Dane's Blessing & Katie's Homecoming

This past week, we went to UT to welcome Ben's sister Katie home from her Puerto Rico mission and to bless our sweet baby Dane. >It is crazy to think that we blessed Logan (up in Logan) the same Sunday that Katie had her Farewell and we are blessing our Dane on her Homecoming! It worked out just great because we were able to combine the two events and have a lot of family there to support us. The Blessing/Homecoming was held at the Bryner's church on Saturday (3/20/09), which entailed eating delicious Puerto Rico inspired Mexican food,blessing Dane (Ben gave such a beautiful blessing that it made baby Dane cry:)),
having a Q & A session with Katie about her mission, and eating yummy treats while enjoying spending time with family. It was a wonderful idea to combine the two (thanks Annette for the idea) and we really appreciate Katie for letting our sweet little Dane be a part of her big day! We also wanted to thank Annette and Brent for all of their hard work putting everything together. We love you and are so thankful for all that you do for us!

The Ropers and Julie traveled far (from Gilbert and Vegas) to attend the Blessing, which was so wonderful to have them there supporting us. Thank you so much for going way out of your way to be there. We love you very much and appreciate all that you do for our family.I also wanted to thank my Grandparents, dad & Paula, Polly & Carly, and all of the Bryners and Thurbers for coming and supporting us and Katie! We love you all!

We also were able to spend the night and part of the day with my dad. For weeks he had been planning on taking Logan, Wade, and Seth to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. He insisted on not wanting me and Jen to come so that he could be alone with his boys. So we stayed home with Dane and Trent while my dad went off with 3 VERY energetic little boys! Jen was kind of nervous about it, but everything turned out great except for Logan getting a huge goose egg from bonking his head on a railing! My dad was very concerned about Logan, seeing how the bump was pretty big and black and blue, but he was fine and was absolutely thrilled to be hanging out with his Ampa, Wade, and Seth. He feels so cool when he is with the boys and Ampa! Thanks dad for taking Logan on a little adventure and the bump on his head will certainly not be his last! We love you!

After the Dinosaur Museum, we rushed to the airport to see Katie arrive. Unfortunately, we were running late and Katie's flight was early so we missed her grand entrance (sorry again Katie). However, we missed it only by minutes and probably would have made it if we didn't go to the wrong terminal first (it's ok Ben). Anyway, we made it and it was so good to see her! Katie, we are so happy you are home and we can't wait for you to visit in a few weeks! Congrats on serving an incredible mission and for being such a wonderful missionary!

Here are a few other pictures from our trip:

5 Weeks Already!!!

Dane had his 1 month doctor's appointment last week and here are his current stats:

Weight: 10 lbs. (52%)
Length: 22 in. (72%)
Head: 15 in. (43%)
We took some pictures while we were waiting for the doctor to come in:)

The doctor said his Thrush has cleared and he is still eating and sleeping really well. It feels like he is growing up so fast already...it makes me sad:(
Here is Dane all dressed up for his first day at church. The pants are a little big, but he still looks like a cutie:)

Logan has been loving "D" more and more each day and is always very concerned about him and what he is doing. We all are loving getting to know this little guy.

I'm Trying to Stick With It

***Warning: This post may be a little bit TMI***
As many moms know, the first few weeks after the baby is born can be pretty rough. My experience has been no exception. With Logan, I breastfed for about 3 weeks and then got Mastitis and called it quits. I think that I gave up so easily because my delivery experience with him was pretty traumatic and the c-section recovery was overwhelming. I just couldn't deal with more pain, which is all that breastfeeding was to me at the time. My milk supply was highly affected by the infection and that is when I decided to throw in the towel. I really enjoyed bottle feeding with Logan and I especially loved the help, but it wasn't all that simple. Logan had really bad constipation with every formula we tried until the doctor said that we have to try the expensive stuff (Alimentum, $26 for a very small can...about 1 weeks worth) and it worked like a charm. Eventually we were able to do Kirkland's formula, but that was almost around the time he was a year and ready to switch to cow's milk anyway. So bottle feeding was nice and convenient once we found the right formula, but very expensive!!!

So once I got pregnant with Dane, I made myself a promise that I was going to give breastfeeding a valiant effort this time around. So, as the title says, I am trying to stick with it, but is hasn't been easy. The second week after Dane was born, I started to get clogged milk ducts, which later developed into the ever pleasant Mastitis. I tried everything to avoid it, but it happened on the same side and around the same exact time postpartum as it had happened with Logan. I was bummed especially because my milk supply was decreasing again. However, I wasn't going to give up and with an easier recovery this time around I felt like I could physically handle continuing my breastfeeding efforts. So things started to get better with antibiotics and a lot of extra care until I got Thrush. I don't mean to sound like a wimp or a complainer for that matter, but Thrush is VERY painful! Now, both me and Dane are being treated for the Thrush and thankfully we are doing much better. My milk supply is increasing and I think that I am starting to get a better hang of it. It now seems doable and hopefully it will continue to get better from here on out.

When all is said and done, aren't these little guys worth all of the pain and discomfort it takes to get them here and to take care of them:) That's what I keep reminding myself. In my opinion, there is no greater joy than being a mother:)Dane Update:
He is doing really well and the Thrush is hardly affecting him if at all. As of Monday, he is weighing 9 lbs. 6 oz., which is great! He is on a 3-4 hour cycle during the day of eating, activity, and napping (I'm following "The Baby Whisperer" methods, which worked like a charm with Logan). During the night he is sleeping 5-7 hour stretches, which has been absolutely wonderful! He truly is such a good baby and we are so thankful to have him in our little family:)

Like we did with Logan, we are going to be having Dane's blessing up in UT. It will be March 21st and the day will be shared with Katie's (Ben's sister) homecoming from her mission in Puerto Rico. We are thrilled to be able to have so many family members attend and we are really looking forward to it:)

Other than that, we are all just trying to adjust to life with our little "D" and so far things have been going pretty well.