Kealan's Birth Story

  *First off, let me explain that in no way am I against medicated births, C- sections (if necessary) or really any birth choice. I think birth is a beautiful thing and a woman should have the right to choose what type of birth she so desires without being judged or criticized. I think often times some people believe that women who choose to birth naturally may think that they are 'better' or stronger than women who have medicated births, inductions, C-sections, etc. That really isn't the case, I was all for my epidural with our firstborn! I have just learned a lot since his birth and made some lifestyle changes and it was my goal to go through this pregnancy and labor/delivery without any medication. While I wasn't able to make that goal of no medication through the pregnancy due to severe 10 months of 'morning sickness' and two instances of preterm labor, it was that much more important to me to achieve the goal of laboring and delivering without any medication and as little medical intervention as possible; and I am proud to say that I achieved that goal and here is my story..

  After months of contractions, I was not the least bit excited when I woke up early in the morning on my due date with contractions. I was already disappointed that I didn't go into labor just two weeks before at 38 weeks since I had Eli at that time.. and there was certainly no way I was going to be part of that 5% or 10% of women who actually go into labor on their due date..  This denial stayed with me up until I was pushing Kealan out.  It was around 3:50 am Friday, May 24 when I woke Brenton up to tell him I thought I was in labor. He of course was very excited as we had very impatiently been waiting for this day. He told me to text my doula to let her know what was going on, again I was in denial and didn't want to text her so early in the morning if this was just a false alarm.. so I opted to wait until contractions became more painful to text her. Brenton started timing the contractions and they were 7 minutes apart.. no big deal. I decided to lay back down in the bed and Brenton would apply pressure to my lower back each time I had a contraction (the majority of this whole labor was back labor) maybe 20-30 minutes later contractions went from 7 mins apart to 3-5 minutes and I was having to breathe through them.. I decided then I would at least text my doula to let her know what was going on. She responded and said to stay hydrated and try to rest and call her when I needed her. Okay, that I can do. I continued to lay in bed as Brenton applied pressure to my lower back.. I still didn't think I was in true labor. About an hour later, a little before 6:00 am, Brenton reminded me that I had said I wanted to 'look good' this time for labor and maybe I should start putting on some makeup if I wanted to.. so thats what I did.. in between contractions I applied my makeup and Brenton started getting our bags together. I was really feeling a lot of pain and wanted to get into the tub but didn't want to stall labor, especially this early on. Brenton suggested maybe we should go for a walk around the block.. I declined and said that I really didn't think I could handle going up the hill. ( I am so glad I made that decision!) I decided to go downstairs and walk down there and get some ice. On my way down the stairs I had to stop and hover over the railing as a very strong contraction hit.. it was then that I was starting to think that maybe this was the real thing and text my doula that she needed to come over. I get downstairs and fix me a cup of ice and start chewing on the ice and decide to lean over the couch and do some pelvic rocks, it was around this time that the contractions were starting to come every 30 seconds to 1 min and I instantly started feeling extremely nauseous and shaky.. looking back I was probably in transition during this time. I immediately tell Brenton that we need to go to the hospital NOW and to go wake Eli up immediately and to call our doula to tell her just to meet us at the hospital. He tried to persuade me to not leave yet to wait for the doula to get to our house to see her opinion.. I responded in a voice that Brenton said he has never heard