Lily's Birth Story

I have been putting Lily's birth story off because it has been 4+ years I am having to dig back to. It was however, in my top 3 greatest days of my life, so it shouldn't be too hard to remember...

Paul and I found out that we were having a girl the moment we could, it was around 16 weeks. I was a little shocked at first (which is weird because it is a 50/50 chance), because I always imagined myself having a boy first and I thought everyone needed an older brother. Probably because I am lucky enough to have 3 amazing older brothers. But I quickly got over that feeling and was so ecstatic to finally meet and dress up my sweet little baby girl. She was due February 17, 2009. I stressed more than I think is normal about what we were going to call her when I was pregnant. I had sheets and piles of papers that I had "doodled" all sorts of names. Trying to find that perfect one. But none of them seemed good enough. It was such a big deal to me because this would be my baby's name - forever! It had to be perfect. I really wanted a classic, older name and not one that was just in with a trend. I distinctly remember one day sitting on the barstool in my parents' kitchen discussing names with my mom. She said, "How about Lily?!" And I remember just rolling my eyes at her and saying, "Nah".  Then I remember other people telling me not to stress about it because when I met her, I would know what to name her.

So I was getting bigger, and so was she. The weeks leading up to my due date were difficult. I was so ready to have her and I just wanted to take care of my baby and be her momma. At my 39 week doctors appointment I asked him how he felt about inducing. And to my happy surprise, he said that would be fine and when do I want to schedule it. I didn't even know what to say, I was so happy that I could pick a day and know what she would come then. So I told him that mentally, I could not go a day past my due date. So he scheduled me to come to the hospital at 7:00 a.m. on February 17th! I was so excited that this guessing game of when she would be coming was over. I had a day that I knew she would come, and I think that really helped me get through that last week.

The big day finally came, Paul and I drove up to the hospital and arrived right on time. I was ready to get this started! A hospital admin showed me to my room and had me get changed into the lovely, infamous hospital gown. We sat in the room for a bit before Dr. Spencer came in, obviously in a rush to get things started. I was really surprised as he started rummaging through drawers and cupboards trying to find needles and whatever it was that the nurses would have prepped me with before the doctor would have shown up. Almost as antsy as I was, Dr. Spencer started hooking me up to monitors, giving me an I.V. and then pulled out this LONG, metal hook. Then (sparing too many details) he proceeded to break my water. This was not at all what I expected. It was incredibly painful, and I was shocked that within 10 minutes of arriving at the hospital, my water was breaking. It was clear to me then, that I probably wouldn't be sitting around, laboring for too long. Both the doctor and I wanted to get this "show on the road." I started contracting and laboring progressively the next couple hours. As it got worse, I asked the nurse for the epidural. I remember fearing this part the most. Through my pregnancy, as I talked with other young moms, I was warned about the epidural and that in some cases, it was the worst part of the entire labor and delivery. It felt totally unnatural to be hunched over as a very long needle was being inserting into my back. But I just focused on the bigger picture and how it would relieve the pain I was starting to feel more intensely everywhere else. And I had my sweet husband to grab a hold of with both hands and squeeze his to transfer just a smidgen of the pain I was experiencing that day!

My parents arrived as we were waiting, luckily painlessly, for me to get further along in my laboring. I distinctly remember feeling my face swell, like, an insane amount and almost instantly. It was very bizarre because it came on so suddenly and I could feel the skin on my cheeks, neck, and chin growing tight as they expanded. And I knew it was bad when I mentioned to Paul and my dad that I was swelling. Their faces said it all. The nurse put an oxygen mask on me then, not sure if it is just a standard procedure, but it didn't worry me either way. Then as she was checking the computer monitors, she got a little concerned and informed me that the baby's heart rate was dropping every time I would contract. She took me off of the pitocin meds they were giving me through the I.V. that helped speed up the labor. But after a little time of waiting to see if that helped the babe, which it did, but turned out that I completely stopped contracting, and was at a stand-still. The doctor then came in to help me understand what my options were. He explained that they were unsure why the baby was having a difficult time through the contractions. So, they could put me back on the pitocin, and just monitor the baby carefully, or I could go in for a c-section and get the baby out immediately. It was a very easy decision for me, I said I wanted to have them get her out now. He agreed that if it were his baby, he would do the same. It was comforting knowing that I felt good about my decision and that the doctor thought it was also the better option.

