One week ago, I had an appointment with my midwife in California. So a couple days before, Lincoln and I packed up and drove to St. George. My sister had kindly offered to watch Link while just my mom and I ran down to Irvine for my appointment. While there, with the help of some wonderful friends, we packed up the remainder of our stuff (we had left a few things thinking Link and I would be camping out there for a couple weeks) and were planning to return to St. George the next day. The appointment went well, but to our surprise, after she checked me, the midwife told me I was “on the brink of having this baby.” I was soft and would go sooner rather than later. Oh, and in addition, she stripped my membranes without asking. I was like, whoa, we’re gonna have this baby soon! We went ahead and scheduled an induction date for June 10, but again the midwife commented that she didn’t think I’d make it until then.

After some prayer, Miles and I decided it would still be okay if I returned to St. George the next day, though we weren’t certain if going all the way home to Herriman was a good idea. So the next day (Saturday) my mom and I headed for St. George, wading through the Memorial Day weekend traffic. We spent the night in St. George. I was really pushing to go home at this point, but Miles was still hesitant. I planned to leave Sunday morning, but then my mom offered to give us their piano. She thought this was a good opportunity to get it loaded and have my little brother, Danny, drive it up on his way to EFY. So we waited to gather my dad and brothers to load it onto the trailer. This didn’t happen until about 5:00pm. So by 6:00 we were finally ready to go. I was anxious to just get home!

WARNING in the next line there will be some graphic detail . . .

While taking my last potty stop before leaving, I found just a little mucus on the toilet paper. I consulted my sister, and she agreed it was probably the beginning of my cervical mucus plug. In case you didn’t know, mucus plug is a technical term! I went back to the bathroom just to check again, and sure enough, I found my mucus plug.

Now, you’ll need a little background information to see why finding my mucus plug was so profound. My labor with Link went like this: I had a few contractions, found my mucus plug, an hour later my water broke which put me into full active labor. Miles and I had agreed beforehand that if I found my plug he would immediately jump on a plane and meet me in California. So, feeling very nervous that I’d be laboring intensely in the car, my mom and I headed back to Irvine. We did keep in mind that Vegas and Barstow have hospitals.

Miles got a ride to the airport from the High Priest group leader. He arrived at the airport at 7:00pm, told them his wife was in labor and had him in first class on the 7:45 flight. He made it to Irvine hours before we did!

Luckily, in the car I only had some menstral-like cramping and early labor contractions once in awhile. So we got there with no problem. We set up our air mattresses in the empty apartment and hoped to get a good night’s rest. But we got more than we hoped for. The early labor had stopped by morning. But we were still optimistic. We planned a day with lots of walking. We went to the mall and bought an outfit to take maternity pictures in at the beach. The menstral cramping and early contractions continued for the remainder of the day. But by the time we returned to our apartment that late afternoon, I felt very discouraged that active labor had not started. So, while my mom and Miles napped, I knelt down beside the air mattress and prayed to know what in the world I should do. It just wasn’t possible to hang out in California for a week. Literally as soon as I ended my prayer, my phone rang. It was my good friend Bridget, who just so happens to be a doula! She was returning my call from Friday and had no idea any of this was happening. This was undoubtedly an answer to my prayer!

Bridget and I discussed my predicament, and she offered an idea I never would have thought of. She suggested I have the midwife check me again and possibly augment the labor. Well, because Kaiser works a little differently I couldn’t just call up my midwife so we decided to go into the hospital to be checked by the midwife who was on duty. It was here that we got some disappointing news. I hadn’t progressed at all since my Friday appointment! Are you kidding me? And because I was still only 37 1/2 weeks along, they couldn’t augment/induce me—which we totally understood. Making sure the baby is strong and healthy is the most important thing!

Alright, it was time to just go home. Screw Kaiser (pardon my language) if they don’t cover the emergency delivery. We still haven’t been able to get a straight forward answer about whether or not they would cover the delivery if I’m admitted through the emergency room, even after talking to the claims department and membership services multiple times. Being away from each other and our home just became too much. We shouldn’t have to deal with all of this crap.

That night, Miles was able to give me a very comforting priesthood blessing. In it, I was told I didn’t need to worry, and that I would not have the baby traveling home. We packed up AGAIN, and headed back to Utah. This time we picked up Link in St. George and drove all the way home. It is so good to be all together at home again.

We continue to wait. I feel like I’ve been in early labor for a week now. I’m learning a lesson in patience. We are so anxious to welcome this little girl into our family. To be continued. . .

So about this time last year, Miles and I found ourselves sitting in bed talking about the possibility of Miles not continuing his PhD in biology. He had come to the realization that he just wasn’t passionate about/ obsessed enough over it. In case you didn’t know, a person has to be absolutely in love with something to devote 6+ years of their life to it. Two years into the program and Miles found himself already dreading going into the lab each day.

