doctor doctor

My little monkey has not been sleeping very well the last few days(well worse then the previous 8 weeks) I've been trying a lot of different things that the dr has given me along with things that I have looked at on the internet. Nothing has been working...booooo! All he wants to do is sleep and is so uncomfortable that he can't. We are still sleeping in our upright position and I have one numb tailbone. I just feel horrible for him. Then today he has a stuffy nose... awesome.

Last night I had had it and decided that I needed to call the dr again, something had to be done for my little bug. I left a message on her office phone and was hoping she'd call me in the morning so I could take him in today if I had to. Well 11 rolled around and nothing... so I call. They were busy, well duh right! Then 1:30 rolls around.. I call again! (haha I'm that annoying mother) She was still busy.. then 4 comes.. you guessed it, another phone call!!!! The nurses were about to kill me but honestly I didn't care. I had never seen Decker the way he was today. Just tried to sleep and eat. He wouldn't even play with me after eating. He was seriously exhausted from not sleeping for days/weeks. The dr finally called me around 6. I told her nothing was working and the last thing we tried (zantac) made it ten times worse. She told me that it was time I go see a GI doctor.

I am leaving this coming Sunday to go to Boise for 3 weeks and am way nervous that I won't get an appointment to see this GI dr. I have already left a message on their answering machine in case they have an opening.. I'm just really hoping it all works out. I am a little nervous for Deck man and what might happen. I don't think it's super serious but he is such a happy boy when he is awake and suffers threw the night. He head bangs me all night long and will just burst out in tears at the pain. Needless to say no one in our house is getting ANY sleep. (Plus I had to stop breast feeding due to all this craziness) Life has been a little crazy at our house and am hoping that we figure something out for this little guy so he feels better.
Hopefully more to come later!
XOXO

Decker Bug

Motherhood has been quite the ride so far... He is the SWEETEST little guy! Here is a little update on my 6 week old (yes I know 6 weeks already!)

~he loves to cuddle
~he acts like super man every time he stretches, with one hand in the air and the other by his face(this is my favorite)
~likes to sleep in someone's arms or if placed in a crib, he won't sleep for more then 45 minutes to an hour.
~his reflux has gotten better due to medication from the doc
~likes to act like a pirate with keeping one eye open "peeping at you"
~has gained a full 2+ lbs.... FINALLY!
~is officially in 0-3 month clothing as of today
~LOVES the bottle and HATES the breast, (but we're hanging in there)
~loves to chill in the boppy when wide awake
~is not a fan of the swing for too long
~80% of the time likes to be swaddled
~loves having his diaper changed by dad but not by mom
~has finally started liking bath time
~has dark blue/grayish eyes
~loves to grunt and coo
~eats all day long but goes anywhere from 3-4 hours in the night
~while trying to poop goes red in face, cross eyed and grunts like crazy
~likes to hold on to the shirt collar and scratch you as he pulls it down(he also likes to pull dad's chest hair along with it)hehehe
~loves his binki
~just the cutest little boy EVER and he knows it!!



So lately we've been doing pretty good. On Tuesday I bravely embarked on a journey to the city... ALL BY MYSELF to meet Andrew at his office. They were having a little party at their office to watch the Rockefeller center tree lighting. Decker and I had to leave at a certain time so that the trains wouldn't be crowded. Off we went in the car to head to the train, we made it there and into the bijorn he went. We caught the train and off we went to the city. Everyone was staring at me wondering what was hidden under this little blanket I had hiding him with. We transferred trains and our last stop we met Andrew. It was crazy busy and police were everywhere. Andrew's pass had to be shown at every "checkpoint" to get back into the Rockefeller building. It was pure madness. Decker was such a good boy the whole way there and I felt so accomplished to say the least. It was fun but I couldn't last very long, I was exhausted from our journey there. Dad was so proud to show off his cute boy and everyone ewwd and awwed over him.

