My Little Angel

The week before Ryleigh went to Destin for Spring Break Ryleigh stayed home with me so I could spend some time with her before she left for a week.

This day she was playing dress up and dancing around in her room. I was sitting on her bed watching her. All the sudden she walked over to her bed and started pulling the covers off my feet and said. "I need some lotion so I can rub your feet." 

My heart melted! I don't know where she got the idea to do this but I loved it. She is such a little angel!

32 Weeks

Last Saturday I was 32 weeks. (Today I'm 33 weeks) 

Monday Daddy had surgery and stayed home all week. 

Thursday I went to the doctor for my check with my OB. On the way there I started having contractions that wouldn't stop. As I was signing in the ladies noticed that I was in pain and called my doctor's nurse to come get me. She took me back to a room, checked my blood pressure, and took me to a special room to hook me up to the monitors to see about the contractions. 

I stayed on the machine for 20 minutes. When she came back she said I needed to go to Labor and Delivery for observation. When I've had contractions before they've given me a shot to stop them but this time it didn't work. The contractions wouldn't stop. So I had to stay the night. Along with the shots to stop the contractions they gave me steroid shots to help develop Reese's lungs in case I started dilating. So every hour for 4 hours I got a shot in my arm, then every 2 hours, then every 4 hours. Finally around 2:30 yesterday they switched to oral meds to stop the contractions. 

I was able to go home this morning just in time for my baby shower!

A Week in the Hosptial

Friday I went in for surgery to replace the nephrostomy bag.(I'm supposed to do this every 4 weeks)The surgeon was convinced that this was going to be an easy procedure and would only take five minutes. We all know how my kidneys like to create more calcium than normal and calcified my stint (that's still in me).Well I calcified the tube too. So when he opened me up he said it looked like someone had poured concrete in my kidney.

 Since this was supposed to be quick and easy I was wake while he dug out the calcium in my kidney. This was the most painful experience I think I've ever been through. The nurse in the OR was very sweet rubbing my head and wiping away my tears just like my mom would have.

Now I need to have surgery every two weeks to change out the tube. An hour and a half later I finally made it to my room in Antepartum. The first two days I was in more pain than I'd ever been in. They had to triple the amount of pain meds they were giving me through the IV for the pain to go down.

 In order for me to go home I need to be able to maintain my pain with oral meds. I started switching between oral and IV meds on Tuesday and was hoping to make it all day Wednesday on just oral meds and go home that night. However, around 3:00 I took my oral meds and an hour later my pain level went up instead of down causing me to need the IV meds. This morning I woke up feeling good and able to maintain my pain on the oral meds and was able to go home around 4:00! My mom picked me up and took me to her house so I don't have to sit around the house by myself.

Even though the surgeon thinks the next time I have surgery will be easier since we're doing it sooner my OB doctor still thinks I'll spend a week in the hospital recovering like I have every other time I've had surgery.

Now that I have to have surgery on my kidney every two weeks my OB doctor wants to move up the induction date for Reese. Monday, April 15 she'll run a test on Reese's lungs to see if they are developed enough. If they are then I'll be induced the next day. I'll be 36 weeks at that time.

I've tried to stay positive about everything that's happening to me since December but it's starting to get really hard. Every time I go in for surgery they find something else wrong with me or some kind of problem causing me more pain. I just want to be back to my normal self so I can move and do things like a normal person. Sitting in bed or the couch all day is really getting old and depressing.

Luckily while I was in the hospital all week we didn't have to worry about Ryleigh. We had already planned for her to spend the week with her Paw paw and Sha Sha in Destin, FL. I've talked to her everyday and even been able to Facetime her. She's having a good time.

I appreciate everyone who has supported me, held my hand, cried with me and prayed for me during this difficult time. I'm blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!

Count Down to Reese's Birth!

Everyday Ryleigh says "One more day till Reese is here" and the other day she came up to my belly and said "Happy Birthday Reese!" She is very excited to meet her baby sister so my mom came up with this idea to help us see how many more days we have till she's born.

My mom printed out different pictures of babies and baby items, then Ryleigh and I colored them. Each day Ryleigh takes one down.

We estimated that she'll be born around April 27. My doctor wants to induce me around 37 weeks if her lungs are developed enough. I'll be 37 weeks on Saturday, April 21. I'd like to have her on a Friday so Brandon gets a full week off with us at home so that's why I'm hoping for April 27. We'll know of a definite date once we get closer. 

