She's here!!! She was born on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 12:19pm. She weighed 8lbs, 5oz and was 19.75 inches long. For the two days before the scheduled C-section I was having some really strong cramps...I told myself I was having contractions, but I wasn't 100% sure. They would be consistent, but then stop. When Keith and I checked into the hospital and they hooked me up to all of the fun machines, I was pretty surprised to see the line going off the charts...I really was having contractions and these were very much consistent. If my C-section wasn't already scheduled, I'm sure I would've had her on that day anyway.
Surgery went just as I remembered it last time, including Dr. Garner's random comments and conversation that entertained and helped calm me. Seriously, if anyone is looking for an OB/GYN in Plano, I highly recommend him! As soon as Keira was born and I got my first glimpse of her I was so shocked to see how much she looked like Dylan when he was born. It was amazing. Once I returned to my recovery room and held her for the first time, I instantly fell in love. I've always been so worried that I would never love anyone as much as I love Dylan...he's my whole world. But I now see what everyone has been telling me...both of my children mean everything to me and I am so in love with both of them equally. Our family is complete!
"I'm ready for surgery!" (sense the sarcasm)
I'm here!
My new family!
Big brother visiting little sister at the hospital...we had to use the iPad to lure him into the room the first day.
With his new pirate boat that Keira got him...
Snuggles with her daddy...
The Lewis family came to visit!
Proud daddy :-)
We have adjusted pretty well to life as a family of 4. And aside from him getting antsy from being home a lot, Dylan has been doing great with Keira home. He notices her and asks about her, but doesn't seem to really care very much. I can't wait for him to get to go back to school on Monday so he can get back into his routine and get to play with his friends again. Keith has been great about taking him out everyday, but I know he's getting pretty bored at home. Keira has been a GREAT baby!!! When Dylan was a newborn he cried a lot and we had no idea why or how to get him to stop. It was a very rough first month. It has been the exact opposite with Keira...she sleeps most of the time and only cries when she's hungry. Things have been so much easier this time...here's hoping it stays that way! We are so blessed to have this new bundle of joy to love and snuggle with.
Here are a few of the newborn pictures I took of Keira the other day. I was nervous because I've never taken pictures of a newborn before, but I love how these came out...I may be biased, but I think she is absolutely beautiful!!!
I can't even begin to describe how incredibly crazy this week has been for me! I knew it was going to be bad going into it with 5 ARDs, 1 staffing, and a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch on my schedule (while trying to squeeze as much therapy in as possible), but I never thought it would end with Dylan in the ER.
On Thursday I had a field trip with one of my other schools to the Pumpkin Patch and then headed back to Kelly afterward, which is my main school and where Dylan goes for daycare, for an ARD meeting. I was about to leave my office for the meeting when I heard a baby crying in the nurse's office and knew immediately that it was Dylan. Dylan's teacher was there with him and she told me Dylan was limping when he walked and wouldn't want to put any weight on his leg. The poor thing was screaming so I knew something wasn't right. Side note: Dylan is such a laid-back baby...he could have a 105 fever and still want to play, so when he actually looks hurt or sick we know something's up. She said no one saw him fall, he just walked over to his cot for nap time and starting crying. They took him to the nurse but he eventually fell asleep so they left it alone and let him sleep. But when he woke up he was still hurting so she took him back to the nurse and that's when I heard him crying. I tired putting him down but he immediately starting screaming and crying again, and when I tried getting him to walk his leg starting shaking and he would limp. Right away I took him to the doctor (yes, missing the meeting) and when Dr. Coco examined him he told me, "I'm going to call Children's ER and let them know you're on the way". Dr. Coco said his lower leg was very tender and it appeared Dylan had a fractured tibia and would need x-rays. At this point I'm still trying to figure out what the heck is going on with my life but my little trooper was amazing. At one point on our way to the hospital I looked back at him in his carseat and he was looking out the window, smiling with his Gloworm. I'm glad he could stay so calm when I was about to loose it. Keith met us at the ER and I'm so grateful he was there because I don't think I could've handled it all by myself. Poor baby was in a strange place, new people kept coming in the room to examine him, he was tired, he was starving, plus his leg hurt. But daddy knows how to make him laugh!
He wasn't very pleasant most of the afternoon/evening and trying to keep him calm/happy was very difficult, especially during the X-rays, but his mood changed immediately once he was able to eat and the nurse brought him crackers and juice, which he couldn't eat fast enough.
We finally got a confirmation from Radiology that he had a fractured tibia and that he would need a splint that night and we would need to have an orthopedic consultation for his cast. The worst part of the night was trying keep him down while they put his splint on. I hated being in the room, hearing him crying and screaming, but I knew I had to...he needed his mommy. And luckily Gloworm was with us too!!! Dylan usually brings Gloworm when we leave in the morning and leaves him in the car or in his backpack while he's in school but that morning he was going to leave him at home, but something told me I should grab Gloworm anyway. I'm SO happy I did...I don't know how he would've made it through the night without his BFF.
Once the splint was on and we were discharged we could finally take the little guy home. And after some yummy pasta he finally went to bed. He actually slept longer than I thought he would....he was only up from 3-5:30am. We go back on Monday so we can get his cast and he'll hopefully be back at school on Tuesday. I know he's ready to go back because he's definitely going "stir-crazy" being home. He's pretty limited in what he can do because he's immobile and we have to constantly change his scenery and toys or he'll get upset and fussy. I'm very concerned about how the next few weeks are going to go because Dylan LOVES to run around, but I'm so amazed at how well he's handling everything. He's still the same happy, loving baby he's always been and he's even figured out how to crawl with the splint. He's even stood up a few times, but we have to discourage that because he shouldn't be putting any weight on his leg. He's figuring out how to live with it and I completely admire him for that...so many lessons to be learned from a 17-month old! Whenever I used to leave the room Dylan would always, and I mean always, follow me wherever I went. I would turn around and ask him "Do you have to follow me everywhere I go?" (in a loving way, of course!) and would occasionally tell myself, "stop saying that because you never know when something might happen and you'll be eating your words later". FYI, they taste terrible! And I don't blame daycare or his teachers at all, I really think it was a freak accident and no one is at fault. In fact, he's been known to run and dive into his cot when its nap time, so that may have been what did it. Its even called a Toddler's Fracture because it happens so often in children between 9 months-3 years and can usually happen with just a normal fall. We knew he'd break something eventually, just didn't think it would be this soon! As for me, I'm managing. It was such a stressful week before this even happened, but I'm dealing with it and my main priority is always making sure my family is safe and happy. Everything else comes second...
My poor baby relaxing with his feet up and his iPhone :)
Dylan's already learned how to crawl with his splint...nothing is holding him back!
This morning we had our family pictures taken and Dylan did so well, I'm so proud of him! Then Keith took him to a marching band contest while I cleaned the house...keeping a clean home was kind of put on the back burner. Then, because we haven't dealt with enough lately, our "barely a year old" AC went out so we had to call someone to come out and fix it. Turns out it was just a wire that got loose, but nothing in this world is free. Then this evening we took Dylan to the fall festival at Castle Hills. It seemed like a good idea back when he wasn't limited in his mobility, but all he could really do was visit with the petting zoo. I hated walking past the bounce houses knowing he really wanted to jump in them :( Soon enough, little one...
I also wanted to thank everyone for their prayers, support, patience, and hugs!!! I had so many people calling, texting, and asking me on Facebook if there's anything they can do for us and letting us know that they're thinking of us...THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS! We don't live near family, so it's so great to know that we have such amazing friends when we need them. Your kindness did not go unnoticed or unappreciated...love you all! :)
