Kaelyn is Here

Well she just couldn't wait any longer, and I'll admit I'm glad shes here, even if its a little earlier than we expected...not that we really expected anything, its been up in the air for quite a while as to how long she could wait. I'm sooo grateful for the past 5 weeks that she's been able to grow and mature inside of me. I woke up Saturday morning with some pretty severe abdominal pain so we came into the hospital about 10:30 a.m. and after trying to figure out what was going on with me and monitoring her, we knew it was time for her to come. They diagnosed me with preclampsia and her blood flow from the placenta was pretty bad, so it was time for her to come for both her and me.

She is a whopping 1 lb 11 oz and 13 inches long. I thought it was pretty cool that she was born on June 13th, I've always loved the number thirteen...I consider it my lucky number, so now I can share it with my daughter. She is sooo tiny and cute. We're able to walk over to the NICU and hangout with her whenever we want. She's so amazing, and so are the amazing people and technology that are taking care of her. Last night I got to hold her while they changed her bedding, which was a real special treat. She is in an isolet so when we go over there we can reach in and touch her. I feel really lucky that I get to see her, people might think its really hard not having her here with me all the time, but I just think that we are lucky because she wasn't technically suppose to be here for a month and a half, so we are getting lots of sneak peaks. Its so nice to have her here, and to not have to wonder if she was going to make it. She is here and in great hands. She came out breathing on her own which is amazing. She is as mature as a 33 week old, just really small. Everyone we talk to at the NICU says she is a "fiesty" one, that is definitely good, she'll need it.

I'm feeling pretty good, they say I was pretty sick with the preclampsia and what not, but I haven't felt too bad. I've been able to get up and walk around today and SHOWER, which is so nice. I know all the prayers that have been said for us are taking care of us. There is no other explaination for it. Thanks so much for all your love and support. Wayne is doing good too, he is such an amazing Dad. He asks lots of questions and has learned a lot about our little girl and what she is doing. He is also taking care of me and sleeping on the couch/chair thing at the hospital. He's been with me and Kaelyn every step of the way. I know I couldn't do this without him, he is the most amazing person I know.

Here are some pictures we've been able to take.

Holding Daddy's hand right after delivery

In all her purple last night. She even has the binkie to match. Her hair is strawberry blonde.

Sporting Daddy's wedding ring.

Next to the Spoon

Click here to see her all of her photos so far

32 Weeks and Counting

(picture requested by my bud "prego", who is not prego, nor has ever been prego...yet :))

So yea this is what I look like these days. Just busting a gut... Yea that ice cream really kicked in. Anyone know of a good place to find cute, comfortable maternity tee shirts...I'm getting a little sick of the 5 shirts I wear every week, but don't want to spend more than $10 a shirt! Help :)

Yes that is my messy office, it looks like a tornado came through. If you look close you can see the bed I made myself under my desk...I had a rough day last week and it took all the energy I had to crawl under there. Thanks for the idea George Castanza!

Props to the Man

So I'm really going out a limb here...admitting to something that I'm pretty sure NO ONE knows about me. Not even Wayne or my Mom. I LOVE GEORGE STRAIT. There it is, I got it out. Why is this so hard for her to admit you may ask? Well I'm not one to brag about being a country girl from the sticks. When I was a kid I always wished I lived somewhere a little bigger. Now looking back I would never change growing up in Neola (yes that is a town..approx 800 people), it will always be home, but I just never really got into the whole country girl gig my madre wanted for me. I was too scared of horses to be a cow girl and working on a farm just was not fun at all. I swore I would never marry a cowboy...and that I didn't.

But don't worry, my mom is trying to make him one. She has provided him with a Cowboy hat, cowboy jeans, a cowboy belt, a big ole belt buckle (that he wears pretty much every day), bonified cowboy boots and last but not least - horse riding lessons that he was bucked off the horse while my mom was leading it around in a circle on a rope. That was his favorite part, she told him not to tell me because I would never let him ride again, but I figure its not any more dangerous than the things he does on the snowboard, wakeboard and skateboard. Anyway he does make a pretty cute cowboy, I'm just glad he's not really one and I don't have to take care of a farm and animals! If you could only see the cowboy strut I taught him...its pretty hilarious if I do say so myself.

