Peyton Joseph

Okay, so this post is really picture heavy, but I don't know when I'll have time to do this again, so I figured I'd just post as much as I can now. So here's the story:

I never did go into labor on my own, so early on Wednesday morning, I went to the hospital to have my scheduled c-section. It went really well and Peyton Joseph Branham was born at 7:46am. He weighed 8lbs. 15 oz. and was almost 22in. long. He has dark hair and is a big, big boy! In fact, his chest is bigger around than his head! A few hours after he was born, he wasn't breathing as well as he should've been, so they sent him to the NICU to be observed for a few hours. Turns out he aspirated a lot of amniotic fluid when he was delivered and his lungs had a lot of extra fluid in them, making him work a lot harder to breathe. He was admitted to the NICU and has been there ever since. We just have to wait for the fluid to reabsorb on its own, and we don't know how long that will take. It could take days or weeks. The fluid has also caused a slight infection, so he's on antibiotics for that. He is also a little jaundiced, so they have him under a blue bili light to clear that up. As far as we know, he'll be in the NICU for 7 to 10 days, but it could end up being longer than that - it just depends on how long it takes to clear things up. Peyton's had a hard last couple of days, but today he's been resting a little better and is very stable. They've inserted lines into his umbilical cord for drawing blood and giving meds, but he also has an iv in his hand. He originally had a c-pap machine to help him breathe that covered his entire nose. He hated it, but it was what he needed. Today they replaced that with regular oxygen hose that fits in his nose, so much more of his face is visible. He's tolerating it pretty well, and seems to be much more comfortable. He also has to wear a shield over his eyes while the bili light is on, so we don't get to see a whole lot of his face at once. They're only feeding him through an IV at the moment, but I've been pumping so as soon as he's up to it they'll either give him my milk, or let me nurse him. His x-rays today show a slight decrease in the fluid in his lungs, but there's still definitely too much in there. Like I said though, he's stable and resting well. I try to go and see him as much as possible, especially since I get discharged tomorrow. I'm doing really well, and not in much pain. Just a little sore at the incision site, but I've been able to get up and be walking around a lot. Its been really hard not to have Peyton with me and be able to hold him and love him, but he's where he needs to be to get the best care right now. So that's all I know at the moment, we'll try to keep everyone updated as much as possible. Hopefully it won't be too long before he's totally healthy and can come home. Here's a whole bunch of pictures and there's a couple videos at the end. Thanks so much for all of you prayers and love and support, we so appreciate it!
PS Some of the pictures toward the end (the ones that look a lot more professional :) were taken by my good friend Julie when she came to visit. I just had to show them. Thanks Julie!

Little Singer Sadie

Sadie has really been into singing songs lately and is actually starting to be able to sing them so that you can understand what they are. She can't really carry a tune, but she's been getting the words right (more or less). I've been trying to get a video of her singing for a long time, but every time I would get out the camera she'd stop singing. The other night she was singing all kinds of songs and she said to me "Mommy, I'm singing songs all by myself!" So I was able to get out the camera and catch her in her proud moment! Here are some videos of her singing some of her favorite songs!

PS. Notice that her shirt is on inside out AND backwards. Just another of her accomplishments that she takes great pride in! She throws huge fits if I try to help her get it right, she has to do it all by herself! She's getting better at it though.

Our Chocoholic

Sadie LOVES chocolate! She's doesn't really eat any other kind of candy, but she'll shovel the chocolate in like there's no tomorrow! Tanner got some peanut butter cups for his birthday and this was what I got after Sadie had a taste of one! She's so cute!

Not much going on....

Well, we haven't had a whole lot going on around here in the last month or so, but I figured it was time to post some pictures and fill everyone in on the little that has been going on.

I am 37 weeks along now, so officially full term, and only 3 weeks to go! I'm huge and getting ready to have my body back to myself! I've felt pretty good though, except for the last week I've been super tired and haven't had a lot of energy. I think its just due to the super super hot, humid weather we've been having though. We saw 118 on the thermometer the other day! We have been enjoying the little storms that have been passing through though. Its thundering and shaking the house a little as I write this, how nice!

We had Tanner's birthday last week, but I totally forgot to get out the camera for it! We had a really fun get together with friends from Tanner's work and BBQ'd really good food, and played games and stayed up super late. It was fun! These pictures are of Tanner and Sadie after Family Home Evening. They've started kind of a tradition of letting Sadie stay up afterward to watch Rocky and Bullwinkle with Daddy. She loves it and always snuggles up to him the whole time. Its really cute!

