Kelly in NC

Sorry to say that it has taken me over a week to write this post. It’s funny how emotional you can be about losing a pet, but when he has been a part of your life for 12 years, it truly is like losing a member of the family. It has taken me this long to get my thoughts together on how to say good bye to an animal who was more than just a pet. He has been our “1st baby” and best friend for as long as Tim and I have known each other and losing him has been an emotional roller coaster. Even if we knew that the end was near.
As most of you know, Tim got Ozzy as a puppy only a few months after we first started dating. Ozzy was the typical black lab puppy. He loved to chase his tail, go on walks, and of course swim. At the time Tim lived with his parents who had a pool. Life could not have been better for any dog. Ozzy would stay in the pool for hours. He even claimed a raft for himself and on many occasions when he would go missing, you only had to look in the pool to see him snoozing by himself on his float in the water. And yes, he really did claim the raft as his own. If you ever tried to lay on it , he would usually come over, tip you off and the climb aboard. He also loved to retrieve tennis balls from the pool. I can personally remember one occasion when I counted how many times he would jump in the pool after the ball. At 100 times I quit counting, and yes he kept retreiving! One other Ozzy pool memory was his desire to make sure everyone was safe while swimming. Tim used to torment poor Ozzy by swimming to the bottom of the pool. Ozzy would circle and circle above him barking, hoping that Tim would soon come back to the top. Yes, Ozzy was a friend, but he also a protector of those he loved.
I am not sure how Tim’s parents felt when he brought the little black puppy home for the first time, but it wasn’t long before he weaseled his way into their hearts…and really into the hearts of almost anyone he met. Ozzy immediately took a liking to Mom B. She was definitley the alpha in his life. He would listen to her better than any other human on the planet. I’m sure that it was due to all the attention she gave him. She taught him most of his commands- sit, stay, lay, get the paper, and made him into the perfect walking companion. I really think that Ozzy gave Mom B an excuse to go on walks everyday and also gave her another baby to dote on since all 4 of her children had grown into teenagers by that time. Regardless of the reason, Mom B can be credited for disciplining the O into the well mannered dog he became. Now not to insinuate that Ozzy did not have a special relationship with all the other members of Tim’s family because he did. On the day he died, I think all of Tim’s immediate family members shed a few tears when they heard the news. And no one seemed more concerned and upset than Tim’s Dad who had always taken on the role of provider and caretaker.
While I liked Ozzy from the moment I met him, it wasn’t until he came to live with us that I fell in love with that silly dog. Tim’s mom decided that once we got married, Tim (and really I) was responsible enough to have Ozzy full time. While Ozzy mourned the loss of his daily swims, he quickly found other things to occupy his time and make him happy. His desire to stalk squirrels grew to a new level and he would spend hours in our back yard hoping to sneak up on one of the critters. I taught him some new tricks like how to balance a cookie on his nose, toss it into the air, and catch it and Tim and I would take him on walks almost every evening. He loved going to the dog park and when we were really adventurous we would sneak him into a neighboring apartment complex’s pool.
Tim and I often took Ozzy on hiking trips which he also loved. Ozzy loved to run ahead of us on the trail, although he would often look backwards to make sure we were still in sight. Tim & I would make a game of hiding from him when he got too far ahead. Once he realized we were gone, he would come running back at full speed, searching frantically until we were found. He also enjoyed sleeping in the tent with us…maybe too much. While he would always start the night in a ball at our feet in the tent, by the next morning he always found a way to stretch himself out until he as taking up more than his share of the room. Still we loved him and couldn’t imagine a trip without him.
The biggest change of Ozzy life occurred with the birth of Grayson. It is funny that Ozzy seemed to know that his life was going to change that year. The bigger my stomach got, the more he began to show favoritism toward TIm. Up until that point, he had always preferred me. He must have had some intstinct that with the birth of little one, he would not longer be my number one priority and so he began sleeping near Tim and greeting Tim first when we would come home. Now Ozzy was not particularly excited when Grayson did finally join our family. It was about 6 months before Ozzy would even make eye contact with the baby. I guess by then he know that Grayson was here to stay and finally decided to accept him as a friend too. Grayson loved Ozzy from the moment he met him and by 6 months he would light up anytime Ozzy would enter the room. Ozzy was patient with the baby and would allow Gray to crawl all over him, chew on his ears, and even sit on top of his back. I believe that even though Ozzy triend hard to not like Grayson, within a few months he just couldn’t help himself. Even now, Grayson will tell you that Ozzy is his best friend, and since his lost has started carrying around a little black lab stuffed animal that he calls his “Baby Ozzy”. He has also requested the “Ozzy” song (sung like B-I-N-G-O) most nights before bed.
Over the past few years we have watched our dear dog age. Once he reached the age of 9 we saw him move from being a playful, active dog who NEEDED to be walked every day into living the retired life of a senior citizen. His hair began to gray at his chin, around his eyes and on his paws. And we were pleased to see our good dog turn into a GREAT dog. He continued to be well mannered and happy-but without the extra energy that would sometimes get him in trouble. It wasn’t really until he was hit by the UPS truck three moths ago that Tim or I ever considered that the end of his life was near. Yes, he had already slowed considerably and his arthritis was bad enough that he could not longer go on a full walk with us- but he still seemed incredibly happy and healthy considering his age. But after the accident, his health never fully recovered. WHile his spirits were most often up and he did find a way to beat the odds and walk again on his own, Ozzy’s body began to deteriorate before our eyes. He lost a considerable amount of weight over the past three months and became a very picky eater. Tim and I tried everything we could to get him to gain weight, even in the end feeding him people food, but he just couldn’t seem to fatten up.
His last week with us was also the week that we brought Gage home from the hospital For the most part Ozzy seemed extremely happy that week…to the point that I even said something to Tim about how perky he seemed. I joked that perhaps Ozzy was suicidal since he seemed so uplifted, but I had no idea how close to the mark I was. On two different occasions that week, Ozzy went missing around our house and was later found in the woods. Lots of people say that dogs know when they are going to die and will try to go off on their own when it is time. On those two times, we carried him back up to the house and he seemed fine. On Thursday he went missing again. After searching all over for him, Tim’s dad again found him in the woods and this time Ozzy’s spirits did not perk up. His happy demeanor would come and go and within a few hours, it became obvious that Ozzy was near his end. HIs breathing became labored, his tongue started to turn purple, and he started to slip in and out of consciousness- all signs of cardiac arrest. This was in stark contrast to his behavior earlier that day- when he followed me to my garden, played with Grayson, and even chased another dog out of our yard. It was surprising to see him turn for the worse so quickly, although I was very happy to be left with some pleasant memories of him from that day.
So now it has been a week that he is gone and while I know that he is no longer in pain, it still breaks my heart that he is no longer with us. I can’t tell you how many times in the past few days that I thought that I heard his chain rattle or that I thought that I heard him barking. I often drive in the yard and expect to see him laying in the grass. I am glad that we had the last three months with him to prepare for his leaving, as I cannot imagine how difficult his loss would be with out the preparation. At least we had our opportunity to say our good byes and reciprocate the love he had given us over the past twelve years.
So farewell dear Ozzy. You were an amazing dog who we could never replace. You were a loyal companion and will always be thought of as a member of our family. We are sorry to lose you so soon but are grateful for the twelve years of memories you have given us. You are missed today and forever.

