Back to the real world

Sorry I have been so bad at posting these last couple weeks. Life has been a bit hectic since being home. We are so grateful to be home and my hips are so happy to see a real bed again though. Belle is doing a lot better. We had the feeding tube in her these past two weeks, which was horrible. She hated it and kept pulling it out. We just got the orders today, that she is eating orally well enough and gaining enough weight so we can take it out!! That makes me so happy. She was extremely sensitive to the tape on her face and it kept giving her horrible sores that she is still healing from. Now we just have to work on getting her as many calories as possible. In some very exciting news, Belle really crawled for the first time today!!! I thought she was completely unable to coordinate her arms to work with each other, but she proved me wrong. She only crawled a couple feet at a time then stopped to do something else like downward dog but it is such a huge exciting step!!!

In pregnancy news, I am now 33 weeks. I could be having Gracelyn as soon as this coming month!! My back is killing me and the Braxton hicks are quite frequent, but the doctor said I am extremely healthy which is always good to hear. I have so much to do before she gets here. It’s a bit hard with zero energy though ha ha. Tonight is yoga with Deana. I am excited, it always makes me feel better. I just read a book called fit2fat2fit it was a really good read and it makes me excited to hopefully get in really good shape after I get the doctors go ahead . It will be harder with two babies, but all the health problems I keep seeing in my overweight relatives really puts it into perspective. It’s not just about looking good, But feeling good and being around to take care of my family for a long time.

I hope everyone is doing well. Here are a few pictures of late...

Downward dog. Yoga baby!!




Big belly





Grandpa!




Piggy tails!! Finally enough hair!





Cheese!!





She can stand when holding on to things!!!



We live in a hospital now.

These last couple weeks have been stressful to say the least.  First Belle got the stomach flu and it was a long few days where she just threw up everything. It slowed down to where she was throwing up once or twice a day and we thought she was getting better. Then the bug hit me out of nowhere and it was really bad. I am used to throwing up from morning sickness, but I just couldn't stop and it was so painful. I went to the hospital the next morning and had to be stuck on iv's and medicine for the day. I felt a lot better after a couple of days and things went back to normal. I was having a really hard time getting Isabelle to eat though and it looked like she was losing weight. She was still throwing up at least once a day as well. On Monday I went to get her up and saw her whole crib was covered in throw up and she was really lethargic so I knew we had to at least take her in to the doctor. Everytime I have taken her to the hospital when she is really sick they never do anything and send her home after a few hours so I decided to take her to the doctor first. When we weighed her we found out she had lost almost 4 lbs or 20 percent of her body weight and was extremely dehydrated and lethargic. That would be bad in any baby, but with a baby with failure to thrive it is really dangerous, so he sent us straight to the hospital. We were admitted pretty quickly and got her started on iv's and medicine. We have now been here a week. It has been really hard. I have been staying at the hospital almost everynight on a hard couch thing in her room which is killer on an 8 month prego body ha ha. My parents have been a big help for Ben and I taking turns watching Belle so we can have a few breaks and shower and relax for a couple hours. Belle is still not eating hardly anything. They have put an ng tube  ( a feeding tube that goes from her nose to her stomach) in her to help her get the calories she needs to gain weight. She is a lot more energetic, though not her normal level. We are really hoping to get some answers while we are in here. We need to figure out what the overlying problem is. All of her tests have come back normal so far which is both good and frustrating at the same time. We hope to be out of the hospital sometime this week. Prayers are always welcome :)

Pregnancy note: I am almost 31 weeks now!!! It is flying by. I am getting bigger and more uncomfortable by the week but that is normal. I was having some bad braxton hicks and the baby had some distress so they gave me a shot to help me from going into labor. I am supposed to take it easy which I am trying to do. So hopefully Gracelyn will stay in there until she is good and cooked.



I love him <3



That pout kills me.



My favorite people!!



We love pizza mart!!! Maybe a little too much ha ha



She is still darling in a hospital gown and mussy hair.



Big belly!!



Those teeth!!



She is the most cuddly baby!
 



iv buises.. poor baby



Still smiley!
 



Her cute blanket and toys they gave her.



