Hello

Woah. It’s been a while. I don’t even know where to start! We moved!! It wasn’t so bad. We left Houston at the end of April, spent a few days in St. Louis with my family, and then headed to North Carolina. It was strange to make that drive again after so long. Deja vu! I got MAJOR butterflies pulling into our neighborhood. It feels SO good to be back. I totally underestimated how much work it would be to move with 2 kids, 2 cars, and a dog. Also, moving into a house that had been rented out.. it was SO not up to my standards (especially the yard!) And unpacking all.of.our.stuff! We have a LOT more than we did 3 years ago! But, the house is together and looking good. Not without a few meltdowns, but we made it! :)

Levi is 7 months! He is huge, healthy, and totally off the hook for weight, blood tests, urine tests, All of it. Woohoo!!! He’s HUGE!! 22 lbs and 28 inches. He’s wearing 12 months, but not for long. I’m working every day to get this boy to enjoy real food, but he is such a bottle baby. (And breaking the bank since he takes over 40 oz of formula per day!) I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months. He’s sleeping through the night. Almost 12 hours! Levi is a sweet, happy boy. Watching Brady play is definitely his favorite thing to do. It doesn’t take much to get those rolling giggles. I love watching them together.

Brady is 3. We had a small party here with a few friends and my mom and sister, Allison. It was everything Brady wanted. He is old enough to know what a birthday is and he talked about it.. constantly! He asked about his cake and his presents every day for 2 weeks. We got him the coolest robot cake, a few balloons, and too many presents. He loved every second! He starts a new preschool here in September. I’m so relieved that I found a good, affordable one. I remind him about it when we drive by, and he is really excited to “see friends”. His friend Aaliyah, or Lala as Brady says, is in the same class! I'm so happy.

It was the best visit with my mom and sister. I love their company and help with kiddos :) We went to the beach in Emerald Isle. It was Levi’s first trip. He knew just what to do! He immediately got comfy on the blanket and conked out!

Eric loves his unit here and being back in the fleet. He’s super busy with training and courses. And on top of that, he’s in some pretty tough classes with his school. Only 7 more classes until he is done and has a Bachelor’s degree! So proud of him! It takes a lot of time and dedication from Eric, which of course affects each of us in the family. It’s not something that’s easy by any means, but so worth it.

Me? I just try to keep up with them! ;) I’ve really gotten into gardening. Our Richland’s Garden Center is my favorite place to go. This is the first time I’ve bought plants and kept them ALL alive. I even put together a few of my own plants. I’ve learned a lot and it’s pretty therapeutic. We’ve also got PUMPKINS growing in the back yard thanks to our tenants. When I first saw that garden out back, I thought, “Really? I can barely keep my kids alive! What the $#*& am I going to do with a vegetable garden!” Lol. But I’ve grown to love it. Also, I’m finally pre pregnancy weight. So I’m happy, happy, happy!

4 Months

Levi is 4 months old!! And doing really well :) We had an appointment with the GI doc on Monday and Levi had gained 1 lb 3 oz in 12 days!! That’s huge for Levi. We got some of the test results: liver function is normal, ultrasound is normal, LFTs are still high. That news was fantastic! It looks like the chances are slim for anything serious to be wrong with his liver. They are running the blood work again since he gained weight to see if that helped lower the LFTs. They also got the urine to run that. When Eric and I got the first sample, Levi pooped on it! We go back in 3 weeks (the day before we move!)

Levi is taking his bottle now. It only took about 3 days with the syringe. That’s the way to go! I was able to squeeze out just a little at a time until he got used to it. It wasn’t too long until Levi started to try and suck on the syringe. I had a bottle ready to offer when he did that. It was awkward and ya gotta bring the patience. But it did go faster and easier than I anticipated. He gets two 4 oz bottles of formula per day and we nurse as usual. It makes me sad that he wasn’t getting enough calories, but I think his doctor and I did the best we could. Levi showed all the signs that he got enough milk. I think my breast milk may have just been on the low side with calories. I didn’t even know it could vary! Live and learn.

