Jacob before Taylor

Taken the day before Taylor arrived, Jacob is happy because he just opened a package from E-Ca!

This is what she made for him...a super soft Thomas and Friends blanket! It is really popular around here! Both boys love it it because it's so soft and lightweight! Can you tell his hat is getting smaller? One of our favorite winter hats!

Prepping Valentine treats for his nursery friends. He stuffed the bags with Teddy Grahams with a note that said, "Bear Hugs!" Love, Jacob.

Cried for something. I don't remember for what, but all I remember is that I was big and tired and ready for Taylor to come.

With my parents in town and Edith to help at home, I took Jacob to the park frequently because I knew that when the baby arrived, I wouldn't have a lot of time with Jakey. He loves slides.

He likes to play by himself, which makes me sad sometimes. Hopefully, he will grow out of it and become more friendly. (With my best friend living a few minutes away, we've had tons of playdates together which helped Jacob come out of shell quite a bit...actually A LOT!)

The observer. He didn't want to play until he watched all the kids use the play structure.

Absolute PRO bike rider here. Nowadays, we have to watch when he's coming around with his bike before he runs into our heels. He's gotten into so much trouble so many times, but he keeps thinking it's funny.

This was taken during his early riding days. Now, you can find him riding without steering and totally braking before the bike could stop moving in one direction. It's hilarious because he almost tipped over several times.

*Sigh* Back when church began at 1 pm and not 9 am. We actually had time to take pictures. Now, we're rushing out of the door to make it on time. Most of the time, my hair is wet and in a bun...yuck. I'm last, but boy oh boy...my boys are super cute for church...all three of them.

Happy Easter

We had a fun(ny) Easter morning. Jacob didn't know what to do with the eggs the Easter bunny left for him in the hallway outside of the bedroom door, so he just scooted down the stairs where there were only a few eggs. When he saw the big surprise in the living room, he dropped his eggs and slid down the stairs as fast as he could...very much like what he did when he realized what Santa Claus had left for him on Christmas morning, except this was way cuter! We laughed so hard! We were so happy to see how excited he was because he had such a terrible week! I haven't blogged in months bc it's been so busy. I will blog a little more in detail for both boys later today...IF I get a chance to. :)

Strong Team

Update: Taylor's jaundice levels went down on Saturday, so the pediatrician discharged us from the hospital. Even though he had lost 7% of his birthweight, she felt that it was okay to release him and we were thrilled. She ordered another bloodtest for Sunday morning followed by a visit in pediatrics, where we found out that Taylor had to be readmitted because his levels spiked up more than the initial results. He also had lost a total of 11.5% of his birthweight. So, here I am at 4:15 in the morning, sitting across from Taylor's crib watching the SPO2 monitor like a hawk! Every time the alarm goes off, my heart skips a beat. This is totally a flashback of our NICU time with Jacob. However, the only difference is that we are much more prepared this time. We are stronger. We are more knowledgeable. We have more trust in nurses. We have each other. We are a strong team. I don't think there is anything Jeremiah would not do for me or my boys. I sit here with tears as I don't know what I did to deserve such a loving husband who sacrifices so much for his family. His love for us is so immense that nothing seems impossible or unresolvable. He makes things easier, which I appreciate so much. I hope he knows how much we love him!!

While Taylor is receiving his phototherapy for jaundice, Jacob is happily spending time with my parents. I feel so lucky to have family that can help any time I need them. So many have sacrifice their time for me and I am so grateful. When we were in the hospital, Jeremiah would go back home for an hour to visit Jacob and bring special treats and surprises to make sure that he knows we are thinking about him and that we love him. I know he misses us because he makes sure my mom knows the routine at night before going to bed, which is reading a few of his favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chica Chica Boom Boom, If the Savior Stood Beside Me, and The Book of Mormon. Following that, he would fold his arms to show that he can pray like Enos. Then, he'd cry for me. =) That is when my mom turns on "frout (sprout)" to console him until he falls asleep. Jacob is so lucky to have Mama and KongKong there to spoil him to pieces. We are blessed too. We don't want them to go home next week! =( Having spent so much time with my parents, we were surprised to find out that Jacob can speak a Cambodian word! Guess what it is???? Yes, it is "POUM." When we were changing Taylor's diaper before feeding yesterday, Taylor passed gas and Jacob said, "Baby poum!" Jeremiah and I laughed so hard. It was pretty funny. Hahaha...my parents...sigh...funny.

