WAY OVER DUE FOR A POST!!!!!!

WELLLLL. I can honestly say I had TOTALLY forgotten about my blog!!! Sit down, this is probably going to be a long post!!

Here is a recap of the past 4 months!!!!!!!!!!

On April 8, I went into the hospital with contractions every 5-7 minutes apart. My doctor had already told me the day before he wouldn't be a BIT surprised to see me before the weekend was over. I called my parents and they made the hour and a half trek to Huntsville. By the time they got here the contractions had stopped, but I was dealing with some pretty high blood pressure. (Which had been high the past few weeks.) My doctor is in a big practice (5 doctors total I think) and wasn't on call that day. They did all the blood work to test me for preeclampsia, but all came back clear. And I was SADLY sent home to be on total bed rest until Carter wanted to come. The nurse said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were back here at Midnight tonight!" Which made me a little irritated that they were sending me home!

Here I am in the hospital with my new iPad 2! I stood in line for it earlier that morning! Jon gave it to me for my push gift!

My Mom decided to stay with me and help me get the nursery done and she was also afraid I would have him and she would miss it!

Remember how I said I was suppose to be on total bed rest?! Well, if you know me, you know I can't sit still!! :) I did it for the first night and enjoyed being waited on hand and foot, but I wanted that baby OUT! :)

That sunday, April 10, Mom and I decided to go to Bridgestreet for a little shopping and some yogurt. As I walked into the yogurt shop who of all people is sitting there with his family?! Um, yes..MY DOCTOR!! I almost turned and walked out thinking he was going to fuss at me for not being at home in the bed. BUT, to my surprise he didn't even KNOW that I was suppose to be on bed rest and couldn't believe they sent me home! He had said "come see me Monday, if you make it through the night, and we'll talk baby!" I couldn't believe it! I knew at that moment I was going to have Carter on April 11th more than likely.

Here I was the day before he was born. Look HUGE!!!!!

Well, we went home and finished the nursery at about 10 pm. I laid down, but just couldn't get comfortable. My back was KILLING me and I was having TONS of pressure and the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. Jon and I timed them on my new iPad and they were less than 5 minutes apart. Mom was sleeping during all this and had NO idea what was going on. I woke her up around Midnight and said "it was time". I've never seen her move so fast. HA! :)

We got to the hospital and the reality started to set in with me. I was going to GIVE BIRTH that day. I remember being so nervous, but tried not to show it. My nurses were absolutely INCREDIBLE. They walked me through everything they were doing and that calmed me and eased my fears/anxieties. My biggest fear of the whole labor process was: GETTING an IV!!!!! YES, I know, but I had NEVER had one. I had NO idea what to expect and always heard they HURT. But, my nurse was AMAZING and got it on the first try and it didn't hurt AT ALL!!!

Funny side note: They were doing clinicals at my hospital and asked if I minded if a student nurse could come in to observe. As most of you know, I'm pretty shy and modest. Much to everyones surprise I said, "SURE!" Well, little did I know that it would be a 6'6" 250 pound MAN!!!!!! All I could do was LAUGH- JUST my luck! But, he was SO sweet and kept in the background saying "THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT TO DO!" HAHA! Poor thing..

At about 6 am they started potocine(spell check!) to help with the process. (the D word just grosses me out so I won't say it and you won't read me mention it! HAHA!) At around 8 they told me if I wasn't going natural that they encouraged me to go ahead and get the epidural. I was very nervous about that as well, but didn't even feel a thing!! 9 they checked me and said my water was bulging. We kept waiting and waiting on the doctor. Of course mine wasn't on call that day either-ugh! Finally around 10 the doctor came and broke my water. They started this thing called "wedging". It was the neatest thing. They put pillow all around me on my right side, then 30 minutes later changed it to my left side. They did that until about 12:30 and I knew then I was getting closer. The pain was getting more intense and I got in the "zone" everyone talks about! My sister had just gotten there with my Dad and I was SO glad Natalie could make it. My Mom and Sister went to the waiting room to talk to him and it was then I felt the urge to push. I called the nurse and she came in and checked and said "um, your ready to push where is your mom and sister?!" Jon was going to get them, but luckily Jon's Mom was there and ran and got them for us.

