Plant-o-cide

I am absolutely horrible with plants! The relief society presidency came over last Friday and gave me this potted plant:

It's already dying, I feel like a jerk. I've only ever been able to keep one plant healthy longer than a week, that was my 7th grade terrarium project. It is actually still thriving and alive on a shelf over my mom's kitchen sink. Promise.

Disneyland Ticket Deal

Currently GetAwayToday is having a deal where if you purchase a 3-day hopper pass, you can get a free upgrade to a 5-day 1 park pass. A hopper pass lets you go back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure as many times as you want, with a 1 park pass, you get the park of your choice each day, but only that one park. We have decided to opt out since we love hopping back and forth, and because Dalan has to eat Plaza Inn Chicken at least once a day while we are there.

Here is a link to purchase:

You have to purchase by today, but you can use the ticket anytime before December 31.

Downhill Fast

Rory at 4:00pm

Rory at 10:00am

Rory at 12:00pm

Rory at 3:00pm

Rory at 5:00pm

We've had a sick little boy at our house :( luckily it looks like it's a 24 hour thing. He is feeling much better this morning and is just a little fussy. So happy his fever is gone. It reached 102, which was absolutely terrifying. Sick babies are the pits!

Crap Napper

This post isn't cutesy or full of adorable pictures. It's about a learning experience. It's funny how much of the baby's 'problems' turn out to be caused (unintentionally) by the parents. Rory has never been a good napper, but he was such a good baby, it didn't really matter. About 4 weeks ago his naps became even shorter than usual, I was lucky if he stayed asleep for 30 minutes, I would pray for at least 20. Rory really wasn't struggling too much with this nap schedule, but I had been religiously following Babywise and that stated he should be sleeping for an hour and a half every 3 hours. Sleep, change, eat, play, sleep repeated every 3 hours. With Rory's 30 minute naps resulted in his schedule repeating every 2 hours, and so he wasn't extremely hungry when it was time to eat (since his last meal had been so recent). I started to have anxiety attacks over this, I must have been doing something wrong. Desperately I tried to find an answer online, or in books. I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, which did help me learn to recognize his nap cues better, but the book was so full of what horrible awful things happen to children who don't nap that I felt like a total failure. I was ruining my baby, and I didn't know how to fix it. I was trying to force Rory to fit the schedule he was 'supposed' to be on. In the mean time, Rory was getting fussier and fussier everyday and Dalan and I were at the end of our rope.

The anxiety became so intense that it started affecting me physically and emotionally. I stopped eating breakfast and lunch and I would be standing in the kitchen, and start to sob, for no reason at all. I got behind on housework since I now spent every second Rory slept watching the baby monitor and crying every time he moved or looked like he was about to wake up. I felt completely inadequate as a parent and started having regrets about being a mom. Rory would be better off in a different family where the mom knew what she was doing, and she would know how to get him to take productive naps and therefore, not condemn his future. I was sane enough to realize that these thoughts weren't normal and I contacted a helpline regarding Postpartum Depression.

Sadly, it took over a week for my local Postpartum support rep to respond back to me. In the meantime, I thankfully worked things out for myself. In my hours of internet searching trying to find an answer for what I had done wrong, I came across a sample schedule for a 4-month old. This schedule stated that 4-month olds are usually horrible nappers, and the sample schedule was based on a baby who only wanted to take half hour naps. This was a huge turning point for me, I just needed some sort of validation that I hadn't broken my baby.

Once I realized that 30 minute naps were ok, I started paying close attention to Rory's cues. 1 hour and 15 minutes after being awake, Rory is ready for his nap. Sometimes he doesn't even eat between naps, and thats ok. My baby is thriving and happy on this baby-led schedule and I feel so much more in control once I could accept the fact that my baby takes 30 minute naps. Now I know that I can get housework done, it just needs to be in five 30-minute intervals during the day.

Rory still sleeps well at night. I was jealous and upset that he wasn't sleeping in 12 hour stretches like some of my friends' babies, Rory sleeps a total of 11 hours every night, and wakes up once during that time to feed. I've since met a family with a baby the same age as Rory who wakes up every 3 hours to feed at night! How lucky am I?

