I'm 4 months!

This little nugget turned 4 months! She is 13.8 pounds and 23.25 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and the 50th for height. She laughs all the time now! The first time she really laughed was on Dec. 17. Brad and I were giving her a bath and she let out a really high pitched squeal and then laughed and laughed. It was so amazing to hear! I am so glad that both Brad and I were there for that!

*she is still a great sleeper

*still doesn't like to be in her car seat in the car. She is fine to be in it when we're in stores, but she hates it in the car.

*Likes to grab daddy's beard

*only eats breast milk

*is mostly in 3 month clothing now. She can still wear 0-3 and 3-6 is just a little too big.

*wears size 2 diapers

*loves putting everything and anything in her mouth

*likes her bumbo chair

*can occasionally pass light objects from one hand to the other

*definitely knows who mommy and daddy are. When she gets tired or overwhelmed she won't let anyone else hold her but mom or dad...it's so cute and makes us feel like we're doing something right! :)

 

Our happy baby girl!

Brad & Leah in real life

I know this blog makes our life look super fabulous and perfectly edited (not really), but we have had our fair share of blow outs, spit ups and messes that come along with a new baby. I just happened to capture one of these lovely moments on camera.

Brad was lucky enough to get Paisley's "spit up" in his face. He was super happy about it as you can tell :)

Pictures!

It is so crazy how fast time seems to go now that I have a baby. I constantly feel like I am playing catch-up, especially on this blog. Here are some pictures of our little family throughout November and December.

 

Top Row: Lights at Temple square on Dec. 1st 2013

Second Row: 1;Thanksgiving morning at Brad's parent's house.

2; Family pictures at wheeler farm

3; Thanksgiving weekend at Solitude with the Fortuna family.

Third Row: Paisley meets Santa! Dec. 7th 2013

2; Paisley and Zeus...best little buddies

3; Festival of Trees

 

We have been busy but having a great time enjoying life as new parents. Latest news from us- PAISLEY ROLLED OVER!! DECEMBER 7TH 2013 at 2:37 pm

 

We are excited for Christmas and love watching Paisley discover new things each day. She LOVES looking at Christmas lights. She was having the time of her life downtown and at the festival of trees. She was kicking her legs and was just mesmerized by all the lights at people.

 

We have a little group of friends that we have been trying new restaurants with each month. So far we have tried Couscous, Sugarhouse BBQ and Adobos Caribbean Grill. Each of these restaurants have been delicious and we would recommend all of them. It is so fun exploring our own city.

3 months old!

My little baby is getting so big! On the 13th she turned 3 months old. She is the cutest little thing and has already developed a personality.

*sleeps about 8 hours at night, which is amazing!
*smiles all the time
*loves getting her feet and legs rubbed (a true girl)
*still only eating breast milk
*loves watching mommy get ready
*loves to be held
*cries when she's in her carseat
*still LOVES bath time
*still doesn't like tummy time
*only takes short naps...like 20 min. in the day
*loves being outside and seeing what is going on around her

Blessing Day

On Sunday September 29th we blessed our beautiful little girl. Brad's whole family on his mom's side was able to be there which was really neat. Brad did an amazing job! The whole day went better than I could have hoped for, and Paisley looked beautiful! After the blessing we had a small get together at Brad's parent's house. Thanks to everyone who helped make her big day so special!

The many faces of Paisley

She Smiles!

October 2nd, 2013

Two Months Old!

Here is little Miss Paisley at 2 months old. She gets stronger, chubbier and more fun every day!

• Can control her head
• Usually sleeps 4-5 hours, but has slept for a 7 hour stretch and a 9 hour stretch...hopefully this continues!
• Still fits in newborn clothes, but can also wear 0-3 months
• LOVES tubby time
• She's not sure how she feels about TUMMY time
• Has the cutest, chubbiest leg rolls
• Brad calls her bubbles because she "shoots bubbles out of her mouth and her bum"
• Loves to eat
• Enjoys walks and being outside
• Likes to suck on dad's nose

One Month Old

My sweet baby is already 1 month! It is crazy how fast the time goes. I am savoring every precious moment I have with her. She is so perfect and I love that I get to be home with her all day! I can see how some people would get bored and get a little cabin fever being at home with a newborn all day, but I absolutely love it! Being a mom is definitely the most satisfying job I have ever had.

