Our Baby Story

September 18th- I went into the hospital around 6 pm because throughout the day I had had some pain on the top of my belly and it reminded me a lot of the pain I had when I went into the hospital and had Brooklyn. So Joe told me to just go and see. I go in and they do the normal thing, test urine, check blood pressure, and put a monitor on your belly to measure my contractions and the baby's heart rate. So far everything was normal. I was feeling guilty and silly thinking, great, I went into the hospital for no reason again! So since I have nothing better to do, I watch the monitors. I watch as my contractions get way strong and come and go, and then I am looking at Jordan's monitor and all of a sudden it plummets to the 60's and stays there! I immediately call the nurse but they are already rushing in. They push me on my side and immediately put an oxygen mask on me. They watch the monitors and tell me that by giving me oxygen they are hopeing that it helps baby. His heart rate went up and kind of just stayed in a straight line instead of an active heart rate. He recovered and began acting normal, but man I was terrified. Joe couldn't come with me because someone has to stay with Brooklyn! So I am constantly texting Joe informing him of every single thing. Of course , like I am, he starts freaking out when he finds out his heart rate dropped. Exactly like Brooklyn. You will see me write that a lot. This is all exactly what happened with Brooklyn except that my blood pressure didn't spike.


So they decide to keep me there through the night. They decided to do a 24 hour urine test because the sample they took from me earlier had protein in it. So they told me that I can either stay and they can watch me or I can go home and bring the urine sample back around 9 pm the next day. No way was I going to go home when my baby's heart rate dropped like that! Joe agreed and my doctor was grateful for my choice. I learned that night how much I make Dr. Huggins nervous and stressed! One of the things I was so grateful for was that my visiting teacher, Laura, works in Labor and Delivery and she was working that night! I was so grateful! I was so scared and I didn't have my Joe with me!


The next morning, they do a bunch of tests and they just keep watching me. I freaked out at one point because Jordan's heart rate dropped but it wasn't the scary dropping and I didn't know the difference. The drop he had at that time was just him sitting or grabbing the umbilical cord. So I of course freak out and call the nurse and she comes in and looks, and of course I start balling cause I am freaking out! She sends Laura in to talk to me. I am so grateful for her! I was getting nervous of course for all these reasons, but Joe has had to miss work a couple times because of how I was feeling and such and for me to go to the hospital again and have nothing happen wouldn't go great at his job. Plus with scheduling, what were we going to do with Brooklyn? So , needless to say I was way stressed and so of course i lose it. Laura was amazing. She told me that she has all the nurses watching my baby's heart rate at the nurse's station. She understands that I am scared cause this is exactly what happened with Brooklyn, that Joe isn't there, I am scared for my baby, Joe's work may be a problem, and above all I am still pregnant. Even with all that, I need to try to be calm and not emotional and stressed out because it would affect my baby even more. She was such a rock and helped me so much. I will always be grateful for her. I was able to keep it together better after that.


Mostly afterwards was just waiting and watching. I was moved to a more comfortable bedroom and so i was able to rest better. Around the late afternoon, Jordan's heart rate started dropping more often. It would drop every once in awhile, but it happened more and more often. Dr. Huggins was very unsure about taking him early. I was 34 weeks and 3 days pregnant and I have had a steroid shot, so I had that going for me. My blood sugars of course were all over the place. During one heart rate drop my blood sugar was 56 and during another one I was 190 so they finally realized.. ok its not her blood sugars. Around 5 or 6 after Laura had left for the day, Dr. Huggins comes in and tells me that she is going to take me c-section at 8:30 am . I had wanted this so badly, I was like....." What?! Could you repeat what you just said?" We had told her to just take him because this is what happened last time and it will end up in a csection. Dr. Huggins was so determined to help me make it to 36 weeks that she was hesitant. But she told me that his heart rate dropping has just continued and gotten worse even though my pain level was better. I wanted to scream in happiness! I was going to have my baby tomorrow!! I immediately call Joe who asks what he had asked me every hour since I had been at the hospital...." Are we having our baby?!" I was finally able to say "YES!" We were so thrilled! So all of you will probably know what happened after this, we called everyone!


