My due date was October 8th, but I had been hoping I would go into labor a few days early & have it be a surprise! On October 3rd, we had a birthday dinner for Kade at Brooke's house with everyone. Then we got home, Nate's car had a flat tire, so we went back to Brooke's to use their pump & fill up his spare tire. We stayed & visited with Brooke awhile & I asked her about her labor stories with her boys. Then we headed home, Nate had put the spare tire on his car & was going to take it in for a new tire in the morning. Then we went to bed.

At 2 am exactly, I woke up & was lying in bed awake when all of the sudden, I felt something warm going through my body. I realized it was probably my water breaking, so I leaped up & ran to the toilet, where it started to leak out more. It's funny because just that night, we had put a shower curtain under the sheet in case my water broke because a friend at work had told me to do that. It just barely leaked on the sheet though, but was just random that we had put it on that night. I told Nate, "I'm pretty sure my water is breaking" & he sat up so fast & was so surprised. It reminded me of when I told him I was pregnant at 4am 9 months before! My water kept coming out, so I told him this was definitely happening. Nate called the doctor's office & talked to the on call person. They said our doctor should call us within half an hour & that we should get ready for the hospital.

I wasn't really feeling any contractions yet so I tool a nice hot shower, got dressed, put on a little makeup, & had some guavas for breakfast. Nate, on the other hand, was completely panicked & frantically running around. He had to switch the carseat to my car since his car just had a spare tire on it, & then he was getting my car packed with our bags. I, surprisingly, felt very calm. We got in the car & had no problem with traffic driving to Scottsdale since it was now 3am. I started feeling nervous in the car, knowing that I would be going through labor soon, but was also so excited to meet our little baby.

We got to the hospital & went up the elevator to the labor & delivery floor. While Nate told the lady at the front desk we were checking in to have a baby, I had to run to the bathroom across the room because my water felt like it was coming out again. I made it there just in time, good timing! They checked me in to a room where they checked to make sure my water had really broken & to see how much I was dilated. I wasn't dilated very much (only at a 3), so they had us walk around the hospital floor for an hour & then come back to check it again. Since my water had broken, we knew that we wouldn't be sent home & that I'd be having our baby sometime soon! It felt surreal walking around the hospital & knowing I'd be having our baby so soon. It was so early in the morning, we could see the sunrise through the windows. I remember seeing a tiny baby diaper on a table outside one of the rooms. It seemed so tiny, I couldn't believe I'd be changing diapers that soon!

After an hour of walking around, it didn't do much, but a labor & delivery room was open, so the nurse gave me an IV (one of the things I was actually most nervous about)& then took us to our room. The room was really nice & big & they hooked me up to monitors so I could see when I was having contractions. (I had had a few on the drive to the hospital but they weren't very strong.) It was interesting being able to see the length of the contractions on the screen. Then they started me on Pitocin & very quickly the contractions got a lot stronger & a lot closer together. I wanted to get an epidural to help with the pain but the nurse made me feel like it was too soon & said that it could make the labor way longer, so I didn't get one yet.

The contractions started out a few minutes apart but after a few hours they were just a minute apart & were lasting longer & longer. Nate was really great & kept getting me ice water & rubbing my neck, calves, & feet. For some reason having my feet & calves rubbed felt really good & helped with the pain. The contractions started to get really painful & really close together. After about 4 hours of hard contractions, I decided I was definitely ready for an epidural. We told the nurse & the anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later. I was so nervous for this part, but the anesthesiologist was great & it wasn't really bad. I'm glad I couldn't see anything. I almost immediately felt it work. It was amazing & all of the sudden I had no pain! I could still feel my legs & feet a little but had no pain at all. I had Nate turn on Jack Johnson on shuffle on my phone& it was so nice to just relax. The nurse gave me a peanut ball to put between my legs while I was lying on my side. Then Nate went to the cafeteria to get some food, he got Shrimp Carbonara, haha!



