Special Delivery! Just in Time for Fathers Day!

Calvin Dennis Ratliff was born June 17th 2011 at 5:51am, 7 lbs 7 oz 19 inches long. It all started late Thursday night; around midnight Sam woke up shaking really bad and feeling contractions. I being the attentive husband that I am slept soundly. Around 1:15 AM Sam went to get another blanket and almost didnt make it due to the shaking. Her getting into bed woke me up. She then said to me "I don't think this shaking is normal."

After looking in that all knowing book "what to expect..." we found nothing about shaking or shivering. So I rudely texted Amy and she said she was shaking after they broke her water. Sam in the meantime was talking to the doctor and he said that shaking was a sign that she was in labor and recommended that we wait till she couldn't talk through the contractions anymore. So Sam laid down as I packed a few things for the hospital.

While laying there at about 2:30 AM Sam looked at me and said "Either I just wet the bed or my water broke. Its only a little trickle so I don't know." She then sat up and water came gushing out. As she ran to the bathroom she was amazed at how much water there was. After she got out of the bathroom she said "We're going to the hospital now!" So we left.

We were at the hospital at 2:45-3:00 AM. They examined Sam and called the doctor because Sam had a temperature and the baby's heart rate was really high. The doctor got there and checked things and Sam was all ready for the epidural. The doctor was concerned about the baby and there was talk of doing a c-section if Sam's temperature and the baby's heart rate didn't go down. But with an IV and some tylenol things calmed down a bit.

We moved Sam to the delivery room and we were waiting for the lady that was coming to do the epidural. The Doctor came in and said she was here and we got Sam sitting up and ready for it. Doctor Harling left then came back in and said that the fever was because of an infection and they were concerned that they might spread it to her nervous system if they giver her an epidural so she'd have to do it naturally.

Sam was not too happy with this idea and got kinda whiny but she powered through it and at 5:51 AM Calvin joined us. They had all sorts of people there just in case the infection had effected Calvin. So after they rested him on Sam's chest for like 2 seconds they whisked him off to the NICU. They ran all sorts o tests and checked all his vitals and once things were stable they brought me in. They had him attached to lots of things like oxygen, a heart monitor, a respiration monitor and a blood oxygen level monitor. I stayed with him for a while and made him cry with my cold hands.
I went back to Sam and waited with her till she could get up and see our son. They brought her breakfast and a wheelchair and got her recovery room ready. As we were getting ready to leave they told us we couldn't go see Calvin because there was a c-section going on and we weren't allowed in there. Sam had to wait till about 10 AM before she got to see him and really hold him. She was getting real grumpy, but she finally got to see him.
Calvin had to be in the NICU for 48 hours for the antibiotics so we kept going back and forth from Sam's room to the NICU. They did take him off the oxygen finally and let us try to feed him. We did some burping too. I liked his face. But as we were burping, he kept sneezing, so I took a picture.

Today they let Calvin out of the NICU and into Sam's room. He's no longer attached to anything and as long as we can get him to eat good then he'll be coming home with us tomorrow. These are some pictures in the room with Calvin. This was my happy first Father's Day!! A tie and a son, very exciting presents.

Pre Baby Party in Vegas!

After seizing up my belly and asking how far along I am, the next question everyone is starting to ask me now is the oh so daunting "so are you ready for a baby?" Although I am so excited I just can't stand it, I'm also not quite used to the idea of how tied down I'll be once the baby decides to show his cute little self (And yes, his cuteness will put other babies to shame.) My good friend/co-worker Jennifer came up with a solution of my pre-mom restfulness. Weekend party in Vegas!

On the Plane to Vegas.


Friday night we went straight from our flight to the Strip and walked through the butterfly gardens and watched the fountain show outside the Bellagio


Saturday morning we went to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium.



Then walked through the forum shops in Caesars Palace.


And went through a session at the Vegas Temple. After we had already planned our trip to Vegas Jennifer found out that a friend she introduced to the church just happened to be receiving her endowments the very same weekend we were going to be there. It was just too perfect.


And my favorite part of the weekend....we were amazed by Phantom of the Opera! We got our tickets online before our trip and we bought a couple seats up in the back balcony. They were not bad seats, they were in the back but they were a few rows from the front of the balcony and near the isle so we were almost center. Well when we were seated the usher sat us THREE ROWS FROM THE STAGE! I guess ticket master online had messed up somehow but we were not complaining! They were perfect seats! The show was amazing and the theater blew me away. The theater for Phantom is made JUST for Phantom so each new set transformed so well into a whole new scene you wouldn't believe you were looking at the same stage. I was really impressed and thourally entertained.

Excited before the show.


Worth every cent.

Funny story; We were posing for this picture when a couple guys came stumbling into us. They were so drunk they didn't even realize we were there until they were basically on top of us. While passing, one of them turns, looks at me, and yells "BOOBIES!" Hahaha oh my! Out of all the women in their sexy cocktail dresses in Vegas, this guy decides to yell that out at a fully clothed pregnant woman. What boobies? They are hidden behind my belly. What an idiot. lol.

