25 May 2008

birth story

baby girl taylor with mom and dad minutes after birth.
the taylor girls. jillian was acting so silly the first time she met camille.

camille taylor's birth story as i remember it:
my neighbor and i had the same due date: may 29th. she was scheduled for a c-section on the 20th. as i walked to my car for a doctors appt. the day of the 20th i couldn't help but think that she was no longer pregnant. here i am: 30 lbs. heavier than normal, 110 degrees outside, sleepless nights, and a 19 month old kicking my belly at every diaper change. therefore, when given the option to have my membranes stripped at the appt., i took it. as the doctor began i promptly regretted this decision. she later explained that if i am days away from labor this will do nothing, however if i am going to go into labor in the next few days it "may" expedite the process. after the sweeping of membranes i was dilated to 3cm and 60% effaced feeling stupid for agreeing to it.
that afternoon continued as normal but with a bit more pressure in my pelvis. a friend came over to watch idol and stayed to visit. i began feeling a bit uncomfortable with back pains around 9:30. luckily, the conversation was keeping me occupied as i continually became more and more uncomfortable. as jeff and i crawled into bed i knew something was happening. i had jeff get me a pen a paper to track the contractions. i told him that this may be the real deal. he responded, "well, if it is stop talking to me. i need to get some rest", then promptly feel asleep. :)
my contractions at this time were lasting 30 seconds and were 5 minutes apart. having decided to have a "natural" (i.e. no drugs) birth i wanted to labor at home as long as possible. i tried to follow jeffs lead and "get some rest". at 1:30 i couldn't lie awake anymore watching the clock. i began pacing the house. when i felt like i couldn't walk through my contractions i started watching crouching tiger, hidden dragon (i love that movie).
at 2:30, each contraction was more and more intense, forcing me to pause the movie and just concentrate on breathing through them. i decided to track again. lasting 1 min 10 seconds each and 3-4 mins apart i wondered if i should call the doctor. :) (pregnancy brain kicking in). i decided to first look it up in a book. i found my what to expect when your expecting book. frustrated with the out of date information i searched for something to tell me what to do. i finally found a "new parent binder" that prompted me to go to the hospital or call the doctor (no kidding). living 25 mins away from the hospital and it being 3:00 am i choose the latter. after expressing my concern of not wanting to be sent home from the hospital the nurse stated, "you might be sent home. but if you don't come in, you might have the baby at home." i woke up jeff, got a priesthood blessing, and we were on our way. of-course, the road we needed to take was blocked off completely. after our little detour we got to the hospital at 4 am. apparently the hospital had received 8 l&d patients in the last hour. we waiting, contractions continued, jillian wondering what's up.
finally, around 5 am i was checked and admitted; 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. jeff took jill to his sister sarah's home and i started walking the halls. with each contraction i held onto the wall and imagined a wave rolling in and back out as i counted (like only a dancer at heart knows how): "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. 2,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. 3,2,3,4,5,6,7,8" randomly counting in 8's, 12's or 16's.
at 8 am i was at 7 cm and 90%. jeff and i went on another walk that seemed like one continuous contraction. this is the point when i thought, "this is what an epidural is meant for". jeff was great at keeping it light hearted and i found that by laughing i was able to deal with the contractions easier. jeff was my saving grace through it all.
at 9:45 i was 9 cm and we decided to have the doctor break my water. i was quickly in transition. from this point on i didn't know which way was up. i wanted a cool wash cloth, no i want a warm one, rub my back, wait don't touch me, etc. i was never like the crazy laboring women you see on t.v. but i felt like it. i remember very vividly gaining strength as i looked at jeff and he would tell me "you're almost done, you can do it". i pushed for approx 30 mins. and then sweet baby girl taylor came to us. our emotions were released.
jeff and i are happy that i went natural. it was the most difficult and intense experience of my life. it was an unbelievable and truly indescribable experience. i don't know that i'll never get another epidural but i do think every women and husband needs to experience a natural birth if they can.

22 May 2008

baby


new baby from Alisha on Vimeo.

Camille Taylor
21.May.2008
10:58 am
7 lbs 13 oz
20 inches long

Jeff + Alisha = True Love


Four years and counting. I love this man more today because of yesterday.

18 May 2008

what's your vote?

CAMILLE

vs.


TORI

12 May 2008

mother's day

i got a piano for mother's day, anniversary and having a baby gift!!! i found it on craigslist for only $150!!! i love it. there is something special about being a mother and being pregnant too on mother's day. i'm not sure what is was but yesterday was such a good day. i woke up in a good mood that lasted all day long (a rarity lately). jill and i played the piano, jeff cooked, we went on a family walk, a zucchini is growing, my flowers are blooming, and amanda and ozzy are still together (parv winning almost broke my mood though).
since yesterday i have been more and more excited for this sweet baby to come. mother's day did my "late pregnancy bad-attitude" good!

mom and mom-in-law: i love you and thank you for teaching me and jeff continually.
.

