Kaden's "Silly Ole Heart" Journey...

My friend and fellow heart mom - Stefenie is once again  sharing  "Every heart has a story ... " on her blog, Here  linking and connecting heart families across the world to help connect and support each other but also the main purpose is to spread awareness of CHD ( Congenital Heart Defects). Stop by her blog and read these stories, you will be very BLESSED . 1 in 100 CHILDREN WILL BE BORN WITH A CHD.... What if 1 of them was yours??    I never even knew about it until it happened to us... Spread Awareness and Create Hope ~! (Got this from another heart momma, Rhonda, but thought it was a good way to start this out!! :)
This is the Journey of OUR 1 in 100....

Kaden Anthony Insall

From the beginning….

Kaden Anthony Insall was born Tuesday ,February 28, 2006. I had a wonderful pregnancy no problems what so ever! I was 3 weeks from Kaden’s due date and was going for yet another check up. They asked if I’ve been having any headaches. I said no…Well come to find out my blood pressure was sky high! They sent me over to labor and delivery to be monitored. After 3-4 hours my doctor came and said, “It’s your choice but whatever you choose you aren’t leaving…”, so I was thinking ok it’s time. He preceded to tell me that he could induce me and have a chance of having seizures or a stroke because of the stress with my blood pressure and still have 50/50 chance of having a c-section or he could schedule the c-section for that evening. So Duh I chose the c-section. At the time my husband and I had no clue there was anything wrong with our soon to be precious little boy.

At 5:25 pm Kaden made his grand entrance into this world weighing in at 7lbs 8.6 oz and measuring 19 ins long and screaming his head off!

…Shortly after we were told that they heard a heart murmur but not to worry MOST of them go away. No biggie right? …Or so we thought. Everything continued to go well. Kaden had a round with jaundice and were kept longer in the hospital so they could treat him for that.



Sunday, March 5, we were able to finally take our little pride and joy home!



March 15, 2006, we took Kaden back for his 2 week check up. To our surprise his heart murmur was still there. So his pediatrician then referred us to a wonderful amazing woman we would soon get very close to…Dr. Lee Ann Pearse. On March 17th we were taking our little boy to see his cardiologist, that’s the day Dr. Pearse told us our son has Aortic Stenosis. From that moment on we would have more knowledge than we thought we would ever have about the aortic valve. We learned a month later that our son’s aortic valve was bicuspid and he could have surgery anywhere between 2-4 months old. God had a different plan though Kaden never had to have a surgery done…

Fast forward to April 10, 2008. We took him for a check up and to learn the balloon procedure would no longer work, because his valve was now leaking. So Dr. Pearse scheduled a catherization to get a better idea what was going on in his little heart. April 24, we took him to have it done. From the results we found out his leakage was mild and the valve was leaking between his leaflets which means when he will have to have a surgery it would have to be the ROSS procedure, but he shouldn’t have to get it done until he is a teenager. Praise the Lord!…

We continue to take him off and on anywhere from year to 6 months. Our last visit was on August 12, 2010. We found out that his valve is leaking quite a bit more. The wonderful thing about this is Dr. Pearse and us don’t agree with the ROSS procedure…so she is thinking his valve could be repaired. Wonderful news, but we have to find a surgeon we want to perform open heart surgery on our little boy. We take him back in 3 months (Nov 22) to have him reevaluated again since the two previous appointments (May 09 and Nov 09) Kaden didn’t corporate very well and was fighting us as well as the nurses, and Aug 12th he was a little angel didn’t fight what so ever so we are hopeing he does the same in November.





We were told it could be time for surgery anywhere from 6 months - 5 years. So obviously waiting until a teenager was out of the picture but at least they can repair it. So this is where we stand. Praying to God for a miracle but asking for guidance on our decision for a surgeon. We’ve been so blessed with the CHD community! Without the support of our “Heart Family” there’s no way I would still be sane through all of this. Lol. We’ve learned so much from watching our child grow and learn with a heart problem, he just never lets ANYTHING get in his way.

If you want to talk more or if your child had a aortic valve repaired please let us know. We think we are going to be using Dr. Fraser in Houston, but we don't want to make any sudden decisions. He's just the one we have found so far with more experience.

UPDATE SINCE LAST POSTED THIS A YEAR AGO:

My husand and I have decided to have Dr. Fraser operate on Kaden.

