Life in Conway

Our First Home!

Megs, Mac, and I at the intramural fields cheering on

 our husbands! 

All the hostesses at the baby shower for Ethan!

Craig and I headed to a UCA bears game.

                                           Celebrating Annie's engagement at YaYa's!               

     Well it is our first official fall in Conway, and I must say we are enjoying it! There are definitely the hard emotions that come with transition and starting life again in a new place, but we are slowly finding our spot here.  We have managed to stay pretty busy with getting the house together, childbirth classes, puppy obedience training, intramurals (craig that is), hanging out with old friends and family, and meeting some new ones! Oh yes, and we officially adopted a new kitty! He was a stray that befriended Brinkley, so of course as animal loving yuppies, we adopted him. So now Brinkley has a friend...Oliver! I know  you are all thinking how crazy can they be, a puppy, a kitty and a baby! Yep thats us... the crazy Conners we like to go against the grain I guess! 

      Can you believe I'm 36 weeks tomorrow?! The little guy will be here soon! I've been having some Braxton Hicks contractions, which are no fun let me tell you, and he has "dropped" so that means he is preparing himself to come! As of last week he was 5lbs, 2 oz, so the the doctor said he will probably be between 6 lbs and 7lbs when he arrives! It is really weird going to bed each night thinking..."He could be here tomorrow!" We hope he waits a few more weeks to come though because the nursery still isn't ready! Talk about a work in progress! We just got the crib and chair in, so it should be coming together soon! I will put some pics up when his room comes together! We have come to accept though that if his room isn't ready when he arrives that it wont be the end of the world, since babies typically sleep in your room for a few months! Im learning to be flexible and realizing that I can't always have my ducks in a row, as much as I would love to all the time!

        Well, I posted a few pics of our life in Conway! Hope you enjoy! Much Love!

       

Home and So HAPPY!!

Hey All,

I've never been more excited to be at home and feeling well! Yesterday when they discharged me from UAMS, I nearly ran out....seriously! My dad thought it might be better to be escorted down in a wheelchair though since it is hospital protocol! :) 

After 11 days in the hospital, I've gained a new found appreciation for the many comforts home offers! Craig and I laughed last night as we snuggled into bed at 9 pm because we were so excited to be in our own bed. Yes, for 11 days my stud of a husband has slept on a pullout chair hospital bed.....I thought I had it bad, he had it worse! 

    All that to say, I am home now and doing well, and so is little Ethan! For those of you wondering why I was in the hospital, I will summarize our family's journey the past week and half as best I can. 

About two and half weeks ago, Craig and I got a virus that had been going around Conway. We both thought we had let it run its course but for whatever reason, I wasn't getting any better. Since I couldn't keep anything down, I went to the hospital to get rehydrated on fluids hoping that would give me the needed push to get better. Sadly, it didn't, so on Friday the 25th of September they admitted me into the Labor and Delivery floor(they do this for anyone over like 25 weeks when you are pregnant) at Conway Hospital. After a week, I was still unable to keep any food down and started having persistent pain in my esophagus. After a lot of tests, my GI doctor and OB GYN knew that I was having bad GERD(acid reflux) due to pregnancy but they couldn't figure out how to control it despite the help of several medications, so they decided to transfer me to UAMS in Little Rock where there are more high-risk doctors. 

After a trip in the ambulance to UAMS, Craig and I found ourselves truly living on a prayer, hoping that the doctors could find some remedy to my illness. I continued to baffle the doctors at UAMS as well, but a feeding tube malfunction and four IVS later, I found myself determined to get better. This past Saturday, I remember praying and just begging the Lord for strength and wisdom to get better because I was so weak and weary.  That morning, I told the doctors that instead of pursuing the feeding tub, I would like to try and eat again. So extremely determined and strong-willed, I drank an Ensure and kept it down and drank Ensure the rest of the day! WOO HOO! The next day, I started eating soft foods and just slowly started incorporating more solid food as I could. A few days later, once my potassium count got high enough, I was home bound!

The Lord is so faithful. I really believe He gave me the wisdom and insight into my body that I needed to help get me better. I am so thankful to be out of the hospital and doing better. I'm sure you are all wondering about Ethan and he is one healthy little boy. The ultrasound we had before leaving the hospital showed that he is 4lbs and 7oz and doing well! All I can truly say is THANK YOU! Thank you for all of your support and prayers. They truly encouraged my faith and blessed our family more than you will ever know! 

   We love you all very much! I will try to post some pics of our home soon and give you guys some more updates! Much love!