Ila is 6 months old!

I've been inspired by one of my friends, and bloggers to write this blog for Ila! Thanks Bobbinoggin :)

Ila, You are 6 months old now! Congratulations! You love playing in your Bounce Bounce baby and think it's pretty cool when you touch a button and music plays.

You love chewing on things and will put anything and everything in your mouth!

People say that you are a very vocal baby, and your daddy and I love that about you. You mostly make "hooo" sounds, like an owl, when you are playing by yourself.

You sing along with music and even dance! It's really precious.

You eat every 4 hours during the day and sometimes go 6-7 hours at night. When you wake up in the morning, it's not to eat, but to play! After about an hour of playing you are ready for breakfast and then it's back to bed for another 2 hours or so. You wake up talking and happy! You eat rice cereal in the evening time and a little bit of Squash. You like the cereal more, but nursing is the greatest thing ever to you.

You can sit up all by yourself now. You can even suck on your toes and then sit back up, instead of falling on your face! You fall over after about 10 minutes of sitting, but I think you do it on purpose.

When you are on your belly you can turn in circles.

You love love looking in the mirror and think that the little baby you see in there is pretty funny.

You fill every day with Joy fr your parents, and anyone else who is around! You don't mind strangers on bit, and will let anyone hold you (as long as mommy says so!). You are happy, and friendly and we love you!

Happy 6 months (yesterday!).

Since I last blogged, we have moved back to Idaho! We planned on being in Louisiana for 6 months, so when our time there was done, we packed up our van (that we got, after selling our car) and hit the road!

Our trek across the country went really well and Ila got to meet lots of family on the way. First we stopped in Kansas City, Missouri and stayed with the Kelly's (our pastor from college and his wife, my best friend). Then it was onto Fort Morgan, Colorado where we stayed with my mother's parents and Ila had a great time meeting her great grandparents! We also got to see Trent's cousin Tyler while we were there. Then we headed up Casper mountain to visit Trent's cousin and her 7 kids! Trent's parents were also there, enjoying winter activities like snowmobiling and dog sledding, and working on house stuff for their spring breaks!

We just missed a large snow storm as we headed into Idaho, driving through the Teton Mountains, which were BEAUTIFUL! We were pleased to make Idaho Ila's 7 state she has ever been in.

Since we've been back in Idaho, we have enjoyed seeing family and introducing Ila to all sorts of people. She really seems to be a social baby, and doesn't mind being passed around, and having everyone make crazy faces and sounds at her. It's really nice to have such a sweet baby! Her best friend is Haro, her cousin that is 2 days younger then her. They like to sit on the ground, facing each other and babble back and forth. The other day Haro was fussy, and every time he let out a whine, Ila started talking to him. It was so cute. Tawna, (Haro's mom and Trent's sister) and I just knew that Ila was telling Haro that everything was alright, and that there was no need to fuss!

So Ila and I stay busy meeting up with friends and family, while Trent continues the job search of a lifetime. He has also stayed very busy painting my parents kitchen, and ripping the floors out. He will stay busy this week by tiling the floors in there. He also organized my dad's tool bench. He loves to work, and is anxious to get a job!

Developmentally, Ila is doing just great! She can sit up (with supervision) and grab things and put them in her mouth. She loves to laugh and smile, and play peek-a-boo. She eats rice cereal once a day, and may start eating oatmeal once a day here pretty soon. She loves to sneeze, which is really cute! Her new favorite thing is a baby bouncer, with toys all around it. She loves to stand in it and try to eat everything attached to it. She is 5 months old, weighs 17-18 pounds has moved into size 6-9 months.

So that's the latest from these Idaho Beckers! Hope you all are well :)

Holidays, Visitors and an update of Ila Vieu, by Nicole

December was an eventful month, with lots of visitors, but before visitors Ila started smiling in response to us, instead of just smiling here and there. She has a big goofy smile that is just like Trent's "goon face" he used to make as a baby. She also has a side smirk that is as cute as all get out, and a regular smile that can only make viewers smile back. It brought us so much joy when she started smiling, and the joy has not worn off in the least bit. I can't help but smile or laugh when I get a grin from Ila, and when we smile at her, she just smiles even bigger. So we have an on going cycle of smiling at our house, and that's fine and dandy with me!

My parents and brother came to meet Ila in mid-december and we had a great time seeing them all. They loved Ila (how could't you though?!) and Ila loved them too. Uncle Chris got Ila "Sunny Sunshine" which is a friendly looking sunshine face with colorful rays that light up in sync with a few classical tunes. Ila lights up every time Sunny Sunshine comes out to play. She kicks her legs and smiles at him, and waves her arms wildly about. We have a lot of fun with that.

At Christmas time, Trent's parents came to visit and meet Ila and we had a great time with them too! Telcia and Jonathan, Trent's youngest sister and her husband joined us for Christmas as well. We all had fun spending time together, eating good food and playing games. We were sad to see them go.