So Joe arrives around 6 am the next day and we talked about how we couldn't wait to meet our son! No we still couldn't decide between Max or Jordan! I told Joe that since I will be pretty loopy that he gets to decide! So we fill out paper work they get me all prepped for surgery and they roll me into the surgical room. Joe had to wait in a room while they gave me my spinal epidural. I really liked it. My visiting teacher Laura was able to move her schedule around to be able to be in my surgery. I really appreciated the spinal epidural. Its interesting how they do it. I sat on the bed and i kind of hugged Laura ( my nurse/visiting teacher) and I had to stick out my back. It was difficult since I am still pregnant, but it didn't last They give you one shot to numb the area. It kind of hurt and it felt like some pain would shoot to one side, then I would tell Laura where I felt pain and he would adjust it to the point where I no longer felt anything. Then he gave me the spinal epidural. It was actually so nice! I didn't feel it since I was already numb, and the room was so cold and once the spinal epidural was in it was like a flow of warmth throughout my body. They helped me lay down and I could slowly feel my body relaxing. Then Joe came in. They put up the shield so we couldn't see. I couldn't really feel a thing, I knew they were touching me but I couldn't feel any pain. I of course told Joe not to look because it would be pretty gross... so what did Joe do? He looked! Crazy Kohler!


It took about a half hour till little Jordan was born! They pulled down the shield and lifted him up so I could see him. My heart just jumped for joy! He was here! I was looking at my baby! I love him so much. I used to worry about not being able to love my next child as much as Brooklyn. If anyone who reads this things this....you have nothing to worry about. I felt like I just bursted with love for my little boy. I love the blessing of motherhood. I love my children more than myself, more than anything material, and almost as much as Joe. So Joe went with Jordan and watched them clean him up and what not. Jordan started crying almost immediately which is pretty great! They usually have resesatate csection babies. Joe came back and I just started to talk to Dr. Huggins as she stitched me up. Found out that she knows my boss from when I worked at Serenity! Kind of silly to be casually talking when she has her hands in my stomach!


I was then sent to recovery. I became very shaky, probably from the medicine as well as well as adrenalin. They gave me stuff to stay still so they can take my blood pressure but then that stuff made me insanely itchy! Haha I remember the pediatrician, Dr. Hatch coming in to talk to me about Jordan but I remember falling asleep and my head nodding just trying to stay awake!


Surprisingly, an hour later they wheeled me to go see Jordan! I kept asking " Are you sure?" So they wheel me in and they hand me my baby! He is absolutely perfect! His Daddy's eyes, nose, dimples, my face shape, chubby cheeks, full head of fuzzy hair and my toes..absolutely perfect!


When Joe brought Brooklyn to see him she wasn't quite sure what to think. She has never seen an infant before. She of course has played many times with toddlers but infants are totally different. So Joe and Brooklyn stayed for awhile then went home and settled in for the evening. We originally planned to have our neighbor friends to watch Brooklyn for us, and they did for the first day. But then they told Joe that their two kids were sick! There is no way we could of possibly let them watch Brooklyn! She gets sick way too easily as well as having a baby in the NICU! So unfortunately Joe wasn't able to just stay at the hospital with me as I would of liked. He still immensely enjoyed spending all week with Brooklyn and making 2-3 trips to come see Jordan and I, but what are you going to do when you have more then one child?


The rest of the week was pretty much a normal hospital stay. However, when I woke up the next morning I was in so much pain! I pressed that nurse button till they answered it! They came in and gave me medicine right away. The medicine from my csection had finally worn off and so they had to start treating me immediately with Percoset. I, of course had many visits from my Endocrinologist, Gynocologist, Lactation consultant and my nurses. We attempted to put my pump in and have it all set up as well as my Dexcom. So I was finally able to shower for the first time on Wednesday since the last Saturday! I am not gross! I showered Saturday then went in for pain on Sunday and they couldn't risk me showering and risk Jordan's health, and I had to wait awhile after my surgery. That shower felt like heaven!


So I go down to the NICU and I feed my baby and started Kangaroo Care , which is a skin to skin contact with your baby for at least an hour. It helps regulate their heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as helps the Mommy and baby bond and helps with milk production. Anyways, so I am still on pain medication and still have a hard time staying awake when people talk to me ( haha very embarrassing) and at one point I wake up from falling asleep in the NICU in the chair, and there are a ton of nurses around me talking to me... I thought I was dreaming. I had gone into a seizure ( :-( ) No one besides a Diabetic understands the shame, embarrassment, and regret that comes with having a seizure. I was very sweaty , which happens with a severe low, and as soon as I realize that I had a seizure in the NICU I start to cry. I also start asking.. "OMG did I drop my baby? Is he ok? Where is he??!?!!" I literally start freaking out, how could I have let that happen? What a horrible mother I am! They showed me Jordan and that he was safe and sound. A nurse had seen that I was asleep and took Jordan and layed him in bed and that is when I started seizing. Here is what happened.
Of course, my body just went through a huge change, i am on pain killers, the release of hormones in my body, happiness, excitement all happening at once, of course this happened. Also, my nurse had come to tell me my lunch was in my room and I looked at Dexcom and it said I was 200, so I tell her.. " Five more minutes!" When I was probably already low at that time and I fell asleep. I later learned that since I was taking pain medication, my Dexcom wasn't reading my blood sugars correctly. The nurse later looked at my Dexcom and it read 86, so they checked it with their meter and it read 28!!! So I had of course worried many nurses. The next day, another NICU mom passed out , and we later found out she is a Diabetic as well. I do believe I gave Jordan's nurse gray hair! Needless to say I had every single nurse on that floor's attention as well as all my future nurses all knew about my episode.


