Cora Dovie

I birthed a child, and it was unreal. Being able to put this sweet babe down while she sleeps is a rarity these days... So, after masterfully nuzzling her next to my leg so that both hands are free, turning on the "heart beat" app, and finishing off a piece of chocolate cake, I can more fully give this post all the attention it deserves. Until I need more cake.

My due date was May 9th, 2014. Annndddd... May 9th came and went. My Mom was in town in hopes that this baby would decide to make an appearance. She stayed until May 13th, and still no baby. She was so torn between staying here with me, and being in California to welcome her baby home from his mission. At this point, my doctor had set the induction for May 16th. So, Mom went home May 13th, welcomed Dylan home on May 14th, all the while I was sitting with my legs crossed-- no way was I letting her come the day my Mom left town!! May 15th my angel of a Mother got back on a plane to be with us. 

I was supposed to check into that hospital that night, but needed to call beforehand to make sure there was enough room for me... Spontaneous labor patients would be treated first-- I was just second string. When I called at the designated time, they said I would need to call back because it wasn't looking like I'd be able to be induced that night. I was devastated. Clay and my Mom tried everything they could to keep me distracted for that hour and a half. It was the longest 90 minutes of my life. I just was silent, cried, prayed, and ate. I ate a lot, I think. I just wanted to meet this baby!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVED being pregnant. I enjoyed every second of it and would've done it for another 9 months--- I just wanted to see this girls face more than anything. So, I called 89 minutes later and they said I could come check in!! Thank you Heavenly Father!!

We got all settled in our room at 10pm and about 10:30pm they came in to give me a pill called cytotec. That pill was used to soften my cervix and get things moving. Once that started doing it's trick, they would give me pitocin to start my contractions. I wasn't dilated or effaced at all, so I knew it would be a long process. That's why they got it started at night, in hopes that I would sleep and be able to feel rested enough in the morning to do the real labor thing. I slept, but just about as much as you sleep on Christmas Eve when you are 7 years old and expecting an American Girl doll from Santa. At 6am, I was at a 1. Man, they weren't joking when they said this would be a long process. My contractions started on their own without drugs, and man were they killer. They were coming every 30 seconds and lasting 30 seconds to a minute. This was odd because they should have been coming every 3 to 5 minutes and lasting for 60 seconds each. I wasn't getting a break at all and they were so intense. The nurses were a bit concerned and decided to start me on pitocin in hopes that it would regulate the contractions that my body was already having. I was all for getting an epidural, but really wanted to wait it out as long as I could. I am not the best at sitting still for long periods of time, so my biggest fear of giving birth was being tied to a bed for hours on end. I wanted to steer clear of the epidural as long as possible so that I could get up and walk the halls, sway back and forth, (use the restroom without a catheter!!), and bounce on the ball. I sat on the bed and just rocked and rocked. Whenever I would use the restroom I would have at least 10 contractions because they were coming so fast. I was feeling EVERYTHING in my back, and Clay did his best to rub and rub and rub and give me as much counter pressure as I needed. It wasn't working. All the reasons I didn't want an epidural were so awful to do... I hated standing, I hated swaying, and using the restroom was like death. I was certain I must've been progressing, so at 8am they checked me and I was a 1 1/2. Seriously!? Clay laughed and I about punched him. (Don't worry, I had previously gotten a free pass for anything I said or did in that 24 hours. I didn't punch him, but maybe I should have! It probably would've made me feel better.)

I had gotten some regular pain meds and hoped to just keep waiting it out. As the nurse was leaving she said I could have the epidural whenever I wanted it... I said I would let her know. Turns out I let her know about 3 minutes later. My doctor was on call that day and was scheduled to make rounds sometime that morning. He showed up at 11am and that is when they gave me my epidural and went ahead and broke my water. At that point I was at 3cm. He kindly reassured me that what I had been feeling was certainly not real labor, but that it would be starting now. He said I probably wouldn't even be pushing until about 9pm. Just what I wanted to hear. Yuck. The epidural was magical and I was finally able to lay down and fall asleep. I slept until 2pm and woke up to find out I was at an 8! I had read that if you are stressed you tend to make your muscles contradict each other... So by being able to relax, my body was able to work just the way it was supposed to! It was awesome. A half an hour later I was feeling a lot of pressure, so they checked me again and I was a 9! Clay had gone to get Jimmy John's for himself and my Mama. Luckily they really are freaky fast... Otherwise that could've been bad! In fact, I should probably tell Jimmy John's they have another ad campaign because of us.

