Visit from Papa & Grandma Lei

We LOVE when Papa & Grandma Lei (known as Grandman Yee to Lucy) come to visit. We do all sorts of fun stuff and they totally spoil us! We are so grateful for them and had the best time while they were here. They left the day before Father's Day, but I was so glad I was able to be with my Dad. I'm so blessed for the two Dad's in my life. My wonderful father and my amazing husband. I love you both!

Lucy & Eli are so lucky to have Scott as a dad. He truly is an amazing, dedicated, fun loving and wonderful father. He loves me and our kids so much. Happy Father's Day babe, you really are incredible.

2 Years & 2 Weeks

I'm posting this late, but better late than never! Lucy Francis is 2 years old! We recently had her two year check up and she weighed 24 pounds (26%), was 36 inches long (94%) and her head was 44 cm (1%, she's finally on the chart!). Lucy talks so much! Her favorite phrases right now are, "what you doing? or what happened?". She loves to read so much, just like me. She loves being outside, going to the park and jumping on trampolines. Lucy has no fear, she will climb up to the tallest slide or jump off anything. She has been eating so much better lately, her favorites are still fruit and veggies. She is destined to be a petite little girl. This past two years have gone by so fast. I remember the day she was born so well, like it was yesterday. I printed up a saying and posted in Lucy's room that describes my feelings about her perfectly: "You are the poem I dreamed of writing, the masterpiece I longed to paint.You are the shining star I reached for in my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled. You are my child. Now, with all things I am blessed." Lucy is my first daughter and child. She is everything I ever hoped, dreamed and prayed for. I wanted a daughter so bad and she has surpassed every expectation I've ever had. She is so sweet, smart, independent,adventurous, charming, funny and rebellious. I see so much of both Scott and I in her. Scott is the light of her life. She asks for him every second and lives for him to come home. You think I'd be jealous, but I love seeing them interact and I love seeing Scott's unwavering love and patience for her. Scott loves spending time with her and for him it is a privilege, rather then a responsibility.Lucy loves her little brother. She especially loves trying to give him his binkie. If she hears him crying, she'll rush over and try to soothe him. She also always reminds us to bring him when we go anywhere. We gave him a bath the other day, which he hated and he cried the whole time. She stood next to the bath and rubbed his head and belly saying, "it's okay, it's okay". My heart just melted. This little girl has changed our life in so many ways and we just love her more each day. My great friend, Katie, took these pictures when Eli was 2 weeks old. At his Doctors appointment he was 7 lbs 15.5 oz (26%), he was 21 inches long (60%) and his head was 14.1 cm (21%). Eli is so different than Lucy. He nurses really great and is gaining weight fast. He is such a little man. He sweats a lot and is hot all of the time. He loves to be swaddled, which Lucy did too. He has his nights and days mixed up, but it is a work in progress. Having a boy is so different, but I love him so much. He is my little man and I adore him. Scott is such a help to me. He is an expert at swaddling, feeding, burping and rocking. He takes turns with me during the night, which is a blessing. Adjusting to two kids is hard, but it is getting better. We love this little guy and can't wait to see him smile!