I felt so relaxed that I took a nap! I'm not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up I felt some pressure & told the nurse. She checked & said, "We need to call your doctor, your baby is coming!" Then everything happened so fast! It felt like our doctor, Dr. Carter, got to our room so quick. Nate held one of my feet & a nurse held my other foot. The nurse would tell me when to push & count to 3, I would take a deep breath, hold it & then push for 3. I did this for 3 or 4 contractions & then she'd have me take a little break. I pushed for 40 minutes total. I was so surprised because I hadn't researched anything about labor at all because I didn't want to get panicked, so I thought you only push a few times like in the movies, haha! Towards the end, Dr. Carter asked if I wanted to feel our baby's hair & that was the craziest thing. Then a few minutes later he said I could feel her head but I was a little too freaked out to!

Finally, after a few more pushes, she was out! The doctor placed her right on my chest & I just felt so happy & so much love for her. It was like all of the pain & sadness from the years of infertility was just washed away. She didn't really cry, she just lay on me so sweetly & was looking up with her bright little eyes. Nate & I were looking at her & looking at each other & both tearing up. It was such a sweet moment that I never want to forget.



After awhile, they took her across the room to weigh her & measure her & Nate went with her. She held his finger in her tiny hand as they did that & it was so sweet. She did let out a few cries but they were soft ones. Then I got to hold her for about another hour & then they took us to the postpartum room. Mom, Dad, Brooke, & Britt met us there & got to see & hold Lily. Then the next day Nate's parents drove down to see & hold her (& then back to San Diego because Christina called saying she was going to the hospital & thought she was having her baby! She ended up getting sent home but had her baby, Jocelyn, 2 days later)!

We stayed in the hospital 2 days & it was the best getting to be together with Lily, cuddling her the whole time. The food was actually good at the hospital & they had these chocolate chip cookies that were amazing (I probably ate like 4) & a Thai salad that was really good, it almost felt like being at a hotel, ordering good food & getting to relax & hold our sweet little baby all day! It was conference weekend, so we listened to some of It was really nice to just be able to focus on our little baby & not have to worry about anything else. There were a few talks that talked about being parents that really made Nate & I tear up. I couldn't help but think of how many times during conference weekends I had prayed for comfort or to know why we couldn't have kids yet. Nate & I both just feel so thankful that we were able to have Lily.

At 2am on the night, the nurse came in & gave Lily her first bath. She was screaming & did not like it! The nurse said the sink wasn't working well, so the water was cold, so that's probably why! It was the only time she really cried hard at the hospital! The second day, the hospital had someone that came in to take newborn pictures of us with Lily & she made us a little video we could keep for free, it was really sweet. One thing that was a little stressful was that the last day we had to wait for someone to do a hearing test on Lily before leaving. They came to do it but said she failed in one ear so they would have to redo it to see if she would pass. Even though it was a small thing, I was so worried that she would have a hearing problem. Not that it would matter to me but I just was so emotional with all the hormones & was thinking I wouldn't want her to have anything that was hard for her or that she would get teased about. Luckily, when they did the test the 2nd time she passed & they said she must not have passed the first time because she was squirming around a lot. We were so relived!

Then it was time to take Lily home! It was the craziest thing to buckle her in her carseat & drive home with her in our car! Nate said it was the scariest part for him. I always pictured being wheeled out holding Lily in the wheelchair, but the nurse asked if I was ok walking because there wasn't an extra nurse to push the wheelchair, so I just walked out, haha!

Nate drop home so slowly & carefully! It was great to be home with Lily & now we can't picture life without her here!! She is so sweet & mellow! She is very cuddly, loves to be held, & a great eater & sleeper. She actually eats really quick in about 5 minutes, which makes it really easy to nurse her! We are so thankful for our sweet, little baby & the joy she brings to us!!! She was definitely worth the wait!!!

