Blessed, Honored, Pioneers: Trip to Martin's Cove Day 1 of 3

Our trip to Martin's Cove started out on Sunday night. We drove half way while the girls slept. We ended up staying in Dubois, WY and stopped there about midnight. We got up the next morning and had a slow start, had breakfast and drove the rest of the way. This worked out great for our little family of 4. We hit Lander, WY and ran into the Strupps at a gas station. We then followed them to the site. We pulled into the site right behind the ward bus that had most of the people going on the trek. They had left the church at 6am Monday morning. When we got there we were to eat lunch and load our cart. Then we had orientation where we learned a little about the pioneers and were instructed on what to do and what the rules were. Then off we went. It was just before 3:30 that we began out trek to the campsite.

Lois and Jasmin sporting their matching bonnets. Thanks Mom and Sister Lundquist.
Here we are just before we started the trek. Look at those cute bonnets and skirts that were made for the girls in the family. They sure helped in keeping the sun off too! I don't know what I would have done without them!
This is a shot of Jasmin. This is how she spent most of her days. Just hanging in the front pack baby carrier, a sleep! What a great baby!


This is just shortly after we started off down the handcart trail!
Kenya walked at least 1 mile before even being picked up. I think it was more that the other adults thought Kenya walked to slow and offered to carry her rather than she was too tired. Lou Anne a lady in our handcart family is carrying Kenya here. Our family was so great at helping out with our children!
Here is the flag that Lois designed and made for our handcart. We had a wide variety of people in our handcart family and so this is what she came up with. It says, "From all walks of life, we all walk together." Then she put an outline of each of our feet. So, there was Robert's, Lois', Kenya's, and Jasmin's feet all on the flag. It turned out pretty good! Our handcart family was:
The Smiths: an older couple (Jane and Brother Smith) (he is in the bishopric)
The Strupps: middle aged couple (Karl and Kim) and sister Strupp's sister (Mona)
Sister Thompson: middle aged single lady (Lou Anne)
The Drapers: Robert, Lois, Kenya and Jasmin

Setting up the tent was a nightmare. It was by far the hardest part of the whole trek! The wind was SOOO strong that it was blowing all the tents over. It was so windy that a lady's sleeping bag was actually blow away in the wind. Daddy and Kenya put up the tent with a little help from others while Mommy had to feed Jasmin. They did a great job. Once the tent was up the wind was so strong that it was still blowing the tent so that one side was collapsed. Our tent was only half as big because the wind blew one side into the middle of the tent. Robert had to tie an anchor from the top of the tent to the near by fence to keep it from going completely flat.
Jasmin just chillin' while we set up the tent. She sure had a comfy seat!

Our little one was only 2 weeks and 3 days old, but she is smiling and not just in her sleep. We are amazed that the things she can already do!

Daddy is having a huddle with the girls!
Kenya is gettin' some kisses from Jasmin...

So Kenya decides to reward Jasmin for her kisses by sharing some chocolate pudding with her for the .5 seconds we weren't looking!





Kenya was so tired that night that we missed the fireside about Ephriam Hanks who was a rescuer that saved so many people on the trail. It was nice to have a little quite family time though. We were tired and all asleep by like 10:30 or 11pm that night.

Update through pictures.

These pictures are not in any order. We just wanted to get them up so people can see our wonderful Jasmin and how things are going around the house.

Here she is just being awake. This is not something we saw for the first few days. It is getting more common now though!
Just hanging out around the house. Gotta love Lois's "new mommy" look.
This was one morning when Kenya came into our bedroom and asked to hold the baby. She just sat there and held her for at least 20 minutes as Jasmin slept.
Aunt Amy and our girls! She is such a big help with Kenya. Kenya gets the extra attention she needs because Amy loves to play and dance with her! Thanks Amy!
More just hanging out.
My brother Josh came up from Utah and brought his daughter Aly. It was so fun to have them for a few hours and let the girls play together. Aly was excited to hold the baby and play with Kenya! Thanks for the visit! Kenya is getting so spoiled with all these extra visitors I am a little nervous to see what will happen when it is just boring mom again.
This has already taken the same opportunities as she did when Kenya was born. Always trying to sit on or next to the nursing baby. I think the cat gets more jealous than Kenya does.
This is just as we are getting ready to leave the hospital.
Proud big sister!
Cousin Aly visiting. What a warm sunny summer Sunday.
Jasmin Elena.
Kenya helping the nurse take my vitals. She sure gets spoiled by people. All the nurses fell in love with Kenya and wanted to make her as happy as possible.

What a sweet tender moment.

