Wilkerson Farms

Fall is my favorite time of year, and it's just gotten even more fun with Duke! His love for tractors, cars, buses.. (basically anything with wheels), runs deep! He is ALL boy. I knew he would love Wilkerson Farms because they have the cutest little tractors to ride and play on and ride around the farm. His legs weren't long enough to drive it, but he was loving just pushing it around. I'm so excited to take him to all of the other fun pumpkin patches in town! Gotta take advantage of this nice weather while we can!

After the farm, we went to Nielsen's Grove park and fed the ducks, one of Duke's favorite activities! I love spending my days with him. He has such a sweet countenance about him and I'm so grateful I get to be his mom!

It's a...

First off, I have been slacking in the blogging world and have been SO bad at documenting this pregnancy! Life has been so crazy busy lately, but I need to start getting back in the habit of blogging, since it's my "journal"!

On September 9, I had my 16 week check up with my maternal fetal medicine specialist. I go in every 4 weeks to their office for an ultrasound to check my cervix. At my 12 week appointment, they said they would be able to check the gender at this appointment, so to say I was so excited would be an understatement! Since Chad was unable to attend the appointment because of work, I had the ultrasound tech write the gender on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. That way we could open it together. 

That night we went to Malawi's for dinner and anxiously opened the envelope. We were so excited to see that it's a BOY! We are so happy to add another little man to our bunch!! Duke is going to be the best big brother and I can't wait to have TWO little boys running around! 

Cerclage Round #2

The morning of Aug. 22, I woke up anxious for my cerclage surgery. I knew what to expect, but I think no matter how many times you've had surgery, it's always slightly nerve racking + putting a baby's life (& pregnancy hormones) in the mix of it, makes all the emotions even stronger.

Duke spent the night at my parents house the night before since we had to be to the surgical center bright and early. It was our first night without him, and although I don't see him past 7 pm anyways, just the thought of not having him home was sad. I missed that sweet boy. 

We checked into the hospital at 7 am sharp on Monday morning. I changed into my lovely gown + fluffy hospital socks (am I the only one who loves those?!). Blood was drawn, heart rate monitor was attached and the IV was inserted. I was ready to go!

I was much more relaxed this time around. Being wheeled into the operating room, I was joking with the nurses and didn't feel anxious at all. The sleep medicine was inserted through the IV, and a few deeps breaths later, while in mid-sentence, I was out cold (quite literally though, the room was like 60 degrees!). My last cerclage, I had a spinal tap and was wide awake during the whole surgery. Although I was completely numb, I could still feel pressure and see the tools the Dr was using, which was quite disturbing. So, to say I was so relieved when I got to sleep this time around would be an understatement!

About 45 minutes later, which felt like 30 seconds, I was waking up in a different room with different nurses. It took me a few minutes to realize what was going on and where I was... and then I realized how much pain I was in. The thing about being put to sleep, is I wasn't numb, so as soon as I woke up, I was feeling things I didn't want to feel. That quickly went away when the pain medicine kicked it. Then, all I could think about is the soonest I could eat. Not letting a pregnant woman eat is no joke. I hadn't eaten in 12 hours, and on a normal day, I can't go over 2 hours without throwing up! My sweet nurse gave me a blue popsicle to get some sugar in my system, and funny thing is, I've been craving them ever since!

I was wheeled into my recovery room where I met up with Chad. Life was pretty great at this point. Pain meds in my system, a successful surgery, and I'm reunited with my man. I was feeling good-to-go until I stood up to use the bathroom and almost passed out. I was worried I wasn't going to make it back to my bed in time! Pale and blurry vision, I crawled into my hospital bed and fell asleep. Luckily, all this pregnant mama needed was a little more sleep. A little shut eye + a Kneaders lunch that Chad picked up, made all of the difference and we were checking out before I knew it. 

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm so grateful for Dr Jacobs for performing the surgery. I'm very hopeful in the stitch and crossing my fingers I can steer clear of bed rest this time around. Between my regular OBGYN and the maternal fetal medicine appointments, I'm being seen about once a week, which has made pregnancy fly by, plus, I love being able to listen/see baby more often!

I have my first cervix check since the surgery next week and I'm anxious to see if there's been any changes + I'm crossing my fingers we'll be able to definitely tell the gender! At my 12 week appointment, the high risk Dr gave a guess what she thinks it is, so I guess we'll see if she's correct!

Baby DeVore #2

We are SO excited to announce that Baby DeVore #2 is on its way! We have been anticipating adding another babe to our bunch, so to say we're excited would be an understatement. The official due date is February 23, 2017, which makes Duke and the babe almost exactly 25 months apart. I'm currently 13 weeks and we're so anxious to find out the gender in a couple weeks!

So, as many can remember, my first pregnancy was stressful. You can read about it here. With emergency surgery and very strict bed rest for 16 weeks, it made for a roller coaster of emotions and a complete lifestyle change. I've had many people ask what my situation will be like this time around. So here's the scoop...

For those that don't know, I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix with my first pregnancy. So basically, my cervix opens without any signs (no contractions or pre-term labor signs), and it starts to open in the second trimester, and you don't know it's opening until you're in labor, and by that point, it's too late to do anything to keep the baby in. Duke's situation was seriously a miracle because most people who have an incompetent cervix lose their first baby, because they're born so early in the second trimester. With Duke, he would've been born around 21 weeks if we wouldn't have gone to California to be seen by Dr. DeVore at 20 weeks.