Now that I've decided to go with the flow, I've been able to actually get out of the house with Rory! Before I didn't dare leave, because he might end up wanting a nap, and having a meltdown. Now that I can guestimate what time he will want his next nap, and watch his cues, I make sure to have him home for naptime, or to have an environment ready where he can take a quick snooze. Last week we went to infant story time at the library and to play group. He was great at both, but just took a little snoozer while I sat in the corner and held him. We've started going for walks during the day, even just to take out the trash and that helps with the cabin fever a lot too.

I think my anxiety/depression was caused by quite a few factors, I've had crazy hormones going on associated with my breast milk drying up and also the return of my monthly cycle (this was shortly after my worst meltdown, it's always nice to realize you can totally blame that stuff on PMS). I was also feeling very isolated and lonely while Dalan was at work. I've met some great mom's through play group and also at church that have been a huge help.

So, it a nutshell. All babies are different. What works for your baby, will probably not work for mine. Authors can give generalities, but there is no guarantee that what they have to preach will be right for you or your baby, and that's just fine. As long as my baby is happy and healthy, we'll keep doing what we're doing.

And as a funny little sidenote, Rory got his shots yesterday and has been cranky and fussy all day. He's currently napping and just passed hour #2, so I got to write a blog post about his half hour naps, during a 2+ hour nap.

The Rory Story

Considering a certain baby is 4 months old today (WHAT?!), I guess it's high time we shared his birth story!

*Disclaimer, this post is about birthing a baby; therefore, words associated with birthing a baby will be used. You have been warned.

Dalan moved to Washington for work on October 8, before he began he worked it out with his manager to take unpaid leave for 30 days once the baby was born so he could come back to Utah and help me for the first few weeks. My due date was November 11, and my last day at work was November 2, Dalan scheduled his return flight for November 2 so I wouldn't be home freaking out all alone the week before.

37 weeks pregnant

I had my weekly checkup on October 23, where my Doctor declared my baby was definitely coming early, and that I would be lucky to make it until November. She offered to strip my membranes then and there! I slightly freaked out and declined considering Dalan's absence. We decided that she would strip my membranes on November 1 and that I would likely go into labor sometime on the second, just in time for Dalan to be there. I changed my last day of work to October 25th. It seemed like a good plan, but as I drove home I started to worry about the 'lucky to make it until November' part. I called Dalan and he agreed to change his flight to October 31, that way he could come with me to the November 1 appointment and would be here earlier, just in case.

On October 28 I lost my mucous plug, and then I just plain lost it (my mind). It could mean that labor is in 24-48 hours, or it could mean nothing. So terrified by the unknown and missing my husband, I called Dalan, sobbing. He scrambled to get everything together and come back to Utah as quickly as possible. He arranged for the next flight which wasn't until the morning, but he made it back by about 9am.

I was SO happy and relieved to finally have my husband with me! It took away a ton of the stress knowing that he wouldn't miss the birth. We spent that day doing a few of the last minute preparations like building the bassinet, installing the car seat, and buying a few forgotten items for the hospital.

I started having contractions on Tuesday (October 30), we decided to head to the hospital once they were 5 minutes apart. We had my bag and everything ready to go once they were 6 minutes apart, and then they just stopped.

Slightly annoyed at not getting to meet my little Dude yet, I decided to focus on two new goals:

1. do NOT have a Halloween baby
2. Wait until November 1, and then Dalan's new health insurance would kick in, and we would be double covered.

I took it easy and kept my legs crossed all day on Halloween. By this time I was huge, uncomfortable, and absolutely miserable. I don't know about this burst of energy that people talk about towards the end, I never got it.

That night I was so uncomfortable, I couldn't sleep at all. I stayed up reading a book and playing on my iPad and slightly drifted off around 3am. At about 6:30am I woke up to use the bathroom and discovered blood, lots of clots. I tried to shake it off and tell myself it was part of labor and the 'bloody show' as they call it. A few graphic google searches later though, I learned otherwise, completely freaked myself out, and decided to call labor and delivery.