Today, I took Gage to the Pediatric Cardiologist to follow up on some “clicking” noises they heard in his heart when he was first born. At the time, they did an echocardiogram and discovered that there were some connections between the ventricles of his heart that had not closed off, as well as some possible thickening of his pulmonary valve. In many ways these problems are common in newborns and most often they will remedy themselves. So today’s appointment was to check to see if the connections had closed and to decide if the there was an issue with the pulmonary valve. After meeting with the Cardiologist and sitting through another echocardiogram, Gage was given a clean bill of health. His heart looks great and the clicking noises have gone away. What a relief!
Also, last week, Gage had his 1 week doctor’s appointment. He weighted 6 lbs, 6 oz (up 3 oz since leaving the hospital) and was eating up to 3 ounces at a time. They checked to make sure he was not jaundice and the blood work returned in the normal range. Dr. Young seemed happy with his progress and our next appointment will be in a couple more weeks. As far as Gage’s progress over the last two weeks, so far he seems to be a pretty easy baby. As is typical, he spends most of his day sleeping with the other minutes filled with eating and pooping! Most of the time he eats every 2.5-3 hours although over the last few days he has been hungry every 1.5. We have figured out a system for getting plenty of sleep through the night. (Go ahead and shake your head…) I have found that by keeping him in bed beside me, he barely wakes up to nurse and will then fall right back to sleep. We usually have two feedings in the middle of the night. For now, this system is working well for me- although I know that I will change in sometime in the next few weeks. But let’s be honest, me getting my rest is super important to me right now.
Grayson continues to do well adjusting to having a little brother in the house. He wakes up every morning, comes down the stairs, and asks “Where’s my baby brover?” He will often pet Gage’s head or give him a little kiss before barreling off the play or eat breakfast. For the most part, the times when Grayson does pay attention to Gage are very sweet. For instance the other day as Grayson was watching a cartoon, I placed Gage on the couch beside him and went to tidy the house. When I walked back by I caught Grayson sitting right next to Gage, stroking his baby brother’s head. A few minutes later, Grayson yelled my name and said “Mommy, here’s my baby brover!” Grayson seems very proud to show off Gage to his friends at school and to complete strangers. So….So far we have not seen any signs of jealously and we are crossing our fingers that that ugly monster will not raise it’s head anytime soon.