 

She is such a good baby. She hardly ever cries-when she is hungry she doesn't cry she just grunts and grumbles and makes smacking noises and that's how you know she's ready to eat. It's so nice to wake up to those cute noises rather than a screaming baby :) She eats about every 2 hours in the day, sometimes she will go as long as 4 hours, but we try to do every 2-3. At night she will go 3.5-4.5 hours which is great! It takes us about an hour at each feeding to get her diaper changed, eat, burp and get her back to sleep. She loves bath time and going on walks. She will wiggle and squirm until she gets in the perfect position and then she can sleep like a rock. She is still in newborn clothes which I love! We switched to size 1 diapers-she can still fit in newborn but she fills her diapers so full that we switched to avoid leaks :) Her cord fell off when she was 10 days old. She likes to be swaddled if her arms are out because she sleeps with her hands above her head...just like her dad.

 

She is just the sweetest thing and we love her so much!

Paisley Jane's Birth Story

Monday August 12th: I am officially full term! 37 and 1 to be exact.  I was working a 12 hour day shift and I had been having contractions off and on all morning, but I had a doctor appointment at 9:15 so I wasn't too concerned. I went to my appointment and everything looked fine. I was 1/2 cm dilated and 25% effaced - exactly what I was at my appointment the week before. She told me my contractions were most likely just Braxton hicks. She measured my fundal height and I was measuring 35 instead of 37, also exactly what I was the week before and the week before that. So she scheduled an ultrasound for 8:30 Tuesday morning to make sure baby girl was growing well and there were no problems. I went back to work and continued having contractions all day. Around 3:00pm I started keeping track of them and timing them. They were inconsistent and ranging from 5-15 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 15-30 seconds. Everyone at work told me not to worry and I just needed to take a bath and relax when I got home and the contractions would stop. I finished my shift and went right home and got in the bath. Around 8:30 I noticed that my contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasting about 30-45 seconds. I started to panic and decided I better call Brad, he was rock climbing at this point. He told me he was on his way home and he was going to help his friend move some stuff but that he was going to pick me up on his way. I attempted to get ready, but I was really starting to get nervous. I did not feel ready to have a baby. He picked me up and we went to his friends house. I would squeeze his hand every time I had a contraction and he noticed that they were closer than 5 minutes apart. I called my friend Brooke who works on labor and delivery and she said I was probably in early labor but people can stay there for a few days. She suggested I drink plenty of water and take a bath, when I told her I already took a bath she told me I probably needed to head home and start getting ready for the hospital. I was not prepared for that news. I started crying and telling Brad, "I'm not ready, I'm not ready." He was so good and so calm during this whole process and knew exactly what to do. It was about 10:00pm when we got home and Brad showered and started packing the few things that weren't in our hospital bag already. By this point my contractions were lasting about a minute and they were 2 minutes apart. I showered and tried to get ready but it took me 30 minutes just to get dressed since my contractions were so close. We finally headed up to the hospital and got there at 11:00pm. They checked me in on OB Emergency and told me they needed to monitor me for 20 minutes and then I could walk around if I wanted to. They checked me and I was 2 cm dilated. My contractions started getting really bad at this point, I was throwing up and moving all over trying to get comfortable. Brad was so sweet and was rubbing my back and holding the throw up bucket, he even made jokes about what I had to eat that day since he could see it in my puke. (special moments, right??) I finally told him I needed something for the pain because I literally thought I was going to die. Our sweet nurse Shaye came in and told me we needed to monitor the baby before she could give me anything. They put another monitor on me and said we just need a 20 minute strip. Well 20 minutes turned into an hour because I was moving so much from the pain that the monitor kept coming off. Brad told me I was practically passing out in between each contraction from the pain and exhaustion. He went to go get the nurse because he knew that wasn't normal. She came back in and checked me at 12:00 am and I was a loose 3. You can't get admitted to L&D until you are 4 cm or your water breaks. So we waited another hour and finally around 1:00 am on Tuesday August 13 I was admitted to L&D. I got my epidural (thank you modern medicine for that miracle) and I was so happy! My anesthesiologist did an amazing job and I barely felt a thing! At 3:00am my water broke - that is the weirdest feeling, and I'm so happy that it happened on its own because I was so excited to experience what that felt like. They told me they would just let me rest and plan to deliver around 5:00 am so I could get 2 full rounds of antibiotics since I was gbs+. The resident came in about 3:30 and said my Dr. wanted an update to see if she had time to get here. The nurse said you can check her but it's her first baby and she got an epidural so I'm sure she won't be far. Well I was dilated to a 10, my cervix was completely thinned out and baby girl was coming down! They said they would wait until I started to feel pressure and then I could start pushing. 20 minutes later I felt a TON of pressure and so they checked me again and said we needed to start now because this baby wasn't going to wait for anything. I pushed for about 4 contractions and then my Dr. showed up, I was so so happy she made it! I pushed maybe 3 more times once she got there and at 4:17 am our little miracle was here! My Dr. was awesome and she let Brad put on a sterile gown and gloves and help deliver the baby! He helped guide her out and cut the cord. :) She came out and let out a cry to get her apgar points and then she didn't cry again. She scored 9 and 9 and is absolutely perfect! It was the best experience ever and exactly how I pictured it! I am so happy that she is finally here and we can't imagine life without her! We love you baby girl!

