the barrons

the barrons

about us

We're from the Syracuse, NY, area and started dating when we went to BYU-Idaho for college. We were married December 2008 and have a daughter, Sophie. We will be welcoming a new baby in November 2013! We currently live in Mason, Ohio, near lots of family! Drew is working at Liberty Mutual Insurance as an Auto Claims Adjuster. Carissa is now a stay-at-home wife and momma! We know there's more in store for us in our future, and we say, "Come what may and love it!"
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31 December 2011

Sophie Ann: A birth story

Sophie came two and a half weeks early. We never expected to bring our baby into the world as soon as we did, but now that she's here we wouldn't have it any other way.

I went to the doctor on Monday of Thanksgiving week. I was told that, because of my abnormally high blood pressure, I needed to come back in on Wednesday to check up on it. Wednesday came, and they found protein in my urine (sorry, that's kinda gross to share...). Along with high blood pressure (hypertension), protein deposits in urine during pregnancy means one thing: preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a condition of unknown causes that creates strain and pressure on arteries and veins and, eventually, can put strain on inner organs including the uterus. Uterine strain = bad for the baby. While at the doctors' office, they took blood samples to run tests on, sent it to the lab, and told me to go home and wait for a call from the doctor; the call would let us know what would need to happen.

Three hours later, I received a call. Doctor Meredith said the only cure for preeclampsia is delivery and that we needed to be at Labor & Delivery at 7:00 that evening to be induced and I would deliver the next day - Thanksgiving! We had a few hours to prepare; to get together our bags and call parents to let them know what was going on.

As we arrived at the hospital, I was surprisingly at ease. I wasn't nervous about what was going to happen... I was ready to be induced and ready to bring my baby girl into the world.

We settled into the Labor & Delivery suite and spoke with the doctor on call. He set me up with a cervical catheter. Not ideal, but Doc said my cervix needed to be "ripened" before starting me on meds to induce labor. 12 hours with a catheter, and I was set. 8:00 Thanksgiving morning, the catheter came out and I was started on pitocin, a labor-inducing drug; my few and far between contractions soon picked up and became stronger and more regular. I was dilated to 3 cm and about 50% effaced.

Within 3 hours, I was in the worst pain I had ever felt. My contractions were so bad that I could hardly sit still. Instead of contracting in my stomach, I had contractions in my lower back and hips. It was a nightmare. I requested an epidural to be performed as soon as possible. Unfortunately, being a holiday, the only two lab technicians were occupied in the emergency room for almost an hour longer than expected. A tech finally came to my room and took some tests required before performing an epidural. Once those results were in, another person came to give me my epi. I was dilated to 7.5 cm. While contracting, my water broke naturally... I felt the burst inside my tummy; what an odd sensation.

I never knew how hard it could be to sit still until it came time to receive my epidural. I was instructed to sit up and bend as far forward as I could, exposing the lower part of my spine... all while having the hardest, strongest, most painful contractions I had ever had. I was in excruciating pain, and I couldn't move a muscle or the epidural could damage my spine. Not soon enough, at 12:15 pm, the epidural was performed successfully, and I felt the most amazing relief. My body was numbed through the contractions, and I could relax. I dilated to a full 10 cm in 45 minutes, and the doctor came in and prepped for delivery....

As my body readied for delivery, I could feel my baby girl moving down; she was coming! I was never told before my own experience, but, even with an epidural, I could feel the pressure inside my body from Sophie moving down into the birth canal. I had been so afraid that the numbing epidural would keep me from connecting with my body and my baby during delivery. Luckily, I felt no pain, but I received the exact experience I wanted.

Sophie was ready to be born; I knew it, she knew it, and the doctor knew it. He just wasn't ready. Awesome. Once he was prepared, the doctor told me to push. Once, twice, and Baby Girl's head was out! One minute later I pushed again. Once, twice, thrice, Sophie was out! Her cry was beautiful. I couldn't believe my baby was out in the world! They set my itty bitty baby on my stomach. I was instantly in love. She was beautiful. But she was so so little. As the nurses rushed her away to the table to clean her off, something didn't seem right. All the nurses were speaking in hushed tones. They weighed Sophie and announced her birth weight: 4 pounds, 2 ounces. Height: 16 3/4 inches. I had a teeny baby; Sophie was the object of worry due to her size. Fortunately, they found that she was perfectly fine, and, after I was stitched up, she was able to snuggle with me, all wrapped in a blanket and with her cute little hospital hat.