IT is funny how sometimes you do not realize how easy you had things until something occurs to make life a bit harder. That was the case with the birth of Gage. While I thought that my delivery of Grayson was challenging, I had no idea how “cake” it was until I went through labor with Gage.
For Gage’s birth, we had a planned induction due to the fact that my blood pressure kept going up and the fact that my doctor, Dr. Craddock was leaving for vacation the following week. The positive side of the induction was that we knew when we were going to the hospital and so we were able to prepare ourselves and Grayson for having the baby. Tim’s Mom offered to stay with Grayson and to take care of him while we were in the hospital- so that as an added relief. We checked into the hospital on Wednesday evening and lucky for us, we were assigned one of our nurses from Grayson’s birth- Gayle. Gayle was an absolute blessing, seeming to always look out for us, and bossing the other nurses around. I had no idea at the time how lucky we were to have her on our side. Everything seemed to go well as far as the check in- that was until I had my IV inserted. I guess that the difficulty involved in that “simple” process was a bit of foreshadowing to how the rest of my delivery was going to go. Since Gayle could not find a vein that she felt comfortable using, she called in one of the other nurses who was an “expert” with IVs. This expert 1st chose a vein on the interior of my right arm that unfortunately had a valve and was unusable. She finally found a better vein on my hand instead. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE needles and how much I HATE the sting of an IV?
By 5:00 one of the other doctors in the practice came by to insert the Cervadil (the medicine that causes the Cervix to dilate and efface). At that point I as already 3 cm dilated and was 80% effaced. The doctor was concerned that by giving the Cervadil, I could begin labor that night- which was not part of Dr. Craddock’s original plan. I later found out that while he did insert the Cervadil, he did not place it as high and as close to the cervix as it is normally given. So while Tim and I were on edge all night wondering if I might go into labor, very little happened until the next day.
At 7:30 on Thursday morning, Dr. Craddock came by and gave the permission to start the Pitocin. At that point I was still at 3 cm. dilated. By 8:30 my contractions began although they were not too uncomfortable. At 9:30, my contractions were two minutes apart and were painful enough that I asked for the epidural. Gayle checked and I was 6 cm dilated. By 10:00 the anesthesiologist came in and proceeded to give me the epidural. Inserting the needle into my back was an easy process that provided immediate relief, but the difficulty came in threadign the catheter through the needle. For what ever reason he had trouble threading the needle so that the epidural would effect both sides of my body. After 15 minutes of working on it, we thought that he had finally found the right spot and for a little while at least, I was relieved of the pain. Unfortunately within 15 minutes of the anesthesiologist leaving my room, I began to regain feeling in the left side of my body. I called the nurse and found that the longer I waited, the more I could feel the contractions on my left side. Gayle returned, called back the anesthesiologist, and then discovered that I was already 10 cm dilated and ready to push. Since I was already at the pushing stage, it was too late to adjust the epidural and I was forced to proceed with the delivery feeling 100% of the pain on the left side of my body. Luckily, it only took pushing through 3 contractions to deliver little baby Gage- but it was the three hardest, most painful pushes of my life.
With the final push, Gage emerged at 6 lbs. 12 oz, & 20 inches long, and was put on my chest. He was a deep blue in color and even after clearing his airways, he did not scream. I was immediately concerned and apparently the nurses were too, since they rushed him to the side and paged a specialist to come and assist him. For what felt like forever, I watched him from my hospital bed praying that he was ok and waiting impatiently for him to let out a cry. The nurses began rubbing him down vigorously, and the specialist began to force air into his lungs with a small hand pump respirator. Within a few moments, Gage finally let out his first scream and it was music to my ears. His first Apgar was a a 6, with points loss for color, heart rate, and respiration. At five minutes, his Apgar was a 9.
But even then, my delivery was not over. In the moments while I waited to hear that my new baby was ok, another problem had developed. The placenta was not detaching from the uterus wall. After much manipulation from my doctor, it appeared as if I had a retained placenta, also known as Placenta Accreta, and that it would have to be manually removed… without an epidural, mind you. So with a shot of morphine under my belt, Tim and the baby were removed from my room and Dr. Craddock then began the excruciating process of detaching my placenta piece by piece. Without a doubt having the placenta manually removed was far more painful than pushing out a 6 lb. baby- even with the opiate!
After the placenta ordeal, Tim and the baby returned to my room and I was finally able to appreciate the reward of my labor. I quickly asked Tim what we should name him and he replied Gage. Tim then placed Gage in my arms and I was surprised to see that he looked nothing like Grayson and maybe even looked a little like me! Tim was a bit concerned about the fact that he would have another boy that this time did not look like his clone, but I was secretly excited to see that maybe my genes had over powered his this time. I marveled at the tiny hands and long fingers on our little Gage and was instantly smitten with his perfect pink lips and his creased brow. He had a had a head full of dark brown hair and the most perfect, clear complexion. As I held him him, he focused his eyes on me, and formed his mouth into a little “o”, as if to say “Oh- so that’s what my mom looks like!” Finally after 39 weeks, I was able to hold my tiny little baby boy and I thanked God for blessing me with another wonderful miracle.

