Welcome Baby Miles!

Well, he is finally here! Miles Enoch Ybarra was born September 22nd 2013 at 6:52pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. He has dark brown hair, dark grey eyes, and olive skin.

I will have to say that of all my labor and deliveries, that was the longest and most difficult of all of them. He definitely made me work for it.

The following is all about the labor and delivery. If you want to skip this part, scroll down to the next picture:

At about 6am that Sunday morning, I woke to one of my infected ovarian cysts bursting, causing some excruciating pain. I laid in bed with a heating pad on my side for about 45 minutes. Just as the pain was starting to become bearable, I got a great big contraction telling me it was time to go! Dave called up my parents to come watch the kids, then proceeded to pack up the hospital bag while I began my Hypnobabies hypnosis disc.

Once at the hospital, I was taken to my room where I changed into one of those sexy little birthing gowns, hooked up to the machines, and checked to see how far along I was. I was still dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced, but I was hopeful that things would progress nicely. 4 hours later I was still 4 centimeters and was 90% effaced. I was shocked! First of all, my labor with Cruise lasted 6 hours and Jett? Well, Jett was 1 hour and 45 minutes. Needless to say, I was not prepared for a long, drawn out labor. My hypnosis was still going great and my contractions were slowly increasing in intensity, but 4 hours without any headway? That's when I made the decision to have my doctor come break my water.

Once my water was broken, things finally got going! Contraction after contraction I was focused and relaxed. However at hour 9, the peaks of my contractions were getting incredibly intense and I was having a hard time breathing through them. I asked for something to help me take the edge off and was told I could have it as long as I wasn't past a 7. Luckily I was at a 7, so that helped me so much.

However, by hour 11 I had hit my breaking point. I was exhausted, hungry, and couldn't focus anymore. The contractions were beyond intense and all I could do was cry at the peaks. Dave during all of this was so helpful and calm. He dabbed me with a cold, wet washcloth, used the relaxation techniques he had learned to help me get deeper into hypnosis, and was continually encouraging. But at that point, I couldn't take anymore; I had no idea how much more I had to endure. So, I asked for the epidural.

In came the anesthesiologist to shoot me up. He had me sit up on the side of the bed and started to prep me. I was having close contractions and was too distracted by the pain to realize I was in transition. At each contraction I would do my hypnosis training, but lost it at each peak where I would lean on Dave and just sob. Finally at one contraction, just as the anesthesiologist was ready to stick that huge needle into my spine, I had to push.

I laid back down and began to push with every contraction, in between every contraction, gripping onto Dave the entire time as I screamed louder than I've ever screamed in my entire life. Within a few minutes, Miles finally made his way into the world! As they cut his umbilical cord and got him cleaned up, I continued to hold Dave close as I said, "We are never doing that again."

Unfortunately, the doctor didn't make it in time for the birth, but a whole group of amazing nurses made sure everything went well, and one nurse in particular headed up the delivery and made sure that Miles' umbilical cord didn't strangle him as I pushed him out.

After getting stitched up and being able to nurse Miles, I was able to take a shower while the nurses performed all the post birth tests and procedures. I'm always amazed at how good I feel so soon after going through so much, but I am so grateful it all went well and that Miles and I came out of it without any complications.

That night, Dave stayed with Miles and I while my Dad stayed with Cruise & Jett at home. That morning, Dave left early to go home and help my Dad out and get them ready to visit their new baby brother. After some breakfast they walked in and were able to meet Miles for the first time. Cruise was so excited and thought Miles was so tiny and cute. Jett admired from afar but was a little hesitant to hold this new little person. But we got both of them to hold him for a couple minutes. Jett was not too thrilled to hold Miles and quickly requested, "Ok, just take him away, please." The rest of the day we had visitors come and go and it was so much fun to have my Dad and my sister Ruth in town to meet Miles before they had to leave for California.

Mama's Boys

Miles and Papa Greer

Miles and Grandma Ybarra

Miles and Grandpa Ybarra

With Uncle Fernando

With Aunt Ruth

With Uncle Dan

With Aunt Sofia

That evening after Miles passed all his tests, we were able to go home and sleep in our own bed. Dave's parents were able to give my Dad a break and take over the evening shift with the boys. The next morning Cruise & Jett were excited to see Miles home. In fact, when Cruise got home from school that afternoon, he walked right past me and into my room to see Miles. He then ran back downstairs, grabbed his Doctor's bag, and went back up to give Miles his first check up. It was adorable. Even Jett has warmed up to his little brother. He will sometimes walk past him and pet his head ever so softly or volunteer to hold his bottle. The boys were arguing the other day about who would get to feed Miles first. I am so glad they aren't plotting his disappearance.

Ready to go home!

Cruise's turn to feed Miles!

Jett's turn!

