Bennett Christopher Francom

Bennett Christopher Francom arrived on Friday, December 28, 2012 at 2:24 pm. He weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and was 18 inches long.

They planned on admitting me on the 27th. The dumbest nurse EVER put my IV in. She missed and had to do it twice. I have the best veins imaginable. They're huge and don't roll. She was not my favorite person. Once she had it in, it continued to hurt too. Anyway, they then decided they didn't want me to stay the night and I needed to return in the morning. They told me to leave the IV in and come back the next day. I don't think so. After an hour or so I called my friend, Karsen Delgado, and asked if it would be hard for Chris to remove my IV. She said it was pretty simple and I had him do it. Thank goodness! I slept a little because I didn't have that IV in. Then the next day had a different nurse. She mocked the nurse who had missed my vein the night before. It made me feel better. She did a great job and no pain after it was put in. Granted, I still wanted it out as fast as I could, but it wasn't killing me either. 

Bennett's birth story was not a fun one. I thought it would be just like Rylee's. Not a lot of pain, break my water, slight contractions, walking epidural, easy delivery, perfectly healthy baby. NOT. AT. ALL. Bennett's story is different in almost every way. I didn't have any pain. None. At about 1:00 I was beginning to think he was never going to come, even though they had started the Potocin at about 8:00 in the morning. They then planned to break my water and I figured I would get the epidural about 30 minutes after that, just like with Rylee. Bad idea. The second they broke my water I went from zero pain to pain that was off the charts. I hadn't prepared for this. I didn't do hypnobreathing or Lamoze. I was just sitting on the edge of the bed, holding onto Chris, whimpering, frequently forgetting to breath. It hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before. I wanted to push. I wanted to have this baby right then. The anesthesiologist came in with paperwork, but when he saw the pain I was in agreed to forgo the paperwork for a bit. He did the epidural and then I felt shooting pain down my left leg. Great, he had to do it again. This time he did it right, but it wasn't doing anything for the pain. By this time they've got me laying down, but I continue to forget to breath. It's hurting so bad. I need to push. I'm just repeating over and over "It's not working. The epidural's not working. I need to push." The nurses told me to hold on, the doctor isn't here yet. The anesthesiologist gave me a couple more shots of pain medication. Soon, I was feeling NOTHING. The doctor arrived and said I could finally push. About that time I was just ready to take a nap. I didn't care what they told me to do. I felt no pain and I just wanted to sleep. I tried to push, but have no idea if my body was responding at all. It must've because Bennett was born shortly thereafter. Then I learned that the placenta doesn't always deliver with the baby. Who knew? The doctor had to spend the next 20 minutes trying to get the placenta out. I was very glad I had an overactive epidural at that time, that's for sure! He said if he couldn't get it, he would need to do a D&C. I could've slept through all of it.

Bennett struggled breathing and couldn't maintain the required blood sugar, so he spent some time in the NICU. It was 4 hours before I got to see him. Doctor Pavich suggested we supplement formula so he could sustain his blood sugar and get into our room, instead of the NICU. Scrubbing in for the NICU was no small task. It wasn't comfortable and there were so many cords it wasn't easy to hold him. Each time they pricked his foot for the blood test I wanted to cry. I would've done anything to get him into my room. So we got him to drink as much formula as we could. It made his NICU stay much shorter, thankfully.

He eats well, sleeps well, and poops well. He's on his way to plumping up in no time! Rylee LOVES "Baby Bennett". She loves to hold him, kiss him, touch him, poke him. She's held him in 20 minute increments  not allowing anyone else to hold him.

We're in for the ride of our lives!

See if you see the family resemblance:

Bennett

Rylee

Chris

Induction Scheduled

Baby Boy Francom is scheduled to enter this world on Friday, December 28, 2012. He continues to measure small. They want us to deliver between 38-39 weeks, between December 27th and January 2nd. The doctors don't induce on holidays or the weekend, so that didn't leave us with many options. The 27th, 28th or 2nd. We're going to go with the 28th. I'll be admitted in the evening on the 27th to start some medication to help with prep work and then I'll be induced in the morning. I hope Rylee is ready for her world to be rocked! It makes me and Chris sad, she has no idea what's coming. I don't know if we're ready for it either...

Rylee's Year in Pictures

It's a BOY!