So on Feb 4th, 2011, we took Kaden to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Tx, so Dr. Fraser could evaluate him himself and see where he stood from their exam. Kaden did wonderfully this time as well and he LOVED going and staying in the hotel while we were down there. From this appointment Dr. F (I don't know how to spell her name lol. but she is the cardiologist that sees Kaden when we take him down there) told us that his left ventricle was larger compared to back in November.

Such a trooper!..Hanging out with "Houston" while getting the echo.

That she would expect him to have surgery this summer. Talk about being heart broken. I just broke down but tried to keep it under control because Kaden was in the room. We then saw Dr. Fraser's nurse and she was like he's just a healthy little boy huh? and I was like oh yeah, then she proceeded to say "He just has a silly old heart", that he does. Then we saw Dr. Fraser and he agreed that surgery would have to be soon. I then informed him that I was due to have our baby June 3. He didn't like the idea of me having a newborn with a child recovering from open heart surgery so then he decided he push it up to late March or early April. Once again I couldn't break down there with Kaden, I just didn't want him to see me that way. We were handed a BLACK...out of all colors...folder. Inside it was booklets, sheets, all sorts of information on pediatric open heart surgery. It just hit me that this is actually going to happen...and SOON! So we left that appointment and started our 5 1/2 hour drive back home. Thinking. Wondering. Worrying. Praying. Crying. and Praying some more. Yes we knew Kaden would have to have surgery one day. We knew this. But with surgery been thrown in our faces two times before and by the Grace of God it never happened I guess I was just kinda expecting the same thing this time around, but no. Or so we thought...

Late March, I still haven't heard from Dr. Fraser about surgery date, so I e-mailed his nurse and asked if there was a date yet or what was taking place. Well come to find out during one of their (Dr. Fraser along with all of the surgeons and cardiologists there on staff at Texas Children's) conferences they brought Kaden's case up. Well come to find out they disagreed on performing Kaden's surgery. They didn't think it was time. Since Kaden doesn't show any symptoms and his left ventricle isn't TOO large, they decided this wasn't the time to do it. They were planning on repairing his aortic valve but as you heart parents know, it doesn't always goes as planned and it could end up him needing the ROSS therefore leading to more open heart surgeries because with him being only 5 he will out grow them fast...So by the Grace of God, yet again...surgery was pushed off...Thank God! but he did want to see Kaden back in early April to have to him re evaluated to make sure everything still looks good. Dr. Pearse then put Kaden on Enalapril to see if it would help.

April 6th, we took him back again to have a check up. Thankfully everything remain stable! Praise God! But he did want to keep a close eye on Kaden. We could either go to his local cardiologist in or Houston, but he wanted Kaden to be seen every 4-6 months. Thank you Jesus! We were able to now focus on our new to be bundle of joy!

June 2nd, Kaden became a big brother to his adorable little sister, Bethany Kate. She was born with a head full of hair and most importantly...NO heart murmur!!!...

June 23rd, we took both of them for heart check ups! Bethany is heart healthy!..Although Dr. Pearse did make our heart drop, when she came in and started the sentence with..."All she has..." Which is a very small ASD but said all babies that age usually have it and they grow back before a year old, even if it didn't there's nothing they will do with it. So she's good there, but we are going to take her back in a year to make sure it is closed.

As for Mr. Kaden...in the words of Dr. Pearse "His heart is liking the Enalapril!"....Everything looked good no changes and we don't have to take him back for another 6 months. Woo Hoo!! God is good!

I don't know where Kaden's heart journey will take us. I don't know if he will every have to have that open heart surgery, I would like to think not, but I know he probably will. I just wish he could grow up being proud of his special heart God has blessed him with. I know it has blessed me. I've learned to live life from day to day. I've learned not to take the little things for granted. I've learned that getting my nursing degree isn't important as compared to raising and staying home with my children. I know I will get that nursing degree one day, but right now I'm enjoying my two precious miracles God has blessed me with. Hard to believe he will be starting kindergarten on Monday. My lil boy is growing up on me!!

