More Pictures

Here are some more pictures of little Miss Gracyn! I really can't believe that she's already 3 weeks old....they have just flown by--and the days have all blurred together. I remember hearing people say that they couldn't remember what life was like before they had a baby and I would think, "Really??....that's crazy!" But, it is so true! She is such a joy--even at 3 in the morning and I love being her mommy! It's been a rough couple of weeks, but it's been so worth it!

Good/Bad Knee News

Well, the good news is that the MRI and brain scans came back showing no signs of problems. What a blessing! But, there really wasn't much the doctor could tell us about what caused this or a way to treat it. There isn't any surgery, medicines, or physical therapy we can do to fix this. All he said was that we needed to give it time. UGH! Since it's only been a little less than 3 weeks, it's too early to tell at this point if it's permanent or not. He wants me to come back in a month to do some tests and to see if it's gotten any better. I think that I'm over compensating with my left leg because I'm afraid of falling if I put all my weight on it....and so it makes it weaker without me using it as much. So, he said to go about my life as normal and even said that I could drive. I'm so thankful that it's not anything too serious, but wish that there was a way to fix this now instead of waiting. Hopefully it will get better in time. The nerves grow an inch every month, so I may have a long ways to go. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks so much for your prayers!!

Knee News

Well, it turns out that my "temporary" knee problem isn't so temporary. I don't have any feeling in my right knee and it gives out on me. I fell pretty bad on Monday and was so thankful that I wasn't holding Gracyn at the time. I decided to call my OB/GYN to see how long they thought this should last since it'd been close to two weeks. She told me that I needed to make an appointment with my regular doctor. So, yesterday morning Drew and I went to see him. He looked at it and then did a reflex test....and my leg did nothing--there wasn't a reflex at all. He looked kind of worried, which made me panic. He sent us immediately to get an MRI done and was setting up an appointment with a neurologist. Drew just talked to the Dr. and the MRI showed a bulging disk but was inconclusive. So now they want me to go back tonight and have some more tests and scans done on my brain. We'll meet with the neurologist on Monday afternoon. I'm really nervous about all of this and just want to hear that there is something that they can do to easily fix this. I just really want to get back to "normal" and feel better. If you would, please keep me in your prayers...we'd really appreciate it! I hear the little one waking up and she's hungry.....

Gracyn Kate Herron

Gracyn Kate Herron was born on Wednesday, November 26th at 8:10 pm weighing 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long. We went into the hospital to be induced on Tuesday night. They started me on a slow drip of pitocin. I had mild contractions over night, but nothing really started happening until they turned up the dosage at 5:00 am. At 11:30 I was at 3 cm. and they broke my water and started me on my epidural. At 3:00 they checked me and I was at a 5. A little later I started to feel a lot of pain and told my nurse and she had them turn up my epidural just a little. (But, I think he turned it up way too much.) She came back to check me at 4:30 and I was at a 10...no wonder I was hurting. So, around 5:30 I started pushing....and I couldn't feel a thing. They turned off my epidural so I could feel the contractions to start pushing. Two and a half hours later... I was still pushing. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. My doctor told me she was going to have to do an episiatomy, and at that point I could care less and just wanted her out! I also got 3rd degree tears as well. At the end, my epidural had pretty much worn off and I could feel everything. When she started doing my stitches, I was screaming at her because I could feel it! After that they gave me some drugs and I was really out of it. Once she was finally out, the cord was around her neck. She wasn't really responsive and took a while to cry. So, that's when they whisked her away to the NICU. It was kind of a good thing that I was so out of it because I didn't realize what all was going on to be really scared. Everyone else was freaking out though. She was there for a few hours where they could monitor her and everything looked good so they moved her to the regular nursery. While she was there, her oxygen levels went low and she turned purple. They say that bigger babies have a harder time transitioning from the womb to the outside world. She is doing just fine now. Since she went straight to the NICU and then had to stay in the nursery, I didn't get to breastfeed her right away, so we've had some struggles with that. But, she is eating great now. Drew has been home all week and I don't know what I'd do without his help. I am dreading Monday morning when he goes back to work. During my 2 1/2 hours of pushing, I temporarily damaged the nerves around my right knee and have trouble walking because my knee gives way. To say the least, things didn't turn out at all like I had planned. Pretty much everything that I was worried about happened. But, we have a beautiful baby girl that we are so in love with....God is SO good! We're still trying to get used to our new life...with no sleep and I'm having a hard time typing with one hand while tring to hold Gracyn too. Here are a few more pictures....and yes, I think she looks just like her daddy!

