The story of Brittyn Hope

I've been trying to make myself sit down and write about sweet Brittyn's arrival for a week now but things got a little busy with 3 kids :)

On Wednesday, Jan 26th, Jeff and I headed to the hospital at 5:30 am to meet our sweet princess. They got me all prepped and ready right as the girls got there with Jeff's parents. We got to give some hugs and kissys and then I went back to surgery.

I was shaking violently at this point because I was pretty nervous and the operating room is freezing cold! First challenge was my spinal and a challenge it was! They didn't quite get the right spot (mostly thanks to the fact I have scoliosis so it was a little more intense) so I could wiggle my toes all through surgery and could feel pain on my left side the whole surgery. Not intense pain but more than the normal tugging and pulling you should feel in surgery. The poor anthesiologist was doing her best to keep me comfortable without having to knock me all the way out. Then.. I leaned to Jeff and said something about I am going to throw up. Reminder: I am strapped down and half numb at this part. So, I proceeded to throw up several times, leaning my head to the side, while the nurse sucked it out of my mouth so I didn't choke to death. Fun, fun, fun. This procedure took slightly longer since they had to get through scar tissue from two prior surgeries. Finally at 7:41am they lifted a little hairy baby girl, wide eyed awake, over the screen and I just started sobbing. I don't know that I could even form words but it was just as amazing the third time. I do remember saying, "oh, I am so happy!" By this time everyone in the operating room was talking about all the hair she had!
She had her umbilical cord wrapped firmly around her neck so she had some facial bruising and came out purple. She didn't scream at first so I was starting to worry as I lay there listening for her but they got her all clear pretty fast. She also had some fluid in her lungs that didn't help the situation. Brittyn and Jeff were whisked off to the nursery while I was being sewn up. They called back from the nursery while my surgery was being finished to let me know she weighed 8 lbs even and was 19.5 inches long. Perfect! My guess for her weight was 7lb 3oz so I was about a pound off, lol. She was a big girl to have come to the world so early! My doctor told me she would have been 9+ pounds if she had gone full term!

I was lifted to the next bed and sent to the recovery room. Once there, Jeff met me with my sweet baby girl and I got to hold her for the first time. She was so bruised and beat up from delivery and the umbilical cord but of course, we thought she looked perfect :) Braelyn and Happy came in shortly after with Jeff's parents and his sister. Braelyn wanted to hold her immediately. She is in love. It took Happy a few minutes to warm up to Brittyn but she was holding her and smiling for pictures in no time at all.

Brittyn had some small issues due to coming to the world early and had to be taken back to the nursery because she was having trouble regulating her temperature. She wimpered most of that day because she couldn't keep herself warm. By day two she had mostly controlled this but for the first week at home it was something I had to keep my eye on. She also had some fluid in her lungs but was clear by day two, as well.
The rest of the day Brittyn was born was spent with lots of friends and family coming to see her. She, of course, slept through it all but I took lots of pictures to show her one day :)

And of course, the whole hospital was talking about that hair, lol. YES, I had severe heartburn but it was soo worth it! The girl has great hair! :)

Between three sticks to get an IV in, a failed spinal, nausea during surgery and the fun surgery itself.. Brittyn Hope was worth every second of it! She has been the sweetest little addition to our family and her big sisters are obsessed with her!

3 days.. and now 2 days.. :)

So, I missed a day yesterday, sorry. We have had a crazy weekend trying to get our house ready for the big week ahead.. and on top of that, Jeff is still sick! Ugh!

Here is Braelyn yesterday with her 3 links for 3 days to baby Brittyn!!

I already went to the doctor this morning and Brittyn still looks perfect so we are going to let her "bake" two more days.. She will be here on Wednesday, the 26th, for sure! We will be at the hospital at 5:30am and go in to surgery by 7:30! :) I am sooo ready!!
I didn't get a picture, yet, today of the links but Happy was willing to show you that there is now only TWO DAYS until she is a big sister!! Amazing!!

 And just because she is cute.. :)

Happy Monday!!!

4 days....

Can't believe we have less then 4 days until we are a family of FIVE! Brittyn is going to be the perfect addition to our sweet chaos :)

Braelyn taking a link off.. She is READY!!

 And the soon-to-be BIG sister, Happy..

 My precious girls.. I can't wait to have one more!! :)



It's been a little crazy at our house. Jeff has been sick for two days and the girls have been running wild.. (mostly due to being trapped inside because of one sick parent and one parent on bed rest) and I have been trying to get little projects done before Monday. It's amazing all the things I can get done sitting down.. lol. I made me a shirt to wear for the hospital this morning, packed the kids bags for their sleepover at Jamom's while we are at the hospital and packed our hospital bag, too! We are ready whenever Miss Brittyn is.. whether it be Monday or Wednesday!!

6 days and an update :)

Only 6 days to baby Brittyn...