To say I wish this never had happened to us, is wrong. Yes, I wish Kaden wouldn't have to go through all the pain and suffering, that I wish wouldn't have to happen, but having his special heart has opened my eyes to the REAL life. Loving people. Caring for people. Telling people how amazing God is through Kaden's CHD journey. It's amazing. Without God, family, heart families, and friends I don't know where I would be in all of this. Thank you to each and everyone who has supported, prayed, and just loved us throughout our journey. I appreciate it beyond words so don't stop! Ha. There are some amazing angels here on earth. Please keep Kaden in your prayers as he faces his next cardio appointment in December. Thanks for reading. Take care and May God bless you all!!

                        

With love from the ♥
The Insall family,
Derek,Kaci,
Kaden and Bethany.



http://pinterest.com/ruth_h/the-faces-of-chd-congenital-heart-awareness-week-f/

Rambling

This school year is quickly approaching. 16 more days to be exact and we will be proud parents of a big kindergartener! I believe this summer is flying by, I guess it has something to do with Bethany. With them two it can make a day just fly by. I still can’t help but wonder what this school year is going to hold for us.
I didn’t post much during his Pre-K year of school, but we had a lot going on! From thinking surgery was near, to buying our new home, to getting pregnant (finally), then going to Houston to meet the surgeon and shake the hands that would one day hold our son’s heart, to thinking surgery would be in March, to my mom getting diagnosed with breast cancer, to having taking Kaden out of school so we could keep him healthy until surgery just to having to re-enroll him back into school a few days later because surgery would be put off…again, to enjoying his first t-ball season, then finally ending it with the birth of our precious baby girl.

I can’t wait to see what is in store, but then again wondering what it would lead us to. I usually don’t do any post like these, mainly because I feel like Kaden’s heart condition isn’t near as bad as most out there. Although last school year we were slapped in the face with reality and soon discovered his condition could very easily change…in a hurry.

So that’s the main reason I set around at times wondering what our future will hold with our precious baby boy. It doesn’t even seem he has a “silly ole heart”. I would like to think our little boy is heart healthy, and most of time it seems that way. I would like to think he would NEVER need his little chest opened. I would like to think he could live a healthy long life without worrying about his heart. I hope as Stephanie put it in her post, that some little girl will look at him as him and not some one with a heart problem. I can’t help but think how Bethany’s life is going to be affected because of his heart condition, hopefully if any all for the good.

I never really worried about Kaden’s heart from the first time surgery was put off to be honest. It hit me HARD when I first found out and the few months after the fact, but I knew I wasn’t in control of it, as bad as I wanted to be. I knew I couldn’t fix his heart. I knew I couldn’t trade places with him. But I also knew the only man who could fix it. It was then I turned it all over to our Great Physician and I never really had a problem with it from then on, until last school year when it was coming all to real and I was wondering if I should tell Kaden about it or not. With Kaden getting older it makes it harder.

On his last cardio appointment (we took Bethany for a check up and she just had a little hole (asd) in her heart but they all are born that way and most of them close so nothing we should worry about, Thank God), his cardiologist called me ahead of time asking me if I could talk with a heart parent when we came in for his appointment that her little girl (7 yrs) would be there around the same time and asked if she could give them my info. I said sure, of course. A few days later I receive a call from that mother and come to find out she has TGA and already has had 4 heart surgeries. Wondering why his cardiologist wanted me to talk to her, we went ahead talking about our wonderful precious children that were born with special hearts. Come to find out at the appointment his cardiologist wanted her to talk to me since I had such a big support group. I told Dr.Pearse about me having different heart parents on Facebook and Carepages and she told me this mother wanted another mom to talk to and figured I could tell her about finding the other heart moms. But I said all of this to say this. While Bethany was having her echo done and we were waiting on that to get finished up Kaden’s cardiologist asked me to come talk to her and meet her. It was hard comparing her little girl with Kaden. Here she was already had FOUR heart surgeries and Kaden still didn’t have one. Then her little girl wanted to ask their cardiologist something, but was too shy to ask. So her mom tried telling Dr. Pearse but started tearing up. But she finally got out what her daughter wanted to know…”She’s wondering why she had to have 4 heart surgeries”…then her mom went into one of the rooms and started crying. I went to comfort her as best as I could. She was saying it’s just getting so hard because she is starting to notice she is different, and that she has a scar and other children don’t. Then I asked if she had attended any heart groups that I know one is in Ft. Worth. But she said no. Her little girl and Kaden was just messing around with Dr. Pearse (love that she is so kid oriented), wishing I could help her little girl feel better by saying Kaden has a special heart too, but him not having “the scar” I didn’t know if it was the right thing to say. Her mom was going to keep contact with me, but I haven’t heard from her since. I’m thinking about calling Dr. Pearse to get her phone number to call her.

