Delia Mae

A birth story.

In early February 2013 I found out I was pregnant with an old pregnancy test strip that I found in my cabinet. About 18 months expired. It was the last of a box I had ordered a long time ago when getting pregnant was a strong desire for Joel and I. I shook with a little fear when I first read the positive results. We hadn't planned on a third baby, especially one so soon, and especially while using preventative measures. :)

It took me about 30 seconds though before a smile spread across my face. You see my first pregnancy with Jeremiah was hard. And my second with Eliza was even more difficult. It is hard to know that you are about to walk through a difficult time before it even starts.

Pregnancy is hard for me. It just is. I throw up a lot. I have just about every symptom you can google and I'm moody. Joel likes to tell people he knows when I am pregnant because I'm mean. I blame the baby :). On top of this no one in our family or friends group expected us to get pregnant again. We had been pretty adamant that we were done. I even had a yearly scheduled with my midwife to discuss different birth control. I had to call and change that appointment to a pregnancy confirmation.

But I couldn't help but to be excited. Even when I felt like no one else was and everyone was questioning how did this happen. (We all know the answer to that one :)) I told this baby every day how excited I was and how much I wanted her. I wanted her to be a part of our family. I knew this would be hard for me and for everyone around me but OH how I wanted this baby. In my journal around March 19th I wrote about how we grow in the hard times. I can be thankful in the hard times. I am thankful for growth.

Around 12 weeks pregnant my blood pressure started to spike so I began taking a blood pressure medicine. I also was taking zofran and reglan to help with the sickness.

April 24th, on my 27th birthday, we went to find out the gender. I probably would have bet $1000 it was a boy. I just knew it. Jeremiah had been telling us for weeks it was a boy and had even said his name should be Isaac. I mean come on modern day prophecy. I was sold. Then our sweet little girl showed her girlness and I cried. I love all my friends who choose to wait till D-day to find out the gender but oh that moment of connection when I knew that was a little girl growing.

We soon decided on the name Delia Mae and now I could tell her how excited I was about her.

In July I started to feel a little off. I went for a long, awesome walk with a friend and the next day my blood pressure was high. At this point we started to up my blood pressure medicine as needed to keep it under control. I went on a modified bed rest and then a more strict bed rest at the beginning of August. My midwives are incredible. They fought hard to let me stay home and out of the hospital. What a difference this made. To be home with my little ones was such a blessing.

I am so thankful for the time I spent on bed rest. For one, I believe it kept Delia safe and growing. And two, I developed some incredible relationships I never would have if I had a normal pregnancy. Friends came and helped me with my children, helped me get to the doctor, helped me with dinner. It is incredible to feel part of a village. And we have a great village.

As I increased my blood pressure medicine to the max and continued to feel bad, I saw my midwives twice a week. Delia continued to grow and develop normally. On the 10th of September I woke up feeling awful. My blood pressure was high and I had a terrible headache. So we went to see the high risk doctor at 9 then Melissa afterwards. Since my blood pressure was still high we went over to the hospital for a possible induction. My blood pressure came down after I was admitted and because I was only 36 weeks 5 days, I stayed for 2 nights before the induction began at 37 weeks.

I was moved from the antepartum unit to labor and delivery around midnight. Around 5 am the nurse came in to start the pitocin and by 6:30 I was having painful contractions about 3 minutes apart. I had been dilated close to 4cm before anything started so we thought my body had kicked into labor and the pitocin could be turned down. Unfortunately this was not the case and the contractions almost stopped. So at 8:30 my midwife broke my water and at 10:15 I got my lovely epidural. I asked for a low dose of the epidural so that I could potentially feel everything but not be in pain. However, Delia was "sunny-side" or face up so we spent a lot of time trying different positions to help her roll over.  At 1 pm I was 6 cm and by 2 pm I was 8 cm and feeling a lot of pressure and pain. I realized that I was feeling every contraction from my belly button down and for some reason the epidural wasn't really working everywhere, specifically where it needed to work. :) At 2:40 I was 9/10 cm and Melissa happened to walk through the door. She was a welcomed site indeed. I started pushing and Delia was born at 2:51 after about 5 pushes. She was still face up and I was able to experience the pain of childbirth. Ha!

She weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz and was 20 inches long. I'm not gonna lie, we were a little disappointed since both Jeremiah and Eliza weighed 7 lbs 3 oz at birth. But that quickly passed. Delia was the sweetest baby. She loved to eat and sleep!