So what now? Well if you’ve spent more than 20 minutes in a conversation with Miles, you’re sure to know what he is passionate about. Computers. Apple. Programming. Problem solving. There was just one problem. He didn’t have any formal training in computers whatsoever. He was self-taught. He’d done a few websites here and there. And he sure spent a lot of time on the internet learning about different programming languages etc. But really in the end, he didn’t have much to show for it. So yeah, I was scared. I let Miles know my insecurities, but in the end, I knew he was not happy and that this career change needed to happen. So we started praying. A lot. And we went forward.

Miles dedicated the next few months to strengthening his resume. He checked out books from the library and continued learning. It reminded me a lot of my dad who built two homes by basically reading how-to manuals.

Then the tedious job search began. Applications, cover letters, resumes. Yuck! And it took awhile for Miles to nail down exactly what jobs he should apply for. But then a miracle happened. He got a phone interview! This was before Thanksgiving. They liked him and gave him a project which he worked on until 2:00am every morning for a couple weeks. To make a very long and drawn-out story a little shorter, after a couple more interviews, in March they flew Miles out to North Carolina for and in-person interview. I paid my own way and went along too. I devoted the couple days to looking at the area and checking out places to live. We thought for sure we’d leave with an offer on the table.

Well, we flew home, still confident, but without an offer. A few days after getting home they emailed us a less-than desirable offer. The bummer was that they weren’t offering benefits. But after some thought, we decided we could make it work. We prayed about it and felt good about accepting the offer. Actually how we felt was that it was a good offer but that there would be others. But since we didn’t have any other offers in the works, we’d be crazy not to take this one. But instead of receiving a updated offer letter, we received a two-lined email stating that they decided not to renew the offer. That there’d been a question about Miles’ commitment to the company. What the?! We had no idea what they were talking about! This was such a blow. It hurt a lot. Miles sent a very lengthy letter the the owner of the company trying to clear up any miscommunication. After they reviewed his letter, they responded by saying they just didn’t think Miles was a good fit.

So after months of being in the interview process with this company, and applying to many others, we were back at square one. We started again, only this time we were looking to be much closer to home. North Carolina was really far, and it put some things into perspective. So more applications, resumes, interviews. This time though, three separate companies asked to interview Miles: one local company; one in Littleton, CO; and one in Riverton, UT.

It seemed we’d struck gold. Miles had three interviews with the company here in Irvine. And we actually got an offer from the company in Littleton. When we got the offer, however, we were in Utah where Miles was interviewing for a Database Engineer position for the LDS Church.

He’d applied for the job with the Church thinking he was very under qualified. Which he was. In fact, during the phone interview he was told so. But they still wanted to meet him. They said they saw potential.

The interview went well. And we were very hopeful! This would be a great opportunity for growth. And there’s no doubt that Miles indeed does have the potential to do very well. We wanted this position. My family wanted us to get this position because we’d only be a few hours away. We were so grateful when my mom told us my family would be fasting and praying for Miles to get the job. Well, God heard our prayers. The next day, Miles got a phone call informing him that they’d like to hire him with a start date of May 17th. Nothing short of a miracle!

We are so thrilled! But as we learned from our experience with the NC peeps, it’s not official until it’s official. So just today we heard the details of the offer. Great salary and benefits! Who could ask for more?

Only one problem. Remember how I’m supposed to have a baby mid-June? Well the benefits don’t kick in until July 1. Now this complicates things beyond belief!

I currently have a private plan through Kaiser Permanente. Utah doesn’t have Kaiser. I cannot buy into an other individual plan because pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition. Blah. We do not qualify for medicaid assistance even though here in California we are living in poverty. So that leaves us paying out of pocket. Maybe not too big of a deal if everything goes perfectly. But that’s a big risk. We could be paying tens of thousands of dollars if I need a c-section, not to mention all the other possible complications.

So where does that leave us? In a very hard situation. We’ve come up with two “solutions.”

1. Link and I stay in California and Miles moves up to Utah to start his job. This would mean me taking care of Link by myself for a month, risking Miles not being here for the birth of the baby (would probably ask the doctor about induction to decrease this risk), paying double rent, and trying to move with a newborn by myself since Miles will have to be back at work.

2. We move together up to Utah as planned. I stay in Riverton and get things settled for a couple weeks. Drive down to St. George to stay with family for a week (it’s 4 hours closer to the Kaiser Hospital), then the final week I’d stay in a friend’s apartment while they are out of town. This would mean I’d pay for prenatal visits out of pocket, we’d still be risking Miles not being there for the birth, and I’d have to travel back up to Utah with a 2-day old.

So neither option is a good option. I hate to say it but our current health care system here in America sucks!