My newest son arrived on Thursday, June 11 at 10:52 am, weighing 6 lbs., 12 oz. and measuring 20 inches long. He was exactly one week early. I promise to post the birth story soon as I just do not have the time to write it all out in detail right now. I will leave you with photos from his birth day though! Check them out by clicking here!

Doctor’s Appointment: They have scheduled to induce me later this week! Partly because my blood pressure has continued to rise (It was 140 over something- usually at around 118-120) although when I lie down it goes back to normal. And partly because I am ready to have this baby. Everything else besides the blood pressure was ok. I have dilated to 3 cm now. As far as the induction, I will check into the hospital on Wednesday night where they will insert a medicine to help “ripen” my cervix- basically make in thin out and open up more. On Thursday morning they will begin Pitocin. I should have the baby sometime THursday afternoon, unless he decides on his own to come a bit sooner!

Baby Development: At almost 39 weeks, the baby’s waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it’s likely he already measures over 20 inches and weighs over 7 pounds. My doctor is guessing that he will weigh in at around 7.5. I am guessing at over 8! The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath. The baby is definitely running out of room to move and his kicks and jabs have gotten much stronger and more frequent. All of his organ’s are developed and we cannot wait to see him later this week!

How I Feel: While this pregnancy has been fairly easy, I am very excited for it to finally come to an end. I continue to feel fine and have kept myself busy doing things around the house- like weeding, gardening, cleaning, etc. But I must admit that the size of my belly has really started to make things more difficult. I have now started to get carpal tunnel in my left hand too- causing the middle finger on that hand to also go numb. But all things considered, this growing baby hasn’t really made my life too difficult. It isn’t so much the discomfort that has caused my desire to be induced, as much as it is the fact that I cannot wait to meet the little boy who is growing inside of me. I have dreamed about him and cannot wait to hold him for the first time. Who will he look like? Will he, like Grayson, be the spitting image of his father? Will this time around be a bit easier or will our 2nd son also scream so loud that he is nicknamed “Wild cat”? I anticipate Grayson’s reaction at seeing and holding his brother for the first time and I look forward to seeing the look of absolute adoration on Tim’s face again. The past 39 weeks have at time flown by and at times crawled along- but this baby will be well worth the wait. I thank God in advance for blessing my family by giving us another little being to love.

