Jack and Lily

Forgive me for I have not posted in quite a while. I have had my hands full trying to get our little ones on some sort of a schedule again.

Munchkin has been loving school still! He has a lot of friends but always talks about Ryan and how they are always playing together in class. He had a Christmas program at school and did amazing! He can also spell his name and sing his ABCs, along with so much more!

He also loves his sister so much! It is so sweet to watch sometimes when he will stop playing or whatever he is doing to get her a toy or come check on her of just to simply give her a kiss.

Our little lady on the other hand had been a little handful in the evenings. I thought she could be a little colicky, but I believe she is starting to "grow out of it"...

I don't have her on a set schedule like I did with Munchkin because we are always on the go and I do not want to be stuck at home all day everyday!

For Christmas all little man wanted was a yellow camaro. As some of you may know, he has a slight car obsession, I do not know where he gets it (sarcastically of course). Poor Little Lady didn't get much besides cute clothes and bows. She also got her first 2 pairs of Uggs, not spoiled at all! But what else do you get a 2 month old?

The past 2 months have been an adventure for sure! There have been many days I didn't get my To-Do List completed, or the house picked up, but I would not trade any of it for the world! Every time Munchkin kisses his sister without being prompted or Little Ladly gives a big smile, I just can't help but feel truly blessed!!

Eventful Weekend

Trying out the new tooth brush from Nana and Papa

Snoozing little angel

Playing with cars

A little fishing

Boo boo before stitches

Playing while waiting for doctor to come back for stitches

Well the weekend started off innocent enough. Went to Pinkilicous with the family, had a great time. 

Sunday we spent the morning playing at the house, just relaxing and having a good time. We played cars, fished, and hide and seek among other things. Well after lunch Jack and I were running around playing and he ran from the kitchen into the living room where we had a small sofa table behind the couch with 2 glass vases on top filled with shells and candles. Well he hit the corner of the table and the vases tumbled off, 1 hitting his head and shattering. I was the only one with shoes on and I was right behind him so I picked him up with glass all over the ground and we went into the kitchen I only saw his forehead because of how I was holding him. But when I sat him down I noticed blood going down the side of his face. I immediately got light headed and started shaking, not because of the sight of blood, but because one of my babies was hurt. It just broke my heart. Right away I knew we had to go to minor emergency to see if he needed stitches. So we loaded the kids up in the car and headed to Immediate Care at his doctor's office. The wait was 2 hours so we left and headed to Saint Teresa's Minor Emergency where we waited an hour to hear the doctor tell us to go to the ER because he needed stitches. He was an ass so I'm glad he didn't stitch my baby up. So to the ER we went. They didn't give us a wait time but we figured we would get in quickly as there were only 1 other group in front of us, which they got called back within 5 minutes of being there. 3 hours later we got called back into a room where we waited another hour for the doctor to come in and say 2 words then leave for another 30 minutes. It was awful. Nobody would give us a time frame of waiting or anything and everywhere we looked were nurses and doctors just standing around chatting. And from what I could hear, it was about Thanksgiving plans. Really pissed me off. Even though my oldest Munchkin was in great spirits and being a total doll, I was furious that it just seemed like they didn't give a hoot about us. And then it took them another 20 minutes to get us checked out. I will say that the nurse that checked us in and helped us hold my baby down during the stitches was amazing!!! 

I would like to give out a MAJOR thank you to the Pringle's. They came out and got Lily so she wouldn't have to sit in the waiting area with all the sickies. And they brought her home and even cleaned up the thousands of shells and tiny pieces of broken glass all over in our living room. When I got home and saw they cleaned up, I about started crying! So thankful!!!

Glad this weekend is over though. Seems like we get great news (Lily being healthy), then that is quickly followed by the other getting stitches. 

Lily's Update

I received the phone call today that I have been waiting all week for. It was the actual specialist from Children's Mercy that called me. As soon as he told me who it was I thought this was either going to be a very bad phone call or a very good one. 

Dr. Heese explained that he got Lily's blood work and urine test back and everything was perfectly normal! YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, NORMAL!! 