Also while fighting our way out of the parking garage, this girl crosses the street in front of the car wearing this dress so tight and so small she was lucky she could move at all. Not only was she wearing this ridiculous dress three sizes too small she was also trying to walk in stilettos. While watching her I commented to Jennifer, "If this girl tries to do anything more but walk tonight she will be popping out all over the place." And no sooner then I finished my sentence "WHAM!" Down this girl went, right in front of our car and everyone else! This was no little stumble, it was a full on fall. It was all my fault! I just know I jinxed her! Impressively enough, she did not spill her drink.

We had a lazy Sunday morning, went to church and after wards we hiked around Red Rock Canyon. 31 weeks along? Wont stop me!



It was a perfect get-a-way trip before the baby comes! Thanks Jennifer I had a blast! =)

The End.

Sledding!

Saturday was a whopping 33 degrees! Our friends Amy and Tim invited us to go sledding and we just couldn't let this nice warm day go to waste!

An Update

Taron and I are now managers over a small single men's apartment complex called Clarke Apartments. Here are some pics of our new little house we live in. It is soooo much bigger then our last apartment!




My Favorite corner of the house! =)


Taron has started school back up this month and we just celebrated his birthday last weekend in Utah. We had lots of fun with Taron's side of the family. Tyson and Stacey are always so great when we stay at their place! Stacey was sweet cooking Taron birthday breakfast, baking him a cake, and taking us out to dinner! It was also great to finally meet Tean's fiance Ris! We are excited to have her in the family! =) I will post pics of Taron's birthday if I get them from Stacey.

I've been promoted at work from a reservationist at the Salt Lake Express to one of the office managers. I've been a manager for about a week now and its going good! They are slowly working me into it. I have my own desk, extension, voice mail and everything! I am really enjoying having different projects to work on instead of just answering the phone all day everyday.

I'm starting to show just a little. I cant wait until I look without a doubt pregnant instead of just fat. This picture is from 14 weeks. (I wore a tight shirt for this pic so maybe I would pop out a little more) I am now 16 weeks without much difference in the baby bump area.


My sister Tammy gave us her crib and I love love love it!

Brand New Year!

After reading my sister-in-law's blog of New Years resolutions I was inspired to post my own. I like the fact that she posted them so they become more meaningful because other's now know. I also liked how in this year's post she told us how she did with her New Years resolutions from last years post. Just shows that she actually kept up with them! I never really make New Years resolutions because I'm continually working on the same goals with little variations here and there. Health and Spirituality. I am constantly on a roller coaster of highs and lows but hey, who isn't? A lot of my goals are very similar to what most people decide they need to improve in their lives. But I decided that was OK because if we are all picking the same type of resolutions that must mean something about them.

The only real resolution I have that is specific to this year is of course to deliver a happy healthy baby! Here are the rest of my goals that I am currently working on.

Eating Healthy: I feel like I have been doing really well for a while now with eating healthy thanks to Bountiful Baskets and the happy knowledge that whatever I eat now affects a tiny little growing body! I even got to the point where I didn't really want snacks. Which is a big deal for me to get too because I always want something chocolate or salty to snack on! But just lately with moving and Christmas snacks I have eaten a lot of junk. Time to step up my game again.

Working Out: My goals for working out have shifted slightly now that I am pregnant and am not supposed to have vigorous workouts to loose weight or to get more and more in shape. Now I just simply want to make sure that I am doing some kind of workout at least 3 times a week. I haven't done a thing since I've been pregnant due to nausea and exhaustion but I feel a new wave of energy coming back and I'm excited to get a workout back into my life. I'm thinking of working it in once my new work hours start for January. I love working out because I love feeling strong and healthy! I love pushing myself and feeling myself get stronger overtime. I think its the competitive side of me likes to see success and there are very few things that satisfy me more than physical success. I will have to tone that side of me down for a while and just be happy in knowing that I am doing something that makes me feel more healthy and better about myself even if I can't currently push myself to improve.

Spirituality: I always always ALWAYS need to be constantly trying to improve my own personal scripture study and prayers. This is probably the hardest thing for me to keep on an consistent up. This is up and down more then anything! It take a lot of work to make prayer and scripture study meaningful each time, its just too easy to go through the motions.

Temple attendance at least once a month if not twice before the baby is born. After baby is born...I have no idea.

Pictures and Fun: So this is something that might be more specific to this year then my other goals because usually I do really well at it. Lately I haven't taken any pictures! None from moving! None from Christmas! None from New years! None from my pregnancy! I love pictures and normally take lots! what wrong with me? =) I think its important to take lots of pictures of Taron and I during our first few years of marriage and my pregnancies.

oh and P.S. Taron's the best! I am glad I have a whole new year I get to start with him! =)

My Baby is becoming a BABY! =)

This is the happy news babycenter.com shared with me today. =)

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. His/Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

He/She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as his/her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

This sure was fun to read! Last I heard my baby was still a little bean with one nub for an arm. (Pictured above:8 weeks). I am now 11 weeks along and doing great! =)