Paisley Jane Fortuna

August 13th, 2013

4:17 am. 5 pounds 12 ounces. 19 inches long

 

 

8 months pregnant!

WOW! I can't believe that I am 32 weeks pregnant and that I only have 8 weeks left! I am definitely starting to get nervous. I have a lot done already but I still feel like there is so much to do. Her nursery is basically finished, I just need to get around to painting the rocker and making a pillow for it. I have some clothes, bath stuff, diaper genie, bottle warmer and a few other little essentials thanks to my great friends! So, I am on my way to being prepared for her arrival. I have made my hospital packing list and I plan on packing in the next few weeks...so weird! Brad and I are starting birthing classes soon, which will be so fun! I am taking maternity pics at the end of this month, I have the L&D photographer all scheduled and I have a list of "necessities" that I got from my friend who recently had a baby. I feel like I am missing a TON of stuff though, so if any of you have any tips of things I should have done before the baby comes, or things to take to the hospital, or things you found were helpful to have at home after you delivered, please, please please feel free to give me any sort of advice. It is terrifying to feel like you know so little for such a big event. But other than that, things are going great. I still feel really good and I am just trying to survive the heat. :) Only 56 days left...I can do it!

A birthday, a baby shower and a red door

A lot has been going on lately and although I don't feel super busy, I am apparently too busy to update this thing. Brad turned 25 on June 13th! He celebrated by going to work...super fun! I took pizza to his work to celebrate his big day (I love making a big deal out of birthdays) and then we went to buffalo wild wings for dinner with the family. I think he had a good birthday!

Here is the birthday boy passed out from all the fun!

He finally got a grill

Everyone at B-dubs

Happy 25th birthday Bradley Fish. I love you!

BABY SHOWER!
My bff Traci was so sweet and threw me my very first baby shower! It was so fun and decorated so cute! We had it at my house which was actually really nice and convenient because then I didn't have to load anything into the car. We had fruit pizza, watermelon, cucumber water and pasta salad. My sister Melinda was so nice to make the pasta salad! Thanks :) It turned out great and everyone was so generous! I feel so lucky to have such amazing friends who took the time to come to my shower and then totally spoil me and baby girl with gifts! Thanks to Traci, Melinda and Amber for all of your help and thanks to everyone for coming! I really have the best friends! :)

RED DOOR!
 In our kitchen we have a door that leads to the garage and we have wanted to paint it red ever since we moved in. On the 4th of July I decided I would be a good wife and paint it. Brad came up from working on the basement to take the hardware off the door...and well, one thing lead to another and we ended up with a huge project in front of us. Apparently the previous owner didn't frame the door and I guess we're lucky it hadn't fallen off yet. The door looked terrible before and it didn't lock, so it needed to be fixed - we just didn't plan on fixing it that day. But we both love the result and we're happy that we have a door that opens all the way, locks, and won't fall off :)

Pregnancy according to me

Being pregnant is the best, it really has been so great! But even with that being said there are a few "precious joys" that go along with it.

What I love about being pregnant
* Having baby girl with me all the time, everywhere I go. She is my little buddy
* Feeling baby girl move
* Watching Brad hold my tummy and talk to her
* Watching her do funny things on the ultrasound
* I have the best skin and hair right now, it's awesome!
* I always have an easy conversation starter, this is especially nice at work.
* I have the best job in the world - oh you walked on the moon?? I'm just growing a human life...no big deal.