I haven't been out much since he's been here but I've had great friends who have helped me get out. I appreciate their efforts even when I say no.(which happens a lot) My mother in law is coming on Saturday and we are in need of some grandma time. I am going a little crazy some days running on little sleep and being alone with my little boy all by myself. It's hard when the hubby works leaves anywhere from 5-7 in the morning and returns anywhere from 7:30-9 at night. It makes for some long days. Pretty boring I know but here are some pictures as of lately
ps I am not sure what's going on with my picture loading but it's being crazy. sorry they are all out of order and not explained.. oh well so goes my life right now!
XOXO

Our little bundle of heaven

October 25, 2010 Decker Blaine Bertasso decide to show his little face. I thought I would just give a quick story on the happenings of that day. It was Sunday night and also my due date. I was frustrated and just wanted him to come already... I am very impatient! Andrew and I went for a walk in the park in hopes that it would start contractions. After a few laps I decided I wanted to go home because I wasn't feeling any different and I was really tired. (just a side note, my parents had come into town that week) When we got home we all watched a show and I decided I needed to go to bed.. it was pretty early but Andrew had to get up in a few hours to go to work so we hit the hay.

Around 3:30 I woke up for my mid morning potty break. As I went into the bathroom I all the sudden felt a minor contraction. I was thinking YES FINALLY! I went back into the bedroom to lie down and maybe get some more rest. This little guy had a mind of his own because 2 minutes later I was having another contraction.. and 2 more minutes after that another one came. I got up and walked around a little bit thinking that they were going to calm down and not be so consistent. Instead of calming down they got stronger and finally an hour later I went to wake up Andrew. Andrew and I thought it would be best if I got something to eat and got somewhat ready. We had been timing them and they were right on track. I told him I was going to shower and as I sat down for another contraction my water broke. They got worse from there, so I woke up my parents and the shower was off. We all got ready and headed to the car. It was a really foggy morning which doesn't happen a lot here and for some reason really stuck in my mind.

We got the hospital around 6 and got all checked in and ready. By 6:30 I was in the bed all hooked up to the monitors and when the nurse came in to check where I was at, I was already dilated to an 8. They asked if I wanted an epidural......NO I shouted! Woohoo go me, I was determined to stick to my plan. (I do have to admit, if I would have only been at a 6 I think I probably would have needed an epidural). As the contractions kept coming I could feel baby descending. I told Andrew around 7 that the baby was coming and I needed Dr. Straker here NOW!! Everyone kept telling me the baby wasn't coming yet and I had time, but I kept telling them no he is coming now I need to push. Dr. Straker showed up around 7:30 and when he checked me I was all the way to a 10. (I knew it!) He told me to go ahead and start pushing whenever I felt like it. I begun to push, it was awful. Oh the back pain how I hated you! No one tells you things like you'll have major back pain or that certain things BURN. Those were the most horrible parts of giving birth. One of the nurses came in and said we were racing the lady in the next room so we had to have our baby before them. I'm not sure why but I decided to take the challenge. 33 minutes later baby boy Bertasso graced us with his presents.

He had the biggest cone head EVER and I loved it. His goo and all. He was the most beautiful little piece of heaven I have ever seen. I know that I didn't talk about Andrew a lot in the above paragraphs but let me just say that he was SOOO AMAZING! He did everything I could have asked for and more. He helped me through everything and even though sometimes I was mean to him he just kept loving me and pushing me thru it all. I just feel so blessed that he helped me do it all. I honestly could not have been that strong without him by my side. He looked out for me every way possible. Thanks love!

Well the hospital stay was fine except for the fact that Decker wouldn't eat since he was so tired... in result of that he got jaundice and the day that we were suppose to be headed home he had to stay in the little light machine. I was all sorts of freaked out to leave him but the nurses were so good to him and to us and told me to call around 4am to get the new count on the jaundice. The nurses said it was lower which is a good thing so I had to wait for the pediatrician to make her rounds and call me to tell me if we could take him home. She called around 10 that morning and so Andrew and I headed off to the hospital.. We got there dressed him and took him to his new house.

Things have been going ok since he's been home. I am of course extremely exhausted. He has a lot of gas pains and reflux so he can only sleep upright. When I say upright I mean in my arms all night in an upright position..lucky me! I do love every minute I get to hold his little sweet self in my arms but I don't get ANYTHING done or ANY sleep. I miss my mom being here to help me I felt so lucky to have her here for the week that she was. I am oh so grateful for everything she did for us and all she has ever done for me. What an awesome mom she is. I have called her everyday since and I am sure she wants to strangle me but she doesn't act annoyed at all. Thanks mom I sure love you!

