She's Here!!!

After the blood pressure issues and hospital stays, we are proud to announce that our baby girl has arrived. Kaylee Elizabeth was born Wednesday morning at 2:18 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long. I was admitted to the hospital again for the 4th time Monday morning due to my high blood pressure. My doctor decided that he wanted to call in a high risk pregnancy doctor to evaluate me and the baby and see if he thought we should go ahead and deliver. Tuesday afternoon the doctor came and after discussing our situation he decided that it was time we go ahead and deliver. They decided to induce me and started me on the pitocin around 3:30 p.m. At 4:00 p.m. the doctor came in and I was 2 1/2 centimeters dialated and he decided to go ahead and break my water. I got my epidural shortly after that and I was feeling pretty good. I had to be hooked up to magnesium because they didn't want me to have seizures since my blood pressure was so high and that made me very tired. At 10:00 p.m. the doctor checked me again and I was 4 centimeters and he said that I probably wouldn't have her until 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning..we sent everyone home exept my mom, Jordan, Aunt Lori and Ashlyn who insisted on waiting around just in case something happened sooner. I went to sleep and woke up at 12:30 a.m. feeling the urge to push. I called the nurse and she checked me and I was 8 centimeters. She told me to go ahead and try and push one time and she said she could see black hair. John called for my mom to come in the room and I started pushing at 1:00 a.m. By the time I had her everyone had made their way back to the hospital in time to see her before they had to take her to nursery. Since she was born at 36 1/2 weeks they wanted to observe her for a few hours before we could have her. Everything turned out great and we came home Friday afternoon. I will be updating more as we get setteled in but I have attached a few pictures from the hospital.

Hospital Stay # 2

Well I went for my follow-up appointment Monday and my blood pressure was 160/100 when I got there. I had my weekly exam and they decided to send me back up to labor and delivery for more bloodwork and testing..My mom was with me and we were pretty sure after seeing my next few blood pressures that we would be staying overnight for more monitoring. At this point my blood pressure was running about 180/108. At about 2:00 we were told that I would be admitted and the doctor would be in that afternoon to let me know what the plan would be. When he came in he said that he wanted to try and get my blood pressure under control so that we could keep the baby in for little longer and he wanted me to start another 24 hour urine collection to see if I was leaking protein ( a sign of toxemia). At this point it was already 6:00 PM so I knew I would at least be staying until 6:00 PM the following night but would probably get to go home afrer that. John came to see me after work but decided to go ahead and go home so that he could go to work Tuesday so he can have more time off when Kaylee is born, so my mom stayed the night with me. Aunt Lori and the girls also came to visit which was nice because I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of staying there again. Tuesday morning the doctor came in about 7:00 am and said that as long as my bloodwork and urine test came back okay then I would be able to go home that night. Well...when the doctor came back that afternoon at 5:30 he said that my labs were abnormal still and he still wasn't happy with my blood pressure so I had to stay ANOTHER night. I was very upset (which probably didn't help my blood pressure any...haha). He said that every time my blood pressure would get very high he would think it was time to deliver her but then it would go back down so he wanted to wait. He said to keep my bags packed because it is really a waiting game now. I was discharged yesterday afternoon and was told to be on bedrest until my next appointment on Monday. I will be 37 weeks next Thursday and that was originally when they said they would deliver her...so we will see. Please keep us in your prayers...I am really not wanting to stay in the hospital again until I am having this baby!!!!

Hospital Stay #1

Sorry it has been so long since I last updated, things have been a little crazy for us these past few weeks. Last Monday I got up to get ready for work and wasn't feeling that great, I decided to go ahead and check my blood pressure and it was 159/99. I called the doctor and they wanted to see me immediately, when I got there my blood pressure had gone up more so they decided to send me up to labor and delivery for testing on me and the baby. After a few hours of laying there hooked up to the monitors and giving blood, they decided they wanted to monitor me over night and do more blood work since they found some abnormalities in my bloodwork and continue doing serial blood pressure checks. John took off work so he could spend the night with me because we weren't really sure at this time what was going to happen. I was released Tuesday afternoon and was told that I needed to be on total bedrest and they would see me again the following Monday.
Me looking lovely laying in my hospital bed..haha
Luckily John brought his PSP or he might not have made it through the night. LOL
My mom stayed until visiting hours were over then went home since John was staying and there was only room for one person to sleep!!

2/28 Doctor Update

Yesterday I had my weekly doctor visit and my blood pressure had actually gone down some...Praise the Lord!!! I had a sonogram to see how big Kaylee is and she is 4 pounds 13oz. WOW. She will definentally be a good size baby. She also said she has a lot of hair. We are still uncertain when exactly I will be induced, it just depends on how my blood pressure does each week. It won't be long now though. I go back on Tuesday so I will update with any new information.