 Braelyn can't wait! She is bundled like an eskimo cause its 24 degrees here right now with a wind chill of 11 and chance of ice/snow.. yuck! Have I shared how much I hate cold weather? I hate cold weather. There you have it :)

SIX days or less...

Yesterday I had two appointments. One with my high risk doctor.. he said Brittyn looked so perfect! He did an ultrasound and we could see her "practice breathing". It was so awesome.. I got teary eyed! He said it's a sign of a very healthy baby, praise Jesus!! She is ready whenever she needs to meet the world. I am so grateful. Everything looked great! They did a complete biophysical profile (ultrasound with NST, basically) and she scored a 10 out of 10 on the series of tests!!
Then, I went to my appointment with my OB and my blood pressure wasn't great but no need to take the baby yet. My protein wasn't dangerous high and Brittyn is still thriving. So, she is letting me have Friday off from appointements (WOO HOO, I have been going every other day for 3 weeks!) and she said she will see me Monday. She did say not to eat or drink before my appointment on Monday because she might just take Brittyn on Monday.. we will see! I am trying to not be anxious about it being Monday because I know her birthday will be next week :) If she does not take her on Monday, then she will be here on Wednesday.. the 26th! So we are still "counting down" to the 26th and if she decides to meet us before then we will all be more than happy! :)
I am just relaxing and enjoying our family of 4 for a few more days! I am so thankful that even though I have had troubles during these last two pregnancies, that our precious babies have always been protected! God is good!!

Baby update

Still pregnant.. God is good!!

I have officially been on bed rest two weeks now and I have only half lost my mind :) Brittyn is still a cookin'! My blood pressures are still pretty crappy and my protein levels aren't thrilling but baby has not been taken yet. I am still scheduled for the 26th so just a little over a week now. Brittyn gave us a little scare last week with some heart rate issues but I am going to the doctor four times a week so believe me, they are keeping a close eye on her. I will see my doctor again Wednesday and the high risk doctor again on Wednesday. When I saw my doctor this morning her words were "next high blood pressure or high protein and I am taking this baby" so we will see how things go. I would really like to make it to the 26th so we are at 37 weeks but I am confident that she will be fine whenever she is taken. We have had lots of ultrasound and non stress tests and she is not in any danger at all.. she is about 7 pounds now. I am so thankful for a doctor who is literally an expert at high risk pregnancies and I am 100% confident that she would not take this baby if she would be in any danger. It's a waiting game but she will come when the time is perfect :)

Braelyn is very, very anxious! I made her a paper chain countdown to Brittyn and she loves taking one link off every morning and counting how many days are left until she gets to hold her baby sister. Happy Faith, on the other hand, is less than thrilled, ha! When we ask her if she is going to be a big sister, she screams that she is the baby, not a big sister! Oh, the days after Brittyn might be a little interesting but I know she will be fine. Jeff and I will just have to give her extra attention until she realizes we have not forgot about her in any way :)

I am feeling okay.. the famous question. Heartburn, leg cramps, headaches, blurry vision, some serious contractions but I will survive. My sleeping pattern goes from sleeping around 3 days straight to not being able to sleep for 3 days because of insomnia. That is the most annoying part to me..  I want some sleep! The only good parts about being on bed rest is spending time around the kids during the day and getting to take naps with them in the afternoons! :) Of course, I am up getting ready to go to the doctor or sitting in a doctors office about half of my week so it hardly feels like bed rest most days, ha!

Continue to pray for us.. God's timing is perfect timing and Brittyn will be here before we know it!!!

Nada

Wish I had something interesting to share today... a story to tell, a great baby update or a recipe we tried. But, I have nothing! Bed rest has consumed my soul (I'm kidding). I am still pregnant for 13 more days and I am still on bedrest. The only update on that, is that my blood pressures still aren't great, I still have protein and kidney battles, still on bed rest but Brittyn still looks perfect and is weighing in around 6lb 9oz. There ya have it, folks. I have been to the doctor a total of four times this week by Friday but we did get some precious looks at Brittyn's face when we had an ultrasound with the high risk doctor yesterday! I can't wait to kiss those cheeks!!

Anyways.. Here is what I have been doing...

• Stalking Find Hailey Dunn and The Big Country Homepage.. praying for one of our precious West Texas babies that has been missing for over two weeks now. Things aren't looking good and the drama continues to unfold. Pray for this sweet little girl!!

• Trying to convince a 2 year old, that really wants a Dora birthday party, that I really don't want to plan a Dora birthday party.. :) I was thinking more like an ice cream party, a ladybug party, or a circus party!! She isn't buying any of those ideas so looks like I will be planning a late March Dora party.. with a smile.. I think! :) So, if any of you know of any Dora party ideas.. send them my way!!

• I've been obsessing over etsy.com for big sister/middle sister/little sister shirts! My awesome cousin, that has an amazing embroidering machine, has made the shirts for the girls to wear when Brittyn is born! I can't wait to get them in the mail and post pictures!!