As my grandma said, we’re going to need to talk to the Lord about this one. Indeed!

I welcome any thoughts/ advice. Maybe there’s something we haven’t thought of?

We didn’t have much time to set things up beforehand so I was a bit nervous we’d have technical difficulties. It’s inevitable, right? So as I was sitting listening to Sister Getz begin her lesson I said a simple, silent prayer. “Father in Heaven, please help me figure out how to get the DVD player to work so that thy Spirit will not be disrupted.”

My prayer was answered. While setting up the system, there were complications, but my mind was able to work through them. The DVD worked and the Spirit was unrestrained. I am grateful the Lord hears all of our prayers, even the simple ones.

Truly, you’ve never seen a prouder daddy! I mean come on, Link was born on his dad’s birthday, and he shares the same name. Though we’re told Link looks much like his mamma, he gets most of his personality from Daddy.

This weekend, Miles took Lincoln to an overnight Fathers and Sons campout. Link was by far the youngest child there. This act alone says much about Miles as a father. He’s willing, loving, fun, and has a great attitude. It was so sweet to see them the next day. I could tell they had literally bonded over night.

In this video there is a segment that reminds me so much of Miles and Lincoln. It’s when the father is sleeping outside with his infant son (his only son) waiting to go fishing in the morning. Definitely a tear jerker. Definitely worth watching!

I too thoroughly enjoyed myself with the boys gone. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I was alone overnight in my own house. Even when we didn’t have Link, I think Miles only left me once for a school interview. I went out for sushi for the first time with a good friend who doesn’t have any kiddos of her own yet. It was so nice! However, one night was plenty! I was very anxious to see them the next day!

And yes I do realized I look like a thirteen year old in this picture. Maybe that just means the girls will be able to relate to me better! Izzy, standing behind me, is more than a head taller! What is this?

Working with these young women has caused me to reflect on my own experiences as a teenager. It’s such a difficult time! So many important choices are made during those few, precious years. But for some reason, that just doesn’t sink in as a teenager. Teens don’t realize simple day to day choices—like what to wear that day, who to date, or whether or not to sit by the loner girl at lunch—make a difference. Life has an interesting way of hinging outcomes on seemingly inconsequential decisions. For example, who would have thought that not making the Cheerleading Squad (which seemed the crowning disappointment of my teen years) would have such far reaching effects. Who I chose as my peers, my desire to do well in school, where I applied to college, getting accepted to that college, meeting my husband, deciding to be married in the temple, starting a beautiful family, and living happily ever after all resulted from that turning point in my life. Okay, okay, so my life isn’t perfect (of course) but I am very blessed. I feel lucky to have made the choices I did. But how and why was I able to make those good decisions when faced with the question “what now?” after my dream life as a popular cheerleader evaporated before my eyes? And more importantly, what can I do as a leader to help these precious young women make good choices, follow Jesus Christ, and reap the rewards of their righteousness? I want nothing more than for these girls to feel the happiness I have felt when living as I should, and to understand that the choices they are making now will determine their future.

Deep I know.

Any ideas? Any inspirational experiences of how your leaders positively affected you?

I hope we can all turn our hearts and thoughts toward our Savior, Jesus Christ this Easter weekend. We are nothing without Him and His mercy. All hope, happiness, and goodness are obtainable through the Atonement He made on our behalf.

I don’t know exactly when things started looking up but the burden just seemed to get lighter and lighter until one day I realized I felt like my happy self again. Taking up swimming and making sure I got out of the house everyday really helped lift my spirits, but I know this wasn’t the “cure.” I found the statement “it gets better,” which I had heard over and over again from basically anyone with children, was coming true. I don’t know how or why, but the depression did pass and boy am I grateful!

So I don’t really know what the point of this post is. I hope it can be eye-opening for a few, comforting for some, and refreshing for others.

My name is Michelle Pomeroy and I am imperfect. But I’m doing the best I can.

I have a hard time pin-pointing exactly when labor started. I had regular contractions all day and night Friday May 30th. My mom even drove through the night because we all thought I was in labor! Well, it was a false alarm. When I woke up Saturday morning, the contractions were gone. The same thing happen all day Saturday. On Sunday we went to church. I was pretty discouraged. It was now my due date and I felt like I had “almost” been in labor forever. The contractions were now a bit more painful, but I wasn’t getting my hopes up.

That night, Miles surprised me with a “new mother” gift. He bought me the wedding band we couldn’t afford when we got married! I cried! It was so wonderful and thoughtful!

After that, we had a bit of euphoria. Miles and I were literally dancing in our living room together—something we wouldn’t normally do with company around.