He went on to tell us that we could stop with the medication and special formula. And we do not need to continue with our original plan of going back in a couple weeks to Children's Mercy. Also said our next question is probably why her acid levels were high two times in a row. Explained that it could be caused from any kind of medication that I had taken in the previous 2 weeks to Lily's birth that would have been out of the ordinary. I did not think of it while on the phone with Dr. Heese, but I was in early labor for 2 weeks before she was born and for those 2 weeks they (the hospital) were giving me morphin, lortab, and ambien... Kind of makes you think...

God has answered our prayers! Thank you to everyone who were sending prayers to heaven for our sweet little lady! You will never know how much it truly meant to us!!!! 

I would like to share another story, my cousin's oldest son has to have open heart surgery due to a hole in his heart. Please pray for him as I know we had amazing people praying for my baby, now my cousin's baby needs your prayers, he is only 14 years old and is in love with sports. Let's pray for a quick and successful surgery, quick recovery, and for God to watch over him and his family during this stressful time in their lives! 

Thank you so much!!

Our New Little Lady

Introducing Lillian 'Lily' Mae

One of many of Lily's newborn pictures

Snuggled in on our way to KC

Strapped in and ready for her first flight at 2 weeks old to Kansas City

Such a good big brother!

Goof ball

So alert

Happy Halloween! Our little race car and kitty cat

Snoozing

So pretty

Snuggle time during movie night

Already practicing her "duck face"

FAVORITE newborn picture

I know I know, it has taken me 3 weeks for my first post about our little angel. I wanted to wait till I knew as much as possible about our lady's condition.

I have not said much to anyone but when Lily was a week old we got a phone call from her doctor saying that her acid levels on her newborn screening were a little high and we needed to come in to re-do her newborn screening. Well we got the results back and her acid levels were even higher. After we received this news they informed us that Lily is at High Risk for Isovaleric Acidemia. It is a rare Organic Acid Disorder that only affects 1 in 250,000 babies. 

When we got this phone call telling us the news, our family doctor wanted us to come in right away to run some tests and so she can look her over again. This was last Friday.

Yesterday we flew up to Kansas City to take our baby girl to Children's Mercy Hospital to meet with a Genetics doctor. They ran some more labs and tests that we should hear back by this Friday. 

These past few weeks have been very stressful and emotional for our family and we ask to please keep my little Lily in your prayers. This can be a life threatening disorder and we pray that she does not have a severe case. We feel so blessed that the specialist is optimistic about Lily's case but will know more after we get her labs back this week and after we do some Genetics testing which will take around 8 weeks. 

Other than all of this, Lily has been doing great. She is not a fan of her medication but is getting better with her special formula she has to take. She is a great sleeper (during the day), and such a snuggler! Big brother is adjusting and doing well, he in smitten with her. As is Hubbs. We all are actually!

I am confident that whatever case of Isovaleric Acidemia that Lily has, she has the best doctor's possible and will receive the best care. We are becoming better educated on this Organic Acid Disorder and are ready to take it on.

Did I mention that our sweet girl decided to come 7 hours before she was scheduled to arrive? That's right, stinker wanted to come on her own terms. We went into the hospital around 11pm the night before and she was born at 12:35am on October 23rd. She was scheduled for 7:30am. She was 21 inches long and weighed in at 7 pounds and 15 ounces. Today, at 3 weeks old she is already 9 pounds and 5 ounces!! This makes the doctors more optimistic too because a side effect of this disorder is failure to thrive... Not her! Our little chunky monkey!!

38 Weeks

38 weeks

Finally, the end is definitely in sight. 

7 days!

A week from today I will be holding my sweet baby girl in my arms instead of in the tight space in my tummy. 

Thursday is my last doctor's appointment. I am anxious to see if anything has changed. Especially since we have made two trips to the hospital in the past week. Last Tuesday night they said I was in "Early Labor"... the first stage of Labor and Delivery. So for a week now I have been having consistent contractions. Tuesday night they were very strong, and then again Friday evening. It is frustrating because they tell me to head to the hospital when they are 2-5 minutes apart and very strong to where I can not walk or talk through them... and that is what we did both times.