I literally pushed for 10 minutes and out came my beautiful baby boy. Just thinking about it makes me cry. He, Terry Carter Cullen, had FINALLY made his grand entrance. And it was nothing short of amazing and perfect!!! My first questions was: DOES HE HAVE HAIR?! All that heartburn need to count for something...and BOY did he have hair!!!!!!!

He was a PERFECT 6 pounds 13 oz and 20 inches long. So tiny and absolutely beautiful. I'll never forget after they brought him back from the bath, the nurse said, "this baby doesn't have one dimple, he has 2 HUGE dimples!" I was sooooo happy to hear that he got at least ONE thing from his mommy! Everything else is Jon made over!!!!! He is his daddys child! :) We call him little Jon Jr! :)

My life was changed for the better the moment they put him in my arms. Nothing else at that moment seemed to matter. I've never felt happier in my life. The love I felt for him was so unconditional. He was perfect. :)

One thing that was VERY important to me doing was breastfeeding. I had made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to let anyone tell me I couldn't do it. And boy have I stuck by that. Carter was named a breastfeeding champ by the nursery staff. He latched on immediately and we haven't had any problems since. I was so happy to go to a hospital that was for breastfeeding and wouldn't give them formula unless you asked for it.

Fast forward about 5 weeks........

The scariest day of my life. Jon and I had just gone to Wal-Mart and grabbed some Arbys while we were out. He had JUST told me, "Don't call I have a very important meeting with Universal Studios today!" (thats where their annual conference was being held) He left, I put Carter in his vibrating seat and I began to eat my lunch. Almost immediately, I felt a pain in my stomach that was WORSE than child birth. I was literally in agony. I called my Mom screaming on the phone because I didn't know what to do. She told me I HAD to call Jon no matter how important the meeting was. I did, and he didn't answer. I texted him "911" and he was home within 5 minutes. (good thing about living so close to work!) By that time I was in the bath having horrible horrible stomach pains. I called the doctor and was waiting for the nurse to call me back. It literally took them 2 hours before I had to call them BACK. I was hurting so bad and so frustrated. and scared. I didn't know WHAT was wrong with me. They sent me straight to my doctor. He took one look and said, "it's one of 2 things. Gallbladder or appendix." He ruled out appendix because it was on my right side and because I had just eaten. He ordered an ultrasound for the following morning to see what it was for sure.

My amazing Mom came up to go with me and help with Carter. We had to be there at 7 am. I went back alone. The ultrasound tech obviously couldn't say much. At the end of the appointment I asked him if he saw anything. All he said was "I hope your not real attached to that gallbladder!" The next day it was confirmed I needed surgery to have my gallbladder removed. This all happened so fast. The surgery was scheduled for a Monday and I had 4 days before it. I have NEVER been SO SICK before in all my life. I don't wish Gallbladder attacks on my worst enemy. Trying to take care of a newborn and being SO sick was NOT my idea of fun. Again, I am blessed with an amazing Mom who was there through it all. She helped me with Carter and I laid in bed with agony. If you've ever had an attack you know how bad they are! I had a total of 5 attacks and thought I was literally going to die. I kept praying that I could make it until Monday to have the surgery and obviously I did. :) Literally a very simple surgery and I was able to pick up Carter the following day. I am so thankful I will NEVER have another one of those attacks again!!!! :)

The following weeks were very quiet, thankfully!! Carter is growing like a weed! He weighs over 14 pounds at 3 1/2 months old. He is the cutest baby boy in the whole wide world. :) I have started cloth diapering him and absolutely love it. It's not like it use to be. It's totally different and I have become obsessed with it! :) The good thing with clothing too, is that I can use them for all my babies. So its definitely an investment and my doctor told it was the best thing for his little skin. :)

We just got back from the beach with parents. We had a BLAST!! The next post will be pictures from there. I think this one is long enough!!!! Here is a sneak peak and my current favorite picture of him:

I PROMISE to be better about blogging. Now that we have a schedule and I have some down time, I will try and do it once a week...at least!! :)

Prayers, please

I have been meaning to do this blog earlier, but had Daisy and Kemp all last week....