I was still having a few contractions about every 7-10 min or so. Then, it happened. I was just sitting in the recliner and it hit me. No more messing around. I looked at Miles and wanted to tell him to just STOP lip syncing to the music, but I couldn’t do anything but breath. “Oh boy, that one hurt” I exclaimed. Right after, at 12:15am Monday morning, my water broke. My mom grabbed her camera.

I was totally surprised. I didn’t expect my water to break before we got to the hospital. Miles called Labor and Delivery, and they told us to take our time because my contractions were still pretty far apart. They told us to be at the hospital in 2 hours, and because there was the possible risk of infection they wanted the baby born within 24 hours. We now knew he would be born on Miles’ birthday. After the second gush of water, I ate a little breakfast for some energy and labored for 2 hours at home. From this point on, time went into hyperspeed.

We got to the hospital at 2:30am. I was already tired. The midwife checked me and I was only at 2 cm and 80% effaced. Not much progress from my doctor’s appointment. They wanted to put me on petocin right away, but I chose to labor for awhile, hoping my body would progress on it’s own. I didn’t want petocin unless I had the epidural, and I wasn’t ready for the epidural yet. Labor hurt pretty bad. We labored for about 5 hours in the hospital, walking the halls and such. Miles was such a good support. I hung on to him through every contraction.

My contractions were now coming about ever 3-5 minutes. We had some good progress! When the midwife came back in, I was ready for the epidural. Can I just tell you that the epidural was a piece of cake! I was really nervous about it, but the anesthesiologist did a wonderful job! Though I hated being strapped to the bed with all sorts of IVs, monitors and such, I was so happy for the relief.

The nurse checked me again, and I had progressed to 4 cm on my own. I was happy with this. Especially because I’ve been told contractions are so much stronger after your water breaks. Both Miles and I slept for a couple hours.

At about 1:00 in the afternoon, the nurse came in and notified me I was already at 8 cm! I couldn’t believe it. About 30 min after that, she said I was ready to push. I remember her saying, “your baby will be here soon. We’ll push for about 15 min okay?” Hah! So we started pushing. I’m so happy that I could feel the urge to push even through the epidural. We pushed with my legs in the stirrups, then on my side, then sitting up. I was exhausted. We did this for 2 hours. I was beginning to feel discouraged. Then the midwife came in and asked me “How do you feel about a c-section?” Are you kidding me? After all this work? No way. I want a vaginal birth. She said there was a “slight” possibility that I could deliver this baby if I pushed another hour. I asked the nurse if my husband could give me a blessing. He did, and there was no more doubt. I said let’s do it! I think I opened my eyes to look at Miles twice during the next hour and 15 minutes. I have never focused so hard on something in my life. I had Miles counting in my ear and holding my hand the entire time. My mom was on one leg, and the nurse was holding the other. They were all so helpful and encouraging. I really couldn’t have done it without them. I was so happy when they brought a mirror over and I could see the baby’s head. I pushed harder—which I didn’t think was possible. When the midwife returned, she was surprised I had progressed so much. I was given a small episiotomy and a few minutes later I was reaching down for my son.

I have never felt so much emotion in all my life when they placed my boy on my chest. Relief, love, happiness, pride, accomplishment, and joy, just to name a few. My baby was so beautiful! I can’t even write about it without crying. I had never worked so hard in my life, and the a reward was so amazing. I just held him and Miles and I sobbed. My mom says we were moaning with joy. The baby was then placed on my bare chest. Baby Lincoln was so alert gazing up at me.

The nurse helped me put him to the breast and he latched on right away. We spent about 45 minutes like this until the nurses took him to be cleaned up. He was 7 lbs 3 oz, and 20 1/4″ long. What a perfect size. He was so healthy and robust with a beautiful color.

The next part of the day is so vague to me. I know we were waiting to be taken to our post-partum room. My mom says we were there for more than 3 hours. I don’t remember it. I do remember the nurses helping try to get up for the first time to go the the bathroom. I couldn’t walk and I almost passed out. They gave me juice and waved ammonia under my nose. Finally they got me into the wheelchair, and I carried the baby to our new room.

Recovery in the hospital was brutal. I had torn past my episiotomy and ended up with a 3rd degree laceration (meaning I tore a bit into the rectal muscle). The most frustrating part was that I now had to take care of this new baby, and I could barely move and take care of myself.

The baby roomed in with us the first night and was up nearly ever hour. After not getting any sleep the night before and feeling like I was hit by a semi, this was really difficult. Miles took care of him most of that first night.

Everyday has gotten better since, but it’s still hard! He is so wonderful, but I’m not gonna lie—I’ve had those “what was I thinking” moments. I’ve learned more in the past 10 days than I ever could have imagined. I’ve learned that motherhood is hard work, I’ve never loved and appreciated my husband more, and it is impossible to be a good parent without the Lord’s help. We are so grateful for our baby boy. We’re so proud of him. He has such a special spirit and has added so much to our little family!