The funny/not so great parts about being pregnant
* Everyone, and I mean everyone feels like they have the right to comment about your body. Come on people, am I the first pregnant lady you've ever seen?
* Random people ask you when you're due...excuse me, did your mother teach you nothing? Unless you see a baby crawling out of them you NEVER assume someone is pregnant.
* Hormones- I have said it before and I'll say it now, I cry over everything. Brad deserves a medal or something.
* Feeling like an albino whale, and then having someone tell you how pregnant you look that day. Thank you, I wasn't aware that my uterus is the size of a basketball.
* The techs at the Dr. office always ask me if I think I'll be able to give them a urine sample. I'm pregnant, of course I can give you a urine sample. I can pee 30 seconds before I walk into your office and if you hand me a cup and tell me to pee in it, I'll probably fill it to the top.
* Almost every birthing video I've watched the woman (and sometimes her coach) is naked. Why? Why does everyone have to be naked to deliver. Who knows, maybe its an unwritten L&D rule and I'll have to be naked too. I've already decided if I have to be naked, so does everyone else in the room ;)

I'm sure there are many more things I love and things I find funny about being pregnant, but that's all I can think of right now. :)

27 weeks and a new dresser

Wow, I can't believe I am almost 7 months pregnant! The time has flown by so fast. I have really "popped" in the last 2-3 weeks. You could hardly tell I was pregnant and now there is no question. She is about 2 pounds (crazy that she already weighs more than some of the babies in the NICU) and she is 15 inches long. She moves all the time which is so fun! I have loved being pregnant but I am definitely ready to have my body back. I miss running without feeling like I am going to pee my pants. But I have no complaints, baby girl has been pretty good to me so far. :)

 

BABY GIRL'S DRESSER

It's finally finished and it looks so great! Brad matched the stain to the color of the crib perfectly! You would think the dresser and the crib came together as a set. I am very happy with the way it turned out and I can't wait to fill it full of baby clothes! :)

 

Germanese

Tonight I decided to go to school with Brad. I worked a night shift last night and I wanted to spend time with him, so here I sit in his 3 hour long Essentials of Investments class. All I can say is I am so glad I went to Nursing school. I thought that was hard but seriously this is like trying to learn Chinese from someone who only speaks German. And I have no desire to learn either of those.

How far along? 24 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: ummmm not sure, I get scared to look at the scale haha
Maternity clothes? None yet, I need some cute shorts!
Stretch marks? Nope :)
Sleep: ok, I wake up a lot and move around a lot.
Best moment this week: Feeling baby girl move all the time!
Miss Anything? Really really hot showers and cold turkey sandwiches
Movement: She moves all the time! She is really active first thing in the morning, around 6 or 7 am. and at night around 9 and 10 pn. It is so much fun!
Food cravings: Cold turkey sandwiches...only 16 more weeks until I can have one!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, I have been so lucky and haven't been sick at all!
Have you started to show yet: I sure have! :)
Labor Signs: No, thank goodness!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :) :)
Looking forward to: Our ultrasound on the 16th!

Baby this week is a foot long, the same size as an ear of corn. She weighs 1.7 pounds, about as much as an eggplant. Her lungs are continuing to develop and she will gain about 6 ounces each week. She can hear everything we can although it is much quieter for her.

This week marks a big week for me. Being a NICU nurse and having lots of friends in Labor and Delivery I know that making it to 24 weeks is a huge deal! Now if something were to happen and I were to go into pre-term labor they would resuscitate Baby Girl. It is totally morbid that I think that way but when you're in that environment all the time it becomes a natural way to think. Hopefully I will only have to be in the NICU for work and not visiting my baby there.

May Activities

My brother and sister in law and their cute kids were in town over Mother's Day. We got everyone together and had a party to celebrate my sweet mom and also celebrate my Melinda's birthday. It was such a fun day and I am so glad we had almost the whole family together. (we were just missing Jeff and Holli)

Our nieces ADORE Brad. They always want to play with him! Brad is pretty cute with them and he was totally meant to have a little girl. He is going to spoil Baby Girl more than anyone. He says he won't, but judging from these photos he has a real big soft spot for little girls :)

This photo is priceless. I just love everything about it. :) Minda is favorite aunt for sure!