The girl on the phone was very nice and said that while she couldn't offer medical advice, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to come in a get checked out.

In the meantime, I started having contractions. They were much more intense than they had been a few days before, and seemed to be progressing rather quickly. We gathered all of our things and jumped in the car.  This is the part where I sing praises to heated seats. I can't even begin to describe how much the heat helped ease the pain in my back with each contraction. By the time we arrived at the hospital my contractions were pretty intense and 6 minutes apart. It took awhile to check in since we now had new insurance (for 9 whole hours). Dalan and the receptionist filled out the paperwork while I gripped the counter and gritted my teeth.

Once we were checked in they took me into a birthing suite, I had a hard time taking everything in, I was only there to be checked. Right?

Obligatory pre-baby hospital photo. So flattering.

I had an examination where they declared everything was fine, and I was dilated to a 6. Given that plus my irregular contractions, they usually would have sent me home, but since we lived 40 minutes away from the hospital, they decided to consult with my doctor who said to keep me there for a few hours and monitor me.

After about an hour and a half my contractions were still pretty irregular, they would be 10, then 2, then 7 minutes apart, and the intensity was just as sporadic. My doctor decided that she wasn't happy with the lack of progression and opted to give me some Pitocin to regulate everything. At this point, I was informed that I would be having a baby, that day!

We made a few rushed phone calls to friends and family. Braden and Fran arrived so Braden could assist Dalan in giving me a Priesthood blessing. By this time the contractions were extremely intense, watching the needle bounce all around only made things worse. After feeling one bad enough where I couldn't breathe let alone talk through it, I informed my nurse I was more than ready for the epidural.

The anesthesiologist was on his way to a C-Section, and I was told it would be at least an hour. They offered me some Fentanyl to help with the pain until then and I gladly accepted (sidebar, all of you women who have opted for an unmedicated birth, kudos to you. I could never do it!). Let me tell you how freaking awesome the Fentanyl was. Not only did it help with the pain immediately, but it made me completely relaxed and super fuzzy. I was so out of it I didn't even really know what was going on. This is actually a very good thing for me, I am such a worrier, I was way too stressed up until this point. And then a mere matter of seconds after receiving the Fentanyl, the anesthesiologist arrived to give me the epidural, he decided to stop by before the surgery. I think drugged up was the absolute best way receiving the epidural could have gone. I tend to pass out at the sight of needles unless I am completely in control of the situation, but on the Fentanyl, I could care less. I leaned over, got the shot, and then laid back down, ready for a nap. Dalan couldn't believe that I was so composed after being stuck with a needle so large.  My doctor then came in to break my water, and I didn't realize until a few days later that Braden must have been in the room for all of this (uh, sorry brother). I asked my doctor no less than three times after she broke my water if she had really done it.

Dalan and Braden quickly gave me a Priesthood blessing (which I sadly don't remember). Then the nurse measured me and informed us I was now at an 8, and it would be a few more hours until the baby came. I was encouraged to take a nap in the meantime and was more than happy to oblige. My parents arrived just before I fell asleep, and they decided to go get Dalan something to eat since he hadn't had anything all day. Only a few minutes after they left, I began feeling a lot of pressure in my back, I assumed that the epidural was staring to wear off, and I relentlessly began pressing the 'give me more' button. A nurse came in to check me and you could see her starting to panic at what she saw.

Apparently the baby was crowning, it had been less than an hour since we were told we had a few more to wait, and there was nothing ready. Turns out the pressure I was feeling was not a faulty epidural, but actually the urge to push (oops).

Labor and Delivery was understaffed that day, and since when I originally arrived, I was only being checked/measured, none of the appropriate paperwork had been presented to us yet. I was still super groggy and numb from the drugs and I had one nurse shoving paperwork in my face (I still have no idea what it was all about, hopefully I wont find out I signed adoption papers or something), and another nurse yelling at me, 'DO NOT PUSH!' They had a hard time locating my doctor and it was a stressful 15 minutes until she arrived.