before and he quickly went up the stairs to go get Eli up and dressed. At this point I was in so much pain that I didn't really no what to do other than to moan and pray loudly through the contractions, then for some reason I decided to go into our front hallway and I started scratching at the walls trying to climb them, it was then that my doula came through the door and immediately afterwards another strong contraction hit and I felt my water break. I panicked and screamed that my water had broken as my doula tried to calm me and said that was perfectly okay. Not even 20 secs later I really felt the need to go to the bathroom so into the bathroom I went. I apparently started making grunting noises because my doula came in and asked if I was pushing, I tried to explain that I just needed to go to the bathroom, she then tells me I am pushing and to stop! All I could do was continuously scream that I wanted a bath.. (this went on and on.. my plan of pain management was to get into a bath, and I was beyond ready for a warm tub to get into!) She goes and gets Brenton and informs him I am on the toilet pushing.. poor guy, I cannot imagine what was going through his head. She tried so hard to get me off of my toilet.. I still just thought if I could just go to the bathroom maybe it would take the edge off of these contractions.. she then informed me that if I pushed our baby out into the toilet he would be taken to NICU once we arrived to the hospital and I did not want that.. she finally got me off of my toilet and I shuffled my feet to the car. Now the hospital we were to deliver at is 25 minutes away.. we did not have 25 minutes. We left the house at 7:00 (Kealan was born at 7:19) and Brenton was speeding, driving on the shoulder, running red lights, doing everything he could to get us to the hospital all while I was in the passenger seat trying my hardest not to push.. each time  a contraction came and I tried not to push the pain was so intense and I would scream.. and scream loud. It seemed that the louder I screamed the more it helped.. poor Eli was in the backseat listening to all of this. We finally get to the hospital as Brenton runs into the ER, he gets back into the car when he puts the car in REVERSE and starts backing up.. I looked at him and asked him what in the hell was he doing.. he explained that the ER staff told him to park in the ambulance bay and they would have some people out to help immediately. They were right.. immediately we had tons of nurses and the ER dr pulling me out of the car and into a wheelchair where they physically kept my legs closed and kept yelling at me not to push.. all while my poor husband had to go park the car and a nurse took Eli.. we finally get up to L&D where a team of nurses were waiting.. they immediately take off my pants put a gown on over my shirt and lay me on the bed.. I was still screaming that I wanted a bath and they informed me they needed to check me first and then maybe I could get into the bath.. they uncross my legs and a nurse yells that I am crowning and that we need a dr ASAP.. I still was screaming for a bath.. what seemed like an eternity later (which was really just a minute) Brenton arrived and so did the OB (come to find out, she had to run over from across the street from the clinic as they did not have an OB in the hospital at that time) .. I could finally push! Kealan was out in just 2 contractions.. I think pushing was perhaps almost the hardest part.. I had always been told that there is a sensation known as 'the ring of fire'  hahahahaha that is an understatement! I remember wanting to give up but at the same time the urge was so strong to push to get him out.. while it hurt really bad, it felt so good to push by responding to my own body, not by nurses or an OB telling me when to push.. I remember the last contraction and pushing as hard as I could and immediately felt relief.. he was out!! He was born at 7:19.. we arrived to the hospital at 7:12. He was a very healthy boy at 7 lbs 11 oz and 20 in. long. He nursed soon after birth.. this was completely opposite of Eli, he never did latch.  I cuddled with him as Brenton, Eli, and I ordered room service of a great breakfast. It was pure bliss.