• I've been thinking about my checklist of things to get done before Brittyn is born and wishing that I wasn't on bed rest to get them done. I'm kidding, it's mostly complete.. but I still browse the list on my phone everyday..

I've been working on all the paper work that has to be done for me to be off work for FMLA and maternity leave. It is an ordeal... let me tell you! 

• And I have been enjoying being the mommy to these two precious angels before we become a family of FIVE!

My heart is overflowing with joy and excitement to meet Brittyn and it still makes me anxious to know Happy wont be the "baby" anymore. I remember the exact same feeling with Braelyn when Happy was about to be born... so I know we will be just fine. But it's still bittersweet :) Brittyn will be here in less then two weeks and our family will be complete. Thanks for all your prayers and messages as we battle through these last couple weeks on pregnancy with preeclampsia. I appreciate every one of our precious friends and family!!

Bed rest..



What fun would my life be if I didn't have a drama filled pregnancy (yes, sarcasm here).
On Tuesday, I went to my appointment, thinking it was a normal check up and was sent to the hospital because my blood pressure was high and I had a lot of swelling. They did some tests, ultrasounds and started a 24 hour urine collection (it is TMI, I know.. and nasty, for the record). My blood pressures were decent while I was there so she let me go home on bed rest. Good news is they did an ultrasound at the hospital and the baby looks very, very healthy. At 34 weeks 4 days, she was already estimating at 6lb 5oz and everything looked perfect.. actually measuring to be 36 weeks 4 days so we aren't worried about her being too small at this point.. which is a blessing.  Doctor told me to stay on bed rest till Thursday, praying it was a fluke, and that I could be freed to go back to work and carry this baby to February 3rd.
Thursday, I went back in to reevaluate. My blood pressure still high (but not really bad) and my 24 hr urine came back showing preeclampsia. The protein in my urine was very, very high. I had the same issue while pregnant with Happy and my numbers never got anywhere near where they are now with Happy's pregnancy. So, I am on bed rest from here on out. She moved up my c-section to January 26th, if we can make it that long and it might be the week before depending on how my appointments go next week.  I will just have to go to the doctor every couple days and see the high risk doctor, again, as well.
Like I said, did this all with my last pregnancy so unforunately I am an expert. I am happy to meet my third little princess earlier then planned (19 days away at this point) but bed rest is really hard for me! I am a go-er and a do-er and sitting and relaxing are not in my vocabulary. I know what I have to do to make sure Brittyn and I are safe so here we are and here we sit :)
I've had so many sweet messages, emails and texts.. I appreciate you all. I'm feeling okay, just slightly bored :) And Jeff.. is probably about to lose his mind on full time daddy duty and taking care of me.. gotta love him!
Will keep yall posted through the many, many appointments we will have the next few weeks!

The rest of 2010

And the rest of our Christmas went like this... :)

Christmas morning, we opened presents at our house since, of course, Santa had come the night before :) The girls got so many toys! I feel like we need to make a large donation so just we can fit more toys in our already toy overflowing house!!

Of course, we had to make cookies for Santa and leave him a note (Braelyn had to sign their name so he would know it was from them :)

  Then Santa came and he brought my babies a hot pink Ford Mustang!

 Braelyn's reaction was 100% genuine. We got the Mustang two days before Christmas and it was hidden in my room (not hidden very well) in the corner.. under a blanket. Braelyn walked in the door from Jamom's and for some reason went to my room. It was in my room cause the kids rarely go back there. Within ten minutes she had seen her present!!! I was so sad and thought her Christmas/Santa dreams were ruined!! I told her that Santa had dropped it off at our house for her cousin, Alyssa, so Alyssa wouldn't find it. I even broke her little heart cause she said that was the one she wanted! But it was my only defense against a Christmas surprised ruined, LOL! She begged for one for the next few days and I told her I would check with Santa to see if he had one left and if he did, then she might get one!! It worked.. On Christmas morning, she was shocked, amazed and in awe that Santa found her a Mustang!!! :)

And Miss Happy was very upset cause Santa ate all her cookies! I couldn't help but laugh :)

And then they opened lots of presents... :)

  

Then we took the girls to the part in the freezing weather (literally) because what good is a new toy on Christmas if you cant play with it :) Braelyn was in heaven.. the smiles in these pictures make me a little teary eyed. Happy, on other hand, hates the cold weather as much as her Mama and although, the car was fun, she didn't last very long cause it was too stinking cold!! :)

  

  

Happy Faith on Christmas Day... how sweet is she?!

 This is how the girls nap together.. always cuddling and holding hands! My heart is overflowing.. :)

Nothing too special here.. besides.. new outfits and Uncle Weston's birthday dinner :)

 My little eskimo.. 

And how about something Brittyn?? :) I finally made the letters in her name for her wall. It was a project!! Do you remember these green walls?? Those green walls are still in the nursery and Happy has moved to the big girl room with Braelyn!!



That really is the end of 2010 for us!! Less then 30 days to Brittyn Hope!!