So for the next few days, we tried everything to get my blood sugars under control. I was low pretty much the whole next day. We also had a hard time getting my pain under control. with my episode they assumed that the Tylenol in the Percoset made my blood sugar drop. So they started giving me Vicaprofen. Which helped for about 2 hours and then I was in pain again and I couldn't take anything for another 2 hours. So they gave me a heating pad which calmed it but of course not solved. I finally just had a talk with my Doctor saying that I have been a diabetic since I was five and I have taken Tylenol for years and never had any problems. So they finally put me back on percoset and my OB gave me a prescription for Hydrocodine and so finally we have all the pain under control and its getting better!


Jordan excelled so remarkably in the NICU. He never had to have any oxygen, or any tubes down his nose. The nurses told me the biggest problem with having a baby at 34 weeks is them being able to suck, swallow and breath at the same time. Jordan did it the first time I fed him! He did so great! He is also a wonderful nurser! Everything about Jordan is different from Brooklyn. Having a baby at 32 weeks and a baby at 34 weeks its totally different! Jordan did so well that he was ready to go home before I was! They wanted to keep me and make sure my blood sugar levels where normal enough for me to be able to go home.
Finally we were all able to go home! Friday! Jordan was so great! He was so healthy! I was finally feeling pretty good so I was able to go home! The NICU nurses were so wonderful as well as all of my nurses! I am very grateful for everything they have done!


I have loved every minute with Jordan. I am surprised at my love capacity. I love him and Brooklyn so much but in a way in different ways. I can't get enough of my children... yes actually I do need breaks but I hope you get my point ;-)
He smiles, sometimes awake or not but I am sure its not by his choice. I love it when he is awake and he looks at you with those curious eyes! He does make his Daddy's facial expressions already! He is such a sweet little boy. Even when he wakes up every two hours in the middle of the night, I still hold him a little longer before I put him back to bed. I snuggle with him even after he is finished eating. I love my sweet little boy!


Everyone asks, " How does Brooklyn handle him?" So I am telling everyone that she does very well! She is very curious about Jordan, not being familiar with newborns, but she likes to play with his hair. She helps out by bringing me things like his pacifier, or a burp cloth. She does tend to bounce his bouncy seat a little harder than I would like but she is getting there! She knows he is Jordan, her baby brother, but I think that's all she understands at this point. We make sure to give her lots of attention so she doesn't feel left out or have resentment towards Jordan and I think we are doing pretty good right now.


Jordan got circumcised this past Friday. I couldn't decide if I should stay in the room, or should I go outside in the waiting room. I eventually decided that if I can stay with Brooklyn in the hospital while she is diagnosed with Diabetes and when she is sick, or when she gets shots, then I can stay in the room with Jordan. It broke my heart and I hated that he had to go through that but I am so glad I stayed. He really does know me. He may be fussing and then I pick him up or hold him and he stops. Already a Momma's boy! Don't tell Joe that.... he may get jealous!


So welcome to our crazy family situation for now. We have Grandma Kohler here right now and she is leaving early Tuesday morning. She has been absolutely wonderful! My Mom and possibly sister will be coming October 12 and I can't wait! We appreciate all the help everyone has given us and we are so grateful for the many new blessings in our lives!