Eli's 2nd Hospital Stay

So, when Eli was born we were really hoping he wasn't jaundiced, as Lucy was and we had to keep her on a light bed for a few days and it was miserable. No such luck! The second day in the hospital we noticed he looked a little yellow. We asked for an early test (they usually do it on the 3rd day) and they took his blood and sent it to the lab. Well, a nurse came into our room a little while later and said the lab lost the test and they needed to take more blood. So, the took his blood and sent it to the lab. Well, low and behold, they found the first test and gave us the results, he was in the low level and we just needed to recheck him in 48 hours. When we discharged from the hospital we thought we were in the clear. He was nursing great, although it was incredibly painful. We took him to the Doctor on 48 hours later for a check up and billibubin test. The Doctor said he looked good and they would call us later with the results of the test, but that it would probably be okay. We went to Target on the way home (total nightmare) and we got home, put Lucy down and I was going to take a nap. Then, I get a call from Eli's Doctor, the ACTUAL Doctor, not the nurse. I knew we were doomed. He said that the results came back and his levels were really high and he had to be readmitted to the hospital. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The Doctor asked me how fast we could get Eli to the hospital, which really freaked me out. I told him we would leave immediately. What is worse, is that the 2nd test they took when we were at the hospital was high too, but they never gave us the results because they found the 1st test. If only!! Lucy was napping so our wonderful neighbor, Caroline, came right over and we took Eli to the hospital. When we got there they gave us a room and they tried to get blood from Eli for tests and such. He was so dehydrated that they couldn't get blood. This was devastating for me to hear as I had been nursing him like crazy for five days. For over four hours they tried to get blood from him from various parts of his body. The started an IV on him and gave him fluids to rehydrate him. They gave up trying to get blood for the time being and got him ready to put on the light bed. The light bed was intense, it had lights on top, bottom, sides and a spotlight on his chest. He had to wear a mask to protect his eyes. He actually wasn't fussy on the bed. I think it was nice and warm and cozy, so he just slept. He would only cry when he wanted to eat or needed to be changed. The nice thing was that I got to stay with him. Because he was so dehydrated the Doctor wanted me to start pumping and feeding him a bottle to ensure he was getting enough to eat. This was stressful for me as I really want to nurse him, but I just wanted him to get better so I tried to put my fears aside for the moment. Because I am a nursing mom the hospital provided all meals while I was staying with Eli, which was really nice. It was like I was in the hospital again too, the nurses were so accommodating. That night I actually got a lot of sleep because I would get up to pump and feed him a bottle and then go back to sleep. The next day they took another test, but it wasn't low enough to go home. Scott brought Lucy to the hospital and I was so glad he did because I missed Lucy so bad. We had only been home from the hospital for 2 days when I had to go back. She was so cute. She loved playing in the closet, watching Dora, eating treats and drinking from my big cup of water. When they left I was so sad, but my mom came and had lunch with me so that was awesome. Later in the day, they took more blood and test his levels. Around 4pm they let me know we could go home! He just needed to be on a light 'wand' at home, which wasn't bad because it fit right into his onesie and didn't impede him at all. I'm so glad to be home! Eli's billirubin levels are going down very slowly. After a few days on the light 'wand' his levels had only gone down a little. The Doctor had us start feeding him every two hours to flush him out. His levels are finally low enough where we can get back to normal. I started nursing him again yesterday and he did great! I was scared this past week he wouldn't nurse again, because I had so much trouble with Lucy, but he is doing well. I'm still struggling to find some normalcy. Scott went back to work yesterday and today was my first day on my own, although Marye and her kiddos came to keep us company and help me around the house. During this past few weeks I'm grateful for so many things, but to name a few 1) friends, family and neighbors who have helped us out so much 2)health insurance and modern medicine and 3)my Heavenly Father. It has been a hard adjustment this past week and at times, I don't know how I'm going to do it. My Heavenly Father has helped me every step of the way. I'm so blessed to have my two babies and my wonderful husband. Scott has been my rock! THANK YOU so much to everyone who has helped us; with meals, kind words, with friendship and whatever else.

Delivering Eli

Announcing the arrival of Eli Michael Collins, born May 10th. He weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 19 inches long. He was born with tons of dark hair. We just love him to pieces already. Now for the birth story..we arrived at the hospital at 7am for my induction. By 9am, I had an IV with pitocin and penicillin (for Strep B) and an epidural. I was feeling great although I was really itchy. At that time I thought it was the epidural, but looking back I think it was the penicillin. They gave me some benadryl for the itchiness. My mom and Scott were at the hospital with me so we just talked and relaxed. Around noon, the nurse checked me and I was 4 cm dilated. The nurse told me to progress faster I should switch laying on my sides so I did. Around 30 minutes later I felt a massive amount of pressure and felt like I needed to push. The nurse checked me again and sure enough, I was 10 cm and ready to push! It came on so fast that my Doctor was actually delivering another baby at that moment, but he made it to my room in time. I pushed through three contractions and he was born at 12:43. He had so much hair and was simply adorable. Although I had an epidural, it was different than my delivery with Lucy. With Lucy, I couldn't feel a thing, not even pressure. With this guy, I felt the pressure and I could almost feel exactly what was happening. I can't imagine NOT getting the epidural, I respect those who do it without one! Anyways, after they put him on my chest, they took his vitals and he was breathing really fast and a little 'floppy' (as the nurse put it). They took him to the nursery to check him out, but he was fine and came back a little while later. I stayed in the delivery room longer that usual because I stayed numb and itchy for a couple hours after. I think it was because I pressed the 'more epidural' button right before he came out, as I could feel some pain. It was okay though because they were pushing on my stomach like crazy, which I remember hurting so bad with Lucy, but I didn't feel it this time so that was good. The hospital stay was really wonderful. I had my mom and Scott there to keep my company and Scott's mom was watching Lucy and she brought Lucy to the hospital everyday. I had lots of visitors and it was happy time, although I missed Lucy like crazy. It was funny though because Lucy reacted differently to Eli than I expected. The first day she was kind of indifferent to Eli, I think it was because there was so much going on. The second day she responded better and wanted to hold him. We put Eli in her lap and she promptly sneezed in his face, a moment never to be forgotten! We are in love with this baby boy and are so blessed to have him in our little family!

All Set & Ready To Go...

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm being admitted to the hospital at 7am to have this baby. I have so many emotions, I'm all over the place. I'm so excited to meet this little guy, but I'm also nostalgic for the alone time I've had with Lucy. When I said good night to her tonight, I felt a flood of emotions. Everything is about to change and she has no idea! It is crazy the roller coaster ride pregnancy is. By this time tomorrow, I'll be holding my baby boy in my arms. Wish me Luck!! 38 Weeks...feeling and looking a little worn down

Lucy's 2nd Birthday Party

We wanted to give our little Princess a Birthday Party before we had the baby, so we celebrated her birthday a few weeks early. We had a really fun time. We decorated crowns, had snacks and cupcakes, played with balloons and opened presents. It was very simple, but Lucy totally loved it! Thank you to all who came and celebrated with us!