Getting ready for baby

Everything is going well with me and the baby (and Jarod too!). We have weekly appointments and lots of monitoring. I am starting to get ready. I have effaced a little bit more each appointment and I am just starting to dilate (60% effaced and 1 cm dilated). The baby has gotten lower at each appt. too. We are planning to induce on January 6th unless I go into labor before than. So that is only 1 week away! I can do anything for a week-so I keep telling myself! I am done working and just trying to finish organize everything at home and finish up all the last minute things I haven't had time to do that I have wanted to do such, make cute burp clothes!

I found this really great idea online a while ago-its to make really cute burp clothes. You sew a panel of fabric down the middle of a cloth diaper and add some ribbon to the side and you have a cute burp cloth that is super absorbant! The first stack is a sample of ones I made for friends (I have made boyish ones and girlish ones) and the ones at the bottom are ones I have been working on for me! I have a bunch more colors and ribbon that I need to work on and add to my stack.

Baby Shower

A few of the girls at work (Janeene, Kristi, and Jenny) threw a baby shower for me! It was so fun but so snowy out that a lot of people couldn't make it, but we had fun with the few that were there. We had yummy soup and played a couple of fun games. I got a bunch of cute things! Thanks everyone for making the night fun for me and the baby!

New Haircut

A little bit before Thanksgiving I decided I was so tired of my hair and everything about it. I went and got it cut a lot and also got it professionally colored for the first time (my color was looking so bad and pregnancy kept making it darker and darker that I just didn't know what to do with it anymore). So here is what my new style looks like:

Not the best smile (I look so tired-I guess being great with child does that).

Zions and Bryce Canyon National Parks

At the end of September/early October Jarod and I went on a trip to Southern Utah. We wanted to see some of the National Parks and have one last weekend getaway while I wasn't too pregnant to travel. We stayed in St. George and went to Zions National Park first. There were so many beautiful scences and so many pictures but here are a couple of our favorites.

Love the ginormous arch-this was one of many we saw but definately the biggest. We also went through a tunnel that was over a mile long. It was built in the 1920's so it was really small and they only let traffic through one way at a time. It was really neat-they had holes in the tunnel looking out and you could see amazing cliffs and rocks. We had to drive up hundreds of feet of switchbacks to even get to the tunnel (it was little nerve racking). The arch in the picture above was taken on our way up the switchbacks. Zions is very well maintained and they have a shuttle system through part of the park. We parked our car and took the shuttle up the main canyon and got off at all the spots and walked around and looked at all the amazing cliffs-truly a beautiful place.

We also went to the St. George temple and the visitors center they have there. They had just finished painting the temple and it was so bright white! The St. George temple has so much history as the first temple finished in Utah. Something new I learned was that Brigham Young never like the original steeple that was on the temple (it was a lot smaller and looked a little strange on such a big building). Only a few days after he died a lightening storm hit the temple and burned just the steeple down so they had to rebuild it. Everyone says Brigham eventually got his way even after he died.

Bryce Canyon is really an incredible place. The formations of the rocks are breathe taking. There are all of these little peaks and spires for the freezing and thawing of water through the ages and there are just views for miles of all this peaks. Everything is so red from all the iron so things just glow in the sun. Its really amazing that all of this is so high up-we were at 10,000 ft above sea level looking down into the canyon. The park has on main long road with several vantage points along the way. Here are a couple of the amazing views we shared at Bryce Canyon National Park.

This rock has a complete hole through it-so cool!

WICKED!

Sorry for the long time between posts-life gets crazy as everyone knows. Jarod and I were lucky enough to see Wicked a few months ago and loved it! Jarod had never been to a Broadway play before and was really impressed with the music and sets and everything. I felt like I just sat there with a smile on my face the whole time-enjoying every minute. Jarod has definately been converted to the thrill and excitement of Broadway so I am excited about that-now if only we could afford the tickets more often.

Thoughts...

This was written by a friend who lost her baby only a few days after we lost Hope for her daughter's first birthday. I feel that it expresses a lot of how I feel but haven't been able to explain. I thought this was a great way to follow up my previous post about Hope's Birthday.