PICTURES!!

As promised, here are some more pictures of our sweet Gracyn! Blogger has the pictures all out of order...but I don't really want to fix them right now. Some are right after she was born, on her way home from the hospital, and at home today. I'll write more about her delivery when I've got more time and I've had more sleep! It's been a rough couple of days...but we're getting through it. Prayers for a speedy recovery would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

The End is in Sight!!!!

39 weeks and 5 days pregnant!!!

Well....it seems that no one else wanted to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital either and there aren't any openings for me to go in tonight. :( But, I have a "reservation" for tomorrow night!! I have to be there by 8pm. I'm 100% effaced and have dilated 1.5 cm. So, things are starting!! YEA!! They'll start me on a slow drip of Pitocin over night on Tuesday and hopefully she'll come Wednesday morning. (That's been my due date all along.)Of course, Gracyn could decide to come earlier, but I really doubt that because it seems she's really comfortable where she is now. I'll probably still be in the hospital for Thanksgiving, but I'm okay with that....my mom has promised to bring me a plate of all the good stuff because I'm sure the hospital version will not be what I'm used to. :) Plus my grandparents will be here by then and they're really excited to be here for the big day. It's just nice to know that I'm not going to be pregnant forever!! We'll try to get pictures up soon after she gets here...but I can't make any promises!! Stayed tuned.....

Happy News!

Just wanted to share that my little brother, Ryan, got engaged Sunday night! We are SO excited for him and Virginia! This is a picture that I used to make a book for Ava. I couldn't get my other ones to come up. Hopefully we'll have another addition to our family soon!! :)

Still Waiting.....

It seems that this little girl is really comfortable and isn't ready to meet us just yet. I was SO hoping that I would get the "ready to go" from the Dr. this morning, but it seems that I'm just not far enough along yet and there aren't any concerns to induce at this point. I have made some progress....just not enough. At least something has happened this past week!! So, I go back on Monday afternoon and hopefully things will have progressed more. Maybe she will surprise us this weekend!! I can only hope!! My doctor did assure me that I'll have her next week sometime....so I won't be pregnant forever!! I'm just so anxious to meet her, hold her and see who she looks like!! I feel like I've been waiting FOREVER!!! Here are a few pictures of Christmas at our house. The tree still needs to be put up. Drew ran in the Rock N Roll Half Marathon on Sunday morning and wasn't in the mood to put up the tree and decorate after wards. Go figure... ha! He did great though...he beat our record time by 5 minutes, finishing at 2:07! I'm SO proud of him!!

NOTHING!!!

That's right...nothing is happening! I had a doctor's appointment this morning and she checked me to see if things had started happening yet....and nothing!! I am so bummed!! I was really hoping I'd hear that I was all ready to go...because I sure feel ready! I go back in a week and if I've started progressing at all, she'll induce me because she's already weighing in the 70%. She told me that she won't let me go past my due date, so that was good to hear. So, in the meantime it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I'm going to get the decorations up and wrap all my presents. I'm praying that she'll decide she wants to meet us soon!!

Finally Finished!

The nursery is officially finished! The letters have been hung and her rug finally came in. I just love it!! I can't wait for her to get here and love it too! These pictures were taken with the broken camera...so they're not that good. Hopefully the new one will get here sometime this week. Drew was busy all weekend getting things done for me...YEA Drew! He put the cradle together, installed the video monitor, helped me hang Gracyn's letters on the wall, got down all our Christmas decorations, and installed the car seat. It's so weird for me to look back and see a car seat back there when I'm driving! Now, all we need is for her to make her debut. We'll keep you posted!

New Camera

37 Weeks
This is why we're getting a new camera. I'm just praying that it makes it here before Gracyn does.....

7.3...OH MY!!

Well, it seems that the 5+ lb. baby that I thought I was carrying around is more like 7+ lbs!!! AND...I could still have 3 weeks to go! WHAT??!!! Although no one seems to think that I will make it that long, and I'm really praying that they're right. I used to say I wanted her to come early because I didn't want to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital, but now there are different reasons! I had a sonogram yesterday to check her position and size and boy was I shocked to hear that number, 7.3 lbs! My mom couldn't stop laughing....and I don't really think it's all that funny!! I know that sonograms aren't 100% accurate, but they give you a good idea...and I'm even more ready for her to get here now! We got some great pictures of her...and it's still a girl--(I've had some nightmares about being surprised about a boy instead!) We saw her yawn, put her hands in her mouth, and grab her feet. She kept kicking the sonographer...she is a mover and a shaker!! I can attest to that!! She's got chunky cheeks and chubby little hands. Her belly is even chubby--the sonographer pointed out her extra layer of fat! It looks like she'll be pretty long too...which I'm not surprised since both our families are tall. Her femur bone measured a week ahead because it was so long. Everything looked good and her heartbeat was 132 bpm. I didn't get to see my doctor though because she had an emergency c-section, but got to ask the nurse a lot of questions....new ones I had regarding her size! I'll go back next Wednesday and if I'm progressing and it seems that she's gotten bigger, they could induce me. I'll be 38 weeks then and they consider that full term. It's all a wait and see game. Maybe she'll come on her own before then....I can only hope!! I had some new pictures to attach, but blogger isn't cooperating this morning. Maybe I'll get to it later....