So if anyone has any ideas about how to get him to sleep on his own sitting up right that would be appreciated. I have tried the swing, I have swaddled him(which he hates!) I have tried to do some other things but nothing has worked.. I just don't know what to do. If I put him down when he is finally fast asleep he wakes up in like 45 minutes. Poor guy I feel so bad for him and I get nervous that he will choke on his reflux. Ok anyways we really are doing ok for the most part. Here are some pictures in very random order...

Can you say cone head???? 6 lbs 4 oz 19 inches
Just thought this was a sweet picture of him

A good day at Rachael Ray!

Yesterday Andrew and I were able to attend the Rachael Ray show. We woke up super early so we could be first in line. We had tickets, but on them it says that you are still not guaranteed you will get in. We went on the train and had to make a few transfers and walk a few blocks... by the time we got there needless to say I was struggling a little. Being almost 39 weeks is draining! Alright so we arrived 2 hours early and stood in line, luckily there were 2 women behind us that we ended up talking to the entire time. They were from California and super nice. We (when I say we, of course I mean Andrew) gave them some good tips for things that they were wondering about, hopefully it helped them out. Around noon it was time to go in, we ended up being like the 10th in line so YAY we got in. We all got our pictures taken and had to fill out consent forms. We were held in a room for about 45 minutes and my poor Andrew was 1 out of 4 men there. What a good guy he is to go with me! Everyone got filtered in, there were maybe about 60 seats there. it was really small, I was quite surprised since it doesn't look that small on TV. There was a stage comedian there who kept us all entertained while they moved all the cameras and set up shots. He was really funny. He would ask random people where they were from and after a while he asked Andrew where he was from. Andrew replied "Jersey." He was like and "where in Jersey do you work?" Andrew said "I work in Mid town", the guy cracked a joke about playing 20 questions and getting them wrong. So he asked "and where in mid town do you work." Andrew said "DirecTV." The guy said "in the audience how many of you have DirecTV?" Only like 3 people raised their hands. The comedian asked "what do you do for DirecTV?" Andrew said "I work in Advertising." The comedian got a kick out of this since only 3 people raised their hands, he said "wow sounds like you're doing an excellent job since only 3 people have it here" It was actually pretty funny. Funnier then I am making it sound. They started taping again and in between breaks the comedian asked some of the other audience members questions and made jokes, later he came back to Andrew. He asked "so is this your lovely wife next to you?" Andrew said "yes." He asked me what I did (as in job wise) I said "umm I'm growing a baby!" He said "Yes I can see that." He was like "is this your first?" I said "yes I am due in a little under 2 weeks." The whole audience was like "oh my gosh what are you doing here so far along." They asked about the name and we told them Decker, we got nods of approval, so good sign there. So like I said it was really funny and everyone was like good luck with the baby. Ok so can I just say Rachael Ray is amazing! She is sooo cute and I'm not going to lie she looks a little older in person then on TV, but she is way nice and was really friendly to the audience. We had a celebrity guest and it happened to be Whoopi Goldberg...not my favorite person, but the lady in front of me freaked out and was jumping up and down like a crazy person. It was classic. I'm thinking the episode is going to air on Nov 1st. So watch for Andrew and I. We did get Toy Story 3 since Whoopi was one of the characters. Finally we got done around 3:30. It was the best day! It was nice to do something with Andrew, just being the 2 of us. He for sure sacrificed his manhood for the day to go with me, so I appreciated it. I think he somewhat enjoyed it, but shhh don't tell him I told you. The good news is, is that I didn't give birth at Rachael Ray, the bad news is.... I didn't give birth at Rachael Ray. Would've been a good story right?! After we ate some lunch/dinner and went home. I was SOO tired and feel asleep for a little nap time. I had a terrific time and it was a good last HOORA! Ok so just thought I'd share my RR story with you and let you be jealous of my fun ;)

Can you find us?? Hint: when looking at pic, we're on the left side.