A few funny things about Nate, he did a great job but after we got to the postpartum room, I had order chicken tenders & french fries & was so starving. Nate kept eating some of them & I didn't say anything but was super annoyed since I hadn't eaten anything in 12 hours!! Also, he was very worried about not getting any sleep & told me he might need to go sleep in the car because people kept coming in & out of the room. I quickly reminded him that there would not be much sleep for awhile & he needed to help with our baby, haha!!! Overall he did such a great job though & changed all of Lily's diapers in the hospital (amazing since he had said many times he would not change a diaper) & was so sweet holding her & talking to her. He is such a great dad to our little girl!

I feel so thankful & blessed that I had such an amazing labor & delivery & it really couldn't have gone better. We are so thankful for our sweet Lily Darlene Duchein & so grateful that she is finally here! After all of the stress of infertility, it was so amazing to really be able to enjoy pregnancy & labor so much. It was all such a special & sacred experience to me & Lily was so worth the wait!


Lily Darlene Duchein
born October 4th, 2018 at 2pm
7 pounds 2 ounces
20 inches

I wanted to have some maternity pictures taken to remember this miracle pregnancy but I didn't want to have to pay a photographer so Nate & I took some pictures with our own camera in the desert, across the street from our house. Nate was very patient & a good sport about taking the pictures & taking some pics with me with the timer. I know that I will always look back on this pregnancy & feel so thankful. I have loved every, love hearing all of the little baby kicks (which are getting bigger now), & just feel so thankful for this miracle pregnancy. Right now I am 33 weeks pregnant, 7 weeks left until we meet our little baby!!!

I am so thankful that I was able to get pregnant when for so many years I had no idea if I ever would be able to. It has been such an amazing experience & I have loved it so much! I wanted to do a little post to document some of the things from this pregnancy that I want to remember. At every ultrasound & appointment, it has been so amazing because everything always goes so well. It is the complete opposite of the past few years where whenever something could be wrong with me, it was. I seriously heard the doctors & nurses say so many times that they were just doing a test or ultrasound or procedure to check for something but they were sure everything would look normal. Somehow I was always the exception & something was always wrong or whatever procedure we tried didn't work. Because of that, I have noticed that at each appointment now I am measuring right on track & our little baby is measuring right on track & the doctor & nurses always say everything looks perfect. I think that is such a big blessing & I appreciate hearing that so much more after so many years of hearing bad news.

Cravings:
I haven't had any weird cravings, but I definitely have had foods that sound really good. The first few months all I wanted to eat was soup. It was really hot outside so that was kind of odd & Nate was getting pretty tired of having soup for dinner every night! Then for about 4 months I was craving watermelon all the time. I bought at least one watermelon each week & would have it every single day! Any fruit usually sounds good too, especially tropical fruits like papaya, guava, & mango! The past few weeks I've been making a smoothie with milk, almond milk, coconut water, mango, banana, strawberries, raspberries, & a fresh peach & it has tasted sooo good! I've had it almost every day!

Symptoms:
I never had any morning sickness, which was amazing! I mostly just noticed I felt extra hungry & had to eat big meals & lots of snacks. I was actually cooking a lot at the beginning & middle of pregnancy because certain meals sounded really good. Now I am so tired that I haven't been cooking or wanting to cook as much so Nate has been helping. I also feel a lot more tired than normal & fall asleep at about 9 every night. Warm baths have been the best! Lately every night I wake up at 3 am & can't fall back asleep, so I started listening to a podcast which usually helps me fall asleep after awhile. I feel like I've been blessed with an awesome pregnancy! Of course, I would be happy no matter what, but it's also been really nice to enjoy being pregnant.

