this process!!!

So Clomid - I always thought it was only for people who don't ovulate. I always get a positive ovulation so I didn't think this would be part of my treatment. Apparently it can help "super ovulate" you, per Dr. Slater, very technical terms here, and help with a luteal phase defect which I have. So I'm taking Clomid, then I'll do 2 FSH shots to stimulate my follicles, do ultrasounds to monitor the process and my uterine lining and then induce ovulation using an HCG shot, and then probably go for IUI this cycle as well. Then 2 weeks later hopefully find out I'm pregnant! Easy, right? If not, start it all over again!

Any questions?

I'm grateful the people at Utah Fertility Center are great... that I have a great support system... so thanks for thinking of us and keep your fingers crossed for us! How great would it be to get pregnant with just one cycle?? I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high! Their statistics say that 50% of their couples are pregnant within 3 months, 75% of them are pregnant within 6 months...

Next step

Update - it's super late and I'm exhausted from a long day but wanted to quickly update on what has happened since we went to that seminar.

The seminar was interesting - I have to say I felt like I knew pretty much everything they said in their presentation but that made me feel pretty good about the fact that I'd done my research. It was really nice to just get a feel for the practice as a whole and meet the doctors. Everyone was so nice and I felt really comfortable with them.

The main thing I took away from this was feeling validated in going to a fertility specialist - they said "infertility" was defined as trying for 12 months and not getting pregnant - and that didn't include necessarily charting your cycles or anything, just 12 months of not using birth control and not getting pregnant. So after 16 months of charting my ovulation and trying hard to get pregnant it is a very appropriate time to see help. I was able to talk to the doctor about my situation and give her my history and it was great to get an idea of what the process would be like.

The next thing is to go in for a consultation - this costs $230-250 but is usually covered by insurance. They said if we had trouble getting insurance to cover it then they could work with us on this, even deduct it from my first cycles charges. We will go in next Thursday for our consultation and hopefully be on our way to getting my body figured out and knocked up! :)

Come on, let's give this kid a sibling! Please!



I appreciate everyone's support and concern for us! I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Eclipse t-shirts - want one?

Remember how awesome our tshirts for New Moon were? Well, Liv and her husband Scott have whipped up an amazing shirt design for Eclipse! Check it out:

We are doing the same exact shirt as we did for the New Moon shirt except a light BLUE.

I just love how these shirts are like secret codes - no one has to know you're sportin a Twilight shirt unless they get the reference themselves and therefore they can appreciate it! :) Like how this refers to the store Bella worked in, Mike's family's store... anyway!

So if you're interested in getting a shirt - even if you aren't coming to the movie with us - let me know! We're going to do one big order next week or so so I'll need to know sizes and get money from people asap. Shirts are $12 and $14 for the Plus 1x and Plus 2x. Leave a comment or send me an email!

Utah Fertility Center

This week we are going to this. (free fertility seminar)

Malea and I have been friends a looong time. She and her husband tried for a long time to get pregnant and after going to this Fertility Center she had success! Now she is getting close to giving birth... it's interesting how we are now in opposite positions - I've learned a lot about birth and new babies and have lots to share with her! And her experience and information about dealing with infertility has been a strength and example to me... we are flip flopped and are able to help each other with the experiences we've had.

It's been hard knowing what to do next in this process. I've talked to my doctor, a homeopathic doctor, been in the Eager study, used a fancy-dancy fertility monitor, charted my last 15 cycles after my miscarriage.... there are lots and lots of things to do when trying to get pregnant and different courses of action. Everyone has to figure out what's right for them and when. As much as part of me has been wanting to go to a fertility specialist for a while now we haven't felt like it was the right time, we have been working towards our goal as a couple and as a couple need to be ready for the next step. It's hard to feel like people are judging you, thinking why aren't you doing x or y and really it doesn't matter - it's just important to figure out what is right for you.

Sometimes I feel like Heavenly Father lets me have these experiences simply because he knows I'm going to share everything that happens with everyone else... so part of me feels like, of course I have to go to a fertility doctor and experience that and see what happens...

Anyways it's late and I should just stop rambling but just wanted to give an update and also let other people out there know that Fertility Centers have things like this seminar to get information out! I didn't know that till I happened to be browsing their wesbite...

so let the sharing continue... I'll let you know what I learn... :)

Do the "hope"

Today I walked by nursery and paused at the door, listening for Robby... I overheard them doing their lesson, talking about helping at home...

