Happy 2 week birthday ELI!

Ok so when I said I would blog tomarrow, I meant 6 days later... ;)

Eli is doing great! He had a rough first few days but he is doing much better.

We arrived home on the 8th. I was continuing to breastfeed,but noticed on Sunday that he was only having 2 or 3 wet diapers, his mouth was dry and his fontanel was slightly sunken :( My poor baby was dehydrated. So I called his pedi (Dr. King) and got him in asap. Dr King informed me that I needed to pump to quantify how much milk I was making and to ensure that Eli was getting 2 oz (60 ml) of breastmilk at each feeding. He had lost 16% of his weight and was weighing in at 6 lb 8 oz. We were informed that we need to supplement whatever he didn't get from breastmilk with Similac. I was saddened about this :( First, my body wouldn't cooperate and made me preeclamptic and have a c-section and now I couldn't make enough milk for my baby and made him dehydrated! You can imagine the tears I shed. I was beginning to feel like an inadequate mommy :/ And on top of that, we had specifically picked a urologist to do his circumcision. Dr king also informed us that his circ was cut at an odd angle and caused it to get infected! OH MY GOSH! My poor baby :( At this point, I was even more sad cuz I thought I was making a great decision by having a urologist (someone who specializes in that "down under" department" but apparently that didn't work either. So it was a rough few days for mommy. I just felt bad for Eli. So we went home with orders to pump until the next appointment and to put antibiotic ointment on his circ. I also started an herbal supplement called Fenugreek which is suppose to increase milk supply. After starting that and talking with a lactation consultant a few times that week and using her expertise, my milk supply went from 1 0z total to 5 oz! So we didn't have to supplement very long with Similac.

Yesterday was his 2 week follow up. He is no longer dehydrated and in fact, within 24 hours of making sure he had 2 oz each feeding after his first apptment, his symptoms disappeared. (guess it pays off to be a baby nurse!) He weighed 7 lb 10 oz yesterday so he is nearly back to birth weight! His circ is looking much much better. We are continuing to put antibiotic ointment on it and once the infection is completely cleared up, we will take him back to the doc where he will be able to get a better view of the skin (where the urologist cut) to see if we need to see a different pediatric urologist. We are praying that it will heal and we will not have to do anything else. Dr King reassured us that it will heal to look normal, but may need a small skin repair...we just have to see. And I have gotten the clear to pump once a day and breastfeed the rest. No more pumping every feeding! Our plan is to breastfeed exclusively during the day and use our tommy tippee bottles at night so Cory can feed him too.

Eli is a pretty happy, easy baby and for this we are thankful! He is letting us sleep about 4 hours at night before alerting us to the fact that he is hungry or needs a diaper change, and he is on a 3 hour schedule during the day. He loves to look around and take in the world. My favorite moments are when he looks right into my eyes and just blinks sweetly. At least once a day, I tear up a little when he looks at me like that. Looking into the eyes of my baby boy, a life that God, Cory and I created. It is amazing!

Click HERE to see pics of Eli's first 2 weeks at home :)

Happy 2 week birthday, my sweet boy!

A baby is born!

On January 6, 2011, at 8:42 am, a baby was born! Meet Elijah James Farley, our son! He was 7 lbs, 12.9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long!

Let's begin the birth story of Baby Eli.

Eli was due on New Years but had been given us trouble since about 34 weeks. He was threatening to come early and I had threatened signs of premature labor. I went on modified bedrest and early maternity leave in hopes of keeping the little guy in there. Then lo and behold, his due date comes and goes and still no baby! Guess I did a great job of keeping him in there ;)

On Tuesday, January 4, with family in town and ready for a baby, Cory and I go to visit my OB, Dr. Hopkins, and are surprised by the news we hear. We are told that we must induce that night or the next day because I have become pre-eclamptic. Preeclampsia is basically pregnancy induced hypertension, but can lead to eclampsia which is life threatening and causes siezures. The only way to cure it is to have a baby. I had the main symptoms: high blood pressure, protein in my urine and massive amounts of rapid water weight gain. I was so proud of myself for only having gained 33 lbs, then I gained nearly 15 lbs in water weight. In the pictures, you can see that I had blown up to proportions that just weren't good for me! So that night, we went to the hospital at 6 pm to begin induction via cervadel. By Wednesday morning, I was dilated to 1 cm and was contracting quite well. Dr Hopkins came in around 830 am and broke my water and we were ready to get this show on the road so we could meet our baby! That morning, they also started pitocin to make the contractions stronger. Everything was in full swing to have a baby! That afternoon, I had dilated to a 4 and was hurting pretty good at that point but I was determined to not get an epidural til i was in between a 5-7. But sadly, I got stuck at a 4...forever. Dr Hopkins came and saw me that night and said he would allow me to continue to labor through the night as long as me and Eli were ok. He is an amazing doctor and I really appreciate that he let me at least try for a long period of time to have him naturally. The nurses suggested I get the epidural to relax my uterus and that often times that will help the labor progress. Well, 24 hours later and 2 epidurals (none worked!), still no progress. They had to bolus me with pain meds on 2 different occasions becuz my epidural was not working. Eventually, early Thursday morning, they took out my first epidural and put in a new one, which also failed because at 6 am, I was in excruciating back labor...I was in tears...that was probly one of the worst pains I have ever felt in my life but breathing techniques got me thru it.