Jasmin Elena Draper

It all started one day in China when I was thinking about....
Okay sorry to scare you this is not the story of how she began but how we started to think we wanted to name our new child. So back to the story.
how I wanted to honor my father. This was before I thought he was going to die before the baby was born. I was thinking if it was a boy we could use some or all of his name and then it came to me that we already have the D of his initials and and we just use his initials, but just mix them up a bit. I brought it up to Robert and he liked the idea. So we decided that it was a possibility to try and do so. Then as time went on we went with the idea.

Jasmin Elena Draper has a very special significance in her initials. It is not the names, but the initials. These initials are the same as my father. His initials were DJE. We mixed up the initials. We struggled to find a name. We liked several different names, but nothing seemed to stick. Robert finally said Jasmin Elena and I loved it. The name seemed to elegant to me and so we kept searching. Finally we decided that that is what it was going to be.
So, here is to you Grandpa! Jasmin Elena Draper, JED
I wish she could have had her grandpa here on this earth, but we know that we will see him again through the power of the temple sealing and Jasmin and Grandpa will be able to play and have as much joy as Kenya and Grandpa did here on earth!

Labor and Delivery the entire story.

NOTE: This is the whole lengthy story, so the beginning is stuff I have already blogged, but I wanted it all in one post from start to finish. There is plenty of details and it wont be gross at all, but there are plenty of details, so beware.