Maeris (Robby's beloved nursery leader): Robby, I know you help at home! You have a special job you do at home, don't you? What's your job at home?
Robby: Hope.
Maeris: Yeah, to help, and your job is to unload the silverware isn't it?
Robby: (nods then says) And do the hope.
Maeris: Yeah, it's good to help... Dylan, how do you help at home?

I laughed to myself and went to class.... Robby was trying to tell her his other job is to do the SOAP. He helps fill the dish soap in the dishwasher. And Maeris knew he unloaded silverware cause we'd talked about that... anyway it was just a funny reminder that he says lots of things I'm sure people don't understand! And it was very cute to overhear them talking about helping at home... thanks nursery, thanks Maeris! We love you!

Childbirth Class

Attention anyone who's pregnant or if you know someone pregnant:

My awesome sister in law Becca is teaching another round of Childbirth Classes starting this Friday April 30th in Orem! She has a few spaces left in her class. The fee is $150/couple which is a great price! Her class covers a ton of important information to help you make informed decisions and learn great comfort measures for labor and more! She is an amazing teacher.

I was lucky enough to be at 2 of Becca's births (Robby & Luke) and I tell you what, this woman knows her stuff! I have learned so much from her example and seriously go to her constantly with questions - about everything!

Check out her website! And if now isn't a good time send her an email and see when her next set of classes might be...

There is so much to learn when it comes to pregnancy/giving birth.... I would recommend to people who are pregnant to take a class as SOON as possible so you can learn more about your options and make sure you find the right caregivers for you.

And this just happens to be one of my favorite topics and I'm just excited about it in general! So spread the word about Becca's class!

Family Pictures

Saturday we were able to get some family pictures taken by Susan Monson! We went over to Vivian Park in Provo Canyon and had a lot of fun! And Susan got some great pictures!

I love getting family pictures taken because I'm always the one TAKING the pictures - it's fun to be in them! :) And I just love having great pictures to look back at - I've looked at these pictures over and over already!

Check out Susan's blog and email her to book a session! She is great and only charging $40 right now!!!! Seriously! That includes the photo shoot and a cd with some edited images & the rights to them! So great!

Robby turned 3

April 2nd, 2010

All week we had been counting down the days till his birthday on our fingers... "Today is Monday, then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then you wake up Friday and it's your birthday!" He kept asking me, "say it all again!"

Rob wanted to see him in the morning so we woke him up before he had to go to work. The first thing Robby said when he woke up was, "Am I 3????!!!! Am I 3!!!???" He was SO excited!

He wanted to open something right away (and we had spoiled him beyond belief so we had some extra gifts) - he opened new diving sticks and was like, "AHHHH!" We asked him, "do you know what those are?" Robby: "No... (with an excited face)" ha ha.... when we explained he was ready to go swimming! So he took a bath...

Then when mommy was spending the morning trying to frost cupcakes (what was I thinking? Definitely doing a cake next time....) we got a visit from Tristan! One of Robby's favorite people! So Robby played with Tristan and the neat Moon Sand stuff she gave him...

...till it was time to go to his party! We had it at Rob's work...

*thanks to Liv for the awesome Robby Football player image! ;)
Which Robby said to me after looking at his invitation... "Mom, I want to be a football player now!"
Me: You are a football player. You play football with Daddy...
Robby: No I want to be a grown up now.
oh no! Oh Robby! You don't know how good you've got it!

Robby was not really in the mood for pictures... but we took them anyway...

And COSMO was nice enough to make an appearance at the party too! He and Robby are just such good friends...

And we didn't even get one good (Robby smiling) picture with him - we didn't warn Robby he was coming because up until the last minute we weren't sure if it was going to happen or not. So every time he said, "I want Dosmo to come to my party!" We would remind him that Cosmo is very busy and might not be able to come. Then we heard Cosmo was on his way, so we turned on the BYU fight song, and Cosmo burst into the room and you should've seen Robby! Oh man! Like a little monkey he climbed up into my arms. He was so surprised... he was definitely happy Cosmo was there but he was SO SCARED and didn't want Cosmo to come close enough to touch him. Cosmo even brought him a t-shirt. The minute Cosmo left Robby asked to put the tshirt on and if you ask him now what his favorite part of his party was he'll say without hesitation, "Cosmo."