  The whole experience was truly amazing and nothing short of a miracle. Normally on a Friday morning at 7:00 am, there is a ton of rush hour traffic in Omaha. However, it just so happened to be the start of Memorial Day weekend so traffic was not nearly as bad as normal. Thank God for that or else we really could have had a car baby.. just five minutes would have made all the difference. The crazy driving that my husband did, I am so thankful and blessed that we didn't end up in a head on collision or something.. it was as if God took control of that steering wheel and put His foot on the gas pedal to get us to the hospital safely and in time.

  While this was the most intense and painful thing I have ever done, I don't plan on doing a thing differently next time, except for maybe getting to the hospital quicker. Not only had I labored/delivered without any medication, I didn't have an IV or even a hep lock.. it was the most non medical birth you could get in a hospital. We really had no complications, I did end up having a 2nd degree tear and some problems with excessive bleeding and blood pressure later in the day but all was quickly resolved and we were back home just 24 hours later.  I still can't believe this all played out like it did, but I am so thankful. While it wasn't exactly ideal for Eli to witness the labor/delivery, it will make for a really cool story one day. How many people can say they witnessed their sibling being born?

Breakfast With A Toddler and Mayflower Update!

   Eating these days is one of Eli's favorite things to do. Wait, who am I kidding? That has been one of his favorite things to do since he came out of me.. anyways, the kid loves to eat. Now by no means am I one of those moms that make every meal and snack from scratch, but I do try to make and feed him a healthy diet and limit his sugar intake. (Yes, I am one of those mean moms who doesn't give juice or any other beverage except water or milk, except for special occasions) With that being said, he usually has a breakfast of pancakes (without butter and syrup, I don't see how he eats it like that but I haven't ever given it to him any other way so I guess he doesn't know any different) and fruit. Well, the past week we ran out of pancakes and to be honest, these days I am too tired to fix him anything except a bottle so I throw some cheerios on his tray and call it good. Well this worked for a while, he isn't a huge fan of cheerios but he does eat them. But still, his favorite is pancakes. Yesterday morning I got up and had a rough night the night before and had already decided he was getting cheerios again. I put him in his highchair, opened up the refrigerator to get to the milk and he became so excited and started banging on his tray and yelling at me all while having the biggest smile on his face..  then I did the most terrible thing possible and put cheerios on his tray.. oh.my.goodness. The poor guy immediately put his head down and that smile was gone.. he let out a big sigh and started to slowly eat the cheerios as if he were forcing them down. Trying my hardest not to laugh, I quickly decided for the next day I would make him something special, no matter how tired I was. That day was today, and while I would like to say and I think my husband would agree, I am an okay, average cook.. that is until it comes to breakfast food. I don't know what it is, but I just can't make pancakes or french toast to save my life. The pancakes or french toast always end up burnt and very pathetic looking..  well this morning I made probably one of the most pathetic looking batches of french toast I have ever made.. and Eli LOVED it. He didn't care what it looked like or the fact that breakfast took a little longer this morning.. it brought the biggest smile to his face and of course, made this mama's day. Its pretty amazing to think how doing something as small as making the most pathetic looking batch of french toast can make your sweet boy so happy. It didn't taste half bad either ;)

    Now for a Mayflower update. I am approaching my 28th week (yay for 3rd and final trimester!!!!) I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going but at the same time feels like it just keeps dragging on. While I cherish these last few months with just being a family of 3, I honestly cannot wait until this baby is out! I just can't do and haven't been able to (at least not easily) the mama I would like to be to Eli. It really breaks my heart because I feel as if I am cheating him, but at the same time I realize I am no longer just a mother to him, I am now a mother to two. And while I do feel guilty and feel bad that he won't be getting all the attention anymore, I think it will be a good thing and he will be a great big brother. He has recently really started to notice my belly (I don't know how you couldn't notice the large thing, but I thought that was exciting!) and every time he touches it we say to him 'baby' .. the other day we said "say baby, Eli.." He looked at us and shook his head no and yelled 'no!' Oh my.. he will get there.  From the very beginning, (we found out we were expecting again when Eli was just 7 months.. talk about a surprise) this pregnancy has been extremely difficult. First it was not knowing whether this pregnancy was indeed an intrauterine pregnancy or if it was even viable, so we played the game for two weeks of having to go every other day to get blood drawn to check hormone levels, then it was the constant 24/7 all day sickness, then it was preterm labor at 21 weeks and trying different meds and shots to see what would work and what wouldn't, and now its trying to take it as easy as possible to keep uterus calm and contractions at bay.. and keep Eli happy and well cared for all while dealing with the 24/7 sickness again, the heartburn/reflux, and having Mayflower decide he wants to 'drop' now and dealing with the feeling of him falling out every time I get up and walk. Okay, enough complaining for now.. but perhaps you understand my feelings of wanting this baby out. . I can finally be an active mama and actually get down on the floor and play with Eli for more than just a few minutes or at all!   I think the biggest thing I am looking forward to is that he is due in late May (whether I actually make it to late May, that is the question) and it will be warm weather then and we can go out and take walks as a family, have picnics, go to the park, I am so excited for it all!      Another big update in Mayflower news is that we have hired a doula to help assist us in the labor and birth process. A big reason being that Brenton might not even be here when I go into labor (unless Mayflower wants to be like his brother and put mama into labor in the middle of the night on a weekend) and also, while I was satisfied with my birthing experience with Eli, there were a few things that happened that I do not want happening again. I learned a lot from my birth with him and hoping things are different this time. I know you can only plan so much and while I wish I had 100% control, I know that isn't possible and anything can arise, but for right now we have a good plan with our doula and my body is already (sparing you the details) preparing pretty early on for labor..  I just did this 13 months ago so I think its remembering just a little too well.     There are only 86 more days left until the 'due date' and we cannot wait to bring this precious baby boy into our lives!