Miles was able to go to the doctor the Thursday after his birth just to get checked out. He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. which means he hasn't lost a lot of weight, and grew about 1/2 an inch. I credit that to his big appetite. His doctor said he looks perfect other than just being a little yellow, but we went in for another billirubin test and it came back in the normal range.

Miles is a pretty laid back baby so far. He only cries when we take too long to get his bottle to his mouth. He eats like a monster and poops like one too. He is the only kid we've had who will take a binky. He loves baths and when his eyes are open, takes everything in. He likes to listen to Cruise talk to him and has already learned to sleep through the boys' yelling and craziness. We sure do love this new addition to our family; Miles is such a sweet and wonderful baby! And despite the long pregnancy and labor, it was all worth it for this beautiful little boy.

First bath at home!

Jett's 1st Day of Preschool!

Honestly, I don't think the first year of Preschool is absolutely necessary, but I mostly did it because 1) Jett really wanted to go to school, 2) Jett is so stinkin' social, and 3) I am totally cool with having 4 hours a week of just me and baby time.

I signed Jett up for Little Learners Preschool, which is done by the awesome Stephanie Jensen, our Bishop's wife. She is super organized and has such a cute little space for Preschool all set up. It's located in our housing area, so once the baby comes, I'll be able to walk him to and from school. It's actually a whole new experience for me this time since I've only known Special Ed preschool, but it does take me back to when I was little and going to Preschool at the neighbor's house. And from the looks of it, Jett is going to love it just as much as I did.

Jett loves being able to wear his backpack and new shoes, having his friend Camry in his class, and is even excited about homework because "only big boys have homework". He already loves Preschool so much and is always so excited to tell me what he learned and the fun things they did.

First Week of First Grade!

How on earth do I have a first grader?!

The day before school started, Cruise's school held a back-to-school night. We quickly dropped in to meet his new teacher, aides, and the speech therapist. Cruise marched right into the classroom, came up to his teacher and said, "Hey! What's your name?" "I'm Mr. Harris. What's yours?" "I'm Snake Cruise." Mr. Harris looked up at me puzzled. I told him that Cruise likes to call himself 'Snake Cruise'. 

Mr. Harris: Oh, so you are Cruise. Is that C-R-U-I-S-E?

Cruise: No. It's S-N-A-K-E-C-R-U-I-S-E!

Mr. Harris (looking impressed): We've got a speller!

Cruise immediately connected with Mr. Harris and had a fun time talking with at him.

I'm pretty sure Cruise was just as excited for school to start as I was. Here he is on his very first day of 1st grade:

So far, Cruise LOVES his new school, his new teacher, and his new class. The first day of school he came home talking all about his day and all the fun things they did. He had the biggest smile on his face and was beaming with excitement. Every day after that when I ask him how his day was, he always responds: "FUN!" I am so glad he is loving school. He has adjusted to the new routine and schedule quite seamlessly and is ready to go when we wake him up at 6:30 in the morning. I, however, am still adjusting.  

His teacher is absolutely incredible and although he's a seasoned teacher, he is definitely up-to-date on all the awesome programs and therapies for autism and education in general. He involves parents heavily in their children's education, which I think is awesome. He takes a lot of pictures and shares them via e-mail with the parents and updates us on how the kids are doing. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher for Cruise. 

Every year Cruise has an amazing teacher. And every year when he has to move, I get so nervous because I think we've just been getting lucky and one of these years our luck is bound to run out. But I feel so blessed that Cruise has been placed with such incredible teachers who absolutely love him and love what they do. It is such a relief to know that he is spending his days with such competent and caring individuals.

Here are a few pictures his teacher sent me this week:

Cruise told me about this game where they throw rolled up socks at each other. He liked the fact that he could throw them at his teachers. Lol!

Here is to another awesome year! I can't wait to see the progress and growth! 

Cruise's Wreck-It-Ralph Party

Cruise's birthday started at about 7:30 in the morning. I was so excited for Cruise to open his presents from Dave & I and my parents. After convincing him that it was okay to open some presents, I led him into our room where he discovered a brand new work desk and chair from Grandma & Papa Greer. He also got an obnoxious singing hamburger card to go with it. He has loved having the desk and is working much better with his ABA tutors since he has a desk that fits him so well. Thanks so much guys!

He then opened our presents which were the movie Hotel Transylvania (one of his favorites) and a Fix-It-Felix watch. He had decided he'd like a watch rather than a brand new bike. Yeah, I know. But of course, it had to be Fix-It-Felix, so thanks to Amazon.com, I was able to find one.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

This year, Cruise wanted a Wreck-It-Ralph party. I quickly found out that Wreck-It-Ralph products are hard to come by. But luckily I was able to find a few things to tie the theme in. And thanks to Etsy, I was able to get some super cute invitations.

Because I am hugely pregnant, I didn't have it in me to to the whole giant backyard birthday this year. So we decided it would be an appropriate activity (considering the theme) that we have the party at Chuck-E-Cheese. All that was left to prepare was the cake, gift bags and balloons. 