Movement:
My favorite part of pregnancy is feeling our little baby move around. She has gotten really active lately & her kicks are starting to get pretty hard, but it is the coolest feeling! The first time that Nate was able to feel her move was on Father's Day, so that was really cool! He was so excited! We have also loved going to the ultrasounds so much! I always wish they could last longer!!! We usually go out to dinner after each ultrasound & for the last few ones, we've gone to dinner at North Italia. They have the best cheeseboard, good pizzas, & the best nutella dessert! It's been fun to celebrate & have fun date nights after the big appointments.

I can't believe I am saying this, but I am actually pregnant!!! We are having a baby in October!!!!!!! The past 4 years have been very difficult as we have been dealing with infertility, going to lots of doctors appointments & trying not to get too discouraged. We have also grown closer together through this time, felt the Lord's hand in our lives, & made some amazing memories together. Sometimes it felt like the wait would never end though & I am si happy to say that our wait is over & that it has been worth the wait!







So here is how it all happened.

I had been trying to get pregnant for about 4 years without success. After the first year, my OBGYN had me try Clomid for 6 months, which didn't work for me.Then Nate & I met with a fertility doctor who did a lot of testing on both Nate & I & told me my fallopian tubes were blocked. He did a surgery in which he said he was able to unblock both tubes. It was expensive, stressful, & I felt the worst pain I have ever felt afterwards. After that, I did 3 IUI's all with FSH injections. This was a very difficult few years. I had so many appointments to go to which was a lot of driving & missing work & the tests & procedures were very expensive. I had to have my sisters & Nate give me shots in the stomach (one of my worst fears is needles so this was really hard for me), & then had very stressful procedures done. Each time after a procedure I had a 2 week wait before taking a pregnancy test that seemed to drag on so long. It was hard to not get too hopeful or too discouraged. Then I would take a pregnancy test early in the morning & those mornings of finding out the IUI's did not work were so hard. I would take the test at about 4am because I was so excited/nervous that I couldn't sleep all night. Then I would see the negative & crawl back into bed crying, while Nate tried to comfort me. Going to work those days was so difficult. The hardest part was finding out that the 3rd IUI was not successful. Nate & I had both felt so good about it & just felt like I would be pregnant. I will never forget the sadness I felt when that last pregnancy test was negative. It was probably the most sad I have ever felt & the hardest day I have had. I had a really busy day of testing students at work with all of my coworkers that day & it was so hard to get through. I don't want to ever forget that sadness though because it makes my happiness now so much more bright.

Then we decided to switch to a new doctor & office & we are so thankful that we did. Our new doctor found out I needed a surgery right before we were going to start IVF. We had done a lot of testing to get prepped for IVF & on one of the last tests, our new doctor found that I had a very rare thing called a septum that was preventing me from getting pregnant needed to be removed. We didn't know if I would still have issues getting pregnant after the surgery or not though. Our doctor got me scheduled to have the surgery done with a surgeon he knew quickly & we were nervous & knew there were risks but felt like it was the right thing to do. We decided we would wait 3 months after I had recovered from the surgery to see if I could get pregnant without other treatments. If we didn't get pregnant, we would start infertility treatments & tests again.

After recovering from the surgery I did not get pregnant the first or second month. I started having a feeling of dread the 3rd month, thinking of going back to do the same tests & the same fertility procedures we had already done but never really had a chance of working (because of the surgery I needed). My body didn't feel any different that month & I tried not to let myself get excited that we might have a chance that I was pregnant because the days I take pregnancy tests in the past have been some of my hardest days. I have taken over 100 pregnancy tests & one of the hardest things is getting your hopes up or trying not to get your hopes up they are anyways & then you see another negative test.

On January 31st, I woke up at 5am & walked quietly to the bathroom so I wouldn't wake Nate up. I took the dollar store pregnancy test & set my phone timer for 2 minutes. Then I made myself brush my teeth while I was waiting. I really was not expecting the test to be positive at all. I had prepared myself so that I would hopefully not be too disappointed. I walked over to where I had left the test & looked at it. I saw the 1 line & put it down, disappointed. As I put it down, I realized there was possibly a very,very faint 2nd line. I was seriously in shock & unsure of if it was real. There was a time before when I had thought a test was positive, but I had just looked at it at a weird angle so I really didn't want that to happen again.

