Big Brother Drake

We had no idea how Drake would react to Evie's birth. We had talked with him about how he would be a big brother and would have a sister. He knew his sister's name would be Evie, but I think the idea of an actual person coming for a two and a half year old is pretty abstract. Some days he would seem excited about the idea but other days he would say "No want it".

When Drake met Evie for the first time, he seemed excited about looking at her and watching what she was doing. The excitement and interest was short lived and he was ready to leave after about ten minutes. He came to the hospital again the second day we were there and again was excited and actually kissed her when it was time to leave.

Since we have been home, Drake has been great. We have tried to keep him on his normal schedule as best as possible. He has been going to school and had his normal gymnastics class this Monday. He has been great with Evie and has been very interested in holding her when we let him. I'm sure throughout their lives they will have their moments but I hope they will be great friends.

Introducing Genevieve the V

Genevieve Lee

October 2 at 3:05pm

7 pounds

19.75 inches

On Wednesday, October 2, we welcomed the newest addition to our family, Genevieve. Evie was born via a scheduled, repeat c-section in Greenville, South Carolina. I was very happy that the same doctor that delivered Drake agreed to deliver Evie even though she was not the on-call doctor for the day. I felt very comfortable with Dr. Frederick when Drake was born, so when I decided that I would be having a repeat, I knew that I wanted her again.

After a short delay due to a smoke fire on the NICU wing and the whole floor being locked down, it was off to the operating room. It seems as though I am always one of the easiest patients that a doctor has ever had and without incident, the spinal was administered and I was laid on the table. Having not experienced birthing in a different way, I will say that it is a very odd experience having a c-section. I am not able to see what is going on, but my doctor is good to give me updates on what is going on. David is also very interested in what is happening, so he is allowed to move about the operating room and see everything that is happening. All I can do it listen to the updates and feel the tugging sensation. Dr. Frederick gave David the cue that Evie was about to enter the world and suddenly I heard her first cry.

David spent the remainder of the operation holding Evie and sitting next to my head so we could all three be together. It seemed like this c-section took longer than Drake's but once I was finally closed up, we headed to the recovery room. This hospital does do a great job of keeping the family together the whole time even during surgery and I was able to nurse as soon as we were in recovery.

Once we made it to the room we would call home for three days, Drake was able to meet his sister for the first time. 

  

A Post...Finally

It has been far too long since I have posted to our blog. I am sure that I could come up with a thousand excuses as to why but in the end, it has just gotten away from me. I really did a poor job taking pictures this summer as well and need to do a better job with that too. To recap on some of the things that have been going on with us:

July is a very busy month for me at work with all of our new students arriving on campus for the first time. We did find a weekend to sneak down to Jacksonville to help Ellie celebrate her first birthday. It was great spending time with our family and Drake loved being around Ellie.

Drake especially enjoyed taking all of Ellie's toys out of her toy box, getting in the toy box, and popping out.

Summer school was a blur and at the beginning of August, I embarked on a ten day trip to Italy with the basketball team. During the foreign tour, we visited Rome, Venice, Vincenz, Venice, and Lake Como and the team had the opportunity to play four games against Italian teams. Basketball wise, there really was no competition but I think culturally it was a great experience for everyone. I just wish that David had been able to join me on the trip. 



Overlooking Lake Como (33 weeks pregnant)

We returned from Italy late on a Sunday night and I had a doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon. While at the appointment, the baby's heart rate was significantly lower than normal (still in the normal range for babies, just not for her). I think to ease my mind, my doctor put me on the monitor for 20 minutes to get a clearer picture of what was going on. That's when we saw that I was experiencing contractions. We think the contractions were caused by dehydration and exhaustion from the trip. I did have to visit the hospital on Tuesday for a couple doses of a shot to stop the contractions, which worked for a week. I ended up back at the doctor after a week with more contractions and at that point, I was prescribed a daily smooth muscle relaxer for two weeks to keep the preterm contractions at bay. This all happened right at the start of school, which is a very stressful time as it is. Add being 33 weeks pregnant to the equation and, needless to say, I was quite overwhelmed. I was able to get to the point of being organized at work and projects fell together at home, which reduced my stress level quite a bit.
David's parents have also been a huge help since I left for Italy. They recently moved to a lake community about 35 minutes away from our house and have had Drake over to play quite a bit. For the past month, they have watched him one day each weekend, allowing us to concentrate on work we need to do around the house. I love that Drake is getting to spend do much time with his grandparents and we have also seen his cousins more since they moved here as well. Drake has learned the art of playing hide and seek, although he still likes to call out to tell you where he is hiding.

Drake has also started to wear underwear on a regular basis and we are now in week two at school and he has yet to have an accident. He does not always volunteer that he needs to go, but as long as we take regular trips to the potty, he is mastering this skill.

A couple weeks ago we had to run some errands in Greenville, so we started the morning with a trip to the zoo. We have been taking Drake to the zoo since before he could walk and I think this is the most attentive to the animals he has ever been. He was interested in all the animals and what they were doing.

It is hard to believe that October will be here in just a few days and on October 2nd our little family of three will become four. I'm not sure we are ready to live the sleep deprived life again, but we are ready to meet this little girl.