Dr Hopkins arrived around 8 Thursday morning, January 6, and we both came to the conclusion that 24 hours with my water broken was long enough. The risk for infection was to high. So c-section it was. I had at least 2 big melt downs because I REALLY did not want to have a c-section. I wanted to experience the WORK of having a baby, but the end result is a healthy baby and that is exactly what I have. Cory and I go to the section and I cannot even describe the overwhelming feeling of love when I first heard him cry and especially when I saw him for the first time. AMAZING feeling that only a parent can understand. How is it humanly possible to love someone this much? Oh its indescribable.

Here is an album of pictures from our stay in the hospital. Hope you enjoy meeting baby Eli. Tomarrow I will blog about his first few days of life :)

Meet Baby Eli

All about Baby!!

Its November! WOW! And we are almost 34 weeks. Time goes so fast! Eli is getting big and is beginning to make me extremely uncomfortable. My hips and back hurt so bad! All worth it but I now understand why women are just READY by the end lol and I know I am just going to get even more uncomfortable over the next few weeks, but I definitely prefer being uncomfortable so he can cook a little longer!

We just returned from a 2 week vacation which was soooo great and much needed. We began our trip with a 12 hour roadtrip to Houston for a baby shower and stayed for the weekend to spend time with some good friends. It was a blast getting to see everyone and we are so thankful for the baby loot we got! Baby Eli is gonna be one spoiled baby!

Check out the Houston Baby shower pics HERE

We said goodbye to our Houston friends on Monday and took off for St Louis where we spent the next week and half. It was such a fun trip! It was filled with all sorts of fun activities:trip to Rombach's pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving night, maternity photo shoot, haunted house, preggo belly painting, (LOL) Kimmswick applebutter festival, dinner dates, baby shower! We had a ton of fun with lots of family time. It was really hard to leave this time and I cried my poor preggo heart out !

Check out random pics from our STL trip HERE

The STL baby shower was crazy emotional and such a special day for me, Eli and my mom! My best friend Jena and her Mom, Maureen, hosted an amazing shower with some very special memories. Check it out HERE

We did a maternity photo shoot with my uncle who is a really great photographer and it was soo fun despite the cold! This is our favorite favorite picture!

To see the rest of our maternity photos, click HERE

Have a blessed day!

We are blessed!

Baby Farley is growing and becoming a pain in my ribs!! His new favorite thing to do is to jab his feet in my ribs over and over again. I love every painful second of it lol. We had a pretty exciting day yesterday, both good and bad. We did a 4d ultrasound which was sooo much fun! Check out pics of BABY FARLEY by clicking on this blue hyperlink. The new pictures start with the first orange colored picture (these pics were added to an already existing album). He is sooo cute and it was so fun watching him blink and pout in real time!

I also had braxton hicks all day. I have been getting them every once in a while for the past two weeks but yesterday it was every 3o mins on the clock. We stopped by my doc office and my nurse told me to go lay down for an hour, drink water and to keep track and if I got 4 of them in an hour while laying down to call back. So we did that and sure enough, the contractions started coming every 15 mins like clockwork. We were nervous and were unsure what to do. I talked to the doc and he wanted me to go to the hospital to be on the cautious side so up we went to Northwest Texas Hospital (where we will be delivering). My blood pressure was skyhigh, mostly because I was crazy worried about our lil guy. My nurse checked my cervix and it was not changed so that was extremely reassuring. They put me on the monitor that monitors contractions and babys heartbeat. Everything came back in the clear and the contractions started to diminish. I still had quite a few after I left but I think after being reassured that my baby was ok, my blood pressure went back to normal and I was able to rest peacefully enough to slow the contractions down. I felt so silly going to the hospital but better to be safe then sorry and it made Cory and I both feel better. It was totally worth it when Eli got the hiccups on the monitor. It gave us the giggles lol, and he didn't like having the monitors on so he kicked the entire time! So begins a lifetime of worrying about our children! And we praise God for watching over us! We are blessed!

In other news, we went to the Floydada puh-kin patch last Sunday and also put up our fall decor! Check it out by clicking HERE

I found this at the JCPenny outlet. Sooo soft and perfect for a winter baby!




Here is another cute little baby something I just had to have!