Bedrest

I am 31 weeks now and at 29 weeks they put me on a moderate bedrest. The reason being was because number one I am a type one diabetic meaning I am high risk . Reason number two I have been having painful contractions consitantly and they are worried I could go into preterm labor. Reason number three, Brooklyn was born at 32 weeks from complications and they want to make sure that does not happen. So they are just being cautious and put me on bedrest. Thank goodness its not a strict bedrest because I think I would honestly die from that! It is so hard being bedridden. I dont know who is all familiar with the rules with being on bedrest so I will enlighten you just in case. I am not allowed to bend or lift anything ( lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk, but Brooklyn is my only exception and I can only pick her up and stuff when I need to), I have to be off my feet 75% of the day which can be difficult having an active toddler running around wanting my attention. The doctor told me I am allowed to go grocery shopping but I can't lift anything...so I would need to have someone pick up the item I want and put it in the cart, take it out put it on the cashier belt, put it back in the cart, then put it in the cart and then unload it when we got home! So Joe just does the grocery shopping now ;-). With laundry its the same thing. I am allowed to do laundry but I can only kick the clothes down the stairs and pour the soap. So Joe does the laundry now as well! The ward has been wonderful as well as my friends. The ward brings us meals twice a week, mostly to give Joe a break. He gets to do everything I normally do and then a lot more, so having a meal brought over is extremely helpful. One of the things I get to look forward to every week is the often doctor appointments. I go to the OBGYN twice a week. My first visit is an ultrasound, which they use to check the amniotic fluid , they check that to make sure Im not producing too much. With being a diabetic that is a risk, so they watch that. Then I sit in a comfy chair and watch t.v while I am hooked up to two monitors. One measures my contractions, and the other measures his heartrate. This usually takes the longest because if he is sleeping, they have to wake him up because they need to look at his heartrate with him being active. They have this funny button thing that they press against my belly if he is being stubborn. Its like a buzzer and its suppose to wake him up... plus it tickles! Also they will have me drink ice cold water. I always eat before I go but that doesn't always work. So after the NST ( stress test) I have my normal OBGYN appointment where they test your urin, blood pressure and what not. So I do that once a week, then i go back towards the end of the week and do another stress test. Every three weeks I go see the Perinatologist, Its pretty much like an extensive ultrasound where they measure EVERYTHING and take a good look at the baby and what hes doing measure wise and whatnot. Last week I saw the Perinatologist and they measured the baby and he is already 4 pounds 4 oz, which is actually too big. All my books and stuff say hes only supposed to be almost 4 pounds by now, not almost five, but honestly thats typical with a diabetic pregnancy. Your babies are bigger! So thats about what our life is like for now. I get so tired of bedrest. I take care of Brooklyn during the day of course, I am currently reading Beyonders by Brandon Mull. It reminds me a LOT of Leven Thumps, but its still original and interesteing, I am almost done with it! I also of course play on the computer, read the Ensign, paint my Paint-by-Numbers Joe got me, try to read my scriptures and write in my journal every day, help my friends plan my Baby Shower ( Sept 9th) which i am just estatic for! Its going to be so much fun! I also almost always have to take a nap. Even though I sit most the day, i am still so exhausted! Of course, the consiquence of taking a nap when Brooklyn naps is that I have a hard time sleeping at night. Mostly because I am so so hot and uncomfortable, but also because I took a nap, but then I can't usually function very well without a nap sadly. Good thing that hopefully it wont be too much longer. They are aiming to give me a C-Section when I am 36 weeks, they said if I can make it to 37 that would be ideal so we will see. They will be giving me a sterioid shot here pretty soon. A steroid shot helps a premature baby's lungs and organs develop faster if there is a chance they wont be able to make it full-term. There are two doses and they put the shot ( I have heard) in your hip. The only bad part is that the steroid shot severly affects my blood sugars. That is why my doctor with Brooklyn didn't give me a steroid shot because it will affect my blood sugar levels extremely for three days. Honestly, that can be managed. I would rather not have another NICU baby thank you very much!
Today a member of the Bishopric came over and released me from being the YW beehive advisor. I cried! I completly understand that they need someone who can actually be there, but I am so sad. I absolutly loved being in YW and I hated that I could never go. They gave me a new calling, one that I can do from home. They are having me in charge of the Relief Society Newsletter. So I can at least participate in church while being on bedrest. They are also going to start having the priests bring over sacrament since I can't really go to church. The doctors said I could but I would need to keep my feet up... and I dont really think giving people a view is a good idea! Its best if I just stay at home and rest. I am excited to go to Relief Society. I have never really gone because Joe and I were put into Primary almost immedietly, then I was put into Young Womens. I am severly disappointed but if thats what the Lord wants, then so be it. I miss the Young Women so much, I miss teaching and being involved with their lives. Just this last weekend a few came over and I taught a new beehive how to apply make-up ( shes going into middle school ;-) ) I am looking forward to being in Relief Society and getting to know the women in the ward!
Brooklyn does do really good with me not being able to move around alot. She is good at handing me things so I dont have to bend over, she is getting pretty good at listening, we also of course do lots of movies because she actually watches them for the most part. I also made a cool binder for her, let me tell you about it! This binder has sheet covers inside and inside the sheet covers are individual sheets from a Dora Explorer coloring book. Then you take markers, or dry erase markers and then your child can color as much as she/he wants without tearing the coloring book, and they get to recolor their favorite pages as much as they want! All you do is take a napkin or a baby wipe and clean the sheet cover when they are done. She loves it! She also plays with her toys, play-dough, and reads lots of good books! Brooklyn is also learning to communicate a lot better. She can say more words, and when you ask her a question, she nodds yes or no. It does make it easier. Of course I would rather her say " yes" or "no" but we are still working on the talking. Also , while I am at my long appointment , my friend watches her for about 2 hours and she has two little girls that Brooklyn loves to play with, so she gets some interaction with kids.
Joe of course is doing excellent at work. We just received his bonus from him working so many hours in July and we are planning on how to budget that. He continues to impress his boss and remains the top sellar in his department. He is looking to promote to Marketing when a position opens up and he has also applied to be a store manager in Hawaii! That would be such a huge life changing experiance! We are excited about it but lots of people are applying so we will see.
Joe is adapting to being the new Mom at home very well. He takes care of Brooklyn and I extremely well. You have to watch out for Brooklyn though, she loves to give her Mommy and Daddy noogies and will tackle you from behind if you dont watch out! She is usually ready to rough house by the time Daddy gets home so he certainly gets his exersize! Speaking of which, as we speak Brooklyn is climbing on the couch and jumping off expecting her Daddy to be ready to catch her ( he is laying on the floor) and turn her around in a sumersault! Crazy girl!
Till next time! We will try to keep everyone posted!