On the day you were born; not a sound was heard; not a word was spoken
I held you in my arms and my heart was forever broken
I looked into your beautiful face and begged you to cry, open your eyes, and look at me
It just had to be a lie. There must be some mistake; babies aren't supposed to die
We had so many plans for you,
My little girl you would be, and Daddy's little princess
Oh, the things for you to see;
the lullaby's for you to hear; hugs and kisses to be given
How today and every day, I wish that you were living.
Your life was meant to be; no matter what they say
and though tragically your life was not; in my heart you will always stay.
Our arms can't hold you now, since you have left this world
but you will always be Daddy's princess and my sweet little girl.
So today I sing "Happy birthday" as tears fill my eyes and I weep
Please know my tears are not because of you, but because no matter how much I wanted to
"You" I could not keep.
Sleep well my angel until we meet again.

by Jennifer for Kayleigh on her birthday

One year ago...

One year ago we welcomed Hope Maxine Rollins into our family and we had to say good bye too soon.

We finally got a headstone to mark her grave. We did it in bronze and its beautiful. There are scrolling vines and flowers and even a little ladybug.

We brought her a cupcake and also some balloons with messages and released them into the sky.

We miss Hope everyday and think about her always. Its hard to not feel like a complete family with a piece of us missing but we think about the promise that families can be together forever and wish for forever to be here soon.

New Scam to Watch Out For...

On the news this morning they talked about a new internet scam the FBI is warning about and everyone needs to watch out for. The scammers send you an email that's titled "Really Funny Picture" or something similar and once you open it they can see everything you type. They than can access your email accounts, facebook, etc. because they can get see your username and password that you use. They than start to contact all of your friends and family through your accounts and tell them that you are in trouble, got mugged, lost your wallet, etc. and that you need to wire them money. The scary thing about this scam is that your friends and family really think that it is you because its coming from your email or facebook. Please pass on this information to everyone and just remember never open email from someone you don't know even if the title of the email sounds legitimate.

20 Week Ultrasound

So we are offically halfway there-phew! Today we had our 20 week ultrasound with the Perinatologist at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. I really liked the doctor we met with. He was really easy to talk with and seemed to understand how stressful and anxious this pregnancy is. He said everything on the ultrasound looked great, he spent a lot of time looking at her heart and all her body parts and organs and such and didn't find anything that seemed concerning. We talked about one of my blood tests that had come back positive. Its called MTHFR (is short for some super long word that I can't say-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase). Anyway, this is a chromosomal mutation that apparently is really common (like 40% of the population has this) and there are varying degrees of severity. One can have one copy or two copies of the mutation and there is an A mutation and a C mutation that those copies can be (this is all my understanding and may be very primitive but hopefully its fairly accurate). I have only one copy of the mutation and its the A mutation. The C mutation is the one that makes doctors more concerned as well as having 2 copies (so that is good I guess that I don't have those). Basically MTHFR can affect the way your body absorbs folic acid and uses it in your blood. It can lead to clotting problems, low birth weight, possible issues with the placenta not function well because of the clotting (which then leads to low birth weight). Anyway, I never showed signs of blood clots and there were none in the placenta or umbilical cord with Hope. She was a normal weight and length for a newborn so all in all they really don't think MTHFR had anything to do with this but of course we don't know what happened so everything is on the table. The treatment for MTHFR is super simple, 4 mg of folic acid + a baby aspirin daily, so the doctor said I could take that if I wanted since it wouldn't hurt but who knows if it really will help either since that may not be a problem at all. I have already been taking extra folic acid since my regular doctor said it wouldn't hurt while we were waiting to find out what the high risk doctor thought. I will go back to see the Perinatologst in 2 months and than I will see them once a month until we have the baby. Just having extra eyes and ears watching (especially when they are a specialist) is really nice and reassuring.

I was getting kind of nervous about this appointment since its always nerve racking to see a new doctor plus my neighbor recently lost her 4th child (this was her 3rd lose, she lost twin girls at birth and has one living son) and she found out about losing this last baby at her 20 week ultrasound. Everyday there is a reminder that I need to be grateful for what I have and for the children that I have (no matter how long it is I get to keep them-at least in this life). Jarod and I use our doppler almost everyday and that is such a precious time to just let the anxiety fall away for a few minutes. I struggle everyday to remind myself to just deal with this moment, this day. When I think about the future I start to panic and the anxiety can get out of control (luckily I feel that I have done much better handling my anxiety than I did earlier this year-which has surprised me).

Jarod is doing great with his landscaping job. His stamina has improved and they have been working on some different jobsites that have been a little easier than the one he started on. Some days they work more than 12 hours to get a job done so sometimes we hardly see each other but we are so glad he has a job for now. He is still continuing to look for a different job that can be more permanent and is more pertinent to his education so we are crossing our fingers.

Children's Books!