It’s times like those, I feel like Kaden is “normal”. But it leaves me thinking what Kaden will think if and when he ever has his heart surgery. Kaden LOVES going to his heart doctor now. He actually looks forward to it, but I don’t think he realizes his heart is any different. Yeah he know he has to take medicine for his heart, but I don’t think he knows anything is wrong with it. I would like to think there isn’t anything wrong with it to, but I know there is. I know his heart is doing good, but I wonder how long it will last. We take him back every 4-6 months. Every 6 months at the moment. I now I just cringe at the thought of every appointment, because of the unknown. We know at any appointment it could change. We are due to take him in December and I’m praying we get good results. I like the fact his “heart is liking the Enalapril” (heart med he’s on). But I wondering how long it will like it. Ever since Kaden has been diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis with bicuspid valve (now he has aortic vavle regurgitation) I’ve learned to live this life from day to day.

I guess all this came from because I know another school year is coming up. It’s another teacher I will have to let know about his “silly ole heart” and the symptoms we look out for just in case something arises. But then again it’s another teacher that will be amazed how he can live with a heart defect and you can’t even tell. Another teacher that will be charmed by his cuteness he seems to put on when not around his momma or daddy. Lol. Another teacher that will grow to love him for him.

He does make me one proud momma when it comes to his schooling. Last year he got student of the month out of about 60 kids. He actually listens at school (lol he just chooses not to at home) and loves it once he gets back in the groove. The thing he can’t wait for is learning to read. I’ve tried to work with him this summer but with his attention span here at home along with me having to take care of little sister too makes it hard. I can’t wait to see what he learns this year. Although he can be a handful at times around momma and daddy, he seems to be a little shy angel at school. Lol.

So on August 18th, we will be taking him to meet the teacher night. Then on August 23rd we will officially be proud parents of a kindergartener! It’s seems unreal that he is already starting kindergarten, but ready to see what he learns this year. Hopefully he won't get sick near as much as this last year. He had both type A and type B flu, strep (twice), along with 3 cardiologist appointments he had miss school for...totaling to 18 of missed days becasue he couldn't go back until he was fever free for 24 hours. :/
Prayerfully we won’t have any surprises along the way, but if we do…Everything happens for a reason. : -)

Here are some pictures from his Pre-K year.



Kaden's first day of Pre-K!



Setting with his classmates for the first time..

Kaden being shy..

Momma's big boy!

Chistmas party

Chowing down on snacks

Better picture of them...oh and this was one of the days he was running 103 temp.
But couldn't miss this!



They spelt his name wrong but we got it replaced just didn't
have a picture on the computer of it yet,

It has a glare, but this was for the month of January. 

Kaden being reconized by Mrs. Flint for the Pre-K

Student of the month...He was being shy. lol.



Doing the Hokey Pokey Dance

Waiting in line for the limbo...



Tug of war at field day...

Thanks for reading my rambling. I wanted to do another post but couldn’t get this off my mind and had the baby down for a nap…finally…so I took advantage of it. Take care and May God bless you all!

Happy 2 months to our precious baby girl…

 Bethany you’ve had made such an impact on our little family in such a short time, and you’re growing like a weed! You seem to be growing faster than your brother even though I know you’re not, maybe it’s just because I know you’re the last baby I will have and I don’t want you to grow up. : ( But nevertheless…
      

This is the only smile you would give me this morning lol



So serious lol...

 You now weigh…12lbs 15.5 oz (Kaden weighed the same at 2 mons!); You weighed 9lbs even at your two week check up

You are now…24ins long ; You were 21 ¼ at your two week check up.

You are in the 90% for your height, 95% for your weight, and 90% for your head circumference which was 16. Looks like you and Kaden will be taller than me before I know it. Ya’ll are taking after your daddy!





Looking at your bubba's shirt



My loves!♥

You had 3 shots today, and you cried and cried! You can tell you’re a little girl compared to your big brother who just cried for seconds after. You on the other hand cried just about the whole way to the car. : (

You still hold that head up like a champ and have since you were a day old believe it or not..

