testing.. testing.. 1..2...3..? hello???

 well it has been quite some time since i last posted on this blog... does anyone even read blogs anymore?  i don't think anyone really does, except for my little sister laura who has been complaining about my lack of blogging since... well, march.  so, since she decided to move away from me (tear) i told her i would update my blog, even if it is only for her. 

so, here is a super condensed recap of what we have been up to since march:

took a trip to st. george with our alaska friends.  had such a great time and got some much needed sunshine!  this baby LOVES to swim!

ran the salt lake city half marathon in the POURING RAIN! most miserable and cold race we've ever done. don't let this picture fool you (it's an awful picture too), we were not thrilled to be running. 

my baby girl just keeps getting cuter and cuter!  everyone always tells me how happy and social she is. 

took another trip to st. george with my family.  got in some good food, hiking, family time, and sunshine!

may 12th- celebrated my first real mothers day which was also my first birthday as a mom!  

reached our 5 year anniversary (actually back on april 30th) and went on a trip to china to celebrate!  too many pictures to add now, but just know that it was awesome.  we especially loved the great wall, the terracotta warriors, the pagodas, and the tarantulas :)

i've got the happiest baby on earth but also a baby that attracts sicknesses!  just another dr's appt to try to get her sinus problems under control.  it also probably doesn't help that she is a teething queen and already (at 12 months old) has 15 teeth!

funny baby loves her dogs!  dog is one of her first words and she calls every animal she sees a dog. 

what a ham

ran ragnar again with my sisters, my friend molly, and my brother in laws family.  we had a great time!

millie's first 4th of july complete with a murray parade, breakfast with the sponbecks, fireworks, snowcones, and naps! 

baby girl loves the water.  we spent lots of time swimming at the pools and reservoirs this summer.  also got a chance to go boating at deer creek.

spent a weekend at the family cabin in heber 4 wheeling

took another quick trip with laura and zac to st. george in august.  also headed to vegas for some shopping, food, and a show!

my sweet, amazing baby girl turned 1 on 8.22!  what a sad day to realize that she is no longer a baby, but what a celebration of her life!  she is the best thing to happen to our little family. millie is social and quite advanced for her age.  she's been walking and talking since she was 9 months old, she is a cuddle bug, she loves to play at her sitter's house, she is such a sweetheart... the list goes on.  i couldn't imagine my life without her and can't wait to see how her personality develops over this next year!

my baby sister katie got married to this cutie, danny, on 8.29

we went to swiss days the day after katie's wedding and had a great time.  the day after that, we took a spur of the moment trip to disneyland!  what a fun time with my family and millie absolutely loved it!

went to the zoo with laura (and zac, kinda haha) and had a great time!  laura and zac decided that they would take a job offer in victoria, texas so they left us a few days later.  we miss them terribly already and can't wait to see them for the holidays!

family pictures complete with a rock holding/rock loving baby girl :)

there you have a very condensed summary of our last 6 months.  here's to hoping that i'm better keeping up on the next 6 months.

hope you're happy, laura :)

6 months!

photo credit: shaylei grace photography

my little munchkin is already 6 months old and i can hardly believe it!

she has been the best baby we could have asked for and is an absolute joy in our lives.

at 6 months:

she popped another tooth and now has 3 bottom teeth

was sick most of months 4-5 which meant a few trips to the dr, lots of tylenol, fevers, double ear infections, first round of antibiotics (that didn't clear up those darn ear infections), an awful 3 weeks with bronchiolitis, lots of nasal suctioning, plenty of time spent with the humidifier, etc.

she's finally feeling better but she is still congested and has a bit of a cough.  and her dr says she still has an ear infection but being an ear doctor myself, i'm a little skeptical so we're not doing anything about it right now (especially because she doesn't seem to be bothered by it)

she giggles all the time, especially when being sung to, when you blow on her face, or being tickled on her tummy or her thighs.  she also likes when you blow raspberries on her tummy/neck.  

still sleeps like a champ- sleeps every night from 9:30-7 and usually takes 2 naps during the day

very curious and skeptical of people these days.  she doesn't give everyone the big smiles that she used to upon meeting them.

is becoming more "clingy" and is getting some stranger danger.

nicknames: millie june, millie moo, stinker, stinker-face, princess

rarely cries unless she needs something.

likes to pull the dogs ears and tails.  they're good and quite tolerant of her!

sits up like a champ and is practicing going from her tummy to sitting

started crawling just days before her 6 mo bday.  she's not very graceful with it, but it's a crawl none-the-less.

