2 Week Check Up

Hannah had her 2 week check up this morning. Here are her stats:

Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz, 75th percentile
Height: 21 inches, 75th percentile
Head: 75th percentile

Basically our girl is perfectly healthy and well proportioned! It was heart-breaking to watch the nurse prick her heel to get a blood sample...but Hannah handled it like a trooper! Jake would have liked to punch the nurse in the face, but he restrained himself :-)

2 Weeks Old!

Our little girl is 2 weeks old today!! She is growing up so fast! I was reminded of this when on Dec 15th she lost her umbilical cord. Now she can bathe like a big girl :-) She has been such a joy to have in our lives. One of the most amazing things has been to watch Jake take on his role as dad. He absolutely loves his little girl and hates to leave her to go to work every morning. He is really good about helping me with everything I need and gladly changes her messy diapers without being asked. I love watching him interact with her. He enjoys making up songs for her and slow dancing with her in his arms. I'm so grateful to have him as the father of our beautiful child.

Here are some of Hannah's favorite things:

Spending time with daddy
Looking at the Christmas tree
Nursing
Swinging in her cradle swing
Being held
Sleeping
Being kissed

I've been meaning to post some pictures of her from a week ago. So here they are!

Hannah and Grandpa Ron
Such a little angel
Her first smile caught on camera!
Her first sponge bath at home
All bundled up in her cute little robe
He loves his girl!

This one makes my heart melt: Hannah clutching on tight to her daddy's hand
I love this picture. She is so beautiful!
Hannah and her Uncle David meeting for the first time.
Hannah with Grandma Geri and Uncle DavidShe loves her Uncle David

Hannah's Birth

I decided I better write a summary of my labor experience before I forget what transpired :) I had scheduled an induction for Dec 5th after coming to the realization that she just might not want to come out on her own. However, that changed on December 3rd.

At midnight I woke up with strong contractions. I woke Jake up and told him they were becoming uncomfortable and he said "really?" and quickly fell back asleep. My mom (who was a labor and delivery nurse and now a maternal/child public health nurse) had been staying with us for a while to help with the birth, so I then went to her room and told her about the contractions. She coaxed me through breathing patterns and timed the contractions which were 5 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds. Jake woke up and finally realized what was going on. He then became really excited and nervous. Here is a quick example, Jake said "I'm gonna go pack a hospital bag!" and quickly left the room. Not a minute later he came back to the room and said "What do I pack?!" It was adorable. At 2:30am my water broke and 15 minutes later we were off to the hospital.

So it turns out that contractions are not the most pleasant thing in the world. That's an understatement, they hurt like crazy. So upon arriving at the hospital I requested an epidural and by about 4am I was a happy camper again. Epidurals are amazing. Within 10 minutes the Dr. asked if I had any feeling and I said that I wasn't sure. He then informed me that I was in the middle of a contraction and I said "Oh, well I guess it is working". Labor from that point on was actually a wonderful experience. We became worried when after contractions Hannah's heart beat would decelerate and be slow to recover. But with a change in position it normalized, which made us all rest a little easier.

By 11am I was fully dialated and ready to push. My friend Megan, who recently had an adorable baby girl, suggested that I use a mirror to help me see what was going on and push more efficiently. That was the best advice ever because as soon as I saw the top of her head nothing mattered but getting her out. 45 minutes later (at 11:51am) our beautiful baby girl, Hannah Joell Pollard, entered the world.

Now for the best part, the pictures!

Baby Hannah

My sister-in-law took a couple of pictures while she and her family visited us in the hospital yesterday. She sent them to me, so I decided to share them with you avid blog readers :-) We will upload the ones we have taken tomorrow.

Introducing Hannah Joell

Jake and I are pleased to announce the birth of our beautiful baby girl! Hannah Joell Pollard: 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long. Yes she is cute and chubby. She is such a good baby and pretty much just sleeps. The labor went really well. I checked into the hospital at 3:30am and had her by 11:52am. We are recovering well. I will post pictures and go into greater detail about the birth as soon as we get home in a couple of days.

Yes, I Am Still Pregnant

An update for those of you anxiously awaiting the news of the birth of our little girl.....Well, my due date has come and gone and I am still pregnant. Today I had a doctor appointment and things are progressing well. We scheduled an induction for this Friday, just in case she doesn't come sooner. It is crazy to think that she will be here sometime this week! We will keep you posted!

