Utah: Day 2 and 3

Day Two 

It was St. Patrick's Day! Tyler picked up breakfast for us from Kneaders. Oh how I wish we had a Kneaders here! Then we headed over to the hospital. Ailey and Luke were in full mommy and daddy mode and it was a joy to see! Tate had already had a busy morning of testing. He failed his first hearing test in one ear but passed it on the second test. He also had a little congestion in his nose. Other than that both mommy and baby were doing great!

Ailey is the calmest and most natural mom. She is amazing!

Luke was doing a great job taking care of Tate too!

Pops and Lovey got in some good snuggles with our little Tator Tot! Yes, that is his nickname. Our whole family has been calling him Tator Tot since we found out that he was a boy. Hopefully he will find it endearing. LOL.

We brought over all the preemie clothes and supplies that we bought the night before. We found the cutest little St. Patrick's Day outfit for Tate! Ailey put him in it immediately. Ha ha! 

Such a tiny little leprechaun!

Ailey told us that they would be going home that night. Exciting! Tate, Ailey, and Luke were exhausted so we left them to hopefully get a little rest. Luke's mom, Andrea, went back home to St. George. She will be coming back next week and bringing Luke's siblings to meet their new nephew. 

Tyler and I went out for lunch at one of my favorite childhood restaurants. La Casita in Springville. We love it! Such nostalgia.

That evening Ailey and Tate got discharged from the hospital. Tate's going home outfit was his little shamrock outfit! Perfection. Look how tiny that little peanut is in his car seat! Tyler and I grabbed a few more things that they needed from the store and got dinner for them. Then we left them to get settled and hopefully relax. I'm so glad that everything went well and that they were able to come home within 24 hours! No NICU stays! Hooray!

Day 3

Ailey, Luke, and Tate had a bit of a rough night. I swear that first night home is always hard. It's an adjustment for everyone. When the shock of being born wears off of babies and they are suddenly starving and new parents are exhausted and trying to figure out breast feeding; it can be tough. They all finally got to sleep at 6:30 AM. Yes...AM. Tyler and I left them alone for awhile to get some sleep.

Tyler and I had breakfast and did some shopping. It was a gorgeous warm sunny day. There are so many good stores in Utah. It was also the perfect day to hit BYU campus. Bryn wanted a particular sweatshirt from there so we were on the hunt to find it. We did and also found a cute BYU board book for Tate. Luke is an uber-BYU fan! It's crazy to see all of the construction and changes happening on campus.

Kameron got off work early and he and Erin met us at Ailey and Luke's place. It was crazy being in Utah for two days and not seeing them yet! Erin did the cutest photo shoot of Tate, Ailey, and Luke. Here are a few pictures from that:

There were so many cute pictures and they are absolutely precious!

We ordered pizza for dinner that night and had it delivered. It was so good to catch up with Kam and Erin and to hang out with everyone. I love our kids so much! They are hilarious! Then we all left to let the Jorgensens get some rest. Tyler, Kam, Erin, and I headed back to BYU campus to go to the Creamery. The new Creamery is so big and nice! The Sparkle Sherbet still hits! It is SO GOOD! My two favorite ice cream flavors at the Creamery are peppermint (didn't have it) and the Sparkle Sherbet. Yum! We also bought some BYU mint brownies and donuts for the next day. Then we followed Kam and Erin back to Eagle Mountain to see their new place. Both Ailey, Luke, Kam, and Erin have moved to new apartments since the last time we were in town. It was so fun to get tours of their new homes. Both are decorated absolutely DARLING!! I love both couples esthetic! It was fun to get some one-on-one time with Kam and Erin and to see our granddog Dwight! He is a sweetheart. It was another great day!

This little guy was the cherry on the top!

Utah Day 1: Tate's Birth

Day 1:

Tyler and I drove to Utah thinking that was a good idea. Nope. It was a horrible idea. We should have flown. We had good roads until we got past Missoula, MT and then we hit the worst icy roads that we have ever seen in all of our years of driving to Utah. We saw so many roll overs and slide offs. It was HORRIBLE. By Butte the roads improved and we had dry roads the rest of the way to Utah. Then when we got to Utah...the weather was in the 70s and 80s! Talk about an extreme change!

Bryn didn't come with us because her schedule was insane. She had so much going on that she couldn't miss. Including her SAT retake. I'm grateful for friends and Reilly and all the people who kept an eye on her while we were gone and invited her over for multiple dinners and all the things.

We got to Provo around 5pm and checked into our hotel. We were starving! I forgot how Provo has nothing open on Sunday except for fast food. We grabbed a quick dinner and got ready to go see Ailey and Luke.

Ailey and Luke checked into the hospital at 6:15 pm and got settled. When we headed over to there; Ailey had already gotten her IV. We met her nurse and stayed for a few hours visiting with them. 

