Harrison Taylor

Well, it's been three months since my last blog post... oops! The last post I wrote was my 36 week bumpdate, and now I am snuggling my sweet two month old baby as I type this.

Meet our son, Harrison Taylor Phelps.

He is the sweetest, best baby we could have asked for, and we are so in love. Thank you to everyone who prayed for our family and our newest miracle. We feel so blessed that God chose us to be his parents!

I always love hearing what people name their babies, so I thought I would share the story behind Harrison's name. Well, I use the word "story" loosely because Harrison is not a family name or a name Parker and I have talked about for years and planned to name our child. We had one boy name that we talked about before we had kids, and that was Preston. When we found out we were having another boy, we were at a loss for what to name him! We have about 10 girl names ready to go that we will probably never use, but boy names are hard for us!

Our front runners were Austin (Parker's favorite) and Collin (my favorite). We both vetoed the other one's favorite, so that was cool. I threw out the name Harrison one day, and we both liked it. The more we thought about it, the more we liked it. Honestly, we never came up with anything we liked more, and now that we see the name attached to our sweet boy, we absolutely LOVE it! This baby is definitely a Harrison, and I couldn't love his name more.

His middle name is Taylor after his big sister in Heaven. We love doing family names for middle names (Taylor's middle name is also my little sister's middle name and Preston shares a middle name with Parker). We were in church one Sunday, and I looked over at Parker's notes, and he had written "Harrison Taylor Phelps" at the bottom. He showed it to me, and I opened my mouth in shock at how perfect it was. I honestly couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it! From that moment on, we knew Taylor would be his middle name.

We are loving life as a family of four and are praising God for this new blessing!

36 Weeks

Tap tap, is this thing on? I really intended to blog every week of this pregnancy like I did with Taylor and Preston, but diabetes happened and these weekly updates (and all blogging for that matter) took a backseat. I am going to write more about our journey on the diabetes front later, but for now, I want to write a little pregnancy update on this sweet baby boy!

I have been doing ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks to make sure baby is still healthy and growing, and he is! This is purely a precaution due to "my history" as my doctor says, but I struggle to see the need for the extra ultrasounds because what happened with Taylor happened at conception. But, I do love seeing so much of our sweet baby up on the screen!

Overall, this baby is not measuring nearly as big as Preston was, so I am interested to see how much he weighs when he gets here! He has been measuring pretty much right on track!

I am up 18 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight, which really surprised me! I gained 32 pounds with Preston, so I attribute the lower weight gain with this baby to chasing a toddler around and growing a normal sized baby. ;)

It's hard to believe I am officially 9 months pregnant, and as hard as pregnancy can be at times, I have loved carrying this sweet boy. I feel every bit of 9 months pregnant and have indigestion pretty much 24/7, but we are nearing the end of this beautiful journey, and I will miss it.

Because Preston was a c-section, we have elected to do another c-section instead of a VBAC. There are risks to both, but overall we feel safer with the c-section and are comfortable going that route again. That means we have a date that we will meet him if he doesn't decide to come early!

A Life Changing Diagnosis

I wrote this post on March 27th but am just now writing it out on the blog. A lot has changed since then, but I wanted to document the raw emotion we felt that day after coming home from the hospital. Here we go...

I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll start from the beginning. Last week, Preston woke up Tuesday morning sleepy and lethargic. He continued to be sleepy and lethargic the next couple of days, so we assumed he was going through a growth spurt while fighting off a little cold of some sort. By Friday, all he could do was sleep and his breathing was very labored. We took him to Urgent Care Friday night, and he was diagnosed with exudative tonsillitis. They said after a few days of antibiotics he would be good as new. Saturday morning, he woke up with even more labored breathing. His little body was working so hard to breathe, and my gut told me something else was wrong.

After a lot of prayer and gut instinct, we drove to the ER of the Children’s Hospital Saturday morning. Preston slept while he struggled to breathe and threw up right as we arrived. In my heart, I knew he didn’t just have exudative tonsillitis. It didn’t explain every symptom he had. I had an out of body experience walking up to the ER holding our sick baby. I felt like we were walking in slow motion with no idea what was about to happen, and I said a prayer that we would all three walk out of there.

We were immediately admitted and they started running tests. They gave him breathing treatments, did x rays, and hooked him up to a machine to help him breathe through his nostrils. He hated it all but was too weak to fight it. He threw up again. The x rays showed he was severely constipated. The doctors told us constipation combined with the tonsillitis was what was causing the labored breathing and other symptoms. They also started talking to us about him being a mild asthmatic. I was so frustrated and held back tears. In my heart, this still didn’t provide all the answers. They gave Preston an enema to help him poop and prepared to send us home. The doctor came in after the enema and looked concerned. He said the labored breathing should have subsided after the enema, yet it was still just as bad. He ordered blood work, and an hour later, we had our answer. Two doctors walked in with very serious looks on their faces. One doctor looked down at us and said “We know what’s wrong with your son. He has Type 1 Diabetes.”