I held it another 30 seconds & the line seemed to get a little darker. I was still not positive but was starting to get excited. I went over to Nate, who was in a deep sleep & said, "Nate, I don't know what this is, but it might be something!" He was half asleep & just kind of half sat up & said "huh?" By then the 2nd line was definitely there & easy to see, so I started jumping up & down telling Nate, "I'm pregnant! I'm pregnant! We are having a baby!" He was still in shock & a little out of it, but excited. He also was a little worried that it could be a false positive. I have seriously taken over 100 tests, & they have all come back negative, so I was pretty sure this test was correct, but Nate was still a little nervous!

I had to get ready for work pretty quick, so I got ready & then went to work where I could not stop smiling! After work I picked up a 2nd more expensive pregnancy test. The cashier lady asked me, "do you want it to be positive?" I said YES!!! I hurried home & took the test which quickly showed a plus sign for positive! Then I made an appointment to get my blood taken the next day. Nate got home & was a little panicked because he had been trying to call me but I had been cutting some bibs to bring to Brooke & hadn't had my phone by me. He had wanted to hear how the 2nd pregnancy test went & was so worried that it had been negative & that I was home all alone crying. Maybe because he has seen me have so many negative tests & really hard days! He was so happy to see the 2nd test was positive & by then he was feeling really excited!

It is funny because I had pictured in my mind how I would surprise Nate & tell him I was pregnant when the day came & also cute ways to surprise our family & when it actually happened, it was not all cute but it was the best thing ever & felt like Christmas morning having a positive pregnancy test!

We had thought about if we should wait to tell family members of just tell everyone. Nate said he was too excited to wait & I was too, so we decided to tell all of my family that night & then to surprise his family when we see them in Utah this Friday. His mom doesn't have any grandchildren & has been wishing for some for sooo long so she is going to be sooo excited! I called my sister, Brittany, first. She has been trying to get pregnant for the past few years & I just wanted her to be the first one to know so she wouldn't feel sad if everyone else knew. I was so nervous to tell her because I didn't want her to feel sad, but she was so sweet & so excited. The first thing she asked was if she can film my labor & make a video for me, haha! She is the sweetest! I was so happy that she was happy for us & I have always felt like we would both have kids at the same time so I hope she will be pregnant really soon & am praying for her every day! Then Nate & I went to drop the bibs off at my sister, Brooke's house. When I was setting them down on the table she showed my this super cute little pink bib she had made & I said, "I'm going to have to have you make one of these for me.." She looked at me all funny, trying to figure out what I was saying & then I told her, "I'm pregnant!!" She started screaming & jumping up & down & then we yelled & told Cody & the boys! It was so surreal! I always imagined how I would tell everyone & how I would let Nate know & I thought of all these creative ideas but we have been trying for so long that I was just too excited & just wanted to tell everyone the news!

Next we called Ryan & Christina & then Nicole to tell them. They were really happy too! Then my mom finally called back, I had been trying to call her for like 2 hours! I said that I wanted to Facetime & she didn't want to because she didn't have any makeup on, but I called her on Facetime anyways & she got my dad. Then we told my mom & dad & they were sooo excited! My mom started working at the temple about a month ago & she had felt prompted that we would be blessed because of that & that we would be able to have children. What a miracle for us to get pregnant just a month later! We feel so blessed! Then we called Ally & Zach & told them! It was so fun telling everyone & having everyone so excited for us! It still just felt so surreal!!! On our way up to Utah the next day we stayed with Melissa & Sam so we got to tell them in person & surprise them! That was really fun because Melissa has helped me a lot these past few years! Then when we were in Utah, we surprised Nate's mom & dad by giving them a little present with pacifiers in it. Julie opened it up & looked so confused so we yelled out, "We are having a baby!" & she started jumping up & down & was so excited!!! It is going to be their first grandchild so they were both just so excited!

