Remember me?

Well, the good news is that I am still alive. The bad news is that it has been a couple months (or more) since I have blogged and I should probably be shot for going that long without an update. Let's see...what has happened in my life since my last post....hmmmm. Oh yeah, I birthed a child!!

I can't believe that Ella Bailey is already five weeks old and I have not posted the birth story or pictures. Needless to say, things have been crazy around here. I started back working from home the week after Ella Bailey was born and I work non-stop (except to feed and change diapers) all day long. Then throwing a newborn, a 2 1/2 year old and sleep deprivation in the mix has made my life pretty hectic. I am not complaining though, because I truly could not be happier. I feel so blessed to have a career doing something I am so passionate about AND raising two kiddos that bring me more joy than I could ever put into words. I amazed at the the sense of completeness that I now have in my life.

With that said, let's move on to all the sweet details about the entrance of this new bundle of love in our world, her sweet demeanor and how big brother (and mama) are coping . So much has happened since I have blogged, so this post will likely be lengthy (ok REALLY lengthy). Considering that at this point in my life I can barely remember what I ate for lunch today, I don't want to one day look back and not remember the details of the glorious day Ella Bailey entered the world and all the joy (and chaos) in between. With my jumbled and sleep-deprived brain, I am just going to start writing and hope that atleast some of it makes sense. I promise I will do better about blogging and not have to do novel-length, catch-up posts. :)

I was 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant on Sunday, March 6....

All day I had been having really bad pain and vomiting from the kidney stones, but that was pretty typical. I worked on the computer until around midnight and decided to try to get some sleep. However, when I went to the bathroom I was bleeding and could tell it wasn't from the stones. I called the doctor on call and he said it was probably just my cervix bleeding which could be caused from the vomiting, but told me to go to Labor&Delivery to get checked out. At that moment, panic set in. My mother-in-law is the only person that Hayes has ever spent the night with and she was in Birmingham with David's stepdad, who was having heart surgery the next morning. I actually considered not going to the hospital until the next morning, but something told me I should go. Sobbing uncontrollably, I called Jennifer, who keeps Hayes during the day. I felt so bad waking her entire family up at 1 a.m., but we didn't know what else to do. Although Hayes loves Jennifer to death, I was really worried about him getting scared being dropped off at her house in the middle of the night. Then it also hit me that I did not have any hospital bags packed. Although it really didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't be coming home again as a mommy of one, I still decided to be on the safe side and run around the house like a mad woman throwing things in bags. 

When we got to our L&D room they hooked me up to the monitors, finally got an iv (after 6 tries) and started to give me meds for the kidney stones and nausea. Fortunately, I was having no contractions at all, the bleeding had stopped, the baby's heartbeat looked great, so it was assumed that it was just another episode with my kidneys. However, they decided to keep me until the doc came in that morning, and the nurse came in a couple hours saying that she was just going to check me for the heck of it. I was only 36 weeks and it never crossed any of our minds' that I would be dilated at all.

Well, the nurse checked me and looked up with a big grin on her face and said, "You are 3 1/2 centimeters." Ummm....excuse me....what? Not possible, because I am not prepared! She told me not to freak out and that I could stay at that point for weeks. Still, I was a little shocked, because I didn't dilate at all with Hayes before I was induced, and I sure didn't expect to be 3 1/2 cm at 36 weeks. So even though I was not in active labor, I still began to panic and get really nervous about Ella Bailey being born early and possibly having problems. The doctor on call came in around 6 a.m. and said basically the same thing the nurse said, and told us that they would watch me for a few hours because of the kidney stone pain.

So, anyone that has ever had more than 3 conversations with me has probably heard me talk about how much I love my OB, Dr. Garrard. I mean, seriously...I LOVE this man. I really don't know how I would have gotten through all of the medical problems I had while pregnant without him. If my big toe hurts, I call Dr. Garrard. Ok, you get the picture...I love Dr. Garrard. period. He always makes his rounds between 6 and 7 a.m. So, after the doc on call came and talked to me, I asked the nurse if Dr. Garrard would still come by, and she said that she was sure he would.