Jacob meet Taylor. Taylor meet Jacob. When we got home on Saturday, Jacob was napping. I was so anxious to see Jacob's reaction to the new baby. When my dad brought him to the room, I took one look at Jacob and had the biggest smile on my face. He looked like a BIG...I mean BIG boy! He was always my little baby, now he's a big boy! He came and sat on Jeremiah's lap and pointed and said, Baby. When Taylor cried, he would say Baby Cry, but would not touch him at all. It was almost like he was afraid. Jacob stared and watched for a while before Jeremiah brought him downstairs to get a special treat that Taylor had brought home for him...sprinkled cupcakes! It didn't take long before he escaped and ran upstairs to see Taylor again. The night went pretty smooth until 3 am in the morning when Taylor woke all of us up. The hardest part was explaining to Jacob that I had to feed Taylor and he needed my attention. I couldn't hold Jacob. I couldn't hug him and we couldn't fit on the rocking chair all together. He was pretty upset and cried a bit. We all finally went to bed about 1 1/2 later...so I thought. I woke up 1/2 hour later to find Jeremiah rocking Taylor to sleep....then an hour later...then another hour later...he didn't put Taylor down at all. It was so sweet to see how much he loved the little boy already. He is such a good father! Now with us in the hospital again, we'll have to reintroduce the boys and hope the transition will be somewhat of a smooth one. =)

Introducing Taylor J Sorensen

Welcome to the world, Taylor J Sorensen! Taylor was born on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 3:45 in the afternoon. He was a whoping 8lbs. 8oz. and 20 inches long.
We did not get information about weight and length until after almost an hour of holding, cuddling, and kissing him. After he was delivered, he was placed directly on my chest while the nurse cleaned him. He started working right away breastfeeding,while Jeremiah and I adored him. I kept looking at Jeremiah in amazement at how big Taylor was. I couldn't believe I gave birth to such a cute and big boy!

While the nurse was prepping for his first bath, Taylor was inconsolable...just like any newborn. Taylor grabbed Jeremiah's finger for comfort and it reminded me so much of Jacob when he was in the NICU.

Here he is lying on the giraffe after his bath. The hate barely fit him. Some of the other beanies I brought from home didn't fit it either. I guess he can skip the newborn sizes and move on to 0-3 months. So...who do you think he looks like? Any resemblance to Jacob? I think he looks a lot like meeee! =) First bath...I still can't believe how BIG he is.

Phototheraphy=fun...NOT! He is miserable under and on top of the bililights! Lots of crying and irritability! After the first day of therapy, his numbers elevated so we had to stay an extra day. Anticipating that his levels would go down, we were disappointed to find out that it DID go down slightly by one point. As I am updating this blog, we are waiting for the pediatrician to come in and order another blood test and tell us whether or not another night's stay is planned. We all just want to go home!! Taylor especially wants to meet his big brother, Jacob!!

He has his own wubbanub and he looooves it!