So almost immediately, they started wheeling my bed down the hallway and into the operating room. Paul got to stay by my side, but I was disappointed that my parents wouldn't be able to be in the room when I delivered. I had wanted them there, but only the spouse is allowed into the operating room, so they would have to wait a little longer to meet her. The anesthesiologist became my new best friend. Along with Paul, we was up by my head the entire time. He began to give me more medicine through my epidural line that made me numb from my throat down. I remember at one point telling him it was difficult to breath. He said to just relax and breath normally, that it felt like my throat was closing, but that it was just the medicine making it numb. There was an entire little team of nurses getting everything prepared. They put a sheet up vertically by my chest, so that I wasn't able to see anything going on. I told Paul that I wanted him to watch the whole thing, and tell me EXACTLY what was going on behind that sheet after. I wanted all the crazy details. He stood up to watch, they began cutting through my skin and Paul quickly sat back down. He couldn't do it. This part is difficult to describe. I felt a lot of pulling and pressure, and it was just unreal to think about what they were doing. They were getting my little baby out. At 3:15 p.m. she was delivered, I remember having this huge relief when I heard her sweet little cry. I couldn't see her, but I knew that she was perfect from that strong set of lungs I could hear. I was lying there, looking straight up at the ceiling feeling so blessed to have her here when directly above me she came into view floating above the sheet. It was only about a 3 second glimpse of her before they took her back. She was so red and squished. Then the doctor wiped her up and for another 10 seconds, they held her to the side of me so that I could see my precious little baby girl.

Paul went with the baby and nurses into the nursery to get her checked and cleaned up. I laid on the table as they puzzled me back together again. And I really think that is exactly what they did. It felt as though my organs were sitting on top of my belly and one by one the doctor was putting things back where they belonged. It was crazy, wish I could have seen it! He stitched me up and about 30 minutes later I was being wheeled back to my room where my parents and now Paul's parents were waiting. I told them as much as I knew, which wasn't much at that point. Paul came back to the room and said, "She has red hair!" I didn't know if he was serious or not. During the pregnancy we had always joked about it and knew there was a slim chance of it, but to have it actually happen, I was so surprised. Then finally, about 45 minutes after I heard those first cries, the nurse was carrying my little baby girl into the room. Paul handed her to me and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. To finally be holding this precious, heaven-sent, baby that would be mine forever, was amazing. She was perfect, with beautiful, luciously long, auburn hair. It was such a special time being with our parents and holding her. Everything was perfect in that moment.

I remember soon after getting her into my arms, having a little panic thinking, "I have no idea what she looks like, I didn't know what her name would be!" Paul and I had come to the hospital with two names, I favored Lucy, and he wanted Lily. But we liked them both. The day after she was born, Paul very seriously came to me and said, "I think that her name should be Lily." I didn't know what to say, he seemed so inspired my the way he spoke, that how was I suppose to argue with that. Reluctantly, I agreed but I was actually freaking out inside, hoping that was the right decision. And of course, it was. She is our sweet little Lily Ann Heslop.

Hogle Zoo

Spring is finally here!! We are so excited and trying to soak up every ounce of sun we can get. So we were super excited when our friend Shay and her two cute little twins, Korver & Olivia, invited us to Hogle Zoo. It was a perfect day, we packed a lunch and headed off to see some animals.

Stewart has had some really rough days lately. He was so miserably sick last week and has been fighting to get better. But today he was giggling and smiling and loving life! It made my day to see him happy again. He was so excited to see each new animal. I think the monkeys were his favorite, he was jumping up and down, squawking like a little monkey himself, and he turned and gave me a giant huge when he saw them. It melted my heart!

 All Lily could talk about the whole time..was how much she wanted to go see the giraffes. She was mesmerized when we finally made it there!