The girls

 

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A few weeks ago we went to Zion National Park with some friends. It was just another short trip but so fun and totally worth it. We slept in the back of Brad's truck and we went hiking, rock climbing (at 6 months pregnant I opted not to climb) we played games, had campfires and just relaxed. It was a nice break from school for Brad. That poor guy only got 2 weeks off and is  now back in school for the summer semester. He works so hard!

Brad rescued this little guy from the middle of the road! I wanted to keep him, but that idea got shut down real quick.

 

 

 

Projects for Baby Girl

I have been having the best time making stuff for our little girl! I saw both of these crafts on pinterest and I just had to make them. I love how they turned out and they were both super easy and super cheap.

Burp cloths! They are just a strip of fabric sewn onto a cloth diaper...easy and very absorbent!

Fabric alphabet letters! Any fabric of your choice with some felt fabric in the middle to make them thicker. I printed letters off the computer, but you could free hand it too.

St. George

Over the weekend Brad, Liz, and I headed down to St. George for some warm weather, rock climbing, visiting with family and friends and lots of fun! We left friday night and got home sunday night. It was just a short trip but exactly what we needed.

 

 

Top 5 of this week

1. Last night as we were going to sleep, Brad leaned over and kissed me goodnight and said I love you, then put his hand on my stomach and said I love you Paisley. Melted my heart! :)
2. I am so thankful for a husband who works so hard for our family. He is putting in a whole basement apartment (a TON of work) just so I can work less when baby girl gets here. He takes such good care of me, I am so lucky!
3. We are going to St. George in 2 days! Wahoooo!!
4. I got baby girl's room all painted and her furniture is almost complete...we are going with Grandma Nancy to pick up her crib tonight!
5. I am 20 weeks along and people at work still don't think I look pregnant! :)

At this current moment life is great!

20 weeks, halfway there!

Here I am at 20 weeks. I was barely showing and then I hit 5 months and she decided it was time to make her appearance. I think I have felt her move a few times but its so hard to tell for sure. The ultrasound tech said my placenta is anterior so it might be hard for me to be 100% sure until she gets bigger and stronger since she has to kick through it for me to feel it. Her heartbeat is steady at 160 and everything is looking good. I still feel really great. I haven't started wearing maternity clothes yet but I feel it might be in my near future. I told my manager that I was expecting and she had nothing but happy things to say, which was such a relief! I can't believe we will be parents in 20 weeks! These last 20 have gone by so quickly and I hope the next 20 go just as fast! :)

Baby GIRL Fortuna

That's right, Brad and I are having a GIRL! We are so so excited! We found out on April 1st...it was a little difficult convincing people that this is the real deal and not an April Fool's joke. We are so grateful that we get to be the parents to a precious little girl. It will be so fun because my sister in law just had a baby girl in March and my other sister in law is due with a baby girl in May, so she will have cousins her age to play with which will be so fun! Brad and I were both so sure that we would have a boy first, but as soon as we found out it was a girl it just seemed so perfect. The ultrasound said she was measuring 2 days ahead, but she was so wiggly that it's hard to tell for sure. Seriously, she was moving all around and every time we'd try to get a look at her heart or her face she would move away really quick. She must be like her mom and not like to be disturbed while sleeping ;) It was so cool to see her wiggle and squirm all over the place! They want to do another ultrasound to get a better look at her heart and brain just because she was such a wiggle worm. That is scheduled on April 29th. We are participating in a study that gets us 3 extra ultrasounds, so we actually have another one on April 11th. It is so amazing to get this many photos and chances to look at our beautiful daughter!

I have been so excited to make stuff now that we know the gender. I had 4 days off in a row right after we found out what we were having so I got started right away.

These are pacifier clips. I think they turned out so cute! And they are so easy to make.

Wooden flowers that I painted. She will have 2 purple and 1 pink that we'll hang up on her wall.

A burp cloth. This is not my best work, but I still think it turned out cute and she's just going to puke on it anyway :)

This is my favorite thing I have made for her so far! It is one of those swaddle blankets made out of that really thin gauze material. I just picked a stamp I like and some fabric ink and started stampin' away. I chose pink and grey elephants and I think it is the most adorable thing!

 

Today we bought the carseat!! It is still so crazy to me that we are having a baby and that we need a carseat of our very own!

We have the crib picked out

We have part of her room painted

We have her dresser and rocker - we just need to refinish them

 

Even with all this stuff done we still have so much to do! Working in the NICU really makes you want to get prepared fast...