36 Week Dr. Appointment

This morning I had an appointment with my doctor. Everything is looking great! She is still measuring about a week ahead of the due date, so my Dr. changed the due date to Dec 1st. He also scheduled my induction for Dec. 8th, just in case she decides to stay in the womb for too long :-) Jake and I are hoping she makes her grand debut before Thanksgiving though. In which case my stomach could hold more of that yummy Thanksgiving Feast!

Weekend in Park City

This past weekend Jake surprised me with a trip to Park City for the weekend. We stayed 2 nights at the Park City Marriott and had a wonderful time. We went to dinner, shopped at the outlets, saw a movie, and watched football. It was really fun to just get away for a while and take a mini-vacation. Jake decided we needed a little romantic get-away before we have a new little addition to the family. My hubby spoils me :-)

At the outlet mall I found a few things I've been looking for: a Christmas dress for our little girl, 2 really cute large hand bags, 2 beautiful scarfs, 2 pairs of gloves, some maternity sweaters and a pair of maternity jeans, a really pretty dark blue and turquoise necklace, and this amazingly warm and cute brown puffy coat with fur on the hood for when I'm not so pregnant. Pretty much the shopping trip was successful. Jake is a picky shopper, but he actually found something he liked! He bought this cute black coat that looks really good on him.

Jake and I never realized how wonderful it is to have a place like Park City so close to home. It only takes about an hour to drive up there and it is totally worth the trip. I'm so grateful for a husband who knows what I need even without saying a word.

Baby Shower Sept 2008

My lovely sister-in-law Rashell threw me a wonderful baby shower in late September. It was absolutely beautiful! She went all out with table settings, beautiful decorations, and yummy food! Many friends and family were able to make it to celebrate this happy time in mine and Jake's lives. Here are some pictures that my mom took.

Greeting friends as they arrived at the shower.

Holding Megan's beautiful daughter Matilda (Tilly) and chatting with my brother and friends.

Still holding little Tilly and saying "Hi" to friends and family.

The drying line for decorated onesies.

The yummy food table!
Sitting down and chatting with some friends.

Grandma Lanette (Mimi) and Aunt Kaye. It meant so much that they could be there!

Opening the gifts for our little girl. In this picture I am holding the beautiful blankets that Jake's mom made for our little one. My nieces Kiah and Leah were very helpful in opening the presents.

Opening more gifts. This is a cute little outfit for our girl when she's grown a little.

My brother and his wife with their adorable son Daniel.

Grandma Geri and her first grandson Daniel doing some bonding.

This picture was taken after church, not at the shower. But I didn't know where else to post it :-)

35 Weeks!

I am 35 weeks along with this pregnancy and can hardly believe it. After my next appointment I will be seeing my doctor every week! It's crazy how quickly time flies by. Jake and I started a prenatal class at the hospital on Monday. It is a 2 hour class once a week for 4 weeks. I am excited to learn more and become comfortable with the birthing process. In 2 weeks our baby will be full term, which means anytime after that it is safe for her to be delivered. I sure hope she comes early :-) I'm still sleeping very well despite the frequent trips to the bathroom and to the cupboard to get some rolaids. Jake and I are very excited to welcome our little one to the world within the next month.

This past weekend I was able to meet my family in Rexburg to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was fun to spend time with them and see where my brother David is living.

Today is Halloween!! So Happy Halloween everybody! Halloween is not one of my favorite holiday's, but it is still fun! Tonight we are having some friends over to watch a football game. We will also be handing out candy (if the little tricker-treaters make it up the 3 flights of stairs) and watching a scary movie.

Tag I'm It!

Thanks for the tag Stace....apparently I have to write about 6 quirks. But I'm not really sure what I do that is considered quirky, so here it goes.

1. I have this problem where I'm not able to throw food away, so I save everything. However, I refuse to eat anything that is over a day old. Jake gives me a hard time because there are always a few left overs in the fridge that never get eaten.

2. I'm addicted to checking my email and facebook. It's not like I get a lot of emails, I just HAVE to check.

3. When I find an entree that I really like at a restaurant I always order the same thing. I'm just not that adventurous when it comes to the food I eat.

4. I HATE listening to talk radio. Which is really problematic because Jake loves it. So during long car rides we usually compromise by him getting to listen to talk radio while I take a nap.

5. Usually when I buy a book I start to read it, forget about it, and never finish it. With one exception: any Stephenie Meyer book (Twilight series or The Host)

6. Jake gives me a hard time for this one too....I tend to start drinking a bottle of water and never finish it. I've been better lately but usually he can quench his thirst by walking around the house and finishing the half drank bottles of water.

I hope you learned something new! And that you don't think I'm too weird :-) I tag: Brittany, Leslee, Serena, and Karon.