We went to bed that first night so excited & both woke up at about 4am, not able to fall back asleep! I just feel so happy & so incredibly blessed. My heart goes out to all those who are dealing with infertility because at the time it is so incredibly difficult & you want nothing more than to get pregnant. One of the hardest parts is not knowing when or if you will get that positive test. There is no way to know the feeling unless you are going through it. I am thankful that I never gave up hope & that I had faith, even though at times it was incredibly hard. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father for watching out for us, helping us through the hardest of times, & for this miracle of helping me to get pregnant against all odds. I know that there is a reason we went through this time of waiting & that we will appreciate this pregnancy & baby so much more because of this.


Some pics of the first few ultrasounds.

Mom, Brooke, Britt, & I drove up to St. George for a girls trip to go to the Parade of Homes with Melissa. It was soooo much fun & I think we will need to make it a tradition each year! Melissa was the best host & made us the most amazing food every day! It was really fun going through all of the houses & getting decorating ideas! On the last day, it started snowing!!! I love seeing the snow fall!!! We had to run from the houses to our car to keep from freezing! Then we had a fun lunch at Painted Pony & headed home. It was such a fun trip! I love my sisters & mom! (We missed Ally though, hopefully she can come next time!)

In December, we all went to San Diego for Ally & Zach's wedding! It was so fun because it was also our year to be together for Christmas so it felt like a big family reunion & then we were all together again a week later to celebrate Christmas!

We got to San Diego on Thursday & went to Con Pane for lunch. Then we met up for dinner at a Mexican/Seafood restaurant in Old Town & then went hot tubbing. It was so fun all being together! Nate & I stayed at his parent's house & everyone else stayed at La Hacienda in Old Town.

On Friday we went to the temple & Ally went through for the first time. It was really special since it was the first time all 5 sisters were in the temple together. Afterwards, we went & got Con Pane & pedicures, so fun! We got matching seafoam nails. Dad gave each couple $20 & said we would have a contest to see who could buy the best thing in Old Town, so we went shopping around there. I love walking around there, it is so cute with all of the little shops & lights. I ended up getting a cute little black & white pot with a succulent. Then we had dinner with Zach's family at a Mexican restaurant. It was the weekend of Mexican food, yum! After dinner I helped Ally arrange her wedding flowers & we hot tubbed & hung out at the hotel.

Saturday morning Nate was so nice & dropped me off at the hotel really early so I could be there to get ready with Ally & my other sisters. We got ready together (Ally did her own hair & makeup!), & then had breakfast together. Then we went to the temple for their wedding sealing! The sealing was perfect & we took pictures after & then headed to set up their reception.

Their reception was really laid back & so nice because we hardly had to set up or clean up anything! They had the same people that catered Nate & I's wedding & it was so good. They made fresh tortillas, tacos, beans, rice, horchata, & churros. Everything was sooo good!!! Ally had one of her friends, Tyke, play the guitar & sing during the reception & was sooo good! It felt so nice getting to eat the best food, listen to awesome music, & visit with Ally & Zach & family!

After the reception, we hung out with family & then Sunday we headed back to AZ.

-Some funny things to remember:
Ally was trying to work out the night before her wedding, doing lunges around the hotel at like 11pm, haha!
-We were all a little panicked because the flower vases for the reception kept blowing over & dumping water everywhere. We ended up just dumping out the water & having to run around & put them back up whenever they tipped.
-We were all dying laughing about Ally & Zach's kiss when they got married, Ally did a look at everyone like "this is my time" & whipped her head around really fast to do the kiss, it was sooo funny!
-When we got our pedicures after they painted the polish they came around & sprayed this stuff from an aerosol can. We were all a little nervous of what it was, especially Brittany!



Ally's classic grasshopper move.