Wintertime Fun!

   Let's face it.. winter is just boring and depressing. Especially when you live in what you could almost look at as Alaska (okay maybe not that extreme but still really cold) and have an active toddler. After days of the same old monotonous routine and playing in Eli's playroom I decided enough was enough and if I was about to lose my mind by not being able to get out and do anything thanks to the cold weather, continuous icy sidewalks, and preterm labor.. then Eli was probably most definitely getting bored as well so I decided to make something up myself to do..


Bathtub Pudding Time!!

   We had so much fun with this.. especially Eli. At first he just sat there and ate it and then I showed him he could squish it between his hands, smear it all over the tub, his body, or just throw it and watch it splat. It was a blast and the best part is clean up was so easy..   The whole family became involved; daddy took some time out of his studying and joined Eli in eating some pudding (from the bowl of course) Charma and Occie came up to see what all the laughing and noise was about, and even Mayflower was kicking up a storm. The best part: mama decided to spread the pudding all over the tub and create a slide.. it was hilarious watching Eli slide down the tub and really put a smile on all of our faces and made us laugh so hard.. which we all needed after the rough past few weeks we have had.  I foresee many bathtub pudding times in the future for Eli and Mayflower... while I am very nervous, I am so excited to bring another baby into this world and give Eli the best gift I could ever give him, a sibling and friend for life!

Becoming a Mama: Sleep is A Forever Thing of the Past

   Sleep, you know that little thing where you get into bed and lay down and close your eyes and hear nothing but the sound of a fan or the furnace kicking on.. yeah thats a thing of the past and has been for quite a while now. Whether its Eli protesting sleep or contractions and nausea preventing me from laying down to a nice night's rest, sleep just isn't happening these days. . This is really just a vent of mine about what is going on in this pregnancy with Mayflower, so if you don't want to read about it.. exit out of this window now. You have been warned.

  I am trying my hardest to be thankful and not complain throughout all of this, I really am, and believe me, I am very thankful and feel incredibly blessed we still have Mayflower snuggled nice and cozy inside, but  I feel like I just need to vent. I will probably look back at this one day and show Mayflower just what all he put his mama through ;)  As most everyone knows, for some odd reason I went into PTL last weekend and was having regular contractions spaced just 5 minutes apart, sometimes even 4 minutes apart. I continued this pattern for a total of 6-7 hours and thankfully was released after they started to calm down with the help of medication every 30 minutes. I saw my OB the next day and he told me he had no idea why this was happening and it was concerning that I am in such an active contraction pattern being only in my 5th month of pregnancy and that if it continues we might have some problems.. thank you for stating the obvious. I left the office with instructions to continue medication, rest, try to urinate every 30 minutes, and stay as hydrated as possible because any lack of hydration can stimulate a contraction which I obviously did not need. And also if the contractions became any more intense or I started having some other symptoms to go back to L&D or give him a call. Easy enough instructions..  fast forward 3 days later when contractions are still painful and frequent.. I call and this time get told that they are trying everything they can to get me through this at home and to just stay laying down on my left side at all times except to get up and go to the bathroom.. and basically it was up to  me when to go back to L&D or when I started contracting again every 5 minutes, I was doing everything they could do at L&D just the same at home, other than the fetal monitoring. Okay, I can deal with that.. and the whole laying down at all times thing.. sure I can do that with a one year old who is toddling around, into everything, finds microscopic particles of only God knows what on just vacuumed floors and puts said particles into his mouth while I quickly have to dive to the floor to retrieve it from his mouth before he swallows it, and tries to break down baby gates.. sure, not a problem.