P.S. Check out our baby name poll! We are having difficulty picking a name for the little guy!
http://www.babycenter.com/403_baby-poll-round-two_14132844_527.bc

Family Sickness

So I figured that I had better explain what happened in detail to Brooklyn when she got sick.
Two Saturdays ago was a normal Saturday. Her Daddy came home early, we were having a wonderful day! So I put her to bed, check her blood sugar level at 10pm, then she woke up around midnight screaming! I go in and she is just covered in vomit. So Joe and I clean her up and clean up her bed, and she throws up again, and again , and again. She starts to look pale and we check her blood sugar and her blood sugar level is not high, it was actually around the 100's which is good. So we decided to take her to the ER to at least get her fluids. It was not a fun experiance. Its true I have been around needles , doctors offices, and hospitals most of my life, but its awful seeing your little toddler being constrained in a blanket so they can get an i.v and she is screaming. It breaks our heart. You try what you can like singing her favorite song, hold her hand, talk to her, and none of it works. ANyways, so they give her fluids and medicine to help her stop vomiting. She threw up a couple times and they were going to admit her but decided to leave the i.v in and let her recooperate at home. We got home around 5am and we all slept for a very long time. We had to make lots of calls to get people to cover our lessons but we got everything taken care of. Brooklyn was very weak and tired most of the day and so we took her to the hospital to have them take out the i.v around 4pm. She started throwing up about a half hour later. The next few days were very stressful. Brooklyn would recooperate during the day and throw up in the evening. We had major problems with her blood sugar levels. Typically when a diabetic is sick their blood sugars go high, but Brooklyns kept going low. We worked with her Endocrinologist and we worked out her blood sugar levels as much as we can. Its hard when she would go low, then we feed her something to raise her bloodsugar level and then she throws up. We also went to the Pediatrcian every day for that week. They would check her weight, which she was losing, and they poked her finger and tested her blood chemistry to see where her bi-carbs , calcium level, and everything else. Each day kept geting worse and worse till finally Thursday when the labs came out and showed that her bi-carbs were too low. They told us we need to take her to the Perscription Center to give her an i.v and give her fluids. To make this long story short, after four pokes and two hours later they still couldn;t get the darn i.v in. I understand that children are very hard to put i.v's in and with them screaming and moving , as well as them being dehydrated but I started hating those nurses. Why did it take them four times when the ER did it in one poke? So they gave us an option...let them try again or go across the street and go to the ER and have them try to get the i.v in . We chose the E.R. Two pokes later they finally get it in. The tricky part i didn't think about is the baby. I started having stress induced contractions. Since then, I get them often. I am on pills now to stop labor, but I will go more into that later. We were perscribed Zofran to help Brooklyn not throw up and slowly she started getting better. They say that this was a viral infection that makes kids vomit and have diahrea. It of course is worse for a diabetic, but finally we she is better. She has color to her face, her eyes aren't sunkin in anymore and she is back to her scallywag self. It was one of the scariest weeks of my life as well as the most stressful. Joe unfortunetly got sick during the midst of all this and missed about a week of work. He was ok after about two days, but goodness. Being pregnant and taking care of two sick people is tough. Good thing I take prenatles, I think it helped me not get sick. Thank you everyone for all the thoughts and prayers, as well as the Relief Society who brought dinner Friday and Saturday night!