So back to George Strait, he was just honored with Country Artist of the Decade and I'm watching a two hour special right now on CBS. I've just always loved his music, I remember listening to it with my Grandma Leavitt when I was young. So there's the one thing I will admit about being just a little bit of a country girl...deep deep down inside. You go George, you're the Man!

Thanks

(Picture stolen from Chels, "the crow", hope she doesn't mind :)

First I want to thank all of you for your loving words and prayers. I can't even begin to express how much they have helped us through this difficult time. Most days I'm amazed at how well I seem to be holding up, but I know its not me who's holding things together, because seriously I'm not that strong. Through your prayers I've felt the Savior's arms wrap around me and bring me comfort and peace. Yesterday was pretty rough, with every doctor's appointment, ultrasound, EKG our little girl's situation seems to unravel more and more, and appear worse and worse. Our biggest concern right now is that she is not growing the way she should. Its going to take a miracle to get her here, and then many more miracles to keep her. Please pray for us, we need it more than ever now. And if you have little ones, hold them extra tight tonight, just because you can. :)

Couldn't think of a title...

This is a posts that I feel like I need to write, whether its for myself or someone else. Its one of those posts you don't ever imagine yourself writing and there's really no way to go about it, so I'm just going to do it.

Some of you may already be aware, most of you probably have no idea. In the past couple of months Wayne and I have found out that our pregnancy and baby are not exactly what we expected. We are both doing really well, but of course there are some hard things that we have to deal with. Our little girl, Kaelyn Ruth, has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Along with that she has a pretty serious heart defect that will require surgery when she is around 4-6 months old. She's also really small, we've been told that is typical with babies with Down Syndrome and we've also been told its not...I liked the answer that it was typical, so I'm going with that. We're really excited to get our little girl here, but the medical complications she may or may not have are the scariest part. We've felt so much strength and comfort through the prayers of our loved ones. My testimony has grown so much during this time. I know my Heavenly Father loves his children so much and that he is always with us. I'm grateful for this time that we have to prepare for Kaelyn to get here, I know it will help us get through the tough times.

I'm grateful for the support we have around us. One of the biggest realization that I'm come to in the past few months is that people everywhere are going through some really hard things. Whether they are medical issues, addictions, loss of loved ones, or something else...its all hard. I just wish I would have been more aware of people's sufferings and helped them more. When life seems to be going just as planned, that's an easy thing to forget. I don't ever want to forget, I want to remember so that I can try to support those around me when they are suffering, just like I've been supported so many times. Another thing I've realized is that we can't take anything for granted, especially healthy children. My eyes have been opened to all the children out there that have medical issues, I was just so blind to it before. I wish I would have said more prayers for those children and their families. If I could give anyone any advice, it would be to treasure the health of your children and the health of your family members. It is so fragile.

Thank You UNC!

Since North Carolina advanced to the championship game, I WIN THE BRACKET AT WORK! Who hoo! Now I get to decide where I want to get my $25 gift card from? I love gift cards, there is nothing like guilt free shopping!

People keep telling me that I don't LOOK pregnant...

well I'm afraid that is all about to change after what I found at Harmon's last night. (At least its light, or so they claim. Personally I think it tastes way too good to be light.)



Its like a grasshopper shake (One of my two favorite flavors...other is oreo banana), but like 100 times better because its hard ice cream with big ole soft-ish chunks of oreos. Yes this is the most delicious ice cream I have ever had, I raved about it sometime last year and have been looking for it every time I go to the grocery store. I was so happy last night, I bought the only two cartons they had and am going back today to see if they have more. Yes, I have already eaten one of them, in less than 24 hours. Told you I could do it.