Uncle Christian

29 Weeks

I am almost 29 weeks now!!! I can’t believe how fast it’s gone. I don’t do much these days. Between being unbelievably tired and not having a car still, I am usually home all day long during the week. I think it’s making me a bit stir crazy. I need to up my yoga, but I have been getting the danged Braxton hicks a lot and my preggie gym partner Deana was diagnosed with really low iron. So she is taking iron pills to try and get her levels back up. Until then she can’t really do the gym and I hate going by myself. Sigh…

Gracelyn is doing well though. I had an ultrasound last week and everything looks perfect. It’s comforting to hear, but all of Isabelle’s ultrasounds looked perfect as well. All I can do is pray that everything will be normal with her, and if not then pray for the strength to be able to handle it. Some days are just so hard. I wish we could find out what she has. I just don’t understand how the best specialists in the state haven’t been able to figure it out in the past year and a half. I always feel so bad about complaining. I know there are people who are having a hard time conceiving or have children with much more severe disabilities. In church on Sunday they talked about trials and how if we could see each other’s trials and trade with them we would probably want to keep our own. God gives us the easiest trials he can in order for us to learn the lessons we need in order to grow and get back to him.

In other news, we found a momma cat and three eyes-closed kittens in our yard a few days ago. We have put them in a box in our laundry room for now. Ben and I are both really allergic to cats, but what can you do? They are so cute! Our tortoise Humphrey is loving being free in our little front yard!! Ben is doing great with the bee keeping. He has learned how to catch swarms. We also got our first batch of orange blossom honey. It is delicious!!! We had biscuits from scratch with butter and honey after dinner last night. I think food always tastes better when you work for it like biscuits from scratch or vegetables from your garden. Honey is no different! It was so exciting to watch Ben make it.

Do you think food tastes better when you work for it?!



Big belly!!



Her tongue is always out these days.

Humphrey!!

My succulent is still alive!!! We are all impressed around here.

This is her Ben look.

Silliest grin I have ever seen!!!

The cat that has us non-stop sneezing sigh...

Mmmm honey!

Pretty girl.

Staying Home

Being a stay at home Mom is the best! I really love my job, I get to stay home with my precious daughter, keep my home clean and pretty and have a nice dinner ready when my Hubby gets home. This is the life I always wanted and we are very blessed that we are able to do this and live off of one salary. It isn’t easy. We have a strict budget and savings plan. We follow the Dave Ramsey program. If you haven’t read the book “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey I would highly suggest it (I am not getting paid to endorse this book. We just really love it, and it has helped us so much with our financial planning.) It takes a lot of sacrifice and we aren’t able to go out and blow money like a lot of our friends. It is worth it to stay home though and be able to make sure our children are being raised the way we want. I always want them to know that they are our number one priority.

As much as I love staying home, it can be hard. Especially when you don’t have a second car like us right now (Ben’s car is being repaired so he has been using mine this past month). I can go days without going outside or talking to another human in person besides Belle who doesn’t do much talking ha ha and Ben for the few short hours between work and bed. Most days I don’t even get dressed or do my hair, and that is just pathetic. I try to spruce up before Ben gets home but still…I need to set a better example for my children or they’ll grow up thinking all Mom’s do they’re chores in their underwear! So I have decided to make a goal of getting ready within the first three hours after waking up. I have seen a lot of cute hairstyles on Pinterest I want to try. If I like them I will post pictures of the results!!

I am officially in the third trimester!! I can’t believe it’s gone by so quick. Gracelyn now weighs almost two pounds and she is going to start packing on the pounds for the remainder of my pregnancy. She kicks really hard now.  I can see my whole belly moving when she is really active. I have to go in for an ultrasound soon. With Belle’s issues they like to watch me more carefully and do more ultrasounds. I don’t really see the point since the top neurologist and geneticist in the state have Belle outside the womb and can’t seem to figure out what is going on… but hey, at least I get to see my sweet baby. We should be able to tell what she will look like when she is born in this next ultrasound. So exciting!

Isabelle is doing well. She can stand while holding on to things and seems to be making a bit better eye contact and interaction. I just wish all these specialists could figure out what was going on. The geneticist says she is a “tough cookie”. The not knowing is just so hard to bear sometimes. She is still the sweetest and happiest baby I’ve ever known, so that makes it easier to bear. I am just so grateful to have her and want to be able to give her all the help possible.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. If anyone is interested, I will be watching this http://www.lds.org/church/events/april-2013-general-conference?lang=eng and being inspired by the words of the Prophet, Apostles, and other wonderful speakers all weekend long!!! Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!!!

 

I found these hats on clearence for 10 cents each!! You can't beat that. So I got them and added some fun stuff!!



26 weeks!!

My happy Easter baby!

Grandpa time!!!

Cousin Luci... They love each other!

Posing :)

Look at that smile!! You can see all four of her teeth... don't mind the toes ha ha she is obsessed.

Fishtail braid. It takes a bit longer but I love how it looked. I wish my shorter layers stayed in better though.