My Husband is Amazing

I would like to take this moment to brag about the amazingness of my husband. Most of you know that he is applying to medical school this year. He took the MCAT back in July but didn't get the score he wanted. So, after more intensive studying he took the MCAT again in September. We just got the score last night and I am so flip'n proud of him! He got a score that places him in the top 4% of everyone who took the MCAT. He got a 35!!! For those of you who don't know, let me take a minute to explain. Any score above 30 is considered competitive to get accepted to medical school. A score between 34 and 36 are considered stellar scores and makes him competitive for the top schools in the country. Basically my husband is amazing. It has been a stressful time watching him study and worry about whether he has done enough. And it is such a relief to know that he will get into medical school this year and not have to go through the studying and applying again next year like he was worried about. We feel so blessed. I am so thankful for my husband. He is such a hard worker, kind, loving, hilarious, and the best friend I could have ever hoped for. I know that nobody is perfect, but he is perfect for me.

Dr. Appointment

So, unless you didn't already know this, you don't always get what you wish for. I have been hoping for a fairly small baby....mostly so that labor would be more of a positive experience. However, those dreams were abruptly crushed today when I asked my Dr. what my fundal height measurement was. For those of you who don't know, the size of the uterus (fundal height) correlates with the gestational age of the baby. So I am technically at about 32 weeks, but my Dr. informed me that I consistently measure 2 cm (or 2 weeks) more than the predicted gestational age of the baby. So in other words, our little girl is either a big baby or the estimated date of delivery is 2 weeks off. I'm hoping for the latter, but we shall see. Jake was happy to hear the news because he really wants a cute little chubby baby. But I think it would be best for everyone if she was delivered small and than fattened up later :-)

32 Weeks!

Only about 8 more weeks to go people!


Yesterday I had some fun and put together her adorable pack and play. It will serve as her bassinet, changing table, and play pen until we have more room for a nursery. Here is a picture of it below.Jake thought I went a little overboard because I even put diapers and baby wipes in the designated areas on the changing table....but who knows how early she wants to come? :-)

She is moving around a ton, although I have noticed more of a sleep-wake type cycle because she will go an hour or so without a movement. Her hiccups are quite consistent too. It seems like every time I lay down to sleep her adorable hiccups start and quickly turn to annoying, haha. My heartburn is starting to get worse at night. Lately I have to go get some rolaids in the middle of the night, which really do the trick! Other than that and the backaches I have no complaints! I now have doctor appointments twice a week! I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is going by.....

Free Handbags!

If you go to handbagplanet.com they are giving away free handbags. And they are really cute too!

Baby Bump Update at 29 Weeks!

I just realized that I haven't posted anything in a while. So time for some updates. First of all, tomorrow I am 30 weeks along! I can hardly believe there is (hopefully) only 10 weeks left. Below is a picture I took with my phone at 29 weeks. It turns out that digital cameras don't fair well with sand infiltration....hopefully it will be fixed soon. Some baby related news:

On Friday Sept 29th I felt what I finally recognized as our little one hiccuping! It was so stinking cute! This was my train of thought: What was that? There it was again. That's not a kick....its still going....those flutters are pretty regular....awwwwww, they're hiccups! "Jake!!! Our little girl is hiccuping, come quick!" Yup, that's pretty much how it went down. It was precious, to say the least.

A couple of weekends ago Jake's parent's drove up from Idaho to spend some time with us. It was so much fun to see them. We pretty much just ate a bunch of good food and watched 8 hours worth of college football. Lanette (Jake's mom) and I had some girl fun and went shopping during the break between the BYU and BSU football games. We went to this cute little children's dress shop in the mall called Jolene's. A few months ago, before we knew it was a girl, Lanette and I spotted a blessing dress at the store and I just fell in love with it. We came across it again
and Lanette bought it for our little girl! It is so beautiful! I can hardly wait to see her in it as Jake carries her up to the front of the chapel to give her a name and a blessing.

Last week Jake let me buy tickets for us to go to World of Dance, an excellent showcase of the talented dance companies at BYU. Our favorite dances were the Cougarettes contemporary routine to "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and the International Folkdancers high energy clog dance. We had a lot of fun watching the show, but it made me miss dancing :-(

This past weekend we spent some time with our good friend Will who had a birthday. We went to dinner Saturday night at our favorite Thai restaurant in the world (Bangkok Grille) and went back to Will's house to play games. Monday was his official birthday and he invited us over for dinner and a bonfire. It is always fun to spend time with good friends.

On Friday morning my mom will be arriving here in Utah to attend the baby shower my sister-in-law is throwing for me. Jake's mom is also able to come, so I am really excited to see friends and family this weekend!