Baby Update

I had my OBGYN appointment today and everything is normal! I am feeling so much better now that I have been on iron pills and they raised my thyroid dose. Its so nice not to be utterly exhausted and dizzy all the time. The doctor said that I am measuring a little bit big, but that's normal for a type one diabetic so we aren't worried. They are still planning on taking the baby when I am 36 weeks, but of course if everything is going good then they will try to make me last a week or two longer, but of course this all just depends on how things go. I will of course keep you updated. I finished the book I was reading, " The 7 Worst Things Parents Do" and of course I recommend it to all parents. I am now almost finished with " The Hobbit". I have been wanting to read this book for ages and I am finally almost finished! I plan on reading a lot while Joe is working extended hours this month. Also Joe got me a new paint by numbers so I have been working on that.
I am still serving in Young Womens and I just love it. I love learning more about the Young Women and they are such amazing girls. I feel so overwhelmed at times thinking, " How will I teach these girls what they need to know?" I try hard on my lessons and I hope that they are learning more about their Savior when I teach.
Brooklyn continues to do very well! Her blood sugar levels have been better, we raised her dose of insulin and she is doing great! We played in our inflatable pool today and she had a blast! The weather certainly has gotten much hotter and after our afternoon naps, we usually play outside and play in the yard and with her chalk. I have also recently started going to story time with a friend and her children at the library. I picked up a dvd called " My baby can Talk, First Signs". Its great! It has classical music and teachers her signs and words. She loves it! She seems at such a ripe age where she just soaks information. Since watching these videos, she is trying harder to communicate with me and I am beginning to understand what she wants. We work very hard at our words and I try to label everything that she looks at or touches.
Joe is doing fantastic at work. Although the hours stink...6 am - 10 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am - 5 pm on Saturdays certainly doesn't give him a lot of time with me or Brooklyn. He is already beating everyone on his team with his sales and so we will be nicely situated family by the end of the month! Joe is also doing well in his calling as a Sunday School teacher for the Priests and Laurels . He teaches them every Sunday and is really good at communicating with them. I think he is a great example for the Young men and it makes me smile when they see him in the hallways and wave or smile at him. They couldn't ask for a better role model ;-)