So there I am just chillin' and waiting on Dr. Garrard to tell me what he thought and then release me, and goodness gracious if I didn't start having contractions!! Panic set in and I started to really worry about delivering her so early and also realizing it was time for Dr. Garrard to be back at his office, and I still had not seen him. I called the nurse in and she still assured me that I was not in active labor b/c my contractions were very irregular. Meanwhile, I have my poor husband staked out by the window on watch for Dr. Garrard to pull in. (Yes, we know what he drives). I was getting really nervous and made the nurse go and see what she could find out about him.

Then, she hit me with the news...Dr. Garrard was out of town, and although he was on his way back in town, he wouldn't be coming back to the office. WHAT??? He had been there for me through so much and I did not want anyone else doing my c-section, so I just prayed that I wouldn't go into active labor. This may seem silly to some, but I just really trust him and he has a way that no other doctor has to completely calm my nerves and make me comfortable. This was even more important to me since I was possibly delivering a baby a month early and already on edge. So, my hope was that for my sake and the baby's that I would not go into active labor.

Then the contractions came and came. The nurses kept saying that they were not regular and that I wasn't in active labor. Between the pain from contractions and the pain from the kidney stones, it took everything I had not to slap the crap out of her every time she said it wasn't "active" labor. It felt pretty damn active to me! Eventually, I got David to start timing the contractions and they were four minutes apart!! I called the nurse and asked her to check me, and I was 6 cm and 100% effaced! Since I was a repeat c-section, we could tell that she panicked a little bit, then she left saying that she was going to page the doctor on call. About five minutes later, a lady came in and was asking me lots of question about reactions to anethesia, etc. I asked her who she was and she told me that she was my anesthesiologist. Then came the "What do I need an anesthesiologist for" to which she replied, "Because you are having a c-section in about five minutes." I think that I was too shocked to even cry and all I did was pray continuously that Ella Bailey would be ok. Everything happened so fast that none of our family even made it to the hospital in time. In fact, I was out of recovery by the time anyone arrived.

Anyway, I get to the operating room and as they were putting my spinal in I was talking to the nurses about how upset I was that Dr. Garrard wasn't there. So right after they put the sheet up so I couldn't see, I heard one of the nurses say hello to Dr. Newman, who was doing the c-section. The nurse told me that they would start in about five minutes, then she looked up and said, "Oh my gosh!!!" At that moment, Dr. Garrard popped his head over the curtain and said, "You know I wouldn't miss this!" I about had a heart attack and the nurses started clapping. He had gotten in town, called the office to check his messages and heard I was in labor and about to have the c-section. Instead of going home he came to the hospital to deliver Ella Bailey. My knight in shining armor!! :) How awesome is that?!? I was beyond happy and at that moment I completely relaxed. Next thing I knew, I heard the sweetest little cry ever and soon after I saw this...

There are simply no words to describe the moment you see your child for the first time. Pure joy!! Ella Bailey was 6 lb 11 oz and 18 in of pure perfection. I started to get a little nervous, though, because it seemed like hours before David came back to talk to me, and I could tell that they were working on her. When he finally came back over, he told me that she was having some problems breathing. However, everyone assured me that she would be ok, but just needed some oxygen for a little while. There is no worse feeling than thinking something could be wrong with your baby. So I prayed and prayed and prayed..

And Praise God...she never had to go to ICU and after a couple hours on oxygen, she was able to come to our room, and I got to hold my little angel for the first time! It only took about .5 seconds to know that I never wanted to let go of her! Soon after that, the man of the hour, Big Brother Hayes, arrived. Another moment I will never forget is the first time he laid eyes on his little sister...

*Disclaimer* Please excuse my appearance in the above picture. It was a rough day. Anyway, back to EB's totally cool big bro. Each day I am more amazed and in awe of Hayes' love for his little sister. Of course, there have been ups and downs, but it makes me so happy to see them together. I could just go on and on, and that is why I am going to devote an entire post to them soon. However, I do want to share a few more pics of them in the hospital. I am not exactly sure why, but each time Hayes would hold her he would put his face up against hers and just freeze. I don't know what was going through that little noggin of his, but it was incredibly sweet! The first pic is of him opening his way-cool gift that Ella Bailey gave him in the hospital, which was the point at which Hayes decided that we could keep her. :)

By the way, Hayes is not the only guy in the family that Ella Bailey already has wrapped around her little finger. Daddy and Paw Paw Bailey are pretty smitten, as well. Just look at the look on Paw Paw's face!!

