Birthday Gifts!

So Preston is turning 3 on Friday and this mama is soooo not ready for it. I mean seriously where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital and now he is a rambunctious 3 year old who loves cars, tractors, super heros and Nick Jr. I mean really?!?Anyway he got his first birthday card in the mail yesterday! Inside was a gift card to Target from Robert's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Joe (Thanks by the way P LOVED shopping and paying all by himself). He instantly asked what it was and I told him...which then followed up with let's go to Target now! Since we had nothing else to do and I was anxious to get out of the house we went to Target. You would have thought he about to die with excitement when we hit the toy aisle! He pushed every button and looked at every toy imaginable! I never dreamed it would take an hour and a half to spend 25 dollars but it did and he made sure he got the best toy he could afford. I tried my darnedest to get him to purchase a pair of shoes and I probably should have made him but it was his first gift card that he could actually spend himself so I caved and let him enjoy being a kid. He walked down every aisle and hollered lots of Oooooos and AHHHHHS along with THAT'S SO COOL and I NEED THAT! It did give me an opportunity to tell him the difference between needing and wanting something...by the end of the trip he was correctly telling me he wanted something instead. I was elated when we FINALLY decided on a Hot Wheels car that has "hydraulics" and does wheelies. It had it's engine out (according to P) and that was cool so the blue car with flames came home with us...I am regretting this decision though because it is loud and doesn't have a lower volume. O well we are only children once right?!?

4 month stats!

Well I am again late on the posting! Huxley is almost 5 months and again I have yet to take his four month picture! I will try to take one before he hits 5 months and will just upload pics. I don't know why I post them since the only people that read my blog see him in real life about once a week lol. O well. We went back to the Dr for his well baby check up (except he was still sick with the flu :o( ). Everything looked really good! He weighed 17.2 lbs and was 25.5 inches long. His head was 17.5 cm? He was in the top 10% for height and weight and is in the top 5% in his head circumference. Baby boy is going to be BIG!!! We started Cereal in a bowl which even though I wasn't supposed to I add a fruit to it. He seems to like it ok but would just prefer a bottle. I hope its just because he isn't used to it yet. We are about 3 lbs away from outgrowing his infant carrier so all I can hope is that it will last until at least January/February so I can get past Christmas and purchase P a new seat so Huxley can have his old one. I am kind of excited about getting Preston a new seat though. I think I have decided on the Britax Frontier 85 or the one with side impact cushions. I would like to have the one with the side impact but fear it won't fit in my car as of now. Our next vehicle will be a van so I know it will fit there but right now is when I really need it to fit so we will see. He is all excited about getting a big boy booster seat...part of me is excited with him but part of me is pretty sad about it! Where did my baby go??? Anyway I won't bore ya'll any longer with my random rambling. I promise to post more often and less wordy word and more pics!

Alzheimer's

Can I just say I HATE Alzheimer's???? I really do! My Pawpaw has it and it is such a vicious disease. It really tears me apart the days he has bad days. Here lately it seems as though he has more of the bad days than good days. He hasn't forgotten us but he sure does revert to the past a lot. Please say a prayer for my family and for him and anyone else that is having to deal with such a heartbreaking disease.

Where in the world are the Martins?!?!

Wow its been a while since I have last posted!!! I completely missed Huxley's 3 mth stuff! A quick recap of his 3rd month of wonderfulness is as follows:

Went to drs appt for sickness chunk weighed in a little before his 3rd month birthday at 14.14 without eating lol. We started him on Zantac and that helped for a while but it has since been changed to a generic for Prevacid. I can't really tell if its doing much since you can still hear the reflux but he isn't crying so I guess it's working.

His four month well baby check up isn't until the 14th of november however we did go to the Doctor on the 8th and found that poor Frank has the flu :o( Poor lil guy woke with a fever of 103.8!!! If that isn't enough to make even the most seasoned mama freak I don't know what is lol. I called Robert in tears because I have never had a child have a fever that high. Deep down I knew it was the flu I just prayed it wasn't. But on the upside we have been pumping him full of Advil and he seems to be feeling better...for the most part. Such a sweet lil guy!

We took Preston trick or treating for the first time this year. He was Thomas the Train and oh so cute! My sweet brother came and went with us so that I wouldn't have to take both boys by myself in the dark. I am soooo thankful he went too. I always like to think I am supermom but what kind of mom goes trick or treating...in the dark without a flashlight or glow stick!?!? My brother had a flashlight though...he is so smart...even if we were already half way around the block before we pulled it out to use it lol ;o) P had a great time and got lots of candy that Robert and I are still enjoying lol. Secretly I despise Halloween candy since I am the one that ends up eating it. Not good for the diet I am on lol.

Other than that not a whole lot to report on the home front. Robert is still working lots but it's ok. I know that eventually he will be home with us at decent hours and actually be able to enjoy his boys. I know Preston will be glad when he is home and I start to cook again! Poor lil fella has had lots of chicken nuggets and grilled chicken strips here lately. I made him instant mashed potatoes last night to go with his grilled chicken to which he proclaimed was SOOO GOOD! lol He is such a sweet boy!

