Much has changed since the last post.
Tyler got a job with IHC and it has been such a blessing. He finishes the MHA at the end of April and then will have the MBA complete this December! We see the light at the end of the tunnel! It is still a little small, but at least it's there.
Mandy got pregnant and had a baby!
Emma is now 4 going on 13. She is the sassiest little thing I have ever come across...and I don't know how it happened. I've tried. I really have, but despite my best efforts she has one large attitude. Her favorite phrases to say to me are:
"No"
"I don't care"
"Fine"
"That's not fair"
"Oh my gosh"
She is also a huge drama queen. Her latest drama dilemma is trying to have everything match. For example, I was trying to be a nice, fun mom the other day and paint nails. It went great. The next morning Emma picked out an outfit to match her nails. Great! Then they played dress up. There was a full on tantrum (crying, screaming etc) because her nails didn't match her dress up and she wanted them changed. This happened with every dress up. Another morning she cried on the floor because the cup containing her chocolate milk didn't match her pajamas. Ya.
She still has a very sweet side though. She is always the one to make other people feel better. If you are sad or crying, she comes over and gives you a hug, then strokes your arm and tells you its ok. She is also a big helper with the new baby. She is definitely a little mommy. We have to watch her very closely.
Lydia is now 2. She is also quite stubborn. I thought her sister was bad at that age, and she was, but Lydia definitely gives her a run for her money. This child cannot be bribed with anything. Emma could usually be bribed to eat or do something, but not Lydia. She definitely knows when to call our bluff, and it sucks. But being stubborn can sometimes be a good thing. She is definitely more independent than her sister was at this age. She potty trained right after her birthday and now insists on dressing and buckling herself...among other things.
She is also a big helper. I call her my little Cinderella. She loves to help clean and do laundry. Whenever anyone tracks in dirt/mud through the kitchen floor, she comes and asks me for a wipe so she can clean it up. Then she thanks me for letting her do it. I just pray she stays this way!
Annabeth is 2 weeks old. She is the calmest, sweetest baby and we are so in love. She gave us quite a scare after she was born though. I told Tyler, her labor and delivery were by far the best, but after that it was by far the worst.
Last Saturday Tyler and I stayed up late watching a movie. Around midnight I noticed my contractions started changing. They felt lower, but still not painful. So a little before 2:00am we started timing them and they were between 2 and 4 minutes apart, but again, not painful at all. We felt that this was still true labor and to avoid having another experience like Lydia's we decided to call my mom to come watch the girls while we went to the hospital. She lives almost an hour a way so we had considered calling someone else to come until she could get here but again, my contractions were not painful so we decided to wait. After my mom and sister arrived we left for the hospital and got there a little before 4:00. I prayed the whole drive that this was true labor and that they wouldn't send me home. So when we got to the hospital, I insisted on walking the stairs to the 4th floor where labor and delivery were to see if that would create some painful contractions. No. I could tell the nurses didn't believe I was in labor either. I didn't blame them. I walked in all smiling and calm and told them I was in labor and having contractions. So they sent to me triage to monitor my contractions and check my cervix. Tyler asked how I was feeling. I told him I was nervous because I felt my contractions were slowing down and they would send me home. After the thousand check-in questions and such they finally checked my cervix. They told me it was a good thing we came in because I was at a 7+ and would definitely be admitted to labor and delivery. They said if I wanted to get an epidural it was now or never so I said yes...again to avoid another experience like Lydia's! Then a little after 7:00, I was "complete" so they called the doctor to come break my water. After they broke it, baby started sliding down and after 3 pushes she was out! The most painful part of the process was getting the epidural. I definitely can't complain! 7lbs 10 oz and 18 inches of perfect.
Then it went downhill from there. They put her on my chest immediately afterward and she wasn't crying. She squawked like twice, and she was also purple. They took her over to the incubator and put the oxygen mask on her. As long as they were pumping that thing she was fine, but she just couldn't do it on her own. So they took her to the transitional nursery and put her on vapotherm...essentially like a humidifier through the oxygen tube they put in/on her nose. She started at a 4.5 and if she could get down to a 1.0 in 6 hours she would be considered breathing on her own. They monitored her for 8 hours and the lowest she could get was 2.5. Anytime they went lower she struggled. So they admitted her to the NICU and had to put an IV in her scalp and give her a feeding tube and such. It was awful. They said best case scenario she is only there for 48 hours. If not it will probably be about 4-5 days Both Tyler and I just broke down crying.
All 3 of us received blessings and were assured that everything would be ok.
Then I joke that after everyone went to bed and said their prayers on her behalf she kicked into gear because around 11:00pm she decided enough was enough and ripped out her breathing and feeding tubes and was a completely different baby! The nurse called us down and she was able to nurse for the first time and was doing awesome. She still continued to do great and by 5:00pm Monday they transferred her over to the TLC unit. She still did well on her oxygen so we got to keep her most of the morning Tuesday and took her home with us Tuesday afternoon. It was truly a tender mercy.
And besides from being very tired we are loving having her home and a part of our family.
And now for some pictures:
First time holding her
No tubes!
At home with Big Sister/Little Mama