Want details on how it ALL went down? Hahaha...I'm sure some of you are dying to know! First of all, I am shocked that I went beyond my due date! I thought I would deliver sometime around 34-36 weeks, but Taylor had different plans. He didn't want to come out at all. Early Wednesday morning around 3 am, I had contractions that were about 5-7 minutes apart. Jeremiah and I timed each contraction and decided to go to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, my contractions began to spread a part...more like 10-15 minutes. I was sure they would send me home. After observation, I was dilated to 5 cm (dilated to3+ cm the Friday before), they admitted me at about 6:00 ish and told me that they would break my water at 8 am. It didn't happen because it took me quite a bit of time to pass my stool. After passing my stool at 8:00ish, at 8:30 the anastesiologist (sp?) came in and prepped my epidural. At 10:00, the midwife popped my water bag. At 11:30, they started me on pitocin at 2 ml an hour, increasing it by 2 ml every 10 minutes. They got to 4 ml and I dilated to 7 cm. The contractions were beginning to take its course and the epidural meds began to kick in...an HOUR later. *sigh*... I made slow progress and at 2 pm, I dilated to 9.75. They had me push, but I guess Taylor wasn't ready. After a push, his head would retract back, so they waited another 45 minutes where I proved that I'd use all my might and strength to get Taylor out. See, even with the epidural, I could feel the pressure from every contraction. I was READY. I wanted to PUSH. Finally at 2:50, pushing began. It took about another 55 minutes before Taylor arrived. There were lots of emotions. I thought about Jacob the whole time and even cried that morning when Jeremiah mentioned his name. So, you are probably wondering how this compares to Jacob's delivery...not one of them were harder than the other. It was equally has hard. Jacob had a lot of emotional pain and uncertainty. Taylor had a lot of physical discomfort, but that uncertainty definitely is the same. I can say that Heavenly Father has blessed me greatly and has humbled me in ways that I would have never expected. I feel so fortunate to have experienced both of my children's births with my loving husband. I can't believe we have TWO kids now! *BIGGEST SMILE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!*

Park

The weather was nice on Monday, so I decided to take Jacob to the park. He hasn't been out since last August. This was a really nice treat. At first, he watched all the kids play. After careful observation, he was comfortable enough to play and had so much fun. He was the littliest one out of the bunch, but it didn't stop him from climbing, sliding, and swinging without any help...well, he needed my help with the big kids' swing. =)

This is where he stood to watch all the kids play. He didn't move from this spot for awhile.

Wearing his Sunday's best for church. This was a special day because Jacob was in nursery ALL by himself. I left after 10 minutes and of course, he cried, gagged, and threw up. The nursery leaders were awesome. They were so patient and worked with him. On the way home, we asked him what he did in nursery and he said, "Nursery nice. Nursery cry." When we asked if he sang songs, he started singing heads, shoulders, knees, and toes. =)

Riding his bike at the park. He is such a big boy!!

Tears

Jacob loves looking at his pictures and videos on the blog. Tonight was the first time we've shown pictures and videos of him in the NICU. To our surprise, Jacob was very emotional. He was on the brink of crying- had tears in his eyes and buried his face in my chest- while watching/listening to the video of him taking his first bath in the incubator and the video of me kangaroo caring with him. Tonight, Jeremiah and I held and hugged him a little closer and a little tighter. Our son is a NICU graduate! We can't believe how big our son has gotten. We are so blessed with his health. We are a forever family and I'm so grateful for that!

Gracie and Jacob

Gracie has a groomer now. He picks her up from our house and drops her off. She came back smelling so good the other day! Since she was so clean, I let her out to play with Jacob. They both had a blast!

As Edith was preparing to vacuum the carpet after having Gracie out to play, Jacob decided to climb on the pillows. When he sees the camera, he jumps right in front of the lens and says, "Cheese." He will not move until he sees a flash. Here, we are at Mama's house. One of his favorite places to hang out on the weekends....BECAUSE...he gets so spoiled!!! Jacob learned how to pedal two weekends ago at Mama's house. He perfected his skills this past weekend. It's one of his favorite things to do. Unfortunately, he thinks biking into my ankles is a funny thing, so he's got some work to do. He knows when he's in the limelight, so he'd act up. You'll see it in this video.

Almost there...I think

Holy Cow! I am 38 weeks pregnant and have developed a newfound respect for pregnant ladies all over the world! Though I have dreamt of making it this far and have promised to enjoy every second of it, I must admit that it is not as pleasant as I thought. First and foremost, I feel like my body has given way and I literally walk like an elderly woman who've had hip displacement. Second, my belly hits everything...no kidding...from doors to tables to everything imagineable. My bellybutton is sensitive and I wobble like a duck! My groin area feels like it has soften a little and sometimes it makes standing up difficult to do. OH, and this blade-like, zapping, electricuting feeling I get in the *** area, certainly doesn't help when it comes to walking.