As posted before my water broke around 8:30 the morning of July 15 while I was in the shower. When I got out Kenya and Grandma had gone outside to play and so the first thing I did was call Robert and tell him that my water had broken. I had a doctors appointment for 10:00 so I just got ready and headed to the Dr office. It took a little longer getting ready than planned because I had to make sure that I was not leaking all over the house when I was getting ready. I asked my mom what I should do until I got to the office because I was still leaking water and her first suggestion was to put a towel there to catch everything, which is what I had done and already soaked through 2 hand towels. Then as we were leaving she suggested a diaper. Yep, you got it I got a diaper and laid it in my underwear. It worked great!! Then off to the doctor we went. As we were just a ways down the road from my house I had to turn around because This was left outside. Knowing that this was probably my water that broke I did not want to leave her outside all day in the heat and possibly all night and the next day because I was thinking we would not be coming back to Rexburg, I turned around to go find her and put her in the house. Robert left from work and met us all at the doctors for our appointment.
My doctors appointment went well and sure enough confirmed that my water had broken. The doctor had a kit he was going to collect some of the fluid to test and see if it was my water and as he began to check it gushed out. Knowing there was nothing I could do I just apologized and he said, "Yep, that is the water." The nurse Karen asked if he wanted to have slide made to check and he said no. So, the doctor called the hospital and told them I would be coming in. He relayed the message to me that they already have 5 women in labor and that it might be a few hours before they start me on Pitocin. I asked about going to get lunch because I knew from experience with Kenya that when on Pitocin you can only have clear liquids. So as shown before we went to Pizza Pie Cafe. Then we ran to Wal-Mart and stopped by a friends house to talk to them about possibly staying the night, or at least Kenya and Grandma.
I checked into the hospital at about 1:00pm. It took them a little while to get me hooked up to the IV and get going on Pitocin. Toni who was doing my IV had a really hard time getting it into the vein on the back of my left hand. It didn't hurt much then, but she really dug around and then the vein shriveled up and she had to do it a different one anyway. She got one on the outside part of my wrist on my right hand (about the worse spot to put one, I think). I had a hard time bending my wrist and such and it was my right hand too. The back on my left had still has a HUGE bruise and is more sore now than any other day. She got me good! I think it was probably after 2:00pm when they started the medicine. So, then it was just waiting. The monitor began to show contractions, but I really didn't feel anything. Kenya and Robert went to our friends house at about 5:00pm so I could get some rest and Kenya could play with friends and get out of the hospital. Grandma was amazing and had taken her on some walks through the hospital to keep her entertained as well. It was about the same time Robert and Kenya left that I began to feel the contractions and was able to recognize them when they were coming. So, needless to say the rest I was wanting I was not really getting. I was able to get up and walk around with a portable monitor and I think that really might have hurried to contractions along.
Just after 6:00pm I was feeling the steady contractions and Robert and Kenya were going to be coming back for dinner. I decided to get the epidural because I didn't want Kenya to be there when I got it and I did not want her to see me go through the contractions. I think it might have scared her because she is sensitive to when other people get hurt. It breaks her heart to see other get hurt. Kenya and Robert got back just after 6pm and then Grandma took Kenya down to the cafeteria to get some dinner. The anesthesiologist came at about 6:30pm and we went through all the legal garbage and risks. Then away she went. Well, the first time she tried she hit a blood vessel and so she had to take it out and try again. (Of course we all know that I was having contractions through this whole process.) It took her nearly 30 minutes to get it done. At the end of it all she explained that she is the 2nd in line on the the on call list and that the man who usually does them was in a different case. Well, that makes sense now! Everything went fine though and it worked great! (Yep, I am going to do it again with the next.)
So, here we are at about 7:00 and I asked the nurse to check me. She finished up a few things and then did. I was dilated to a 6. When I asked her when she would check me again she said about 2 hours. I was fine with that I did not know how long it was going to take to dilate or how fast I would go. So, then around 8:00pm Kenya and Grandma went to go to bed. Grandma said that if it was after 10 or 11 not to call when the baby came. So, Robert ate dinner in the hospital room with me and I just waited in bed until time to be checked. Well, the nurse came in just before 9:00pm and said that Dr Hopkin had called and asked that I be checked because he was getting ready to leave town. The nurse checked and in a matter of just starting to check she said, "Your complete." Then she went and called the Dr and came back to tell me that he would be there in 10 minutes. I called Grandma and she said that they were just starting to get to get into bed and so she came back up. So, now in the room was Grandma, Kenya, 2 nurses, Robert, me and Pascal via Skype. Robert had been chatting with him for a while and so he just stayed on the computer. He lives and was in Shenzhen, China. I am not really sure what all he saw or what angle he got of the whole thing, but he was there. He like most others was just SUPER curious about the gender of then Baby Inside.
So, he goes the delivery. (With Kenya I got a slight tightening in my lower back with each contraction and so I knew when to push.) As soon as the doctor was there and ready I pushed on the next contraction. I did 4 pushed with that contraction. They said there was black hair. The next contraction 1 push and than another. With that second push a hand and the head. The third push, a baby! 9:20 pm IT A GIRL! She screamed and I smiled! (Kenya did not scream. In fact I did not hear her make an noise until later in the NICU.) I was able to hold her right away and love her. Then the placenta delivery actually took longer than the baby. No tearing, woo hoo!! Then the clean up of course. 9:35ish, the doctor left. What a job he was there for less than 30 minutes. I bet he is thankful for the quick easy delivery as well. He mentioned at his office that he does his best work before dark and it was twilight when Jasmin was born. What a great team we all make! I nursed her right away and it only took one try for her to latch on. She has been a great/strong nurser ever since.
Kenya was in the room the entire time. She did not have a direct view of what was going on, but she did see everything. She just sat on a chair and excitedly waited for Baby Inside to become Baby Outside. I was worried about having her in there at first, but she handled it so well as they were prepping that I told her as long as she stayed on the chair she was able to stay in the room, but if she wanted to her and Grandma could leave and wait outside. She did ask a few times what was going on and we would just tell her. When the baby came out she came right over to see. She was able to see all the aftermath and just asked me things like, "Mom, you got blood on your "bingo"?" (This is the word she uses for vagina.) I would just tell her that I was okay, but yes I do. I would tell her that it was just part of having the baby come out. Crazy thing is I am fairly sure she understood and felt comfortable with it. She went over when they were cleaning the baby and watched her get weight and cleaned. All, she kept saying was "I want hold her! Please, may I hold her!" It was instant love from Kenya! This was a very sweet part of the experience that I never would have wanted to have, but it was amazing!! I am so glad Kenya was there and I think it made it a little more special for all of us!
The baby never left our room or sight really and that was great! Kenya and Grandma left just after 10:00pm to go to bed. That girl was tired! So, we were getting ready to move rooms and it had been about an hour and a half (11:15pm). The nurse said that I could shower if I could stand and support myself. Well, my left leg buckled ever time I tried to stand on it. It was the weirdest feeling trying to move it and stand on it and then all of the sudden it would buckle. So, I was wheeled to the "mom and baby" unit for recovery. Baby Outside nursed great through the night and slept with mommy most of the night. She had her first BM at about 4:00am.
The next morning at about 8:00am Kenya and Grandma came back. Kenya shared breakfast with me and then Robert Grandma and Kenya went down to get there own breakfast. After everyone ate breakfast everyone left Baby Outside and me to get my sister Amy from the airport. While they were gone Dr Hopkin came and check on us and gave us the go ahead to leave at dinner time.
Everyone got back to the hospital at 1:00pm. Around 2:00pm our friends the Hunts came to see the new baby. Amy and Grandma left at about 5:00pm to go home and get a little rest or whatever and we stayed for our dinner and to try and name this baby. It took us 2 and half hours to finally give into the name Jasmin Elena Draper. We left the hospital at 7:30pm and drove our new family home!
It was wonderful!