I would like to invite everyone to take a look at my new website. I have signed up to be part of Usborne Books & More and have an eShow going on right now. These are really high quality books with a lot of great features. There are a lot of touchy-feely books, puzzle books, sticker books, gorgeous picture books, and books with flaps that open and close. They make great gifts and kids love them. Just follow the link below to the eShow I have going on right now. You can order anytime but right now I have a special eShow going on with the home show I am doing tonight. I have always loved books and I have been really impressed with the books available through Usborne books.


www.ubah.com/HOS149119

Everyone is welcome, so please pass this on to your family and friends that you think would love to buy some great books.

Below I have listed just a few of my favorites so far:



This is one of the really cute touchy-feely books. Each page has a different monster with something to touch and feel. There is a whole series of books called "That's not my..."







This is the story of a little penguin who goes on a quest to discover just how big is a million. Along the way he finds all kinds of groups and numbers and in the end he finds a million stars. There is a huge poster in the back that opens up to reveal a million stars (they acutally made sure there were one million stars on it).

This is such a great book for children. It has flaps that open and reveal all kinds of things going on in the human body-one of my absolute favorites!












This book has a cute mouse that detaches and you use to travel through the book. There are all kinds of holes and slits that the mouse travels through on his journey through the house.











This is just one of their many reference books. They have amazing encyclopedia and reference books that are great for school-aged kids and the many reports they have to do. Also one of the great features is their reference books are internet-linked/referenced which means they have additional information on the topics in the book if the child would like to learn more about something specific. Usborne monitors and updates their internet information and you can be assured your child is on a safe website and not just googling random topics if they need to do a report.


Like I mentioned above I am simply doing this because I love books and I want people to give their children fun books to read. If anyone has any questions please let me know.

It's a...

It's a girl! Jarod and I were able to see our fabulous Uncle Kent today (thanks Kent!) and found out we are having a baby girl. It was a little sketchy at first with Kent guessing a boy and the baby not wanting to spread its legs too much, but after further examination from many angles-girl was the consensus. We are very excited (we were secretly hoping it was a girl)! We have so many sweet baby girl things that would be great to use for one of our children and maybe we will get a little bit of a glimpse of what Hope would have been like through her little sister. Our next doctors appointment is next Wednesday and they said they can give us an ultrasound so we will wait and see if they agree (we won't say anything first just to make double sure). We will keep everyone posted and will get some pictures up next week when I can scan them at work.

Hard Worker!

So Jarod got a job! YEA! Its only a temporary job but its a job so we are happy about that. He is working for a commercial landscaping company being a laborer. It pays pretty good so that is a nice perk, but they start at 6 am and work 9-10 hours a day. Being out in the heat and working his tail off has pooped my poor husband out. He comes home covered in dirt, sunscreen, sweat, and can hardly stand up. So far his foreman has been impressed with how hard of a worker he is compared to a lot of the other guys. Hopefully he will adjust to the heat and get used to the hard labor, or I may have a crippled husband in a few days. I love that I have a fantastic husband who is willing to work so hard for his family. Love you Jarod!

One more hoop to jump through

I hate getting poked (who doesn't really). I had to get some blood drawn yesterday for a couple more tests that my doctors would like to run. They are mostly precautionary and such but one of the tests I really wanted them to do and the others were tests my doctor recommended once I brought up the first test. They are testing for obsure clotting disorders. When I was in the hospital after having Hope they did a ton of blood work but these other few tests were not really standard procedure and they were not checked with all the other clotting tests. There really is no reason to suspect a clotting disorder since no clots were found in the placenta, umbilical cord, and I never developed any clots but its good to rule out all possibilities so I am all for it (other than the poking and blood-sucking part; that part is not too fun). I have to wait a few days for the results, so I am trying to be patient and just trust myself that we are doing all we can to ensure the health of our child. On a happier note, my morning sickness has lessened a little in intensity. I still get sick and nausous and throw-up occasionally but thankfully its getting fewer and farther between. Also thanks to our wonderful Uncle Kent (its about who you know) we get to go see him next week sometime and find out what the little one is! My next appointment isn't until August 5th but they told me they would take me into the ultrasound than too, so we will see what Kent says and than see if the follow-up ultrasound says the same thing (two heads are better than one in making these judgements). We will keep everyone posted with results of all kinds!

New Calling-Scouts

Jarod has received a new calling in our ward. He will be the Varsity Coach in the scouting program. The Varsity Program is the scouting program for the teacher's quorum (age 14-15 young men). Jarod will be their scoutmaster and help them with all the Wednesday activities and merit badges and such. He is very excited and is working hard at getting organized. He has had some great examples of good scoutleaders in his life so he has a lot of ideas to plan fun things and keep the boys motivated at working towards their Eagles.