Well tomorrow it'll be 1o days left til the baby's due date and only 5 more days til my mom gets here and 7 til my dad comes. I can't wait. I have been very homesick these last few days and am really missing family and familiarness in general. I know I will be fine but I have just been tired and sick and yady yady ya. Same old story of people moving 2500 miles away from family, right? I am hoping that the boy comes 10.20.10, that'll give my mom 1 day to be here and then my dad will come the next day. It'd be perfect. Now I am just rambling so I am going to go clean my house. Hopefully my next post will be of our baby!
XOXO

Almost there

The time is finally getting so close and I'm just trying to finish up the last minute odds and ins before baby gets here. This lsat week was extremely stressful and I am so glad it's over! Our branch is very unorganized (as I've stated before) and at the last minute we decided to fund raise for Young Women's camp a the General Relief Society Broadcast. We decided to do FHE in a can so we had to come up with lessons, activity, treat, get the cans from the cannery (which is a 45 minute drive one way) stuff the cans, seal the cans, tie ribbons on the cans, make a poster and the list goes on... we had only 1 week to do it. So on Saturday I finished up and went to pick up the girls. We told the girls they had to be dressed modestly and in church clothes... one showed up in a mini skirt and tank top and the other a really low cut tank top with holy jeans. Oh man we had to find sweaters to cover them and sometimes it's really discouraging. I asked them why they were wearing tank tops because we told them to dress modestly and they said well because it's hot out and I liked this shirt better. BAH it's so annoying! Free agency right?? That's what I have to remind myself of whenever they dress like that. The fundraiser went well and we sold all of our cans so that was a blessing. I was so exhausted by the end of the night and was so ready to go home. I missed the whole broadcast since I took the girls home so that was a bummer. At least it was successful and the girls said they had a lot of fun, so it was worth it! Next week they are coming over for a movie night while the boys are at Priesthood meeting, and then I am out for the count since the baby is so close to coming.

My ankles are still swollen, even with it being more cool. The baby has been causing me to have full on contractions every once in a while. They aren't super severe, but I had no clue you could get contractions weeks before you were due. (and no they are not just Braxton Hicks) I have my next Dr appointment on Wednesday and that'll be the beginning of my weekly appointments. I'm thinking that this little guy might possibly come just a little bit before he is due...I'd be really ok with that. He is already head down because he is always kicking me in the ribs which is most unpleasant! I'm just hoping I'll be dilated at this next visit. We'll see soon enough, here I am at 34 weeks (even though now I am 36 weeks)

The baby's room is pretty much complete, at least all the important stuff. I just need to make curtains that block out the alley way lights. Right now we have "lovely" blankets covering the windows. I've been on a sewing kick lately and so I'm excited to make these curtains as a another project to keep my mind occupied before baby gets here. I am almost all finished up with my baby blanket I have made for little man. I just need to embroider the shirts and bind the top so I'll be done this week. I'll post pictures below. I'm starting to get into the nesting phase, I'm all sorts of worried that the house is needing to be cleaned and I'm worried about not getting everything done that needs to be done before he gets here. I'm kind of freaking out about it all!

This is the last pic I took of the quilt but I now have the backing on.

Lets hope that baby comes out a he instead of a she... and yes Decker is what we are naming him

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church I had this random thought pop in my head that if something happened to me during birth what would Andrew do?? When having a baby I feel like it's important to think of all these questions so you can discuss with your spouse the outcomes of these situations. During Sacrament meeting there was a speaker from the High Counsel, he was speaking about trials in his life and how each trial has good and bad in it and we need to accept each one. All the trials he told us were about newborns dying and that we could either hold on the church as a support and guidance or we could be like this one couple he knows that left the church and as a result 4 generations have not gone to church. I was sitting there thinking oh great am I suppose to be preparing myself for the worst? I just don't know what to think about it all. Andrew and I had a long talk about "what if's" and it was all really disturbing that we even have to talk about such things. I am just hoping that everything is ok with baby and with myself but all the anxiety I had in the beginning is back. Anyways I know Heavenly Father is watching over us no matter what happens. He's taken good care of us so far so I know that whatever happens, happens for a reason.
XOXO

Freezer meals???

I am asking all of you for some freezer meal recipes. I am really wanting to be stocked up and ready for when the monster arrives, and that includes having meals ready to pop in the oven. I've been looking on the internet and can find a few, but I could sure use some of your lovely ideas. Here's my email if you don't want to do it on the blog, or in case it's super long: little2js@gmail.com