10 May 2008

coming soon...

i'm sitting pretty at 2.5 weeks to go until my due date arrives. at my previous ultrasounds the baby was breech so i had a follow-up on wed. and we are good to go. the baby's head is down, feet are noticeably in my ribs, and now i wait. i'm having a lot more contractions this time around than i had with jill. last night i had around 8-10 contractions in a row. i was crossing my fingers that i wouldn't go into labor yet because i still want to get a clean home first. i'm not as swollen (ankles and feet) which i attribute to working less this time around, but i am more out of shape.

last week hayley held a luncheon with friends of mine at cafe rio. yummy. don't mind the fat face and big ol belly. this picture is missing natalie, luanne and hayley.




if i can get my home cleaned today and packed for the hospital the baby can come anytime...

03 May 2008

my husband the athlete

two saturday's ago jeff did a triathlon!! he had been training for about a month and a half. jill and i got to go watch. it was so cool. jeff and i were a little apprehensive about it because neither of us knew how it worked or really any information. the night before the race jeff "bic"ed his head for that extra advantage. once we arrived we realized how big of a deal it was. a ton of guys were sponsored and jeff said that he only saw 2 bikes that were worth less than his. he took 81 out of 110 for his group in 3 hours 2 mins. the race started with the swim, jeff's weak spot. . .

this is the athletes waiting for the race to start. . .must have been fun treading water. if you blow the picture up you can pick out jeff. he is near the back without a cap on.
once the horn blew the lake was full of activity.
jill and i then drove to transition point to wait for jeff to finish and start the bike. we waited and we waited and we waited. finally, after i saw an older women finish her 1 mile swim and mosey over to the bikes i thought "i must of missed him". i packed up jill and headed to the next point hoping to catch him at transition to the run. i was wrong. jeff was still in the lake. he came in dead last with a time of 43:16. he did however have to swim to the aid of another athlete and pull him to a safety kayak.



once jeff finished the swim he determined to make up time in the bike. this was no ordinary bike trail. it was 17 miles of off road desert mountain trail. the trail began with a 1000 foot ascent that they called "pack your bike". jeff said that not one person could ride up the mountain, everyone had to get off their bikes (they had to do this at one other point too). when the athletes came in on their bikes some helpers grabbed the bikes and helmets so the athletes can run down the shoot and change shoes, grab a drink and start the run.
at the transition point i waited and waited again. biker after biker came in and no sight of jeff. i had become temporary friends with another wife. this was her husbands second race. the longer we waited the more anxious we became. as athletes came in we heard of a racer down with a broken collar bone, another down with a bike broke in half, yet another with multiple bike wreck, the stories came in as if to make me and my friend more uneasy. i kept seeing racers come in covered with dirt and bloody. "this must have been a brutal trail", i thought. finally, her husband came in...now jill and i were alone in waiting. about 3-5 mins later i saw jeff come around the corner. my excitement was too much to contain, until i saw the blood and dirt on jeff. jeff jumped off his bike and i ran with him down the shoot (me on the outside). i asked if he was okay and jeff just said how much fun he was having. i felt so much better.

jeff's about to change into his running shows. i knelt down by him and tried to help him change shoes and pin his number on his shirt. he came in 78th in the bike at 1:35:37. movin on up!
the 4.5 mile run was through the mountains too. jeff is the one with the white shirt on.
as my temp. friend and i waited for the hubbies to finish the race i got comfortable. i decided to wait until her husband came in to get ready for jeff. all the sudden, he comes into view. i wasn't even at the finish line with my camera ready when he crossed. jeff took 64th (43:20) in the run passing my friends husband.

we had a great time. it was really fun to cheer jeff on and jill was a trooper too. i would love if jeff got into triathlons and raced more. jeff did enjoy himself and he felt very accomplished.
back to jeff' s wreck. jeff was going too fast (trying to make up time) on a down hill and hit a big rock. this caused an "endo" i.e. flipping over the handle bars and bike flying over the top. once jeff realized that all of his appendages were still in-tact he checked his bike. a few parts were jacked up but jeff was able to keep riding. on the way home we stopped by my work to have the doctor check jeff out. she stated that jeff needed a few stitches on his shin and 1 or 2 in his elbow. jeff refused because we'd have to check in, so we've been taking care of his battle wounds at home. . .
here's jill waiting for daddy to finish.