Meet Thomas Alan Cardall

Thomas Alan Cardall was born September 13, 2012 at 3pm 

weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long.

We checked into McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah the morning of the 13th at 8am to be induced. I was started on pitocin by about 8:30 and was dilated to a 3+. At 1:15 my doctor Wesley Davis came by on his lunch break to break my water and I was still at a 3+. At 2pm I asked for the epidural. By 2:30, the epidural had not kicked in and my contractions were getting much worse and coming very close together. The nurse had him come back in and give me a shot of something directly into my IV. After a few more contractions the pain began to ease off. At this point the nurse checked me and informed us that I was at a 10 and she was holding the baby in with her hand. She called for Dr Davis and he arrived about 10 minutes later. 

By this point I was so numb I couldn't move, felt like I was going to pass out and my mind felt very foggy. But I willed myself to stay conscious as I pushed twice, or at least they said I pushed I couldn't feel a thing. After 2 pushes the doctor said the cord was around the babies neck and lowering his heartrate, so he was going to take him out with the next push. And on push number 3, at 3pm, our unnamed baby boy was born. 

As we were looking at our new, beautiful baby boy, the few names we had been leaning toward did not seem to fit. He was not a Lucas, Daniel, or a William. Once in recovery, as I was watching the nurse bath him, I looked at Dan and said, he's a Tommy. Dan completely agreed. So we started trying to fill in the middle name with Lucas, or Daniel etc but nothing seemed to fit. About an hour later, Dan said, what about Thomas Alan. And I new that was it. It was the perfect name.

Thomas was named after my grandfather Thomas Justus, and come to find out there is also a Thomas on Dan's mom's side and his dad's side. Alan is after Dan's father Joseph Alan and it is also Dan's middle name.

Tommy with Grandma and Grandpa Cardall

Eddie holding his little brother for the first time. 

He was so gentle and careful with him, but did not want to let go of him.

Our first family picture, taken on Saturday when we got home from the hospital.

False Alarm

As of Tuesday night, I thought for sure we would have a baby by sometime the next morning. I had a rough weekend with some vomiting, and pain, and just not really feeling well. Then Tuesday afternoon, I got really sick with puking and diarrhea, closely followed by contractions. I ended up texting Dan at about 4pm and told him he better head home sooner rather than later just to be on the safe side.

I continued to time my contractions, but they weren't getting any closer together or any worse. We took Eddie for a walk to see if that would help. My doctor had told me at my appointment last week that he would be out of town on Wednesday and Thursday, so I figured with my luck, I would go into labor.

But by about 8:30pm the contractions went away and I was feeling a lot better other than some back and pelvic pain. I decided to just go to bed and see how things went. But come yesterday morning, I felt just great and have continued to feel fine.

It amazes me how every pregnancy can be so different. I don't feel any more prepared the second time around. With Eddie I had absolutely no labor symptoms other than just being uncomfortable and miserable the last few weeks. Even at 5 days past my due date, I don't think Eddie would have ever come out without being forced.

But this time around, I think I stand a chance at going into labor on my own. As of last week on the 30th the doc said I was dilated to a 2.5 (I have no idea how he could possibly be that accurate!), but that is still some progress. I will be curious to see if the false labor I had will have made any changes come my next visit on Monday the 10th.

Lets go up the slide

Dan took this video last Sunday when we were at his Aunt's home in Highland. It is really a big kids play area, but Eddie figured out a few months ago how to climb up the plank and go down the huge slide. But now he was up for bigger adventures. He decided to climb up the slide, and actually made it the whole way. I have watched several of his cousins that are years older, fall or face-plant while trying to do this, but Eddie did it on his first try, no problem.

I can't believe how big he is getting. He will be 15 months old on Sunday. He has worn holes in the toes of all of his shoes (the leather/cloth kind), so I bought his first pair of big boy shoes yesterday. He is able to walk in them, but he is very heavy footed as he stomps around with the added weight.

