WE ARE HOME!

Wow, we have been on a crazy ride it feels like for the last couple of weeks and we appreciate all of you who were praying.

On May 19th I was not feeling well at all (horrible headache) and I was at school and decided I should check my blood pressure due to the fact that for the last few weeks it had been steadily rising. It was the highest it had been I think around 148/101. I called the dr. and they wanted me to come in so they could check it at the office. I left my classroom with our assistant and went to the dr and he then informed me I was not to go back to school he was putting me on bedrest. I also got my first steroid shot. At this appointment they also scheduled me for a non stress test the next day. I rested the remainder of the day.

May 20th I went to my non stress test and then after my blood pressure was still high at this office Dr. Killeen decided he wanted to admit me to the hospital for some lab work and observation along with a 24 hr. urine test. Well, all was going okay minus the fact that Peter had gone to work because we really didn't think things were too bad. Peter was unable to take off the next day either. As the day progressed I continued to have non stress tests (I think I had 4 total that day). When Dr. Hales PA came to see me she was worried about how jumpy I was and that my reflexes were going crazy. We were rushed in for a sonogram that afternoon.

That evening I got really worried when the nurses came in to pad my side rails of the bed because they "didn't want me to hurt myself if I seizured" WHAT- come to find out my uric acid level was at a 7.3 and you can seizure at 8. Oh, I also had the second steroid shot because if things didn't start getting better we would meet Brayden on Friday, May 22nd.

May 21st - Dr. Killen came in to see me and told me that we would wait until he got the results of the 24 hour urine test and those results weren't supposed to be ready until about 2:30 or 3:00 that day. About 20 minutes after he left the nurse came in and said, "YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR A C-SECTION AT 4:00 TODAY." What- Peter wasn't there and the nerves hit big time. Dr. Killeen had looked at the results of the sonogram and decided we couldn't wait any longer and my uric acid had gone up to a 7.7! When Dr. Killeen told us that if we didn't take him that day we could risk him being still born my family and I realized just how sick the dr.'s kept saying I was. We called Peter and he was rushing back from work as fast as he could. Oh, I almost forgot - I don't know how that my magnesium level was also really low and they started me on a magnesium sulfate drip through my iv. THAT IS SOME HORRIBLE STUFF! I FELT ABSOLUTELY AWFUL THE WHOLE TIME I WAS ON IT!!

After 3:30 when they hadn't come to get me I was getting more and more nervous. I think we finally got to go to the operating room around 5:15 or 5:30 and things were pretty fast after that. Brayden entered the world at 5:56pm on May 21st weighing 4lbs. 8.7 oz.

I was doing much better afterwards except my blood pressure was still a little high.

Peter got to walk Brayden to NICU and show all of our friends and family in the waiting room on the way.

I was sent home on Monday, May 25th. That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do was leave the hospital without my baby! I bawled all the way home that day. We were back a couple of hours later when NICU was open back up for visiting hours and cried again all the way home after that too. It did get a little easier each day that we went back to visit. Most days I was at the hospital 5 times a day to visit.

Brayden was on the ventilator for 6 days, under the oxygen tent for about 2 days and then had his feeding tube until Monday, June 1st. He started taking a bottle and breastfeeding after that and did really well and then he was released to come home on Thursday, June 4th. He left the hospital weighing exactly the same as when he was born!

We've had a great couple of days at home and Emily came over yesterday to start our 15 day visitation this month. She absolutely adores her little brother and is always wanting to help and hold him. We are very blessed!

I am so blessed to be this adorable little boy's mom and a step mom to such a precious girl as Emily and couldn't be luckier to be married to a great man like Peter.

(I do need to brag about how great he has been about doing laundry and cleaning house since he has been on vacation since Thursday)

THANK YOU PETER - I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Here are some pics of the last two weeks. Sorry for the long post!

I had a few more pictures to post but it is not letting me. I've probably gone a little overboard anyway! You can't tell we are proud can you?

I'm sure there will be lots and lots more to come soon.

For those of you who made it through this whole post - thanks!

Bed Rest

Oh my goodness. I apologize for taking so long to post another update, but I should have plenty of time for that now!

I was officially put on bed rest yesterday morning after leaving school and going to the dr. office because I had a horrible headache and was getting high blood pressure readings in the nurses' office at school.

I went to Dr. Hale's office today for a non stress test which the nurse said looked really good.
Brayden was moving and his heart rate would increase when he moved which it is supposed to do.

My blood pressure was still a little high and Dr. Killeen is worried I am getting pre eclampsia and is admitting me to the hospital at 1:30 this afternoon for my second steroid shot (first one yesterday in his office), lab work and observation of my blood pressure. We have no idea as of now what to expect, how long we will be there or any of that at this point, but I will update as we know more.

We appreciate your prayers during this time as we are a little nervous.

WOW - TIME FOR AN UPDATE

So first I should apologize for taking so long to update this blog. I am hoping to get better, but no promises, here.

