The story of Sophie's birth...FINALLY!

My dad painted these letters for Sophie's room! Aren't they beautiful?

And this is Sophie in her big girl bed with her lambda blankie wearing yet another beautiful outfit from our friends too far away.

To get to the birth story: on Sunday, December 2, I woke up around 7:30 in the morning with Loraly laying beside me in bed and Mark on the other side of her. My water had broke but I was hesitant to really think that is what it was. Basically because it didn't happen like a water faucet!! I just laid there trying to go back to sleep but kept having this happening so I kind of knew something was happening. I was just so negative about actually going into labor on my own because I have always been induced and ASSUMED I would have to be this time around also.

I finally told Mark around 9 what I thought had happened and his comment was "Please tell me you are kidding because I feel horrible!" Are you kidding me?! (on Monday after she was born, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with strep throat!)

So I went to take a shower just in case it really was happening. When I went to get into the shower I knew for sure that she was going to be born on that day. So I got out of the shower, tried numerous times to call my mom to have her pick up the kids. They were already at church so I couldn't get a hold of her. I text messaged her hoping that she still had her phone with her...still nothing. I text my dad...nothing. So we packed up and all 4 of us headed to the hospital finally around 10:30.

Got checked in, moved to a labor/ delivery room, and was prepped for the activity that would be happening!

My parents finally got their and took the girls to lunch, and to their house to change clothes, and get some activities for the girls to be able to keep themselves entertained while at the hospital.

Jump ahead a few hours: the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural. I wasn't hurting yet but he was up their to give someone else their's so they said he might as well give me mine. Started feeling good and tried to rest but couldn't because I was way too excited!

Jump ahead about 2 more hours: I was in dire pain! Mark went to get the nurse to find out if it was time. Of course it wasn't time...the anesthesiologist forgot to hook up my epidural to my I.V. line! It was dripping all over the floor instead of in me!!!!!

So needless to say they got him back up there and had him fix it.

Through all of this every time the nurse would up my pitocin, Sophie's heart rate would drop. So they would have to lower the amount of pitocin that went in me and then my heart rate would start racing! It was a never ending battle.

By that point, they had oxygen on me to help the baby. But still I was not dilating! My nurse that had been with me all day left to go home about 7:30 that night. About 8:10, my doctor was on his way there to give me a C-section because of the baby's heart rate and mine. It also had been way too long since my water had broke and it was getting unsafe for her to be in me much longer.

They decided to try one more thing---They banded me. I had never seen or heard of this. They took a huge piece of elastic and safety pinned it around my stomach. This was to help push the baby down and help me dilate.

After about 15 minutes of this I was once again in excruciating pain! To where I was crying and thought the baby was about to be born whether any nurse or doctor was ready or not!!

Mark went to get the nurse and FINALLY we were ready!! Since the anesthesiologist messed up on the epidural, I got to experience this completely natural! Good thing she wasn't my first because she would have been the last also!

About 5 minutes later Sophie was born at 8:47 pm!

I had always heard that with your third child, it would be super fast! YEAH RIGHT!

Thoughts from the girls...

Loraly spent last night with my sister. She came home earlier. I ran up to her to love on her and all she cared about was loving on Sophie! Man that girl gets some great lovin's around here!
Before bed tonight, Loraly told me that she really missed Sophie last night! How sweet!

Mark and Madalyn were watching Ice Age 2 tonight. At the end of the movie Sid the Sloth does the Heimlich on Scratch the squirrel. Madalyn asked Mark what was going on. He told her that the squirrel died and was in squirrel heaven and that Sid saved him.

She immediately came and asked me if when someone is already in heaven if you can save them and bring them back...

If it were only that easy. I really felt sorry for her at that moment because I know from the look on her face, and the tears in her eyes that she was thinking of Paul...

Our WILD Child!

So we are big swimming people!
(maybe I should find a better word than big)

We love it and can't wait till summer EVERY year.

So Madalyn has a birthday party to go to this weekend for a little boy. I don't know how to shop for little boys!!! to say the least. We hit 3 different stores after school today looking for a present. So to make the swimming story make since, while at Toys R Us we found Sophie her first swim suit!!!

A story about Loraly...

We have this wonderful toy on our refrigerator. The girls have played with it and played with it. We bought it for Madalyn when she was little because it really helps them learn their ABC's and learn to make small words.

Let me start off by saying that Loraly has NO want what so ever to learn to read, spell, or even learn to spell her name. I have tried and tried. With both girls I have made up a song that spells out their name to help them learn to spell it. Madalyn caught on very quickly. Loraly won't even budge! Well, Loraly was playing with this toy a few days ago. I just happened to look as I was cooking and I noticed she had put in three certain letters. The first one was S, and second was E, and the third was X!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!

I called Mark in there to see and of course Madalyn comes following. Of course she sounds out words now! So we quickly changed the letters before that could happen.

The company that made the toy was very smart. When you put the last letter in, it automatically says the word. After Loraly was done, the machine says some random word that does not pertain to any of the letters that she put in there.

Thank Goodness!

Pics from the last couple of weeks...

trying out Sophie's boppy

sweet baby

trying hard to lift head and smile
Loving my zebra clothes
Big sister Madalyn trying to feed Sophie a bottle
Baby acne stinks!

Showing off my "I love Daddy" clothes along with a bow
Looking cute with the Sophie pacifier even though she prefers her MAM pacifier
sleepy baby
Our shower after Mark redid the tile and textured the walls...you don't even want to know what it looked like before!

The new carpet in the living room
Sophie yawning
We love this outfit sent to us from our great friends far away!
We have been dying to wear it and it finally fits!

One step forward and another one back...

Sophie is feeling much better! We are rarely doing the breathing treatments anymore ( about once a day), same with the Robitussin. We just have to make sure that she doesn't take a step backward.

On the other hand, Loraly has a yucky cough, and a fever. Mark called the doctor this morning and asked if he would just call in a prescription antibiotic because of how many times we have been to see him in the last few weeks.

AND HE DID! We love our doctor!

Poor little Sophie's hospital/ doctor timeline:

born December 2, stayed in hospital until December 4

doctor's visit to check weight- December 5

2 week check up- December 17

Madalyn and Sophie sick doctors appointment- December 28

Admitted to hospital- December 29 through December 31

RSV doctors check- January 3

THAT IS A TOTAL OF 10 DAYS either at the hospital or doctors office in her short lifetime! CRAZY!

An unwanted Hospital Stay.

(this picture was taken today, Sophie's face is broken out and a little swollen. I just thought her little foot hanging out of her gown was precious!)

(this picture was taken Christmas day when she really started feeling lousy)

Sophie ended up having to be admitted into the hospital late Saturday night. She started running a fever and wheezing. We called the doctor and told him what was going on and his response was to get to the ER immediately! Not what you want to hear with a 3 week 6 day old baby!

We were in the ER for approximately 4 hours! until they finally got her a room. They diagnosed her with RSV and being dehydrated. She has been vomiting on and off from the drainage which she is still doing here and there. We pray that she doesn't get dehydrated again from this. She received some fluid, got a very unwanted I.V. (because of the dehydration), breathing treatments every 4 hours (which we are now having to continue here at home), received Robitussin every 4 hours (which is also being done at home), and from all this she now has a bad diaper rash and a yucky rash on her face! I would rather her have these rashes any day than RSV again! The doctor at the hospital said that it is most likely that she will get it again sometime in the next 2 years :(

She is feeling much better now. We are going back to the doctor tomorrow to get her checked out and see where we are in this healing process. Wish her luck!