Please continue to pray for my grandfather. He has had 3 surgeries in probably 8 weeks and is having a really hard time with confusion and not getting enough sleep. Reality is setting in the he won't be around forever and that he has serious health issues. He has Alzheimers and isn't doing the best. Please pray for him and our family.

Huxley 2 months

Where has the last two months gone?!? I sure don't know! So far this month Huxley has been doing good. He is still waking up (occasionally) at 4 to eat a bottle but other nights he sleeps til 6 eats and then takes his morning nap. He is smiling A LOT and will even smile back at you when you smile at him. He coos and I really think he is trying to laugh. Twice he has made a chuckle when I said something or made a funny noise. Its so cute! I cannot seem to catch it on video though. So far this month he had his first "sick" appt. He somehow managed to get an ingrown fingernail that somehow got infected so he was on Cephlex (spell?) twice a day for 10 days. He was also diagnosed with reflux and is now on Zantac twice a day. It seems to be working and we actually have pleasant days most days. He is growing like a weed and is getting so big! He is eating cereal in his night time bottles and is consuming 4-6 ounces each feeding. Big boy loves his food and cries when I take it away to burp lol. Silly Frank!

Here are his stats from his 2 month appt:

He weighs 13 lbs 11 ounces and is in the top 10 percentile

He is 23.25 inches long and is in the top 30%

his head is 16.75 inches! I believe he is in the top 5% for this one...I will have to double check and get back to you.

He got 3 shots and one oral and cried so hard. I felt terrible because he was just a smiling and cooing at me when he got stuck. His face turned red and he screamed and cried really loud...broke my heart! He did good though. Never ran a fever and was only slightly crabby the rest of the day mainly he just slept a lot that day. I snuggled him all day poor lil fella!

Other than that we are doing well. I promise to post pics soon. I just don't have my camera handy to do so anytime soon. Hope everyone is doing well!

Huxley 1 month old!

So I should have posted a while ago but just got behind. Huxley is growing at an alarming rate and it feels like I blinked and he was already a month old! We went to his appt with Dr Morrison thinking he would get shots...I had mentally prepared for some shots but he didn't get any...Just a heel prick :o( He sobbed and sobbed and I somehow managed to keep my composure. I don't particularly care much for the nurse that did it and have had issues with her in the past but oh well it was just one time and I hope we don't have her again anytime soon.

Here are his stats: He weighed 11 pounds even, is 21.5 inches tall and his head was 15.75 inches around. He is growing so fast and eating lots and lots. He is mainly a happy baby but has had some issues with gas so he gets gas drops before every bottle. That seems to help. He is sleeping pretty much all night he goes to bed at 8 and then wakes up around 4:30 to eat. Then goes back to sleep until 6:30 or 7. We have had our tough days but we are slowly starting to figure out each others routines and things are going smoother. We have been so blessed with him as our son.

Huxley's Birthday Story!

So I have taken forever to finally sit down and recount the day we were blessed with Huxley's safe arrival into this world. I've sat down numerous times to tell his story but was called away by Preston or by the screams of our newest family member. So finally I have some time.

Our story begins on Wednesday 7/6/11. Robert worked til 5 so my mom decided to go with me to check into the hospital to start the induction process. I was sooo excited but deep down so worried that something would go wrong. Since I had such an easy pregnancy I was worried that delivery would be bad or something would go wrong. I was admitted to Labor and Delivery room 2 (which is super nice for all my preggers friends)

I put on my gown and meet my first nurse of the day (I don't remember her name but she was super sweet) She asks if it is OK for a student nurse to shadow her and I say sure. She also wants to let the student nurse put in my IV for practice...I really didn't want to let her but since I am so nice I agreed and said that would be fine. (she did really good and only had to stick me twice which is pretty good since I have such small veins). I get the IV in and it burns like I have never felt before...nurse assures me that its normal and will wear off. 20 minutes later it felt somewhat better but still sore. Dr comes in to check me and give me my first dose of Cytotec. He announces that I am not even 2 cm dilated but that I am close to a two. Robert gets there along with Preston and my dad. We watch some TV and just hang out. I start having small contractions sometime around 7ish but nothing painful. I get my second dose of cytotec at 9 pm. Contractions are starting to feel slightly uncomfortable but nothing I cannot handle and NOTHING like the back pain I felt with Preston. Robert falls asleep and I try really hard. Long about 12 i finally fall asleep...Nurse comes in to give me 3rd dose of Cytotec but checks me first. She announces that I am 3 cm and 50% effaced and that I cannot have another dose of meds. She asks if I need any pain meds and I told her no that I felt OK and my pain was probably only a 2. Robert calls my mom to tell her then goes back to sleep...I am too excited to sleep and I think I stay up all night. Nurse Kara comes back in at 5 to check me and start my pitocin and tells me that I am still at a 3 and asks if I want to go ahead and get an epidural. The pain isn't bad and honestly I wanted to wait for the epidural but was encouraged to go ahead and get one since there were 5-6 C Sections lined up and she didn't want me to have to wait should the pain get too intense for the nurse anethesist to come in. I agreed and by 530 was sitting over the side of the bed waiting for the needle. Dana said that I had lots of swelling and had to stick me a couple times eventually the epi went in and all went numb. However I found it strange that I could still move my legs. My mom showed up by 6 and we waited. I put on make up and waited. Family started trickling in and my sweet friend Emily showed up to take pictures about 830.

