Hadley's Delivery

I went to the doctor for an ultrasound and check up last Tuesday and he said that everything looked perfect. I let him know that I had been having some really bad headaches since Sunday and I even had blurred vision in my left eye. I guess that is one sign of pre eclampsia. My blood pressure was fine so I did not have it, but my doctor didn't want to take any chances.

He decided to induce Wednesday morning. He said to be at the hospital at 8:00. I thought 8 am, but he meant 8 pm. It was 4:00 by the time I left his office, so I had to run home and get my stuff, Hadley's stuff and Hudson's stuff ready to go. Meanwhile, I sent Hunter to finish our Christmas shopping. It was a very quick 4 hours.

Hudson went and stayed the night with Grandma Kathy. After we dropped him off I bawled because I realized the next time he would be with us he wouldn't be an only child. Poor kid... he only had 11 months and 2 days as our only baby.

We got to the hospital and they decided not to start the medicine that night because my contractions were 2 minutes apart. The doctor on call asked me if we would have come to the hospital tonight if we weren't going to be induced. We both told her "no" - we were waiting for my water to break because with Hudson we were sent to the hospital 3 times because of my crazy contractions. I have strong, close together contractions that make it seem like I'm in labor, but I don't dilate.

When our doctor got to the hospital the next morning he broke my water around 7:00 a.m. Mom and Kody arrived in the morning - it was so good to see them walk through the door. Hudson and Kathy came a little while later. Hudson is good at keeping my mind off of things. :) He is great entertainment. I got my epidural - which only worked on my left side... again. You're not supposed to feel your contractions and I didn't for about 10 minutes, but then I could feel perfectly. So I'm thinking the epidural thing doesn't really work on me.

Throughout the day I slowly dilated. When I got to 5 cm I stalled. By then Hudson, my mom, dad, Kord, Kody, Kapra, Grandma Lou and Grandpa Stuff, Hunter's dad and mom, Morgan and Danny were all at the hospital waiting for Hadley to make her debut. When everyone realized that I had stalled they started to leave and go run errands... including Hunter.

About 20 minutes after everyone had left I jumped to 7 cm. I sent out a text to let them know. By the time they got back I was 9 cm. Everyone was sitting around talking and I realized that I needed to push! I told Hunter so he got the nurse. She paged our doctor - who was next door at the clinic. It seemed like it took them forever to get things ready and to get everyone out of the room.

The nurse told me to wait just a few minutes until the doctor got here. When Hunter came to my side I told him to catch Hadley because I was pushing. Just then the doctor came in, put his gown on and after 10 minutes he was holding Hadley. It went much faster than my 15 hour - 2 hours of pushing with Hudson. Hadley's delivery ended up being 7 hours with only 10 minutes of pushing.

Hadley was 7 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long. She arrived at 2:37 pm. She is perfect! She has the same little pout that Hudson has and every once in a while I swear she looks just like he did. She has been such a sweet baby. So far she is very quiet and barely cries. She sleeps really well. Last night she only woke up once and it was at the same time as Hudson. Hunter took Hudson and I took Hadley - we fed and changed them and we all managed to go back to sleep within a reasonable amount of time.

Hudson is adjusting to her. He is not quite sure why she is here, why mom is always holding her or why she always has "his" bottle or pacifier. He's been pointing at her and whenever she makes a noise he freezes and looks very worried. Hudson is getting tons of attention, but it still doesn't seem to be enough right now. He is getting into everything and is almost walking.

We are so blessed to have 2 amazing, healthy, beautiful babies! Here are just a few pictures - I'll be adding more in the next few days. Enjoy!

Ella Hadley Smith

Hunter changing Hadley's first mess.

Hadley and Mommy

Our Family

Mommy and Hadley

Me and my sweet babies.

Hadley is Here!

Ella Hadley Smith arrived on Wednesday, December 23rd at 2:37 pm. She weighed 7 lbs and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is perfect!!! We love her so much already and it's hard to remember what life was like before our 2 precious gifts. I promise I will post tons of pictures later, but I'm a little sleep deprived right now. Both kids are asleep so I'm going to try to close my eyes while I can. :)

We're Taking Bets

Pick your day... when do you think Hadley will come? Hunter keeps flip flopping between the 24th and 28th. I think it would be neat if she came Monday... 12/21/09 because Hudson was 1/21/09 or on the 26th so she could share a birthday with my mom. The doctor said that if things keep going good and she hasn't come by the 30th (his last day on of 2009) we would talk about inducing. Which would be great for insurance and tax purposes - and she would be perfectly healthy and ready. So... my bet is she'll come on the 30th. :)

I went to the doctor today. There was no change from last week, but that's okay. I'm miserable, but she's getting bigger and stronger. We had an ultrasound and I know it's really hard to see what you're looking at, but she was beautiful. :) We could see her sweet little face. They're guessing that she is about 6 lbs 3 oz right now... so she's perfect! We can't wait to hold her in our arms!