We were supposed to have our Easter/Maternity pictures taken last Sunday but canceled on when we unexpectedly went back to the ER last Saturday. We've rescheduled for at the end of March. 

Ryleigh, my mom and mother in law are throwing me a baby shower in a few weeks. I wanted some pictures of Ryleigh kissing my belly to use as decoration for the shower. So we took a few to use for now. 

30 Weeks

You know you've been to the hospital too many times when a nurse in the ER recognizes you. 

Last night we had to make another visit to the ER because my nephrostomy bag hadn't been draining all day. When I called the on-call doctor he told me that I might need surgery that night if it didn't start draining. Luckily it started draining once we got to the hospital. After they checked it out they were happy it was draining and let us go home. Friday I'm scheduled for my next surgery to replace the bag.

At 30 Weeks I'm still able to wear Medium sized pants! I'm super happy about that. I'm shocked at how different my body is with this pregnancy from my first. I was sure after being home for 3 weeks I'd gain a lot of weight. I just seem to be growing more towards the front. I can feel my skin stretching. 

In a few weeks Brandon needs to have surgery! After the surgery he won't be able to sit f and will need to staying home for a week to recover. It's only March and I'm ready for this year to over with. Thank goodness we have family that's able to help us during all this. We wouldn't be able to survive this without them. 

Ryleigh spent the night at Gramz and Papa's this weekend. Her favorite thing to eat is pancakes in the morning. This week she made a special order for a Minnie Mouse shaped pancake!

After breakfast she had fun playing with Gramz's old jewelry and playing tea. Then her and Papa went outside and flew her kite, rode on her tractor and played in her playhouse. 

Silly Things Ryleigh Says

I wanted to make not of some of the funny things Ryleigh says at this age before I forget so I can look back and remember how she was at three and a half!

Last night she came up to us and said, "My foot is sprinkling." Meaning her foot was asleep. I love how she explained the feeling she had in her foot! Too cute!

We spent the night at my parents house last weekend. While my mom was helping me into bed Ryleigh said, "Mommy normally watches TV when she goes to bed." I didn't know she even knew what "normally" meant let a lone knew how to use it correctly in a sentence. 

Since I've had all these surgeries I'm supposed to be taking it easy and sitting more so when Brandon comes home and I'm up trying to do stuff he'll tell me to go sit down. Last night while making Ryleigh's dinner she said, "If Daddy was here he would yell at you to go sit down!" She defiantly doesn't miss a beat around here.

Ouch!

Apparently I'm allergic to tape and bandaids. 

I went to Radiology on Tuesday and had the dressing on my nerphrostomy bag changed because a rash was forming under the bandage. I tought it would go away now that the bandaid was off that area of my skin but all it did was spread! It itches like crazy! 

I'm such a mess with my nephrostomy bag, pain from my stint killing me and now a rash! I've forgotten what it feels like to be normal and not be in pain. 

Someday... Someday... 

After everything I've had to go through during this pregnancy Reese better have red hair! (Can you do that for me God?)

"Daddy Loves Me"

Daddy and Ryleigh

28 Weeks

I'm officially in the third trimester! 

 This past week I spent most of my time in the hospital since my surgeries last Saturday. Tuesday I was felling better and went home but that night the pain from the nephrostomy bag came back. Wednesday I was still in a lot of pain and my pain killers weren't helping so I was admitted back into the hospital. My cousin, Donna, had come over that day to bring me lunch and was there to take me to the hospital. Thursday morning I was having contractions but the nurses were able to stop them. By the afternoon I started feeling better and was able to come home on Friday. 

Today I've spent my day on the couch with my pills, water, heating pad and three pillows trying to maintain my pain. In three weeks I have to have syrgery again to get the nerphrostomy bag replaced. I'm hoping I'll be able to stay home till that time. 

 Reese sure is an active little girl. She is constantly moving around! 

 My biggest craving right now is chocolate chip cookies! Brandon brought me Panera Bread several times while in the hospital and spoiled me with their cookies. Yummy!!

27 Weeks and 2 Surgeries

I'm now 27 weeks along with my pregnancy and lots has changed since last week. In a nutshell I had two surgeries on Saturday, the stint calcified inside me, I have a nephrostomy bag connected to my kidney and I've been in the hospital since Friday morning.