Right before Trent's parents came, Ila laughed for the first time, and hasn't stopped since! She has the funniest little laugh, quick inhales with a little sound. It's hard to explain really, so just know that her laugh is adorable! She has been laughing more and more lately and laughing harder too. I didn't think anything could bring me more joy then her smiles, but I was wrong. Her laugh does!

In January, Ila got another cousin, when Bonnie (Trent's brothers wife) gave birth to Anza Elizabeth. It was sure strange to see a newborn and Ila at the same time. I guess Ila really has grown a lot since she was born. It's hard to believe that she was even smaller then little Anza, but the scales don't lie (or do they?...)!

Now, about Ila. Ila is a very strong girl. At her 2 month appointment she weighed 13 pounds and we estimate that she weighs 15 or so now. She'll be 16 weeks old this Thursday. She loves to play, and her favorite things to do are to dance with her Daddy, and fly on her mommy's legs. Trent likes to to the chicken dance with her, and she thinks it's pretty great! She loves to stand (with help of course) and has strong legs. Ila eats about every 4 hours, and skips a feeding during the night, which is certainly appreciated by me! When she goes through growth spurts, she eats every 3 hours, and may or may not skip her night time feeding. It seems like her big growth spurts occur about every 4 weeks, and last for 3-4 days. She is sleeping less as she grows up, so we have more time to play, but she still sleeps a significant amount of the day.

These days Ila is discovering her hands. Often times she catches a glimpse of them while her arms are flailing about and then she looks for them. Once she finds them she just stares intently at her fingers, moving them a little here and there. Sometimes she can grab an object in front of her, but has not quite mastered that skill. She is also getting more and more vocal. In the beginning of January she started "talking" to us. It is awesome. At first she was only doing it when prompted by our "ooo's" and "aaahhhhs" but now she just lays around and talks. Often when she wakes in the morning, or wakes from her naps, she just lays in her bed quietly, looking around. Pretty soon, she starts talking, and when I look into her crib she smiles and kicks her legs and "ooo's" at me. I prefer this over crying when she wakes up, which she also does, when she wakes up and is hungry!

Trent and I are loving parenthood more and more everyday, and feel so blessed with what God has given us. We are learning so much about each other, about Ila, and about God's love. At times it can seems crazy that so much has changed in our lives in such a short time, but never has it felt strange that we are now parents. The moment Ila was born, we became parents, and it just seemed right and natural, as if it was just meant to be. Every time I say "Ila Vieu" I'm reminded of God's love and reminded that there is no limit to the love I can have for others. Being a mom, has shown me this too, but that is for another blog, at another time! Stay tuned for more, I'm going to blog more often! :)

Thanksgiving Story

We spent this Thanksgiving at home with our small little family. We had ground turkey tacos in lieu of the traditional turkey meal, and they were tasty! We also wanted to start a Thanksgiving tradition of our own, so we decided to write a short story.

A lot of Ila's clothes have giraffes on them, and that inspired us to write about a giraffe! So please enjoy our Thanksgiving story!

Gabby the Giraffe

Not so long ago in a wild jungle, Gabby the Giraffe took her first steps. Soon she was bobbling along making conversations with the butterflies and other skittering animals and bugs she found all along the way to the pond for a drink.

When she arrived at the pond Gabby had gabbed with so many animals that she had lost her way.

How would she ever get home?

First she asked a frog, “Do you know where my home is?”

“Do you live on a lily pad?” The frog rebutted.

“No,” said Gabby, “I don’t.”

“I’m sorry, I hope you find your way,” croaked the frog as he hopped away.

Gabby hoped that sooner or later someone would be able to help her find her way home. So she plodded along until she bumped into some more animals that might be able to help her out. No one seemed to know where giraffes live. Monkeys live next to the banana trees, elephants live behind the big pond, lions live out by the big shade tree, and zebras live in the meadow.

It was getting to be lunch time and Gabby had talked to a lot of animals, but she still didn’t know where to go. Just then she happened across some musk oxen munching on their lunch. They didn’t know where she lived either but they asked her to stick around and keep them company while they finished eating. Gabby gladly hung out. She liked talking to the other animals, and she had a long neck so she could see a lot further than the other animals in case danger was coming.

“Hey, that’s it,” she exclaimed. “I can find my way home by using my great neck to see where I’ve been and to see where I must go!”

The musk oxen finished eating their lunch, and so did Gabby. Then she stretched her neck out and scouted around the jungle with her eager little eyes until she saw a familiar grove of trees and some other long necks sticking out of those trees.

“That’s my home,” she said to herself, and off she scampered to catch up with her family and tell them all about her day.

What's in a name? By Trent Becker

People have asked what our daughter's name means.

