Pictures and Update

Joselynn and I got discharged from the hospital Thursday afternoon.  So far things are going great with Joselynn.  I'm the problem!  I developed blood clots in my varicose veins while in the hospital but they though heat, elevation and Ibuprofen would do the trick.  Not so much.  On the vascular surgeons orders, David and I returned to the hospital via the ER on Friday (thanks to my mom for coming along and bringing Joselynn so I could feed her if needed-and it was needed since we were there for 4 hrs).  They found I had developed some new clots and decided I should go on a blood thinner in the form of shots-I was SO not a happy camper with this decision but figured shots were better than clots.  They showed me how to give them to myself in my hips and we were finally heading home.  We stopped by CVS to drop off the prescription and within minutes of returning home, got a call from the pharmacist.  For one week of the shots it was going to cost us a ridiculous amount of $$$.  I'm talking well into the hundreds people and not a far cry from the thousand $ mark.  WHAT?!?!?  Why on Earth was our insurance not covering this?  How could they charge so much for a shot that could potentially keep a clot from breaking off and traveling to my lungs?  Grrrr....After a few tears (remember I'm still hormonal people) David reminded me that my health was worth the money so I now give myself nightly shots (fun times) and visit the doctor again this week to find out how the clots are and how much longer I'll have to give myself the shots.  Let's hope not long unless the insurance company decides to help us out here! 

To make matters worse, Juliann went to her sitters on Monday (my first day home with Joselynn by myself) and by mid-morning I get a call saying they think she might have an ear infection because she pulled on her ear once or twice.  I'm pretty sure they're right because the few times she's had one, we've seen her pull the ear in question once, maybe twice and that's the only sign that there's a problem.  So David had to leave work early (I am not supposed to drive for 2 wks after giving birth-kind of inconvenient right now but I'm dealing) to take her to the doctors.  Turns out, she has a DOUBLE ear infection!  Who knew!?!  Even the doctor said he'd never have known it based on her energy level (so we're not bad parents for not noticing, right?!?) and asked David if there was anything else.  Juliann apparently looked right at the doctor and said, "um, yes."  David said the doctor was a bit taken aback that Juliann had answered and asked her what was wrong.  Juliann said, "lollipop please!"  Leave it to my kid to ask for a treat!  :)  Apparently both the doctor and David got a good kick out of this and the doctor personally walked Juliann out to give her a lollipop.  Man, I love her at this age!  :) 

Juliann is also being a WONDERFUL big sister.  Every morning she wakes up and after going potty, runs into see her "baby sister."  She wants to help however she can and asks frequently to hold Joselynn.  It's adorable to see her reacting this way and we are blessed to have these two beautiful girls in our lives!  It's these little things that make the dramas of the past week fade into the background.  We're all adjusting well to our new "family" and couldn't be happier!  We'll share more details in the coming days-for now here are a few pictures of the newest member of our family.  We hope you enjoy!

she's here!

Jules meeting Joselynn for the first time

Holding her new little sister

kisses

"I hold her again Mommy!"

I promise we'll upload some more soon but enjoy these for now!  :)

Its a....

girl!  Joselynn Elizabeth joined our family at 3:04am weighing 6lbs 12oz. Everyone is doing well! :)

Waiting Game

I'm just over 37 weeks now and we're still waiting on baby Ellington #2 to make his/her entrance into the world.  Unlike Jules, this one is taking things at a slower pace.  Mommy is VERY uncomfortable and VERY ready to meet this little one.  I know every pregnancy is different, just like every baby is different, but I wish this little guy or gal would hurry up already!!!  Here's an update on the past few weeks:

I went to the doctor on Monday, March 8th for my 36 week check up (although I didn't actually turn 36 weeks until Wednesday) and was surprised to find out that I was already 3cm dilated.  For those who have never had a child, this means that the baby is already in position and labor has "technically" started.  With Juliann, I was 3cm on a Monday and had her that Friday, so both my doctor and I thought it could happen at any point during the week.  I was a little nervous because it was still early but was also excited at the thought of finally meeting the little one whose been growing inside me for the past 9 months!  I went to work as usual and with every contraction or bit of pressure got my hopes up a little more that I'd be holding my new baby soon!  When the weekend finally arrived I was a little frustrated and getting more uncomfortable by the day but also figured it was giving baby E a little more time to grow and get healthy, which was a good thing.  I was trying to be positive!