This pregnancy, since we already know about the incompetent cervix, I'm scheduled to have a cerclage on Monday, Aug. 22! A cerclage is a surgery that stitches your cervix shut. Since I'm having the surgery before the cervix even opens, the Dr. will be able to put the stitch at the top of the cervix, instead of my last pregnancy, they were barely able to stitch the last 1.5 centimeters of my cervix (so crazy to think I was SO close to going into labor at 20 weeks). 

Since I'm considered a high risk pregnancy, I've been following up with my regular OBGYN and the Maternal Fetal Specialist at UVRMC every couple weeks. It's nice to know I'm being seen by some of the best high risk Dr's in the valley and I know I'm in great hands. As long as my cervix cooperates and stays shut and doesn't funnel through the stitch, I shouldn't have to be on bed rest! I almost started crying tears of joy when I heard the news! We're very hopeful that the surgery will be successful and I'll be able to have a "normal" pregnancy! We're excited to see where this journey takes us and feeling grateful for all of the Dr's that make this surgery possible!

18 Months!

Duke turned 18 months a couple weeks ago! It's crazy how fast time goes, but we're loving every minute of it. He keeps me laughing and running around all day. He has so much personality in that little body of his. Some of my favorite things he does:

-waves bye-bye to everyone (even cars passing by on the street, and people at the store)

-LOVES to read. Multiple times throughout the day, we'll cuddle on his big dog stuffed animal and have story time. He'll keep getting up to get more books, then he'll come back and snuggle me. It's honestly one of my favorite things. He's such a mama's boy right now. 

-he doesn't say many words yet, but saying "UH" while pointing to whatever he wants is his go-to. His little innocent voice is to die for!

-he understands so much more than I give him credit for. The other day, I said, "Duke, go grab a diaper and wipes, we need to change your bum." He got up and went and grabbed them and brought them to me. I was shocked! I had never said that to him so I was astounded! That same week, he also learned how to throw trash away in the garbage so he's been my little helper when cleaning the house.

-sink baths are his new found love, although I don't think they'll last much longer at the rate he's growing.

-cars/trucks are his favorite. They are his #1 toy, and he would rather touch the cars wheels at the park instead of play at the playground. He's a true boy.

-he could play outside for hours. Running and exploring in the backyard is his favorite. He loves to swing/play on the tramp and pick up worms (yuck!).

-he is a solid sleeper and I'm so grateful for that. He sleeps 12-13 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap during the day. He's mastered his routines.

-Duke is one tough guy. Since we're always outside, he is constantly scratching his knees and he rarely cries. I'm always impressed at how he can handle pain.

-he is seriously the biggest flirt and it just melts my heart. No matter where I take him, he is always smiling/waving at someone in the checkout line and showing off that cute smile of his. It's rare that we don't get comments from people about how much of a flirt he is. I'm doomed when he's a teenager ;)

He has the sweetest little personality and I can't imagine life without him. He's my greatest adventure and I absolutely love being his mom!

18 Month Statistics

weight: 28 lb (91%)

height: 34.75 (98%)

head: 20.25 in (99%)

Trying to hide from the Dr

Weekend at the Cabin

We spent a few days up my family's cabin in July with my parents and sister, Christine. It was a much needed getaway. One thing I love about going up to the cabin is there's no cell service. I love having no internet/wi-fi and being able to enjoy each others company without cellphones.

+On Friday, we spent the day shopping at the Outlets in Park City.

+ Saturday, we went swimming at the rec center in Kamas and ate lunch at one of the local restaurants.

+Sunday, we went to Sacrament meeting in Oakley. We played in the creek by the cabin and relaxed/played games. 

+Monday, we cleaned the cabin and ate lunch at Dairy Keen on our way home.

It was such a perfect weekend. Cabin getaways are some of my favorite getaways. We definitely need to do it more often!

Road trip to Rexburg

We made a quick road trip over Memorial Day weekend up to Rexburg, ID. Our niece, Sarah, graduated from high school so we went up to celebrate with her and spend the weekend their family. We did a little site seeing at Mesa Falls. It was all fun and games until we realized the thousands of mosquitos that were surrounding us as we got close to the falls. I already get eaten alive when there's hardly any mosquitos around, so it was no joke that I was walking bait. Every bite was worth the few good pictures we got ;)

Duke was obsessed with this clown nose and would just walk around with it on haha!

We went to The Burg and got burgers, fries and shakes. Sarah works at Fat Cats, so she hooked us up with free bowling!

We spent Sunday playing at the park and walking around the Rexburg temple. We had never been there; it was beautiful!

(Mom fail... Duke's moccasins started giving him blisters (I didn't realize they were too small for him... I felt horrible!!), so that's why he's shoe-less in most of the pics. I brought a pair of sandals for him, but they would rub right on the blisters, which made it so painful for him, so we just let him go bare foot most of the time).

Minus the sleepless nights (sleeping with a 16 month old is no joke), our weekend was a blast! It was great to get away and be with family!