Schuylar Grey---Little Brother

Our world has changed again! Last week, our second little boy entered the world. Here's the short version of his birth.

Saturday morning, around 3:45am, I woke up with my first contraction...nothing painful, but enough to wake me up. I went back to sleep and about 13 or 14 minutes later, woke up with another one. I started timing them, but going back to sleep between each one. This went on until 5:15, and they ranged from 10-14 minutes apart. I decided to wake Daniel up.  Since I was still not in too much pain, we laid there and planned out the rest of our day. The doctor had told me a month before that I should go to the hospital when contractions were 5 minutes apart or less for an hour to an hour and a half! Since we live about 25 minutes from the hospital, we decided we would go when the contractions were less than 10 minutes apart for 30 minutes. Well, before we even had time to think about it much longer, I was having painful contractions that were now less than 10 minutes apart. We both showered, called Mimi to come watch Ryder, and packed the last minute stuff for the hospital. We waited on Mimi to get to the house (I was already in the car, had kissed Ryder good-bye, and was ready to go when she pulled up). Daniel turned on the hazard lights, and raced as if he was in a race-car video game. We made it to the hospital in 15 minutes! I was in a ton of pain.

It was shift change, and they kept telling me they would have to check me in triage (although I was begging them to just put me in a room, and give me an epidural). When they got a nurse in triage, they checked me. I warned them I had already been a 3 at the doctor's appointment that week, and not to panic if I was a 5 or 6. Well, they weren't the ones who panicked.....I did---when they told me I was a 10 already!

I immediately started crying (more than I already was), and they asked me, "Did you have a natural birth with your first child?" I said, "No! And I don't want to have one now either!" More tears! I asked them for the epidural, and they gave me a look and said, "Baby....you probably won't get one. The only way you might be able to get one is if your water doesn't break between now and then. But, don't count on it." More tears and more panic!

After that, things went so fast it is hard to recall. I do remember they had to give me fluids and 2 other things before they could even get the doctor in there to give the epidural. I just remember praying that my water wouldn't break. Finally, (I think it had been another 20 minutes or so), the doctor came in for the epidural and told me it would be a race between my contractions and the medicine, and I would know who wins shortly. Five minutes later, my water broke. Five minutes after my water broke, I couldn't tell my contractions were getting any stronger. This was the best news yet!

My nurse came in and told me that if I could hold off on pushing and just let the medicine kick in more, I'd be good! That's what happened. Ten more minutes went by, and the nurse came in and said it was time to push! I pushed twice, and Schuylar Grey was here!

It's Been A While...

I know that I'm not very good about keeping up with my blog, but the reason for that is because I've got the best little boy in the whole world keeping me busy....and I wouldn't want it any other way! He's recently just started showing his personality! He's such a happy little baby who loves to take it all in. He'll watch anything and everything going on, and is learning so much every day!

He's now 5 1/2 months old. I thought I would put up some pictures of each month just to show you how he's changed, grown, and learned to smile!

Ryder has enjoyed his first Christmas...

New Years...

Valentine's Day...

Spring Break.....got to meet his cousins Annabelle and Dylan, Pop, and Uncle Rollin...

and Easter....

We are so blessed to have Ryder in our lives. He fills it with happiness and laughter, and we thank God each and every day for him!

The Best Day Ever

The last picture taken of my baby belly before Ryder was born....

It's been forever since I've blogged, but that's because life has been busy! Let me back up...

On November 30, I went in to the doctor for one of my normal checkups. Ryder was due on December 11, so at this point, I was going every week to the doctor. I went in after work that day to the doctor. Everything had been going perfectly fine up until that day...until the doctor listened to his heartbeat that day and heard an irregular beat. The doctor ordered for an ultrasound to be done so we could see what was going on, and to see if they could tell anything else. The ultrasound also showed the irregular (extra) heartbeat....as well as low fluid levels. After talking to the doctor about the ultrasound results, he said that I needed to go to the hospital, and have the baby that night!!! I flipped out!

