Sydney is here....

Just wanted to let everyone know that we now have a baby girl! Sydney Ann was born Friday morning, 8pds 2 oz, 23 inches long and absolutely gorgeous. I ended up having a c-section and everything went very smoothly. Yall were so right about the recovery; I took a shower yesterday morning and am now able to walk downstairs by myself (don't need the wheelchair any longer). As for Sydney, she is doing really good, but has been in NICU the entire time. Long story short, they're not exactly sure what's going on but it has something to do with her respiratory system. She was requiring too much oxygen and they ended up putting her on a ventilator yesterday. Technically, it's breathing for her but they have assured us that it's different than an adult being on that type of machine. They said it's not as bad as it sounds. Originally, she was covered with an oxygen tent and we couldn't get a good look at her, but the ventilator at least allows us to touch her and see her entire body. For the past 48 hours, her CO2 and O2 levels have fluctuated instead of continously getting better, however I just came from NICU and they said that she had a really good night with steady improvements. The nurse said that they plan on feeding her this morning (for the first time) via a feeding tube. While she has done really well over the past 12 hours, they're still not exactly sure what the problem is, but are beginning to eliminate certain things. The cardiologist did an EKG last night and determined that her heart is fine, so we can check that off the list. It may be nothing more than she needed a little extra time to "bake" and her lungs just weren't mature enough. With that being said, we don't know how long she'll be here, but I should be released by Tuesday. Colt and I are doing really well and know that everything is going to be fine. Any daughter of ours is automatically going to be a stubborn little thing, so this is probably par for her course. Anyway, we just wanted yall to know what's going on and I will keep this updated with any news that we get. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!! Again, we're doing really well, but would appreciate your prayers. Give all your babies tons of hugs and kisses today and I'll post again soon!

The latest news....

I leave the room for 2 seconds and come back to find him stripped naked, digging through my purse

Just enjoying the view....

Just like daddy....



Well, only 4 more days and we will have two children. I'm scheduled at the hospital either for induction, or c-section on Friday morning. We were quite suprised that she has been breech for the last week. I'll have another sonogram on Thursday and that will determine what kind of delivery we'll have on Friday. I'm not looking forward to the idea of a c-section simply because of the recovery. Then again, I'm not too fond of the idea of having my stomach split open and organs temporarily removed from my body...all while I'm fully conscience. Either way, it will be fine and there's nothing I can do about it. I've said from day one that girls are TROUBLE and she's supporting this theory; already giving us problems :)

Only a few more things left to do in her room and I will post pictures. I know I've been saying that for weeks, but I really mean it this time. It was just a lot more work than what I had figured, but I have a tendency to get in way over my head with a lot of things. Thankfully, my wonderful friends threw us a shower (they totally went above and beyond and it was awesome) a couple weeks ago and that really finished out anything that we might need for the baby, so now we'll just sit and wait. We'll take lots of pictures of Miss Sydney and I'll get them posted over the next couple of weeks. Have a great week and keep us in your prayers.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

This is kind of random, but I've been meaning to write this blog for a while. For those of you that know Amy VanVranken, she has worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since graduating from LCU. I have agreed to lead another team for the Great Strides Walk that will be next month on the LCU campus. It would be wonderful (for those that live here) to have several people volunteer to walk and raise some of their own money. However, if you can't walk, there are always financial pledges. I sent out an e-mail to several people and didn't get much of a response, so I thought I would try this way. If anyone is interested in donating at least $10, I would be very appreciative. I hate asking for money, volunteers, help and stuff like that, but I know this is for a very good cause. CF is a deadly disease; they are still working to find a cure and that is what your money would go towards. If you're interested, you can go to the website www.cff.org/great_strides and look up my name to donate directly. If you would rather pledge an amount to give next month, e-mail me and I will collect it over the next few weeks. My address is txbrowneyes99@yahoo.com
Yall are wonderful! Have a good week.