Now, let me pause for a second to say that I LOVE PINK!!! It is no secret that I am very much of a girlie girl, and I have dreamed of having a little girl my entire life. I also have been obsessed with the color pink my entire life. In fact, the day I was born my daddy gave me the nickname "Pinky" and that is what he has called me my entire life (which may just have to be passed on to EB.) Of course, my obsession intensified when I went to Auburn and became a Phi Mu. Pink everywhere and I was in heaven!! So, nobody was suprised when they walked into my hospital room and it looked like a flamingo had thrown up. LOVE it...

After all those years dreaming about having a little girl adorned in pink, it was finally time to take that little angel home where we could play dress-up ALL DAY LONG!! Woohooo!

And Hayes woke up from a nap just in time to welcome his little sister home...

Ella Bailey is just sweetest thing and is the absolute best baby. She is so incredibly laid-back and only cries when she is hungry or getting her clothes changed. She is five weeks now and for the past week, she has been sleeping atleast 7 hours at night without waking. Woop woop!! Poor Hayes had colic, slept about an hour at a time and cried constantly. So, I am definately not used to this. I think God decided to give me a break after everything I went through with the pregnancy ;).

Although we can already tell that Ella Bailey and Hayes have very different personalities, they absolutely could not look any more alike. When they handed me Ella Bailey for the first time my mouth literally dropped open. It blew my mind how much she looked like Hayes when he was born, and I mean identical! The first few days I didn't even feel like I had a new baby, but it was like I was just holding Hayes again. Total deja vu! Mom kept telling me that she looked just like me when I was born, but I didn't realize how much until I compared pictures of myself, Hayes and Ella Bailey at four weeks. I think my babies definately look a bit like me!!

Me

Hayes

Ella Bailey

To sum it up, I absolutely could not be happier. I feel like I have the perfect family and am so in love with each of them. It had never crossed my mind before Ella Bailey was born that our family was missing something. Yet, I have never experienced a sense of completeness and total contentment like I have now. Everything just seems to fit into place and although Ella Bailey has only been with us for five weeks, I cannot remember what life was like without her. I always wondered how I could love another being with the intensity that I love Hayes, but it is possible and all of the emotions I feel have simply doubled...unconditional love, a passion for life, an appreciation of the small things, etc. There is literally nothing in this crazy world that makes me happier than seeing Hayes kiss Ella Bailey's forehead, talk baby talk to her or "teach" her how to play patty cake, and the beauty in that is that I know the best days are ahead. I feel so blessed to have these healthy and precious gifts from God, and I am constantly in admiration of His plan.

When I found out that I was pregnant in June, I cried for a week straight. We were dealing with a lot of issues at the time and I thought the timing of the pregnancy could not have been any worse. We were not planning (actually preventing!) on having another child for years. I had decided to go back to work in March working for the Johnson for Governor campaign and was loving every second of it. I had come to the realization that I was happiest working and was on cloud nine, but the job ended in June when Bill did not win the primary. I was so determined to find a job in my field, which I love, and was beyond excited about diving into my career again. Yet, in July I found out I was pregnant and those dreams had to be put on hold. I was upset and although I know that every child is a gift, I couldn't help but continually ask, "Why me, God? Why now?"

Well, I got that answer on March 7 and she was the most beautiful little girl I have ever laid eyes on. Those jobs I "missed out on" because I was pregnant paved the way for me to be offered my dream job a couple months ago. His plan gave me that perfect little girl that I had always dreamed of having, added to a perfect little boy that makes me laugh until my stomach hurts on a daily basic, added to a husband that is my soul mate. That, my friend, is a better plan that I could have ever imagined. Thank you God for your beautiful plan and ever perfect timing!