A whole year later...

I stink at blogging. Is anyone surprised? In my last post, a year ago, I was very clear to say that I was not pregnant. Now, I very clearly am:

We're over the moon to be having a little girl in September (or any day now if she knows what's good for her :P)

I hate being pregnant, but I feel very blessed to have the opportunity. I was super sick the first few months and lost a LOT of weight, but my doctor says I'm doing much better and I look forward to meeting the little girl.

In other news, Garrett is now a 3rd year Medical Student, which means he's started his rotations. He's loving being in the clinic and not studying all the time. He took his boards in June and did great, so we're really proud of him and all his hard work. Medical School is not for the faint of heart, but he is doing great.

Life is pretty much the same for me, barring the parasite (the baby). I'm a nursery leader in my church congregation which is pretty much insane. We have eleven three-and-unders some days and I have officially decided that I will not have eleven kids at once.

Eli is growing so fast! He's still our little guy who happens to be the same size as a lot of kids a year younger than him, but he is OBSESSED with baseball. He hits pitched balls all day, rarely goes anywhere without his mitt and hat and can identify Miller Park (the Brewers' Stadium) by just the top of the rafters. Garrett is quite proud of our little lefty.

Well, hopefully I'll be getting on here soon with an update about little miss. In the mean time... here's to waiting!

iPhone Family Photo — and an update

Last Sunday we all happened to match. Now, if you know me, you know this is rare. I hate matching. However, it turned into something good this time — an iPhone family picture :D

Things are going really well around the McCoy house.

Garrett is studying hard and realizing how awesome it is to have Kendell, Phil, Justin and Jordan go through medical school before him. Their advice has been so helpful and has really spurred us into action. Garrett is already preparing for boards, studying for his 2nd year classes, continuing his research, serving in the Elders Quorum and being an amazing father and husband. I don't know how he does it all — but he does fall asleep on the couch a lot ;)

I'm doing really well. The past few weeks I've actually felt normal. I don't get stuck in bed anymore, I can leave the house and, best of all, I'm actually doing chores around the house. This in no way means my house is immaculate, but I've cooked dinner every day this week and Garrett has yet to run out of underwear. That's pretty good in my book.

And little Eli. I love that kid so much (another thing that's really made me feel normal). He has started to color and doesn't actually eat that many crayons, which is nice. He also says Mom, Dad and Jesus and has specific noises for Yes, Hello and Car (Vroooooooom). He's so mellow and happy — and crazy! He never stops moving unless he's asleep. I've even taken to letting him have a toy car at dinner so he doesn't throw his food. Oh, the things I swore I'd never do... :D

That's really all I can think of from the McCoy family. Life is normal, crazy and wonderful. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

The Boy is on Fire... Sauce?

Guys.

Eli will eat anything we put fire sauce on. Seriously. He also chows down sour patch kids.

Does he even have taste buds?

"When E.T. Came to Earth" A Story

So, Shutterfly was giving free 8x8 photo books away, and I totally jumped on the idea. (Full disclosure: not free, $8.44, but beggars can't be choosers)

They also have this cool thing where you can share it on your blog, so here it is :D

It's the story about how "E.T." (Eli) came to Earth (you know, because he's our little alien) and joined our family. I had fun writing it.

Also, if you see a mistake, I don't want to know. It's coming with the mistakes in it whether I know about them or not. :D

Presenting: "When E.T. Came to Earth"

Click here to view this photo book larger

I'm starting to like this spring break thing...

So, MCW actually has a spring break. I'm loving it. Garrett still studies a bit each day, but it's so nice to have him home with Eli and me.

Garrett finished up his second set of tests for this semester and has two more to go. I know he's looking forward to being done, but he is doing such a good job. During his finals week he would leave around 9:00 a.m. and not come back until 3:30... a.m. Yeah, not until the next morning. I don't know how he kept it up, but he is sure enjoying sleeping ALL THE TIME now. :P

This is what happens when Dad watches baby.

Dad's little sports fanatic.

I've been keeping busy. I'm not going to go into details, but I was recently checked in to the hospital because my depression got out of hand. After getting out, I had to attend an Intensive Outpatient Program, which meant I had to go to the hospital three times per week for three hours for group therapy sessions. I am so grateful for the amazing ward we have. I had no shortage of visitors when I was at the hospital, people sent meals for me to put in the freezer the next time I felt overwhelmed and everyone volunteered to watch Eli for me when I had to go, or even just offered me a place to hang out when I needed to. I am so blessed to be here in Wisconsin at this time.

I've also been working on being crafty. I've been making dolls for a while now, but I experimented with a monster for my friend who is having a little boy. It is definitely not perfect, but I think it is adorable.

As for Eli, he's keeping us on our toes. He's a crawling machine and can walk around anywhere as long as he has a hand on something. He has even started to stand — but only if he doesn't realize he isn't leaning against something. I've tricked him into standing for a good 10 seconds, and he only fell because he realized I was no longer behind him :)

Eli has been making lots of friends. He still needs to work
on charming the girls, though —not hitting them.