Every time I see Levi smile.. He has this super excited, open mouth, one cheek higher than the other, tongue out, slobbery smile.. let me get back on track.. Every time I see Levi smile, try to sit up, put all his weight on his legs, grab at everything, I think, “Failure to thrive, my ass!” It’s a mommy thing ;)

We move 3 weeks from today. Let the moving madness begin! It’s already getting chaotic, but I’m trying to stay positive. If I get frustrated, I look at pictures of our house in North Carolina. That makes me happy! I get stressed out easily these days, so thank God I have Eric to level me out. I want to enjoy our last bit of time here and do the things I will miss when we are gone.

My Little Levi

I’ve been taking Levi every 2 weeks or so to his pediatrician to weigh in. His weight gain has been slow over all since birth. He’s never lost weight, but gained much more slowly than he “should”. He’s exclusively breastfed, so that made things tricky. I don’t know exactly how much milk he is getting. Dr. Puranick has been wonderful though! He’s really been working with me to do our best to continue breastfeeding, but also rule out any health issues. “We’re cautiously optimistic”, he always says. And he never brought up formula. After our last appointment, he decided to run blood work. Levi’s heart sounded great, but he wanted to test his kidneys, liver, and pancreas. That was on a Wednesday. The lab at that office poked Levi 3 times and couldn’t draw blood. I thought Eric was going to come unglued. We left, but knew we had to go back to do it all over again. Talk about defeated.

The doctor’s office called me later though to suggest I go to Texas Children’s Hospital. They would be better at drawing blood on a 3 month old. We went on Friday and it was a much better experience. Eric kept saying, “He doesn’t need it. I don’t want to go.” Such a protective Daddy. I, of course, convinced him that it’s better to know for sure. I truly believed a nurse would call to tell us that the results were normal, to continue nursing as usual, and Levi is just a smaller baby. No.big.deal. By Monday morning, the blood test was so off my radar, I didn’t even know why I saw “Dr. Haney” show up on my caller ID. When I answered to hear Dr. Puranick’s voice, I immediately thought.. Oh sh**. This can’t be good. Or the doctor himself wouldn’t have called.

The test for Levi’s liver came back elevated. He needed to see a GI doctor. And I probably need to start supplementing. It was a Monday morning and I was working on potty training with Brady. Didn’t see that one coming! Talk about a lousy day. I was on the phone 2355 times that day with Levi’s pediatrician’s office, Tricare, and the GI they were referring us to. It paid off and we had an appointment for Wednesday morning 9 am.

We don’t have a lot of answers yet, but they should be coming soon. Dr. Imseis said that elevated liver function (LFTs to be specific) on blood work can be because of a cold, fever, or the flu. That’s unlikely since Levi wasn’t sick, but they are running it again to make sure. Along with a slew of other blood tests, a urinalysis, and an ultrasound. Elevated LFTs can also mean liver damage or liver disease. The doctor felt and listened to Levi’s chest and stomach, which checked out perfectly. But that only reveals so much. Today, they were able to draw blood, but only enough to run half the tests that were ordered. This is particularly depressing since the nurse drew blood from Levi’s head. And I didn’t want them to need to do it again. She tried his arm first, but not much blood flowed. She was a PICU nurse for 10 years and gave me the impression she knew what she was doing. Another nurse was there to hold Levi down, so I didn’t watch. I faced the wall and cried. How do people go through this regularly with their sick children? Babies??

The ultrasound is scheduled for next Thursday and we will also do the urine test that day. The nurse is going to let me collect the urine myself that morning in a bag (a medical one that they gave me, in case you pictured a Ziploc), instead of a catheter. Thank God! Our next appointment is on the 31 and we will do the remaining blood work that day. Shortly after that we should have some answers. I did get to speak with a nutritionist and an occupational therapist today. I need to start supplementing Levi’s breast milk. Ok. Except. He won’t take a bottle. So, I’m going to make a 4 oz bottle of formula (made to have higher calories than regular formula) and start giving it to him in a syringe. I’m still going to work on the bottle situation, but at least for now we can keep nursing as usual. I will just slip the syringe in hoping he won’t even notice, or give it to him after. I PRAY this will get us some extra ounces on the scale. He’s still only 11 lbs 3 oz.