My blood pressure is abnormally low and has been my whole life, all thanks to my dear Mother. We were excited when the epidural didn't make my blood pressure drop and make me sick, but lo and behold, it did. It just took awhile. My heart rate and BP were all over the place and kept dropping... My nurse had been called into an emergency c section, so a tech just kept coming in and telling me it was okay and that she was trying to find my nurse. She said it would be fine. But all of the sudden, I was totally not fine. I was trying to just deal with it on my own. I finally realized that I was about to be able to push and I knew I wouldn't be able to do it effectively if I kept feeling the way I was feeling. I knew something needed to change. As soon as I complained that I was going to barf, the anesthesiologist came in and pumped me with some drugs. Because my nurse was MIA, I wasn't getting as much care as I should have been getting... The anesthesiologist was not happy. She stayed in my room for quite awhile to make sure I came back to my senses. Unfortunately, I waited a bit too long to ask for help and still ended up barfing. All I had eaten were blue popsicles and that was all that came up. Needless to say, I won't be eating blue popsicles for awhile. At 3pm, when I was feeling that same pressure, they said it was probably nothing, but that they would check, and sure enough I was at a 10!

My nurse was STILL gone, so I sat around for awhile and they eventually sent a "push coach" in to help me figure out what I was doing. She got me all positioned and within one push sweet baby Cora was already making an appearance. The coach just looked shocked and said "Ooookay, we are going to wait for the doctor!" I had in my mind that I would be pushing for at least 2 hours, so I was shocked to hear baby was already where she should be! It was about 4:20pm when my doctor showed up. When he came in he said hi to my Mom and shook Clay's hand and firmly asked if he would be cutting the cord. This is not something Clay was sure he wanted to do... But he just said "I wasn't planning on it, but ya think I should??" I was so glad the doctor asked! I shoulda paid him to guilt Clay into doing it... but Clay couldn't resist his doctor eyes, and stepped up to the plate. The doc watched me push through one contraction and said, "Ya, let's get this room set up!" My mama got my family on facetime and set up the ipad at a nice view point-- It was so nice to feel like more people I love were there to support me. As the doctor was getting in his get up, he said to go ahead and push when I felt another contraction. Naturally, it was right that second, and I pushed. He ran over to me: 6 pushes and 3 minutes later, she was here!!

I was in shock. I did NOT expect her to come that quickly. I almost didn't even believe that it was my own child laying on my chest. She was absolutely perfect and just whimpered on my chest, telling me all about the awful day she had just had. Clay was a champ and so supportive, and Mama was the best coach ever. It was so comforting to have someone there that I trust so much and who has done this multiple times before. The nurses got her all measured and cleaned up and gave her back to me. My family got to meet her, my Mama loved on her, and watching Clay hold her for the first time just about killed me. I looked forward to that moment my whole pregnancy. The best part of it all was when we were in the recovery room that night watching a movie, and Clay just looked at her and said "Man, I really love her." Pinky. Wrapped.

Cora Dovie Kincaid was born at 4:27pm on Friday, May 16th. She was 8lbs 12oz and 20
inches long. So basically, just all the perfect stats.

I think we'll keep her.

xoxo.

Ketchup

Ketchup as in catch up, but if you must know, I do prefer ketchup over mustard, 10 times out of 10.

Well time as passed and all that jazz- we have had an eventful few months with lots of lazy days in between. I was the luckiest and got to go to Denver in October when my sister had her sweet baby boy. I will never get over how amazing that whole experience is... I don't even want to ever get over it. I want to always be in complete and utter awe at what our bodies are capable of, and of what God designed them to do. He is a pure genius, that's all I can say.

(this is funny because I was pregnant and only like 3 people knew. sammers!!)

 sweet Jude Thomas Swapp. my man crush of 2013.

We had a rocking Halloween and managed to be the weirdest people ever (easy) and dressed up as E.T. and Elliot. We went to hang out with friends in Provo and I all of a sudden realized how old I was for 2 reasons-- 1, because I don't really like to bump and grind, and 2, because no one knew who in the heck we were! What's wrong with people these days?

Then in November we went back to Colorado for Thanksgiving. I love it there. I love the people there especially, but I love the weather, the neighborhoods, and the feel goods. I am convinced Colorado is the perfect mixture of California and Utah. Let's just say, I wouldn't be complaining if we found ourselves owning a home there one day.

 i love my sister for so many reasons, but i really love her cause she is so fancy.

 lighting of the capitol. it was all fun and games until Afton screamed at the lights like a weirdo.

oh, these make my heart hurt- i want to live Thanksgiving all day every day.