Here's the story with all the details. It all started on Thursday afternoon. I had excruciating pain in my kidney and bladder area. I was in pain all night and couldn't sleep. I called my urologist on Friday morning and explained my symptoms. She told me to go to the ER to get an ultrasound of my kidneys. After they compared my ultrasound to the last one I had they said my kidney was swollen again which meant it was time to replace my stint. So I was admitted to Labor and Delivery and was scheduled for surgery on Saturday at 9:00.

I went into surgery thinking I was getting a new stint but when I came out of surgery and was in recovery the nurse told me that my doctor wasn't able to remove the stint. It had calcified so much it looked like I had the stint in me for over a year.

(This is an example of what a calcified stint looks like)

So now I have to get a nephrostomy bag. This is a bag with a tube connected to my kidney. This makes for a "lovely" accessory.

(This is what a nephrostomy bag looks like.)

Since I had already been placed under anesthesia that day they couldn't put me to sleep for the second surgery so I was awake while they connected the tube to my kidney.Once I was out of surgery the nurse informed me that I can't get it wet. That means no more baths and I have to cover the incision with a special aqua guard.

So not only do I have a stint that is poking me and causing pain I now have a bag connected to me that fills up with urine. My luck just keeps getting better and better.

 I'm still in the hospital and won't be released till my pain level is manageable from home. After talking to my OB she wants to induce me at 37 weeks if the baby's lungs have developed enough. So it looked like we'll be having an April baby.

I was hoping to make it to work this week so I could finish out this grading period but that obviously isn't going to happen. Once I'm released from the hospital I need to go up to the school to finish up a few things then I'll be done for the year. I'm sad I didn't get to officially say goodbye to my kids but I know I need to focus more on myself and the baby.

Brandon and my mom have taken turns spending the night with me so I don't have to be alone. I've had lots of family come to visit me and bring get well cards and balloons.

 While I'm in the hospital, Ryleigh is being spoiled rotten while staying at my Aunt Cecile's house. Thank you to everyone for the prayers and well wishes. This will all be over soon and I'll have a precious little girl to hold in the end.

26 Weeks

Last Saturday was 26 weeks! Only two more weeks till I'm in the third trimester.

Not a lot has changed over the past two weeks. I'm still planning on going on Medical Leave starting February 17. My next surgery will either be next week or the week after that. And I'm still struggling with pain and lack of sleep. 

My ultrasound appointment to check my kidneys and the stint is Monday. Depending on how the stint is doing depends on which week she wants to operate. I'm hoping this time I don't have to be admitted. Although we're coming prepared this time just in case. 

I loved the look on her face in this one so I had to use this photo too!

I had my Glucose check up today with my OB. The baby's heart rate is good, I'm measuring 26 inches and I've only gained 3 pounds since my visit two weeks ago. So far I've gained 12 pounds! I'm proud of myself. I gained a LOT more weight than that by this point. I'm sure the nausea and morning sickness has played a bigger part this time, though. I'm hoping that once I'm home all day resting I don't  start putting on the pounds. 

Texas Rangers Autographs

Saturday some of the Texas Rangers were out at the Rough Riders stadium signing autographs. Brandon and Ryleigh met PawPaw up there and got some of their signatures.

Ian Kinsler, David Murphy, Craig Gentry, and Matt Harrison were there to sign autographs.

They weren't able to get Ian's because his vouchers were all gone by time they got up there but they did get Murphy's, Gentry's and Harrison's.

Matt Harrison

David Murphy

Craig Gentry

Ryleigh even gave David Murphy a high five!

We're ready for baseball season to start!

Surprise Mrs. G

My ASL 3 students surprised me yesterday with a party!

Their partner dialogues were due yesterday and the topic was to plan a surprise party. The last group that went signed about planning a party for me. I thought it was cute and went a long with it. When they were done someone turned out the lights and a group of kids walked in the door with balloons, a gift, food and yelled "Surprise!"

It was really sweet of them. They know that I'm craving chocolate right now so one girl make chocolate cupcakes, one brought a cookie cake and another brought Hershey's Kisses. 

 They gave me this blanket and out for Reese. When I showed it to Ryleigh she said "That's the most gorgeous outfit I've ever seen."

