Brotherly Love

I've just love how Ansel has been so excited about his brother all along, and he's been a pretty good helper too.  The only thing he occasionally gets jealous of is if he's tired and wants to be carried too. (He'll usually tell Cody, "Give Eli to Mommy.. " and then says that he wants to be held as well!) He really has been such a great big brother though!  This was one of my favorite little moments.  One day I got back from school to pick up the boys, and this is how I found them.   Grandma told me that Eli was fussing just a little, so Ansel ran and grabbed his pacifier and was holding it in place for him when they both crashed out! It was such a sweet little sight! (And they stayed like that for a good hour at least!) Being a mom is great..especially when you get to see moments like this :)


*Here's the link to some more updated pictures:


 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=435546&id=576240252&l=943edd10ec

Eli's Blessing Day

We blessed Eli this past Sunday. It was such a wonderful weekend with family! Lorelle and John came up for the weekend which was great since we don't get to see them too often right now!! And.. AMAZINGLY I didn't have any tests this week so I felt like I could actually relax a bit and enjoy the family time! (However the next two weeks are going to get CRAZY until the end of the semester! ... Almost there though!)
It's amazing how quick our little guy is growing! He was 8lbs 4oz at nearly one month.. I'm curious to see where he's at now because it seems like he's grown a ton just in the past two weeks! We just enjoy having him in our lives so much and are loving every bit of it! I didn't find the transition to having two kids bad at all.. some things just take a little more time. (I hear three's the most noticeable.. when the kids outnumber your hands!) Of course Ansel's four and quite independent (and helpful!) and I was definitely ready to have a baby around again.. so I'm sure that's all made things much easier!








*Here's a link to a few more pictures from the weekend!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=425467&id=576240252&l=753fdf3ca9

**Also I added a few more pictures to this album I've previously posted:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=405003&id=576240252&l=40b25f7e2f

***Oh.. and since I'm so behind on here and forgot to put up Easter pics.. here's a link to that album as well!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=411883&id=576240252&l=24e5d4c5f2

Eli Bryce is here!

Eli made his grand entrance into the world first thing in the morning of March 20, 2010! (The first day of spring.. how perfect!) Apparently my baby boys like to make their surprise arrival with the gushing of fluids.. just very grateful it was my water breaking this time instead of the placenta abrupting! We made it to 37 weeks.. yea!! Eli was nice and "done" at 37 weeks though.. weighing a whopping 7lbs. 9.6ounces and was 20.5 inches long. (The nursery said he rated as a 39 weeker really and was ready to be here!) He was breech (and has been for every ultrasound as long as i can remember ) and has a few little characteristics to go with it (round little head, and his legs are always to the side(like little frog legs almost!) and lifted up.. it's nearly impossible to get him to straighten them yet (and ticks him off if you try to!) Remember last ultrasound pic... where his foot was in his face? Well he's been in that little ball for so long he still prefers that and isn't too happy about getting his blanket loosened up too much either (loves the swaddling!) He's of course cute as can be and just perfect in my opinion :)

Here's a link to more pics : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=405003&id=576240252&l=40b25f7e2f