  So here I am almost 1 am up with bad contractions/nausea AGAIN. My lovely special little person who I love more than life itself, and  known as a toddler now will be up in just 5-6 hours screaming for me and wanting breakfast..  and recharged and ready for me to chase after him all day, so why in this world am I still up? I have pumped my poor body full of medications that are supposedly helping that I am really completely against but feel like I have no choice in taking. I hate drugging my baby. The frustrating thing is, when do I call it and say enough is enough and go back to L&D to ensure the safety of Mayflower and I? Even my dr can't answer this, I know my body better than anyone else.. yes thats true but dr I had no idea when I came in last weekend I was contracting every 5 minutes and had no idea they were true contractions. Heck, I didn't even know I was in labor with Eli! These contractions are becoming all too common and I am beginning to think I won't know when I am in actual labor.. whenever that may be. The doctors can say whatever they want but God only knows when this little guy is coming. For all we know he may just be giving his mama a quick refresher for mid pregnancy and decide to not come until a week after his due date! In the meantime I will just continue to time my contractions and count my blessings for the next 3 1/2 months..

Happy 1st Birthday Eli!!!

   I truly cannot believe that our sweet boy is one year old today.. at exactly 2:56 pm. This year has been one of the best years and most challenging in my life. I would be lying if I said this whole year was nothing but fun and giggles. Parenthood is hard, there is no other way to put it. With that being said, its so very rewarding. I kind of look at it like Brenton and I have made it a year.. today marks the one year anniversary of us becoming parents and I can't help but to think about all of the memories and milestones we had with Eli in his first year of life and how, even with being an infant, he has taught us so much along the way. Its truly amazing just how much your child teaches you, as parents we teach our children all the time and often think of it that way, but have you ever stopped to realize how your child teaches you? Eli Glenn has taught us a lot his first year, he taught us patience with all of the sleepless nights he gave us (and still does), and he taught us just what true love means. I can't even begin to explain the amount of love I feel for him and it just grows more and more every day. I remember immediately after giving birth, Brenton placed him on my chest and all I could do was look at him and cry.. that moment felt like pure bliss. I look forward to the many more memories that lie ahead.

  Here is a comparison picture from just a a day old to a whole year old!

   We love our sweet boy so much and are so thankful and blessed! We prayed and prayed for this little guy and God answered our prayers. Our life would not be the same without him!

   And just for the record, I have cried only twice today.. once right at midnight, but I blame the commercial that had the song "You are so beautiful" playing in the background  and another time this morning when we were watching the video of his birth.  Mama and daddy love you so much Eli!!!!!

Pregnancy Comparison with Eli and Mayflower: Week 10-11

  I was looking through my pregnancy journal with Eli this morning when I started feeling bad that I have yet to do something like that for Mayflower.. so I figured I would chronicle the pregnancy journey in different questionnaires throughout the next two trimesters.. and so I could compare the two.

  Okay so we are coming up on week 11.. I can hardly believe it.. part of me thinks this first trimester has flown by while another part of me feels like it can't get over soon enough.. here we go..

How Far Along: 10 weeks, 5 days
Maternity Clothes: yes, started wearing my mat jeans in week 6. With Eli, I didn't wear mat clothes until 9 weeks.
Morning Sickness: oh my goodness yes, and I hate that its called 'morning sickness' this lasts all freakin day and night! Zofran has helped but is starting to lose its effect. Hoping I will be done with all of this soon. With Eli, my 'morning sickness' began around 5 weeks and lasted until week 14.. however it was mild (I didn't think so at the time) compared to this pregnancy.
Weight Gain: I actually lost weight in this pregnancy so far, but I am now up to a couple pounds more than what I weighed pre-pregnancy. With Eli, I started gaining weight quickly and had already gained 7 lbs by the end of the first trimester.. I think its going to be different this time.. that is unless I gain 5 lbs in the next week. HA!
Acne: This really surprises me.. my skin is so much clearer this time. Now that could be because I no longer live in the constant humidity of MS.. but its really nice and I will take it. With Eli I remember breaking out terribly.
Cravings: Sweets.. fruit.. cheese dip.. french fries.. pizza.. anything salty.. oh and these amazing sweet and spicy pickles. With Eli it was McDonald's cheeseburgers, french fries, bbq sandwiches, and sweets.
Aversions: Cannot stand to look at, cook, or smell raw chicken. I can eat chicken, but not if I have cooked it. And it has to be breaded or fried. I also cannot stand basil.. or the smell of Panera.I think the biggest thing is the smell of my dishwasher, it just about sends me over the edge.. I don't know what it is but I can't stand the smell of it.. and I swear I can smell it all the way from in the living room. I was the exact same way with Eli about the chicken and dishwasher smell.. except with Eli I couldn't eat any chicken until about week 14.
Moodiness/Irritability: I surprisingly have not had a huge crying spell over nothing yet in this pregnancy.. this is very different than my pregnancy with Eli. I remember crying for hours sometimes when I was pregnant with him and I just didn't know what was wrong with me. My irritability is definitely increased in this pregnancy.. anything and everything makes me mad. I do cry, but its at commercials or sad movies/shows.
Heartburn: I do have heartburn this pregnancy but I don't think nearly as bad as I had it when pregnant with Eli.. I have the reflux too, but again not as bad as the pregnancy with Eli.
Fatigue: I think this is a no brainer.. of course I am tired! I am pregnant and running after Eli all day. I would say I am more tired this pregnancy but I think thats because I could just lay on the couch all day with Eli and nap if I wanted to.. not an option this time!
Movement: none yet! With Eli I started feeling flutters around 14 weeks.. so hopefully within the next month I will feel a little something!
Aches/Pains: I keep telling my friends that have either no kids or has just had a baby that subsequent pregnancies are no joke.. at only about 11 weeks in to this pregnancy I am already having bad back pain and pelvic pressure. I didn't get any of this with Eli until close to my 3rd trimester..
Looking Forward To: Having energy and not being sick.. oh and being able to empty out my dishwasher or open my dishwasher without wanting to run to the toilet :)