When my doctor showed up she was shocked. Apparently she didn't believe them when they said her patient was ready to deliver, she assumed there was confusion over a different patient, because there was no way I had progressed so much so quickly.

Once the doctor was suited up, they told me to push. I really couldn't feel much thanks to the epidural, but apparently did something right because after only 2 pushes (and in the middle of asking the doctor a casual question) I had a baby. I was mid-sentence when the doctor held up the little red lump with all the dark hair. I still hadn't come to terms with the fact I was having a baby that day, and BAM! there he was. Only 6 and a half hours after checking into Labor and Delivery. I was informed by the nurses to never tell anyone how easy my labor was, because I would probably lose friends over it.

I've never been good with babies, and I was surprised to find that as small as he was, he fit perfectly on my chest. I've always been intimidated by how tiny newborns are, and scared that their heads might fall off, but I'd carried him for so long already, I knew exactly how to hold and carry him now.

I couldn't get over how perfect he was. I examined every single hair on head and traced out the details of his face. We had waited so long for him to come, and he was finally here.

First Family Photo

Grandparents and the likes came to visit him, I really don't remember much of anything that happened over the next few days. That baby brain is pretty serious stuff!

The big question everyone had now was, 'what are you going to name him?' We had come to the hospital with 2 names in mind, and decided we'd wait until we met him to pick. The names we were debating between were Wayland and Grady, turns out neither one seemed right. We started to panic about picking a name, the constant amount of text messages didn't help either. We revisited a lot of the names that we had decided against to see if any suited him. Jokingly I asked Dalan what he thought about Rory. Rory is a name we had casually thrown around a few months before, it is the name of a character on Doctor Who, but we threw it out since it rhymed with my mom's name. It actually seemed perfect for our little guy though. The middle name was foreordained, so that took off some of the stress. We made it official on the birth certificate Rory Jay Hilton, and there was no going back from there. (a few months down the road and I'm wishing we had spelled it Roary instead, we call him Ror more than anything else and Roar looks so much cooler!)

The rest of the time in the hospital wasn't great, we decided to go home after only one night so we could bond without the constant interruption that a hospital stay brings.

While being a parent has brought many challenges, some of which I'm sure I'll complain about, we wouldn't trade our little Rorasaurus for anything!

I've been documenting his growth each month with a photo shoot, after I take his 4 month photos today, I'll share what we have so far.

Couch Therapy of the Retail Variety

After an extremely fussy and teething baby about sent me to the looney bin this week, Husband kicked me out of the house last night and sent me shopping. I decided to go to IKEA since our new apartment is still feeling pretty bare. Some throw pillows caught my eye and I went a little bat-crap crazy.


I'm kind of loving all of the different patterns. This is actually the first time EVER I have bought throw pillows, normally I get hand-me-downs. It was pretty fun and a super cheap way to get some retail therapy.

AND turns out I grabbed one too many covers, and you know at IKEA, there is no way you're going all the way back to put it away. So one lucky commenter will receive the swirly pillow cover (second from the left in the image).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Disneyland Tips - Part 1, Preparation

I absolutely LOVE to travel, especially the planning part. I think it fulfills something like a gambling addiction to try and find the best prices. Our favorite place to go is Disneyland, and we actually bought an annual pass and visited 6 times last year. That probably doesn't sound like a lot, but living 12 hours away created a challenge for us, and I became somewhat of a pro at getting us the best prices for each trip. Many friends and family members ask me for advice on travel, especially to Disneyland, so I finally decided to type it all up in one location. 

This is only part one in a probably 5-6 part post. If you have any recommendations yourself, or any questions, please feel free to leave a comment!

