Colton's Birth Story

My pregnancy and delivery with Colton were quite dramatic. We were thrilled to be pregnant with our third, and last, child. However, from the very beginning I felt horrible. I wasnt nauseous or sick during my first trimester but I stayed in excruciating pain. We had put our house up for rent and were in the process of building so during this time we were living with my Mom, and my sister took on a huge role of being an Aunt while I cried in pain most days. I had my first contraction with him at 17 weeks and I remember this vividly. I was in the shower when it hit me (this time I didnt mistake it for a stomach ache or cramp) and held my hands on the wall while slowly dropping to my knees while trying to yell for Jason. By the time my voice appeared the contraction had subsided. I knew then to keep my activity low until I saw my doctor. I remember the look on his face when I told him and he warned me this might be an entertaining pregnancy. This man was right on!

At 23 weeks I had a routine ultrasound and was told shortly after that my body was preparing for labor and that I would be making home right there in the hospital. At this point, my cervix was shortening, I was having contractions, my FFN test was positive (this test, although many times inaccurate, is an indicator of labor within the next two weeks), and I had already had preterm labor twice before. Poor Courtnie, at 3 yrs old, became my support system and she sat in a chair and watched her mother being hooked up to monitors and poked with this and that. I can only imagine her thoughts watching all of this alone.

After a week of being in the hospital and no changes I was released to go home but still on strict bed rest. This however was short-lived. At my next appointment a week later, I was put back in the hospital with no sight of being released. Baylor Garland officially became my home for the next 3 months. It was not a fun place to be. Jason became a single dad to two kids while trying his best to be the best husband from far away (all of which he conquered with perfection and little complaint). My mom and sister moved in with us (okay, not us exaclty, more like Jason and the kids) to help and they too were of tremendous help. Jason was at work everyday at 3/4 am and left in time to pick the kids up from school at 3pm. They came home, did their homework, a few household chores, had dinner and every night were at the hospital to visit with me. This schedule he had was the same for duration of my bed rest. All this time, I sat in a hospital bed feeling fine. Sure I felt the contractions this entire time but the meds lightened them and they really didnt hurt. I did have two spells where the contractions werent stopping and the L&D nurses had to come in and give extra meds to stop them and another time where they tried to switch my meds and those didnt work at all so I was switched back to the lovely Terbutaline. I watched TV endlessly, ate what I could get my hands on that wasnt hospital food, kept myself entertained online and showered twice a day (that was the highlight each day!). Now that I have painted that wonderful picture for you, let me be honest - my mood and attitude definitely could have used some love. I cried. I yelled. I laughed. I complained. I was determined yet defeated at the same time. I wanted out of there but wanted to be there for my unborn child. Let's face it, I was a psycho mother-to-be. I acknowledge this! Thank you to everyone who supported me, understood this and never let my lack of kindness hurt your feelings.

While on bed rest, I was in the hospital through Halloween, our wedding anniversary, and Thanksgiving. On December 22nd, I was having my last ultrasound before Christmas Day. I went in with a letter and pleaded my case to be released. My doctors were not happy, I had been trying to escape from their care for months now. I was 34 weeks then and just wanted to be at home with my children. Remember me saying we were building a house? I had only been there for about 6 weeks when I was put in the hospital so I hadnt even gotten to really live there yet! I wanted to go home!!! After my speech begging to go home, my team of doctors met with eachother and agreed to let me go home with a contraction monitor. I could do that! So home I went, two days before Christmas. I did remain on bed rest though through Christmas and New Years.

At 35 weeks, I was given the okay to stop taking my medicine (Terbutaline) and to resume normal activity. Heck, I had forgotten what normal activity was by then! It was a Friday when labor finally kicked in. And once again, I thought my stomach was hurting because I was hungry. I was at a friends house when my first "good" contraction kicked in and we all laughed through it and Jason and I headed back home. I sent Jason to pick up something for dinner while I took a bath and shaved my legs (hey, I was about to have multiple people looking at my lady down there!).

