Photos...

Okay, so I decided that I should start posting some photos. Photos that I have taken myself. This is more than just a hobby for me... it's a passion. It's something that I really enjoy doing. I love photographing nature. I don't have much to say about my passion. I just like showing people my talents. I would really like to know what everyone thinks about them.. 

Ice, at the bottom of my glass

James and Dude

More to come...

Meet Miss Emma!

This beautiful girl is my daughter Emma. We call her Emmie :) She was born May 12th 2005, at 11:21 p.m. She weighed in at 8lbs. 11oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes!

When you are pregnant with your second child, just about everyone that you know tells you that it's so much easier the second time around! They say that you already know what to expect because you have had one already. So NOT true folks! This little girl definitely made things difficult for me the whole pregnancy!  Which explains her attitude now days ha ha ha.

From about two months to five months I was so sick! (Mind you that my first pregnancy was perfect.. hardly any nausea and NO vomiting. And definitely NO other problems at all.) Emma made me so sick. I literally went days without eating because I couldn't. I never threw up with her but as sick as I was I should have, just to feel better.

In January I started having what I thought were just Braxton Hicks. I went to my Mid-wife and told her that they were very strong ones and they were becoming more frequent. She was concerned and checked me. She told me that I wasn't dilating and that it was just my muscles stretching and they were sore. So, with that, I went home. My next appointment was about February 16th and they were hurting so bad at that point but just as before, I wasn't in labor. 

On February 22nd about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was feeling a lot of full on contractions. I was taken to the Emergency room. My Mid-wife happened to be there so they admitted me and sent me down to Labor and delivery. Dixie, my Mid-wife, came in to check on me and wanted me to have a stress test done then after an hour she'd check on me again. The nurse hooked me up and let the test roll. The needle on the paper kept spiking like crazy! After an hour Dixie came in and said that with my test activity she wanted to check me again.. and nothing! She started me on Breathine to slow the "hicks" as she called them. At that time my mother came to check on me and told me that my Brothers wife had just gone into labor (7 weeks early) and she wanted to know if I wanted her to stay with me (fearing I would have my baby if she left me) or if it was okay that she go be with them in St. George (a few hours drive). I told her to go cause Dixie was wanting to send me home.

On February 22nd My niece Nyla Marie was born. She was a little over 4lbs. A very tiny miracle. 

About 2 weeks later I was back in the hospital. Same terrible contractions. And just like last time, I wasn't dilating so there was no need to worry. I was sent home... in pain... again.

This problem kept getting worse and worse! I felt like she was going to fall out every time I stood up! I was so miserable. I wasn't on bed rest or medication. She assured me that I didn't need it. I should just take it easy so I didn't over do it and create the need for hospitalization. So, I did what I was told. My Iron was very low and was taking Iron supplements and eating a small steak every other night to raise it. It was working, slowly.

By the time that mid-April arrived I was unable to do anything. I could barely go to the restroom alone. I was nervous and scared that something undetected was wrong. Because of my "hicks" I was to get a non-stress test Mon, Wed, and Fridays. And on Tues and Saturdays I was to have an Ultrasound done. My Amniotic fluid level was dangerously decreasing. I went from 17oz. to 7oz. in less than a month. 

This takes us to May 11th (my sisters birthday). I went in at 9a.m. for my 37 week check up. I was 37w 4d. My fundal height was 50cm. I know, I was huge! The week previous, I was 52cm. The baby was descending into the birth canal. Dixie checked me as always and still, I wasn't dilating. I refused to believe that yet again. I told her that I wasn't dumb... something wasn't right!! So, just to ease my mind, she arguably checked me again. I will never forget what she told me when she started checking... "OH NO.... I WAS WRONG!!" Talk about nervous! I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she needed to reach higher and that it would hurt. And boy, she wasn't lying. It was then that she stopped and told me that to her astonishment, I was 6 1/2 cm dilated and 90% effaced!! My bag of water was bulging and would pop at any time. It turns out that after I had Kyden (my oldest), my cervix had tilted itself toward the back. I had so much scar tissue from having my son that she couldn't tell I guess. I was terrified!!! I wasn't going to my sisters birthday party after all... Instead, I went to get my (ex) husband and to the hospital we went. 

By 8:30 that night I was at 10cm. My baby's head kept floating away from the canal so they couldn't just pop my membranes because because she might flip. There I stayed... in full blown labor. I was at a miserable 10 for over 24 hours!! Finally I told Dixie at about 6:30 on the 12th that I wanted a C-section... baby Emma didn't want to come out normal and I couldn't stay in pain any longer. She agreed and called down and instructed the Operating team that I was coming down there so get ready. She decided to check me a few minutes later and shockingly so, Emma was ready to come out. Without any delay she popped my bag of water and hard labor was coming.