Tiffany tagged me for a Meme. Thanks!

The rules are that I have to thank the person who tagged me (check), complete a list of 8 (check), and then tag 8 other people (and let them know I tagged them). (Check). So here goes nothing:

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Seeing my new baby boy (in at the most 12 days!)
2. Summer break
3. Plus maternity leave
4. Being able to drink an alcoholic beverage again!
5. Our trip to the beach in August
6. A new school year- hopefully without all the drama
7. Seeing my mom and sister
8. Eating sushi again

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Took Grayson to school
2. Treated him to Dunkin’ Donuts
3. Worked
4. Helped present at our 8th grade graducation
5. Sand songs with Grayson on the way home
6. Made spaghetti for dinner
7. Facebooked
8. Read The Pillars of the Earth

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Ged mad without crying
2. be more athletic
3. keep my house spotless
4. drink a margarita! (especially after a day like today)
5. sleep in past 9 am
6. have time to bake everyday
7. get caught up on my scrapbooks and family videos
8. go on vacation every three months

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Lost
2. Gray’s Anatomy
3. The Office
4. American Idol
5. Top Chef
6. Desperate HOusewives
7. Borthers and Sisters
8. Celebrity Rehab

8 Favorite Fruits:
1. Cantaloupe
2. Strawberries
3. Fresh Peaches
4. Fresh Cherries
5. Gala Apples
6. Bananas
7. Blueberries
8. Raspberries

8 Places I’d Like to Travel:
1. Greece
2. Africa
3. Alaska
4. New Zealand
5. Costa Rica
6. England
7. Ireland
8. Italy

8 Places I’ve Lived:
1. Webster
2. Lake Panasoffkee
3. Gainesville
4. Clermont
5. Cornelius
6. Matthews
7. Midland
8.

8 People I’ve Tagged:
1. Renee
2. Jacquleine
3. Angelle
4. Dena
5. Misty
6. Stephanie
7. Rebecca
8. Courtney

Doctor’s Appointment: Another week down, two more to go! Again everything continues to go smoothly. No concerns as far as blood pressure, urine, weight, etc. I am now about 2 cm dilated- but I think we all know that that doesn’t really mean anything. I could stay that way for the next two weeks. My next appointment is on Monday. My doctor will check me again then and then set an induction date for the following week in case nothing happens on it’s own in the meantime.

Baby Development: The baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and likely measures around 20 inches from head to heel. Crown to rump length is around 14 inches. He has a firm grasp, which we’ll soon be able to test when we hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. By now all instinctual reflexes should be developed- sucking, rooting, grasping, breathing, etc. It is now only matter of time before labor begins.

How I Feel: I am definitely starting to feel more uncomfortable. The baby seems to be pushing downward a lot these days which makes walking a bit more cumbersome. The swelling does not seem to be as bad as a few weeks ago, although the carpal tunnel continues to linger. My belly is officially HUGE! I am down to only a few things that I feel comfortable wearing. Luckily this is the last week of work at my school- so no need to stress about what to wear next week! I could wear the same thing everyday if I have to! On a funny note, I tried roller skating last week. Now I completely calculated the risk of skating based upon my changes in balance. However, I never once considered how the widening of my hips would affect my ability to move on wheels. That made things very difficult indeed! Needless to say I made ONE very slow lap around the rink and then called in quits. I was disappointed that it didn’t bring on a few contractions- but as I know from experience- my babies like to stay in womb until the due date if not longer. So unless anyone out there has some sort of great advice for causing labor, I believe I am in for at least two more weeks!

Also, click on the photos above to see the maternity photographs my great friend Dave took for me. It has taken me a while to get them posted on here- but aren’t they worth the wait?

Okay. After lots of pressure from my “friends” and realizing that almost every person I know does it, I finally joined face book. I was a bit overwhelmed at first with the site, but I think that I am finally figuring it out. I will admit that I feel a little bit addicted to it and have checked it every day since singing up. So is this what happened to most of you bloggers out there? Switched to face book because it doesn’t require as much thought and time? I think that I will do both. So for those of you who do one or the other or both- how did you decide which worked best for you?