We get there and I am dying of the pain and felt totally beat when they told me I was only dilated to 4cm. By the time they got me back to a room, my contractions had almost stopped but I was progressing slowly. I ended up falling asleep waiting for my body to get going. My contractions decreased to about 1 every hour, which I didnt really feel (btw, no epidural here either) but I continued to dilate. Not a bad deal really!! When I finally made it to 10cm they had to give me pitocin to get the contractions going again. For all of you women who have ever been given pitocin, bless your hearts. That drug is not very friendly! By the time that kicked in, all I could focus on was getting that baby out (we didnt know the sex of the baby just yet). Has he was being born, he flipped in the birth canal which caused me to curse in pain and him to be born bruised on his face, arms, and chest. He also did not want to breath on his own but after starring at the nurses for a few minutes he decided to finally take his first breath. Colton was born on January 8th, 2005 at 7:46 am at just under 36 weeks and he weighed 6lbs 3oz and was 18 3/4 inches long.

He did go back to NICU for a few hours to prove he was healthy. We left for home the very next day. The story doesnt end here though.... 3 days later we were back in the NICU for jaundice. I cannot describe to you my broken heart. I wanted to badly to leave that place and here I was back in there. I wanted my baby, I wanted to other two children, my husband, my home, I wanted a normal life. I cried for hours in the waiting room with my church minister pleading for a break. After two days of being back in the hospital, they so kindly gave me a room to stay in while Colton was in NICU, we left home.

He was the cutest baby. We all loved on him and were so excited to be a family of five and back together again at home. Colton did have colic. For any mother who has had a colicky baby, bless your hearts. Colic is real. At 4 months old it finally went away and we were back to having our sweet, smiling baby again.

The rest of his story will follow in another blog.

Courtnie's Birth Story

We found out I was pregnant very early on (a honeymoon baby) and I just knew she was a girl. My pregnancy with Courtnie also went smoothly at the beginning until at 33 weeks when my water broke. This time, I knew for sure it was broken! I was at work chatting via Instant Message (ah, what a job!) when I felt something wet. I honestly sat there thinking I had lost all bladder control. I went to the bathroom and when it continued I asked my aunt to take me in to L&D. Upon getting there, they immediately confirmed my water had broken and told me I was going to be there for the duration of the pregnancy. Days later, Jason and I sat down for dinner (me Long John Silvers and Jason Wing Stop) and I didnt even take a bite when my stomach began to cramp. I went to the bathroom in hopes that was the problem and came back knowing it was contractions. When the first full force contraction hit (the kind that take your breath away and have you searching desperately for something to grab on to) I called the nurse. She comes in and the next thing we know I am being rushed back to L&D to deliver at only 34 weeks. I was dilated to 6cm and labor moved extremely fast (2 hrs from first contraction to delivery). Courtnie Shea was born on June 29, 2001 at 9:37pm weighing 4 lbs 12 oz and 17 1/2 inches long.

I do have a funny story to share - when we were eating and labor began, Jason refused to stop eating his dinner. He literally sat there eating his wings and fries while I am glaring at him and panicking. If you have ever seen my husband eat wings and fries, this is a slow and tedious process. He savors every bite and is almost oblivious to the world around him.

After the delivery, she was whisked away to NICU. I panicked and became very uncooperative and they gave me what they called a "margarita shot" and this blurred my memory some. It just isnt normal or right for a mother to not see or hold her child after delivery (although I do understand the urgency and her being a preemie). I remember being wheeled back to my room and being told they were transporting her to Baylor Grapevine NICU because the Garland NICU was full. The transport team brought her in to see me and I got to hold her for a few minutes, literally. I just held her and cried. After they left, I cried for the next 48 hours solid until they released me. I walked out of that hospital and headed straight for Grapevine (completely ignoring doctors orders to rest and take it easy). The next five days consisted of me waking up super early to be at Grapevine for her 8am feeding and I didnt leave until after her 8pm feeding. Because of those two days with her in NICU and me being so far away she was given bottles. I was terrified she would reject breastfeeding and was thrilled when she took right to it. Her weight dropped down to 4lbs 8oz (at her smallest) and we brought her home weighing 4lbs 10 oz.