I went in the hospital, they monitored me and Ryder for 2 or 3 hours, and then gave us the option of going ahead and inducing that night or waiting and going to Atlanta to a specialist. We felt like everything had been going fine up until then, and we trusted things would be fine. We didn't want to induce at this point unless the doctors were saying we had to. With the option to wait a few more days, we felt like it wasn't an absolute necessity to have him then.

We went to Atlanta, and they basically said the same thing....they were more concerned with the fluid levels though, and said more than likely the heart issue would resolve itself after he was born. They told me to drink a ton of water over the weekend, and to go back to my doctor on Monday. So, I did. And nothing changed with my fluid levels. On Monday at that appointment, the doctor told me they would induce the next morning---they didn't want the fluid levels dropping because that's when it would be dangerous. My levels were at a 7, and anything 5 or below was too dangerous.

We were at the hospital at 6am on Tuesday, December 7...and had started the pitocin by 6:45.....after about 3 hours of contractions, I opted for the epidural! About an hour into the epidural, we were listening to the monitors, and noticed his heartbeat was getting slower and slower. My nurse came in, moved some things around...nothing changed. Another nurse came in....and another....and another---this time, the C-section nurse. I was scared to death. They had given me oxygen, and nothing was changing. They turned me to one side....nothing...then, they turned me on my right side, and his heartbeat went back up. Other than that one scare, the whole process went smoothly and quickly.. Things progressed quickly and my nurse and all of us were shocked when they said I was ready to push. After pushing less than 10 minutes, he was here!

Daniel and I were blessed with the most amazing gift ever on December 7, 2010. Ryder was born, and our lives have been forever changed for the better. He is the best baby ever. Not that it isn't difficult at times, but he is so good that he's made it so much easier than we thought it would be. We just thought he'd cry all the time, but he doesn't....he's quite content unless he's hungry or sleepy. Although, the first night we brought him home, he cried pretty much non-stop for about 5 hours....his tummy was rumbling and you could just tell he was in pain. We thought it would be like that every night, and we didn't know what we had gotten ourselves into.

He's already getting so big. It's hard to believe he's already 2.5 months old!

The New House, Baby Showers, and Belly Pictures!

A crazy month it's been! First of all, we are settled into our new home. Still have some minor things like hanging more art on the wall, and cleaning out the few things in the garage still, but for the most part, it's done.....(oh yeah, besides the baby's room....that still has a lot of work to be done). We LOVE our house! It's perfect and we couldn't be happier with it! Here are a few pictures. (front, dining room, guest room, master bath, and baby's room coming along)

We got a new bedroom set from Daniel's parents as our house warming present and we absolutely LOVE it as well! We've slept SO good on our new, KING-SIZE mattress....I don't know how we ever slept on a queen! It's awesome! We have a little sitting area in our bedroom, which is pretty cool. It will be very useful as well once our little guy gets here.

It took Lexi a while to get used to the new place, after loving life at Daniel's parents house with their dog, Jolene. But, she's learned where she can and can't go now, and is loving being able to wander between the huge backyard and the front yard as well. This is a picture of our backyard one evening as the sun was setting (taken from the back deck) as well as a picture of the back of our house. And then little, precious Lexi at her new home! I still haven't taken pictures of the living room/kitchen/basement yet, but I'll get to it eventually.

I've had some great baby showers hosted by the best friends anyone could have! Debbie threw me one in Texas early September, and then Sarah, Lori, and Lindsay all threw me one here early October. The food, decorations, company, games, locations, and EVERY single thing was perfect and I am so thankful for all my friends and family who were able to come! And a huge thank you to my girls Debbie (and her awesome husband Badi who did a ton, too), Sarah, Lori, and Lindsay! Thanks Debbie for planning everything, opening up your beautiful home to everyone, and loving Baby and me so much! And a big thanks to my girls for driving all the way from North Carolina and Florida to give baby Stewart and me the wonderful shower in Georgia!

Here are some pictures from the Texas shower! I'm so glad several friends I normally don't see too often were able to come! (My camera died right before the shower in Texas, so I'm waiting on pictures from friends before I can post pictures from it.)