I felt very nervous, but good overall when I left the office. Then I sat in the car and read over his paperwork. “Failure to Thrive”. Stab me in the heart, why don’t you. I haven’t jumped to any conclusions or let my mind wander as to what could go wrong. However, seeing those words written about my baby really hurt. Looking at the band aid on his head, that hurts too. But I really trust these doctors and nurses. We went downtown to a very nice office. Everyone was very helpful, kind, thorough, and good at their jobs. They assured me we should have this all figured out before we move next month. And they will help us find a great doctor in NC.

One step at a time. And LOTS of prayers.

Quickie because I'm tired ;)

Levi was 10 lbs 10 oz on Tuesday. The doctor was very happy with his growth over 2 weeks. It's still not where he “should” be based on birth weight, but it's a very good sign that breastfeeding is going well. The Dr actually said, “Keep breastfeeding. You're doing great!” Woohoo!! We're going back in 3 weeks to weigh again. Waiting the normal 2 months just seemed like too long for both of us. Plus, that would be right before we move and I don't mind extra check ups before we hit the road.

It was really nice to get good news about Levi and his weight. Especially since Brady was in the hospital that day! Yeah. He was admitted Monday night. 104.6 fever, dizzy, and trouble breathing. I was freaked out. He got a cough 2 days before and got crazy sick that fast. Eric rushed him to the ER and I had to stay home with Levi. That's definitely the hardest part of having another infant and breastfeeding. NOTHING else could've kept me away from Brady. They took him straight back and ran lots of tests. He was admitted, put on an IV, oxygen.. They kept him for 2 nights and 2 days. He had a bad bronchial infection and early stages of pneumonia. How did it get so bad so fast!? So scary, but the good thing is.. I'm always on top of symptoms and temperatures. Call me overprotective ;)

Eric's parents were a huge help. They were at the hospital the whole time helping Eric out. I know Brady loved having them there. One of the times they took his blood, Brady said, “I wanna go see girl. I wanna see Grandma. I wanna see Patrick. Give him a toy.” OHHHH Break my heart. Grandma is my mom and Patrick is her dog. I made sure Grandma sent us pictures of Patrick :) I was at the hospital several hours each day. It hurt to leave him.

We're at home now, continuing the breathing treatments, meds, and doing my best to keep the kids separated. It's not easy! I have to time everything around when I think Levi will need to nurse. One more day until the weekend!

2 months

He's really 2 months old?! It goes by even faster the second time because we're just so busy! Each day goes by pretty quickly. We're only 2 months away from our move. That really freaks me out!

Levi is doing very well. We're still exclusively breastfeeding. He's wearing 3 month clothes. He's sleeping great (most of the time). He's 24 inches and 10 lbs. The doctor said that seems a little low.. Ugh. So, I'm working on getting in as many feedings as possible each day (why do people think you can make a baby eat... ya can't!) and then we'll go back to weigh in on the 18^th.

I'm pretty certain that he's fine. Plenty of pee/poo diapers, his color is perfect, he's really not thin, and he nurses about every 3 hours during the day, 4 hours at night. He's not crying or upset as if he's hungry and not getting anything. But I understand the doctor's concern. This is his job. He has to make sure each baby is healthy. Do you think there are some moms out there that miss the signs their baby isn't getting enough milk? Probably. Or there are babies with some greater health issue? Definitely. They can't let any babies slip through the cracks just because Mom says she thinks it's ok.

Levi is always smiling now :) And cooing a lot! It's so sweet. Brady is in love with his brother. He asks for “Baby?” if he can't see him. Brady brings a paci to us when Levi cries. I can't count how many kisses he gives Levi! And now he smacks really loud when he kisses. Hilarious. And just the other day Brady asked to hold Levi. I was stunned. Brady climbed in the glider and said, “My hold him”. Haha

Brady is huge. Eric and I can't get over it. He's going to be 3 in a blink. School is still awesome. I tell Brady, “you're going to school today” and he says, “Go see friends?” It's nice to know he likes it so much. I love reading his report every day. They always sing and read about Jesus, make a craft, jump in a bounce house.. What could be better?