The Drapers have landed!

So we are all home and doing well. We were supposed to stay one more night, but the Doctor okayed Lois and the baby, finally named Jasmin Elena Draper, to leave anytime after dinner. We could have left the hospital by 6:30pm, but it took us over 2 hours to choose a name! There is no more deliberation. Jasmin Elena Draper is the new edition to our eternal family and we thank our Father in Heaven for blessing us so greatly!

Update from Mommy!

So, I will hopefully be able to write out the details of the labor and delivery process soon, but to keep everyone updated better now that the baby is here here are a few updates.
The baby has picked up nursing well, although she has been sleeping and has not fed every 2-3 hours like "normal" but I am sure that will change. She has been doing a great job at it too! She has had to bowl movements (this is important for new babies!). And the doc checked on her this morning and said that we can most likely go home this evening around dinner time.
Now, the only problem is.... She does not have a name.
Kenya's suggestions: Baby Sister, Baby Outside, Baby Inside Draper, Sister, and K E N Y A (she spells out her name)

Thank you to all who have congratulated us and given us support. We enjoy seeing your comments and reading your input or feedback!

PS I am doing very well with no pain meds (I only used those for the delivery) and am up moving around and feel great!

Here is what you really have been wanting.

This is Kenya saying good night as she was leaving to go to get some rest at about 8:00pm. Needless to say she did not get to sleep because right about the time Grandma was getting her into bed they got a text saying that Lois was going to be ready to deliver within about 30 minutes. So, Grandma packed Kenya back up and returned to the hospital where Kenya was wonderful during the whole birth. She was in the room with the family the entire time!

There aren't anymore pics of the actual delivery because Baby Inside became Baby Outside in 2 contractions. The bottom picture is Lois push and the top picture is waiting for a contraction to start the process.

Here she is!! A beautiful baby girl! (These ones are after she had been cleaned about 1 hour after birth.)
She looks similar to Kenya, but definitely has her own looks too!


Daddy holding his second daughter!

Kenya was so excited and loved every minute of it!

Look how happy!
These are the grams on the scale. She was 7 lbs 3 oz.

Here is our first family picture! Daddy is still out number by girls, good luck Daddy!

Touchdown! Slam Dunk! Goal! Score! Ace! Knockout! Homerun! Deuce!

Houston...We have a baby! I repeat...We have a baby! This is the moment we have all been waiting for! The Coo de gra, the Whole Magilla, the Big Cheese, the Big Kahuna, The Main Event, The Show, The Sock Hop, The Showdown, The Unveiling, The Answer--to the question, quandry, conundrum, the riddle, the enigma, the problem, the mystery, the puzzle! Is it a boy or a girl? Some will prove to be prophets, fortune tellers, psychics, forecasters, mystics, telepaths, seers, clairvoyants. Some will be fooled, conned, hoodwinked, bamboozled, tricked, duped, taken in, deceived, wool pulled over their eyes, mislead. Either way we will all be edified, enlightened, informed, notified, up to date, up to speed, caught up, and updated.

In this corner we have a baby born at 9:20pm mst weighing in at 7lbs 3 oz, lying down at 20 inches long! Former Baby inside, now Baby Outside! The Newborn, The infant, The Youngling, the Kin of Robert and Lois Draper, their posterity, offspring, The sibling of Kenya Draper, Our Man Cub...


BABY DRAPER!









it's a girl!

News flash!

The nurse just checked Lois and dilation is complete! She said the baby is right there and that she expects it to be coming in the next half hour!

The Dr. will be here in 10 minutes to get the show on the road!

Stay Tuned!

Feel the Burn...til the epidural gets here!

So sorry folks, but there are some technical difficulties so I won't be uploading live video anymore, but I will continue to update in normal blogging format. They are blocking social networks here, so video is very difficult to load. Video will still be recorded, but not uploaded until further notice.

Now here's to catch you up!

Lois was having some intense contractions and ordered the epidural. She handled them like a champ! We can now successfully say that she has felt contractions!

So the epidural took 2 tries, between 6:30pm and 7pm MST, before being successfully placed, but it is definitely in full effect.

Lois is now dilated to a 6 (as of 7:30pm MST so it could be more by now ;)

The room has been prepped for delivery and Grandma Evans and Kenya are at a friend's house preparing for bed.

More to come...

Baby Draper is...

... is now starting the labor process with a few minor contractions.

The Flood Gates Have Opened!

