Beau's 6 Month Pictures

Today we took Beau's 6 months pictures in the green belt in my mom's neighborhood.  He is such a happy baby and very easy to get precious smiles from.  I took a total of 91 pictures and then narrowed them down to 18.  Here are very favorites.

Beau's Birth Story

  There is so much that was different about my second pregnancy with Beau as compared to my first pregnancy with Chloe, and the onset of labor proved to follow the same pattern of being different.
You can read about Chloe's birth story here.

  I was 39 weeks and 4 days when I went into labor with Beau.  I really didn't know if he would be early or come late like his sister did.  But when I woke up that morning I wasn't feeling well at all and was attributing that to the misfortune of likely having caught the stomach bug Kyle had suffered through a few days earlier, rather than my body trying to kick into gear to give birth.  Already feeling like a whale and barely able to tend to myself, much less to a toddler who doesn't understand that mommy doesn't feel well, I called my mother in law and asked if she would come over and help me with Chloe.  It wasn't long after she arrived that I got to feeling really sick and after a couple calls to the nurse, it was decided the best thing to do was to go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital so they could monitor me and make sure that I didn't dehydrate.

  On the way to the hospital, I got a text from my dear friend Diana.  She told me that she had been praying that morning for me, Beau and for his delivery.  I told her how I was feeling and that we were headed to the hospital.  She encouraged me and reminded me that God always goes before us.  At that moment I was in humbled at how God works and how he moves others to pray on our behalf when we feel to weak or don't realize that we need to do so ourselves.  He truly does care and will get involved in our lives if we allow Him to.

  I was only at the hospital a few hours.  They determined that I was not in labor and that I had most likely contracted the stomach bug my husband had previously.   They put me on fluids and made sure that I was able to self hydrate before leaving.  The doctor gave me a prescription for Zofran and then sent us on our way.  I was feeling a lot better, very tired, but better.  I spent the afternoon resting at my mother in law's house.  I was also convinced that I would not be having a baby that day (technically I was right about that).

  That evening we put Chloe down for bed.  Kyle went to study for his PE exam and I went to the bedroom to watch t.v. before bed.  As I was laying down, I started to have pains again similar to what I had experienced earlier in the day. At first I didn't think much of it, until they kept coming and became harder to ignore.  So I did what any logical person would do.  I googled what labor pains might feel like (with Chloe my water broke and I only felt a few contractions before receiving my epidural) and then I downloaded an app to track the pains I was having.  I also got up and walked around to see if they would go away. The first two contractions were irregular in timing.  But then the next few fell into sync at every 4-5 minutes apart.  About this time, Kyle came into the bedroom and I told that I thought I might be having real contractions.  Then the next one hit stronger than all the others before and all question as to whether I was in labor or not was removed.  We called my mother in law to stay with Chloe and headed back to the hospital.  The drive to the hospital seemed like the longest 20 minutes of my life.

  The labor and delivery nurses were busy with delivering another baby and from what I overheard, there was an emergency situation going on.  So Kyle and I paced around the hall as walking seemed to help me cope with the contractions a little better.  A nurse finally returned to us and said they were getting a room for us and asked if I wanted an epidural to which I replied, "As soon as possible."  The anesthesiologist on duty was involved in the emergency situation so another had to be called in.  She arrived as I was being wheeled to my room.  When she walked in, I may have told her that I loved her.   The relief came immediately and when Kyle came back in, he said I was like a different person.  I was comfortable but the hours seemed to barely tick by.  I tried the best that I could to get some sleep, and I think I may have dozed off for about 30 minutes or so shortly after 3 AM.  Around 4:40 AM the nurse came back and said it was go time.  With Chloe, I only pushed for 30 minutes, so I was quite curious as to how fast Beau would arrive.  Turns out he was ready to join us, as I only had to push through two contractions and he was out.  I had been in labor for about eight hours total.

  He was placed on my chest and it was as if a deep reservoir in my heart, that I was previously unaware of, opened up and love rushed out.  I had tears in my eyes as I took in the sight of him.  I was so happy to finally meet this little boy who had been on my mind for the last nine months.  I sang to him, nursed him, and held him for over an hour until he was taken to the nursery to get cleaned up.  It's amazing how it's the nature of love to expand.  Beau's arrival not only brought love for him, but it also made me love Kyle and Chloe more.  I'm incredibly grateful for this little family that we have.

No More Peanuts for Us

  Tuesday night we experienced what no parent ever wants to experience.  Chloe had a severe anaphylactic reaction to peanut butter.  In my 2 short years as a mother, I have learned the hardest thing about being a parent is watching your child be sick or hurt.  

  As a child Kyle was allergic to many different foods and animals.  So we knew that there was a potential for a peanut allergy, but given that Chloe has only demonstrated an allergy to eggs and that is only a mild dermal allergy, we never dreamed we would wind up at the emergency room after letting her try peanut butter.

  It was a delayed reaction, but shortly after she ate two crackers with peanut butter we noticed a red rash and welts around her mouth.  Since we had seen her react this way to eggs, we gave her Benadryl as had been previously recommended by her pediatrician.  I felt that I needed to keep watching her and so I did.  When her speaking became raspy and her breathing seemed a little labored, we bolted for the pediatric urgent care near our house.  At this point, we didn't realize how serious the situation would become, but we scooped her up and got in the van without bothering to turn off lights, the t.v. or even close the partially unloaded dishwasher.  Despite Chloe still being chipper and talkative, the 3 mile drive from our house to urgent care seemed to take an eternity. Cars seemed to move in slow motion.  When we pulled into the parking lot, she vomited.  Kyle parked the van at the door and I took Chloe up to the front desk and explained what was happening.  It was then that she threw up again, on me and down my jacket sleeve.  I didn't care about that though.  The receptionist called the nurse up and she took us into the exam room immediately.  The doctor joined us and by this time, Chloe started turning more red and her lips were swelling.  I hated seeing this happen to my baby but I was so relieved that we were already under medical care and not still at home.  She got a shot of epinephrine, a steroid, another allergy med and a breathing treatment.  The doctor told us that she was having an anaphylactic reaction and that we needed to be transported by ambulance to Saint Francis Hospital and that we would be admitted overnight.  The words swirled around my head as I tried to process what was happening.  I prayed under my breath and reached for the One I knew would steady me and make me strong.  