When to visit:
The absolute best thing you can do to make your trip enjoyable is to visit during the off-season. This is difficult for most families, but I promise, it is SO worth it! You want to go when school is in session, and not during any holidays. The absolute best times to visit are late January early February, or late September, early October. Be sure to check multiple calendars thru Disney and Anaheim before booking. Disney hosts events like a marathon and D23 which are usually held during off-season, and attendance will be up significantly during this time. Sometimes there are conventions in Anaheim or non-Disney events in the park (ie Dapper Days, Gay Days, reunions etc.), while these are supported by Disney, they aren't hosted by Disney, so the information will not be included in the official Disneyland events calendar.  Also know when booking off-season that attractions will be closed for maintenance (closures are listed at the bottom of the daily events calendar), and many shows/fireworks will only run over the weekend (find the events calendar here).  Disney also offers a When to Visit calendar that offers info on lines, weather, and other good to know facts. 
We always try to visit during off-season. The biggest reason for this is that we don't feel pressured to hurry when the crowds are lighter. Our time is much more enjoyable when we can take in all of the sites and walk around leisurely, instead of running from ride to ride trying to fit the most in. 

When NOT to visit:
Obviously you can't always choose when you can take a vacation, but if at all possible, I would recommend avoiding the week after Thanksgiving, the week before and after Christmas, and UEA weekend (falls on October 17-20 in 2013). Disneyland could reach capacity, run out of food, and be filled with less than friendly guests. If you are visiting during a busier time, remember to be courteous and polite to the other guests and above all be nice to the cast members! 

Booking a hotel:
When booking a hotel, make sure to compare prices . While deal sites like Priceline, Travelocity, or Kayak can find great deals, I've found some hotels aren't listed with the deal sites. It's also always best to call the specific hotel if you know where you want to stay and see if they can price match the deal site. Since Travelocity, Priceline, etc. make a commission off of your booking, I've found that most hotels will at least price match, if not beat the deal site's price (basically passing the commission off to you). You also tend to get nicer rooms (better views etc.) if you don't use deal sites. 
Everyone will have a different price point depending on the type, quality, and distance for the hotel. As far as hotels go, there are 3 categories: 
1. Complete splurge and stay at a Disney property (not the most economical)
2. Stay at a budget hotel further away, drive or take the shuttle into the park. 
3. Mid-range hotel within walking distance. 
We usually go for option 3. Items that I always consider when looking for a hotel are: Do they offer a free breakfast? Is there a microwave and/or fridge in the room? How long will it take to walk to the Disneyland gates? Is the condition of the hotel acceptable for the price? Depending on the answers to these questions, I may be willing to pay more for a hotel room. If you can get a free breakfast, avoid parking fees, possibly have a midday meal in your room, and have a nice, clean environment where its possible to relax, I am definitely willing to pay a few bucks more per night. We saved a lot of money on food by eating breakfast and lunch at the hotel, we just head back in the afternoon for lunch/nap time, it's nice to leave for a little while during that time too, it seems there is an overlap of morning and evening crowds and they've usually thinned out some by the time we go back. 
Everyone will have different price points when it comes to hotels, my personal goal price is $86/night and there are 3 or so hotels that I aim for at this price. I also have a secondary list of hotels that I am willing to pay $65/night for, but they aren't quite as nice and are a further walk to the entrance.
I highly recommend looking at a map when viewing the location of the hotels. Some hotels boast being only .2 miles from Disneyland, but that is as the crow flies. Make sure to check the hotel's distance to the park entrance. if I am walking to the park, I prefer the entrance on Harbor Blvd instead of entering thru Downtown Disney.

Flights:
I'm no expert on flights, but a few things that I've learned along the way that I've found valuable are:
-Start looking as far in advance as possible, have a reasonable 'goal' price in mind
-Check multiple sites like Travelocity, Kayak, and the individual airline's website (Southwest does not offer their tickets thru any deal sites)
-Sign up for notifications, with Travelocity you can get an email every time a preferred location and date dip below a certain price
-Once a flight reaches your price point, buy it! Don't wait around and hope the price will dip lower.

Park Tickets:
Park tickets are the only thing I never try to find a better price on. I always purchase thru Disneyland or GetAwayToday. There is a military discount available, a total of 6 tickets may be purchased and the eligible service member must be present for purchase and admission into the park.Any being sold on ebay or similar sites are most likely a used hopper pass. Using someone else's pass is against Disneyland Resort's policy, and not to mention just plain dishonest! I absolutely love everything Disneyland has to offer and I want them to keep improving and expanding. I don't mind paying full price for a ticket, or even when their prices go up, because I know what I am getting in return is definitely worth the price. 