Eli and his "Big Sister" Abigail.

He has also been very busy saving the world.

He's watching out for crime.
(You know, because he's Batman)

And, finally, our favorite third wheel.

I'm still here

I'm a terrible blogger, I know. I won't even try to catch you guys up on everything that has gone on. Eli is bigger (Like two teeth, crawling and pulling himself up on furniture bigger) and Garrett is officially done with his first semester of medical school... and we have the loans to prove it!

We spent Christmas this year in Spokane, Washington, with Garrett's entire family. It was truly chaos, but it was the absolute best kind of chaos. We had Garrett's oldest brother and his wife and four kids, and his other brother, wife and two kids. Since Eli learned to crawl while we were there that meant six mobile children.

Here's a picture of the boy cousins:

Aren't they cute? From the left we have Blake, Eli, Spencer and baby Benson. Okay, Benson is so sweet he made me realize that we miiiight want to have another child. Maybe.

I jest. I think.

Anyway, upon coming home to Wisconsin we were welcomed by -15 degree weather. Yes, I meant to put the negative sign in front of that number. No, that wasn't the wind chill.

What was the wind chill you ask?

-55.

Seriously.

Even though the air is frigid, I still love Wisconsin. It definitely feels like home and I'm looking forward to the years we have here.

Anyway, here's a picture of the cutest baby in the whole wide world (I'm biased).

Merry Christmas

Utah Adventures

Eli and I left Garrett in the cold and blustery land of Wisconsin to visit my family in the equally cold and blustery land of Utah for a week. It was a fun visit and a great chance to see my family, but I missed Garrett a lot, and he missed us. I guess that's why we're an eternal family — because we can't stand to be away from each other.

While gone we survived Eli's first cold:

While also surviving the cold:

 

We played with Brooke's kitty:

and gave Grandma and Poppa our love:

But most of all, Eli was just super cute:

And Garrett missed me so much he let me take a couple selfie! I love that man:

We're officially cheese heads

Wow. The last time I blogged our little alien was a marshmallow. I really need to get better about this whole thing. Oh well.

Well, we've officially moved to Wisconsin. I LOVE it here. Seriously. I kind of want to live here the rest of my life. (Don't worry Mom and Dad, Winter hasn't happened yet. I'll probably be singing a different tune in a month.)

I could try and catch you up on everything that has happened, but I won't because then this blog post will never be finished. So, Cliff Notes version: Garrett's parents took us to Nauvoo and Chicago when we moved out here. It was a blast and super cool to see. Here's some pictures.

We've made some awesome friends and done some amazing things while we've been here.

My mom came out to visit.

 Garrett received his White Coat and started medical school.

And our little alien just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

                      

Marsh-Eli

Eli had his first boat ride on Memorial Day.

I dare you to try not to laugh.

The Birth Story: Meeting Eli

This is the third, and final, part of the birth story. If you want the first two go here and here.

So, we left off at the part where I'd made it to a 10 at around 11:00 a.m., remember? Now it was time for pushing.

Six pounds even.

My nurse taught me how to push while we waited for the doctor. Can I just say that pushing with an epidural is the weirdest experience. It's not like you're contracting your muscles — you're sitting there going, "Brain, I want you to push the baby out. Hope you know what you're doing."

Somehow, the brain does know what to do.

The doctor arrived at about 11:15 a.m. and things really got down to business. As we started to watch the monitors, we noticed Eli's heart rate dropping rapidly each time I pushed.

"Don't worry," the doctor said. "The cord is probably just wrapped around his neck. It'll be okay."

I'm actually quite proud of myself with how I reacted. You see, there were two options with how drugged I was. One, I could panic and think my child was going to die. Two, I could remember that this actually happens quite a bit and my child would be fine.

Surprisingly, I chose the latter.

Anyway, by about 11:30 there was some crowning going on. I was able to catch a glimpse and both Garrett and I are in agreement: the top of a babies head looks like a brain. The skin is so squished and purple that you really have no idea it's a head.

E.T.'s antenna. We told you he was an alien :D

With crowning happening at 11:30, you can probably guess what happened next. At 11:52 a.m. little Eli Thomas was born. The doctor unwrapped the cord and this little, purple, alien-like creature captured my heart.

(Also, for all those that did the math, I only pushed for 35 minutes. Don't hate me. I have so much respect for those that have to push longer. I was exhausted!)

The rest of the hospital stay was kind of a blur. I had a fever after they broke my water, so both Eli and I were put on a series of antibiotics. Because of this, I didn't see Eli for hours and hours after we moved to the Mother and Baby Ward. Luckily, he had his awesome dad to keep him company while they poked him 6 times in an attempt to put in his IV — finally ending up with an IV in his head. We affectionately referred to it as his antenna.

We couldn't be happier to have such an amazing little boy in our lives. He's already taught us a lot and we can't wait to watch him grow and mature. We are so blessed to be parents.

The Birth Story: At the Hospital

I'm doing this whole story in parts, so if you want to read about how I got to the hospital, go here.