Then we left hoping that Ailey could get some sleep. We headed back to our hotel and stayed dressed but napped throughout the night...in between hourly updates from Luke.

At 1 am they started Cytotec to soften and thin her cervix. She was dilated 2 cm and was 80% effaced. Then at 3am they started the Pitocin. Ailey was able to walk around a bit and use the yoga ball. By 5am she was dilated to a 3 and was contracting nicely on her own so they stopped the Pitocin. By 6am the contractions were coming on strong and were painful so we went back to the hospital. Ailey was very thankful to get her epidural at 7am and it went well. We hung out with Ailey and Luke while waiting for her contractions to get even stronger and closer together. She was feeling better now that her pain was under control. 

Ailey participated in a lactation study while waiting to go into labor. A lactation specialist/educator came in and went over breastfeeding and all the things. She did such a great job! It was so much better having the educational stuff happen BEFORE Ailey gave birth and while we were all just waiting around. The study was to see if doing breastfeeding education before birth was more effective than coming in after giving birth and then going through the whole spiel. (They also had someone come in after but both Ailey and Luke said that they could barely concentrate on what the person was saying because there was so much going on with Ailey's aftercare and Tate and so many people in and out.)

It was very special that Ailey was giving birth at the hospital that my mom was the CEO of right before we moved to Spokane. My mom designed and built the Women's Center that Ailey was giving birth in and she planned out and designed all the birthing rooms. They had just gotten done building that wing when I gave birth to Kameron at this same hospital. I was also born in this same hospital as were two of my sisters and my brother. My mom started her career there as a labor and delivery nurse and then also worked in the NICU and worked her way up. It felt like my mom was close. 

We had a weird/cool experience happen while we were sitting with Ailey and Luke. At one point Tyler said, "Are you guys seeing this?" Across the room a drawer opened and shut and so did a cupboard. We were like "Mom??" LOL. Tyler walked over to see if the drawer or cupboard could've done that on their own with the room door opening or something else happening. Nope. Both the drawer and the cupboard had a catch. Very strange. 

I told my mom's best friend Mary Jane about that and she said, "How special that he was born in the room your Mom helped design and you were present for his birth. I felt a chill reading that part!  It doesn’t get any better than that. I believe she opened the drawers to let you know she was there with you. What a wonderful moment."

Ailey also tearily told us that she had had a very lucid dream about my mom a few days before. In her dream Ailey was worried about giving birth and my mom was there comforting her. Mom hugged her and told her "You've got this Ailey!" and that everything would be okay. Ailey said that it seemed so real and she could feel my mom's hug and like she was really there with her. I'm a big believer in things like this. Of course my mom would be there...try to keep her away. LOL. I'm sure she was overseeing all of Reilly's c-sections too.

Kirk was texting me regularly for updates and asked me if it was hard to be at a hospital that we so closely associate with Mom. I said no...it was quite the opposite. It was a comfort.

We had several hours of waiting. We played games and chatted. Ailey's OB came in and broke her water. Then Luke's mom, Andrea, arrived from St. George and she hung out with all of us. It was nice to catch up with her. We haven't seen or talked to her since the wedding. Ailey was so hot and wanted her room icy cold. I was in a coat nearly the entire time. The nurses kept saying how cold the room was and didn't Ailey want to turn the heat up or have a nice warm blanket and she said NO! Ha ha!

Ailey had no appetite but she did manage to eat a popsicle and drink part of a Gatorade in addition to her ice water. Tyler and I tried Uncrustables for the first time. The nurses had snacks for the support people. Uncrustables are weirdly good. Maybe we were just extremely hungry! Ha ha.

While Andrea was there...Tyler and I went down to the cafeteria to quickly grab something to eat. Tyler's blood sugar was low and we had just started eating when Luke texted us that we needed to come back quick because things were happening! Ailey was starting to feel a lot of pressure and pain.

When we got back to Ailey's room, Andrea had gone, and things were definitely happening! Ailey was in A LOT of pain! Those contractions were coming hard and fast! She was clutching the railing of the bed for dear life. The nurses brought in the birth cart and got everything ready to go! She was dilated to an 8.

The anesthesiologist came in and gave Ailey some more medication because the epidural wasn't cutting it by this point. Unfortunately she had a bad reaction to that medication. As soon as it hit her system she was crying out in pain. She felt a horrible burning sensation that started at her legs and went up her body. The pain was a 10. The anesthesiologist slowed down how fast he was giving her the meds and she started feeling better. That was a scary moment! 

After that she very quickly dilated from an 8 to a 10. Then it was time to push! Tyler was at the head of the bed supporting Ailey's head and shoulders as she pushed and Luke and I each had a leg. She pushed for about 2 hours but didn't make a ton of progress. We could see part of the baby's head but that was about it. Ailey was exhausted. Her OB came in and used the forceps and Tate was out in seconds.

