Est. 2000

Cohen was asked to give the talk in primary last Sunday about how Jesus restored the gospel through Joseph Smith. We had a family home evening lesson on Joseph Smith and used some pictures from the gospel art kit to tell the first vision. Then we asked Cohen to stand up on the couch and tell the family the story. He grabbed his plastic microphone, snatched the pictures out of Jared's hand and told us all about "a boy named Joseph Smith". He's quite the little story teller. Throughout the week we would say "Cohen, tell us about Joseph Smith", so on Sunday he couldn't wait to tell the other kids the story of the first vision. Several kids in primary got up to share a scripture, say a prayer, tell a story, etc, and they all had their parents with them. We were sitting in the back and began to wonder if we should get up to help him. We decided to just see what would happen. It was his turn. He climbed up to the microphone, pulled it down to his mouth, and... well, here is Cohen telling the first vision in his own words...

Our baby has arrived!!! William Logan Haddock was born on April 2nd, 2010 at 5:08 am! That was exactly 2 weeks early and he was 8 lbs. 9 oz.!! 21 inches long, and he has a lot of dark hair around the back of his head, but it's a little sparse on top. We think he'll have blue eyes like the rest of us, and we think he looks more like Cohen than Evan. He is so cute!!! Welcome to our family Will, we love you!



I'd been talking for months about how I didn't want him to be born on April 1st. Any time but April 1st!! I also had students paid through the end of March, so I wanted to give everybody their final lessons before taking some time off. So, for a long time, I've been saying that April 2nd would be the first day I would want him to be born. I didn't expect it to really happen that way!!

I started having contractions around bedtime on April 1st, but nothing that I hadn't had before. We went to sleep, and I woke up at 12:30 and again at 1:30 with harder contractions, but I was still able to go back to sleep. I woke up at 2:30 and they were really getting painful. I waited a little bit to wake up Jared, but I finally woke him up around 3 and we started packing a bag just in case. I didn't want to call my mom and go to the hospital in the middle of the night, only to be sent home, so I wanted to wait until I was sure this was it. Jared called my mom at about 3:15, and she got here just after 3:30. I was really having hard contractions by this point, like as hard as when I'd asked for my epidural with the other boys. We got in the truck and drove down to LDS hospital, and got there just after 4 am. We got up to Labor and Delivery at exactly 4:11, they sent us right to a room without really checking in because they could see I was really in the thick of it. I got into my hospital gown and onto the bed, and when she checked me I was already at a 6 1/2!!!! My midwife got there about 20 minutes later, and I was complete, ready to push! My body just knows how to have a baby I guess!!

I had planned on trying to go natural, and in hindsight, I think it's a good thing I was mentally prepared for that because I don't think I would have had time for an epidural even if I had wanted it!!

So, I pushed through about 6 or 7 contractions, the first of which were probably pretty ineffective because I could hardly breathe in, let alone breathe big and then push. . .anyhow, I finally told myself that if I could just breathe, he probably would come right out, and he did!!!

The whole thing was pretty intense, but thankfully it went by really fast!




So, I had tested positive for the Strep B virus, which is common in women but could pose a problem for the baby, so they want you to be on an antibiotic for 4 hours before the baby is delivered. Needless to say I only got about 20 minutes of the antibiotic before he was born, so they go on alert because of that. Then he was grunting with each breath, which Cohen did his first day too, but they say that can be a sign that he's having trouble breathing, so they go on higher alert because of that. Then they check his temperature and it's a little low, he's still not 30 minutes old - give the kid a chance!!!, so they go on higher alert because of that!!! Then they take his blood, and find that his glucose level is low, and they admit him to the "Special Care Nursery," basically the NICU. WHAT?!!! None of these things pose a real threat by themselves, but because he had four marks against him, they took him in there for 48 hours of anti-biotic for the possible Strep B, and glucose in an IV to raise his levels there, and put him under a heat lamp. . .blah blah blah. I have mixed feelings about it. . .I'm glad he was getting good care, but he did not need to be in there. He had just been born!!! Of course he was still adjusting!!! Give the kid a minute will you?!! I wish I hadn't let them take him so soon for the blood test, but you just assume that everything is fine, and he'll be back in your arms in 10 minutes. I wish I had just kept him with me and told them to hold off on the testing for an hour or two. I wonder if that would have made a difference. His temperature leveled out quickly, his glucose came right up, and probably would have done the same if they had let me nurse him, his breathing stayed grunty most of that first day, but we've been through that before, and his labs on the Strep B all came back clear as a bell!!! AAAHHHHH!!! It makes me frustrated to think about it.