loves food and always wants what we're eating.  we've started giving her small bites of "big people food" and she is in heaven.  she even had her first bite of a sugar cookie thanks to her uncle zac :)

moved up to size 3 diapers

is in some 3-6 and mostly 6-9 clothes.

babbles all the time and lately it has been the /mamamama/ and /bababa/ sounds.  soon enough she'll be talking!

she is understanding turn-taking and having conversations- we'll babble to her, she'll babble back (or grunt back, haha) and the exchange can go on for a long time (like up to 5 mins!)

she loves music.... i'll usually dance with her while i'm singing to her and if i stop doing both, she'll start shaking her body to tell me she wants me to keep going!

she (we) survived her first extended time away from mom and dad while we went to new orleans.  i missed her like crazy but it was reported that she was a good baby the whole time.

she thinks she's bigger than she really is.  she's getting to be a smart cookie and is quite inquisitive.  people tell me all the time that there's no way she's only 6 months old with how developed she is.  

it has been so fun to watch her learn and grow every day!

weight: 17.4 lbs   60th percentile

height: 26 inches  75th percentile

months 3 & 4 (and a bit of 5)

here's a little update on our little family

mostly a little update on millie:

on november 4th she was given the most beautiful blessing by the best daddy around.  she looked like an absolute princess and was such a good baby the whole day.  we had so many family and friends attend the sacrament meeting and the brunch afterward.

at 3 months she:

has little giggles

rolls from her tummy to her back

is becoming even more alert and aware of the world around her

still comes to work with mom

still sleeps like a champ- at least 2 naps during the day and sleeps all night long

refuses to suck on a pacifier or her fingers- we've given up

is still in newborn and some 0-3 clothes

in size 1 diapers

loves to cuddle

is a very social baby- loves to smile at anyone and everyone

got her first little cold

started sitting in her bumbo

at 4 months:

millie got her first jumparoo and loves it so much

she jumps and jumps and jumps until she passes out- she'll nap for a few minutes, wake up and realize she is in her jumparoo and she'll get excited and start jumping again.  crazy girl.

giggles constantly

can roll from her back to her tummy but only when going to her left

got spoiled at christmas and loved all the attention she got

is starting to play with toys more

loves music and certain music instantly calms her down

started on rice cereal- doesn't love it but doesn't hate it

is starting to get a little chunky

still comes to work with mom, but not for much longer

has been grabbing for things and has quite the "death grip"

her 5 month birthday is next week so here are some new things she's doing:

got her first 2 bottom teeth (at the same time!) that popped through on jan 12th

started going to the babysitters and they love her and say she is such a good baby

fits into most 3-6 month clothes

needs size 6-9 month pjs because she's tall

graduated to size 2 diapers

usually goes through 2 outfits a day

started on solid foods- she'll eat just about anything but her favorites are apples and bananas mixed with oatmeal

while laying down she will spin around in circles

can finally roll (kind of) to her right

is intrigued by the dogs

still sleeps in mom and dad's room but not for too much longer

her umbilical hernia is just about healed up

loves to stand on her feed and usually bounces up and down when she does

weighs 15 lbs (50th percentile)

in the 80th percentile for height

happiest and gosh darn cutest baby you've ever seen

millie in 2 months

i love everything about this squirmy little bug

at 1 month, she was:

smiling (first smile came one day shy of a month old)

starting to "talk"

sleeping about 5 hours straight through at night

started going to work with mom

has regular blowouts that require numerous outfit changes a day

still in newborn clothes and newborn sized diapers

still won't take a binky

holds her head up by herself- such a strong baby!

at 7 weeks, she finally started fitting into her 0-3 mo clothes... kind of :)

our little 2 month old has so much personality and i love it.  i love when she's awake (and has a full belly) because she is so content and just hangs out eyeing everything in the room.  she really is the best baby every- rarely cries and she eats and sleeps so well!

at 2 months, she...

goes to work with mom every day and is such a good baby!  sleeps an average of 6 1/2 hours of the work day and when she is awake, the patients absolutely love it!

sleeps through the night.  in fact, it has gotten to the point that i put her down around 11 and have to wake her up around 7am after i've gotten ready for work.

