Progress

By the time the doctor made her rounds today Brooklyn had taken 2 bottles by mouth. This is a huge step for her. Up until the last few days she been too sleepy to eat and had yet to develop the ability to suck, swallow and breathe.  Over the last 48 hours she has slowly started to realize what it means to want a full tummy.  So as of early this afternoon she is now on her own schedule.  She now determines when she eats and also how much she eats. Whereas before it was a required feeding schedule of every 3 hours & 62cc's for each feeding with whatever she didn't finish from the bottle would be feed to her through the NG tube.  If she continues to do well with her feeds over the next 24 hours her tube will come out!!! And then the next step would be to come home.  Oh what happy news for this Momma!!!

A Visit From Big Sister & Big Brother

 Today EmmaLee & Cardston met Brooklyn for the first time.  They were truly in awe of Brooklyn of how little and cute she is.

  I wasn't able to go with them to see their reactions to her , which I was sad about. I had no strength and was having a reaction to the pain meds I had been given. Thankfully Danial recorded it for me.  The two of them LOVED holding her and couldn't get enoughof her, especially EmmaLee.  Once they were done holding her they came back to my room to tell me all about her.  The first 2 questions I was asked was 1st by EmmaLee: "Mom can we keep her?" And 2nd by Cardston:  "Mom is it Preston's turn now?"    Oh goodness my child give me at least a couple of years!!!

Brooklyn Elizabeth

 Miss Brooklyn Elizabeth makes her debut at 9:32 this morning!

6lbs 13oz  ~~~  20" long

From the moment I heard her cry my heart was overwhelmed with emotion.  

She had taken over my heart.  

She is as precious as can be. 

She is Perfect!!!

 Love at first sight!  

The Waiting Continues

We are so close, 3 days to be exact to when this little munchkin will arrive, yet it still feels so far away.  After being on bedrest now for 141 days, I thought 3 days would be a piece of cake, ummm...no...it still feels like forever. 
My sweet husband smiles at me every time I get out of bed and sees my every growing belly.  It's huge.  But what am I to expect this is Baby #6.  My body has transformed itself six times now to welcome one of our Heavenly Father's children into this world.  I find it a great honor to be blessed with this ability, yet sometimes the look of my body overcomes the miracles that have taken place inside of me.  So I was very grateful when a dear friend of mine, Wendy, posted this on facebook.  It was a sweet reminder of the role I have chosen to be as a mother.  I could still be the size 4 when I married 15 years ago had I known that my body have freaked out with each pregnancy, but I would be missing out on the greatest treasures in the world.  My body has proven to me six times over that I can do hard things.  The blessings that have come from obeying our Heavenly Father and bringing more children into our family than we ever dreamed has become some of our greatest tender mercies from him.

The Talk

Today my doctor came in and we went over how Tuesday morning would play out.  As we have experienced with many of our hospital visits and surgeries with our 8 year old daughter, we know it is necessary to discuss the best case scenarios along with the worse case scenarios.  There is still a possibility that I will need a blood transfusion & there is still a chance that I could have a hysterectomy. This paved the way for emotions to surface. 

When our 8 year old underwent  open heart surgery at 6 days old and was diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome, for the first few days I went into denial.  I kept thinking that if I didn't face the facts of our reality and could convince myself that she was fine, than she would be.  Well this way of thinking didn't bring any hope to the situation and would cause greater heartache in the end when I was faced to deal with the truth and all of the possibilities that lied ahead. Slowly I came to understand that it's okay for things to go not quite as we had hoped for, because after all was said and done she was okay.  Not our definition of okay, but in Heavenly Father's eyes and plan she was and is okay.  

Is it easier to know the end from the beginning...of course, but where would the growth come from.  It isn't easy thinking of the possibility that my body may not be able to bring more children into our family.  However, it will be okay.  Why? Because Heavenly  Father will make it okay.  Does the thought of a c- section excite me, heavens no.  But when I stop to think about all that my little 8 year old has been through in her short 8 years of life with multiple surgeries and procedures, I am strengthened by her example to press on no matter the outcome.

Pros & Cons

Being here for the last few weeks has definitely presented many pros and cons.

Pros...

1.  One of my favorite pros is that someone else is making my meals for me!

2. Someone else cleans my dishes & my room for me.

3. I have personal assistants day & night willing to get me anything I want...even a prohibited fan!

4. I have a wide selection of meals to choose from daily...but this by far has been my favorite...

The BLT Panini !!!!  

Let's be honest all of their Panini sandwiches are amazing.

5. Sleep

6. Watching endless hours of home remodeling & cake shows

Cons...

1.  Becoming a pin cushion

2.  You lose all privacy...with your attire

3. You have no freedom

4. You are woken multiple times throughout night for vitals, monitoring and meds.

5. Your world stops.

6. Wanting to go home and remodel my house.

However...the BEST part is getting to look at this guy day in and day out!!!

Today

My father-in-law used to always say...

"Every day is a good day, some are just better than others."