I am now officially 30 weeks pregnant - only 10 more to go. (70 days). I can't believe how fast it is coming.

These pictures were taken right after the shower my teaching team had for me after school today.

A picture of the hostess and I! (Essie, Mary S., Kim, me, Mary M., Holly, and Susan)

We got many great gifts and are so excited about getting them set up and organized in time for Brayden.

We had a very eventful weekend this last weekend. We (Peter, Emily, my Maw-Maw, Dad, Mom, Kayla and I) traveled to Dallas on Friday evening so that Peter could participate in a "truck roadeo" with his company Labatt. Saturday morning the event took place in the rain all morning. Peter did end up winning the whole thing. This came with some prize money and a spot to compete in the national competition. We think that this will be in September in Florida.

We are super excited about that and I was very proud of my hard working husband. After the roadeo we went to the Rangers baseball game that night. We had a good time despite the Rangers losing.

Here are some pictures from our trip. I will preface a few of the pictures by saying that Emily had been in a car accident with her mom on Friday morning and that is why her face is looking so "beat up" (poor baby). Thank you for those of you who were praying for her. She is looking much better now and has not complained of any pain really at all.

We came home on Sunday. I decided to take the day off on Monday to get work done around the house, but was not as successful as I had hoped I would be.

Peter and I have now officially been to our second childbirth class. The teacher insists that knowledge is the best way to overcome our nervousness, but I'm not buying it yet. I think so far that the classes are making me more and more nervous about labor!

For any of those of you who made it to the end of this thanks for reading all my rambling.

I'll try to post more pictures next week of the next baby shower we have for Brayden on Sunday. More pics soon to follow of the nursery as well.

24 weeks, nursery and a haircut

So, I am now 24 weeks pregnant. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy seems to be going. However, school seems to just be dragging by. Just 1 more day until SPRING BREAK!!!

Here is a new picture with my 24 week belly and my cute shirt that I got from some really sweet friends (Thanks Ashley and Kristin).

This last weekend we had a very productive weekend. My wonderful parents bought us the bedding for the nursery and we bought a dresser for the nursery. We had another great blessing this last week when a coworker of my mom brought us a tub full of clothes and shoes that her son who was born last summer had outgrown and she was finished with so I have these already put into the dresser.

I will finish this post with a couple of pictures of Emily working on the dresser when we were putting it together on Sunday afternoon with her super cute new haircut. Before this haircut her hair length was near her waist.

We are having a great time getting ready for little Brayden to arrive but have also been pretty stressed the last few weeks (another post for another time, maybe) and so we would appreciate all your prayers!!

After posting those I realize I need to take a good picture of her haircut because I don't have a great one.

Wow, It has been a long time!

I guess I should first apologize for taking so long to get this thing updated. (Sorry Kristin)! Life has been crazy busy.

Well, on to baby news.

A picture of my 22 week belly.

We had an appointment on January 29th and Peter, Emily and I went to Dr. Killeen's office after school. Dr. Killeen did an ultrasound and told us that we will be having a BOY!!!

We struggled for a few weeks deciding on a name. Peter and I liked the name Brayden all along but everytime we would metion it Emily would scream "NO!" We worked really hard to figure out why she felt this way and finally discovered she had a Braden in her class in kindergarten who was always in trouble and didn't want her brother to have that name. When I asked if we could spell it with a "y" she was completely agreeable (Thank goodness- because we couldn't agree on anything else). So it has now been decided his name will be "Brayden Craig Scoggin"

We bought a crib a few weeks ago but the nursery is still a mess due to being a junk room practically since we've been married. We are making some progress but with our hectic schedules and being out of town last weekend we cannot seem to get it finished. As soon as we get the room all cleared out we will put the crib up (Maybe this weekend) I will post another picture.
Here is a picture of the crib for the time being.

We are still trying to make a decision about the baby bedding, but are beginning to settle on a nautical set we have found online (I will post pics when we decide for sure).

We had a doctor appointment with Dr. Kurt Hales on Monday, Feb. 23rd. They confirmed that we are having a boy and we got some great ultrasound pics.

Here We Go

Well, I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon since most everyone else I know has one.

I also thought this would be a good way to keep everyone posted on our pregnancy news and all that exciting stuff.


Here is a picture of my new emerging belly at 16 weeks. Please excuse the look on my face, Peter was giving me a hard time while taking this picture.

I know it is still pretty small but I am having problems buttoning some of my pants and finding shirts that aren't super tight around my stomach.

We go back to the doctor on January 29th at 18 weeks. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we might be able to tell if we are having a boy or girl, but if not at this appointment then it will be at our appointment at the end of February.

Emily is doing well and is a first grader now. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She was only four when we got married. She loves horses and playing soccer. She just started indoor soccer and is really enjoying herself. We absolutely love our time with her. I'll end this picture with a picture of her and then spend the rest of my day off cleaning and playing with little Miss Emily today.

This picture is actually from one of our soccer games in fall of '08. I guess I need to take a more current one!