HOWEVER, despite all of these physical discomfort, I honestly have to say that I am GRATEFUL to have had a healthy pregnancy. When I am concerned or worried about Taylor, he somehow gives me a little nudge or kick, sometimes BIG ones, to reassure me that he's okay. I've mentioned in past postings of all the interventions I've received that has helped me get this far, but my parents reminded me this weekend that there is a greater power that had a hand in carrying me through this pregnancy. As I grow in anxiety, in fear of what to expect from a full-term labor and delivery, my parents talked to me about the things I needed to do to prepare myself spiritually, so that I could be in control and not affect the things or people around me. It was humbling. They told me that I needed to do the things that I've always been taught to do in times of distress, fear, worry, concern, thankfulness, etc. This is what they said...I needed to be prayerful, seek the power of the priesthood to obtain blessings that is available to me, and be grateful for the blessings that have already been poured during this pregnancy.

I guess when I stray away from what is important, such as focusing on the physical discomforts instead of how healthy Taylor and myself have been throughout this pregnancy, all I need to do is remember what the wise have said to me in the past several years. Here is a summary..."DO NOT FORGET what He has done for you...(Bishop Brown)...The Lord has a great and marvelous plan... (Dad) ... Don't worry. You can't control everything. Be grateful for him. Be grateful to him. Dedicate your life to him. Pray always and attend the temple because he hears you and knows your needs. (Mom)..."

Pictures!

Jacob's train table...it looks different every week.

This is what Santa left for Jacob.

Mommy and Jacob day at the zoo.

My attempt at being a photographer...it was hard, but the pics turned out well.

Jacob at the movies.

Update

It's been over two months since I've updated the blog! I'm a procrastinator and I know I should be updating the blog more often. So, today is officially my first day on maternity leave. Yes, you heard right...maternity leave. That means I have made it to 36 weeks. It's been a long road, but I feel extremely blessed to have made it this far. I'm going to try to be as detailed, yet as brief as I can with updates since the last post.

Jacob:
~Jacob has had a really tough winter...getting sick every other week and visiting the doctor almost 3-4 times a month. This is his first year without RSV shots and the germies are really attracted to him. It doesn't help that he's the typical 2 year old that loves to touch and lick everything. The cold loves hanging out at our house because we have passed it back and forth to each other since November. I'm so glad we have great benefits, otherwise we would have been poor the last few months with all the doctor visits and prescriptions!!

~Jacob has picked up a lot of language. It is slowly developing, but he ceases to amaze us with his comments and phrases. He always surprises us! He continues to learn how to read new words everyday and is so smart. The other day, he gave me this long kiss on the lips and then looked at me and said, "GROSS!" It was cute, but really??? He's way to young to say that to his mommy! =( One of his favorite phrases would have to be, "I want that." Where did he learn this from? His father!!!! I'd have to say that Jake's language skills are getting better and I'm not as worried as before. To add to this, Jacob has been quite the master in putting together puzzles and playing matching games. His favorite games would have to be the ones that his father downloaded onto the iphone...=/. Please don't ask me why he did that!

~Jacob is in the process of potty training! He doesn't like it very much and would tell us after the fact. For Jacob, the best part of potty training is playing with bubbles aka washing his hands. He cries when he's on the toilet and would tell us he's done before he sits on it. We are fortunate to have a babysitter who is consistent and persistent and really good at training him. We've also tried having him without the diaper and just in his Thomas underwear, but the wetting does not bother him at all. All I can say is, this is going to be a hard one!