You can't really see the card but if you look close you'll see it's the inside of a fridge filled with bottles and a champagne bottle. I found it funny since I love champagne. Luckily they didn't know that was the real reason I was laughing. 

It's sad to think I only have a few more weeks with these students before my school year is over. I'll always remember how sweet they were to do this for me. 

Pictures at 24 Weeks and 5 days

Got to see Reese today! She looks great!

 She's measuring at 24 weeks and 3 days and weighs almost 2 lbs.

Can't wait to meet her! 

Welcome Baby Reagan

Reagan Kelly 

 January 20, 2012

2:40 PM

7 lbs 7 oz 

20 1/4 inches long

Last Friday my cousin, Kristin gave birth to her first daughter. On Sunday Ryleigh and my mom went to meet her. Unfortunately I was unable to go. It's hard for me to ride in the car. 

The kids had fun playing with Jackson's band. I wonder if Reagan liked all the noise. 

Great-Grammy with her two grand-daughters. I love the look on Ryleigh's face in this photo.

She had a lot of fun meeting Reagan and getting to hold her. 

When Ryleigh saw photos of Reagan just after she was born she asked me: "Is Reese coming out tomorrow?" I told her that Reese needed to stay in my belly for a few more weeks. I'm hoping at least till I'm 38 weeks.

Getting Ready for Baby Reese

Down the hallway going to the girl's rooms on one side we've created a collage of photos of Ryleigh. Last Sunday we started Reese's side of the wall with this photo and frame.

I also finished her name and Brandon hung it up over her bed. 

We're using the same bedding from Ryleigh's nursery. It's gender neutral and doesn't have any pink in it. This time I'm adding touches of pink to make it look more girly. 

Ryleigh hasn't been using her animal blankie in a while so she gave it to Reese. When she saw her blanket in this photo she said: "What is my blankie doing in Reese's room?" I guess she's not ready to pass it on just yet. 

This week Reese's "Little Sister" shirt came in the mail. It's just like Ryleigh's "Big Sister" shirt. I can't wait to get my first picture of them together wearing these. 

When I showed it to Ryleigh she asked: "Can I dress baby Reese everyday?" She's going to be such a great big sister! She can hardly wait to meet her!

We were able to purchase the double stroller we registered for at Buy Buy Baby this weekend thanks to my Grammy, Aunt Cecile, Aunt Kathleen, and cousins Kristin and Amanda. This view of the stroller is how it will look when we no longer use the car seat. You can take the front off and there's an attachment that connects that allows any type of infant carrier to fit. 

24 Weeks

At 24 weeks I'm craving chocolate! Anything chocolate: Hershey's kisses or chocolate bar, ice cream (Magnum ice cream bars are my favorite), and donuts. Chocolate milk sounds good right now as I'm writing this. 

 Reese is moving around everyday. I can even see my belly move sometimes. Ryleigh loves to talk to her and give my belly hugs and kisses. 

 My favorite thing to do right now is taking warm baths. After work I take one to sooth the pains from the day and from the stint. I would sleep in the tub at night if I could. 

 I've officially signed up for FMLA at work and will start bed rest on February 20. I've decided to try and at least finish up this 6 weeks before leaving. This will give me time to make lesson plans for the remainder of the year. I just hope I can make it one more month!

I'm lucky we were able to find a long term who knows ASL and will be able to teach the class just like I was there. This means I don't have to make a lot of videos and won't have to grade papers while on maternity leave. I will have to for the first three weeks I'm on medical leave because my sub won't be available yet but after Spring Break I won't have to worry about it. 

 I'm having to go on bed rest because of the pain from the stint. I have stones in both my kidneys and my left one is giving me problems. That's why my urologist decided to put the stint in. Every 6 weeks I'll have surgery to have it replaced. Last time I had to be admitted to Labor and Delivery because I couldn't keep the meds down. The pain gets worse when I move and/or when Reese moves. It doesn't help that I'm carrying her so low and she likes to kick and play with my bladder. Which not only hurts but feels weird. It's hard for me to stand up and to walk long distances. I've been using a wheelchair at work to get around.

 I tried to make it till May, then Spring Break but Thursday night I was in so much pain. I woke up at 1:00 and couldn't go back to sleep. That's when I knew I needed to go on medical leave.

It's hard sitting around and having Brandon do all the work around the house and not being about to play with Ryleigh. I'm looking forward to May for two reasons: 1.) to meet my baby girl 2.) to get these stones out and remove part of my left kidney!