My baby was with me -  all was right in the world. I looked over at Drew, my superhero through this whole process, and I saw the joy in his eyes. There were no words to describe how we felt. We just sat there in awe at our little one. Sophie was safe, her little body was healthy, and we were a family.

(I can't express my feelings now as well as I could have then... but I'm hoping this record will be enough for me and for Sophie when she's grown.)

My sweet baby girl is the most beautiful person I have ever met. She brings me so much joy; I never thought I could feel this way. The space in my heart has increased... I knew it would, but there's no way to know how it feels until it happens to you.

Sophie, my sweet baby, I love you more than you know. Our birth experience together was exactly what I wanted, and I am so glad you're safe and healthy.

27 December 2011

3 year anniversary


Happy anniversary to my sweetheart, without whom I would not be where I am today. Love you babe; these have been the most wonderful three years! I'm looking forward to even more adventures with you... for all eternity.

24 December 2011

ONE MONTH!

I can't believe how quickly this month has flown by... My baby is a whole month old! Sophie, honey, STOP growing so quickly!
At this point, Sophie:
-weighs at least 6 pounds! (that's just a guess... but she weighed 5 lbs 7 oz last week and she's still eating so well and feels like she's been gaining!)
-has grown out of her preemie clothes!
-wears newborn clothes and diapers
-is balding on top of her head, thanks to one of her new hats
-has finally found Momma's face!
-sleeps well at night and only wakes to eat
-has an eye color that is lightening up more every day... we're thinking she'll have hazel eyes like Daddy!
-had her first nail-clipping experience today!
-got to visit Uncle Tyler and Aunt Cortney today! (the Larsons are visiting this weekend!)
-went on her first trip outside Rexburg - to Idaho Falls! we visited Tyler and Cortney and then went to get some pizza at Lucy's Pizzeria
-LOVES being "worn" by Mom... the baby wrap is a miracle invention!
-hates baths, but loves showers with Momma (the nurses at the hospital encouraged us to introduce as many skin-to-skin opportunities as possible, including showers, to promote closeness and advanced development)
-is getting quite the double chin! :) we're kind of happy about this one
-wore her first real dress today! we got her all dolled up to go out... she looked adorable!
-is celebrating her very first Christmas Eve! all three of us have been spending all day together... we'll be watching Christmas movies until we zonk out

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

19 December 2011

Photo shoot

The lovely Leslie Leavitt asked me for some help to build her photography portfolio. Of course we would help - it was such a wonderful opportunity! Our Sophie got all dolled up and sat for photos for about an hour. Eventually, being naked took a toll and she wet through just about everything... She had had enough after that! We'll be taking more photos with Leslie soon to finally finish up Sophie's newborn photos.












NY style pizza in Idaho?

It's true! We found it! REAL New York style pizza AND wings!
It drove me crazy when I moved here and I couldn't find any thin crust pizza. Along with that, people here in Idaho don't know that wings go with pizza. Pizza and wings; wings and pizza... it's kind of a rule. They go together! They also don't know out here that there's more to pizza than all of those chains out there; Pizza Pie Cafe, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesar's... they just don't cut it.
So while Drew's parents were here, I Google searched for "NY style pizza" and up came:
I decided to check out their website (which you can do, too, by clicking on the name of the restaurant above) and I found that the looked pretty legitimate. So we tried them out! We ordered an 18'' half pepperoni/half cheese pizza and 20 wings - half buffalo/half barbecue. Holy moly. When I took a bite, I couldn't believe my taste buds! We had found home! Right here in Dinky Town, Idaho, we had found a taste of New York! Thank you Lucy's!
Of course, having NY style pizza in IDAHO means there were some things that weren't like home: the buffalo wings (which we had requested to be medium in heat) were very very mild - I don't think they had different levels of heat, the barbecue wings were spicier than the buffalo - barbecue back home is sweet, not spicy, and they didn't give a little baggie of celery or any blue cheese dressing to go with our wings - normally a must.
Overall, though, we were extremely satisfied.
Thanks to the Barrons visiting, we searched for good pizza. And thanks to Lucy's Pizzeria, we found a little taste of home.

