Miss Elliot Breanna Fletcher is finally here!

Well, I feel like I've been waiting a really long time for this sweet girl and I'm so very happy to announce her arrival (though I think that most of you probably already know it by now!). My due date was actually August 28th but things sometimes happen... I'll try to be brief...Ha! YA RIGHT! This is Ellie's birth story!

On Thursday, August 19th I couldn't sleep at all because my entire body itched like CRAZY. I've never experienced anything like it. My hands and feet had been itchy for several weeks and I didn't think anything about it. Well, this whole itchy-body-thing finally got my attention and so first thing Friday morning I called my doctor just to make sure that this was "normal". They wanted to run some blood-work on me right away so Emmy and I ran into town to take care of it. Tony was still on his trip, though he had told me that things were changing in his schedule and so he was trying to make his way home. I was so relieved! So anyhow, Tony got home around 5 pm-ish and at 5:15 my doctor's office called to tell me that my liver was no longer functioning at a safe level for me or the baby and that it most likely is something called Cholestasis of Pregnancy. It happens late in pregnancy and it means that my liver isn't processing the toxins any longer and they instead are in my blood stream (thus baby's as well) and that is why itchy skin is the main symptom because those toxins are right below the skin. That is certainly not the news I was expecting after a fairly mundane pregnancy! The doctor then said that they wanted to induce me and to please arrive at the birthing center at 7 pm THAT NIGHT! When I hung up the phone it was a flurry of activity! Tony ran upstairs to unpack and then re-pack his bag, and I was trying to take care of all the little things that I thought I had at least a couple more days to do! We drove into town (Tony got to drive semi-crazy-fast because we were running a bit late!) and dropped Emerson off at his parents' house and then off to have a baby!

Admittedly, I started freaking out a bit because I was worried about baby and also because this was all happening really fast and I am a girl that likes a bit of preparation! (I know, I know, going into labor happens quickly and takes you by surprise and I should've seem this coming but STILL!). Tony was so great about calming me down and reassuring me that all was going to be fine. I prayed that he was right!

We got all tucked into our room and then the "fun" began. I REALLY didn't want to get induced for this birth because frankly it hurt like H-E-double hockey sticks and I've been told that it's far more painful than just letting things happen naturally. But, the most important thing was getting baby out right away so of course I went along with it! I'll leave out all the down time, waiting, PAIN, exhaustion, etc. that went along with the next 21 hours and I'll just finish by saying that after 2 epidurals (one right after the other because the anesthesiologist MESSED UP) I ended up with an amazing little girl on my chest and she was healthy, and beautiful and worth every ounce of pain! She weighed 6 lbs, 8 oz and was 19 1/2" long. I'm so happy to write that she suffered zero side effects from the Cholestasis and she really wasn't even jaundiced. God was certainly watching over his little angel that's for sure!

Tony, Elliot, and I stayed in the hospital until Monday so that her and I could be monitored and then we checked out and began our new adventure out in the "real world"! My mom had an important appointment on Monday morning so prior to me being discharged, I convinced the nurses to let me go M.I.A. for an hour so that I could go to it. Luckily the building was literally half a block away so it worked out great. I think mom's radiologist was a bit surprised to find out that I had just had a baby and even had all my wrist tags on still! I thought it was pretty funny and mom did too! Hey, you do what you need to do, right?!

We have now been at home for a week and it has been great. It's wonderful having TWO daughters! Emerson seems to be adjusting really well to this new little person and loves telling us how cute the baby is. She is VERY concerned however when Elliot cries. She is a good big sister! Ellie and I have of course, pulled some all/late nighters but every night gets better and better and I don't mind hanging out with her in the still of the night! It's so QUIET! I do miss a full night's sleep however!

I will try very hard to post on this blog more often than I have been. We just got Ellie's newborn photos taken and as soon as we get those, I will make sure to post them. Also, mom got us a digital video camera so I will try to figure out how to put a couple clips on here as well.