East Pointe Baby Shower

Saturday we had our second baby shower at East Pointe. Thanks mom, Aunt Lori, and girls for putting this together. We had a lot of friends and family come out to celebrate Kaylee and we really appreciate everyone's generosity. We are so blessed to have gotten everything we need for Kaylee and more....now we are just waiting for her. Thanks to everyone for all the advice and letters to Kaylee, I can't wait for her to get here so I can read them to her.




Mom, Me, and Aunt Lori


Me and Farryn


Me and Ashlyn

Me and Lindsey...Thanks Linsdey for making Kaylee her first Gator blanket. I will post a picture later so everyone can see how cute it is.

2/22 Doctor Update

This one is a few days late, but I just wanted to let everyone know about our doctors appointment on Friday. My blood pressure was up a little higher than the week before (it was around 152/89 this week). My doctor has decided that she is going to try to get me to 37 weeks, but will not let me go any longer than that. If my blood presure continues to rise then she will take the baby via c-section before then. I am scheduled for an ultrasound Thursday so the doctor can get the exact measurements of the baby and see how much fluid is left. She said this will help her determine her decision on exactly when she will induce me. Please continue to pray that we can hold out a few more weeks. I am 33 weeks now and it would really be great if we can keep her in until at least 35 weeks. My next appointment is Thursday, I will update then.

If You Can't Say Something Nice....

...Don't say anything at all!! I know we all learned this as children, but it seems as if some people need a little reminder (your know who you are)!!!

Family Baby Shower

This past Saturday we had our first baby shower. Thank you Nana for putting this together for us. Thanks to Aunt Shirley, Staci and Lacie for traveling up from Ocala to spend the day with us, it was really great to see you guys. We had such a great time. Kaylee got a lot of really cute things and I can't wait to use them. We are truly blessed to have such a great group of family and friends that are so excited to welcome little Kaylee in to the world. She will be here before we know it!!!

Me, mom, and Aunt Lori....They were dressed up as babies for the game we played!!!

Me and my cousin Lacie...I look so short compared to her..haha

Me and Nana

Me and my cousin StaciMe, my mom, and Rene' (my mother-in-law)

Thanks Aunt Lori and girls for the "Princess" robe and towel. I have wanted this since before I even knew Kaylee was a girl!!
Thanks Aunt Lindsey for the cute outfits and socks. I can't wait for Kaylee to wear them.

Weekly Doctor Update

This morning I had my 31 week Dr. appointment. I thought since I had been resting more and eating better that my blood pressure might have been down a little bit...no such luck...it actually went up a little bit. The doctor said that he still isn't too concerned but he wants me to get some bloodwork done and continue to closely monitor me for pre-eclampsia and toxemia. I am supposed to continue to be off my feet as much as possible and monitor my blood pressure daily. I will also continue seeing the doctor every week until I deliver. Pray that we can keep my blood pressure down for a few more weeks until Kaylee is ready to come out...Only 8 weeks left..woohoo!!

31 Weeks!!

I am 31 weeks today and thought I would post a picture so everyone can see how big Kaylee and I have gotten. HAHA. Only 9 weeks left woohoo!! I have another doctors appointment on Friday so I will let everyone know how that goes. Please pray that my blood pressure has gone down and everything looks good.

30 week Doctor Appointment

This morning I had my 30 week doctor appointment. My blood pressure has been a little high at each appointment but all they have said so far is that they will keep monitoring it. Today it was a little higher than it has been and since I have also been having some swelling in my legs and feet, he decided that he wants me to start coming every week instead of every two weeks so he can keep a close eye on it, although he said he isn't too concerned at this point. He said he will continue to allow me to work, since I have a desk job, but he wants me to come straight home and put my feet up for a few hours each night and take a 45 minute hot bath every night. I was a little disappointed since I have had no problems thus far, but I'm sure everything will be fine. On a positive note we only have 9 1/2 weeks left until Kaylee is here. We are so excited. I also have my first shower next weekend which I can't wait for. Thanks to Nana for throwing it for me. I will be sure to post pics of the event. Please pray that Kaylee and I will continue to be healthy in these last few weeks.

Miss Sandalwood

Congratulations to my cousin Katelyn for winning Miss Sandalwood. She did such a great job and looked amazing. We are so proud of her.

3D/4D Sonogram

I know this is a little late (thanks for the friendly reminder Mrs. McCollum) but we had our 3d/4d sonogram on Friday and it was so cool. I was very relieved that she was still a girl since we have sooo much stuff for her and my mom and I finally got the nursery finished. They said we could have friends or family come so it was John and I, my mom, his mom, Aunt Lori, Ashlyn and John's brother Caleb. We wished we could have had everyone come but it was a very tiny place. The sonogram was supposed to only last for 30 minutes and we were only supposed to get 15 pictures, but the technician was very generous and it lasted almost an hour and we came home with almost 55 pictures and a few little videos. It was really neat to see her actually look like a baby instead of a little alien. HAHA. We could very clearly see her face and count her little fingers and toes. We also learned she has big feet just like her daddy. LOL. She will be able to wear shoes home from the hospital :) This was a really great expierence and I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to do this. Thanks again mom, this was my favorite Christmas present.