At Delia's two week appointment, we found out that Delia's newborn screening showed a possible positive for Cystic Fibrosis. At this point her blood work had been sent off for some genetic testing. The following day we found out that her genetic test came back with one mutated gene indicative of Cystic Fibrosis. Typically, one is diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis if two mutated genes are present.
So, we scheduled a sweat test for a few weeks later at UK to determine if she actually had Cystic Fibrosis or if she was only a carrier.

It was a strange waiting period. We were told a few things to look for but Delia really didn't show any symptoms besides a short bout with RSV. I tried to read some information but not overload myself with worry until we knew for sure what her diagnosis was for sure.

Her sweat test turned out to be negative. Delia is a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis. We are so thankful but also more mindful of the families that are dealing with this disease in their lives.

I cannot believe how blessed I am by this sweet little girl. She has been the sweetest, sweetest baby. And I am so thankful for this surprise baby who I desperately wanted.

I love you, Delia Mae. Happy 1st Birthday.

Pause

Do you ever pause to look around at your life and just breathe? That's where I am today. My house is an absolute mess...a train track that went around our first floor has come apart leaving pieces scattered, other toys are strewn all over the place, the kitchen counters have mail piled high and milk that has yet to be cleaned, dirty laundry sits in the washer while clean laundry waits to be put away, and supplies waiting to be made into birthday decorations cover the table.

And yet, I sit on my bed holding my sweet baby while she sleeps. Every once in a while I catch myself wishing time to go faster as I wait for Joel to get home or the weekend or a holiday or whatever-and I stop to pause. To freeze this moment in time and to stop wishing the time away.

I want to remember this smell of my sweet girl's hair fresh out of the tub, I want to remember the way her little hand grasps my shirt or hair or anything to hold on to while she sleeps, I want to remember the mess-the toys and the crayons and everything else that shows the fun we've had. I want to remember watching Jeremiah as he lines up his cars and carefully stashes his treasures (mostly my old jewelry) in secret places. I want to remember Eliza's sweet voice as she sings every song she has ever heard. I want to remember the way both of them dote on Delia, running to her when she cries and telling her it's okay.

I am so happy where I am right now. There are so many hard moments. There is so much disobedience and fighting. But there is so much more love and joy. And that is where I am choosing to focus in this short pause.

Joy.

"Comparison is the thief of joy." -Theodore Roosevelt

This quote has been running through my mind on replay the last few weeks. It just seems so applicable to life in general, and specifically to life as a mother.

There are so many things that want to steal our joy. So many of them involve comparing ourselves to others. We seem to either think we are better than someone else or we are jealous of them.  We are always measuring ourselves against others. Sleep training. Nursing. Discipline. It is a constant battle of our minds to not only be content but to find joy. True joy.

I try to steer WAY clear of this game for a number of reasons. But the main one is that I will never find joy as a mother or in my children if I am constantly comparing myself or them to others.

If I didn't know other babies were usually sleeping through the night by now, I probably wouldn't care that Eliza still wakes up. Only to come into our bed. And she drinks an entire cup of milk. And secretly I kinda love those nighttime cuddles. Because she only stops crying once I am holding her.

If I didn't know what made up a "normal" pregnancy, it would never bother me that bed rest and a lot of medication are a part of mine.

If I choose to find pride in my children, no matter when they walk, talk, count to 20 in 3 languages, or can read the NY Times to me, I will be much happier. And so will my children.

The truth is we have to stop this game. It is not good for us and it is not good for our kids. Know you are the best mother your kids can have, even if you are not able to nurse until kindergarten. Just kidding. Please don't really do that. :) But seriously, we have to have confidence that we were made to do this. We have to listen to ourselves and stop comparing ourselves to everyone else.

We need freedom to not be afraid of judgement for what we do. Whether that is co-sleeping or CIO, nursing or formula, spanking or time-out, there are so many differences that can divide us. But they don't have to. And I refuse to not find joy in what I do as a mother because someone else does it differently.

I hope you can find joy too.

Peace.

Today I am peaceful. Maybe it's because both of my kids are napping and Eliza is asleep on my bed so I can't really leave the room for fear that she will fall off. I made a promise to try to avoid letting that happen...again... But really I think I am learning a new deep contentment for living day to day.

My house is a mess. Our bedroom is scattered with various, somewhat organized piles of clothes. Mine because I'm not good at putting them away. Some of Joel's because he likes to wear things again until he really feels they are dirty. Some that are too small for Jeremiah. Some that I have organized for Eliza for this summer. And a huge stack of ones to sell. Not too mention the dirty pile of laundry that only ever disappears for about an hour before it starts again.