Anyways, PLEASE pray for my sweet, beautiful, amazing friend Amy. I am going to copy and paste her story from Caringbridge so you can get the background on her...

Background Story

The most important thing you can know about Amy is that she has a strong faith in Jesus Christ. She walks daily with Him and has leaned on Him throughout her life. The light of Jesus Christ shines through Amy and in her you can see the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, and meekness.

Amy was born on June 16, 1985. Amy's immediate family is her mom, Tommye, stepdad, Kerry, and sister, Lauren. She also has a stepmother, four step-sisters and uncles, aunts, cousins, coworkers, and friends who love her. Amy has been in a serious dating relationship with the love of her life, David Boyd for five years.

At two months, Amy was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. In 2003, after seventeen years of hospital stays and lung and digestive issues, Amy required a lung transplant to continue living her sweet life.

Amy, her sister Lauren, and I relocated to St. Louis, MO in June, 2003 to wait for God to provide lungs for Amy, expecting a wait of several months to possibly a year or two. Within a week of listing, Amy received her lungs and her brand new life.

Amy uses the gift of new life provided through the generous gift of lungs offered from a grieving family to the glory of God. She lives her life to the fullest. Only six months after transplant she entered the University of Alabama as a full-time student. Amy chose nursing as a major because in Amy's words, "other than my faith and my family, nurses have had the biggest impact on my life. More than just taking care of my health, nurses have held me, rocked me, loved me, entertained me, and supported me. I believe God used my life to prepare me to give back to other children and their families who also have needs."

While at UA, Amy was a dean's list and sometimes president's list student. She was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. Amy decided that she wanted her nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was accepted into their nursing program, and received her BSN (BS in nursing) in December 2008. She became a nurse in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at Children's Hospital in January 2009 and has been employed in the NICU at Children's since that time.

Amy has been working full time on her MSN (Master Degree Nursing) as a Nurse Practitioner and is now in the final semesters. At the time she became ill, Amy was precepting with Dr. Amy Albert, a gifted pediatrician, at Alabama Pediatrics Clinic in Homewood, Alabama.

Amy has a quiet, gentle calming nature. She loves her Lord, David, and her family and friends. She loves the babies she gets to care for in the NICU. Amy enjoys hanging out with her boyfriend, David, music, shopping, travel, and is a roller-coaster enthusiast! She loves college fooball, the New Orleans Saints, and is a fierce fantasy football competitor. Amy enjoys holidays and especially Christmas. She celebrates remembering the birth of her Lord with enthusiasm, decorating, shopping, and with David, hosting an annual Christmas party.

Amy has had an excellent outcome with her lung transplant. Other than an occasional sinus infection that required antibiotic therapy, Amy has had no issues. She has never encountered any rejection, and her last hospital stay for treatment was in 2007, almost four years ago.

The illness Amy now has is completely unrelated to her cystic fibrosis but is complicated by the immunosuppressant therapy that is required to prevent her from rejecting her transplanted lungs.

Amy unexpectedly came down with a sudden onset of fever on Saturday, February 19th. The fever continued through Sunday but seemed to subside on Sunday night. However, on Monday morning Amy experienced excruciating pain in her left side so severe that her transplant team referred her immediately to the ER. While in the ER, Amy was diagnosed with pneumonia, admitted into the hospital, and placed on IV antibiotic treatment, continous fluids, and some other treatments. We learned on Tuesday, February 22, that the infection had spread to Amy's bloodstream and that it was caused by a bacteria called Streptococcus Pneumoniae. On Wednesday, February 23, Amy's condition began to worsen. Throughout the day and night Amy continued to deteriorate. After trying all options to provide oxygen and control her blood gases, especially her CO2, which at that time had increased to 75, Amy was diagnosed with respiratory failure and placed on the ventilator. On Friday, Feb 25th Amy also developed renal failure and placed on continuous dialysis.