Ila Vieu sounds like I love you. That was what we were thinking when we thought up the name. After some sleuthing on the internet about this sort of literary debacling we've decided it is simply a phonological similarity: where it sounds like one thing, even though it isn't spelled the same.

In French, "il a vieux" would mean something like "It has old" which isn't the sort of meaning we were wanting to convey at all! And since there isn't an x it isn't even spelled right to be French, so there won't be that confusion anyway! It did get me thinking though, while we were trying to decide on a name, about Isle, which is the same root in Latin that Ila comes from... Ila Vieu = old, island

Ila: Islands are known for their independence and fragility as well as their prominence and steadfastness. These are good characteristics to have as an individual, and a leader. Who doesn't want their child to grow up to be affirmative and strong though, right?

Vieu: Old... what is good about old? Well, we were talking about an island and it being steadfast, so that means it is around for a long time, weathering storms and the relentless waves crashing upon it day in and day out. These were the sorts of things I was thinking about when I was thinking of "Vieu" and its associations with oldness. It also sounds and looks very similar to 'view'. Something to gaze at, a beautiful thing or wonder, a reminder of something perfect. I also had these sorts of things tracing through my mind.

So, what does her name mean? At this point, God only knows. Of course it means I love you as a phonological similarity, and we'd like to preattribute all sorts of admirable traits and characteristics to it as well in hopes of Ila picking them up osmotically, or however, but time will tell if all of these things I've been saying end up defining our little Ila!

Ila's Birth Story, by Nicole Becker

It all began around 10pm on Wednesday (28th). We were about to go to sleep when I informed Trent that I was having more painful contractions than the false contractions I had been having for the past few weeks. We timed them for fun, and found that they were pretty sporadic, going from around 10 to 12 to 4 minutes apart, but a bit more painful nonetheless. I was also having some back pain. After an hour of timing them we decided that I could be in early labor but sleep would be the best option.

The next morning we woke up and headed to our scheduled appointment with our midwife. I was still having those same contractions, but now they were coming fairly regularly, every 10-12 minutes, and our midwife said I was probably in early labor and she would not be surprised if I had the baby later that day. This was all around 10 am; I was 80% effaced and 3 cm dilated - which wasn't much different from the week previous.

On the way home my contractions started getting more intense and we decided to time them, just to see how far apart they were. That hour I averaged 6 minutes between contractions. We were planning on heading to the hospital once they were around 4 minutes apart, so we figured we would give it another hour, thinking that if this wasn't early labor yet they would probably bounce around a bit and then fade away for a while. We kept timing the contractions and trying different relaxation techniques we had learned and practiced from our birth class.

By the time noon rolled around my contractions had gone from 6 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart. We hemmed and hawed about going into the hospital because it seemed CRAZY to us that I was having contractions so close together an hour or 2 after seeing the midwife. We stopped timing contractions after that because they were coming so close together. We agreed it was time to go and Trent started grabbing all our stuff and loading the car. This took about an hour, even though everything was pretty much ready to go because every time I had a contraction, I wanted him there, holding my hand or putting pressure on my lower back or SOMETHING!

While he was doing this I had a contraction and a sudden urge to push. I yelled, "Trent, I feel like I need to push!" He came running and told me to get on my hands and knees and put my butt in the air (we learned in our birth class that this can be helpful for stalling second stage labor). After that contraction ended we made our way to the car, which was only about 10 feet outside our front door, but still took about 5 minutes to get into! Once we got to the car Trent drove us quickly and safely to the hospital.

While we were driving, Trent was a little confused about where we were supposed to go: the place where we had appointments, or the hospital. When he asked me, I excitedly exclaimed that he was supposed have that figured out. He quickly interpreted that what I meant was, "Go to the hospital hunnybunny, because the other place was only for our appointments, please." Trent effortlessly maneuvered the car around to Entrance 2 where a friendly security guard was posted. Before Trent was even out of the car the hospital guard had a wheel chair outside my door and was on the radio informing someone, somewhere that they had a 1040 (or some other four digit code) and we were all heading up to the delivery room. I think the 1040 was code for "a woman about to give birth, right here, at the door." Trent asked if we could just leave the car at the entrance for a minute and was told that it was okay (so he left it, running, at the front door of the hospital!).

We pulled up to the counter on the Labor & Delivery floor and were apparently interrupting lunch time. The nurses pittle-farted around for a minute, until my loud yelling with the oncoming contraction got me into a room, and our midwife on the way! She checked me and said I was 9 cm dilated and about to have the baby! We were shocked. It was barely 1:30, and I had just started laboring at 10. Could it really be happening so fast, with my first birth?? I guess so!