Wow! What a moment! What an experience! I've given birth myself, obviously, but it is different actually watching someone give birth and watching a baby come into the world. It is holy! We were thrilled to be in the room with Ailey and Luke and to watch our grandson be born. We were all in tears of joy as he was placed on Ailey's chest and we saw his little face!

Tate Tyler Jorgensen was born at around 4:30 pm. He was 6 lbs 8 oz. He was 18 1/2 inches long. He had a little bit of fuzzy reddish brown hair. He did great! He got to snuggle with his mommy immediately.

We were all bawling our eyes out. What a miracle!! Tate was so tiny! Even smaller than Karter who was 6 lbs 12 oz. (My smallest baby was Ailey who was 7 lbs 6 oz.) It's so interesting how they do things now...the golden hour and all of that. The baby snuggling skin-to-skin with both mommy and daddy and not getting a bath right away. Lots of bonding time. I love how newborn babies are intently looking all around and responding to voices. It is sweet and sacred.

Let me just tell you what an AMAZING job Ailey did! She was a trooper! She blew us away with how calm and determined and STRONG she was!! Luke did a great job supporting her and being so loving and encouraging. Tyler and I were so honored to be there with them. What an incredibly special day!

Tyler and I stayed for the first hour of Ailey's recovery and then we left when Luke's mom came back. We saw Andrea in the elevator and exchanged hugs and excitement about the new grand baby! This is Andrea and Joe's first grandchild. (Joe is in the military and was in Germany.) Andrea stayed with them for the rest of the night and helped get them moved into their regular room and get settled.

Tyler and I grabbed a quick dinner on the run of corn dogs from the Corn Dog Company. We love that place and immediately headed to three different Targets to get some preemie sized baby clothes, undershirts, and diapers! Just like we had to do for Karter! Then we went back to our hotel room and practically collapsed with exhaustion. We FaceTimed that night with Kameron and Erin and also with Bryn. We talked to Reilly and Hunter and also Kirk who wanted the details of the day.

The new little family did great throughout the night! Tate's blood sugar was monitored regularly because of Ailey being on blood pressure medication. I guess those meds can reduce the baby's ability to regulate their blood sugar levels after birth. But he passed all of his tests and did great! He was also a champion little eater!!

March 2026

March was a very exciting month for our family!!! A new grandbaby was born! It's doesn't get more exciting than that! Tate Tyler Jorgensen was born on March 16th. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. He is delicious! More on that later. 

Up until Tate's birth...Ailey was going in every few days for NST tests. Tate was a bit erratic in the womb. Thankfully he continued to pass his tests and Ailey's blood pressure stayed under control with the medication. It was worrisome and I was glad when the day for his induction got closer.

Right before we left for Utah we had some awful weather. We had another scary windstorm. I hate them so much! It wasn't quite as awful as that traumatic one in 2016 but it was pretty serious. A person died and houses and cars were destroyed by falling trees. It hit during the night and a lot of damage was done around town. Thankfully we didn't have much at our house. Our next door neighbor's trampoline slammed against our house at 2:30 am scaring the heck out of us! It sounded like a giant limb came off of one of our pine trees and hit our roof. Their trampoline got stuck on our fence and continued to slam against our house and roll around for the rest of the night. It sounded awful but we were glad that it wasn't worse. Suffice it to say we didn't get much sleep that night.

Two days later a crazy blizzard hit and we got about 7 inches of snow.  It is the most snow that we've had all year. Ironically the kids were out of school on the very worst day because it happened to be a snow make-up day. The roads were icy and it was awful. It stayed that way until the day before we left for Utah. You've got to love March in Spokane.

We traveled to Utah on some of the worst roads that we have ever driven on...ice, snow, multiple rollovers, and slide offs. It was terrible. I don't know why but we always have the worst driving experiences from WA to UT in March. Thankfully we made it there and back safely and had an amazing time. That will be its own post.

Meanwhile back in Spokane...

Karson started going to speech therapy and OT therapy. He has a speech delay and it's been exciting for him to get going with that. He goes twice a week and while Reilly can bring the twins in with her; it is better if she doesn't. Both grandmas take a day to watch the twins at Reilly's house. Colleen helps on Wednesdays and I help on Thursdays and I think I can speak for both of us...we love it! Bryn and Tyler help too when needed. Our whole family is super excited for Karson. He likes going to his therapy and has fun while he is there. He is such a cutie!

And so are these two! It's always a good day hanging out with the grandkids!

Bryn competed at State for HOSA (Future Health Professionals club). It was held downtown at the Davenport Grand. Bryn got to wear scrubs which she loved. She didn't win but she had so much fun! She loved the lectures and demonstrations. She was over the moon to win a professional grade tourniquet kit that she now keeps in her car. I think she has found her calling in the medical field. Bryn was also asked to be a judge at the Science Fair at her elementary school and she had an absolute ball! I love that she is getting to have so many neat experiences!!