she eats like a champ- getting closer to 5 oz every 2 1/2 hours

my milk has dried up so she is on formula exclusively

graduated to size 1 diapers

she has an umbilical hernia that the drs aren't concerned about at all, but does cause quite the protrusion when she is mad

she had her first baby sitters and it was definitely harder on mom than it was on her

has only one dimple on the right cheek that shows up when she grins- adorable

smiles constantly- especially when mom makes an "ooooooo" sound

got her first pedicure from her 5 year old friends, lexi and kate

loves to lay on her changing table and look at the chandelier in her room

constantly has her fingers in her mouth and is drooling

still sleeps in mom and dad's room

did so well when she got her first round of shots- only cried for about 5 seconds and then was a cuddly baby the rest of the day

at her 2 mo appt:

10 lbs 14 oz (30th percentile)

almost 23 inches long (60th percentile)

millie's birth story

so, i was due on friday, august 17th.  that day came and went.  i had been at a 2 and 50% effaced for a good 2+ weeks with no signs that it was progressing.  my doctor wanted to wait until the next thursday (aug 23rd) night to induce and plan on us having the baby on friday.  i asked him if we could do wednesday night instead so that way josh would be able to have more time with me at home before he had to be back to work the next monday.  he said he'd check and let me know.  he called me the next day and said that the hospital was booked for that wednesday night so he scheduled us for tuesday night instead!  seriously, it was the best news i had heard in a long time.  i went in for a stress test on monday morning and while the baby did great, they had a hard time finding a good amount of fluid surrounding the baby.  the nurse said it was something to be aware of but since i was going in the next day they weren't too concerned.  

tuesday was a day full of every emotion possible: anxiety, excitement, nervousness, fear, exhaustion...  you get it.   i was so emotional as i thought about how our whole lives were about to change.  i tried to nap, clean the house, get things ready for the hospital, etc. to keep my mind off everything.  when josh got home from work, we got our car packed up and he gave me the most beautiful blessing i've ever had.  i cried through the whole thing but it was absolutely perfect.  it calmed my nerves and made me so excited to bring our sweet baby into the world.  we took our dogs to my parents house and then went to the cheesecake factory to get some food as we waited for the hospital to call and tell us when to come in.  since i hadn't progressed further than 50%, they were having us come in the night before to "prep my cervix" and then they were planning on using pitocin the next morning to start the labor.  

the hospital called and we went in around 8:30.  we got checked into our room and they started me on the "ripening pill" called cytotec.  it's given every 3 hours throughout the night and we started at about 10.  that night, josh's parents and aunt came by to visit.  once they left, josh snuggled up on the bench/bed and went to sleep and i tried to go to sleep but couldn't.  i watched some movies on my iPad and it felt like every time i was about to doze off, a nurse would come in to check me.  around 4 am, the nurse came in and told me that i could get some pain meds if i wanted some or i could even get my epidural if i wanted it.  i had no pain at that time (even though the monitors showed i was having some contractions) and told her i wanted to feel some of my contractions before i got the epidural.  around 7 i was started to feel uncomfortable so they gave me a small dosage of phenergan to take the edge off.  at that same time, i woke josh up because his snoring was driving me crazy and at that same time, my parents showed up.  my doctor came in around 7:30 and i was only at a 2 1/2.  he predicted the baby would come some time in the early evening.  he broke my water then and i didn't even feel anything- in fact no fluid really even came out.  shows how low my levels really were.  

after breaking my water, i started feeling the contractions more and more. i finally got my epidural around 9am and it was perfect timing.  the epidural was awesome- no pain in my body but i could still breathe just fine and could still move my toes.  around 10:30 i was at a 5.  the nurse said i didn't need pitocin because i was progressing on my own and to expect the baby sooner- around 4pm.  she said to let her know if i felt any pressure or discomfort.  we kept hanging out in the room with my parents and josh's mom came over from work a few times.  i was so comfortable that i was starting to doze off even.  we kept joking about how awesome it would be if i were fully dilated the next time they checked me.  the nurse came in at 12:30 and checked me and gave me the craziest look ever- she said "remember how i told you to tell us if you feel any pressure?" i told her i felt nothing and she said that i was at a 10 and that the baby was right there and she could see her head.  josh asked "so, now that liz is at a 10, what do we do now?"  the nurse looked at him and said "call her doctor immediately and have liz keep her legs closed and not cough".  we couldn't believe it!  i started getting super excited.  josh went and told our parents that our joking was actually paying off.  they came in and wished us luck and left the room around 12:55 while my doctor and the nurse were in there prepping everything.  when he told me to push, i pushed 1 practice push and he said, "ok, well 1 more push about a third as hard as you just did and the baby will be out".   really?  this is easy!!  so, i pushed one more time and heard the most beautiful cry in the world!  our baby was born at 1:01 pm (literally 6 minutes after our parents left the room) and was absolutely beautiful!  