My world completely stopped. I was shaking, couldn’t breathe, crying, yelling through the tears, gagging... how in the world could God let this happen to my baby?

We were rushed up to the pediatric ICU where they immediately put Preston on insulin. His blood sugar was 593. A normal person’s blood sugar is 90. He was in a state called Diabetic Ketoacidosis, and he was literally fighting for his life.

We stayed in the PICU for 2 days where they pushed insulin and fluids and checked his blood sugar every hour to make sure it was coming down. Preston wasn’t sedated, but he was basically sedated. He was so lethargic and out of it, and he was still struggling to breathe. His body was working so so hard. After 2 days in the PICU, his blood sugar was down, and he was no longer struggling to breathe. His little spirit was so broken, and he had no idea what was going on.

We were transferred out of PICU and onto a regular floor for the next 2 days. They started teaching us how to give him shots and check his blood sugar. He cried every time. So did I. He gets at least 9 finger pricks/shots per day, often more depending on his blood sugar. It’s awful, and at just 25 months, Preston doesn’t understand why we keep doing this to him.

I keep praying we are going to wake up from this nightmare, but we never will. I don’t want this to be his life. He doesn’t deserve this. Our lives now revolve around counting carbohydrates, designating specific foods to be eaten at certain times in the day, checking blood sugar, administering insulin, and hearing our baby cry every time.

As much as I don’t understand why God chose this path for our sweet boy, I spent some time walking around the PICU while we were there. There were parents who would trade their diagnosis for Type 1 Diabetes in a heartbeat. There are parents that would give anything for this to be all they have to deal with. Perspective.

Lastly, amidst the heartbreak, there are many things I am truly grateful for. God answered my prayers, not necessarily in the way I was expecting or wanting, but I prayed that all three of us would walk out of that hospital, and we all did. I am grateful for Parker. He has been our rock and learned the ins and outs of everything we need to do while I was too emotional to take it all in. We are in this together, and he has been one heck of a teammate. I’m thankful for my mom and sister who dropped everything the second we got the diagnosis to come stay with us. Their help and support has been invaluable. We’ve told very few people about this so far, yet the outpouring of love and support we have received has been incredible. This is a lifelong journey that we never could have predicted, but God is good. Our baby is alive and well. He was diagnosed just in time. He very literally could have died, but God led us to a hospital that could help him and gave the doctors foresight to run the right tests and give us a correct diagnosis.

Today was our first full day at home, and we all survived. We covet your prayers as we enter into this new phase of life. We are still immensely blessed, our baby is smiling again, and we will all get through this one day at a time.

27 Weeks

It's been a hot minute since my last bumpdate! Parker was away on a Navy-sanctioned field trip for a couple of weeks, so I had nobody to take my picture. Apparently I am too lazy to use the self-timer on my phone, but here we are at 27 weeks- the last week of the second trimester! I will include updates from weeks 25 and 26 in this post too just to make sure I get it all in.

I had an ultrasound, and baby looks great! The head is in the 80th percentile, so we have another big head Fred on our hands! He was wiggly during the whole thing. Parker has gotten to be at every ultrasound so far which has been so fun since he missed all but one with Preston.

I am officially up 13 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight. My goal is to stay around 30 pounds like I did with Preston, but honestly, I am eating well and moving every day, so if I go over that number, that's just what my body needs to do to make a healthy baby. I am not worried about it.

We potty trained Preston (fun stuff) during this period, and I joke with Parker that it was the perfect time because he and I are on the same schedule. We both have to pee every 40 minutes. ;)

Bloody noses have been a pregnancy symptom for me for all pregnancies, but I have had at least one a day for the past week or so. I am prone to them anyway, and it's by no means the worst symptom you can get, but it's getting a little excessive!

I get very short of breath lately. I think baby might be hovering over a lung or something because I have trouble breathing a lot.

Baby's nursery is still a guest room for the next month, but I ordered a wooden cut out of his name to go over the crib when we get everything set up, and I can't wait to see it in the nursery! I really love his name and can't wait to share it.

We officially have a scheduled c-section date! Because Preston was a c-section, my doctor, Parker, and I all feel the safest route is to have another c-section. I laughed when I wrote down the date because if this kid is anything like his brother, he's going to come early anyway. ;)

24 Weeks

Yay viability! 24 weeks is the week doctors say this baby could survive if born. It's a fun milestone, but please stay in for a while longer, little man. I can also officially say I am 6 months pregnant, which is crazy! It's flying by but at the same time, I feel farther along than just 24 weeks. I look bigger than 24 weeks too. ;)

I can see and feel kicks from the outside now, which is awesome! Parker can feel the baby move and we can even see my stomach move from time to time. Little man is growing in there!