And last but not least.....I'm growing more and more each week. I can't believe he'll be here in about 7 weeks!!! I'm so excited but honestly, scared out of my mind as well....(not about being his Mommy, but about the day I go into labor). Please keep me in your prayers. I know I'll forget the pain and only think about how he's doing the whole time, but the thought of it all has always scared me. I can't wait to see him and hold him though!

The Past Month

We officially sold our house and closed on it at the end of August. Since we sold it much faster than we expected, we had to be out of it without having our new house officially purchased yet. But, we found the perfect house and are so excited to be moving into it at the end of this month. The month of September, we've been living with Daniel's parents. They have been so gracious to offer their place for us to stay while we were in transition of houses. Daniel, Lexi, and I have felt like we've been on vacation for the past three weeks...a nice, comfy bed and room to ourselves, an amazing front porch and rocking chairs to relax on in the evenings, lots of land for Lexi to explore, and even other pet-friends for Lexi. His parents are amazing, and don't like for me to "over-do" myself, so I've been able to relax and just enjoy them and my pregnancy.

The first weekend we were here, I went to Texas for a baby shower that my best friend, Debbie gave me....I'll have to blog about it next when I've downloaded pictures. I also plan on blogging about our new house (with pictures) when we move in as well. We have another week and a half until we move in. I'm so excited to be officially starting another chapter of my life with Daniel and our baby boy! What a fun road it's been so far...and yet so many more memories to come!

My Mom's Visit

I have been wanting to post a little more about my mom's visit from a month or so ago, but am just now getting around to it. About every two weeks or so, we've documented belly pictures as I've continued to grow. When my mom was here, the baby finally started to show his size and I guess I finally started to show. So, we took some pictures the night before my doctor's appointment (19 weeks) in which we found out it was a boy.....see picture below (as well as previous post):

My mom took the above picture, and then she had an even better idea! Leave it to my crazy, funny, silly, outgoing Mom to come up with this and BEG me to take her "pregnant belly picture" as well. Didn't want to leave her out. So, I took this picture as both of us tried our hardest not to ruin the picture by cracking up! We laughed so hard!

As mentioned in an early post, I didn't like the idea of my mom leaving after being here a week, so I convinced her to stay an extra day since I wasn't ready for her to leave. The last night, we went to the CVS to pick up her prescription (she had run out of ashtma medicine since she hadn't planned on staying so long). While there, I decided that we should do another silly something the last night she was here. So, we did! CHEAP FACIALS! We bought a strawberry (clear in color) peeling mask and a chocolate mask, and split it:

After staying up way too late most every night she was here, we did have to say good-bye and she did have to return home to Texas. But, we got a lot done together (shopping, registries, quality time, and lots of laughs). The day we registered at Target, Mom HAD to buy the baby boy this cute little thing....it's a stuffed animal, rattle, little blankie all in one. Mom LOVED it when she saw it and couldn't resist buying the baby it. Nana will be the one who gave him his little bear who I'm sure he will love and carry around with him even when he's three years old or so. It's SOOO soft and adorable. The morning Mom left, she got it out again to play with it, so I had to take a picture for when he's older, he'll know how much Mom already loved him!

Thanks Mom for coming out here for a week! Can't wait to see you again soon (and neither can the sweet baby boy). We love you and miss you!

Baby Belly Pictures

I'm 23 pregnant now and time is flying! In the past month or so, I've really started to show more and more. It took a while, but now that I'm showing, there's no hiding it. In the past week or so, I have felt the baby moving every day. Daniel has even been able to place his hand on my belly and feel him kick and move. It's a great feeling and I love it! One of my favorite things to do right now is lay a t.v. remote flat on my belly and lay down and watch it wobble back and forth when he kicks, moves, rolls over, etc. It's fascinating and still hard to believe sometimes that we're really going to have a baby! Enjoy the pics! (Most of them are taken after I get out of the shower and right before bed, so please ignore the big hair/glasses, etc.)