Anyhow, he spent 48 hours in there, and I was never scared, just annoyed that he couldn't be in my room, and that Cohen and Evan couldn't come visit him in the hospital. Cohen was so sad that he couldn't see baby Will, he started crying when they left that first time. The second day, Will's nurse held him up to the window for them to see, but what kind of introduction is that?!!

So our hospital stay wasn't any longer than normal, but we probably would have come home on Saturday afternoon instead of staying all the way until Sunday. He's perfectly healthy and strong, and he's super cute!!

In my last post about this pregnancy, I mentioned that my hips were getting pretty painful, and that I was hobbling etc. Well, it just got worse from there, and pretty soon I was in constant pain all the way around my right hip area. It felt like if I could just stretch my sciatic nerve the right way, that would help, but my belly makes it so I can't round out my back the right way to stretch my lower back. I was in constant pain. Sitting, standing, walking, sleeping. . .constant pain. I discovered that if I ever have a condition that gives me chronic pain, I will probably not be one of those people who, when I die other people say 'she was always in pain, but you never knew it.' No, no, I would be a complainer I think. And even sleeping was a burden. I can't lay on my back, not only because they tell you not to, but because the weight of the baby pressing on my ribs and lungs makes it hard to breathe. I couldn't lay on that right side because then I was laying on the sore hip and it hurt. Laying on my left side wasn't any better because that made that nerve pinch just a bit more, and hurt even more!!
I could also feel that the baby was breech. I could feel that the bump at the top of my belly was nice and round like a head, and not quite like a bum. At my 33 week appointment, she did a 2 second ultrasound to confirm that it was his head, and then we talked about having to have an 'external version' if he hadn't turned by 37 weeks. That's where they push on your belly from the outside and try to get the baby to turn. Apparently it's pretty painful, and so I figured I would try all of the 'old-wives-tales' options that you find on the internet for turning a breech baby, rather than just wait until 37 weeks. Oh man, there are lots of crazy ways to try and turn your baby. Everything from laying upside-down on your ironing board that's propped up against your couch, to acupuncture and acupressure, to seeing a chiropractor to align your hips (I have a friend who this worked for, and since I was having so much pain in my hips, I was about to call her chiropractor and schedule an appointment). The best one is these Chinese incense sticks called Moxa-Sticks that burn really really hot, and you burn them next to your pinkie toes to activate your 'baby-turning-pressure-points' or something. I was about to try those too. I figured trying some of this stuff was worth it, especially if it worked, right?! So, the easiest option all of these websites suggest is visualization. I figured that was the easiest because I could do it when I laid down to go to sleep, so I decided to try it that night. I believe absolutely in the power of positive thinking, but I didn't think it would work right away!! I went to bed and visualized him turning a few different ways, and then drifted off to sleep. I woke up at 3:30 and got out of bed. . .and I could walk!!! My hip didn't hurt AT ALL!! He had turned, and the little stinker had been sitting on my sciatic nerve and causing all that pain!!! I was so happy that I couldn't go back to sleep for 2 hours!!
Anyhow, since then, it's been like any 3rd trimester, but I can walk!!!

Cohen got spotlighted in Primary last Sunday, and here are his answers to the questionnaire, which I helped him fill out at the end of January:

1. What is your favorite Holiday?
- Christmas and my Birthday

2. What is your favorite Book or Toy?
- Lots of different dinosaur toys.

3. What is a pet you have or want?
- A dog named Riley.

4. Where would you like to serve a mission?
- The Zoo.

5. What do you want to be when you grow up?
- A train conductor and an airplane conductor.

6. What is something you love about your family?
- Mom and Dad and Evan and the baby and my dog.

7. What is your favorite scripture story?
- Jesus.

I happened to be substituting for another woman that day, so I got to see him get spotlighted. They have all of the kids stand up, and then they read each question and answer, and if what they say doesn't apply to you, you're supposed to sit down until only one person is left. It doesn't always work so well in Junior Primary because kids stand back up if they hear something they do like, even if it wasn't their answer, it's funny. As she was reading along, Cohen was standing up, but not paying much attention, and she reads "I have dog named Riley" and he snaps-to, jumps up and down saying, "My dog is named Riley!! My dog is named Riley!!" So he went up to the front while she read the rest of his answers, and he got a special pillow-case from the Primary. It was really cute to see him up there.