We've reached the point in our program where I have to pee all. the. time. It's a little inconvenient when I am out and about with my toddler and I have to find a bathroom every hour.

I've started feeling some pelvic pain since I am carrying so low. I had this with Preston too, but I don't remember it starting this early.

I forget how much my stomach protrudes and constantly run into things. Oops!

Lastly, and so glamorously, bloody noses is a weird but normal pregnancy symptom that happened a few times this week.

I am still feeling short of breath, but I don't think that one is going away as I continue to get bigger and bigger!

23 Weeks

I celebrated 23 weeks of pregnancy by turning 30! I celebrated with a margarita and a wild night out on the town... obviously this was not the case. ;) I celebrated with a handful of chocolates and a 9 PM bedtime. It did not disappoint!

I am feeling this little boy kick all the time which is so fun! He sits SO low though... right on my bladder. I don't remember Preston sitting this low but maybe he did? I just know that having something sit on your bladder isn't the most comfortable feeling in the world.

At my latest doctor's appointment, baby's heartrate was 157 bpm!

I am up 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Last month, I was back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, so I gained 6 pounds in a month. Baby is healthy and growing, so that's all I care about!

I have been getting indigestion at night, but thankfully it's just at night before I go to sleep and not all of the time.

I experienced a lot of shortness of breath over the last week, and I think it was my body's way of telling me to slow down. Parker worked late every day that week, so I had Preston by myself, and my body was just tired.

21 Weeks

This second trimester is flying by, and I think it's a combination of chasing a busy toddler and loving this stage of pregnancy. Yes being pregnant is more exhausting than not being pregnant, but it is just so nice to be able to eat food and not feel nauseous. I get to feel kicks and eat a cheeseburger... life is good in the second trimester!

The most exciting thing that happened this week was that my first niece was born! My twin sister had her baby, and meeting her with this little baby still in my tummy was amazing. It made me so ready to meet our baby! She is beautiful and perfect, and she and our son will be less than 5 months apart in age.

I noticed this week that my belly button is completely flat. Bye bye belly button, see you... ?

Parker and I can't believe how big my belly is getting (I don't know why we are so surprised... my belly was giant with Preston too!). I am feeling so many kicks and movements and love it so much.

It feels amazing to be calling this baby by name. It was odd calling him by name the first couple of times I said it out loud because we struggled with his name for so long, but both Parker and I now call this baby by name at home and it feels so natural and so right. It makes things that much more real to know our son's name, and I really cannot wait to share it.

The only other thing this week that stood out is the hunger. I have been so hungry! I eat every couple of hours and need more than just a small snack. I love big sandwiches, avocado toast, yogurt with granola, smoothies... the more filling, the better!

20 Weeks

Whoaaa, we're halfway there! I can't think of 20 weeks without singing that line from "Living on a Prayer". This week marks halfway through this pregnancy and halfway to meeting our son! We are so excited, and it is starting to feel more real!

We had our anatomy scan, and everything looked good! He is still a boy and was very wiggly on the ultrasound! My babies have always taken after their father with heads measuring big, but this little boy's head was measuring smaller, but still normal. I've never had a kid with a normal sized head before! Even Taylor, who measured small the entire pregnancy, had a disproportionately large head! ;)

Parker felt the baby for the first time! We were laying in bed, and the baby had either his head or rear end pushing up against my stomach, so there was a hard bulge at the bottom of my stomach. Parker was able to feel him- it was really neat!

We found out at the ultrasound that I have an anterior placenta, which we suspected. It's perfectly normal, but it means the placenta is between my stomach and the baby, so it makes it harder for me to feel the baby move. I have finally started feeling the baby pretty consistently though! Parker even got to feel some kicks a few nights after feeling the initial head/butt bump he felt earlier!

Our highlight for the week was settling on a name! We are pretty sure we know his name, and we both absolutely love it. I came up with the first name, Parker thought of the middle name, and we both just think it fits. We are so excited to be calling this baby by name now! We will wait until he is born to share it on the blog... no fun, I know! :)

18 Weeks

Now that I am out of the first trimester, this pregnancy is absolutely flying by. June still seems very far away, but the weeks are flying and this sweet boy will be here before we know it!

I had a doctor's appointment this week, and the baby's heart rate is 147! I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so I technically have not gained any weight yet. I lost 5 pounds in the first trimester, and I have officially gained those back. I feel like my stomach is giant and have no idea how the number on the scale is the same as my pre-pregnancy weight, but I think it will definitely go up by my next appointment!