This Monday, the 15th,  I headed back to the doctor for my almost 37 week check up and my doctor was somewhat surprised that I was still pregnant, given my history.  She checked me and told me I was 4-5cm dilated and that it could be any day now.  Yeah, well, that was almost a week ago and still-no baby!  I also didn't know you could walk around that dilated for this long-ugh!  Nothing about being pregnant right now is comfortable-I still have horrible heartburn (even though the baby is lower now), my hands are so swollen I can't wear my rings, my feet are about 5 times their normal size and all I can wear are David's socks and my crocs, I have contractions that come and go (I seriously had contractions that were 7 minutes apart for over 3 hours last night that stopped as quickly as they started), unbelievable pressure from this baby pushing down, and did I mention the varicose veins?!?  Oh the joys of being pregnant!  And since he/she is full term, I'm really REALLY ready for this baby!

Hopefully baby Ellington will arrive soon-tonight would be absolutely fine with me!  However, I'm trying to enjoy what's left of my pregnancy while I wait!  As soon as we have news, I promise we will share it with you all!  In the meantime, think happy thoughts for a healthy baby Ellington to join us SOON!   

Belated Birthday Pictures

Here are some pictures from the various birthday celebrations for Juliann's 2nd birthday.  Due to the snow (and 2 cancelled parties) she got to open gifts periodically throughout the month.  Enjoy! 

playgroup cupcakes

cupcake on her birthday-2/1/10

cake for her 2nd cancelled party-eaten by the 3 of us!  :)

celebrating with a few friends

Kendri helping Jules open her gift

Valentine's Day Weekend

Uncle Peter and Anne came into town the weekend of Valentine's Day to visit and celebrate Juliann's birthday (we were going for a month long celebration). She was super excited to see them both and even more so when they gave her Elmo for her gift! He was attached to her side practically the entire weekend! :)The weekend started off great-We got up Saturday morning and made a yummy breakfast. Then David and Peter took Juliann to the Children's Museum while Anne and I went and got pedicures. Anne and I picked up some lunch at Ukrops when we were done while the men got Jules home and fed her so she could go down for a nap.

The problems started when we left Ukrops. I started to feel a little warm and was having braxton hicks contractions but thought it was normal. By the time we got home, however, I was in rough shape. The braxton hicks were coming pretty regularly and I felt nauseous. I didn't even want to eat lunch-all I wanted to do was go up and go to bed. That wasn't an option though because we had to go to the hospital for our tour (this baby will be born at a different hospital than Jules because my ob changed practices)! We had scheduled it the weekend before but it was cancelled due to the snow storm. If we didn't go then we wouldn't be able to reschedule until mid-March. It made me nervous to wait so we decided to go ahead and go. I sat in a wheelchair the entire time with constant braxton hicks and feeling worse by the minute. At one point I thought I might have to be admitted because of the contractions. After an hour we were finally done and all I wanted to do was get home and get in the bed. Unfortunately I didn't make it home without more drama. Poor David had to pull over so I could be sick. I spent the rest of the weekend (Valentine's Day weekend nonetheless) in bed with what turned out to be the stomach flu. It was miserable. :( Luckily Peter and Anne were here to help out! While David took care of me, they took care of Jules. She had a blast with them and has talked about them constantly since!

The weekend certainly didn't turn out exactly as we had planned but I know Juliann had a wonderful time with her Uncle Peter and Aunt Anne.  Take a look at some pictures of the weekend below!

Jules and Uncle Peter being silly

Elmo in her backpack