But it's okay. Lately I have opted for going to bed early and reading more books and coloring more pages and sticking new stickers all over the house. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay right now with my house needing more attention than it is getting because that means my kids are getting the attention.

I have dreams of one day waking up earlier than my kids to keep a cleaner house. But that's not today. Instead I will harp on the spurts of energy I sometimes, although rarely, get during nap time to clean up a bit. Maybe reorganize to make life more efficient.

But today, instead, I will type this while I listen to my sweet baby sleeping next to me. The one who still isn't sleeping through the night and especially lately needs some extra mom loving. And I will soak it up. I will let her sleep on my shoulder if that's the only way she is comforted. And although I will feel much more rested, I will probably cry the day that she decides her bed is for her.

Peace.

Happy New Year.

Last night I could not sleep. My mind would not quit racing as I reflected on the past year and dreamed about this new one. As many times as I tried to quiet it and count backwards from 100, my mind raced on.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. So many Christmas gatherings, so much family, so many late nights and afternoons without naps. But so good.

After Jeremiah's appointment in Cincinnati, I was frustrated. In fact, I still am. I don't really feel like we are moving forward, and if we are then it is a very very slow climb. Not really what we were hoping for when we already feel like we've been waiting for so long. But alas, that is where we are. We are now without a definite diagnosis, and a little bit without a plan.

Having kids is hard.

I have grieved a lot in the last few weeks, for friends who have miscarried to the tragedy in Connecticut to a family in our church who lost their daughter.  I have never really felt the burden of someone's grief like I have recently.  The reality of the little time we have on earth has been so real.

I have spent many nights awake thinking about my life. What is my day to day? What are my kids remembering? What is my husband feeling? Do they know they are loved? Am I wasting any of my precious time with them? Am I happy with where I am?

Again, having kids is hard. Life can be hard. I want to start 2013 differently. I want to figure out how to squeeze the life out of this life.

I want to keep my TV off and my phone on the counter. I want to play more. I want to hug more. I want to say "I love you" more. I want to give more. I want to find contentment exactly where I am.  

CCED

Tomorrow we take Jeremiah for his first appointment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He has been diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic Gastritis. Pronounce those.

This is a long awaited appointment at the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders. We got a referral from our GI Doctor in Dallas way back in May. It is only an hour long appointment with a PA but we are beyond excited to get our feet in the door here. It is the only center in the nation of its kind.

When I think about Jeremiah, I don't think about a kid whose sick or whose belly constantly hurts. He's just our Jeremiah.

He's the hilarious child who rode a camel with his dad last night, and when he got off yelled, "That was awesome. That was crazy awesome." He's also the kid who constantly tries to convince me that watching Blue's Clues or Backyardigans or whatever his current favorite show is will make him feel better. This convincing especially happens when he is crying because he was put in time-out.

Truth is, he doesn't eat. He is still on a bottle most of the time drinking a special supplement for nutrition. BUT that has never defined him in our minds. Yes, it's different. And boy are we seeing that with Eliza who loves to eat. But it's okay.

There are websites that say Jeremiah's quality of life will be diminished because of his disease, but we don't think so. We know that the older he gets, the harder it will be to not eat when everyone else is, but it doesn't mean life is less enjoyable. Our lives will probably never be wrapped around food, instead our time will be most meaningful when we are chucking the football at each other or pushing Eliza full speed in a wagon or reading books or whatever.

We choose happy.

The story of Eliza's birth

I found out I was pregnant on April 5^th.

We were surprised, once again, since the only time we had been trying to avoid pregnancy was the previous month so that we would not have a holiday baby.  But we were beyond excited that Jeremiah was going to have a little sibling.  I knew that because I developed preeclampsia so early with Jeremiah that I was at a higher risk of developing it again, but I was hopeful that this pregnancy would be different.

I also knew that if everything went the same, it was worth it. I knew I was willing to sacrifice a lot to bring a healthy baby into this world.

In June, we found out we were having a girl. I was in shock. It had never crossed my mind that we might have a girl. When the tech pulled the area between the legs up on the screen, she asked what we thought. I could not believe there were no boy parts, I just kept asking again and again to be sure. I could not believe I would have my Eliza. A girl named after my grandmother who was so dear to me.