Trip Home To Cali

Two weeks ago Jake and I were able to fly home to spend some quality time with my family. The earlier post explains that the reason behind the trip is the fact that my lil bro David returned from his mission to Tijuana, Mexico. It is so much fun having him home again!

The first day back in Cali was spent picking David up from the airport and taking him to the Stake Center where he was released from being a full time missionary. David has a lot of mixed feelings about no longer being a full time missionary. He grew to truly love the people of Mexico and didn't feel ready to leave them. But on the other hand, he is very excited to get out there and start dating again! :)

The following day was a Tuesday and I spent the day babysitting my 2 little nieces because my sister-in-law had her tonsils removed. Emma, my 5 year old niece just began Kindergarten this year. It was so much fun taking her to school and seeing how excited she was to go. While she was at school I took Elissa who is 2 yrs old home to see David for the first time since she was a baby. It was so cute how she just ran into David's arms for a big hug and gave him a huge grin. Elissa is the happiest little girl I've ever known. Her warm smile and infection giggle warm the heart. It didn't take long for David to see this in her and realize how adorable she's become. I took out the camera while watching her and immediately she started showing off her grin for the world.

On Wednesday mom, David, and I went to Sacramento to go to the new temple that was dedicated just after David left on his mission. It was wonderful to spend that time together as a family in the temple. After the temple we did some back to school shopping with David and then headed to the airport to pick up Jake. It was fun to see David and Jake reunited and hear them speak in Spanish with each other.

Thursday and Friday my dad set Jake up with a bunch of doctor's to job shadow. Jake was able to go on rounds with my dad and a hospitalist. He shadowed a family practitioner, a dermatologist, and an OBGYN during their routine office visits. He also got to witness a few surgeries including some endoscopic procedures and a c-section. Jake's favorite part was watching the c-section. Shadowing a variety of doctor's really helped Jake to see that being a doctor is truly what he wants to do with his life. I'm so thankful that my dad was willing to take the time to help his son-in-law become more motivated and excited for the long journey ahead.

On Friday night mom, dad, David, Jake, and I drove up to Lake Tahoe. We ate a yummy dinner at our favorite restaurant (coincidentally the restaurants name is "Jake's"). Saturday morning we ate a delicious breakfast and headed to Kings Beach for some fun. Jake has never ridden on a Wave Runner, so my dad rented Wave Runner's for David and Jake. The water was a bit rough because it was a fairly windy day, but the boy's had a ton of fun. David was of course a little dare devil, as soon as he could he accelerated to top speed and was flying across the rapids getting at least 5 feet in the air at times. Jake on the other hand was a bit more conservative at first. He would speed up and then take a break. My Mom said you could tell he was being careful and that he has a child on the way. I was a little bummed not to be able to go out there myself (pregnant + wave runner = not good) but it was a ton of fun sitting back and watching the boys bond in a manly way. Following the beach we played mini-golf, ate lunch, and then journeyed the 2.5 hours back home.

Some pictures from Lake Tahoe:

Below is David and Jake doing some brotherly bonding during our walk at Squaw Valley.This picture was taken at Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City.
A couple of pictures from dinner at Jakes:
Beautiful Lake TahoeCan somebody please make me a sign that says: "I'm pregnant, not fat"? ok thanks :)

The boys getting ready to have some fun on their wave runners.

Jake heading off slowly into the distance.David racing off and taking the time to wave to me before he vanished.
Jake and David playing together.
On Sunday David gave his homecoming talk. Ronnie and his family drove up from Utah to be there for it. Justin and his family also came. The only sibling who couldn't be there was Paul, who was in Belgium on business. David gave a wonderful talk about his mission. He started it off by saying that when he got called to Tijuana, little did he know he was being called to the Marines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Tijuana is a dangerous and corrupt place, but he said that there were so many people who had their hearts prepared to receive the Gospel in their lives. He had some amazing experiences and wishes he could have served another year. But our family is so thankful to have him back home with us.

David, Daniel, and I hanging out after church.

Jake is so good with his nephew Daniel.
Following church we had a barbeque and spent some quality time together as a family. Jake and David played horsey for their nieces for quite a while. It wasn't too good on their backs, but it sure was conducive to some adorable pictures.


David with all 4 nieces on his back sitting in chronological order.Grandma and her first grandson Daniel.
Emma holding her baby cousin Daniel.

On Monday we spent part of the day with the family and then caught our plane back to Utah. It was sad to leave home, but I look forward to Christmas when our new little addition will be a part of the family too.