They secured external heart monitors onto my pregnant belly to get heart tones for the baby and before 20 minutes of that had even passed, they told us they didn't like how low her heart beat was dropping after my contractions and that they were so close together her heartbeat was not going back up to the desired level. So they put some oxygen on me and told me I really needed to start breathing more/better during my contractions. My awesome husband/labor coach really helped me with this, but the midwife still didn't like the heart tones she was getting so she informed us that we may need to do a c-section delivery.

I'll pause here in the story to tell you that Trent and I were very hopeful about having a natural birth. We did NOT like hearing that they were suggesting a c-section, especially since we had just arrived and labor had barely begun!

Around 2pm they announced they were going to get the doctor and prepare the O.R. for a c-section because of the heart tones being low. I asked our midwife if there was something else we could do first. We agreed that breaking my water would be a good step, even though we were hoping that would happen naturally as well. Then, I started having my next contraction and my water broke on it's own, ALL over Trent! What a splash of relief that was, and then the PAIN came back immediately! Then they told Trent to go get scrubs on and started wheeling me to the O.R.

All of a sudden, there were 6 masked faces surrounding me, and someone put a big gas mask on my face. I had NO idea what was going on and started yelling (while having serious contractions) "Where's my husband, WHERE'S MY HUSBAND?!?!" Then I heard his voice, and he appeared, masked and in scrubs. "I'm right here, Nicole, it's okay."

At this point, they put an internal monitor on the baby and told me that if I had a contraction, to grab my leg and push. Then I had a contraction, and ALL the nurses, midwife and doctor turned their attention to the monitor, to see the baby's heart beat. I tried to grab my own leg (not really working for me as they had me flat on my back) and push while Trent was supporting me and holding my other hand, but didn't have the support I needed from the O.R. staff, as all of their eyes were on the fetal heart monitor. After the contraction, the whole room went crazy (well, MORE crazy) because Ila's heart beat had dropped into the 60s (yikes!). They told Trent he had to leave and started escorting him out, and I heard someone say, "Sir, you have to leave because we need to put her under." I started shaking my head back and forth, and kicking a little, then Trent said in a stern, controlled voice, "Wait, everyone, just stop a minute and wait. She has NO idea what is going on and this is all going way to fast. She hasn't even had a chance to really push. Let's all take a moment and let things settle down a bit and then move forward together."

Miraculously they all listened and agreed to allow perhaps one more push, but they really wanted to get that baby out! Well, when I pushed everyone helped a lot more, holding legs and offering good breathing / pushing advice and the doctor followed my contraction with this surprising update: "Oh, wow, she's crowning!"

This seemed to really do the trick of getting everyone on the same page. They began telling me I could do it with one more push, and that the baby was right there, and how important it was for me to push with all I had. It was so awesome to have everyone on the same page and rooting for us!

"It's coming now," I said, feeling another contraction coming and some nurses helped me pull my legs up and I gave another good push and out the baby's head came, followed shortly thereafter by her quivering little body! It seemed like everyone cheered, but maybe that was just me cheering internally! The baby's heart beat was just fine and dandy right after the initial shock of delivery, and she was one healthy baby. Trent went with her to the back of the room and said that she pooped 4 times while the nurses were trying to get her responsive, cleaned up and ready for being weighed and measured! They went through a large stack of towels before eventually deciding to just put a diaper on her!

Before too long, she was in our arms and we were sent back to the labor room to relax and pick a name for our bundle of joy. When we started getting settled in, we noticed that the car keys were sitting on a chair, and after a little bit of asking around we found out that the security guard had radioed up and said he'd pull our car away from the entrance and have the keys sent up to our room! That was great, because we certainly weren't thinking about the car at that point! Picking a name for her took about as long as the labor and delivery. Trent joked around about how it was the hardest thing he has ever had to do! We chose Ila Vieu for a few reasons, but mostly to remind her of God's love for her and ours too!

We spent 2 days with her in the hospital and are now home and adjusting. She is so sweet. We have had a wonderful time reminiscing and remembering a few different things that occurred leading up to, and throughout the delivery. One of the most amazing things had just happened the previous week.

We were walking out to our car at Albertson's when a lady approached us and asked if she could pray for us and the delivery of our little one. We happily accepted her invitation and she prayed for us, our little baby on the way, and for the delivery and medical professionals. We thanked her and left, talking about how nice it is to be part of a random act of kindness and spiritual obedience, but we were slightly confused. She prayed that God would be with the surgeons in Ila's delivery and that the birth would happen according to God's plan. All along we've felt that God's plan was to deliver naturally, so we didn't understand why we would need surgeons to have a natural birth.

Looking back at it now, we are totally amazed at how specific and accurate her prayer was for the delivery of Ila. It's an awesome reminder to us that God is in control of the situations and times in our lives even when they seem so chaotic to us.

We feel so blessed and loved by God already, and the experience of having a child has only increased those feelings. We are filled with joy and the reminder of God's love and grace by our little Ila Vieu.