Okay this is all for now, I will do another comparison questionnaire around week 20! Hope some of these answers have changed then!

A PCS We Won't Soon Forget..

  We have been Nebraskans for over a month now!! It doesn't really seem like its been that long, but oh it has.. and so many things have happened since our last post. This PCS will go down in history, people. First, lets just say we will never ever do another full DITY move ever again.

  Remember a few months ago when I was already starting to pack up things in the house to get a 'head start' on moving? Yeah, even that didn't help us. I thought we were ahead for a while, but time really seemed to slip away from us, fast! Thankfully, one of our best friends from FL came up to help us, our neighbor pitched in, and then we got a huge surprise and our friend's parents decided to drive quite a ways just to help us move, oh and bring food.. thats important too! How blessed can a person get?! The help that we had was absolutely amazing and I still don't know how I can re-pay them for what they did. We all worked our butts off trying to get last minute things packed and into the moving truck.. oh thats another thing.. we rented the largest moving truck and still had major issues in fitting all of our stuff on the truck.. after playing a tetris for a quite a while.. we finally were able to fit everything on without an inch to spare. Again I say, we do not see a full DITY in our future again.

  Okay, so moving on to the last night in our house in Mississippi.. I was a wreck! I went into every single room and said bye.. yeah I am sentimental like that. I came to Eli's room and lost it.. I stood in his room and sobbed.. seriously I sobbed so hard it was like it was uncontrollable... it was the room that he spent the first 8 months of his life in, the room where I slept with him and rocked him to sleep and stayed up hours on end because of his reflux and tummy issues. It was the room where we spent so many fun times decorating and planning his arrival just the year before.. I was devastated. I knew we would make new memories in our new house in Nebraska, but at that time I didn't care.. the house we brought Eli home to for the first time, we were leaving.. forever. After I had my sob fest and gained my composure back a bit.. I was okay. Brenton kept reassuring me it would be okay and honestly, I think he thought I was insane.. he told me multiple times that this was not something to be so upset over. Perhaps my severe sob fest could be explained later..