~Jacob had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Thanksgiving, we took him to his first movie in the theater to watch, Tangled. It was awesome. He didn't cry one bit and enjoyed every minute of it! He especially loved having all the popcorn he wanted! He even laughed with the crowd! I don't believe he got up one bit or even nag during the movie. Going to the movies will definitely be a hobby for this family from now on! Then, we went to my mom's side of the family to have Thanksgiving. Christmas this year was very special. We had lots of family from everywhere visiting. The only downside was the fact that Jacob was so sick that we couldn't bring him out of the house. My sisters visited from Idaho and Utah. My aunt came from Maryland. My MIL and FIL drove down from Utah and my other aunt finally emigrated to the United States. It was a big Christmas!! The best part of it all was reaping the rewards of Jacob being able to point to Baby Jesus and know who he is after months of teaching. He's so smart! This was also the first Christmas in which he was fascinated with presents. We could almost get him to do anything for us just to open presents! The look on his face on Christmas morning when he saw what Santa left for him was PRICELESS. We will have to figure out how to upload that to the blog!!

Jeremiah and Sopha:
~Jeremiah works and works and works! He is so busy with work! He leaves very early in the morning and gets home early evening around 5-6ish. However, we were lucky to have him to ourselves for one whole week after Christmas! It was nice and relaxing. We wish he could be around more often, but we know he is working hard to provide us with all the things we need.

~As for me, I'm still pregnant and can't seem to let go of the worries of pregnancies. I know I've reached 36 weeks, but the stresses of what could happen never leaves my mind. I am grateful, but am so scared. I don't know how much pain I can tolerate and just want baby Taylor to be healthy and strong. With that, here are some things I noted while being pregnant...just as a reminder...

Weeks 1-12: Held my breath in hopes that I do not have a miscarriage.

Weeks 12-26: Started all interventions to prevent pre-term labor, which includes two visits to the perinatologist, weekly shots, weekly calls, and monthly visits to my ob/gyn each month. Felt better with all the help, but constantly worried that I would go into pre-term labor. Every ache and pain was a concern. Lots of crying during this period. It was hard to be around others who were pregnant. Decided to pack hospital bag in case I had to re-live what happened with Jacob. It was very emotional. (At 17 weeks, after findout out that we'd have another boy from the perinatology appt., Jeremiah came up with the name Taylor J. It only took 10 minutes for us to decide the name. Other options were Joshua, Nathan, or Edward.)

Week 28: Same interventions as above, but without Perinatology appts. They concluded that my cervix was not a reason for preterm birth. A little relieved as the knowledge of having a baby at this gestational age increases the chances of survival. However, still afraid to have to go through what I did with Jacob since pregnancies are so unpredicatable. Able to breathe a little...

Weeks 30-34: Eternally grateful to have gotten so far. Baby Taylor is as active as can be and leaves me sleepless at night...tossing and turning looking for a comfortable position. Had to wake up several times during the night to eat. Still getting progesterone shots and knows that it's definitely helping. Stomach is getting bigger and bumping into the walls or hitting students head with my belly is a common thing. =/

Weeks 34-36: Aches and pains increases...so does STRESS level. Shots ended at 34 weeks and body changes dramatically. My muscles feel like jello and I can hardly walk without wobbling. Baby tends to sit on a nerve that makes me limp and pressure around the abdominal area increases. Meanwhile, contractions occuring, inconsistently, throughout the day. Having experienced one day with intense contractions led me request maternity leave from work to prevent going into labor in front of my seventh graders!! Also, sharp shooting pains in a certain area, but nothing that would be a red light for doctors.

Week 36: Worried about labor and delivery...trying to figure out which hospital to deliver the baby at (Dameron-great doctors and nurses, where Jake was delivered...but Jeremiah can't stay overnight with me. Modesto Kaiser- new facility, 10 minutes farther, but Jeremiah can stay overnight). Trying to get sleep at night...frustrated with lots of things that ARE controllable...trying not to read L&D articles online...focusing on how things will change when baby Taylor arrives in hopes to keep them consistent for little Jacob.

Sorry, that wasn't very brief. To make it up to you, we'll post pictures later this week to this post.