The cake Cruise chose was the Fix-It-Felix building from the movie. I bought some amazing square pans with 90 degree angle corners so I wouldn't have to sculpt out a bunch of cake. For the cake, I decided to just do the box stuff rather than from scratch since I had so many other things I had to make from scratch. I did chocolate and vanilla cakes alternating, and put a rice crispy treat base at the bottom to hold the weight. So there were a total of 5 layers. I made a chocolate buttercream icing for between the layers and all around the cake to hold the fondant on. I made marshmallow fondant in brown, white and blue a day ahead so it could settle in the fridge overnight. Everything else, I relied on colored piping frosting. The cake toppers were just toys I was able to purchase on Amazon.com (luckily) but don't ask me how much I paid for them. 

The total time it took to make and decorate the cake was about eight hours. It wasn't my best work, but I did the best I could considering I had two unattended monkeys running around the kitchen poking the cake and stealing all my tools (not to mention they ran off with the cake toppers and lost them outside at one point). 

For the party favor bags I had to get a  little more creative. I ordered some inflatable hammers from Oriental Trading Co. and then picked up some candy and bouncy balls at the nearest party supply store. But really, the hammers were the big hit. Also in the bags were a thank you card that were also done by the same person who did the invitations.

Chuck-E-Cheese turned out great. All but one of his friends were able to attend and he was just so excited to have them all show up. They all played games until their tokens ran out, and then we had pizza and soda for lunch. Of course they had to do the "show" where Chuck-E comes out and frightens all autistic children everywhere, but Cruise held it together really well. I was quite surprised, but then again, he'd been talking about this party for months. I don't think he was going to let it get to him. After the show, we cut up the cake and served it. Most of the kids didn't touch theirs since they were too busy redeeming their tickets and running around the building. We were finally able to wrangle them up for gifts. Cruise received so many wonderful gifts, all of which he plays with every day now (he likes to hide them in his desk). I am confident he got everything he wanted for his birthday and then some.

I love Cruise's face here. He is trying so hard to not freak out.

Later that afternoon, Grandma & Grandpa Ybarra came over to give Cruise his present. Since they too found out that you can't find anything Wreck-It-Ralph, they were genius and made shirts! One had Wreck-It-Ralph, another had Fix-It-Felix, and lastly, one had a picture of himself, Jett & Dave from a fishing trip. They also gave him some money for school clothes/shoes, so that will be so nice! Thank you guys! 

And as always, Cruise said it was "the best birthday EVER!" I love that kid.

Today You Are Six...

Dear Cruise,

I am amazed at how quickly this past year has gone. In fact, I'm amazed at how quickly the past six years have flown! One minute you're a tiny little baby who can't stop wiggling and the next, you're a great big first grader who still can't stop wiggling! But either way, I love you more and more each and every day.

Cruise, you have grown to be such a sweet and happy boy. I admire how much you love life and how you spread your enthusiasm to all those around you. I love that you truly live each day to its fullest without skipping a beat. I have loved spending more time with you this summer and learning more about your likes and dislikes, your passions, your talents and interests, and have truly enjoyed your sense of humor. You make me laugh and smile every single day, and I will never grow tired of it.

This past year you learned so much! You started learning how to sight read and do some math. You have become quite the artist and love to practice drawing and writing words. You made some good friends and have been blessed with teachers who see you the way I do. Probably one of the coolest things you learned this year was how to fish! I am always amazed at how good of a fisherman you are and how patient you are when you're out on the water, waiting for a bite. It makes me so happy to see you doing something you love!

This next year you'll be in a new school again and making new friends. But I am confident you will be able to adjust pretty well since you are so good at being a friend to others. I am so excited for you to learn and experience new things this year! You might have some not-so-fun experiences that I wish with all my heart I could prevent, but unfortunately there are somethings I can't control. However, I will always have your back and will do everything I can to help you learn, grow and feel loved.

I know sometimes other kids can be mean and not treat you the way you should be treated. I know there will be kids who will say and do mean things that will make you sad, but please don't let them break your beautiful spirit. Always remember that there are nice kids too and that you are such a wonderful boy! Never lose your love for others and for life.

You are such a wonderful brother and I am so excited for you to have a new one to play with soon! I love watching you play with Jett because you two are the best of friends and are so kind to each other. Thank you for being such a good brother and friend. Jett loves you so much!

Cruise, thank you for being my son. Daddy and I are so blessed to have you as our oldest boy. You teach us so much and are such a great example to us every day. I am so sorry we aren't perfect, but thank you for being so patient with us! My life would be so boring without you; you truly bring so much color and excitement to our home and I love that you are in our family.

Don't ever change, Cruise, because you are beautiful inside and out.

Happy Birthday Kiddo! I love you!

Love,
Mommy