Eric is finished with recruiting soon. It blows my mind. Sometimes (all the time) the last 3 years feels like a lifetime. I'm so proud of him for finishing this awful duty and doing very well on it. We are so ready to move on to the next and be back in our home! I cry when I think about being back in our own house. We just love it there and it's ours. I'm also nervous though. It will be another big transition for us. We're actually used to recruiting so switching back will take some time. I remember how much I hated everything about recruiting though, so I figure I'm going to love going back?! Haha Here's hoping!

Levi's Birth

I totally meant to post before Levi was born.. but honestly, the last few weeks really got away from me. We scheduled my induction, had Thanksgiving, that weekend we prepared, and then BOOM – on Monday he was here! That's how it seemed anyways.

I was induced 2 days before my due date with Brady and really liked it that way. People have plenty of fears and negative things to say about inductions, but mine went pretty well. I feel that if you are showing signs of being pretty close to labor, you're full term, and your doctor gives the ok, then why not? It was really nice to plan it out and spend all of my labor in the hospital. I'm not interested in hours of labor at home. Thank.you.very.much.

We checked into Christus (we decided to go with the hospital where Brady was born) at 5 am Monday, December 2 and the pitocin was flowing by 6:15. I had a wonderful nurse taking care of me. She upped the pitocin every 15 minutes. By 9 am I was 4 cm and completely effaced. Levi's head still hadn't dropped completely. Dr. Doan came to check on me and said to get the epidural before lunch because that's when she would break my water. After that, the labor would go quickly. I set a goal to make it to 11 and then get the epidural. By 10, the contractions were really getting more intense. Eric was asleep on the couch. Lol But, it's for the best. For some reason, I cannot stand to hear ANYONE speak during a contraction. I reminded him of that before going into the hospital, so I'm sure he thought, “Great, I'll take a nap.” haha I prefer to lay in my bed, silent, with my eyes closed. I don't want anyone bothering me and I don't want to look like a wimp.

I made it until 10:45 and asked for the anesthesiologist to come on down. I was disappointed that I asked early (until later, when I realized how quickly things were moving). The nurse checked me right before I got the epidural and I was 5 cm dilated and she was pretty sure my water had broken on its own (It had). Less than 45 minutes after receiving the epidural, I was laying on my back and about to fall asleep. A different nurse came in my room and quickly said, “Hi, I'm Diane. Your nurse is stuck in another room, she needs me to check you..” she did, and then started sounding off orders on her phone. “Call Dr. Doan now for deliver.” What!? Levi was in position and ready to go! She asked if I could feel the pressure. I said, “No, I was about to fall asleep!” She rolled me onto my side, and holy mother of labor! I could feel that he was certainly ready and I had the strongest urge to push. I held my legs tightly together and prayed he would wait for the doctor to get there!

From that point, everything went SO FAST. I'm still in shock when I think about it. Those nurses are incredible and move so quickly. By noon I was pushing. I was so nervous, but gave it everything I had. My entire pregnancy, I knew how important it was to stay in good shape so I could have a better delivery. I didn't want an episiotomy (which Dr. Doan doesn't do anyway), I didn't want suction used on him, and I didn't want to be a pathetic mess while recovering either. I had that the first time around and I wasn't going down without a serious fight this time.

Dr. Doan very seriously said, “He has a big head...” Lol. Awesome. I knew he was going to be big. Another incentive to keep myself healthy.. I pushed hard, and I could feel a big difference this time around. Levi was born at 12:21 at 21 ¼ inches and 8 lbs 15.5 oz. Twenty minutes of pushing!! A nine pound baby! All by myself! I was proud. Dr. Doan put him on my chest right away (where he stayed for almost 2 hours!) and everyone kept saying how big he was. But he looked small to me :) Eric sobbed, just like he did with Brady. And I just kissed him and stared at him. He struggled with breast feeding the whole time he was on my chest. I was really scared that getting off to a rough start (again) would keep us from being successful, but he had a great latch by the next day.