Thanks everyone!
XOXO

A much needed visit

It's been a few weeks since my last post so I thought I'd give an update. Things are going well here. We've just been really busy with everything lately. Here's what's been happening.. 2 weeks ago Andrew's brother was kind enough to send his wife out to see us. She came all the way from Tennessee to come play with me! It was such a blessing. My friends here (the 2 that I have) kept asking, "how come she's coming?" I would say, "umm I don't really know, I guess she wanted a little break." Honestly I had no clue why she was coming. When she got here I asked the reason for her visit and she said that Steve thought she needed to come visit. Oh boy he was right on the money. It was so nice to have her here. Just to talk and hang out with someone who just wanted to relax. There are some days when I get really down knowing that I am so far from all our family members and friends and it takes a toll on me. She came at a good time when it lifted me back up until some more family memebers come our way. Andrew and I were so grateful for her visit (even though it was short) we LOVED it. That particular weekend was stressful for Andrew due to his calling at church so we didn't get to do everything we wanted with Rochele, but she said she had a good time so that's all we could ask for. Thanks Steve and Rochele for sacrificing your time and money to come our way! It was much appreciated.

This weekend was nice because Andrew had Monday off. We just played and finished the baby's room. It was nice and relaxing. Andrew has been working really late nights these last few weeks and I'm not going to lie it's been a little rough on me, but I know that he has to and needs to do it and it'll be worth it in the long run. So when we have a long weekend I am just so grateful to be able to do small things that I have missed, such as cooking dinner, actually having a two way conversation (rather then the one I have with my belly, since he never talks back) a person to ride with in the car when I run errands and so on. Hopefully it'll end somewhat soon and we can make dinner again together when he gets home at a decent time. I know he feels awful for being so late but that's what we accepted when we decided to move here and that's just fine. At least I can say I have a hardworking husband instead of a lazy bum of a husband. I really couldn't be more appreciative.

Alright so we are still doing our birthing classes.. only 2 more left THANK GOODNESS!!! I honestly have enjoyed learning some of the things she teaches, but the other "visual" things.. umm not so much. On Saturday we walk into the room and sitting right infront of the tv is a dvd case that says in really big letters ORGASMIC BIRTH. All I can do is start at that case and think... really?!?! I in no way to I picture birth as orgasmic, let alone pleasurable. So class starts and I actually really like the lady that teaches our class, but she is a little eccentric . She knows quite a bit of random facts that are pretty interesting. We went over what we needed to and it was time for the DVD. Here we go... the very first lady on this DVD decides she wants to give birth on her deck.. Yeah like outside! She said I really enjoy nature and couldn't picture a more peaceful beautiful place to have a baby. Then all the sudden there she is outside on all fours butt naked giving birth on her deck. I just hope that the deck happened to be out back and with a fence. I'm sure the neighbors really enjoyed her laboring/orgasmic screams. I just kept thinking, awkward, awkward, awkward, I feel so awkward. After the birth she decided to lay outside naked with her husband and baby. Oh man! Then the next lady was this french lady who wanted to give birth at home in a tub. She had a 22 hour labor and was naked for the whole thing and yet there were people in and out of her house the whole time. That of course is the culture of the French, but really 22 hours naked huh? and then again BAM there it was again.. that "beautiful" thing they call birth, and guess what she claimed it was just as orgasmic as the deck lady. I would say that giving birth is probably a spiritual thing and possibly sensual, but I can't imagine it feels "good." I don't know though I guess there's a 1% chance I could be wrong!! Then oh joy after that movie was over we got to watch another one... the teacher asked, "how are you doing?" I said, "I'm doing awkwardly." That was the only response I could think of. The next one was of like 12 ladies squatting and popping out babies. I was impressed by them but in no way was I not any more grossed out. The teacher said I think you're getting more used to seeing these. I said no there's no way I feel any better watching birth. So life goes.. only 2 more classes and my watching birth is over.

6 more weeks til baby gets here. WOOHOO finally. I just hope it goes by somewhat fast. This week since it's cool I am going to work on my baby blanket. I've been putting it off since I have to use the iron. I am so excited for fall to come. It's going to be gorgeous here. My mom booked her ticket to come for the baby. Oct 19 YAY!!! I seriously can't wait! These last 2 days I feel like the baby has been super low. He is making me extremely uncomfortable. I feel so much pressure and I'm hoping it's a sign he comes sooner then later. Well not too soon, but sooner then the due date. Wow that was confusing. Probably I'll post pictures of the baby's room next time.

Also just a little shout out to my oldest brother Joshy poo. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I love you so much and am excited for this new time in your life that you are discovering. You are so amazing and the best father I know. I hope your day is so wonderful!

Hope all is well with everyone.
XOXO