Looks like shes smiling in this one!!

This is a pic of her foot and arm, if you'll notice, her foot is almost as long as her arm..haha

This one is one of my favorites, I think she looks like John with that little smirk!!

Doctors Appointment

Today I had my monthly doctor visit. I got the results back from my glucose test and thank goodness I passed, the last 13 weeks would have been tough without any sugar..lol. My iron levels were low so the doctor put me on an iron supplement but said that it's no big deal and will correct itself when Kaylee is born. I was a little bummed about my weight gain, lets just say I have gained more than what I wanted to gain the whole pregnancy, the doctor keeps telling me not to worry that it's normal, easy for her to say...she's not the fat one. LOL. I go back in 4 weeks for my next appointment and then after that I will go every two weeks. I can't believe how quickly the time is going by. We are having our 4d sonogram done this afternoon. I will be sure to post pictures of Kaylee when we home so be sure to check back for updates.

"It's All About Him" by Denise Jackson

Last week I was in the Christian bookstore and stumbled upon a wonderful book I thought I would share with everyone. It is called "It's All About Him" by country singer Alan Jackson's wife. It is an amazing book and I have not been able to put it down since I started. It talks about their lives and how they have all the material things that anyone could ask for yet were still feeling empty. The book also talks about them turning to God during the darkest times of their life when their marriage had fallen apart and things with their family were rough. This book has served as a reminder to me that in order to have a healthy marriage, God needs to be at the center of it. It also has reminded me that all the material things on earth will not satisfy you like a relationship with God will. This book is definentally an eye opener and one that I would strongly recommend.

Goals for 2008

I can't believe it is already 2008. It seems like each year is going by faster and faster!! It's time to make those new years resolutions and set goals for the upcoming year. 2008 is going to be a busy and exciting year for us and I am so excited to face the joys and challenges this year will bring. Here are my goals I have set so far for this year:

~ Spend more time in God's word and strengthening my relationship with him.
~ Give birth to a healthy baby girl.
~ Be a better wife.
~ Buy a house.
~ Spend more time with family and friends.
~ Lose all my pregnancy weight.
~ Exercise and eat better.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and prosperous 2008! Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Night with the Principe's

Usually the Principe's come over on Christmas eve before the church service and we celebrate with them, this year since everyone is so busy and the family's are growing we weren't really going to get together. Well, my cousin Farryn wasn't having that, she insisted that we all get together on Christmas night for dessert and coffee if nothing else, so thats what we did. I am really glad we got to spend the time with them, it's hard to get everyone together these days so I am glad we got to have Christmas dessert with them even if it was only for a short while.This was the last picture i could get him to take, he was pictured out from the holidays LOLMy cousin Farryn and her boyfriend JTMe and my cousin Katelyn
Me and my cousin AshlynMe and my cousin FarrynMy mom and Aunt LoriPhillip and his girlfriend Lindsey
Me and the girls

Christmas Day at Nana and Papa's

Ever since I was a child, we have always spent Christmas day at my Nana and Papa's house, so this year was no different. We all packed up Christmas morning and drove across town to spend the day with nana and papa and my Aunt Toni and cousin Shelton. We always have such a wonderful time over there and appreciate them preparing Christmas Lunch for all of us!!

Me and John Me and NanaMe and PapaMe and my MommaJordan sporting his new gator hat!!Me and my cousin Shelton with his new puppy he got for Christmas
Dad and John playing with Jordans new puzzle's..doesn't take much to amuse them HAHA

Christmas Eve

For the past few years we have celabrated Christmas with my parents on Christmas eve. This year for some stupid reason LOL my mom and I decided we would wait until the last minute to wrap all the Christmas gifts. We went to the Christmas eve service at church and then came home and started wrapping. We finally got done wrapping around 10:00 just so everyone could turn around and open them up about 2 minutes later. HAHA. You can see below the guys waiting patiently in the living room while we finished up wrapping. I told her next year we will definentally start a little earlier. Thanks mom and dad for the gifts, we really appreciate them. John got a remote control helicopter that he has been wanting FOREVER...all he and the boys wanted to do all night was play with it, and it's not exactly the quietest thing. We also got some money (which is always nice) and they are going to pay for us to have a 4D sonogram in January. I am so excited. I will definentally post some pictures of Kaylee once we get them!! Thanks again mom and dad! Me and Mom wrapping on Christmas Eve Jordan waiting patiently for his presents to be wrapped! Me and my dad, it was getting late and I was looking a little rough!! John opening up his helicopter