birdie

Friday, October 28, 2011

A year in the life of Lettie

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Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jocelyn Grace Bird
August 13, 2011
6lbs 7oz & 18in

Jocee was born 4 weeks early. Her due date was Sept 5.
She had to stay one night longer than Mama in the NICU
 We are all so thrilled to have our baby "Jo-Jo" here.
Violette is so excited to be a big sister!
She already gives lots of loves to her sissy Jo-Jo


Dr. Steve...AKA Uncle Stevie is AMAZING. We LOVE Steve.
This is baby number two that he has delievered for us. I told him he wasn't allowed to go out of town when my babies came or he'd be DEAD MEAT!  Thankfully both our girls decided they didn't want to risk having him gone on an adventure so they came early!

I wouldn't trust my life, or the life of my baby in anyone else's hands. Steve is the greatest!!!
 Mama and Daddy holding their little angel for the first time. . .
BUT...not for long. Because Jocee was so early they had to take her away almost immediately
They had to check her lungs and make sure everything else was okay.
Violette was SO excited to see her new little sister. She gave her a great big hug.
Violette still LOVES her Jo-Jo...but has some days that are hard.
Like throwing a box of wipes at her head,
or punching her...
or smacking her with a comb...
My favorite moments of the day are in the morning,
 Violette gets up and runs to see Jo Jo and gives her a great big hug and kiss...
 It's really so darling to see her that way.

Mama got to steal a moment with her new little one.
 It was so nice to be able to hold her in my arms and finally meet our little miracle baby. She is so beautiful! She gives her Mama so much peace and joy!                         



Showing off her pretty bright eyes at the hospital!



My beautiful little Jocee Grace

Sunday, October 10, 2010

six months of life in photos...

Six Months...Backwards...starting in September...

Sept3: Violette wanted to show off her pretty
new pink Star earings...WOOT!

Sept2: Mama Lovin' on Baby Vi :)

Sept1: Violette smiling big to show off her new teeth!!!


August2: Violette was rockin' her shades,
and basically just being her adorable self!!!
August: Daddy and Lettie hangin' out
watchin' a movie.


July3: Lettie was singing in the car

July2: Our Endowment at Draper Temple!

July1: Our family sealing at Oquirrh Mt. temple
What a beautiful day and experience!


Our Beautiful Violette in June getting a change of Casts for her feet


Mama and Baby in May chillin in bed...
Notice how big the binky is compared to her tiny face! LOVE IT!

Six Months...Wow..

The last post I made was nearly six months ago...I've been kinda busy...I don't know how you new mom's do the blogging and facebook, and keep your houses clean...and take care of your baby... BUT....here is the Bird's update since April....

Violette:
She is doing wonderful (despite her cough and runny nose at the moment) She is just the biggest ray of sunshine. Anyone having a bad day...really just look at her sweet face and everything in the world is okay again! She is the most beautiful little girl ever...her smile just melts my heart. We have been so blessed at her calm and happy spirit. She hardly ever fusses.
She is my world and I love her so much! She got her first tooth at just FOUR MONTHS...and her second followed just a week behind. She's moving around and getting into EVERYTHING! She's just starting to crawl...wanting to walk...but we're gunning for her to keep to crawling for a bit. She's been so ahead developmentally which is so wonderful and fun...but at the same time makes time fly by even faster...she's doing all these big girl things already... I was walking through the store the other day and saw a preemie outfit and nearly cried remembering that Violette used to fit into that size clothes...given she's still 2-3sizes behind by her age...she's still wearing 0-3 months and she just turned 6months on the second of Oct...I can't believe it's already been six months. CRAZY. She will be a fairy for her first Halloween! I'm so excited!
Her feet are doing GREAT(despite all the troubles we've had with sores, and ulcers). Her feet are almost completely anatomically corrected now!
In June she was blessed by her Daddy and surrounded by MANY people who love her! (and more exciting news to come later on possibly in it's own blog)

Scott:
Doing well! Went back to work with Wal Mart...and is working part time at the haunted forest right now and really enjoying that (me not so much...don't get to see him often when he works from 6am-1am...) Scott was such a big help with Violette the last three weeks when I was out of commission...but I'll leave that story for my update! In May Scott turned 21!!! WAHOO...lol.
He absolutely ADORES Violette...and she LOVES her daddy so much too. It's so fun to see the two of them play, or nap, (usually nap) together.
Scott is still talking and being crazy in his sleep...the other day he threw a full laundry basket at me in his sleep...haha. That will teach me to leave laundry out... ha ha. All in all Scott is doing great! :)