But as amazing and intriguing as all of the animals were, it is safe to say the Merry-Go-Round was the high-light of the day. They love that ride. It made me think of last year at Lagoon when we went on the Carousel and Stew made a ginormous scene when we had to get off. I practically pried his little fingers from the pole. Luckily, this time he let up easily, but I know he was wanting more. It was probably the best day so far this year! And we are so excited to have many more days like this this Spring...

Stewart's Birth Story

For some time I have been wanting to write about Stewart and Lily's birth stories. It is something that I wish I would have done right after they were born so that I could remember every single feeling and detail. But, better late than never...

My original due date for my little guy was June 4, 2011. For one reason or another - most likely my antsiness towards the end of my pregnancies - I was scheduled to go to the hospital at 3:00 p.m. on May 27th to be induced. I would have preferred an earlier time, but my doctor had two other deliveries that day and wouldn't be available until then. I knew that the time from when I woke up that morning until it was finally time to make the drive to the hospital would last a life-time. I am aware of my low-level patience. So I wanted to make sure that I kept busy to fill up the time. I planned on packing my hospital bag that morning and wanted to make one last run to Target with only one child in my arms. This was my plan!

7:00 a.m. on May 27th, I woke up with low abdominal pains. I didn't think too much about it and started my day. Showering, feeding and dressing Lily, doing my hair (I wanted to make sure that I felt as cute as I could rockin' a hospital gown because of the amount of pictures that were bound to be taken). And all this time, I was contracting and probably in the first stages of labor. I decided to start timing them and sure enough, they came on every 5 - 7 minutes. By mid-morning I tried to start packing. I say "tried" because it was so difficult!! My mind was in a fritz, I couldn't think straight. Plus, I had to make a bathroom visit every 2 minutes! All I wanted to do was just lay in bed and watch some mindless t.v. show because that was all my mind was capable of in that moment. But I willed through it and finally got all packed with a small hospital bag for me and the new babe; it only took about 2 hours to do so! After this whole ordeal at home, I still needed to make my Target run. I was determined to get my list of items that I am sure Paul would have been very capable of getting himself. So I packed up Lily and off we went to Target, all the while still contracting every 5 minutes. As I aimlessly walked around, trying so hard to stay focused and surgical in my shopping, I would clutch the shopping cart handles to brace myself each time a contraction would come. I still remember so vividly being in a hunched over position, trying to breath through a contraction when a teenage employee walked by looking frightened at what he was witnessing. As the pain subsided I just laughed to myself, realizing how ridiculous it was that I was basically in labor...shopping at Target with my little two-year old as company.

After feeling so accomplished at Target, I made my way to the Salt's warehouse to sit in on a meeting that Paul was having for the employees. Trying so hard to keep my contractions to myself and not stir up any attention, was impossible. They were getting harder and much more uncomfortable. Finally, it felt like a really long meeting, I told Paul I was in labor. It was around lunch time at this point, to which he explains that he wanted to go to his parents to get some food. That was a huge bummer for me because my doctor had told me not eat anything that day. And that is one of the worst thing you can tell me..."don't eat." So I sat on the Heslop's bar stool, watching Paul enjoy a delish-looking lunch. Joan walked in as I was having a contraction, all bent over and pain-faced. She asked what was going on and I told her I had been contracting all day. To which she quickly replied, "Go to the hospital!" We agreed that it was finally time to go. We got to the hospital around 2:00 p.m. They admitted me and checked me and I was shocked to find out I was dilated to a SEVEN! That was when it finally clicked how crazy I had been to hang around, doing whatever, while in labor. I immediately asked for the epidural, and by this time the contractions were hitting me really hard. The nurse explained to me that they had strategically put me in a room directly across from the Operating Room, just in case. With my doctor's guidance, I had decided to try a VBAC. It can have some complications associated with it, and as my doctor said, "If something goes wrong, it's bad." So not feeling totally at ease about that, I was at least out of pain for the moment with those blessed juices of epiduraliness running through my body.