  During the ambulance ride, Chloe required a second shot of epinephrine.  She was as red as a tomato and the hives had come back.  There was one exam room available when we arrived at the ER and we were taken to it.  The nurse informed us they were going to start an IV with more meds. We had to hold Chloe down and I covered her eyes and sang to her as they they stuck her.  I prayed they would find her little vein on the first try and they did.  The nurse listened to her breathing and told us that Chloe's lungs sounded much better.  When the nurses left us alone, Kyle, Chloe and I huddled together and Kyle prayed for Chloe's continued improvement.  We were in there for awhile by ourselves and Chloe's beautiful skin tone began to return and she was beginning to act like her sweet happy self again. The nurse came back and commented how much better she looked.  Some of the other nurses stopped by just to see how much better she was doing and say how adorable she is.   She was also pretty much bouncing off the walls at this point due to all the meds in her system.  A toddler pumped up on two epinephrine shots and other medications made that exam room seem a lot smaller.  The in room television was also stuck on a Spanish soap opera channel until Kyle decided he couldn't take it anymore and requested the remote control from the nurse.  Apparently, those are not kept in the ER exam rooms because they have a tendency to grow legs and walk away. The hospital was quite busy that night and we waited a very long time to get a room.  

  When we finally got a room, and after retelling the sequence of events for what seemed like the one hundredth time to another nurse and doctor, then getting something to eat, we were able to settle down and try to get some sleep.  We got a decent amount of sleep for being in the hospital.  I'm really glad I had previously downloaded a sleepy sounds app to my phone because it drowned out any noise coming from the hallway.  The nurse tech came in about 3:30am to check Chloe's vitals and to my relief, Chloe rolled back over and slept until her vitals were checked again at 6:20am.  She rolled over and didn't rouse again for about another hour.  At one point during that time, she rolled over on to her side facing me.  We made eye contact and she lifted her arm and waved hello to me through the crib slats.  It was a precious moment.

  With the rest of the night having gone so well, we were told that would be discharged in the early afternoon after one of the nurses gave us a run down on how to properly use an EpiPen.  It is something no parent ever wants to have to go through but I absolutely see God's fingerprints all over the situation.  We were told over and over again that we did everything right. One of the prominent prayers of my heart is that God will show me how to be the best mother I can to my kids.  That He will lead me and guide me and show me what is best for them.  This situation showed me that He takes that prayer seriously.  I am more confident in my ability to trust and hear from God as a result of this experience.  Quite frankly, I find it easier to trust God than to just roll with chance. You might be reading this and think that if God really cared, then we would not have gone through this in the first place.  But the thing is that God never promised that we would not go through problems nor even traumatic events, He promised to be with us and guide us through them.  The bible says that we are made in the image of God. That means we look like Him, and for that reason, Satan hates us with an intensity beyond our comprehension. Since Satan can't attack God, he attacks us instead.  

  We were discharged shortly after 1 o'clock in the afternoon.  All three of us were happy to be back home and sleeping in our own beds.  I am still wrapping my mind about how life has changed for us now. We must now be vigilant to read labels and make sure that anyone Chloe stays with is educated on the proper use of an EpiPen.  We will be following up with her pediatrician's office this week and discuss further allergy testing.  I am so incredibly grateful for modern medicine and the skillful doctors and nurses who helped us through this ordeal. They made all the difference in the world for us that night and they have my highest respect and gratitude.

First Stop on the Nevins House Tour

Chloe's Room  

  This past July our family moved to a new (to us) home to accommodate our growing family. The top things on our list were space and an open floor plan.  We figured that anything cosmetic could be changed.  We found a house that met our needs, but as far as cosmetics, pretty much everything needed updating.  We are talking wall paper, brass fixtures and loud paint colors.  Fortunately, we watch a lot of Fixer Upper and have plenty of inspiration to bring this house out of the brassy 90s and make it a comfy and beautiful place for us to make memories for years to come.

  When we moved in, one of the first rooms that we needed to get painted and ready was the room that would be Chloe's.  It was a very dark forest green color that made the room feel like one of those mini putting greens should be set up in there.  This was not going to work with Chloe's pink and aqua color scheme.  Here is a before picture:

  We decided to go with the same color we used in her room at our old house.  I blogged all about the details of her nursery in a previous post.  I am not really a matchy matchy theme type person, so I picked decor that I like that coordinate well together.  What I love about her room is that it will grow with her until the day she decides she's wants to change it.  Here are the after pics:

  Chloe's room is first room in the house that is officially completely done. The next room on the list is Beau's nursery.  We are going with a vintage sports theme with orange and aqua accent colors.  I know I said I am not a theme person, but there are so many different directions to go with vintage sports that it didn't stifle my creativity.  I'll give you the before picture so you can get a glimpse of what I had to start with...

  Yikes!  I don't think I have ever seen a brighter shade of pink paint in all my life.  It hurt my eyes to just look in the room.  Definitely not a calm and soothing color for a room that you want your baby to sleep in. 

  Beau is due to arrive in just 2 weeks and 5 days. Not that I'm counting or anything.  We are over the moon excited to meet our little man.