Em:
As for me...WOW...what a whirl wind it's been the last six months. . .I've been so blessed that Scott is so willing to work so hard to take care of us girls, allowing me to stay at home with Violette. It's been a challenge, but SUCH a JOY! My health has been a roller-coaster ride for months now, but I think we've got the thyroid issue under control now...for the most part...still makes me tired, and sick a lot easier than most but...it's alright it could be worse. I've been involved in two GREAT benefits one was last month (sept) for my sweet high school soccer coach who's wife was killed in a plane accident in Nepal...going to climb everest...we did a benefit dinner and silent auction. It felt good to be apart of something that would help someone who's touched my life, and had an impact on me. The other benefit I'm involved in is going on right now. My sister-in-law is celebrating her fifth year being cancer free by trying to raise 25,000 and because we aren't good for monetary goods, I've helped with doing fundraising...from selling concessions at sporting events to doing a fundraiser at my brothers school he teaches at...and this coming Tuesday we will be doing a benefit concert staring my good friend Peter Breinholt....this concert was a tough one to pull together as quickly as I did...BUT thank-goodness it worked out. . .we're so close to reaching our goal of 25,000...hopefully this concert will do it for us. For specs on that if you're interested in attending you can check out my facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/mama.bird220
About 3 weeks ago I re-herniated my L5-S1 disc in my back...*I have four discs that are herniated, thank-goodness I only re-herniated one* It was crazy how quickly it happened...I was fine sitting on the floor with my nieces and when I went to stand up all of a sudden I couldn't get all the way up-right and could hardly walk. When I got home, thankfully Violette fell asleep and I was able to lay down, but when I tried to get out of bed the pain was so excruciating that I couldn't move, Scott basically had to lift me out of bed. spent the evening in the ER...*I hate hospitals....* and well basically from there I bounced from Dr. to Dr.... I eventually ended up with Dr. Faber (AMAZING if I might say so...) who is usually booked out for MONTHS. I was able to get in within a weeks time and the day I went in he took his lunch to do "Injections" for me... Let me explain, it's kinda like an epidural...but the needle is the size of a pencil and about six inches long. They numb you first just with a local...lytacaine(s/p?)... well it didn't work on me and I felt ALL THREE (pencils) needles go into my spine. . .It was SO painful. They said it would take 7-10 days for the steroid to kick in all the way...and well it's been about that and I'm still not COMPLETELY pain free but I am moving around and able to take care of my baby now...that was the worst part of it all...having to sit back and watch others care for her. I wasn't able to hold her longer than about ten minutes or so. I've been so blessed with wonderful people around to help me with her while I was out of commission.
And...just two days ago, Oct 7 I turned 23...WEIRD! I feel so old. ha ha. It was a nice quiet birthday. Scott took me out to dinner at TEXAS ROADHOUSE which we LOVE...so yum! He got me Beauty and the Beast on Bluray...AMAZING!!! I LOVE IT! And yesterday Mom took me out for lunch to the Smoking Apple BBQ...which was actually quite good! My Brother-in-law Nick, Brother Jayson and his family came as well...which was a nice surprise! I have a GREAT family. Love 'em all!

As A Family: Our biggest news is that in July we were sealed together in the Oquirrh Mt. temple. What a beautiful experience it was...and when they brought Violette in..I can't even put into words the feelings I had to see her...it was the most amazing feeling in the world to know that my daughter and my husband are now mine for, FOREVER!
The beginning of August we had the bird family reunion. We all went and camped out in Fruitland at Scott's grandpa's place. It was nice to get out of the city and not worry about the hub-bub of life for a few days.
All in all we're doing well. We're now living back at Scott's parents house rather than with my Dad. It's been nice being here...built in babysitters...he he. Nice for when Mama needs a nap. lol.

That's all for now, I'll post pics of the last couple months later! :)

Em, Scott, and Lettie-Mae

Friday, April 23, 2010

I've never seen anything...as beautiful as you


This song's chorus describes our little Lettie PERFECTLY!


BEAUTIFUL -Jim Brickman

From the Moment I saw you,

From the moment I looked into your eyes

There was something about you

I knew I knew

That you were once in a life time

A treasure near impossible to find

And I know how lucky I am to have you

Chorus:

Cause I've seen the rainbows that can take your breath away

The beauty of the setting sun that ends a perfect day

And when it comes to shooting stars, I've seen a few

But I've never seen anything...as beautiful as you

Holding you in my arms

No one else has fit so perfectly

I could dance forever with you, with you

And at the stroke of midnight

Please forgive me if I can't let go

Cause I never dreamed I'd find a Cinderella of my own

Chorus:

Cause I've seen the rainbows that can take your breath away

The beauty of the setting sun that ends a perfect day

And when it comes to shooting stars, I've seen a few

But I've never seen anything...as beautiful as you

Chorus repeat:

Cause I've seen the rainbows that can take your breath away

The beauty of the setting sun that ends a perfect day

And when it comes to shooting stars, I've seen a few

But I've never seen anything...