Getting back to the hospital was pretty uneventful. I was pretty apprehensive — I must admit. You see, it's not like the movies at all. Garrett wasn't speeding dangerously while I yelled out angry and threatening words in the back seat. We didn't get rushed into Labor and Delivery with me getting pushed in a wheelchair. I wasn't sweating profusely and screaming obscenities.

This hat was so small. We had to take a pic.

In fact, I felt pretty good. And that made me pretty nervous. I did not want to get sent home.

Just as we were about to close the elevator doors to head up to L&D another couple came waddling in. Garrett held the elevator for probably forever so that they could make the trip with us. We subsequently let them go ahead of us to check in.

This probably added another 5 minutes to our trek. (As I said before, remember these things.)

I was certain at this point that no one would believe I was actually in labor. Let's be honest, I looked like I'd come to the hospital for one of their Oreo and blackberry shakes, not to have a baby. Even worse, I was pretty sure I hadn't felt a contraction since we left home

To make matters worse again, when they checked me I was only one centimeter dilated. I'd been one centimeter for the past three weeks. This was not going over well.

Our check began at 11:30 p.m. In other words, I had until 12:30 a.m. to progress or else I had to go home. Let me tell you — this was not a fun hour. My contractions hurt quite a bit. I guess I'm kind of a pansy.

About 40 minutes into this whole ordeal I was certain my water had broken. We called the nurse and had her check. It hadn't.

After this I took a moment to go to the bathroom. Without my knowledge, Garrett asked the nurse if I had progressed at all.

"Well, I didn't really check, but no," she said bluntly.

Even though I didn't know this little fact, I spent the next five minutes in tears because I was sure they were going to send us home and I was in enough pain that I didn't know what I was going to do.

Remember all those extra minutes we added to our trip that I told you to remember? We're officially on borrowed time right now.

15 minutes later the nurse came in to see if I had progressed at all.

Success! I was a two.

Now, let's do that math. Priesthood blessing + letting other couple go ahead of us = 15 minutes.

Without those precious 15 minutes, I would have been sent home.

This is when it gets exciting. Okay, not really. It actually gets gloriously boring. You see, they gave me an epidural. With all due respect to those who choose to go without meds, I'd like to tell you that epidurals are the best invention ever. I felt nothing. Nothing. Garrett and I would watch the contractions on the monitor and be like, "Woah, that's the biggest one you've had yet!" and I would be blissfully happy.

With that in mind, I slept as I progressed from a 1 to a 7. How awesome is that?

I had been progressing about one centimeter an hour since 12:30 that morning, but when I hit 7 at around 10:00 on the morning of the 25th it's like something connected. In another hour I'd made it to a 10.

... to be continued...

The Birth Story: Getting to the hospital

This is kind of a long story, so I'm going to break it up into pieces. Here we are with part one: Getting to the hospital. Just an FYI, at this point, Wednesday, I was 38 weeks, 5 days.

The last picture we have of me preggo.
I'm 37 weeks, 3 days.

We'd already had two false alarms where the contractions stopped right before we were heading to the hospital. Because of this, I knew the contractions I was feeling at Grandma and Grandpa McCoy's on Wednesday night weren't anything to be excited about.

I also knew they hurt. A lot.

It was about 10:00 p.m. when Garrett noticed I was probably in more pain than I was letting on. However, he also knew it was nothing to get excited about. They would stop.

On the way home from Springville, with just Garrett and I in the car I was finally able to let my pain show. It was at that point that I made a decision I thought I was saving for the hospital.

"If this isn't labor I'm definitely getting an epidural. There is no way it can be worse than this."

I continued to have hard contractions that wrapped deep into my back and around my front all the way home. They weren't very regular though, so I thought I was just in for a long night.

By the time we made it home I was convinced we needed to go to the hospital.

"45 more minutes of this and we'll go in," I told Garrett. We may have started to get a little excited and I started to become a bit bi-polar.

During contractions I was convinced we needed to go to the hospital immediately. I was sure the baby was going to pop out any second. However, in between contractions I'd decide it wasn't really that bad — I was just being a hypochondriac and needed to toughen up.

Well, we finally decided to head to the hospital at around 11:00 p.m. I felt a little bit ridiculous, because I was sure they were just going to send us home after charging us an arm and a leg for the visit, but away we went.

We live maybe two minutes from Utah Valley Regional Medical Center if we hit all the lights wrong. About a minute and a half into our drive (yes, we could see the hospital) Garrett remembered a request I had made earlier for a Priesthood blessing before going to the hospital. Because I have an awesome husband, we turned around to go back home and have Garrett and his cousin's husband give me a blessing.

This added about 10 minutes to our trek. (This is an important point. Remember it.)

... to be continued...

E.T.: Phone Home

Today we welcomed our little alien into the world. The story is soon to come.

Eli Thomas McCoy

Eli Thomas McCoy came into this world on April 25, 2013 at 11:52 a.m. He weighed 6 pounds 0 ounces and was 18 inches long. He's already stolen our hearts.