GetAwayToday:
The ticket prices with GetAwayToday always match Disneyland's prices. You can even order online and have your tickets printed when you arrive at the park, just make sure to take your ID to the ticket window. GetAwayToday offers bundles, and sometimes these are the best prices available. Sometimes I can look for a few weeks and try every possible combination of hotel/flight/tickets and not even come close to their price. Just like with any deal site, not all hotels are available with GetAwayToday, so make sure you still compare multiple website to make sure you are getting the best hotel match. 

Costco Travel:
If you are a Costco member, there are bundling discounts available for the Disneyland resort. They include park tickets, hotel, and dining options (currently a free character dining experience.). This is something that is worth looking into, the good neighbor hotels included in this deal offer a 3rd or 4th night free. If you were planning on booking at one of the included hotels, and wanted a character dining experience, then this option would definitely be economical. 

AAA:
There are similar discounts available for AAA members. If you bundle park tickets and hotels, you do save rather than booking each alone. If you don't have the time to look into all of the deals yourself this would be a good option, but I don't think it would be the cheapest one.

Pass Upgrade:
If you are having the best time of your life and decide that you would like to upgrade to an annual pass, you only have to pay the difference in price between your hopper pass and the annual pass. A deluxe annual pass offers a 10% discount on food and a 10% discount on merchandise with only 50 blockout days a year. A premium annual pass offers a 15% discount on food, a 20% discount on merchandise, zero blockout days, and free parking. So if you are going to upgrade, it would be best to do so the first day of your trip so you can take advantage of all of the discounts. All annual passes offer discounts on resort hotels and guided tours. Many of the surrounding hotels offer discounts to annual passholders as well (usually 10-30% off), but these prices wont be available/listed thru the deal sites, so you will need to check the hotel's website separately or call.

Arriving at the park:
Arrive at the park EARLY, at least 45 minutes. They will usually start letting people in the gates about 30 minutes before the actual opening time, and then you have to wait behind a rope at the end of Main Street USA until actual park open. There are often characters available for photos during this time. City Hall and The Emporium are also open. Fun fact, they will usually choose a family from the early arrivers to 'open the park'. The family will lead the entire crowd in a countdown for when they open the gates, I think they get a special fastpass and possibly a button to wear.... I'm not 100% sure since I've never been chosen (probably due to the lack of children), but it's a goal of mine.

What to bring:
There are many different options for what to bring with you into the park, it is extremely easy to overpack. Strollers, large bags, and outside food are allowed. Remember, you will need to carry all of that stuff with you, and it gets tiring, especially on crowded days. Strollers are available for rent, and sadly, stroller theft is a problem at the parks. Renting a stroller will guarantee that your expensive stroller wont go missing, and you can always get a free replacement if your rental disappears. Lockers are available at a daily rate, they run $7-$15, depending on the size. Lockers are definitely nice to have if you are willing to pay the price. If we are staying at a hotel too far away to return to during the day, we will rent a locker to put our jackets/sweatshirts in so we don't have to carry them all day. Outside food and drinks are allowed in Disneyland, this can work out really well if you've stayed in a hotel with a fridge. You can prepare lunch and bring it in with you. This can definitely save a lot of money, resort food gets expensive. Bottles of water cost $3 in the park, so I would recommend bringing your own. One of my best kept Disneyland secrets is there is a cold water dispenser in the outside seating area of Rancho del Zocalo. I always bring my own water bottle in, and fill it there (this water is SO much tastier than what is available at the few water fountains throughout the park).
If you are using your phone a lot while in the parks for pictures, wait times, phone calls, etc. I would recommend purchasing something like a New Trent external battery. I've needed mine dozens of times, and there is nothing worse than having a great photo op, and finding out you have a dead camera/phone. There are phone chargers available to use in the Main Street lockers, I believe the price is $2/hour.

That's all the info I have for preparation, if there is any information I've missed, please let me know. Also, if you have any requests for areas of focus for the upcoming Disneyland posts, please leave a comment!