For those of you wondering about how Tony and I came up with Elliot's name, Elliott Aviation was where Tony had his very first flight lesson in Illinois and I just liked the name in general so it was an easy decision. Tony picked out her middle name Breanna.

I'd like to thank those of you that have wished us well and for your thoughtful messages. It has been a bit overwhelming at times getting used to having two children instead of just one and so it has left us very little time or opportunity to get together and visit with people. A bit of a learning curve that's for sure!
I'd like to think that we'll get the hang of it!

Have a great day everyone!

Attitude Adjustment

I caught myself whining the other night to Tony about how overwhelming it can be taking care of our daughter, our house, him, our dog, working, and preparing "healthy" meals each night. I complained that I don't get any "spare time" with no one demanding anything of me. Well, I had a major reality check after watching a show about a paralyzed woman who just had twin boys. She never complained and she does all the things I do (minus work) but she has TWO babies! Who in the heck am I to complain about anything?! I would like to think that at this stage of my pregnancy it is my hormones going berserk. I know that my body is physically exhausted and there are some days when my mind is done too. I think that makes me have pity parties for myself and that is just no good at all! So, I'm giving myself an attitude adjustment and I am going to remember how extremely blessed I am to have so many gifts that I probably don't deserve like a sweet daughter (and another on the way!), a husband who loves me, a home to take care of, a family that is wonderful, and a job when so many don't have one. What more could I possibly want? I love every second I get to spend with Emmy and I'm happy just looking at her! Now I'm not saying that my "whines" won't come out every so often but my goal is to appreciate life (even when it's overwhelming). I think it still would be smart for me to designate a small snippet of time here and there especially for myself just to regain my balance but I'll figure all that out later!

On a different note, I'm thinking about my mom a lot lately because we will find out this week whether or not she needs to have more chemo (starting next week). I pray that she won't need it because I know that it was torture for her. It's been hard for me to let others take care of her when I feel perfectly capable. However, I don't want her to feel guilty for accepting my help being so pregnant. We both just want to help each other and that just isn't going to happen this time around. I know that mom is having a hard time not being able to offer me support during these last few weeks and there is even question as to whether or not she will be able to be at the hospital for baby girl's birth. That has to be so hard for her. I guess it's a lot like how I feel when I'm at work and one of my mom's friends is with her at a chemo appointment or just helping her around her house. That should be ME! I think no one wants to be helpless, especially when it comes to family.

On a closing note, we got Emerson's 2 year photos back and I will post one or two for now. We did the shoot way too close to bedtime so the smiley, happy pictures were few and far between but they still turned out pretty darn cute I think!

SILLY GIRL

I kept coming up with all the funny stuff that Emerson has done or said and I thought that I would share it. From the mouth of babes…

“I’m OK mama” (this is used frequently, not just after a fall down but sometimes just out of the blue!)

“Come on people! Let’s go!” (I have NO IDEA where she might’ve learned this one.. Not ME certainly!)

“OHHHHH TOOOOOODLES!” (Mickey Mouse says this and she has adopted it as her own. Apparently the trick is to shout it at the top of your lungs. She has taken to calling our dog, Sydney, using this.)

“NOT TODAY”. (It’s so hard not to smile every time she says this which is usually when you actually want her to do something like eat her dinner or stop playing in Sydney’s water dish.)

“Need tissue mama”. (No she doesn’t first of all! I’ve discovered that this means that she actually wants to empty the entire Kleenex box and then continue by shredding as many as possible before getting caught. Again, this is hilarious but I’d hate to encourage it so I have to pretend to be stern and have her pick it all up.) SEE IMAGE ABOVE!

So, I know that I am completely out of the running for “Mother of the Year” but I try hard to give Emmy all that she needs and I have recently discovered that perhaps I need to step it up a notch in the meal department. The other night I asked Em what she’d like for dinner and she responded “BooBerry Pancakes? Cereal? Waffles?” I then realized that those have kind of become our main dishes as of late because I haven’t had time (or the energy!) to make a “real” dinner.

I’ll stop here but I’m already looking forward to hearing Emerson’s sweet voice say all sorts of new things.