Robby wearing his new Cosmo shirt, so excited to blow out his birthday candle on the cupcake.

He didn't even bother making a wish... pretty sure all his wildest dreams had already come true that day...

o
Our little family....

Robby opened gifts and was so excited about everything he got! And this kid was so spoiled! We're so grateful for the wonderful friends and family we have! He got lots of new playmobil sets to try out - we're venturing into a new era here! And of course ridiculously way too cute and crafty gifts from Liv....

Yeah. It's awesome.

Robby is so lucky and has so many awesome new things to play with! They busted open all the toys at the party and we played and hung out, eating pizza and treats...

Then I took Robby home and made him take a nap so we could hang out with Rob when he was done with work. We went to Cabela's and looked at the animals and walked around... one of Robby's favorite activities!

Followed by a late dinner at McDonald's in Lehi with the playplace....

Happy Birthday Robby! We love you, as you say, "ho ho ho hooooooo" much!

Comments

So I kept getting TONS of random anonymous spam-ish comments so I turned on that word verification thing to see if they will stop... we shall see...

He was a mean knight...

Oh Robby, Robby, Robby, Robby! Oh how I love that boy. He's hilarious. And he just gets funnier and funnier the older he gets.

The funniest thing lately is just how much he moves his mouth, head, and shoulders AND hands while he's talking! Super animated! It looks like he's chewing the words out of his mouth.

He's been so super into imagination, making up stories, and just overall talking non stop. The other day our friend Maeris, or as Robby says, "Sister Maeris" and her boy Kingston were over (she's his nursery leader and our awesome neighbor friend) and Robby would NOT let me have any kind of conversation with her. I could not finish my sentence because he kept yelling, "Sister Maw-wis! You want to hear anoder funny story? Ok..." and then go on and on about nothing but it was funny.

At one point during their visit Robby stops playing and says with a big smile on his face, "That makes me happy you are here Sister Maw-wis." It was so sweet.

Here he is showing her his card he got from his Babu & Dedu (my parents) for Valentine's day... he's "reading" it to her, but not really...

Translation: "It says Bab... u... and Dyed... u... and the funniest story in the whole world. So I found it. Right heeere. It says... ?? the King and a Knight and a Princess. Oh, and the knight... he was a mean knight..."

And then my camera cut it off but can you just see the expressive-ness of that face? I'll try to get some stories of his on tape but he usually stops when I pull out the camera... I was trying to sneak up on this conversation and it worked but then my camera failed me.

I had some funny Robby stories to share but can't remember them right now! One thing he said that was funny was when he told us, "I'm gonna marry Daddy. Then mommy." Oh, ok. That'll work out I'm sure. But it was very sweet.

Today when he was building a "nest" with rocks outside in the grass and he said it would be a home for someone... "for Jesus.... when he's a little baby..." And he's always asking me to get out the "Activity" aka, nativity, to play with.

Robby likes to watch tv. Yes he likes to watch a good "ho" (show) every now and then... or several times a day... ah we go through phases where I'm a lazy mom and let him watch lots of tv and times where we watch less but still... anyway the point is sometimes, usually in the afternoon, when he's relaxing with a little "ho" he will ask me, "Mom, can you get me water-juice, milk, and cheese crackers?" So I always water down his juice and we call it "water-juice" and then he also wants a cup of milk and cheese crackers are Cheezits.

So I talked about our nap time issue... today we wore ourselves out playing with a friend outside all morning and he fell asleep listening to Backyardigans music which was good cause I needed him to take a nap but then it was hard cause I wasn't sure how long to let him sleep cause I didn't want him to be up all night! I just love how sweet he looks while he's sleeping too... it's so hard to wake him up!

He's often sleeping sideways like this... doesn't look very comfortable...


Love his little face....

But I took a chance and woke him up and luckily he was happy! Also I opened the blinds so he could see that it had started snowing and he thought that was funny...

so we sat on his dresser and watched the snow for a while...


and had a little photo shoot with him making some funny faces...

Tonight while I was having a blast at a Stake Scouting meeting, and Rob was working late, my wonderful friend and visiting teacher Erin was nice enough to come and play with Robby. I came home to find they had had an awesome time playing...



Here's Robby as "Awesome Man" as he called it....


Yes, Robby, you are an awesome little man! :)