Please keep Amy is your constant prayers.

Please pray for Amy! You can follow her CaringBridge at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amycrews/journal

Thanks so much!

8 weeks and counting

This weekend we went to Jon's Moms house for her 50th Birthday dinner celebration. My mom decided to take it as an opportunity to make some pictures. (surprise, surprise!)

Here we are at 31.5 weeks pregnant! I am feeling GREAT and can't complain at all!

Our Family Picture! Can't wait until Carter is in it!

Yours truly... :)

On Sunday I got to see my best friend of 26 years! Her brother is getting married and Mom and I went to the tea! Here is Carly and Me. Couldn't have asked for a better BFF. Love ya, Carly!

We were really excited to have My Mom and Kemp come back with us for the night. She took me to Posh Mommy to pick out my Baby gift! (A beautiful piece of furniture! THANKS, GRANJAN AND BIG T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Here we are at Cracker Barrel for dinner!

Jon and Kemp coloring together.. Jon is going to be an amazing daddy..

As if I didn't eat enough at Cracker Barrel..Jon and my Mom FORCED me to eat an Ice Cream Sundae. ;-) I had been craving one for about 4 days, but TRY really hard to be good and not eat things like that. I have done SO good with my weight gain and don't want to ruin it at this point, BUT I gave in. And man it was worth EVERY single CALORIE!

(Don't worry Mom documented me eating it! HAHA!)

Drive Thru at Mickey D's..

OMG, so good. And worth it!

The next day we got up on went to Posh Mommy. Here is a picture of my BEAUTIFUL gift. I couldn't be happier and more excited. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad! This is something Jon and I couldn't have afforded ourselves. Carter is SO BLESSED to have you to call Grandparents.

After we got the armoire, we decided that yes, I was hungry again. HAHA. We decided on Logan's. I have had the ODDEST pregnancy craving. SWEET POTATOES. I have always HATED them, but ever since I have been pregnant, I can't get enough of them!! Well, I saw it on the menu and I was done. Sweet Potato it was for lunch!!

Mom and I

My YUM Sweet Potato!

After we ate we headed back to Birmingham to take Kemp home. That boy is the sweetest thing in this world and has the BEST manners of child I have ever known.

Last night we had dinner with Kelley and Ryder at the mall. Here we are with our Bumps:

Today we picked up Daisy from Playschool. That child CRACKS.ME.UP! She is her Mom MADE OVER. Everything she says is HILARIOUS and kinda bad. HAHA. Here we were today spending some time together...

Well, there is my life over the past few days! It has been a whirlwind, but so much fun! :) I am going home tomorrow and will be back AGAIN next weekend. I am having Maternity pictures done with Amanda Traywick next week. Check out her Website. www.amandatraywick.com

She is also doing Carters newborn pictures, which I am SO excited about!

Well, I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL week!

Love and Blessings to all,

Katie

Blessed.

This week has been a very very hard week. I had a friend who was 5 weeks behind me in her pregnancy. (Which made her 25 weeks.) She was pregnant with a sweet little girl.
I found out on Friday that she had been admitted into the hospital due to preeclampsia. Her blood pressure was through the roof and they wanted to keep an eye on her. I chatted with her for a bit on Facebook and she had the BEST attitude. She knew that God was in control and He was going to take care of her and the baby.

On Monday night I got news that she was being induced because her blood pressure was high again. On Tuesday morning, I got the most heartbreaking news...

She delivered her sweet baby and yes, you guessed it, the sweet baby girl just didn't make it. I was so shocked and honestly just plain SAD. I kept thinking about me being in her position and how I don't know if I could deal with it.

I went out to try and do some Birthday shopping and the song "Homesick" by Mercy Me came on the radio. The words that really hit me and I immediately thought of my friend were "I close my eyes and I see your face; if homes where my heart is then Im out of place; Lord won't you give me strength to make it through somehow; I've never been more homesick than now." I sat in my car and sobbed thinking about them. The pain, the hurt, the confusion as to why it happened.