When we brought her home, Cameron adored her! He would "help" change her, burp her, clothe her, etc. The best part was just watching him love on her, play with her and even at times just lay right next to her while she slept. He took on the big brother role perfectly!

Courtnie was a very clingy infant and toddler. She loved only her mama. For those of you who were around for these years, you know exactly what Im talking about. She wanted me and only me and if left with anyone else she cried. And her cry wasnt a cry like she was throwing a fit, it was a cry of pure pain and neglect. She was able to come with me to work but at 7 months I thought it would be better for her to go to a sitter for a few days so that I could actually get some full days of work in. Her sitter was a dear friend of mine, who Courtnie knew. But after a few weeks, my friend brought her up to me at work and both she and Courtnie were in tears. My friend told me she no longer could keep Courtnie because her crying broke her heart. Everyday when we pulled up Courtnie began crying hysterically and she did so until I picked her up. She refused to be fed (bottle or food), refused to be held and refused to be loved on. She would either lay by the front door and cry or would crawl to be put in the pack and play (where she actually didnt cry until she was taken out again). How sad is this people??? I went home that day with a not-so-glorious plan to quit work. I had all of our bills and expenses on one side of the paper and one income on the other and we were not going to make it. However, Jason knew that me staying home with the kids (especially Courtnie) was the best thing for me to do and never thought twice about telling me to quit work and I have been home ever since with no regrets. Every month our bills are paid, kids are involved in activities, and we are fed meals galore. God has in the past and continues to make a way for me to be at home. (I need to remind myself of this everytime I begin searching for a job!)

She is a wonderful little girl, very happy yet shy with a beautiful smile. However, Ive never seen a little girl throw a solid punch like she does! The boys have definitely learned not to pick on her unless they are ready for fight. She definitely helps me to keep the boys grounded around here.

Cameron's Birth Story

I didnt find out I was pregnant with Cameron until I was 12 weeks along. I kept taking pregnancy tests but they continued to come back negative. Finally at 12 weeks, I received a faint positive. My pregnancy with Cameron went very well. I had my first baby shower at 35 weeks and the following day, I went in to L&D thinking my water may have broken and was trickling. I was wrong! The baby was head down, pushing on my bladder and I was dilated to 2cm. They sent me home on bed rest. At 37 weeks I went in to see the doctor for a routine visit; there werent any changes and I was officially off bed rest. If you can imagine, I was a bit disappointed. I was actually enjoying laying around all day doing nothing but eating and watching TV in silence! At 38 weeks I called my doctor to try and explain this indescribable feeling of torturous pain and wasnt able to get a word out so we were headed back to the doctors office. By the time we got there, the pain had subsided some. I was checked and excited to hear the baby had dropped dramatically (that was the cause of the pain) and I was dilated to 4cm. We were on our way back to L&D. After 2 hours of being on monitors, I was sent home because I was not contracting. It was the following week at exactly 39 weeks gestation that labor finally kicked in. I woke up thinking something was irritating my stomach but it wasnt enough to keep me from doing some last minute shopping. It was late in the afternoon when we were checking out that the first real contraction kicked in and it was then that I realized my stomach ache was more than just that. I remember sitting down right there at the register trying to just catch my breath. We got home and I sat down to eat dinner and nausea kicks in as the contractions became unbearable. I called the doctor, told them I was headed their direction. I got to L&D and I was dilated to 7cm - no time for an epidural, no time for words of wisdom or encouragement, no time for anything put preparations for a baby. Cameron Sean was born at 10:20pm on August 22, 1998 weighing 7lbs 0oz and 18 3/4 in long (I think this length is wrong though, I truly believe he was 19 3/4 inches long). He came out crying, observant and hungry!

He was such a good baby. Always smiling, happy, content and loved to be on the go and entertained. He nursed wonderfully, slept soundly and was a fairly healthy baby. He did scream, this toe-curling, bloody scream when riding in the car. I seriously would be shaking and crying myself by the time we got to our destination. This phase ended at 4 months and oh what a happy moment this was!

We knew from a very early age that he was going to love sports. He was throwing and kicking balls before his first birthday and swinging bats and hitting balls before the age of two. He has always been super active and enjoys being busy and entertained.