Baby Boy on the Way

It has been awhile since my last post but its surprising how much time goes by. I feel like things just keep rushing along and I would be lucky enough if I get everything that I need done in that time. Being pregnant and having a toddler is so much work. Not horrible of course, but work none the less. Not only are you experiencing the typical pregnancy symptoms, but you have to chase a toddler around all day who does not understand that Mommy is tired and cannot bend down to pick them up anymore. This pregnancy has been so much harder then Brooklyn's was. Besides the ending, when I was pregnant with Brooklyn it was almost a breeze! Of course the first trimester includes nausea and exhaustion, but that ended as soon as my second trimester started. Not so with this one. I experienced a lot of pain a couple of weeks ago and ended up going to the hospital to have them figure out why I was in so much pain. They ran a bunch of tests, assuming my pain was due to a bladder infection, but it was not so. They couldn't find a logical explanation of why I was experiencing the pain. They ended up prescribing me pain medication and antibiotics for a bladder infection because everything I was describing pointed to a bladder infection. After about a week, it worked! So weird. Even though the tests came back negative, the antibiotics still worked. Who knew. So now, I am having a lot of dizziness, feeling faint , exhaustion, experiencing a queasy feeling, and I wobble a lot when stand up, walk, or whatever, like I am tipping over. This makes the doctors very nervous. They actually thought I was anemic, and after testing me, I am not but my iron level is extremely low and my thyroid level has been out of control for weeks. They say that this combined can explain my symptoms. I am meeting with a Perinatologist this Monday. A Perinatologist studies the baby while inside the womb. They do stress testing and all sorts of stuff as well as keeping an eye on mother's who are high risk ( such as myself). We found out two weeks ago , if you haven't already heard, that the baby is a boy :-). We are just so thrilled! We cannot wait! I am already feeling the ache to hold him! We have started the process of getting baby things and organizing out third bedroom for Brooklyn to move in and our baby will be in her bedroom. We don't want them sharing a room. If we were having a girl, once the baby was about 6 months we would probably combine the rooms, but not with having a boy. We feel that they should have their privacy. So I am just so excited about decorating Brooklyn's room and getting everything all organized.
Brooklyn is now in nursery! She has only been there for about two weeks, the first week, she did awesome! The second, her blood sugar was very high, and she didn't have anything to drink since they don't allow sippy cups, and so I think that's what the problem was. Hopefully she does better this week! She has been just so much fun! We play tag, hide and go seek, we have pillow fights, wrestle, play with her blocks, read, play outside, she helps me cook sometimes, she does whatever I do, and so much more! She definitely keeps me working ( when the doctors ask me what do i do to exercise for my pregnancy, I just tell them I have a toddler.. they seem to understand!) all the time! Of course she is a ton of work, she has started her terrible twos a little early but I am guessing that has something to do with her diabetes. Since we have to restrain her more and take more things out of her control ( like poking her finger, giving her shots) I think she feels like she has to take a stand more.. if that makes sense. She is such a good learner, and such a fast one too! I always heard that your children watch you, but I did not expect these things. I put our remotes in a specific location in a specific way, and i was cleaning up one time, and Brooklyn picks up the remotes, and puts them in the exact spot in the exact way that I do! I was like...woah! I didnt realize she watched THAT closely! She helps me clean as well, i was emptying the trash can, and she hands me the plastic bag when I was ready for it without being asked! She also yawns the same way I do when i yawn, seems silly but it cracks me up! I just am astounded! It makes me think.. hmm do I want Brooklyn to copy this? Thank goodness she hasn't picked up any of my bad habits... now her Daddy's.. that's a different story ;-). Oh , P.S. to Grandma Kohler. Brooklyn has figured out how to insured her plastic needle through the blocks that you gave her! She just needs to learn to pull it through, and she is so so close! I am very excited!
Brooklyn seems to know that something is going on. She has been more clingy lately and I have been working with her about babies. Being soft, and that the baby is in Mommy's tummy and whatnot. Joe got me a book from the Library its called.."Siblings without Rivalry: Helping your Children live together so you can live" By Adele Faber. I am reading right now " The 7 worst things Parents do" by John and Linda Friel. I find it very interesting! I think every parent needs to read this book. They make very good arguments and I have found it true and helpful.
Joe recently has been called as the Sunday School teacher for the Priests and Laurels and I am just so excited! He is doing a great job with his work and is now the head salesman. He is such a hard worker and does an amazing job with his clients. This next month, July, he is going to be working extended hours because of the sale the Security Department is doing so we wont see him very much. Which is also why we are getting everything ready for the baby now because we need to have everything ready in case we have an early baby , and plus the longer we wait, the less I will be able to help. Joe is just so excited about having a boy! He always told me to get used to having girls because he didn't think he could produce an heir... boy what a surprise! I thought of a cute way to tell Joe we were having a boy. I bought two little boy onsies ( very cute) and wrapped it up and put it in a box then picked up Joe from work. I had him open it, and I realize now that I should of told him that whatever outfit is in the box represents the sex of the baby, because when he opened it, he was confused! He thought I had bought Brooklyn an outfit way too small and was giving it to him! I thought it was funny!
Joe and I are so happy together. I hear people say, " The first year is the worst", or " the fifth year is the worst!" or " it only gets harder!" I don't know what those people are talking about! I have never been more in love then I am now and I can't wait to find out how much I love Joe in 10, 15, or 20 + years! We are still like teenagers in love! We play, we laugh, we talk, we do everything together. Joe is so understanding of me being pregnant , and he is just the most wonderful father. I hear about my friends marriages and I almost don't want to say anything for fear of making them feel bad about how great my marriage is compared to theirs! I love my husband with more then my heart and we are just so happy!
So thats all the news we have so far, I will try to keep everyone updated on pregnancy things so you know whats going on! Till next time!

A New Life in the Kohler Family

Febuary 24th- So last Saturday I took a pregnancy test and it was positive! We are very excited! The crazy part is that this pregnancy was planned, but a lot sooner then planned! We started trying the third week in January! So the baby would probably be due in October, but since my babies are early probably September. I am seeing a OBGYN specialist this time and I have already been to see them. They will definitely be keeping a close eye on me and I feel very comfortable in their hands.
Joe and I are almost positive the baby will be a girl, I will actually be very shocked if the baby is a boy. We have a name we like but of course that name can change, but what do you all think of Macy Reese Kohler? Anyways, so that's our top choice right now. I will keep you all updated with my appointments!