Bryn also took the SAT and had a HORRIBLE experience! The poor kid. She studied her butt off and did all kinds of practice tests. When the big day rolled around she was very prepared. The SAT was being given to the juniors at her school in several classrooms. She took the test and came home wiped out. She felt like she did well. Then two days later we got an email from her school saying that the students who took the SAT in a particular classroom (the one that Bryn was in) have to retake the test because the teacher who administered the exam did it improperly. So due to proctor error...the SAT exams for the kids in that classroom were invalidated and a retake date was scheduled. Parents were LIVID! We were LIVID! But there was nothing we could do. Bryn had to retake the SAT while we were in Utah. I felt so bad for her!! 

She also went to State with FCCLA. This year she didn't compete. She was an evaluator. It lasted for three days and she had a great time! She's looking forward to competing again next year.

While we were in Utah...Reilly called to say that Karter had RSV. That was scary! He was pretty sick. Then Karson got it and then Kynlee. Then the whole family got it. They were MISERABLE for over two weeks. I felt so bad for them. Kynlee ended up having to go in to the urgent care for a breathing treatment and was sent home with albuterol and a nebulizer. Thankfully they eventually all got over it. One day I went over with a couple of things for them and couldn't just hand it over and go. I saw the saddest babies who were trying to smile at me, Karson who was feeling terrible but wanting to play, and Reilly's poor little sad smile. I couldn't leave. They broke my heart! I am so glad that everyone is doing well now! 

I had my yearly gynecology appointment and to my GREAT sadness my doctor is retiring in June. Technically I go to a place that has several providers and I see most of them but this doctor was a favorite and the one to take all of my issues and complaints the most seriously. This is after the female doctor who I saw for 20 years before that also retired. Ugh! You know you are getting old when all of our doctors are either retiring or dying. RIP Dr. Morgan!

Anyway... I went in to discuss how I was doing and I can now add an estrogen patch twice a week to my repertoire. I've been on it for several weeks now and don't notice that big of a change except for MUCH FEWER hot flashes. That alone is a big YAHOO!! I also have some breast tenderness (which can be a side effect.) Swell. Apparently it takes about 3 months to really kick in. I go back in June to chat about how things are going. I guess I will be chatting with someone new yet again.

My PT continues to go well. Henry...my new bestie...for all the time we have spent together over the past 9 months...has me lifting heavier and heavier weights. He is more like my personal trainer now than my PT at this point and I am all for it. Ha ha!

Beverly turned 7!! The little diva that she is got a treat of boiled eggs! She loves them.

We got to spend quite a bit of time with the twins and Karson once everyone was feeling better. The twins can sit up on their own and can get up on their knees and are starting to do the inch worm. Kynlee is *almost* crawling. She can get all over the place by doing all kinds of pivots and inch worm moves. LOL. The twins are at such a fun stage! They are so smiley and giggly! Karter is definitely bigger than Kynlee. She started as the bigger twin and now she is the little dainty one.

Thank goodness for FaceTime and our family chat! Ailey keeps us supplied with lots of pictures and videos of Tate and his OOTD! He is ADORABLE! She is such a natural little momma! She and Luke have made the transition to parenthood quite smoothly. Tate's a lucky little boy! We are absolutely SMITTEN with all of these grandkids of ours!!

One night I went with Cambria, Holly, and Cherise to watch our friends Shannon and Summer perform in Ham on Regal, which is a parent variety show, that is fundraiser for our high school. It was both Shannon and Summer's first year participating. They danced and sang and did a great job! It was a fun night cheering them on! I also went to book club at Summer's house. We read Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown. I tried to squeeze in some fun with friends when I could in a busy month!

Tyler and I also went to Gaiser Conservatory to see the Rotting Corpse Flower that was blooming. It is actually called a Voodoo Lily. It only blooms for 24-48 hours.

It is supposed to smell like rotting flesh...we saw it on the last day and *sadly* couldn't really smell it. I tried leaning over the railing, much to Tyler's chagrin, to get a good sniff but still didn't smell much. Bummer.

We ended the month with Bryn attending an Orchestra Festival with her Advanced Orchestra and she is also dating a new man. :) My flowers are starting to come up...daffodils and hyacinths...so far. Yay Spring! Bring on the warm weather!

We also had a quasi-Easter service at Church on Palm Sunday. Easter will be during General Conference Weekend this year. Not my favorite. I like it when they are separate. I love Holy Week though and I am excited to enjoy all of that!

March was exciting!! A new baby! A trip to Utah! Getting to spend time with all of our Utah kids who we love and miss so much! Spending time with my brother! Good times.

Next up...Tate's arrival!