35 Weeks!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything looks good. Her heartbeat was 158 beats per minute and the Dr. thinks she's about 5 pounds. She's not expecting a HUGE baby...much to my relief!! I'll have my last sonogram in 2 weeks to see how she's positioned (she's ready to go now and hopefully won't flip!), and they'll get a good idea of how big she is then. My Dr. said that it's just a waiting game now. We have our childbirth class on Saturday and my church shower is on Sunday. After that, I'll just be waiting for Gracyn to decide when she wants to meet us. I'm praying that it will be a little early. I'm not really looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. We'll keep you posted!

DFW Shower

I had SUCH a nice shower this weekend! It was so great to see so many friends at once! Usually when I make a trip up to the DFW area, I only get to see a handful of people. It was so much fun to catch up and visit with everyone! The hard part was wanting to be in so many conversations at once! Monica and Tara were so sweet to host this shower for me. I feel so blessed to have so many sweet friends!! Though I wouldn't recommend taking a road trip at almost 35 weeks...it was a long drive with many stops! But, it was all worth it! Here are a few pictures.

Monica, me and Tara
Patty, me and HollyVisiting with friends and tasting all the yummy treats!Tara & HollyOpening all of Gracyn's goodies! She got so many sweet little outfits and all kinds of things that we will need. It was a tight squeeze on the way back. (My parents made the trip with us.) I said it was a good thing that Drew wasn't able to play golf and didn't bring his golf clubs....but I'm not sure he agreed!

My in-laws got Gracyn this blanket. Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen? It's all knitted and so soft! I love it! Laura and her precious little girl, Sarah Kate and me and Mallory. I can't believe that we've all been friends for almost 14 years!!! That doesn't seem possible! Didn't we just get out of college??
A picture of all the pregnant girls! Mallory, Shelly, Julia, and me.
One more pose for the camera before we hit the road!

Gracyn's Stocking

Just thought I'd post a picture of Gracyn's Christmas stocking. I got it in the mail a few weeks ago. I know you may be thinking that I'm a little early....but I know that once she gets here, I won't be in the mood to decorate and wouldn't remember to buy her a stocking. It is similar to ours. I plan on having the house ready for Christmas by the time I go to the hospital....tree and all!! I love it when my house is decorated for the holidays and this gives me a chance to enjoy it just a little longer!

1st Baby Shower

Well, I guess technically it's really my second shower. The first one was back in May at the end of the school year. Since I wasn't going to be returning in the fall, my school gave me a shower---I still didn't even know what we were having then. It seems so long ago, but has gone by so fast!! I sure have changed since then......

My second grade team.
Here's the latest picture......I'm 32 1/2 weeks here.... This was right after my shower. I think this dress REALLY makes me look pregnant. I had my first comment of "You're only how far....gosh you've got a ways to go!" at church last Sunday.


My sweet friends and sister hosted this shower for me. They did an amazing job and everything was so nice!! Here are a few pictures.

Here are Amber, me, Jamie, and MandiThere were some YUMMY treats!!

My sister made the cutest diaper cake!! This is the first one she's ever made and I think she did an AMAZING job!!! She even made little bracelets for Gracyn attached to pacifier clips!
Opening presents.....My mother-in-law surprised me with this super cute sling!!My little helper enjoyed ripping the paper off the presents!
My mom made a quilt and pillow to match all the bedding. I didn't have a picture on my camera and can't get the ones they sent me to save where I need them to. (Drew will have to help me later.) But, here's the pillow....I just LOVE it!Little Miss Ava came to the shower and LOVED being the center of attention! She was so cute and did great!! I loved having her there! She loves to pat my tummy and say, "Hi baby, hi Saysin"--(that's her version of Gracyn). It is precious! She's just started posing for the camera and saying, "CHEESE!"