At 11:32p.m. on May 12th 2005, Miss Emma Angelyn made her appearance after 37 hours of labor!! She weighed 8lbs. 11oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. She had tons of dark brown hair and bright blue eyes! Her actual delivery was so easy compared to Kyden's. Her oxygen was a tad low so she needed oxygen for a few hours after, but she was just fine!

I swore that she was my last baby!!! Needless to say, I would be wrong. :) Emma is a wonderful child. Even though my pregnancy was very rough, I'd do it all again! :) She definitely is a Drama queen. She had a dramatic entrance into this world and it made her who she is! :) 

Kyder Bug!!

 I figured that I should probably start writing on this Blog since I have had it for a while now. :) I haven't done this before, obviously, so I thought that I would start with introducing my kids to everyone. 

This is Kyden Christopher,  we call him KC. He was born February 15, 2003 at 12:31 a.m. He weighed 8lbs. 13oz. and 21 3/4 inches long. He was born with Brown hair and dark blue eyes. 

My labor was less than easy. We knew that Kyden was quite cozy where he was and he didn't wanna come out any time soon so we had no choice but to induce him. I went in on February 13th at 9 p.m. They started me on Cervidil: It is a small rectangular pouch with a retrieval cord that looks similar to a tampon. It helps rippen the cervix. But after 3 hours, it wasn't working. I had only gained a half centimeter. So they went to Pitocin: Pitocin is a synthetically created form of the naturally occurring hormone oxytocin, which causes uterine contractions. I was on Pitocin for 7 hours. I gained 7 cm. I was taken off of pitocin for a few hours to see if I would continue on my own. Eventually I needed it again around 5p.m. on the 14th. By 8p.m. my amniotic sack was ready to pop. After my water broke I lost my Mucus Plug and from then on, I couldn't wait to have my baby boy!!

Kyden was born natural (ouch). They tried giving me something to numb the pain but it failed miserably. I had no choice but to have him natural. I have extensive scar tissue on my spine and was unable to have an epidural. Although I was upset at the thought of "that" pain, I handled it like a pro! While I was pushing, Kyden got stuck in the birth canal causing shoulder distotia (not sure how to spell it). In other words, his shoulders were too broad and couldn't fit through. I heard the Mid-wife ask a Doctor for advice and he said to break my pelvis to get him out. I probably shouldn't have done it, but I thought, "Uhh, NO WAY!" so I pushed real hard and out he came! However I suffered terrible ripping from it, I was glad he was out!

I did have some medical complications afterwards. I don't think that they knew what happened exactly. I had some hemoraging, needed lots of blood work done, was given countless medicines by I.V. and I was in pain. My Hematocrit was 17 which is WAY low! it went even lower the next day. When I left the hospital it was around 13. When you get to 20 that's when you need a blood transfusion. However I was able to convince my Doctor that I would work hard to get it back to normal if she let me go home. Which I did! They know that something had happened to me after delivery and were mind boggled when they ran multiple tests and never recovered any answers.

-Kyden was born with a small lesion on his head. (will post pics on a later date). We never did find out what it was from. The Doctor said that he may have been in the birth canal so long that his head rested in the same spot for a long period of time and eventually created this sore like spot. It healed nicely with the exception that hair would never grow on it. But we hide it well.- 

He was SO chubby! I loved it! He was dark red and had a GREAT set of lungs on him! His cry was so cute and little! The Mid-wife, Dixie, said that she was sure that he was over 9lbs but low and behold, she was wrong. Not by much, but still. :)

Kyden was a good eater! He had TWO bottles within an hour or two of being born! Him being a good eater also made him sleep through the night! Amazingly he slept through EVERY night since birth! As a first time Mom, I was SO lucky!!! 

When Kyden was three weeks old I had a terrible pain shooting through my chest and was taken to the hospital. They tested me for a heart attack and it was negative. But I was in so much pain. After many hours and extensive testing, they found my Gallbladder was FILLED with stones! It turns out that my gallbladder was most likely the cause of most of my pain after childbirth. It was removed shortly after my E.R. visit. 

Kyden is the most happy little boy! He has always been a big boy, not chunky but stalky and TALL! I am 5'6 and he is just under my shoulders! At only 8 years old, that's tall! He is a great son and fun BIG brother. He is by far my most favorite Kyden!! <3