The DOOD has taken on a new name. He is now lovingly referred to as Elijah J. Frog. So we have started collecting frog items- like this hooded towel and washcloth set. Have you seen the old 50s cartoon with Michigan J. Frog (he sings HELLO MY BABY HELLO MY HONEY! HELLO MY RAGTIME GAAAL!!) and he only dances/performs for the one guy and ribbits for everyone else. Well every time I want Cory to see Eli roll across my tummy, he misses it, so Cory will say to Eli "RIIBBIIT" It's so funny! Cory has gotten to see it now a couple times but its still a nickname that is stuck lol

Here is the cartoon if you have no idea what I am talking about (ignore the subtitles)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvX_TvnBcOU

Lastly, click HERE to see Eli's Halloween costume... ;)

Time to catch up!

Long time no see. I know its been awhile so time for an update and hopefully I will actually be able to start blogging more regularly! Life has been crazy lately!

For starters, I am big and pregnant lol. The last time I posted we were only a few months pregnant, but we are about to hit 29 weeks this weekend! Hello third trimester! Our son, Elijah James Farley, is a very busy boy and kicks and squirms all the time. He is a very active baby! Here is Eli and I at 28 weeks :)




You can check out a progression of baby bump pictures by clicking HERE

And here is a 3-d ultrasound pic of our little boy. Look closely and you will see an arm draped over part of his face, but you can still make out most of his face (He was trying to hide).



You can see more of our sonogram pictures by clicking HERE

So here are some more visual aids on what has kept us so busy over the past few months!! Click on the blue hyperlinks to see the pictures!

Wierd Al - We did a 501st troop with Wierd Al and got to meet him! This event was super fun. He does a special tribute to Star Wars in his song "the saga begins" and he likes to have 501st as his back up dancers for this song. Cory got to go on stage with Al. I was the videographer becuz I could not fit in my costume anymore lol.

In June, we went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico for the weekend to celebrate our 3 year anniversary :) It was a blast and was something I had been wanting to do since we moved to Texas!

Carlsbad Caverns- Part 1

Carlsbad Caverns- Part 2

Carlsbad Caverns- the finale

In July, I visited St Louis and my best pal, Jena, came to Plainview to hang out for a few days! It was a blast and I loved getting to see my family and spend time with my best bud!

In August, Cory and I took a 30 hour roadtrip to Florida for the Star Wars Celebration V. Check it out here

We stayed a few days more to go on a "babymoon" to EPCOT. Check it out here

In other big news!!!!!!!!!!! I got my braces off!!!!!! WHOOHOOO!
Check out before and after...huge difference huh?



Well thats it for now. I will try to start posting more regularly, especially with baby on the way. ;) Take care and God bless!

Meet Baby Farley :)

Howdy gang.

It has been awhile since I last posted, but that is because our summer has been so busy!

In May, we attended Disaster Response Training in Valencia, Pennsylvania with Mission to the World (and we passed the course, whohoo!) I lost some of my pictures but look here to glimpse our trip to Pennsylvania

We also went to New York in June with the First Baptist Church Choir and it was AMAZING. Not only were we able to do some touristy stuff in NYC, but we served the Lord at Metro Ministries, working with children and we also sang at St Johns Catherdral, which brought me to tears. Check out the following albums for our New York trip :)

NYC! HERE WE COME!

Exploring NYC

Metro Ministries and St John's Cathedral

Final Day in NYC

And now for the biggest news...if you haven't heard yet, Cory and I are expecting!!!! Meet Baby Farley at 7 weeks. We lovingly call our baby the "dood" right now until we know whether it is a boy or girl. The word "dood" in our household is a name we give to things that we have no other name for...its like another word for the "unknown." So until August 31st, when we find out whether we will be blessed with a boy or girl, Baby Farley's nickname is Dood. We will hit 16 weeks this Saturday and our due date is New Years Day! 1-1-11 :) We are so in love with this lil person :) It is such an amazing experience to carry life!

Paris- ooo la la !

Hey friends :)

Hope life is treating everyone well. I know it sure is treating us nicely. Work has been busy lately, but thats what I prefer. I am entering my last week of teaching classes to the nurses at the hospital on a new computer program (Meditech) we will be utilizing to enter doctors orders/communicate with other departments. It is the first phase of our hospital going electronic. Pretty exciting ;) I have enjoyed teaching my 8 hour classes ;) But I am glad they are almost done. Next week I have to work 5 12's in a row. EEK! I have to be available to nursing staff to assist them with entering data/orders into meditech when we go LIVE. So hopefully those 5 days will go fast. Then Cory and I are heading to St. Louis!!

May 8-May 15 we will be in Pittsburg/Valenica, Pennsylvania. Most of you have recieved a letter about our Mission trip: Disaster Response Training that we will be attending. We are very excited about this! I cannot wait to bring back pictures and details on our trip! We are heading up there 2 days early so we can catch a Cardinals game ;)

In June, we are going on a mission trip to New York with the First Baptist Church Choir. We are big travelers! More details on that trip soon.

I will leave you with some photos of our stay in Paris :) Have a great week everyone!

Paris via Cory's camera

Paris via my camera :)