Material Things

I am struggling with something currently... the passion people have for material things. My son LOVES the brand Under Armour. I'm convinced he could where this brand of clothing on a daily basis for the rest of his life. But I have a hard time buying some of these things. Shirts and some clothing items I am okay buying, it's a bit pricey for me really but I understand his love for this brand. But I must draw the line somewhere. Because truthfully, what will we do with all this crap when the brand fades away or he outgrows them?! Let's move on to his cell phone. We don't have a home phone so in order for him to start staying home alone at times we had to either get a house phone or a cell phone. We went the cell phone route, it just made sense. But his phone (which we paid extra for and was actually nicer than mine or Jason's) isnt "cool" or what everyone else has. How can we compete when kids his age and younger have Blackberrys, Razors, and other brand name, expensive phones? My poor sister traded Cameron her Razor for his's phone. She tried so hard to tell him the "cool" phones arent all they are cracked up to be. But he is now the happy owner of a Razor!

I feel somewhat guilty and part of the trend. What am I teaching my child? How do I teach my 10 yr old the value of money and that it truly isnt important to keep up with your peers in trends? How do I teach him this when the world we live in is so consumed with the latest and greatest? And why are adults so consumed with name brand crap as well (purses, clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, neighborhoods, cars, etc). I cannot fathom the thought of paying hundreds of dollars for a purse or clothing items. Is it really that important? Am I missing something here? What's funny is that the brand name purse (the one that EVERYONE else has) actually brings women together! Crazy! Do people really pick their friends based on the expensive items they possess? Surely not you would think... but it does! I've seen it!

(Just a little disclaimer: I did go through a short phase in my life where I bought extremely pricey items. The worst was $175 for a pair of shoes. I now regret this because - I grew out of them, the name faded, and I have nothing to show for them today. This was a lesson I learned quickly!)

Which leads my thoughts to this... when do women grow out of clicks and gossip? Why can't we all just get along? Why do women at the old age we are still feel the need to talk about others or treat others so rudely? (Maybe it's because they dont own a brand name purse or bag!)

I just cant compete. And some way, somehow I am going to find a way to teach my children the value of money. But I will not try to keep up with everyone else and my children will learn this quickly. They may hate me today because they dont have the coolest shoes, gloves or hats but years from now they will understand and hopefully appreciate the things they did.

So tell me, AM I missing something in brand names?

First Day of School

Cameron started 5th grade today and Courtnie started 2nd grade (gulp). Can you believe they are THAT OLD? They both woke up fairly decent after having a relaxing summer. I must admit though, I did not and felt the urge to throw my cell phone with the alarm ringing ever so loudly clear across the bedroom. I did not enjoy waking so early so I guess it looks like I am going to need an adjustment period as well.

And a picture of the infamous red Nike "Shox" that only took Cameron 5 hours to find:

Colton starts in the four year old room this year. He doesnt actually start until Wednesday but I had to go up there to work for a bit so he too got all dressed up and took his teachers their gifts and used his new lunch box. He was excited too! This year he will not have a nap and will be doing more learning. I cant believe my youngest has officially outgrown naptime.

Cameron Sean Turns 10

My oldest baby turned 10 this past Friday. I cant believe it! It truly does seem like not that long ago that I brought that sweet 7lb 0oz baby boy home from the hospital. He is such a great kid, really has the best personality and such a love for life.

For his birthday party we took him along with five of his friends to see The Longshots at the movie theater, then to dinner and back here to the house for a sleepover. Out of the six boys, three, one of them Cameron, didnt go to sleep until 9am (the boys were being picked up at 9:30) and the other three boys fell asleep at 5am. Hello?? Got sleep anyone?! They had a great time though. Cameron told us that he thinks this was his best birthday party ever and that it we did a great job planning (uh-hum, Mom did the planning here).

Here the boys are at the theater:

And here they are playing XBox, the few moments of stillness. They refused to give me some decent pictures this year. They know me well enough to know they were torturing me!