Update

So... I went to the doctor this past Tuesday. Everything went great and seems to be right on track. I bet my doctor $100 that I wasn't dilated because I never did with Hudson until a few hours before he was born. Well, needless to say I owe the doctor $100 - which I told him to put on my bill. I'm 1 1/2 cm dilated and 50% efaced. That means she's really coming! I have to go back Monday for a check up and my doctor wants to do an ultrasound to make sure that everything is going good on the inside. Hudson's cord blood flow started to decrease at the end of my pregnancy (which is why they ended up inducing us) so they want to check and make sure that Hadley's isn't decreasing too. This weekend Hunter and Danny (Aunt Morgan's fiance) re-painted Hadley's room yellow. While they were doing that I was doing some last minute cleaning and packing a bag... just in case. :)

We Should Have Named Him Trouble

Hudson saying "na na" to me which means "no no" to him. I was trying to take his picture (because we don't have enough) and he kept putting his hand over his face and saying "na na" but I got him.
He tried to help me with the laundry. Take a hint Hunter... maybe you should help too. :)
Trying to hang some clothes.

He chased me into the kitchen to see what I was doing.

He was having a good time laughing and fixing the fire truck.

This is what my kitchen floor usually looks like. Apparently we need to baby proof the kitchen cabinets and drawers.

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

We had a great Thanksgiving in St. Louis with my family. Hunter was on duty so Hudson, Kapra, Kody and I drove up together. My Grandma JoAnn passed away in March of this year so it was especially hard to celebrate the holiday without her, but Hudson sure kept us all busy (thank you everyone for you help with my little man). My Aunt Jamie always out does herself with the most amazing Thanksgiving meal. I've only missed Thanksgiving twice and both times I bawled because it's my favorite holiday with my family. I have the craziest, most amazing family and I am so blessed to have them. :) Here a some pictures of Hudson's first Thanksgiving with the family. Hudson wanted to bang on the window with a spoon so bad. Aunt Jamie gave him this brush instead.
The brush just wasn't the same. My sweet little boy was not acting so sweet. I swear he doesn't usually throw tantrums like this... that's why I took a picture... to show Hunter how HIS son was acting.
Clapping for Uncle Kord. At one point Hudson had the whole table clapping just because he clapped. Quite a leader if I do say so myself. :)

It's Jesus! Oh wait... it cousin Rob! :)

Cousin Joe wrangled Hudson for a picture.

Cousin Karli loving on Hudson.

Hudson and Mommy

I found you guys! Hudson and Pops playing under the coffee table.

Aunt Kapra and Aunt Kody (pretending to look like they are sweet). :)

Uncle Kord and Hudson - Kord used to be the baby, but now Hudson has taken his spot. :)

Waiting for Aunt Jamie's amazing Thanksgiving meal. Yum!!!

Pops and I took Hudson on a walk to try to get him to sleep, but it didn't work. This child refused to sleep the whole trip. He was afraid that he was going to miss something.

Hudson and Amy became friends fast... probably because they are both on the floor so much.

Hudson the veterinarian.

He was trying to see what was going on in the kitchen because the food was almost ready. I was so excited about him eating his first Thanksgiving meal and of course it was the only time he fell asleep.

Hanging out.

The one other time he slept (for 10 minutes). We were all going through Grammy's things and Hudson got worn out and took a quick nap on her quilts.

Hudson and Uncle Scott M. playing horse (this went on forever). When Scott would stop bouncing Hudson would take over and just bounce on his leg. :)

Cousin Karli and Hudson. Hudson was wondering, "Where is that dog?"

Cousin Anna and Hudson. Anna is so good with Hudson. The first time she held him, when he was a few weeks old, she was so scared I thought she was going to cry. She is a pro now!

Hudson riding on Amy and acting like a dog himself. He's so talented!

Hudson's CAT Scan

A few weeks ago Hudson was put in the hospital for croup and we found out that his trachea was deviated. After a few weeks of waiting Hudson finally had his CAT scan on Tuesday. Our poor little guy couldn't eat or sleep for a few hours before the test. Then when we got to the hospital they had to give him an iv and some sleepy drugs. Our stubborn little guy doesn't like to sleep... ever... so the drugs had no effect on him. He pulled his iv out and they had to try to put it back in, but they ended up turning him into a pin cushion.

Hunter was in the room with him, but I had to wait in another room because of the radiation. I could hear my poor baby screaming and crying. It was awful! It was supposed to be a quick scan that was only going to last about 10 minutes, but ended up lasting 2 hours. So for 2 hours I listened to Hudson screaming and crying from a room down the hall... it was torture for me... and for him.

Anyway, thank goodness it is over and done with. We got a call from Hudson's doctor today and he said that he looks great. No masses were found. There was still some deviation, but it looks like it is just his lymph nods. Thank you God for watching over our sweet boy!

