Ezra's Official Debut!

Here are the adorable portraits that we had taken yesterday morning. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world to have such beautiful boys! And can you believe that Ezra has a dimple? So adorable! We were going to wait to post the portraits until grandparents receive their copies in the mail, but I couldn't wait. I'm so impressed with how well Nolan handled the whole process... very unlike a two-year-old! Two of our favorite pictures are on the right.

Portrait Session Outtakes:

I've got to give a shout out to Little Grins Portrait Studio nearby. It was so nice that we didn't have to drive 40 minutes into Salt Lake City in order to do photos. I was skeptical because I wasn't really impressed with their online portfolio, but they did a wonderful job. It's a husband and wife team and they took a full two hours with us! The prices were comparable to Kiddie Kandids.

Hospital and Home

It is so wonderful to be home. I think I would have gone crazy if I had to sit or sleep in that hospital bed a second longer. This recovery (once my legs finally regained feeling 7 or 8 hours after delivery) has been quicker than with Nolan and I've been feeling good. Nursing is going better this time too, except that Ezra rarely opens his mouth bigger than a baby bird. Sometimes it's hard to get started. He's just been the sweetest baby. He dozes off without a fuss and we've hardly heard him cry since the delivery. He seems so tiny compared to Nolan. I'm afraid I'll blink and he'll be big. I know it's all going to go so fast. His bilirubin tests (we've had 3 now) keep coming back too high. Unfortunately, it's been pretty cloudy still so we haven't been able to put him in the sun much to make the jaundice get better. We have to go in for a 4th heel prick on Tuesday.
Here are some of the last photos from the hospital and several that we've taken since being home. Nolan doesn't seem too concerned with having Ezra around... just mildly interested. I'm so glad. I think he's getting plenty of attention but he started throwing fits and screaming more this past week. Good timing for a new, obnoxious phase, I know. Overall he's adjusting well though. I think he'll be a good brother. I'm just pleased that for all the times he would say, "Hit baby brother!" we haven't had one incident.
Thanks, everyone, for all your congratulatory comments. We feel your love and support.

Grandparents, we have a name

It's Justin again. I thought of a name on the way to hospital and it is still Kenzee's favorite. So the baby's name is Ezra Lorentz. Here is why that name is meaningful for us:
1. He looks more like Kenzee so we like the Z's in their names.
2. Ezra is the name of a Biblical and modern prophet.
3. Lorentz is Justin's great grandfather. He was a pioneer that served several missions in Denmark.
4. Lorentz had a younger brother named Ezra.

New Arrival

This is Justin. I offered to set Kenzee up with the laptop on her hospital bed so she could blog but for some reason she would rather hold our new baby...



Here are the baby stats:

• Time of birth: 5:10 PM
• Weight: 6 lbs 15 oz
• Height: 20 1/2 inches
• Name: No, we do not have one yet.

We doubted that we were going to have the baby today. We were in contact with the hospital about every thirty minutes and they would say to stand by but that they were too busy. The doctor would only allow the induction if we were in the hospital by 11 AM. At 10:30, they said they were too busy but the doctor had extended the deadline until noon. I called at 11:30 and they said, "come in!". We threw our bags in the van and threw Nolan out the door as we drove by Kenzee's sister's house. Ok, not really, but it felt that way. Nolan could care less that we were leaving, as he loves to play with Ryan and Kendyll. Apparently, they just inherited some new toys from the neighbor and he has been having the time of his life with a toy leaf blower.

I would say everything went pretty smoothly. Kenzee was a trooper and didn't get the epidural until she was dilated to a seven. Not that she really had a choice since the anaesthesiologist was preoccupied in a c-section for forty minutes. I know that she was in a lot of pain and a little out of it, because I went to turn off the DVD player and she exclaimed, "you can't give me the (Fentanyl) injection!" She pretty much had the baby right after the epidural so she still couldn't feel her legs that well after six hours.

One shock was that his umbilical cord had a "true" knot that could have been dangerous but he seems to be okay because the knot wasn't too tight. They explained that he probably was not as big as Nolan because of the kink. I guess in hindsight I'm glad we had the baby a little earlier so that the knot hadn't tightened up. I can't resist posting a picture though-apologies to the squeamish:

After he was born, they called in a NICU nurse because his face was purple. His oxygen levels are fine so they determined that his poor face is just bruised up from the journey.

He nursed well so far and is resting. We love this additional sweetie!

Adventures on I-80

Yesterday morning I attended a VisionWalk with my sister, Lacey, and some of her close friends and family. She's losing her eyesight to retinitis pigmentosa and the VisionWalk benefits research on behalf of people like her. It was great to get out and celebrate a good cause, even though I felt a little funny walking along with my basketball tummy. Justin and Nolan attended our ward's financial workshop which turned out really well, he said.

I rode to the VisionWalk with Lacey's friend, Kelly. All was going smoothly until we got stopped on I-80 as we were coming upon SaltAir. We could see some smoke ahead and several emergency vehicles came racing past. We sat for quite some time and were finally informed that the freeway would be closed for 3 to 4 hours. Luckily we were at the front of the huge pile-up that had formed and were given the option to turn around at SaltAir and head down Bangerter highway and through Saratoga Springs to get to the other end of the Tooele valley. It was a tough ride, especially for Kelly and her 4 kids that were not expecting a nearly 3 hour car ride once we finally got home around 3 o'clock. It turns out there was a huge accident involving an SUV that crossed the median and hit a 3-trailer FedEx semi filled with ammunition. They burst into flames and kept exploding, making cleanup difficult.