We had plans to take him shoe shopping today with my mom and what good parents wouldnt take the opportunity to force their child who chose to stay awake all night go shopping with the family?! Cameron thought this was an act of sheer torture but what he doesnt realize is that it was the same for me too. I honestly apologized to my mother for all the times she had to take me shopping; I was so indecisive and finicky and this trip in particular was an unbearable form of pay-back. Cameron isnt at all picky about his clothes, although he likes to wear Under Armour, he will generally wear whatever looks good. Shoes though are a different story. They must be name-brand and they must make him walk with a swagger that the ladies will love. Not only this, they must be different than all the other shoes he has - style, color, brand, etc. The boy loves some shoes! We shopped for 5 hours, thats right, for 5 hours to find the perfect pair of shoes which he must have by Monday, the first day of school. Now he already has two other pairs of new shoes and my mom offered to buy him something else, but he of course needed another pair of shoes. So after shopping for 5 hours (on one hour of sleep might I add), he was bouncing, smiling and swaggering his walk with those new shoes on. We finally found another perfect pair!! Imagine my excitement :)

I love that kid!! Although Im going to have to kick his butt for the face he gave in this picture... cant a mom get a good picture of her 10 yr old son anymore?

Texas Skatium

Jamie's anyone? Oh yes, it's now called Texas Skatium....

Jason took the following Tuesday off from our Austin getaway. I am so glad he did, kinda wish he had taken the full week off though! We decided to take the kids skating to get us all out of the house (it's been raining here for a week solid now). I wasnt quite sure how Colton would do and knew Cameron and Courtnie would love it. They have been several times before and both enjoy skating quite a bit. So we put Colton on his skates and he stands there and just starts skating (well, heavy walking really). He did so good! Everytime he fell he would just bust out in this hard belly laugh, he thought it was sooo funny. I havent been on skates in years and had fun myself. I did fall once (I firmly believing it was from holding Coltons firm grip and him not letting me go). Glad my husband didnt get that pic on camera! Anyway, here are some pictures from our skating adventure.

Austin Getaway

Jason and I finally made it to Austin for our weekend getaway, after several obstacles in our way. We had been planning this trip for months and were itching so badly to get there. We made it to our hotel a little after 4pm, ran to our room to shower and change and headed out for the wedding. We of course got lost, this we came to accept as routine with anywhere we went in Austin, and made it to the wedding at 5:56, just 4 minutes shy of the wedding starting. But we made it!

Jen and Brian's wedding was beautiful! We both felt so incredible to have made it down there to spend this special day with them. We both had alot of fun and Jason met up with a couple of friends he hasnt seen in years - Kevin Arnold, Robbie Dungan and of course the groom Brian Dungan. I did fail on my wifely duties. I didnt get very many pictures (forgive me friends!). I wasnt in my normal element and wasnt at all comfortable asking for pictures like I normally do. I did ask someone to take a picture of Jason and I though:

We went to one of Jason's long lost buddies' house later that night. The two of them talked about everything, it was great to see them back together again. I did get pictures of them though! Ronnie's wife also had her camera out so she and I were both snapping pictures. Here they are:

I must confess, we didnt do much while in Austin. The morning following the wedding, we got out of bed at 9:30 just to get breakfast, ate and got back in bed and didnt get out again until 3pm. Sad... but so incredibly needed and appreciated. I so needed that! We did visit the Capital building when we got up and moving and made a trip down 6th street. We arent much for bars and pubs so we visited with Ronnie and his family one more time. Slept in again the following morning and headed home. I know it doesnt sound like too much fun, but Jason and I had a blast! We look forward to heading back down and visiting with other friends of ours (they were out of town at another wedding). I did post all of our Austin pics on our online album, but I didnt take too many this weekend. I feel so guilty for the lack of my picture taking :(

Prayers Please

Jason and I are headed to Austin here shortly. Courtnie has her last day of cheer camp and Cameron has a baseball practice this morning. After these events we are headed out. We got a call last night that my Mom, who was supposed to watch the kids this weekend, is in the hospital with heart problems. They are keeping her to run further tests. I'm a bit uncomfortable leaving knowing that something may happen and I wont be here. I live at hospitals knowing that a family member or friend is there for a lengthy duration, aside from the fact that... this is my mom! So we got the kids situated and although I know they will be fine, they have never stayed with my Dad so this will be new for them (truly, this is just the mom in me worrying about them). So we made the decision to continue with our trip to Austin for a long weekend alone - we both REALLY wanted to go, we have plans to see old friends and even more to see friends of ours get married. But I cant shake that nervous feeling.