Lunch with the Family

Hudson, Goodie, Pops and Uncle Kord
Me, Hudson, Great Gramps and Hunter
Me, Pops, Uncle Kord, Hunter, Hudson, Great Gramps, Goodie and Jo
Goodie and Hudson (Hudson liked the man with the neck brace... maybe he'll grow up to be a doctor) :)

Goodie and Hudson (she was wispering to him trying to convince him to come live with her)

Hudson and Jo

Me (my ketchup stain on my shirt), Hudson, Jo and Gramps

Last weekend we met my mom, dad, my brother Kord, Gramps and Jo in Harrison, AR for lunch. My Gramps and Jo were visiting from Illinois. We hadn't seen them in forever so it was a much needed visit. Hudson loved all of the attention. :)

Hadley Update

I haven't blogged in a while so I figured that I better get busy while Hudson is sleeping and before we leave for Thanksgiving. Hudson and I are going to St. Louis to spend Thanksgiving with my family and Hunter is on duty. Sometimes it's kind of sad that we "split up" on the holidays, but Hudson is good at keeping my mind off it. :)

The closer we get to Hadley's due date the crazier things seem to get. I can't believe that we only have a few more weeks! I went to the doctor today and he said that everything looks great. I had some very scary Braxton Hicks contractions last night that lasted for about 2 hours. The doctor said that the second time around is a little easier than the first (I'm holding him to that comment).

I have to go back tomorrow because he wants me to get the H1N1 vaccine. Even though I had the swine flu a few weeks ago they want me to get it just in case it was a false positive. My doctor also told me that I am one of the few pregnant women that has had the swine flu and not been put on a respirator or had the baby delivered early. I feel very lucky and blessed. I'm pretty sure my Grammy was watching over Hadley and me.

She'll Be Here Soon

Holy cow! Hadley will be here soon. I am 32 weeks... 8 months! Here are some "beautiful" pictures of my growing belly. Hudson had to get in a few too. I don't know what he is going to do without his "seat" on my belly in a few weeks. We go back to the doctor this Thursday for a check up. Everything has been going great (except for the 5 1/2 months of morning, afternoon and evening throwing up and the swine flu and Braxton Hicks contractions). :)

Hudson's First Trip Back to the Hospital

Oh my gosh! So we had another crazy weekend of sickness. Poor Hudson has never been sick and the past 3 weeks he has "gotten" something. The first week it was an earache, then the flu and this past Thursday night it was croup. Our poor little guy sounded awful! Hunter and I were up all night with him trying to calm him down.

The next morning, I went to work and Hunter was home with Hudson. He took Hudson to the doctor where they said it was for sure croup. They did a breathing treatment and put him on a 3 day steroid. By the time I got home Friday afternoon, Hudson was getting worse. So we loaded up and went to the the ER.

We got speedy service, but of course when they were checking Hudson he acted like nothing was wrong. They said that a lot of times kids clear up on the way to the hospital in the cool night air. The doctor we saw is friends with Hunter, so we were looked after really well (plus Hudson is so stinken cute he was attracting lots of attention). They ended up doing an x-ray of his chest and found lots of swelling from the croup which was making it very difficult for him to breathe.

They also noticed that his trachea was "deviated to the right". They said if it was to the left they wouldn't think too much of it, but his was pushed the wrong way. The pediatrician said that it could either be nothing or it could mean that the vessels are wrapped around his trachea forming a ring. This could possibly affect his breathing and result in a very rare surgery.

They wanted Hudson to stay over night to monitor his breathing and to do more tests in the morning. I have no idea what time we finally got settled into his room, but it was late and Hunter and I were sleep deprived. We knew that one of us needed to get some sleep so that we could deal with all of the doctors in the morning. Since Hunter knows all of the medical talk... he got to go home and catch a few hours of sleep. So Hudson and I snuggled all night on the hospital bed. The nurses kept telling me to sleep because all of the machines were monitoring his breathing (whatever... there was no way I was closing my eyes while he was having trouble breathing).

The next morning, he had another x-ray and an echo cardiogram where they looked at his stomach, heart and throat. He hated it! We (okay... Hunter because it made me too upset) had to hold Hudson down while they were doing the 30 minute echo cardiogram. They had to send the images off to Children's Hospital in Little Rock to be read by a specialist. So we should hear something in the next few days. The tech said that she couldn't see any ring around the trachea so we feel very confident that Hudson is okay.

We are going to go and have a check up and another x-ray with our regular pediatrician. Other than all of that craziness Hudson was back to his normal sweet self by Sunday afternoon (not me... I was exhausted... I still am). :) I know that it was probably awful to take pictures of our little guy at the hospital, but he was so cute even while he was sick.

My dad and my brother, Kord, were also here this weekend. Hudson had way too much fun with them. They are probably the reason he bounced back so quickly. I also included some pictures from Halloween. Hunter bought Hudson's skeleton outfit a size (or 2) too small, so it only lasted an hour or 2.