But, I chatted with her again on Facebook the following night. Let's just say she has the most amazing strength that I know I would NOT have.

I sat on the couch, cried and just praised God for blessing me with a normal pregnancy. Why was I so fortunate to have such a great pregnancy? I took a vow to myself and to Jon that I will NOT complain about my back hurting or little man kicking me in the middle of the night. In turn, I will consider it all a blessing. Because I know, that my friend would give ANYTHING to feel her sweet baby girl kicking again.

I had my doctors appointment and was drawn to tears as I heard his sweet little heartbeat. After this weeks events, there was nothing more I wanted to hear. Feeling him kick each time makes me realize just how blessed I am.

Please pray for my sweet friends, the McKays. They need all the prayers they can get right now...

Long time no post!

Well, I know its been a while since my last post and I PROMISE to be better once Carter is here!!!

What have we been up to?? Well, lets see..We are entering the 30th week of our pregnancy which is crazy hard to believe! Where did those last 25 weeks go?? It seriously sees like just yesterday we were announcing to our families that we were expecting. I am so anxious for the next 10 weeks to fly by. I just want to see my little man and hold him in my arms and kiss him! Feeling his sweet little kicks and flips make me smile. I know some people get annoyed with it after a while, but I love feeling him and knowing he's there and ACTIVE!

We were so fortunate to have my Mom come help us with the nursery last week. She helped me get everything organized. Let's just say that Mr. Carter has more than enough clothes! His mommy might have a bit of a shopping problem. ;-) But what can I say?! I learned from the best of them. AND, I want my little boy looking like a DOLL every day! :) Sitting in his room and seeing the crib and his clothes just make me so excited! There is NOTHING more that I've ever wanted to do than be a Mom and I am finally ALMOST there. :) He just needs to "cook" for a few more weeks!

We've had great reports from the doctors. NO stretch marks, the weight gain has been perfect, NO gestational diabetes and my blood pressure is back to normal. :)(The heartburn is pretty bad but if thats all I'm dealing with-then so be it!) I do have to have a shot called the "Rhogam" because I have a negative blood type and if Carter has negative blood type he will have to have it as well. NO big deal, just more of a pain. I'll have to have it each pregnancy. BLAH. Oh well!

I was able to get the pediatrician I wanted for Carter. I just HAPPENED to stop in there one day last week and the nurse said he was accepting ONE more patient! I filled out my paperwork there and we got in with him! I am so excited. He is a member of our Church and I've heard wonderful things about him. Truly a blessing to get him!

Jon is getting more and more excited with each passing day. He picked out some shoes and a shirt from Gymboree. SO cute to see him SO excited about everything. He is going to be the best daddy. I am SO blessed to have such an amazing support system with him. He SPOILS me rotten. I can only imagine that Mr. Carter will have him wrapped around his pinky within minutes. :) I love you, Jon. Thanks for being so so sweet and amazing. I can't wait to see you become a daddy. Not to much longer now! :)

To my little man...AH, every time I think about you I get teary eyed. To feel your kicks and flips make me so happy. I can't wait for the day that you come into our lives. It won't be toooooo much longer now. I can't wait to hear your sweet heartbeat next week. Always so funny when they get your heartbeat, you start KICKING the doppler. (Are you going to be naughty?!) I love you more than life itself already! Can't wait to meet you sweet boy! Love you always, Mommy!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Ill post more on thursday after our appointment. :)

Blessings and Peace,

20 week appointment

Here are is a picture from our Fetal Assessment. (I have a TON more but they all keep flipping the wrong way and I don't know how to make it not do that!) They said everything looked PERFECT, what huge blessing!!!!!!!! :) We got to see his beautiful face in 4D, which was a HUGE surprise for us! The Sonar Tech said he was in the perfect position for them, so she went ahead a did a few! :) I LOVED seeing his sweet sweet face. She kept talking about his beautiful, pouty lips. I know where he gets those pouty lips from. HAHA! :) Already learning from his Mommy! :)