So please pray for my mom - for clear answers from the tests, for her to settle down and rely on God, for my sister Breanne to be strong during this time. And also, my friend Anna who had her baby at 34 weeks was released from the hospital but her baby remains in NICU. His IV is out and he is in a regular baby bed now. However, he still has is gavage tube which means they are waiting for him to eat regular feeds by himself. His family really wants him home and I completely understand Anna's dislike of going home each night without her baby, it is truly the most heartbreaking and painful thing to do.

Parking Lot Wars

I went up to the hospital yesterday evening to see my friend Anna and her baby again. I only had a $20 bill on me and had planned to just use it to pay for my parking. By the time I left, the attendants were gone so I just put my $20 into the automated machine and it printed a receipt for me to bring later to be given my $17 owed. Not a problem really since I had plans to go visit again the very next morning and again on Saturday. Jump ahead to Friday morning - I pull up to the booth at 12:03pm and try to hand her my receipt. She tells me she is closed and doesnt have the cash right now. So I kindly ask in my nicest voice how long it would be until she was open (you know since its now after noon and she is in the booth already and curious when the cash for the day magically appears) and she tells me in 10 minutes. So I back up and wait (hey, we're talking $17 here, that's a trip to Kroger for me!). So she finally decides to stop gabbing and opens her booth for the afternoon. I drive up, hand her my receipt and here is our conversation:

Attendant: "I cant give you $17, our machine doesnt take $20 bills."
Me: "Well, it took my $20 and it says on the receipt that I am owed $17."
Attendant: "I am not giving you $17."
Me: "Can I have my receipt back please?"
Attendant: "No. I will not give you $17."
Me: "Give me my receipt... now."

So she hands me my receipt (I must have had a mean face on) and proceeds to chant, "I will not give you $17" while her friend starts mouthing. So I put my car in park and call the Baylor Parking Services Office. As I am doing so, the attendants ask me who I am calling, and I tell them, and they proceed with their chant in complete refusal. Our conversation now:

Me: "I was here yesterday and left late at night and put a $20 bill into the machine. My receipt shows that I am owed $17 and the attendants will not give me my change."
Office: "They should, why wont they?"
Me: "I dont know, but they are refusing to give me my change."
Office: "What lot are you in?"
Me: "I dont know, does it say on my receipt?"
Office: "No. Ask the attendants."
Me: "Are you serious? Do you truly think they will tell me correctly?"
Office: "They should!"
Me: "What lot is this?"
Attendant: "Lot 5" [in her snottiest voice]
Office: "Hold on, I will call their Supervisor and she will tell them to give you your change."

Meanwhile, one attendant continues with the "I will not give you $17" chant while the other is on the phone with the Supervisor. She gets off the phone and they both STILL continue to refuse to give me my change. Seriously, they REFUSE to do as their supervisor has just told them!

Office: "They should give you the change now."
Me: "They still will not give me the change." [trying to laught this off some]
Office: "Go ahead and come into the Office and we will give you the change...."

Can you believe these two were refusing to hand over change owed to someone even though the receipt clearly shows the amount due? And even after speaking to their Supervisor? What has the world come to? My heaven's! Do you not appreciate your job in an 8x5 booth? It cant possibly be that difficult. This whole ordeal lasted a solid 10 minutes.

After all this happens, what do I do.... CRY! Why do I cry? Why does pure frustration lead me to tears. Everytime. I cant help myself. I cry everytime I am offended in some way or another and once my tears start flowing, they cannot be stopped. I didnt let them see me cry though. Jason always says, "Never let 'em see you limp." They didnt see me cry babe, but I was certainly defeated. That was hard work trying to get my $17.