I was going to the doctor every other week at this point to make sure my blood pressure and protein were under control.  So when we were planning on going to Kentucky for 3 weeks in August, I had to make sure the doctor approved. When we came back from our trip, and I went to my appointment a few days later, on August 26^th, my blood pressure was high. Because I was also experiencing some headaches, I had to head to the hospital. I was in shock. The doctor had said that he thought the earliest I would develop preeclampsia would be around 28 weeks. I was only 25 weeks.

I started a 24 hour urine in the hospital but was able to go home on bed rest because my pressures came down. On Monday at my follow up appointment, I learned that the protein in my urine was elevated, and I did indeed have preeclampsia.  Thus began bed rest.

Immediately I had no idea how this was going to work with an 18 month old. I felt so torn over how I could pick one child over the other. And I grieved for the time I knew I would lose with Jeremiah.  When my mother-in-law suggested she come down, I was beyond thrilled. God provided. I love Joel and to think that the woman who helped shaped him would now help shape my son was amazing. The time when Debbie was here was so precious. We had so many incredible conversations and I feel like we grew so close.  I would not trade that time for anything.

I had a few more short periods in the hospital during September and the beginning of October…2 afternoons and one overnight trip. But on October 19^th, when I still had a 3 day migraine and seemed to be losing a little vision, I knew that I might have to stay a little longer. I was admitted to the hospital that night and was there for the next 5 weeks. 

The first week was absolutely terrible. I had a headache that didn’t allow me to do anything but lay in the dark. I saw a neurologist who wanted to try a variety of medicines, most of which made me feel worse. One day, he wanted to try Reglan, every 15 minutes for 5 hours. It was honestly one of the worst days of my life. I felt so antsy, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I learned later from my dad that because of the effects Reglan has, it was used as a drug of torture for some time. Luckily the headache finally broke.

At 33 weeks, I had steroids for Eliza’s lungs because once again the doctor thought he would have to deliver. I continued to have elevated protein in my urine most of the time and to have liver enzymes that went up and down.  I also seemed to have times where I could not control my blood pressure, thus my doctor didn’t think it was a good idea to let me go home.  So I stayed.  At 34 weeks or so, I started having contractions and dilated to a 3, once again thinking it was time. But a little IV fluid stopped the labor.

I saw Jeremiah twice a day, thanks to my mom who brought him up every morning. To know how sacrificial her love was during this time is humbling. The last 3 weeks I was there, I was able to take wheel chair rides so we would go look at the helicopter or go outside to this little garden. At night, Joel and I would go on dates to the cafeteria. I got to know a few of the nurses pretty well and developed a routine that kept me sane. There were days when I knew I could only make it to the next hour or minute so I took it moment by moment. I ate 95% of my meals alone, something that was really hard. 

I spent a lot of time reading and reflecting.  God brought me to Psalm 13 and reminded me that in the hardest times, we can still trust his goodness and his salvation. I used an ultrasound picture of Eliza as a bookmark to remind myself the prize at the end of all this. Around 35 weeks, we set a date for induction, knowing that the baby would most likely be healthy and that I couldn’t continue like this.

But the next day, the doctor pushed the date back a few days. It was honestly heartbreaking. To most people 4 days seems so short, but at that point, it felt like a lifetime. At least we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. So we made a 10 day countdown on my board and all of the nurses were so supportive. 

I began to get nervous again. With Jeremiah, my induction was terrible. My blood pressure would not stabilize, and although Jeremiah was delivered by a midwife, the doctor in the room kept screaming that I was going to seize. It was incredibly stressful and I had to be on mag sulfate afterward and stayed in the hospital for another week. I was so nervous it would happen again. The night before the induction I took my sleeping pill but didn’t really sleep. 

At 6 am the next day, November 21^st, I was wheeled to a different room and started the pitocin. At 11 am, I was dilated to 4 and the doctor broke my water. I also decided to get the epidural at this time even though I wasn’t in pain yet. I knew I wanted to be as mellow as possible.  I’m glad that I did because Joel and I were able to relax that whole day and just watch TV and enjoy each other. By 5:30 pm, I was only at a 6. I was pretty bummed but knew it would happen at some point. At 6:40 before shift change, my nurse checked me one more time and I was a 10, ready to start pushing!

I was beyond excited because I really loved my nurse and wanted her to be a part of the delivery. The doctor arrived around 7 and I began to push. At 7:21 Eliza entered the world, staring at her surroundings. She was healthy as could be and my blood pressure came down quickly.  I was able to hold her for what felt like forever before they even bathed her.