  The next morning it was time to gather up all of the stuff I would be hauling in the car.. that included Eli and our two cats. We get the car packed, say our goodbyes and 'good lucks' to one another and I am off.. and another sob fest begins. Yes, another one. After what seemed like hours of crying, I decided I had to get it together.. I had my baby boy and two cats, not to mention myself that needed to get to our next base safe and sound. It was my job, and my God I would see to it that I could get it done. Fast forward to the next day when I am sitting in traffic and realize I would not be making it to NE on time to sign our lease and get our keys.. I call the management company and explain to them that I would probably be 45 minutes late and they tell me that I would just have to wait and get them tomorrow.. uhm excuse me? No, thats not going to work. I was told the latest I could make it would be just 20 minutes late.. so here I am speed racing down I-29 and my phone rings.. yep it was the management company explaining they would just have to reschedule my lease signing and for me to get the keys the next day.. I had Eli screaming in the back, two cats next to me fighting and crying, and I myself crying as well.. I pulled off on an exit and called Base lodging, they could certainly have a room for the night, right? HA! The lady informed me they were all booked but I could come by for a NA letter and receive a list of hotels that accepts pets.. awesome! I finally arrive to base and receive the letter and choose the first hotel on the list.. I get to said hotel and they have a room.. yay! By this time, I was feeling pretty accomplished! After the past crazy 24 hours of my road trip from MS to NE, and I had finally arrived with Eli still alive and well.. my cats, and myself.. yes, nothing could bring me down. Of course they give me a 2nd floor room so I had to make 11.. yes 11 trips.. I counted.. from the car up to our room to get all of our stuff we would need for the night. Eli and the cats have so much crap they need, even for just a night! Its insane. Anyways, I get back up to the room when one of my cats escapes.. this is just freakin fantastic. I am holding onto Eli who weighs 21 lbs himself and running the fastest I can down the hall to try and catch that damned cat.. I decided pretty quickly that I would not be catching up to her or being able to bend down and pick her up without putting Eli down.. mother of the year here.. I decide to quickly place Eli on the bed, lock the door and sprint down the hall to catch the cat. I caught the cat.. mission accomplished! I finally get said cat into my arms and am walking down the hall when I hear a thump and screaming.. OMG Eli had fallen off the bed! I raced back to the room and find Eli face first onto the floor.. I immediately picked him up and soothed him and after a minute he was fine. While sitting there feeling like the world's most awful mother, something was weighing heavily on my mind. For days now, I had needed to take a pregnancy test.. but with everything going on I never did get the chance. Thankfully after arriving in NE earlier, I had decided to pick one up.. good call! Okay, so lets do this.. it has to be negative.. there is no way I am pregnant.. we were avoiding pregnancy.. so this would just be impossible. I pee on the stick.. and BAM! Not even 4 seconds later.. two pink lines. WHAT?! I immediately pick up the box and look for the exp date.. this has got to be wrong.. it must have something wrong with it. After starting to have a mini panic attack.. I decide to call Brenton. Let me tell you, not the best way to announce to your husband of a new pregnancy.. I call him in a panic and he is still en route to NE with the moving truck.. of course he was very happy and in shock himself and we agreed that this would be our little secret for now.       Okay.. so fast forward about 5 hours.. its around midnight and I finally have Eli asleep, the cats have calmed down, and I get into bed myself after an exhausting past few days.. I hear a knock on the door..  I get up.. its the door across from us.. and there are police officers standing outside the door demanding to get in and say they are looking for someone.. excuse me?!?! Of course I panic.. I look outside and there are 5 police cars and policemen swarming the parking lot going to each car and looking in with a flashlight... I was scared out of my mind.. here I am with my baby boy, two cats, and myself.. not to mention another baby on the way.. was there anything else that could happen.. seriously?! I called the front desk and of course they reassured me everything was fine and was being taken care of.. I stay up until the cops left and finally went to sleep.. thankfully none of the commotion woke Eli up. I awake the next morning so excited, full of joy and anticipation.. and morning sickness. The 25 minutes of sitting in the management company's office going over and signing the lease and receiving the keys to our house were the longest 25 minutes ever.. I was trying my best not to throw up and still try to pay attention and to keep Eli from wiggling out of my arms.. when he decides to throw up all over my arms.. oh yes.. this just helps the nausea. Thankfully, mama's puking was averted in the management company's office.

  That pretty much sums up our PCS story.. its one I don't think we will ever forget. Moving in went much better than moving out and my in-laws came up to help us, it was very much appreciated. We really love living here, love the area, and look forward to what the future holds for us. We are also so very excited about the surprise blessing God has given us and look forward to the upcoming holidays of Eli's first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and First Birthday!!! I can't believe I am saying that.. thats for another post.. and of course we are looking forward to May 2013 when our new miracle is scheduled to arrive.. Memorial Day Weekend 2013!!