Family started to arrive and I was the happiest person in labor ever. I kept marveling over how easy it had been and how less painful it was than when I was in labor with Preston. Dr.Desautels came in to check on me and said that he though we would definitely have a baby by 2 o clock that afternoon and that everything looked good.

Long about 12 another nurse named Jennifer (she was filling in for Melissa who would be my LD nurse when Huxley was born) came in to check me. I was beginning to suspect something was wrong since the nurses kept coming in and moving me around from right to left. They never did that with Preston and when doing so apparently caused my cath from the Epidural to shift resulting in feeling coming back in my right side. Melissa had come in a teeny bit earlier and had told me that she was going to sit me straight up so that gravity would do its part and help me along in labor. After checking me I was sat upright. I was at a 5.

Not long after Melissa checked me and sat me up Jennifer came in probably about 1 and rechecked me and told me she thought I was a 7...she kept staring at the monitor and after checking me I noticed that the look on her face was one of concern and that there was a good bit of blood...this was my second red flag that something was wrong. She quickly left the room and mumbled something about getting Dr Desautels to come check me out. He came right in, they pulled him out of delivery next door to check me...another red flag. He checked me out and told me that he was a little concerned about the blood I was losing. He told me it could be two things. Either I was in rapid labor which causes a lot of blood or my placenta was detaching causing the blood loss and heart rate to drop. He told me that he would give me 5 minutes and then he would be back in to check me out if I had not progressed to 10 then we would have to have a C section. I asked him how sure he was of me having a C Section and he told me honestly that it was pretty likely I was going to have to have a C.

I started to cry and decided to not share that info with my family. I didn't want anyone to worry before they had to. By this point the contractions were pretty intense and I felt them on my right side since my epi failed. I was having to breathe through contractions and was more worried about my possible impending C Section. All I could do was hold Robert's hand and the railing of the bed to get by each minute and half of each contraction.

(this is right after I talked to the dr).

Dr. Desautels came back in about 8 minutes and checked me again. By this time we had booked an OR and when the nurse came in to wheel me back Dr D announced that I was complete and going to push. There were probably 30 plus people in the room all hospital staff. I think I began to push before everyone left the room. Poor Robert got caught at my feet when I started to push and I thought he was going to pass out...

He hung in there though and did great! I pushed as hard as I could 3 sets of 3. A monitor was placed on Huxley's head and vacuum was used on my last set of pushes

When the vacuum didn't work. Suddenly the Doctor screamed get me an OR STAT. The nurses started throwing cords and stuff on my bed and everyone became worrisome and frantic. I was told we were having an Emergency C Section and that we had to hurry. I was rushed out without my bed even attached at the bottom and the Dr screamed to get dad some scrubs. By this point I was more worried about something being wrong with my baby. However I was eerily calm.

Once in the OR I was moved to the operating table and was relieved to see Ken Duke had scrubbed in to be in my surgery. Having him there was such a blessing. Especially when Robert wouldn't be allowed in. In a rush to fix my failed epi I was administered with stronger drugs that didn't work either. After being pinched and telling them I could feel everything I was told I would be put under and that they have to get Huxley out ASAP. I remember the Anesthesiologist telling me who he was and Ken looking down at me and saying how shocked he was that I was so calm. My last thought was if I die I hope Preston and Robert know how much I love them and I hope that they can save Huxley. The next thing I know everything is going fuzzy...I remember the clock reading around 115 when we got into the OR. Suddenly I am awake in recovery, which I thought I was in a hallway lol. My mom was there telling me everything went great. I kept asking all these questions like where was my baby and how much did he weigh and his length to the nurse.

It was 2:30 and Huxley had entered the world at 1:47! Robert came in shortly after and then a nurse brought Huxley in to see me. Oh my word he was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I immediately cried when I held him. I nursed him and couldn't believe he was here after all the chaos. He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 inches of sheer perfection! After talking to my doctor he told me that my placenta had in fact started to detach and that we had to get Huxley out ASAP or he wouldn't have survived. He said that I had lost A LOT of blood but that he was shocked to see how well my blood count was the following morning.

Overall it wasn't anything like my birth plan but I wouldn't change the way it happened for anything. It really taught me to be humble and that I have to put my trust in God for everything even in the scary times when things look uncertain.