I have started feeling the baby a little bit more consistently when I lay down, so that's been awesome! I still don't feel this baby near as much as I did with Preston. I am anxious to see if I have an anterior placenta, meaning the placenta is between the baby and me. My sister had this with her first baby, and all it means is it's harder to feel the baby because the placenta is blocking him. We shall see! I miss feeling the kicks but love feeling the little movements that I currently am!

A little big brother update: Preston loves pointing to my belly and saying "baby". However, he has absolutely no idea that this "baby" is coming home with us in June. He is going to be an amazing big brother, but I don't think he is going to see this coming. ;)

We have sort of tabled the name conversation as of now, but we will eventually figure out what to name this guy. I feel like I know his name in my head and think of him with that name, but we haven't settled on anything.

18 weeks is a special week in pregnancy for me because, according to her dating, it is the week Taylor Grace went to Heaven. It's the highest week that I got to carry all three of my babies, so it's just special for me.

Here is a little photo collage of me carrying each of our children at 18 weeks!

17 Weeks

Week 17 was one of my favorites so far! I feel like I have hit that second trimester sweet spot where I am in between the first trimester sickness and the third trimester can't-breath-because-too-big stage. All of pregnancy is a blessing, but the weeks where you feel like a real human being are something to shout about. ;)

I made fish tacos this week and accidentally undercooked one of the pieces of fish. I didn't realize it until I had already eaten a few bites, so naturally I did what any pregnant person does and freaked out that I somehow hurt the baby.

I have been so thirsty this week and am guzzling water by the gallon it feels!

I still have a fetal doppler from my pregnancy with Taylor Grace, so I decided to try to find the heartbeat so I could hear it. I found it for a few seconds before little man swam away, but it was a magical sound!

For the first time in my life, I have noticed that I don't have oily hair! I usually have to wash my hair every other day, and by day 2 it is pretty greasy. I can go 4 days without washing it now... what?! Is this what life is like for people with dry hair? If so, sign me up because this is amazing!

I have felt the baby move here and there a couple of times, but I know I was feeling Preston more consistently at this point. I am starting to wonder if I have an anterior placenta, which makes it harder to feel the baby early on. He is alive and growing, so I am thankful for that! I just wish I felt him more!

16 Weeks

I realize it's a little silly to post my 16 week update the day after my 15 week update, but 15 weeks fell over Christmas, so I wrote that post a week late! Next week, I will be all caught up and start posting just one bumpdate a week.

Week 16 was one of my favorites so far! We were still home with family for half of it, and I got to kick off 2019 16 weeks pregnant!

The best thing that happened this week was that I felt the baby move at 16w0d! I was laying on the couch at Parker's family's lake house and felt the little flutters. It was amazing. This is the part of pregnancy that I just love. The sickness is brutal, but now that I am (mostly) past that, I am reminded how much I love being pregnant.

I have been craving sushi so much, and our small town doesn't have a sushi restaurant, so I went to sushi twice while we stayed with my parents. Parker and I got a much needed sushi date night, and then I actually got to go to sushi dinner with just my twin sister. That never happens! I of course ate all cooked sushi, but it was delicious!

Parker and I spent most of our long car ride home talking about names for this sweet baby, and we just don't have a clear winner. We have a name that we both like, but we aren't sure like we were with Preston's name.

I got to see my best friend from high school and meet her sweet one month old daughter, and Preston lost his ever loving mind at the sight of me holding a baby. He clung to my arm and sat next to me the entire time. June should be fun. ;)

I hadn't told anyone at Preston's daycare that I was pregnant because I really wasn't showing too much before we left for Christmas break a couple of weeks ago. I walked in this week and the first thing they all said was "Are you pregnant?!??". There is no hiding this bump now!

15 Weeks

This week, we spent time traveling to see our families over Christmas! I was 15 weeks at Christmas, which was perfect because I was past the sickness but not quite to the indigestion... ahh the second trimester. ;)

Pregnancy brain, which is now muddled with mom brain, a deadly combination, apparently hit this week. I went to make Parker some oatmeal, microwaved it, and handed it to him without looking. I started to do something else, and he called back "Have you ever made oatmeal before??". I thought "well duh I have made oatmeal before", but as I looked into his bowl, I realized that I had heated the oats for a minute with no water. Oops!

This was the week of the avocado toast and paninis! I am still craving fresh foods and can eat almost anything at this point with the exception of fast food and BBQ. I am pretty sure those things will make me feel sick for the remainder of the pregnancy. 

I keep waiting to feel the baby move because I felt Preston move at 14 weeks, but so far nothing. Hopefully soon!

We have known this baby is a boy for over a month and aren't even close to knowing his name. We knew Preston would be Preston from the get go, so it stresses me out that we can't decide on a name for this baby. I really want to start calling him by name! Naming a human is hard, yall.