This morning while taking a shower my water broke. Just a drizzle and then a few gushes. This was around 8:30 or so as I was getting ready to go to my Dr appointment. I got out of the shower and called Robert to tell him. As I got ready I was convinced that it was my water. My mom got here last night and so she was going with me to my appointment at 10:00 so I just went about my morning with a few minor set backs to keep myself clean.

At the doctors I told the nurse that I thought my water had broken and we went about the normal stuff: weight, blood pressure, urine sample and then waiting for the doc to come in. When he came in to check and see if it was my water breaking I just knew as I laid down there would be another gush and I was a little embarrassed about it, but what could I do. So, sure enough he goes to get a sample to test and said, "Yep that's the water". Karen the nurse asked him if he wanted a slide just to make sure and he said, "Nope, that's the water", as it continued to come out.

From there the Dr. got us scheduled at the hospital and let us know that he "...does his best work before dark!", and we went to lunch! We had Pizza Pie Cafe (Formerly known as Craigos) as the last meal with only 3 Drapers before the event starts.





So now we have checked in (at about 12:30), got a room and I am hooked up to the I.V. and are waiting for pitocin (the stuff that causes contractions). Stay tuned.

Scoop Jam: 2011

The Drapers decided that since Baby Inside wasn't coming as soon as everyone had thought that we should try to force him/her out with an overload of ice cream at Scoop Jam--an all- you- can- eat ice cream, event! I told Lois, (because she loves ice cream so much) that she would probably eat herself into labor. Well as we all know she didn't, but it was not for lack of trying.

Kenya's pajamas show her preparedness for this festival of frozen food! Here she is snuggling This as we were getting ready for the jam.

The following pics are of Kenya and Lois off to a great start for the day!





Well, since Baby Inside didn't become Baby Outside it made a darn good table!During our outing we ran into the Central Idaho Credit Union booth that offered the usual candy, key chains, and pens. What was not so usual about what this booth was giving away was cold hard cash! So we signed up for a, much needed, new checking account and got to try our hand in the money machine. A capsule with a cash covered floor that at the push of a button blew the dead presidents around in a flurry! (there were ones and fives)


Eventually all three of us had a turn and whatever we got was doubled if we agreed to deposit it immediately. We nearly made $200! Nuff sed!

Now that's how you start a college fund!
Question: Is it possible to have too many videos of your child dancing?

Answer: Not if your child is an awesome dancer like Kenya is!

And all that dancing and eating of frozen treats put Kenya into an ice cream coma with spoon in hand and everything! She was eating ice cream and popcorn when she slipped into her silent slumber.

All together we conquered 21 cups of frozen goodness and bought a nice commemorative t-shirt to remind us of one the best ideas since mixing sugar, milk and some other ingredients, freezing the product and consuming it on a hot Summer's day! Thank you Scoop Jam, Snake River Landing and everyone who put this thing together!

We closed the day with a Scoop Jam, wrist band, huddle on This. "Gooooooo Scoop Jam!"

No news, would have been good news!

Well, here I am another day with nothing to complain about. I really mean that too. Ever since yesterday afternoon I have been feeling better and less pregnant that I have in about 4-5 weeks. I am able to move better, get up and down off of the floor, bend over, run, and play more with Kenya. (Oh, but the tiredness is still there for sure!) What did that Dr do to me? It seems that he put me back about a month in my pregnancy.
In fact on Monday, I thought that I might have been having contractions. (Yes, I have a child and still do not know what they feel like.) I have not really felt that same feeling as I thought was contractions since after my doctors appointment. I am still feeling the baby move so I am not really worried.
Really, I have not had anything to complain about with this pregnancy. A little heartburn here and there, a larger belly that restrains my movement (and this was only for about 5 weeks or so), and tiredness is all I have really had. I know that I have been blessed again!

PS
Robert is planning on blogging again hopefully in a new inventive way with the labor and delivery permitting. We will see how it turns out.

There is progress.

So, the doc says there is progress, but nothing like I was wanting to hear. I am "more than a 3" now, but this baby has not moved down yet. He stripped my membranes to see if that will do anything and if not back to the Dr on Friday to see if there is anymore progress.
I really like my doctor. He is all for inducing me, but only if the baby and me are ready, meaning it will not cause complications. Like today for example would have been great to just ask him if he could just have me check into the hospital and be induced, but he said that the baby is not inducible because it has not engaged into the birth canal yet. I really feel like he is not going to allow me to do anything that will endanger myself or the baby. I have told him that I do not want to do anything that will increase the risk of c-section.

40 weeks

Tomorrow July 12 is 40 weeks and I have a doctors appointment. Hopefully there will be news tomorrow!
This is just a teaser post.