We're expecting a healthy little boy! Due January 9, 2013. Rylee is excited. She says "Baby in there" as she points to my tummy. We have no idea on a name yet...

We took our annual family hike up Snowbird. It was a perfect day, not too hot and not too cold.

Rylee got a balance bike to start learning how to ride a bike. She needs to grow 1 more inch before she can really do it, but she LOVES her helmet! She calls it her "helmitch".

She's growing up too fast. She imitates her dad whenever she can. She's become addicted to his ski movies and always wants to go skiing in the living room. Chris plans on taking her up sometime this winter. She loves playing with her cousins and she pretends to call her Aunt Lisa or Aunt Lori on her phone, all the time.

Rylee is ready for Halloween. She is going to be a horse. I didn't think she would like to wear her costume, but once she put it on she didn't want to take it off.

San Diego & Danny & Megan's Wedding

Rylee had a blast at the San Diego Zoo!

 She LOVED the bears, snakes, monkeys, elephants, polar bears, bus, trees, people, flowers, & pretty much everything. She loved the entire experience. The only thing I can think of she didn't like, was the kids standing in front of her stroller so she couldn't see the animals. She would look at Chris and I, with a look of begging, "please hold me, these kids are too tall."

 It was hard to get her to look at the camera, she preferred to look at the animals.

 She makes great bear growling sounds! And she signs "bear" as she does it. She usually does great monkey sounds and signs too, but may have been too overwhelmed by seeing actual monkeys?

 San Diego Zoo 2012 - Francom Family Fun!

 Had a great time with Grandpa Francom. She gets so excited when she sees him.

 Woke up from her nap just in time to go to Uncle Danny's wedding.

 The 1st kiss as husband & wife, Danny & Megan Francom. Congratulations!
OK, I'm going to have to figure out how to turn these pictures. They're not saved like this on my computer. AGH!

 Best friends.

 Our family, for a little while...

Rylee enjoying her time in the hotel room. We had a great view of the pool. She walked around yelling "Pool! Pool!" whenever she could. She went swimming twice, even though it was quite chilly. I preferred the hot tub, but Chris played in the pool with her.

 She wishes her Uncle Danny lived closer!

 Getting ready to fly back to Utah. She's fascinated by airplanes, though I don't think she completely understood we were on one. She did great on the flights though! I swear my baby is an angel.

18 Months

How time flies! My baby is 1 1/2 years old tomorrow. I will soon be done referring to her age in months. Won't that be weird? I remember the days I used years to define things. Then you get pregnant and it changes to weeks. Then you have a baby and it changes to months. I long for the day I get to use years again.

She can turn anything into a toy. She's playing with the top to the essential oil diffuser here. She's quite creative. Her other favorites include my hair clips, necklaces, Chris's belts, and her wipes. She loves to wipe her face and anything else she comes into contact with. She's a clean freak already. I'm so proud!

She's quite a fan of ice cream cones. Very fun trip to Arctic Circle. She loves going down the slide. She's getting to the point of no fear, which causes TONS of fear in me!

 We're hoping she'll be our little baller. Either that, or she'll be our gangsta.

We're having our first family photos, since Rylee was born, done next week. I'll post them as soon as we get them. Soon after, we'll be headed to San Diego, CA for our first family vacation. Well, the first one including a flight and a stay in a hotel anyway. I'm nervous! I would love any suggestions veteran travelers have for me. Chris's brother, Danny, will be getting married. It should be a lot of fun! 

Approaching 18 Months

Rylee is so much fun! She's walking, talking, signing, playing, and already learning to yell "No!" It seems to be her favorite word. She's a typical toddler. She loves making faces.

She enjoys pretending to put make-up on in the mornings when her Mommy gets ready for work.

She fell asleep in the middle of dinner one night. She's never done that before! Eating is too important to her.

She doesn't love church. During sacrament meeting she's OK, she's a little bit cranky during Sunday School. But, by the 3rd hour she SUCKS. She's tired, hungry, and ornery. It's nap time.

She loves playing under the kitchen table, running around it, or even walking on it, if her Daddy would let her.

She's enjoyed going for walks in the warmer weather, but also likes to watch the big snow flakes fall. Lucky we live in Utah and she can have both in the same week!

She's growing so fast.

Baths are still her favorite thing! As she learns to spell her cousin's name.