It's been a 'blah' day, but I finally got up the nerve and did the dishes, and had the boys help me clean Cohens room and the living room. I was sweeping the floor, and Cohen gets out these Finding Nemo 'go-fish' cards and throws them all over the place. . .not a big deal. The two of them proceed to pick up a few, hide behind the computer cabinet door and then on Cohens prompt, they jump out yelling 'Surprise!!!' and throw the cards all over. I go into the bathroom, and Cohen follows me in there with a big pile of cards and throws them at me and yells 'Surprise!!' and then runs into our bedroom and shuts the door. I tell him to come back in the bathroom and clean up the cards and he opens the bedroom door, looks at me, and says:

"Oh yea?. . .take THIS!"

and then he runs over and head-butts me in the leg!!!

What?!! I didn't teach him that!!!. . .I don't think. . .Where does he come up with this stuff?!!

So, I've been meaning to do this post for a long time, so that I have a record and can remember what this pregnancy was like. I guess it will also include what I remember from the first 2, because I didn't keep a record of either of those, and I find myself wanting to remember!!!

I was so exhausted my 1st trimester this time around. I don't remember being so tired with the other 2, but I guess with Cohen I was working, so I had a distraction, and with Evan I'm pretty sure I took 2 naps a day still, because I could!!!! This time around, I would wake up in the morning, and immediately start counting the hours until Evans nap time. I just needed MORE SLEEP!!! Nap time would roll around, I'd stick Cohen downstairs for TV-time, and I'd go sleep for 2 hours. Then Evan would wake up, and wake me up, and I'd feel worse than I did when I laid down!!! What?!! It was aweful!! I know I've got it pretty good that I only get tired, and not pukey, but I could honestly not believe the level of exhaustion! And then, miraculously, along rolls week 13 and I start to feel better. I woke up one morning an thought, 'I don't feel like I need a nap today.' It was AMAZING!!

After having gained 45 lbs with Evan, and then feeling the repercussions of having to LOSE it, I promised myself that the next time around I would eat better and exercise. Well, I've eaten. . .better? Do the holidays count? And I've exercised. HA! Sort of. I walk on the treadmill maybe once a week since my 2nd trimester, but that's better than nothing, right? I'm 28 weeks now, and I've gained about 25 lbs already, so I'm pretty sure I won't just gain 30. . .but I'm hoping for something between 35-40. I gained 35 with Cohen so we'll see how this one turns out.

And in the last few weeks, my hip joints have started to, what shall we call it? Relax? Loosen? Spread? Whatever. I'm OK most of the day, but when I get out of bed, I can hardly walk!! Oh my hips!!! This happens every pregnancy, and turns me into a 'waddler'. I used to be naive and think that pregnant women waddled because they had gained so much weight. Nope. It's because our dang hips 'relax' and walking is just less painful when we waddle!!!!

OK, here's the crazy part. I've always been one of these women who thinks that women who birth their babies naturally are a bit crazy. Why wouldn't you get an epidural if it were available to you? I just didn't get it. But. . .

I've decided to birth this baby naturally. Don't ask me why. I can't tell you. I think I'm crazy 1/2 the time, but for some reason, I'm feeling a strong pull towards it. Cohen, my 1st, was only an 8 hour labor, and I was induced with Evan and that labor was only 4 hours. I know I can do it. Ha! I say that now, right?!

I'm back to seeing Nancy Mooy, who delivered Evan. She moved down to LDS hospital over a year ago, and since I'm lazy, I had just decided to see an OB here at the Lakeview clinic. Why drive 20 minutes to all my Dr.'s appointments, and to have the baby, when I could drive 5 minutes? Well, once I really made the decision to have a natural birth, I decided that I would want a good midwife to help me labor rather than hoping for a good nurse and maybe getting a crappy one, right? I've only been to 1 appointment with her, but I felt so much better afterwards. Just knowing that I'll have that support made a lot of my fears go away.

So, check back in 3 months and I'll let you know it goes!! What am I in for?!!! AHHHHH!!!!

So, me and the boys were just playing ball with the Lighting McQueen ball, just bouncing and throwing it back and forth to each other. Cohen says 'Lets bounce it and bounce it and throw it in the hoop!' I tell him that it's too cold to go outside, but they can bounce it around in here like a basketball and he says "YES!!! Evan, come on!!! Lets bounce it and throw it in the hoop and be dads!!!!" We went and watched Jared play church ball. . .TWO weeks ago!!!
Now, they are playing basketball across the living room with imaginary hoops at each end, and Cohen will dribble it across the floor, then throw it at the curtains shouting "HOOP!!" or "SCORE!!"