It was amazing. I could not believe that she was here.  I could not believe that she was healthy or that I was healthy. I realized that everything, the bed rest, the hospital stay, everything was worth it for those moments of bliss as I held my daughter against my chest for the first time. 

And the journey continues.

May 27th we drove to Dallas to Children's Medical for an appointment for Jeremiah with a GI doctor, Dr. Ramirez. Whom we absolutely love by the way.  Our appointment lasted about an hour and we came home with a game plan that included prevacid, a nutritional supplement, speech therapy, and an Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with a biopsy. On June 23rd, we went to Dallas again for his EGD and biopsy. Every thing about the appointment went amazing. We got to Children's at 6:30am for our pre-op. He was in a pre-op room by 7am and we were able to meet and talk with everyone who was going to be involved. It made me feel so much better about the whole thing! At 8:45 they gave him some 'happy drug' and wheeled him away from us to be put under and have the EGD done. At 9:15 we met with the doctor and at 9:45 we were able to comfort our screaming child who was very confused about where he was and how he felt. Besides a sore throat and a little throwing up blood, Jer did great. That afternoon he was back to his silly self.

The doctor told us that everything looked normal during the procedure, but they did 12 biopsies: 4 from the esophagus, 4 from the stomach and 4 from the small intestine. The doctor herself called me this morning (June 29) to talk about the results. Basically, the biopsies showed that he had allergies. Lots of them. We have been withholding milk and soy for a little over a month now (see last post). But not worrying about anything else. So, we are going back to the allergist to get tested for more things but for now we are withholding milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and maybe wheat. She didn't see anything that indicated Celiac's disease. She was going to call the allergist we've seen here in Tyler.  She also increased the supplement he is on, called Peptamen Jr.

Today I feel a little defeated.  I know that we will be fine and I will be able to provide my child with the nutrients and food he needs, but it won't be easy all the time.  And it certainly won't be cheap. I think that Kelle Hampton (kellehampton.com) sums up my feelings best, "I love them so deeply, so fiercely, so wholly that the thought of them not being okay is more painful than that of my own well-being."

It's been a hard week but I am confident that God is good. And we will know joy and peace.

Entire family together for Chris' graduation

Jeremiah meeting his cousin Micah.

Learning to play cornhole with Uncle John.

Enjoy a fire with Papaw.

The Lovetts came to visit and Jeremiah loved Reese.

We made some playdough one day and Jer loved it!

Have a good weekend!

Thus begins a new journey...

I'm not really sure where to begin this story.  I was your typical mom who was super excited to begin solid foods with Jeremiah. I had dreamed of a baby cooker to make all my own baby food, organic and healthy! But reality set in. When Jeremiah was 6 months old, we were not even in our own place. We were blessed to stay with a wonderful couple and were moving back and forth between Kentucky and Tyler. So, the baby cooker moved to the back of my mind.  I bought Jeremiah all sorts of organic baby foods at a great sale and began to map out which ones we would try first. Oh how fun this would be, I thought.  Well, Jeremiah wasn't so convinced. For the next 6 months, we tried, again and again, unsuccessfully to get him to eat something, anything.  Around 8 months I finished nursing and we switched to formula, which seemed to make him dislike food even more. Around 12 months, we tried to switch to whole milk. At this point Jeremiah began throwing up every day.  EVERY single day.  It was terrible. And not just a little bit, it always seemed to be everything he'd eaten all day. So our doctor suggested Soy Milk. No change. So after some research we decided to switch to Enriched Rice Milk. At this point, Jeremiah became a little more interested in food, but only a few staples...such as peanut butter crackers and cheerios.  Did I say staples? Our eating battle continued and Jeremiah began to lose weight. Finally, our doctor gave us a referral to an allergist. We went last Thursday and the doctor confirmed, it was a milk and soy allergy. So great...no edename and no milk? That would be too easy. He can have no casein, milk, cheese, whey, butter, etc, and no soy, soy oil, etc. We got these two handy little cards to use at the grocery to check ingredients...and I'll tell you, milk and soy are in A LOT!  We go to a GI specialist on Friday to make sure there is nothing else going on in his little belly.  And thus begins a new journey, a journey of learning a lot about foods and keeping our son as healthy as he can be. 

Now for some pictures ;)

He's so great. We are so blessed.

I'm not good at consistency.