Oh Oh, Oh no, I've never seen anything...as beautiful as you

From the moment I saw you,

From the moment I looked into your eyes...

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Funny How Things Change...

It's funny how things that used to be important to me...just don't seem so important anymore. . .
Like facebook...I used to get on facebook everyday sometimes for hours at a time (Silly I know). Now that I have this amazingly beautiful little girl to look after, facebook, and watching tv, or movies just isn't that important to me anymore.

Even sleep...as much as I LOVE to sleep...I treasure the moments that I have to spend with Violette (I am however, so grateful for Grammy-Tara, and Grandma SuAnn, and Tracy who've all watched Lettie-Mae while I've rested so that I'm functioning well enough to give her the care she needs)!

In the wee hours of the morning I get to sit and rock my little miracle and watch her smile as she dreams. We really are so blessed that she's here with us! There were so many things that could have gone wrong... things that did go wrong...and things that should have prevented her from being here today... In talking with my mom the other day she made me, if not both of us realize how truly lucky we are that she is here. I knew that Dr. Berry was worried during the delivery and I knew things weren't going well...but I didn't realize just how bad they were.
Knowing now what I do...I feel even more guilty when I get frustrated with the lack of sleep or the constant feeding, the lack of time I get to spend with my husband...and every other frustration that comes from being a new parent. I have to constantly remind myself how blessed I am that Violette is here, and that I get to experience all those things...(frustrations)... as a new mom!

I can't imagine life without her! All the things that I used to think were so important...that I've come to realize aren't... i'm okay with the fact that I can't do them! Because the time I would spend on the computer, or doing other meaningless things are now spent with my little Violette and I LOVE it.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Violette Mae

Violette Mae Bird
April 2, 2010
8:15 AM

**I woke up at 5:00 AM with horrible contractions only 2 minutes apart...**
and woke Scott up to go to the hospital.
After gathering all our stuff up we headed to the Timpanogas Hospital!
Arriving at about 5:50 the Nurses were doing shift change.
It took them about twenty minutes to come in and finally get things going.
I started pushing at about 8:00 and Violette was born at 8:15!!!
Labor was a total of 3 hrs...and only 15 mins of pushing!

(above) Violette was so tiny that we didn't have any clothes that would fit her.
Auntie Angie bought her this and a few other Preemie outfits that are just ADORABLE!

(Above) This was the day after Violette was born. I stitched the frog on her onezie. . .

(Above) I was holding Lettie Mae and watching her sleep and she smiled! SO CUTE!

(Above) This was taken right after Violette was born.
She had a really hard time maintaining her temperature so we had to do lots of skin to skin.


**Violette was born with severely clubbed feet and will have to see an orthopedic surgeon. **
Other than that and her small weight she is very healthy and strong!
Dr. Berry thinks that she's so small because her umbilical cord was so long and skinny that she wasn't getting enough nutrients or oxygen.
The umbilical cord was about 4 feet long. It was CRAZY!

(Above) Lettie likes to stretch out! She's a silly girl!

(Above) Again in preemie clothes from Auntie Ang!

**At the hospital we had some GREAT nurses that were so helpful,**
and took wonderful care of Lettie and I!
HOWEVER...there were two that I could have gone without.
One of them we'll call her "Boney Legs"
(because she looked just like "Boney Legs" from the book.)
She was just very rough and forceful with Lettie. I didn't like how she handled her.
The other...she was our last nurse...she was a complete MORON!
I had asked her for pain meds and she said she'd be right back with them...two hours later... "OOH I just spaced it. Sorry"
THEN...we were getting ready to leave and she hadn't gotten my Rx's ready for me.
While we were waiting for her to get them she tried to give me another person's meds.
I kept telling her..."I don't take that. I don't even know what it is..."
"Oh! that's the other mom that I'm discharging!"
AND THEN... she wrote down all of some other babies info on our paper work and had to re-do it when I said, "uh...has my baby really gained two pounds in two days?"
she looks at the paper..."Oh dear...that's a different babies information. Sorry."
This went on with several things...how do people get jobs in that field when they are that ridiculously stupid?
(Above) Just hangin' out bein' cute!

(Above) The blanket that Violette is laying on...
was a little blanket that my Great Grandma Mae (Worthington) Jarman made for me.
Grandma Mae is where we got Violette's middle name!

Just bein' cute again

(Above) Violet kickin' it on Grandma Mae's blanket again!


**We almost had to have an emergency C-Section. **
The umbilical cord was wrapped around Violette's neck.
Every time I contracted her heart rate would drop from 146 down to 40 beats per minute!
It was really scary and everyone was nervous.
But Dr. Berry did a fantastic job of bringing our baby girl safely into the world!
We were very lucky that she came so quickly.