Here's a recap of how I found out he was coming... (and his birth story I suppose...)it really couldn't have gone more perfectly! Friday I was at the perinatologist's office getting my ultrasound and stress test done. My appointment was actually supposed to be at 10am, but I went in at 2pm fully thinking that was my set time. (Yep.. looked at the wrong week when i wrote it down or something!) Thankfully they squeezed me in anyway! I was there awhile.. seeing as how they had to make extra time for me, but in the ultrasound was reassured my fluid levels looked great and so did the baby. At the stress test though he was being stubborn and didn't want to move a whole lot (he'd done the same thing Tuesday at that stress test as well which led to an hour long stress test instead of 20 minutes!) Today though I was having lots of contractions to go with it. (Some pretty darn good ones too) However once they got enough movements charted.. I was approved to go on home. I have to admit I'd been pretty frustrated lately about how to know at what point I should go see labor and delivery when it came to contractions. I wanted to make sure i would get there in time to have my heparin wear off so i could be awake for it, but didn't know at what point that should be! My doctor had been sick and I hadn't seen her in ages, and obviously the doctors i saw in place of her weren't going to set my c-section date for her. So i went home still a little discouraged about how to know when to go in to reduce the less risks of pure craziness like last time! I would have felt fine with going a couple of more weeks if I KNEW i wasn't going to go into active labor or go too quickly (anything to add additional risk factors) I actually felt quite fine still physically. About 45 minutes after I left the office, I was still in Joplin waiting for Cody to get off of work. Ansel and I were there (Grandma watched him for me during my appointment and they'd invited us to stay for dinner) I was getting ready to go do another heparin shot (my first shot had been at 10:30 that morning) but when i stood up to leave the living room I was suddenly (and completely) DRENCHED!! This was such a blessing actually because I KNEW it was time to go to the hospital, I hadn't yet taken another shot, Cody had just gotten off work (and showed up just a minute or two after my water broke), plus Ansel was there where someone could watch him.. (and to top it off the hospital was just down the road a little ways)
I seriously could not believe how much fluid there was!! (and it didn't stop until after he was born!) When we got to the hospital they took us on up to Labor and Delivery where I was monitored until the time was right. Since I wasn't dialated very much yet.. they decided to let the heparin wear off (the first blood test they took was still a little high) and decided they'd wait 12 hours after my last shot to retest and see where my blood levels were. (That way.. since there was time still.. I could wait it out so I could be awake for it!) Of course contractions definitely picked up and were often just a minute or two apart by the end.. but around 11:30pm or so the last blood test came back perfect so they began to prep for surgery! The nurse anesthetist who was doing my spinal turned out to be someone I'd met just a few weeks earlier! (Her husband is in my nursing classes, and I'd ran into them at the mall and we'd chatted a bit then!) The spinal was a piece of cake.. and oh so wonderful. It completely relaxed me and i couldn't stop grinning (and crying at times) as I awaited the beautiful sound of my baby's first cry!! Cody was in there too, and i just couldn't be more grateful that everything was going exactly as it should. The doctor took out most of my extra scar tissue as well (since there was lots of solid scar tissue pretty much all the way down seeing as how it took 4 months to grow closed last time!) That will be weird, but nice, to have a scar that's a line instead of a hard crater!
Anyway, when they pulled him out he definitely cried and cried!! It was such a beautiful sound! When they placed him next to my face after getting him a little cleaned up he quieted down his little eyes just blinked open and closed as he peered into my eyes. Such a perfect moment. He was so alert and aware and just amazing. Then they took him off to get a bath and such while the surgery continued and he and Cody were there to greet me when I got to the recovery room. We got to a post partum room by oh.. 2:30 am or so (it was late/early... I don't remember exactly when!) I didn't get too much sleep that night. He was wonderful and slept a lot but I was so grateful for him and just couldn't stop looking at him and holding him! I couldn't wait for Ansel to meet his wonderful new little brother the next day! When he did get to come meet him.. he was just grinning from ear to ear! He didn't say anything for a long time, but was just full of smiles! I'm so very grateful for my wonderful little family and for the opportunity to be blessed with a wonderful husband and two amazing little boys. I'm also so grateful for how this pregnancy went, and that we were able to get little Eli here safely! I'm truly blessed.

35 weeks! Getting close!

Well, the countdown just keeps getting closer and closer! I'm very excited to get to see little Eli! The ultrasound this week shows him weighing about 5lbs. 5 ounces already, so he should be a good size by the time he gets here! Oh.. and he has cute little chubby cheeks already... at least it appears that way in the pictures they gave me :) They're still monitoring things well. My clotting times got too slow again so they raised my heparin dosage again. I'm on twice weekly doctor visits though so they're watching things well. I also have fetal stress tests at both of those visits each week and so far everything looks great :) I've started swelling a little.. but I just have to remind myself that's actually normal this far along! I'm still wearing my wedding ring though (barely some days.. but it's still there for now!) We're VERY blessed that everything's going so well!