I had a small tear and hemorrhoids, but they healed very quickly. Eric and I were both amazed at how I was moving around and just doing so well, so fast. Each day after Brady I got worse :( But you live and learn! Tuesday night was a rough one. Levi was awake the whole time and crying a lot. Eric really didn't understand the whole waiting for the milk to come in thing. He told me to just give Levi a bottle. Then one of Levi's nurses said, “we may have to give him formula if he doesn't eat more often.” and “we may have to give him formula if his blood sugar isn't high enough” I had to remind myself that Eric had not been doing all the research on breast feeding that I had, and the nurse was just letting me know what was going on. Eric got on board and I stuck to my guns. Levi will be 3 weeks old and he hasn't had any formula. For us, this is huge! Brady had formula the day he was born. So every single day we make it exclusively breast feeding is a big deal to us. If my baby needs formula, I have no problem giving it to him. But only if it's truly needed!

Brady did really well meeting his brother. He came into our room and handed me a teddy bear and said “It's for baby!” He gave Levi kisses and then went back to playing with his cars. Since we got home, I noticed that Brady just really keeps his distance from Levi. And me when I'm holding Levi :( Which is a lot. Brady talks about the baby, asks for the baby, and smiles at him. He even says “Peek a boo!” to Levi. But he doesn't want to touch him or get close. This broke my heart at first, but I kind of get it now. The baby is new and Brady is getting used to him. I've been making sure I spend plenty of time with Brady and hold him when I can.

Don't be fooled. Just because Eric can't breastfeed, doesn't mean he isn't helping out a TON and feeling the newborn exhaustion just as much as I am. He gets up, changes Levi's diaper, and brings him to me in bed to nurse. Then takes him back to bed. He's on paci duty a lot at night too. Plus, he's had to take care of Brady when we tag team the boys :) Short of carrying, delivering, and breast feeding, Eric does it all :)

Levi will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. He's already had 3 doctor appointments! All for weight checks. As of Friday, he was back up to birth weight and off the hook until 6 weeks. Thank goodness! It's too much work getting to the doctor to have to go that often!

We had newborn pictures done and I scrambled to get out Christmas cards and birth announcements. I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Brady is at such a great age for it. He is totally obsessed with all the presents under the tree. He grabs each one and says, “It's for Brady?” Haha. Yes, most of them are! He loves the lights and the tree too. He drags anyone he can out the front door to go see our lights and I've had a tough time keeping him away from my cozy coupe ornament. I am determined to make it to church for the Christmas Eve service. Wish us luck!

Levi has been the biggest blessing to our family. We are surely still adjusting, but when I look at his sweet little face I just tear up and feel so much love every time. I could burst! Thank you God for his chunky little butt :)

                                                Last pregnant pic! 39 w 4 d

                                                 On our way to the hospital 445 am!

                                                   Levi! Big ole boy

                   Brady laughing his butt off climbing in Levi's carseat

38 weeks!!

Holy smokes! 2 more weeks tops until we meet Levi. I'm getting so EXCITED! My nerves and anxiousness are wearing away, thank goodness! I'm just ready ready ready. I'm excited to see who Levi looks like, how much he weighs, and just to meet the sweet little boy. I'm also ready to sleep in ANY position other than my left side. I wake up after 2 hours and my hip hurts SO BAD! My heartburn has gotten ridiculous. How do people deal with this on a regular basis!? And I'm super excited to get this large baby off of my bladder :) I'm ready to tackle breastfeeding, too!

My appointment went very well. My blood pressure was good, Levi has dropped (not completely, but working on it), I'm 2 cm dilated now and 40% effaced. Getting ready :) I'm having a LOT of pressure in my low belly, back contractions, and insane sciatic nerve pain. 

I'm trying to decide if I want to be induced again or go into labor on my own. Obviously it all depends on my doctor and how Levi's doing. I definitely won't go over due. Thank goodness! I feel like he may come on his own a little before then, and I would kind of like to experience that. BUT, and induction, all planned out, is really nice! We can make sure Eric is off work and home, Brady & Sugar are taken care of... It's tempting. But there's also no guarantee that this induction will go as well as my last.. Other than I love my doctor and trust her. 

Anyways, I go back on Monday. They've got weird hours since Thursday is Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see my progress. After this weekend, we should have everything completely ready. Fingers crossed!!