Soon after, my parents came up. I was really excited to have them here. To be honest, that was really the only reason that I was bummed that Lily was c-section. I wanted both of my parents to be in the room when I gave birth. That may be weird to some people, but when I was about 14, I saw two live births (that is a whole other story). Aside from the initial shock I had as a young girl at what I was seeing, it was the most amazing thing that I had ever witnessed. So because I know what a sacred, special, experience that is, I wanted to share that with my parents.

Lying in the hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to come was actually enjoyable. I got to just hang out with Paul and my parents. It was a little strange when right outside the window was a man washing the windows! I was just hoping he would be gone by the time my legs went into the stir-ups. So as everything was very low-key, all of a sudden the nurse ran over to the computer that was monitoring all of mine and the baby's vitals. She got in a major panic mode. I didn't know what to think because I felt normal and was confused as to what was going on. She didn't explain anything but just said that if you weren't my husband, to get out of the room. My parents were slightly oblivious as to her panic and so I told them they needed to leave. As the  nurse was calling for the doctor, I just imagined myself being wheeled right over to the O.R. My doctor then came in, very cool and collected as the nurse was explaining something that was going on (I still don't know to this day what that computer monitor showed her to get her frazzled). But my doctor, being the very laid back guy which I prefer, seemed totally at ease so I didn't worry to much. Then he checked me and I was a 10! "What in the world" I thought, I expected to have a little more time but the doctor started gloving up. The nurse informed me that it was time and she let my parents back into the room. As they were getting all prep'ed, I saw a reflective object on the ceiling and asked if it was a mirror. The nurse answered no, but that if I wanted one they could get me one. I was excited and said "Yes!" This may also be weird to some but I really wanted to watch Lily's c-section but wasn't able, so this was my chance.

After everything was all ready, they told me it was time to start pushing. This is the part I feared! I never had to do this with Lily and so I had no idea what to expect. As I was pushing, I felt as if I was "faking" the whole thing. And I was nervous they were going to call me out on it. The epidural was working beautifully and so I wasn't able to feel anything. I had no idea if I was actually pushing, I just scrunched my face up and mustered up any muscles that I could still control and hoped for the best. They had me do a few series of these "pushes", each one lasting about 10-15 seconds. And then through the mirror I saw the doctor grab a pair of scissors. That wasn't awesome, but I figured whatever got my sweet baby out was fine by me. I pushed a couple more times and all of a sudden I could see his head! I was so surprised that I just relaxed and completely stopped pushing. The doctor reminded me to keep going, I wasn't done yet. So I got one more push out and out he came! I couldn't believe that he was actually here. The entire pushing process was only about 15 minutes, I was expecting it to be a bit longer than that. It was amazing to be able to see my little baby! When I had Lily, I only saw her for about 10 seconds floating above my head before they whisked her away to be bathed while the doctor put me back together.

It was such a beautiful sight to hear my baby boy crying and see his healthy, thick little body as the doctor cleaned him up. It is always a fear in the back of my mind throughout the pregnancy, hoping that everything will be perfect with my baby. And to finally know that he was healthy and perfect, was amazing! Little Stewart Paul was 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long. Perfect!

Lily was on her way up to the hospital with the Heslop's. I had anticipated this moment almost as much as meeting the little guy myself. Lily was absolutely in love with babies and would point them out anywhere that we went. I was so excited for her to have a brand new little baby that she could hold, poke, kiss, and hug. When she came in she was a little timid at first, but especially in the next couple days as she visited us in the hospital, she was in love. And so was I. It was a crazy idea that I had "children" but I felt so much more complete. My little family was everything that I wanted and I felt so blessed.

G&G Stewart Visit

I will let the pictures tell this story...

It's pretty clear that Lily especially loved this special visit!

Harlem Shake - Salt of the Earth Style

Being the designated "Saltographer" at Salts has been a lot of fun so far! We are trying to get into more technological grounds for training and marketing with little snipets of movies to help our customers get more familiar with our company. The hope is to throw out 2-4 videos every month featuring sales techniques, ingredient knowledge, product training, and seasonal scent promotions. I am excited to be more involved with Salts in a set way. It is good for this stay-at-home mom to have a little something on the side.

Our latest beauty was this "Harlem Shake" that our amazing friends and family helped us pull off.