17 December 2011

Drew the Graduate!

Drew is now a college graduate!

At Commencement and Convocation, both Elder Quentin L. Cook and University President Kim B. Clark, spoke and told great stories!
Unfortunately, because Sophie is so little and so young, the pediatrician said that we should not expose her to large crowds for quite awhile... So Sophie and Momma (me) got all dolled up for pictures with Daddy (Drew) before graduation and then stayed home to watch Commencement online. The morning of Convocation, we got to stay in bed! That sure was nice! But we wish we could have been present to watch Drew walk across the stage to receive his diploma and shake the hands of Elder Cook and the Dean of the College of Language and Letters (Dean John Ivers).... Keith (Drew's dad) got a video of it though! You can watch it at the bottom of this post.












We sure are proud of Drew for completing this part of his schooling! No more school until the fall! Next phase: LAW SCHOOL!

15 December 2011

3 weeks!

Our baby is THREE weeks old!!!!
This week, Grandma and Grandpa Barron (Keith and Sharon-Drew's parents) have been here enjoying time with their little grandbaby! She has grown so much and has been LOVING all the attention. This week, Sophie:
-weighed 5 lbs 7 oz at her doctor appointment!
-is now 18.5 inches long
-has a daddy that is done with his undergrad!
-has been eating so so well... every 1 1/2 to 3 hours
-loves when she hears music
-ALMOST sleeps through the night... except for eating
-has been getting tummy aches and gas - that's my fault... I have to fix my diet
-is the best-loved baby I have ever seen
-is starting to focus her little eyes on faces
-loves her swing and bouncer chair that Grandma and Grandpa brought!
-still has super cute cross-eyed, nostrils-flared looks! haha
-hates getting her diaper changed because it's COLD!
-gets diaper rashes pretty easily... oh, the joys of little girls...
-didn't cry during her last bath!
-refuses to cooperate to get newborn pictures taken








Oh my little one. We love her. She is so sweet and we can't get enough of her!

08 December 2011

TWO weeks!

I can't believe our Sophie is two weeks old already.  Has it been that many days?  I don't think I want to admit how hard it's already becoming to witness my child growing so quickly...  Can we please just slow time down a bit?
As of today, Sophie:
-sleeps 3-4 hours at a time
-keeps Momma and Daddy up most of the night because it has become her "awake time"
-has dark blue/brown eyes, more brown than blue
-smiles when she sleeps
-has been to the hospital for blood tests 5 times since being discharged after birth
-no longer has jaundice!
-loves being cuddled
-wears a hat almost 24 hours/day
-wears preemie clothes
-weighs at LEAST 4 lbs 8 oz!
-is adored by anyone who meets her... "she's so tiny!" is the typical exclamation
-loves having her hands by her face
-had her first "manicure" (nail trimming) last week by Momma
-had her first bath at home last Saturday night/Sunday morning... okay, it was really LATE
-won't keep mittens or socks on her busy little hands
-is not bothered by loud movies, music, or talking
-is a very easy baby!

Sophie, slow down the growing up process, will you?  Momma needs to keep you little for as long as possible.

02 December 2011

just a few things...


I can't express the joy I feel to be the mother of such a wonderful baby girl. She is absolutely perfect. Here are some things about this past week (YIKES! my babe is already more than a week old!):

1. Sophie is the easiest baby I have ever seen. She lets me know when she's hungry, when she's wet, when she needs to burp, and when she's cold. That's the only time I get to hear those perfect vocals.
2. The most beautiful sight in the world is when my little love looks right at me with those big blue-brown eyes (I'm thinking they'll end up hazel, like Daddy's).
3. Sophie loves the sounds of the vacuum, the shower, and Momma & Daddy's singing.
4. There is absolutely no hat in the world that will fit that tiny head.
5. Sophie knows that as soon as one diaper is changed, it's time to completely fill the next.
6. Newborns sleep a LOT.
7. Baby girl is a miracle child. Every nurse that handled her at the hospital was astonished that she never needed to be taken to the NICU.
8. Sophie's fingers are the longest and most beautiful I have ever seen on a baby.
9. Her own fingers and hands are making some great soothers. No binkies needed!
10. Baby leg warmers are perfect for those scrawny little legs. I love those little legs. And wrinkly knees and elbows.