Brooklyn is continuing her outgoing and joyful self! Unfortunately, with her having diabetes she is venerable to sickness. Brooklyn has almost been constantly sick these past two months. First, she had bronchiolitis and we had to use a nebulizor for about a week and a half. Then last Wednesday, we took her in and she had a temperature of 103. She then caught a cough right afterwards, and the doctors think that its an extension of her bronchiolitis. So we haven't really been able to take her any where, and usually on Sunday we take turns going or alternate. Our ward is going to think we are inactive!!

Despite Brooklyn being sick lately and having diabetes, she is still such a happy little girl. She is now walking everywhere, it is just adorable to see her walk! She waddles! She loves to play and get into everything. Brooklyn has also begun copying me! She blows kisses to me, she puts things on her head like I do, she tackles me! Its actually kind of scary, she screams and then runs and pushes me to the floor! I do not know how she learned that!
Brooklyn is also starting to talk now. Mostly consistent babbling , and an occasional word, but that's all for now. She is so stinkin smart! She just points to everything and talks to me about what she is pointing at! She also loves pushing chairs around and making a mess wherever she goes! She has started to pick up on the whole cleaning aspect, but she puts full bottles and full sippy cups in her drawers instead of clean ones, so she is getting close! And according to that, she also hands Joe and I everything! Its very cute!

When I was very little, I used to do this facial expression that my parents called "snooting,"
well Brooklyn does that as well! It is absolutely adorable! If you don't know what snooting is, I will explain. It is when you push your lips out in a pouty way, but you push your lips to your nose and blow in and out really fast. Its so so cute!

I love Brooklyn so much, even though she has gone through so many trials in such a short amount of time, she is still so strong and happy, she really is an example to me. She doesnt let little things get her down!

Joe , Brooklyn and I are all very happy. We are very excited for Vanessa's upcoming wedding and if you need to know we will be coming out April 23-May 9th. Joe will be arriving May 7th then we will be leaving together on the following Monday. We love you all and we will keep you all updated!

Pre-Christmas

So Brooklyn has been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes for almost two months now, and we seem to have a pretty good hold on things. Her blood sugars are still irregular but after our visit to Salt Lake City we were re -energized and more educated after we left. Her blood sugars have improved drastically, although are of course still irregular but she isn't over 500 or below 50 as often. They want her blood sugars to be about 200, so that is what we aim for.

A typical day with Brooklyn is this:

Wake up at 2 am and check her sugar

Wake up at 8 ish and check her blood sugar again, feed her, give her two shots

She then plays for about two hours then she goes down for a nap. She is checked before her nap

She sleeps for about three hours, and I check her when she wakes up and feed her some lunch. She usually gets a shot here as well.

She takes another nap about two to three hours later and is checked before and after. We eat dinner pretty soon when she gets up and then we play till bedtime and give her a shot before bed.

She is almost walking! She gets into everything, especially my oven door and her baby drawer, which I don't mind all that much. She has stopped trying to get into all of the light sockets and is now always in our entertainment drawer with our router , wii remotes and such. I have been trying to teach her to close it and she thinks its a game! So I'm trying to find something to get her to understand. She doesn't quite understand "No" yet but has started throwing fits when I take things away from her. I think its because we are at crossroads right now. I'm trying to teach her words and signs to help with communication but she hasn't gotten it yet. No worries, she is a very smart baby and its only a matter of time.

She is enjoying Christmas already! She isn't that bad with the tree, she likes to scoot back where it is and try to get the ornaments but I have moved them up so she just likes to be there. She absolutly loves being in tight places, shes always trying to fit in small cabinets or something, she even got into my oven drawer the other day! Its very cute!

Brooklyn already likes presents! She did very well with her birthday and opening them, so I expect she will have fun on Christmas morning. Joe and I have been very blessed this year for Christmas, and this year in general. Everyone in our families have been more then generous, as well as our ward and neighbors. I always struggle to feel the Christmas spirit, and this year has been great!

Two weeks ago, I went caroling with all of the youth in our ward as a combined Ym/Yw activity ( I am the new beehive advisor) and it was so great! I love the youth in my ward, and I love my calling. I feel so energized after each activity and everything I spend time with them. I have learned a new skill! I have learned to crochet scarves and I have given a few to my close friends and my sister Vanessa. I also decided to make scarves for the beehives, and it felt so nice to actually complete my project and do something nice for someone else. I love Christmas! Every one is a little nicer to one another, a little more considerate and more cheerful.

We have also enjoyed wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies, baking cookies, shopping, and making gifts for people. I love the spirit that you feel, the true meaning of Christmas. Giving. Like our Saviour did for us. I love my Saviour, he has blessed us in so many ways I cannot count. We are all happy and progressing in life, I am so grateful for everything that I have and I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

P.S Joe FINALLY got his job!