But I love to blog. But lately life has gotten too much in the way and I've opted for a bubble bath instead of computer time when I have a moment by myself. I'm married to the best man in the world. He gives me the time I need every day to recharge and to relax. And he does dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, whatever I am overwhelmed with that day. I love him.
 
We enjoyed spending Easter at church and then with the Ghrist family. What a great family. As Jeremiah gets older, we see more and more of his personality coming out. He has such a tender heart and really enjoys sharing and playing with friends.  I'm also watching a friend's baby right now and he is so sweet to the baby, always covering him with his blanket and making him laugh. Of course, he doesn't quite understand that he can't share his basketball yet, but he still tries by setting it on Ashton's lap.  On Easter, we put some eggs out in the yard for him to find and put in a basket. It was amusing. Jeremiah does not like to be dirty or be in grass. So, he would go get two eggs, one for each hand, and walk back to the pavement. He was not about putting them in the basket or gathering all of them. 

Easter Sunday

Little man on Easter

Jeremiah hunting for eggs.

We also dyed eggs with him this year. We gave him full control and he loved it, breaking every single egg as he emphatically dipped them into the dye.  Here is a link to our video if you haven't seen it:

Easter eggs

And a picture.

Love our colorful the pavement is.

We also went to the zoo and played outside a lot. It has been so warm here. Jeremiah loves to blow bubbles and draw with chalk. But not get in the grass, of course.

Bubbles!

 

Such a great dad!

Notice Jer's hand trying to avoid touching the sand.

And thank you to everyone who has been praying for our boy. His blood work came back normal this week, and we are so grateful.  We still go to see the allergist and the GI specialist later this month, but we are feeling like we are moving in the right directions and are hopeful we will soon have answers for his medical issues. God is good, all the time.

This weekend Joel's parents came to visit.  We decided it was necessary to visit the infamous Azalea trail around Tyler.  We parked and walked over a mile as we looked at the lovely flowers and enjoyed our time together.  Jeremiah has become an adorable little walker who has no problem walking quickly away from us without even a look behind him. It is quite amusing.

Jeremiah picked up a little stick that looked peculiarly like a cigar and put it is his mouth as if he knew exactly what he was doing. :)

Sunday after church, we ventured to the lake to sit around in the grass and enjoy the beautiful weather. Jeremiah enjoyed picking some flowers, exploring the grass, and being thrown high into the air by his daddy.

It was wonderful.

Friendship.

 Most of us can remember our first friend. Maybe the one we played with in Sunday School or our next door neighbor. I had six bridesmaids in my wedding and every one of them was a childhood friend. I love that, I love that Jeremiah could be making his best friends right now.  Rowan is one of those friends. I met Rowan's mom, Shelly, in MOPS, and we have been friends ever since. Our boys love to play together. Actually, it's more like Jeremiah follows Rowan everywhere he goes. It's pretty amusing.  I am just feeling blessed today, blessed to have friends like Shelly and Rowan in our lives.

Enjoy the pictures!

Have a great weekend!

Home Sweet Home.

Joel, Jeremiah and I loaded up in the car when Joel got off work last Wednesday and headed to Kentucky. We arrived, as usual, right around 5 a.m.  As tired as we remained throughout the week, we had such an amazing time. The point of the trip was to be there as my best friend, since 6th grade, and her husband welcomed their baby girl, Reese, to the world. The OB had told her she wouldn't make it through the weekend and we were really hoping for a St. Patrick's Day baby! But alas, Reese had other plans.  We walked about 30 miles, ate a lot of spicy food, tried the pineapple approach, and a few other things, but still no baby.  Our plans to leave Monday quickly went out the door when we found out Sam would be induced at 6 a.m. Monday morning.  Even though Reese didn't come until 1 p.m. Monday, we had the sweetest weekend, just sitting around with friends, enjoying both of our families, and going to church only to sit in the lobby and catch up with dear friends. 

Mimi Bunge

Papa Bunge

Grandma Mostad

Grandpa Mostad

Aaron and Sam the night before Reese was born.

Jeremiah enjoyed his first Thin Mint!

Jeremiah loved Mimi's swing!

And then on Monday, March 21st, sweet baby Reese joined this world at 6lbs 13 oz and 20 in long. She is beautiful. Sam was amazing throughout labor and birth and Reese came at 12:57 p.m. It was so special to be at the hospital waiting for the news!

Jeremiah was very excited to meet his future wife, he even did his new "gasp" sound. It was really funny!

And that is all for now.