Scott Desmond Leavitt

A mere two days after my last post, our little boy arrived! Scott is a name we had liked for a long time; we had actually planned on giving that name to Nathan for a while. Near the end of my pregnancy, it just started to seem more right. And once he was born, we were sure. Also, Scott was one of the top performers on my highly scientific Facebook poll. :) His middle name, Desmond, is my paternal grandfather, who turned 90 this year!

And now for the story of his birth! You may recall that with both of my previous births, my water broke in the middle of the night and that was what got things going. Well, Scott was no different! I still have no idea what it's like to be timing contractions and wondering if I'm in labor or not. My water breaks and we go to the hospital!

This time, however, I knew that my water breaking didn't mean I was suddenly going to start having a ton of contractions and the baby would come right away. So we took our time getting things ready. I took a shower, did my hair, and put on some makeup so I could actually look decent for pictures this time. :) We even waited until our boys were awake. We got them ready for the day and then took them over to a neighbor who had volunteered to watch them in just such a case as this. We stopped and got an early breakfast, which I was very glad about later since I didn't get to eat for a long time after that.

When we arrived at the hospital around 7:00, I was only dilated to a 3. I was having regular contractions, but they were not very strong. So we waited to see how things would progress. With the other two, my labor was only about 10 hours from water breaking to baby being born, so we were expecting something similar in this case. That would put him being born around 2 in the afternoon. Well, the next time they checked me, around noon, I had only dilated to a 4.

I had wanted to avoid Pitocin this time if possible, but my dang body just doesn't seem to know how to get babies here within the 24-hour time limit that your water breaking imposes (to avoid the risk of infection). So I got started on a very low dose, which did basically nothing. They kept slowly increasing it, and by 7:30 in the evening, I was finally dilated....to a 6. :( It was just going so slowly and I was exhausted from having been up for 14 hours and contracting all day. I also hadn't eaten anything since our quick drive-thru breakfast, in case we had to do a c-section, and I was so hungry and feeling really weak. I had gotten an epidural to help me through it, but I was still just having a really hard time. So I said a little prayer asking for help to endure it, and asking that things would start progressing a little better if possible.

A little after 8, I asked the nurse if she would check me again, even though it hadn't been very long since the last time. She obliged, and discovered that I was suddenly at a 9! She called the doctor to come back in; he'd gone home to get dinner since it didn't look like I was having the baby anytime soon. He only lives about 5 minutes from the hospital, but before he got back I was already feeling the urge to push. As soon as he arrived he told me to go for it! So I did! :) As soon as the next contraction hit, I pushed, took another deep breath, and pushed again. And there was my baby!

They immediately put him up on my chest and I just started sobbing. Not just from the sweet relief of it all being over, but from this sweet little miracle finally being there in front of my face. They had to take him away pretty quickly because he wasn't breathing very well, but that got better soon and then they brought him back and let us snuggle skin-to-skin while the doctor stitched me up. It was such a beautiful time. Too bad my tears ruined any chance of me actually looking nice for pictures like I had wanted. But it was worth it. :)

Scotty is the most perfect angel of a baby we could ask for! He was 18.5 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces. He sleeps fairly well and is so much fun to watch when he's awake. He inherited his father's enormous eyes and has lots of dark hair, just like Alex and Nathan did when they were new. He also has really long alien fingers and toes. Basketball or piano, perhaps? ;) To my great relief, he was not nearly so jaundiced as our other two and we didn't have to have him under the bili lights at all. That made things so much easier with the first few nights at home.

I am a mother of three! I'm pretty sure I won't be on time for anything the next few months, and I forget things almost the instant I hear them, but life is good.

And now, a million pictures!

Welcome to our family, Scotty D!

July and August

Our Alex turned 5 this year! He got a "big boy" bike that he has yet to conquer. It's a bit intimidating for him compared to his previous low-to-the-ground tricycle, but he's slowly learning. I don't think we'll be getting rid of the training wheels anytime soon though. :)

For his birthday party, we waited until we were in Richfield for Independence Day and had a big water party with his Larson cousins. It was a hit! They loved having something to do on the slow afternoon of the 4th. I love this picture of them making goofy faces!

We had a fun holiday with the family, and got to see several friends at the park too! It was my 10-year high school reunion that weekend as well. Now I'm old like Josh! :) The boys loved watching the fireworks and just being with their cousins.

We also got to go down to Monroe for Pioneer Day this year, but the pictures are on Josh's iPod and I don't know how to get them off, so you'll have to imagine the boys watching the parade and going on horse rides for yourself!

Here's my pregnant belly at about 35 weeks. I'm now almost 38 weeks and baby has still yet to make his appearance. Any day now, hopefully!

My doctor wouldn't clear me to head down for Josh's brother's wedding in Moab, but we were able to make it to a reception the next weekend. The only way we were able to get Nathan to pose with Landon and Laci is if they all hid behind this door. Little punk. :) But it's a pretty cute shot anyway.