That evening, Justin and I had arranged for babysitters since it was our last date night before I start nursing a newborn. We checked traffic and saw that it was clearing out so we headed to Salt Lake City. Well, as we drove in we passed miles and miles of cars that appeared to have been there since early afternoon when they were first stopped (5 hours later!). People were wandering around their cars and we even saw some playing football. Traffic was still not moving into Tooele! We started to get very nervous about when we'd make it home to Nolan and the babysitters. We had a delicious dinner at the authentic "Vienna Bistro" and then headed to Gateway to see a movie (which we were too late for). I was in touch with Lacey and advised her to head south through Saratoga Springs to get home. She said she'd go get Nolan until we were able to get home. They tried their luck on highway 201 anyway but couldn't get through and decided to stay in Salt Lake with friends. We felt stuck... we killed some more time at Barnes and Noble hoping traffic would clear out. At 9 o'clock we finally decided to try to go home. We were relieved to see that things had cleared. Our babysitters were such good sports for watching Nolan an extra hour and a half longer than expected. They even had him settled in bed.

Anyway, having that road closed made me realize how trapped our little valley of Tooele really is. With only one major road out, I got to feeling nervous about possible chemical leaks from the south. There would be lots of people clogging that freeway. Let's hope we never experience that.

Wow, what a day it was! I'm just so grateful we were at the front of the line where we were given the option to turn around. What would we have done with Kelly's 4 kids for 5 or 6 hours stopped on the freeway?! And what a blessing that I didn't go into labor on the freeway either! Justin wouldn't have been able to get to the hospital for a long time. It certainly felt good to be safe at home last night when we dropped into bed.

Quick Update

My doctor's appt. went well yesterday. I didn't gain any weight this week, and I'm still measuring 36 cm (2 wks. behind) but my OB didn't seem worried about either one. In fact, she encouraged me to strip my membranes and whispered to the baby, "It would be fabulous if you come this weekend so I can meet you. I'm on call so come say hello!" I thought that was cute of her. So I'm now 3 cm and 60% effaced. I doubt stripping my membranes will move things along because it didn't work with Nolan (and she did it twice). However, this is my second baby and I know it works for some people. I guess we'll see. But I'm still planning on next Wednesday or Thursday for our induction. Bags are packed though, just in case!
In other news, my mom made it home from Europe this week. I was glad to know she was back in the country. She will be coming to stay for a week to help me cope with nursing, Nolan, sleepless nights, and putting food on the table. I don't know what we'd do without her and my sister, Lacey, who has so willingly agreed to watch Nolan for the first 24 hours so that Justin can stay at the hospital.
Justin's brother, Daren, has been staying with us for the past 5 nights. He left this morning because he was finally able to find an apartment in SLC. He's moving from California in a few days. Nolan sure was happy to have a new face in the house and Justin enjoyed his "date" with him to Costa Vida and to see the Star Trek movie. Thanks, Daren, for going with him to the show. That's one movie that I really don't think I need to see. Justin just loved it!
This morning I dusted my blinds so I feel like this baby can come any time now. It's such a good feeling to have that done.

13 Days

Yes, there have been requests for tummy pictures (thanks, Aubrey!). The second one was a mess-up picture but I think it shows the tummy best anyway.

I had another OB appointment today and was happy to learn that I've made a little progress. I'm now "almost a 3" and 60% effaced. But the best news came when she was looking at her calendar and asked, "Would you like an elective induction?" What welcome words! I said, "yeah, that'd be great since you're leaving town the week of my due date." So she scheduled it for the 17th, two days before she leaves. She said they may bump me back a day (which would actually be great) but for sure I'll have him by the 18th. It's not that I'm so happy about him coming a week early, because we all know babies are easier inside than out, but I'm just so relieved to know that I won't be days overdue with the risk of having a bigger baby than Nolan. So we have 13 days to be ready. We're close, but I'm working on freezing some meals, organizing closets, and then I'll take a good couple of days to deep clean the house. Justin had to cancel his business trip that week. It was cutting it close, but we just figured I'd be late again. He's bummed that we have to plan this around the doctor's vacation.

Yesterday, I was scratching Nolan's back while he tried to sit comfortably on my lap. He turned around with a concerned look on his face, gave the tummy a long look, and then said, "baby brother big!" Maybe he's understanding this baby thing a little better than I thought. It will certainly be interesting to see how he reacts to his baby brother. When I ask if he wants to feel the baby, he always does. He places his hand on my tummy and says, "baby warm." And then after about 4 seconds (which is rarely long enough to actually feel a kick) he says, "all done brother." I'm hoping he pays him about the same amount of attention when he arrives. It would be nice if he wasn't too concerned about holding, poking, and bothering the new little guy. Yeah, we'll see.

Other than that, things aren't too exciting around here... just a little yard work. Justin is realizing that we put in too much grass. I think most homeowners realize this. It's a lot of work but he does a great job.