Great News!

Here is the newest addition to our family! It may not look like much but its a new little baby that Jarod and I will be adding to our family. This was taken at 8 weeks so its super small and they were measuring the length so you they are looking down on it but you can kind of see some little limbs if you look close. I am now 12 weeks along (and still sick so don't ask-hopefully we won't have a repeat of last time, my children just love me so much they can't leave me alone for one minute of peace-oh well). Our due date is January 15, 2010. We are going to the same clinic we went to before and love them. They are so nice and accomodating and try to make me feel better as much as I need. I will also be going to see a perinatologist (a doctor who specializes in babies in the womb). I will go to them for my 20 week ultrasound since they have a higher quality machine and are more apt at looking at babies in the womb. We may see them on and off after that in addition to our regular doctors appointments. I will have more frequent doctors visits as well, right now I am going every 3 weeks (mostly for my sanity) and we will increase the frequency as I get farther along. Once I am 32 weeks I will also start doing Non-Stress Tests (NST). This is where they hook me up to a fetal monitor and record the babies heart rate for a half hour or so at a time. It helps them see what is going on with the baby and make sure they are staying healthy. They will also check the fluid levels frequently with an ultrasound as I get farther along. Its reassuring to have so many things that we can monitor and make sure are ok, but its a little stressful too. We will probably induce me so that I can be monitored the whole time I am in labor. We haven't set a date or anything for that but will see how things progress and how I am doing as time goes on before we set anything in stone. I am trying to keep my anxiety in check and its been difficult sometimes. Since I can't feel the baby move yet I start to freak myself out and worry that something is wrong. One great thing is I received a fetal heart monitor in the mail yesterday. There is a great foundation called Tiny Heartbeats (their website is http://www.tinyheartbeats.org/) and they give heart monitors to mothers who have lost babies free of charge. These are doctor grade monitors, which usually cost several hundred dollars, but they let me borrow it during my pregnancy and I just send it back after I have the baby. They take donations-if you need a good charity to give some $$$ to- and also doctors offices can donate monitors so ladies, please pass this on to your doctors. Jarod and I were able to find the heartbeat last night and it was so reassuring (now I don't have to call my doctor's office everyday freaking out). We will make sure we keep everyone posted on our happenings. They are going to let us find out the sex of the baby early (because they love us so much at our clinic and they have an ultrasound tech in their clinic) so in a few more weeks we will know. I have an appointment next Wednesday and than the next one will be 3 weeks after that and that is the appointment we should be able to find out so only about 4 more weeks!

4 Years and Counting!!!

Jarod, I love you more everyday. Even though life is tough and unpredictable, having you as my best friend to share it with has meant everything to me. I love being with you and talking with you more than anyone else! I am so happy we are a family together forever!

Jamaica & Grand Cayman Cruise - Celebrity Century

Tanya and I decided that we needed to get away for a while. Our sanity was wearing thin and the feeling of being in the same old place doing the same old stuff was getting to be too much. Being the master planner that Tanya is she had already been looking at cruises and had found a five night carribean cruise at a great price. The more we talked about it the better it sounded. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise, we considered it an adventure. We decided we would set sail on Valentine's Day. We purchased the cruise tickets without travel insurance and then booked our flights, we were committed.
I won't get into travel details other than to say we took the red eye from SLC to Miami and set sail the next morning. As with many things, Tanya had to convince me of something I already wanted, but didn't know I wanted.

There were a couple of other ships leaving at the same time and we got to see them off. We also say a lot of amazing sites as we were leaving Miami-one being of course the famous Miami Beach.

Our ship was smaller than most of the others we saw, which was great! Less people and more room to breath. Our little state room was tiny and without a window. I thought we might feel clausterphobic but it was great. If you sat on the toilet you could wash your hands in the sink at the same time.

The food was magnificent. I have never eaten so well in all my life. During the day we would stop by the buffets and graze on our favorite foods. Or we might drop by one of the cafes or the pool side grill for a burger and fries. We had the late dinning which was convenient because we usually weren't hungry until later anyway. Our head waiter Martins was from India and our support waiter was from Honduras, his name was Santos and they treated us like royalty. Every night was a five course meal. Sometimes they would bring us multiple entrees if we couldn't decide which one we wanted more.

We had the time of our lives! We loved being able to relax and forget about things for a few days. We also went to Stingray City in Grand Cayman and we will post pictures when we get our underwater camera developed.