Oh, and he's still breech.. but he's still been moving because some days he's sideways (which REALLY feels great on my crater of an incision.. yeah right!) They said it is easier with c-sections as well if he's head down.. but I'm having a c-section anyway.. so I guess if he doesn't turn then it won't mess up the game plan too much! I'm a little nervous about the c-section itself. They said it'll likely be pretty long as they're going to try to take out all the old scar tissue from last time, since it grew closed from pretty much all the way down! (and along with that comes a fairly high risk of hitting the bladder since it's likely attached to all the scar adhesions! I guess that's not altogether uncommon though (hitting the bladder).. and apparently the bladder will heal up on its own (if you keep a catheter in for 5-10 days to help with the healing process.. so it's probably not too big of a deal if that happens! Still doesn't sound pleasant though!) I just hope I get to be awake for it this time! As long as I get off the heparin in time in order to get an epideral I should be fine! (I only have to stop a couple of doses before I guess.. and since i do the injections 3 times a day I should be able to get off of them in time for that!) Anyway.. the next few weeks should be pretty exciting! (On a separate note nursing school's going great.. I really enjoy it! I'm grateful that they're working with me well also!)

**Oh, if you look at the pictures of Eli that's actually his foot in front of his face, with his little fist right above his foot!

Looking forward to a great THIRD trimester :)

Here are a couple of pictures with Ansel back at the 28 week mark, the week he was born. It's pretty exciting to be past and still feel so good! I've only gained 8-9 lbs. so far, even though I think it looks like more than that! (Whereas with Ansel from 15 weeks on I gained 12 lbs. a month due to all the water weight!) What a difference it makes to not feel so sick! I can't believe I only have around 8 weeks left. (And with nursing school going on I'm hoping it won't drag on too bad like I hear most people say it can!) Anyhow, I'm very excited about experiencing the third trimester this time and seeing the little guy move more! I realize I'm saying this before things start to get really uncomfortable, but it's still an experience I'm grateful for.
Speaking of nursing school, this was my first week. I felt a little panicked the first day wondering if this was really feasible with an extensive c-section and a new baby coming in the middle of it! I've talked with my instructors though. They all seem really nice and know the situation. They said I should be fine with the classes, but I might have to rearrange the clinicals a little, possibly to the point even that'd I'd be almost 6 weeks post surgery before I had them. (Meaning more time with my cute boys before I have to run off and do a few 12 hour shifts!) The nice thing is there is one long class I have two days a week, and it will end just 2-3 weeks after Eli is born, so then I'll only have one class a week before clinicals begin! (and first semester there are only four clinicals) So.. it seems like things are starting to fall into place. There's a girl in my class who offered to give me rides after Eli's born, until I can start driving again, so some of all the stress is subsiding! However, there is still tons of studying to do so I better get to it!

*Oh yes, and I forgot to mention that my three shots a day of heparin get me out of being practiced on once we start doing IV's on each other! I don't mind needles really. I'm just not keen of people practicing on me when I'm such an easy bleeder at the moment. I do feel bad however for the people I have to practice on! Hopefully I pick it up quick!

Oh, and just for fun, here's a 24 week comparison picture (for anyone who hasn't seen it, most of my facebook friends have).. just to show what a difference this pregnancy is!! For the record I started out at least 15lbs. lighter with Ansel than with Eli...crazy!

Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our dear friends and family! Hope you all have wonderful and safe holidays!

Happy Fourth Birthday Ansel!

Our handsome little boy turned four yesterday! He's big into legos right now.. so I made him a huge lego cake he was pretty excited about! He's so much fun. He gets so excited over the littlest things. He's also always been precise about some things... for example, he was opening his presents and he would stop after every piece of paper he pulled off to make a neat pile of paper. Then before he opened the gift up to play with he'd go throw away all the paper first! I think I may be a little spoiled sometimes! Don't get me wrong.... he has his angry frustrated moments still.. but really he's a pretty easygoing kid (except for when he's tired and SUPER cranky :). I've never even thought about him coloring on walls or anything like that because he's so precise about things having their place and purpose and will comment on things that are "out of place". (he's always been obsessed with shutting toilet lids, doors, and stuff like that too. such a funny boy :) He's also really good at entertaining himself easily and quietly. It'll be interesting to see what the next little one is like! I might be in for a big surprise! I'm so glad he's come so far from four years ago!!! We're very blessed. Oh, and his growth is still quite consistent.. 3 more pounds this year! (we're up to 27lbs now!) He's also around 37 inches tall.

Here's a link to some more birthday pictures, along with a few other Christmas pictures. He was so funny after seeing Santa (there was a Parents as Teachers Christmas activity we went to.) As we walked away he told me, "I asked him for legos, but he didn't give me any" He just said it so matter-of-factly with such a funny little tone in his voice it made me laugh.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=355432&id=576240252&l=9ec4008ef9