Silly Ryleigh

 Ryleigh spent Sunday night at Gramz and Papa's so Mommy could get some rest on Monday. That night while reading a book with Papa she said: "I need Papa's magnifying glass to read him a book. I forgot my glasses." So my mom found these old 3D glasses for her to wear. Where does she come up with this stuff? She makes me laugh everyday!

Kidney Update

So this stint in my left kidney is causing me more pain than my doctor told me about. I didn't realize the stint goes from my kidney to my bladder. I thought it was just a small piece of plastic in my kidney. Nope! This lovely thing is causing my side and bladder pain plus I fell like I have a UTI 24/7!!

I'm being careful of how many times I use the pain pill because of  the baby so I've started taking them only when I feel like I'm going to die! Saturday night was the worst night and I was experiencing the worse pain in my life.

Monday I called and told the nurse I wanted to get this thing out of me. Before the doctor will do anything she wanted me to get an ultrasound of my kidneys, bladder and the stint to see how everything is working. Well, before I left the sono-tech told me that now I have stones in both kidneys and my right kidney isn't releasing a normal amount of urine to my bladder. Yeah... that's why I've got the stint in my left kidney!

I have to wait 2-3 days to hear back from my doctor but I'm not expecting good news. I'm afraid she's going to want a stint in my right kidney now since it seems to be blocked too by the stone.

Every week is one more week my baby has had a chance to grow and be born healthy. I'm counting them down now and looking forward, even more now, for May to get here!

This pain is interfering with my life, at home and work. I have to sit down with heating pads to maintain the pain which doesn't make for a very fun Mommy or a very helpful wife. I can't walk without being in pain so the nurse at my school is letting me borrow a wheelchair so I can get to the workroom, library and the office. Luckily the restroom is right around the corner from my room.

If the pain and discomfort doesn't go away or becomes worse I may have to take off more time from work than I'd planed for maternity leave. If I can make it to April I have enough days in the sick leave bank I can get a pay check. I know two months is a long time but I'm going to try and stay positive about it and look forward to the end results ; a beautiful baby girl and removal of the stones.

22 Weeks - Back to school, Super Dad, Pain and an Ear Infection

At 21 weeks we headed back to school. I was still in pain and walking around slowly. Brandon got me a bar stool chair for me to sit on at school so I don't have to stand a lot. The less I move the less pain I'm in. I have to take each day one at a time. One day might be a good day and the next not so much. I'm making it through with my heating pads (yes I use two at a time) and pain meds. I only missed one day last week because of the pain.

Brandon has been doing most of the work around the house while I'm sitting down trying to ease the pain. It's hard for me to sit down and not help out. I really appreciate everything he's been doing. My family has helped out a lot too. My mom has picked up Ryleigh from time to time and my dad has dropped off random grocery items for me. 

It's hard for me to get down and bathe Ryleigh now so Brandon does that every night now. Dinners are easy throw in the oven meals or Brandon will make dinner when he gets home. When I get home in the afternoons I take a nice hot shower and sit down with my heating pads. By the end of the day I'm worn out.

This past weekend Ryleigh had fever with a bad cough and wasn't feeling good. I took her to the doctor yesterday to find out she was starting to get an ear infection. Poor thing hasn't felt good for the past few days but she seems to be feeling better this morning. Since I'm out of sick days Grandma came over and took care of Ryleigh. She's been hooked on "Full House" lately. Season 2 came in the mail yesterday and that's all we've been watching.

I also went back to the doctor yesterday for my post op appointment with the urologist. Luckily she thinks that some of the pain I've been having is due to an unwanted UTI. She gave me some antibiotics and today I'm not in as much pain. In a few weeks I'll be getting another ultrasound to make sure the stint is working properly then when it's close to the next time for surgery we'll do another ultrasound to see if I need to replace the stint at that time or if we can wait a little bit. 

One thing that as really become an inconvenience it the amount of times I have to pee! I will go to the bathroom and by time I've washed my hands and sat back down I have to pee again! Luckily the bathroom is right next to my classroom but it's a pain in the neck at bed time. Just about the time I get my heating pads and pillow situated I have to pee again. I'm looking forward to a normal pee schedule  again.

My mom brought over flowers for Ryleigh and I this weekend and Great Grammy sent a get well card.