And Sadie's just as cute as she can ever be! She's learning and growing so much - its so much fun to hear the funny things she says! Here's a random picture I took of her. She came up to me with this box around her and said "Look Mommy, I'm a present!" She's such a cutie pie and has such a wonderful imagination! We can't wait to see how she takes to her little brother!

Maternity Photoshoot

My good friend Julie offered to take maternity photos of me, just for fun to try out her new camera. So of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity, since this isn't something I would normally pay to have done. It was really fun and they turned out really great! Thanks Julie! Here are a few of my favorites. These were taken at the beginning of July when I was 29 weeks along, and I'm 33 weeks along right now. Everything's still going really well and I'm starting to really gear myself up and get ready for the baby. I can't believe I only have seven weeks left - its crazy how time flies!

Our Trip to Missouri

We had a great vacation to Missouri a few weeks ago. My whole family was able to be there for a family reunion and it was so great to see everyone. It was busy busy busy with about 40 people there, and there were lots of late nights, but it was super fun! After everyone else left Tanner, Sadie and I had a few days to relax with Mom, Dad, and my younger brother Joe before we had to head back to Arizona. It was really nice and Sadie had a great time getting to know Grandma and Grandpa Nevels and playing outside and having lots of fun! I didn't use my camera much during our time there, but here are some pictures of what I did get. Enjoy!

Sadie loved playing in the sandbox at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Sadie likes to pretend to roller skate at home, so we told her if she
was a really good girl for our trip to Missouri, then we'd get her some
roller skates. These are training ones for toddlers, and she did
really well with them!

Daddy helping Sadie roller skate.

Sadie loves to have pretend birthday parties, so when one of her
cousins had a birthday while we were there, Sadie was so excited to
have some birthday cake and ice cream. Can't you tell she's totally
loving it?

The lodge where we stayed for our family reunion had a little
creek at the bottom of the hill that all the little kids loved to
play in. Sadie had a blast getting wet, throwing rocks,
and digging in the mud.

Sadie and her cousin David, playing in the creek.

Digging in the mud. So much fun.

Grandpa Nevels, watching over everyone.

While at our family reunion, we did a ropes/climbing course called
the Edge. I didn't get to participate this year, since I'm pregnant, but
I went to watch and took a few pictures. You may have to click on
these pictures to see them well, since they aren't very close up.
This one is my brother John, climbing to the top of the "Leap of Faith",

This is my brother Joe, mid-air, jumping from the "Leap of Faith".

My brother Charlie found this huge beetle; everybody was fascinated with it.

Yum, Yum, Sadie having ice cream after a swim on a hot day!

All the cousins gathered together to watch a movie while they waited for dinner.

Back at Grandma's house, Sadie and cousin Raina had fun with
Grandma all to themselves.

Sadie playing dress-up!

So pretty!

25 Weeks

Here's my 25 week pregnant belly picture! This was a few weeks ago, I'm actually 27 weeks along now. But my belly is definitely getting bigger! I've been feeling pretty good, except the last several days I've had some back pain just like I did when I was pregnant with Sadie. We are getting excited for the baby to come in September though! I can't believe the time is going by so fast!

Cuteness!

Here are some random pictures I've taken of Sadie in the last month. She is so cute and is learning and growing so fast! She talks so much better than she did just a month ago. Its amazing the things that she remembers and the things that she says! I'm always getting on to Tanner to watch what he says around her because she's getting to that stage where she repeats and remembers a lot of what you say. Well, I'm the one who got burned on that one. I was frustrated the other day and said Oh crap when she was right beside me. So of course she had to repeat it. So I told her I shouldn't have said that, and its a naughty word and not to say it again. I didn't figure she'd remember it past that, but sure enough, today we were at the park and Tanner heard her saying Oh crap. I couldn't believe it! So i guess I learned my lesson! Anyway, she's our sweet girl and we love her to death! Here's some pictures of her cuteness!

Grandma and Grandpa Branham got her these giant blocks.
Now she's constantly saying "Mommy, build a castle"!

Eating Chocolate (pronounced chalk-it) pudding!

We got some new outfits for Sadie and she spend all afternoon trying them on! She would put one on and say "it doesn't fit" or "its too big" or "its cute" before trying the next one on!

This is what Sadie always inevitably does when she plays with markers!

Sadie had an emotional breakdown one day and this is what
I found her doing afterward. (not really) :)