Friday, August 17, 2007

In My Daddy's Arms

My favorite place to be...


Friday, August 10, 2007

World's Sleepiest Hog Fan

I'm tired of pre-season hype. Let the games begin.

I'm Big Stuff!

I'm two weeks old!

I went to see my favorite friend--Dr. Moody--today and she told me tht I have gotten BIG! I weigh 8 pounds 4 oz (I was 6 lb 8 oz 2 weeks ago today--that's almost 2 pounds in 2 weeks!) and I have grown 1 1/2 inches! See my chins?

Well, I've been awake for 2 minutes, I'm done.

I LOVE taking a bath--see all my hair? It gets curly when it's wet. Daddy calls it "Papaw hair"

I have been working on holding my head up. I think I'm really big when I do this...

...but hate it when this happens. Hey! Someone help a sister out! My head is out of control!

OK-interview over. Get the camera out of my face!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

The Arrival of Eleanor...




Hey everyone!
She's here and following is her story!!


Eleanor was two weeks old yesterday and I can NOT believe it has gone that quickly. I have been intending to write the story of her arrival, but am having a hard time sitting upright in a hard chair for any period of time to do so. BUT Chuck goes back to work tomorrow and who knows what the days will hold after that. SO...I am forcing myself to sit and write. It has been a GODSEND that Chuck has had two weeks off...I have truly needed EVERY day of it, physically and emotionally. He has been King-Daddy with the boys, taking them places and making them feel included and important, especially when I didn't have the strength or energy to do so. I think it would have been really hard on them both if he wasn't at home.

I got a phone call yesterday from my friend named Kim from when I worked (6 years ago) claiming that they were all keeping up through my blog and were wanting to hear the rest of the story and see more pics. Thanks, Kim, for the motivation! Love to everyone at JP!!

So here's the story...Eleanor was scheduled to be induced on Thursday, July 27th and I was going to deliver her VBAC...I had a C-section with Charlie and then delivered Zach without a hitch and Eleanor was supposed to be the same. But my OB had mentioned that he wanted me to come in on Monday, July 23rd instead of Thursday to "strip my membranes"...so I obsessivey packed and got ready for Monday. From what I read, it worked pretty well and I was really excited. However, when I got to the doctor, he told me she was still too high and he couldn't strip my membranes...just to go back to Batesville and wait till Thursday. I was heartbroken. The boys and I were packed for the week, my house was spotless, my mom could keep them, and I was geared for Monday. I was NOT going home. Those of you who know me know that I am a little hard-headed...

So I spent the night with my mom...we went walking over the Arkansas River on the new walking bridge and I jogged a little...ok, about 1/2 mile. I looked ridiculous...my mom's biking shorts, Chuck's hanes t-shirt (skin tight with a hole in the belly) and a little too much bounce in my step.

My water broke at midnight and contractions started immediately--two mintures apart. I called Chuck in Batesville and told him to drive on down, quickly. He hit the road at about 90+ and after being pulled over, made it to LR in a little over an hour. My mom was keeping the boys, my dad came and picked me up and took me to the hospital. I was at a 4 (cm) when I got to the hospital. They got me in a room and started working toward getting me an epidural...I had to have blood drawn to check platelet and liver levels before I got my epidural. Soooo, as soon as that came back, I could get it. At 3 am, they got results and started putting in the epidural. The first one hit a vein, so I got TWO epidurals. At this point, I was READY for an epidural. they wouldn't check me until after I got my epidural...it was a good thing because as soon as I got it, they checked and I was at a 10 and she was right there.

So at this point there was a baby to be delivered next door and they wanted me to wait about 1/2 an hour. This was fine, because I was feeling no pain for the first time all night. I never thought that I could go from a 2 to a 10 with no drugs whatsoever in 3 hours. But I did...I attribute it to my half-marathon training...NOT that I was in shape, but I had previously had to make myself do hard things, focus, and just push through pain...so I really think it helped.

OK--so when it was time to push, things were going great...at about the 7th contraction, the baby's heart rate dropped to 80...so they didn't fool around. They had her out in less than 4 minutes. It was a good thing because when they cut me open, they saw her umbilical cord and lots of blood...my uterus had ruptured from my c-section scar with Charlie. That could be a really bad thing--mortality rates high, rates for a compromised baby higher, rates for hysterectomy really high...none of that happened. They were able to get her out in time, and stop my bleeding in time and everything was fine.

One who knows the Chuck McClain's know that we never do anything without an adventure...

Eleanor Brooks fits right into our family because she came into the world with her own wild adventure.
July 24th, 4:52 am, 6 lb, 12 oz, 19 3/4 inches and a full head of hair!!

Following are pics from the hospital...she is so precious...the boys ADORE her. We do too.


The boys got to be the very first to meet her.

I got to hold her THREE HOURS after she was born. I was fit to be tied and could NOT wait to count toes. By the way, right after she was born, the anesthesiologist claimed, "It's the prettiest boy I have ever seen!" I about came off the table! Those who have seen her room know that we would have been HOSED!


Chuck is smitten by her...he is a so different around her compared to when the boys were born. It melts my heart to see this big man so gentle with her...he can't get enough of her either.

Three of my favorite pics...




A pic of the boys in the "big brother" and "bigger brother" shirts. They were great!...I refused to buy Zach the t-shirt that said "I'm in the middle"...hopefully this gives everyone a very important role!


Zach and "Ellie" (That is his name for her) He is the "big" brother.






Charlie and Eleanor-his name for her...Charlie is the "bigger" brother and he take his job very seriously.




Tomorrow my intentions are posting pics of friends and family that visited...a pic of Aunt Jennie changing her diaper, and pics of coming home...Those are my INTENTIONS...stay tuned.