It was also time for him to get another haircut from his Aunt Ashley. And this time instead of just a baby trim, she did a full big boy haircut with scissors, razor and even the salon chair. He looks like such a little man I can't believe it.

He hasn't learned to say any more words, but his understanding has come a long way. He knows what certain things are like...binky, sippy, breakfast, froggy, let's go, fold your arms, etc. It is so fun to say "Eddie, bring mama your sippy cup." And then watch him find it and bring it to me. And when we say prayers to watch him fold his arms. They usually don't stay folded the whole time but he knows he has to be quiet.

Church has actually gone a lot better the last few weeks. We decided that when Eddie would try to run away or be loud, one of us would take him into the foyer and pin him in our laps for 30 seconds to a minute. I feel bad for all the people in sacrament who could still hear him screaming, but after 4 or 5 times, he got the message. Now all I have to do is count, and by the time I hit 2, he will stop. I'm sure we'll still have more timeouts in the future, but it's nice to see some progress. Now he will fold his arms during the prayers and claps after every song. He makes church a lot more entertaining for us and for anyone who sits near us. 

We almost made it 15 months...

We almost made it 15 months...without a trip to the ER. I have always known that with how active Eddie is, we will be spending plenty of time in the ER. I just didn't think it would start so soon.

Last night while Eddie was having his bath, he tried to climb out of the tub, slipped and popped his chin open on the surround. At first we thought he hit his mouth, by the way he grabbed it, but then we saw the blood. Luckily both Dan and I handle these kinds of situations pretty well, so after assessing the damage, we decided we better make a little trip down the road (the hospital really is that close).

Eddie handles it like a champ and quit crying before too long. However, with how deep the cut was, every movement he made caused it to bleed more. We got him in a diaper and went to the hospital. They were pretty quick at getting us back and decided he definitely needed stitches or glue. We opted for the glue, knowing how hard it would be for Eddie to do the stitches. Besides, the cut is in an area that won't really show even if it does scar.

To do the glue, they had to strap Eddie to a papoose/board thing, that covered from his feet to his chest. Then the nurse had to hold his head back and still so the doc could clean and put on the glue. Eddie screamed as much during this part as he did when he first got hurt, but it was out of frustration from not being able to move, not pain.

They got it sealed up in less than a few minutes and I, along with the binky was able to calm him down right away. We paid our ridiculous copay, (thank goodness for insurance), and headed home.

So we had a crazy night of firsts, but I'm glad to have it out of the way. Now we just get to look forward to when the next trip to the ER will be...which I hope is a long ways out!

Eddie waiting in the Emergency Room...fruit snacks and donuts kept him happy

 

Baby #2 Update

I am officially 36 weeks today. I can't believe I am going to have another baby. I had a doctors appointment yesterday and I am dilated to a 1 and 80% effaced. The doctors guess on weight is about 5lbs 14oz, which he says is average, and I say is going to make for a big baby in 4 weeks!

Dan and I have still been unable to decide on a name. As of today, it is down to Lucas or Daniel. I actually had a dream the week before we blessed Eddie that we named him Lucas. Then I heard someone say it the other day and I thought, "I really like that".

I can tell lately that Eddie senses something is going on. He wants to be in my lap all of the time, even though there is not much room with my big belly. He insists on opening and closing all of the doors for me, and even carries my keys and phone when we go to leave the house. He is already turning into my little man.

Eddie has learned how to blow kisses and give kisses. He ate a quarter of a PB&J sandwich the other day, holding it like a big kid and everything. He is obsessed with garbage cans and tries to throw everything away. I notice things missing and am pretty sure they are in the dump by now. He keeps me on my toes as he learns new things everyday. I think he will make a great big brother and be a big help to mom.

Eddie's Church Outfit

So this is an outfit that we got for Eddie when we were in Mexico. Dan calls it is South American Drug Lord outfit. All he's missing is a cigar! And yes he wore it to church on Sunday and was the cutest baby there!

More Maternity Pics

These are some maternity photos that my sister in law Shannon took...