Devin's birth story

I know, I know, it's been a ridiculous amount of time since I've posted a blog! Since October we have welcomed little Devin Lee Elliott to our family! He was born December 31st 2010 (just 6 hrs shy of the new year!) He was 7 lbs and 3 oz of sheer cuteness! I could not have asked for and easier labor and delivery (thanks to my dear friends at Parkland) Btw....having a baby where you work, is an interesting experience. We showed up at 6 am for my induction (James, and My sis in law Tina were with me) and I was able to choose who I wanted my nurse to be. I chose my friend Lauren, who by the way is not only a fantastic nurse, but she is also HILARIOUS. I wanted a light hearted, non-stressful environment, and that's exactly what it was. After 5 attempts to start my IV from 3 different nurses, they were finally successful. Darn my bad veins!! Dr. Smith came in to check my cervix, which was a "loose 3" and then gave the orders to start my pitocin. I had been contracting off and on for about 3 weeks prior to this, so I was not surprised I was already dialated. If it wasn't for Devin being so high up in my belly, I probably would have gone into labor all on my own! But being an L&D nurse, I like that I felt more in control with the induction. We started the Pitocin around 8 am, and three hours later, I wasnt hurting too terribly with the contractions, and was only dialated to a 4. At this point Lauren suggested we have a resident break my water to get things going. I agreed, but insisted on getting my epidural first. I know how a lot of women feel about medications during labor, but in my defense I know I would not have been able to handle active labor without it, and this was MY plan. Also I see this everyday, and am constantly reasurred that I made the right choice when I take care of a laboring patient who has planned to go the natural route. More power to you ladies, but I for one do NOT want to experience that. (KUDOS to both of my sister in laws, Tina and Christine, who both had their babies without help from medication.) Now that I've gotten way off track, back the Devin's birth story....SO around 11 I sat up for the epidural, as soon as I laid back down I got extremely nauseaus (thanks to my sudden drop in blood pressure due to the epidural) and once that was under control, My water broke all on it's own! I think my exact words to Lauren were " Either I just peed on myself or my water broke". Looks like I got the epidural just in time, bc My labor really picked up after that. I no longer needed the pitocin, and was contracting all on my own. From that point on things went smoothly. Dr. Smith came back to check on me at 5 pm and I was ready to push (still feeling nothing at this point). I pushed a total of three times, and Devin was here! he came out crying and pink (just like we like our babies to be) and was the sweetest thing I've seen since his big brother was born :) I am SO greatful Devin got here safely, and the easy labor was definately a bonus. I was even able to have my good friend Whitney in to help with the delivery. It was a wonderful experience, and if and when we decide to have another, I would definitely do it again at Parkland. thanks for reading, although this is more for me so I can look back and remember Devin's birth. I will update soon about how things are going with work while raising not one, but TWO precious boys.

Let's get this party started!

(in my labor gown from my dear friends Catherine and Christina at work)

James, Me and Devin with DR Smith

My fabulous Nurses/Friends, Whitney and Lauren

Daddy holding Devin

Proud Mommy and Daddy

My sweet, perfect baby Devin

Happy to finally hold my sweet boy

Proud as can be big brother Ethan!

Hall Pumpkin Farm

We made our trip to the pumpkin patch this year...avoiding the craziness of the Flower mound pumpkin patch we experienced last year! It was fun Ethan ran around played on the tractor, in the hay house...ya know, that sort of thing! He wasn't really in the mood to take pictures, so we only got a few!







And of course, we had to get a picture of Devin with his pumpkin too :)

(28 weeks!!)

Happy Fall Y'all!!

What we did today....

69 degrees and sunny...gotta take advantage of days like these in TX!
So...we went to the park:










And then we had a picnic lunch by the water:



I love days like this. Ethan is now beyond worn out and sleeping :) As I was taking pictures, I told him, "You are so adorable!" and he replied, " Yeah mommy, I AM so adorable." Love him...but he's growing up way to fast. If anyone has any ideas on how to stop that from happening, please let me know!

Ethan's first tee ball game!

I had to hold back the tears...my lil' boy is growing up!! Ethan had his first tee ball game last Saturday, his team is the Rangers! They were all so adorable. None of them really knew what they were doing, but I was so proud, he caught on so quick! Except for the occasional, "I'm tired of standing here, so i'll go play in the dirt" moments, he did really well. Papa Jim and Diane came out to watch too, so he was really excited about that. James was out there the whole time helping him. He did well for about 30 minutes, and then was DONE. I don't blame him, it was pretty darn hot! I am so proud of my lil' boy...he is SO great :)

Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day 2010

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

22 weeks and counting!

I had a check up Wednesday, and everything is still going great. Really all they do is listen to the baby's heart, force me to "weigh in" and check my urine...but still all is well :) I've gained a total of 5 lbs so far..really which was just in the past couple of weeks, thanks to my new found appetite. I have added two meals to my day...second breakfast, and pre dinner. It's worse when I'm working my 12 hour shifts, I have to bring so much food so I don't end up eating junk out of the vending machine! I've had a craving for cottage cheese with mandarin oranges and also for oreos with milk! I have oreos nightly before bed :) I'm allowed to splurge a little bit...right? Maybe it's time to switch to the lower sugar kind...I have my glucose screen at my next appt. Oct. 4th. The plan so far after speaking with my Dr. is to induce at 39 wks which will be New years day! We've decided on an induction for a few reasons...

1. Ethan was 8 lbs and 3 oz. (I am really scared of having a giant baby...and I DO NOT want a C/S if I can't push him out!)

2. We live 30 miles away from Parkland

3. My labor with Ethan was only 7 hours long. So if my water breaks at home I don't want to drive all the way to parkland.

We tried to talk my Dr. into Dec 30, but no such luck...I HAVE to be 39 weeks before she will induce. Of course this could all change, and it is depending on how baby is growing and developing. As for now, we are measuring a week and a half ahead of schedule per sono! So who knows maybe he will decide to come all on his own :)I'm a little less nervous about inducing than I was with Ethan because my body reacted really well to the Pitocin the first time. So here's hoping things continue to go as planned! My last day of work will be Jan 31st. until then we are busy finishing the nursery and getting some last minute home projects finished that have been hanging over our heads. My cousin Tiffany's wedding is this weekend, and Christine's baby shower is next weekend! So there's alot to do to keep us busy and our mind off of how much longer we have to go with this pregnancy!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Ethan Quote of the Day

While watching an episode of Dora the Explorer,entitled "Big Sister":

Ethan: "Dora's mommy has a baby in her tummy just like you and
Christine have a baby in your tummy!"

Me: "Yes, that's right!"

Ethan: "But not me, I have donuts and waffles in my tummy."

Love him :)

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