On August 20th, Alex started his first year of school at Ronald Reagan Academy! When I picked him up that afternoon and asked him how it was, he replied in a very enthusiastic voice "It was GREAT!!" :) He is loving school so far, and despite the little bit of sadness I have over him being big enough for kindergarten, I am loving the few hours I get to have with just me and Nathan now.

And hopefully soon, our new little one will be hanging out with us during that time too! The boys love to kiss and hug my belly and tell little brother they love him. As cute as that is, I'm looking forward to them giving the attention to an actual baby instead of this large protuberance sticking out in front of me! :) Cross your fingers for another blog post soon with the announcement of his birth!

Baby Leavitt #3 is a....

BOY!!! So much for mother's intuition! :) I was fairly convinced this was a girl. The pregnancy has been so different from my other two. But there was no mistaking it. Definitely a little man. :)

I was telling Josh that this is what we get for only being able to think of girls' names that we liked. We've got squat for boys' names. So...suggestions, anyone? We tend to like classic names, though I try to stay away from very popular ones to avoid having a million friends/classmates with the same name. (I always loved being the only Launi). But we don't like names that are super "unique" or outlandish either. So possibly a name you've heard before, but not too often.

Also, Josh has a rule that we can't have any more names with "A" or "N." I guess that comes from growing up in a household full of "J's". :) Too bad that the boy names I was leaning to most were "Adam" and "Nicholas."

Suggest away! If we end up using a name you suggested, I will send you a prize. :)

And by the way....YAY! :) I have another cute little boy coming along in a few months. I love him so much already! It's so fun to see your little one in the ultrasound. We got to see a big yawn, a thumbs up, and even a high five. Also, he was kissing the placenta. I kid you not. Lips puckered up and squashed right onto it. Really funny. :)

Spring Celebrations!

First off, though it's more late-winter than spring, was Nathan's 2nd birthday! We love this big boy! It's been so much fun to hear him start to talk more and even form short sentences. I've been trying to explain to him about the baby in Mommy's tummy (consider that an announcement if you haven't already heard). The other day he pointed at me and said "Mommy baby tummy?" I said yes, there was a baby in my tummy and he said, in a very serious tone, "Cool. Awesome." Yes, it is pretty cool and awesome, Nate! :)

I have had seriously zero creative energy going on the birthday cakes this year. Both Nathan's and Josh's were purchased at the store at the last minute. At least I have a good excuse!

We celebrate Pi Day (3/14) in our family with great gusto. Mostly because we're nerds, but also because we love any excuse to eat pie!

We also had a fun St. Patrick's Day. I served the boys Lucky Charms and green milk after seeing the idea on Pinterest. And then I remembered why we never have that cereal at our house. Marshmallows eaten, actual cereal left behind!

The boys loved dyeing eggs and had a blast searching for them after that sneaky Easter Bunny hid them all over the yard. I have an Easter advent calendar that is made of eggs filled with symbolic objects about the real reason for the holiday, but [pregnant brain on the loose] I forgot all about it until Easter Sunday! So we did them all at once, and I think I almost liked it better that way! Gave us some time to sit down and focus and be together as a family on that special day.

Josh turned 29 this year, and we had a small family party to celebrate. The boys picked out Dad's presents on their own and did a surprisingly good job! Alex chose the movie Despicable Me and Nate picked a large box of Pop-Tarts. Dad was thrilled!

Still to come this spring: our 7th wedding anniversary at the end of April, Mother's Day, and birthdays for Grandma Leavitt and Grandpa Larson! Plus, Josh and I get to take our big trip back east and be kid-free for a full week (except, of course, for little Cletus the Fetus, whose gender we get to find out in about 2 weeks! Hooray!). Let the good times roll! :)

Trip Advice

Hello, friends! I am going to unashamedly solicit your help for a minute! This year for Christmas, my parents gave us a trip back East with them. Josh served his mission in Connecticut and we've always wanted to go back there. Plus, though we've both been to New York state, neither of us has ever visited NYC itself! So we're pretty stoked. :) Here's where you come in.

I know several of my friends have lived in that area or have visited it, and I would love to hear what you think are the must-see places. And the must-eat places, of course! We will be visiting New York City, Hartford, Newport, and Boston, and will basically have only about a day in each place. I know that's not near enough time, but it's what we have. :) Also, we will be there in the middle of May, so spring-ish weather.

Please keep in mind that, of the four people on this trip, one will be a pregnant woman and two will be senior citizens, so that might limit us a little bit. :) We will NOT have the kids with us, however, and we will have a rental car to help us get around.

Just FYI, we are already for sure planning to visit Times Square, Ground Zero, and see a show on Broadway in NYC, and we will be going to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game in Boston. So if those were on your list, move on to the rest.

Ok, go! :) (And thanks!)