they put her on my chest and we noticed that she was having a difficult time breathing.  they took her and cleaned her up and wrapped her up and gave her to josh to hold.  her breathing was a little better but not much.  josh asked the nurse to check her again and she spent a good 20-30 mins trying to work the junk out of her lungs, throat, and nose.  she finally sounded better and they brought her to me to do the skin-to-skin and try to nurse her.  while she wasn't sounding stuffed up anymore, her breathing was extremely rapid and the nurses were concerned.  also, she wouldn't latch on and was quite fussy.  they called a nicu nurse to come check her out.  the nurse came and spent a good 30 minutes or so observing her and trying to calm her breathing down.  around 2:45, they decided that she needed to be taken to the nicu for observation.  we didn't even have a name for the baby and our parents were still in the waiting room wondering what was going on.  so, josh and i had a good 2 minutes to look at the baby and give her a name before our parents came in.  we introduced them to our little amelia, they said hello to her, and they they whisked her away with josh to the nicu.  i was then take up to my room and told to wait until i heard from someone at the nicu.

we waited a few hours not knowing what was going on. finally, she came back to me around 5:15.  josh had just held her in the nicu trying to soothe her to calm her down and it finally worked.  when they brought her to me, they said her blood sugar was extremely low and they needed her to be fed immediately.  we had a hard time getting her to latch again but she nursed a bit and luckily, her blood sugar went right up.  she was then monitored for her breathing and blood sugar for the next 24 hours but she didn't have any problems after those first few hours.  

we spent the next few hours loving on our little baby.  we had lots of visitors and my cute friends lindsay and amanda came and took pictures of our new little family.  all of the nurses kept telling us how cute amelia was (of course we knew she was the cutest baby, but it's always nice to have strangers confirm it for us!  haha) and they were all so amazed at how wide-eyed and alert she was.  

we spent 2 nights in the hospital and headed home on friday, august 24th.  my recovery has been a piece of cake since being home.  i guess it helps to have a smaller baby and a quick delivery but i have felt perfectly find since about day 2!  i told my doctor, if all my babies come this easy, he'll definitely be seeing us again in the near future :)

miss millie

it's hard to believe our little baby is already 2 weeks old!  it's crazy how when you're pregnant, the weeks drag by, but once that baby is here, you have no idea where the time goes!

this little baby sure is the cutest thing you've ever seen :)

she really is a good baby most of the time.  we've had an interesting time figuring out the whole nursing thing but i think we're finally learning what direction to go with it. i'm going to start supplementing with some formula a few feedings a day because i don't think i produce enough milk to keep this little munchkin happy with a full belly.

just a few things i want to remember from these last 2 weeks:

cuddle time has been awesome. she is especially cuddly in the morning hours between about 5:00-9:00.  usually we do an early morning feeding and then we both snuggle up on the recliner and sleep there till about 9.  i love it.

she always sneezes 4 times

she can't keep her hands out of her mouth and just loves to suck on them.  not 1 or 2 fingers in particular- she likes to put a whole fist full into her mouth

she actually sleeps pretty well at night- usually goes down around midnight and wakes up around 4:30-5.  

she doesn't mind her carseat at all and usually passes out within minutes of us driving anywhere

she has already made a few road trips- first one to swiss days in midway and the second one to logan to visit her friends and see where her uncle nate will be living at usu for the next school year

she has had tons of visitors in the last few weeks and we are so grateful for all the love and support from our friends and family!

she will very rarely take a binky

she's teeny-tiny.  none of her newborn clothes fit.

she has the biggest eyes and is usually awake during the day looking around (she doesn't sleep as much as the typical newborn).  her eyes are starting to become more blue and i think her blonde hair has some curl to it.... just what i wanted... a blonde hair blue eyed baby girl!

she went to the pediatrician today for her first check up.  

she weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long.  he wants to keep watching her weight but says she's a perfectly healthy and happy little baby!

she loves going on walks

when she has a full belly, there is nothing in the world that we can do to keep her up and awake

we sure love this little nugget.  i'll post about her birth story soon!

welcome to the world, baby girl!

Amelia June Hankins

Born: Wednesday, August 22, 2012

1:01 pm

6 lbs 11 oz

we are in love love love with this little baby and couldn't ask for a sweeter little spirit to enter our home.  she is perfect in every way!

more to come later!