December was full of way too many cold days, finding out if our little alien babe was a he or a she, a fun Christmas with Clay's family (with major Blockus butt kicking going on), a beautiful wedding for one of my favorite red heads (make that TWO of my favorite red heads), a ridiculous New Years Eve and a move. 

If I've said it once, I'll say it again...

I hope 2014 doesn't suck, because 2013 was pretty stellar. 

I think my main goal this year is just to push a child out in May. That seems like something I should focus on for awhile. I'll let you know how it goes. In the mean time, life is good. Oh so good.

xoxo.

We got married and a... baby.

Peeing on a stick has never been so much fun. 

You know, because I've done a lot of stick peeing in my life...

We're doing this baby thing. May 2014. Can't wait. Like seriously, I am going to be poking my eyes out for the next 26 weeks dying to meet this little alien babe. 

And then my boss found out and said "that's what happens when you mess around."

Nice.

the mamacita

For her birthday, she flew to Utah to celebrate with ME!
I am the gift here, people. The gift that keeps on giving.
We "worked", shopped, and adventured around this fall ridden state.

I love it and I love her.

I am glad you were borned, Mama. Can't think of this pretty place without you in it.
You're the most kind, thoughtful, best dressed, snuggly, witty, best friendy person I know.
Let's celebrate 50 more birthdays just like this one.

xoxo.

(mostly) Stewart Falls, Sundance, Utah Sept. 14th, 2013

Tony Stark, who?

Last year Clay decided to add "IronMan" to his bucket list. Being the supporter of dreams that I am, I sent him out for training days with promises of sour patch kids, little caesars pizza, and rocky road ice cream upon his return. Was my ulterior motive that I don't need him to be skinnier than me? Maybe. But did it come across that I am an expert in the love language of giving gifts? Absolutely.

So he trained, and I got hooked on Gossip Girl, naturally.

Then we boarded a plane to Kentucky. 

What should you know about Lousiville, you ask? 1. The Ohio River is disgusting. Fact: It used to be so polluted that it actually caught on fire. 2. Churchill Downs will blow your mind. It's charming. 3. The highways are lined with abundant greenery and old, rocky bridges. 4. Target is easily accessible.

The Downs were completely empty and completely unlocked. We wandered aimlessly in and out of buildings, up and down escalators, over and under walkways, around and through betting stations. (I'll stop there because I am running out of prepositions, but you get the idea.) I was bummed there weren't races going on, however, the good news is, there weren't wide brimmed hats to block my views, or horse poop to ruin my shoes.

Lemons to lemonade.

And then all of our hard work and training paid off. To bring things full circle- he swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, and ran 26.2 miles all while I finished off a bag of donettes, avidly shook my cow bell, power walked, ate qudoba AND made friends with the girls that work there, read the news, watched some fire dancers perform, purchased a car phone charger, caught up on running with friends games, napped for 2 hours, tracked Clay via iphone apps, and licked an ice cream cone at the finish line. I'm not trying to say one of us did more than the other, but I think one of us did more than the other. I just wish he wasn't so lazy. 

Okay, but seriously. He is rad. I am so proud of him for finishing something he said he would do. Not only did he finish it, but he finished it STRONG. First Iron Man in UNDER 13 hours? Uh, ya. Killer. I have a feeling that won't be the last IronMan for this guy.

Louisville, Kentucky, August 22nd- 26th, 2013

powellerina

Remember that one time I wrote about Lake Powell, and about how all the cool people go there?

Well. It's official. We made it into the cool club. 

Some of our bestest friends, Carley and Adam invited us, and some other BFFs, to head to Powell for the weekend. Duh. Of course. Yes. Absolutely. 100%. No brainer. They are living on the east coast right now and we are just missing their cute faces, and the fact that they just understand our ridiculous humor. Not only do they understand it, they live it. Dare I say they are as weird as we are... And I mean that in the nicest way. I am proud of them for that accomplishment. 

The days were spent tubing, napping, relaxation station-ing, iron man training, sun burning, reading, zumba on the beach-ing, eating, eating, snacking, and devouring.

The nights were spent lightning storming, fireworking, snuggling, relationship advicing, bug biting, snoring, mafia-ing, and semi afraid of rolling into the water-ing.

there are two amazing things about this picture: Mike's face, and Clay's bod.

i can't decide which is better. no wait, yes i can.

Minimal make up. Minimal clothes. Maximum tubing bruises. Maximum life loving.

We count our blessing every day-- for this beautiful place that was created for us to enjoy, and for incredible friends to enjoy it with. 

Lake Powell, August 16th- 18th, 2013.