I have been feeling Carter like CRAZY here lately. Its just so amazing to feel him move. Even at the appointment the sonar tech laughed and said "WOW, he's active! He must have loved your lunch!" HAHA. OH dear, what am I in for! HAHAHAH! :)

We've got the Nursery almost DONE. Can you believe it?!?!? We have a few pictures to hang and one piece of furniture we are getting, but everything is almost done! Jon and I have been working our butts off to get it done! I worked on it a few weeks ago, getting all his clothes hung up. Let's just say. I went through over 100 hangers in a matter of minutes. Carter will be the BEST dressed little boy. I have a HUGE shopping problem and finding him cute outfits isn't helping that problem at all! We have an ADORABLE shop but here called Posh Mommy and Baby, too (we got our chair there!) and they have the CUTEST boy clothes. We all know how hard it is to find cute boy things! I am pretty picky about what I like for him. HAHA. I LOVEEEEEE smocked Jon Jons. MY FAVORITE for little boys! :)

I can't believe that I am 5 months pregnant. It's really flown by, but I really need for April to get here! I am MORE than ready to meet my little fella! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful CHRISTmas! We will be getting our present a few months later, but think its the best gift we could ever ask for! :)

To my sweet Carter,
I am so thrilled that we got to see you on the sonar. Your BEAUTIFUL face brought tears to my eyes. Your daddy was so cute looking at you. Counted every finger and toe. He was even teary eyed seeing you. WE love you more than anything and can't just wait to hold you and love on you!
We get so excited thinking about how different the Holidays will be for us next year. It makes us so incredibly happy to know YOU will be joining us next year.
Love you,
Mommy

It's a.......

I have been so so so needing to update my blog, but very very busy over the past weeks.

Anyways, Jon and I were able to find out about 3 weeks ago what we are having and we couldn't be more excited and happy....

Its a.............
BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jon and I are elated and feeling so blessed. Blessed that the sonar tech said everything looked perfect. That was our MAIN and ONE concern that HE was healthy.

Baby boys have always had a special place in my heart and always MELT my heart. After working in the nursery I found that the boys are easier than little girls.
Having older brothers always made me want boys first as well. Just knowing they were there for me always was something so special. (and at times a little annoying-HA!)
And then there is Kemp. The moment I laid eyes on my precious nephew I was in love with him. (of course my other nieces and nephews as well!!) But something about being in the delivery room when he was born, made us have a special connection. I'll never forget some of my first words after seeing him is "HE makes me want ONLY boys!"

Jon of course is thrilled of the idea being at the ball park and doing all things boys! :) He would always say "I think its a girl", but I think he kept telling himself that so he wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't a boy. When we found out, my heart melted over Jon's excitement. He was beyond happy and hasn't stopped smiling since the day we found out and I haven't either!

We have decided to use family names for our sweet little boy. We are going to name him Terry Carter after both of our dads and will call him Carter. We are so excited to finally be able to call our angel boy by his name!

Carter is definitely growing and I definitely have a bump. I love looking down and seeing it. I can't help but smile. And, I felt him move for the first time a few days ago and it was amazing. Jon is definitely ready to be able to feel him move. The doctor said it wouldn't be to to much longer until he could feel him as well!

I am so thankful that at my last appointment my blood pressure had gone down and was back to normal. It had been high but my doctor did assure me that preclampsia could NOT happen until after 20 weeks. HUGE relief and something that did worry me ever since my last appointment. I am also very thankful that the morning sickness has FINALLY gone away. My mom told me just the other day that Carter must be going to be a sweet baby since he was giving me all that trouble for a bit. HA. :)

Anyways, I guess thats all for now!

To my sweet CARTER BOY,
I could not be more thrilled to know you are a healthy boy! I keep imagining what you are going to look like and wonder if you will look more like your daddy, more like me or a good combo. For your sake, I hope you look like your daddy.
I already love you more than words can explain. It has been fun buying you little gowns and getting things monogrammed with your name on it.
I love you and can't wait for April to get here!
Love always,
Mommy

Here are some pictures of me at 19 weeks.