I am just so thankful that the end is very close.

Full-term Finally!!

36 weeks

37 weeks 

Tomorrow I will officially be 37 weeks along in my pregnancy. It basically means that if I go into labor, Lily will be completely done "cooking" and would not be considered premature.

I have been having a ton of contractions and Braxton Hicks lately. Ever since I got sick at 33 weeks and spent the entire day in the hospital, they have been coming every single day (and night). I think I have had maybe 3 nights of good rest since then. To be honest though, I have not been too tired during the day. I guess it is just nature's way of getting Mommy prepared to be sleep deprived after baby.

15 days till our little baby girl will be in our arms! I have been having mixed feelings lately about her arrival. Of course I am so excited. But I am nervous about how Munchkin will react to her, and him not being the center of attention anymore. He will obviously still be the center of our universe, but he will just have to share the spot light.

Weekly doctor appointments now. Last week doctor said she wouldn't be surprised if she comes before her scheduled arrival date. That is exciting but I am not getting my hopes up. Especially since I'm up about every night with contractions just far enough apart to not head to the hospital or close together but not strong enough just yet.

Let the waiting game begin, or actually continue...

Pregnancy Update

I am currently 33 weeks along in my pregnancy.

Yesterday we had a little scare. 

Late Tuesday night I woke up and could not sleep because I started having mild contractions and was feeling very ill. I was up about every 10 minutes with contractions getting stronger and closer together. After not getting more than 2 hours of sleep, I called my OB in the morning and they instructed me to head to Labor and Delivery at our hospital to get checked in and see what was going on. 

Checked into Labor and Delivery at 12:30pm.

While at the hospital my contractions were 2-4 minutes apart and getting increasingly more intense by the hour. I was given two bags of fluid since I was dehydrated and given some medicine to help stop my contractions. They ran some tests and they found out that I was not in preterm labor so they gave me some medicine to help calm the contractions. Then they gave me some more medicine and sent me home with some pain meds and sleeping pills. 

Checked out at 7:30pm.

Heading home we picked up dinner and my prescriptions and then went to bed around 8:30pm still with very slight contractions about 10-15 minutes apart. 

After waking this morning, I am happy to announce that I have not had any contractions!! 

Had a doctor's appointment this morning with my OB and she thinks it was a combination of possible food poisoning and dehydration. 

So thankful for my family and friends who helped out with Jack during my 7 hour stay in the hospital, and also for the love and prayers. It truly meant so much to us. 

Now if this little lady will just stay put for AT LEAST 3 more weeks!! 

BIRTHDAY/PRESCHOOL!!

Little Munchkin had a great 3rd Birthday!! Started the day off with breakfast at Panera (his pick) with both Mommy and Daddy! Then we were off to "Meet Your Teacher" for Preschool. Loved his teachers!! And meeting them made me even more excited because they are amazing! Then we wanted to go to Marine World to see the boats, buggies, and jet skies before lunch. 

Party went smooth. I made chocolate and funfetti cupcakes and we had Chick-Fil-A cater, Munchkin's pick again. Kids had a ton of fun, and little man got some really great stuff.

After clean up and bath, he wanted to take the semi with monster trucks to bed with him... 

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY BOY!!! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First day of Preschool for this amazing little boy! He did AMAZING! Was so excited the entire way to school, and walking in. He put his backpack on his hook in the hallway and walked to his teacher with a huge smile on his face. Teacher mentioned he needed his name tag by his backpack and that is when he got a little teary eyed and asked me to stay... I about lost it! But I kept it together and told him how much fun he was going to have and that when I pick him up, we'll get to go out to lunch where ever he wanted to go (that made him happy!). Teacher said he cried for about 30 seconds after I left and then had a ball and was such a joy to have in class. Said how polite and well behaved he is. 

Proud Mommy right here!!

Second day of school went smooth as well. Cried for a bit at home, but was such a big boy walking into school and gong into his class.

I just love him to pieces!!