Momma still has problems with not getting her milk supply up, but you still nurse off of me before every feeding during the day until you get what’s there out.

Otherwise you’re taking 4 ounces of formula every 2.5- 4 hrs.

You’ve been what seems like trying to get a sleeping pattern down at night but still has some nights you get off…Usually you have your last feeding around 11-11:30 and sleep until 5-7. Which is so much nicer than you eating at 9, 12, 3, 6. But momma will take whatever schedule you throw out.

You still won’t go to sleep by yourself no matter how hard momma tries to lay you down you still scream until I come pick you up, then you proceed to fall asleep…but then again your big brother was the same way!

As of right now you still sleep in the bassinet next to momma during the night, but I have to admit there are times I have stuck you in bed with momma and daddy because you wouldn’t go to sleep any other way, but since you’re sleeping longer there aren’t that many times any more.

You still won’t take a pacifier unless you are fed and sleepy then you will until you dose off then out it comes.

You’ve started smiling like crazy…It’s so adorable! It just melts my heart every time I see it.

You’ve also started “talking” more…you seem to love it when you are called pretty girl…hmm; - )

You love setting up and don’t like laying down on your back that much.

You don’t seem to mind tummy time…which is nice because your brother hated it!

Tummy time on the blanket your great Memaw hand stiched just for you!

You sound asleep on your Great Memaw today...
I hope you're able to get to know her better one day,
She's a wonderful woman!

You’ve got some strong legs muscles and love to be held up and talk to while you stand.
You absolutely LOVE your mobile in your crib. I can lay you down and as soon as I start the mobile you give this big smile EVERY time! I don’t know if it’s the music or watching it move but either way you love it!

You still have them big blue eyes. I don’t know what color they will end up being…probably brown like your daddy and brother, but yours aren’t as dark blue as your brother was, so just MAYBE you will be green eyed like Momma. : - )

You still look more like your daddy. I wonder who you will look like when you get older. Hmm…

You STILL catch everyone’s attention when we’re out in public. They always comment on how much hair you have! You must have got that from momma, I didn’t have as much, but did have a head full, expect mine was red. And you still have every bit of it…no signs of losing it yet. It’s such an unique color. It looks dark brown, until you get in the sunlight then the red comes out! I don’t know if it will change much, your brothers did, but I love the color it is now. : - )

You still have your daddy’s heart in your little hand, and you will for the rest of your life. He loves you soo much and I just melt every time I see him with you. You have a pretty awesome daddy if you haven’t notice already yet.

Your big brother is excited that your growing more. He loves you and tells me every time you start crying but won’t hold you too much…I think it’s because you’re still too small for him. But when you start “talking” and smiling he comes to see. Before he heads off to see Nannie (my mom) he always gives Momma and Daddy hugs and kisses, then he heads over to you wherever you are and gives you a kiss on the forehead…it’s priceless. I love seeing you two together. My lil boy and my lil girl. : - )

And of course Momma loves you dearly! I can never be thankful enough for God sending your daddy to momma. It’s because of him, that I get to spend all these precious first moments with you, (and your big brother’s first moments too) while he works and supports our family. I hope one day that you find a good man of God like your daddy who just sweeps you off your feet and treats you like a queen, but lets not think about that yet. Lol. As much as I don’t want you to grow up, I can’t wait until we have mother and daughter time. I love you Miss Bethany Kate! You have indeed made our little family complete! You might be Daddy’s girl…but you’re momma’s girl too, but we won’t tell daddy that. : - ) Happy 2 Months Babygirl!! I love you more than you'll ever know!



One Month Old!



Two Months Old!

Bethany's Birth Story...This is Long...

I realized never did write a post about Bethany’s birth story. I was typing up her 2 month old post and caught myself going into when she was born. So I just erased it and decide to do a whole different post on her birth…and of course I will have to do one on Kaden’s too since it’s only fair. : - ).


This is was our life leading up to her birth.
It was October 12, 2010 when we found out we were pregnant. It was a bitter sweet moment to say the least. We had been trying to get pregnant a year and half before with no luck. I was starting to just give up and just take the fact I couldn’t get pregnant any more, which was hard coming from me I never wanted anything more in the world than to be a mother. I wanted at least one of each, but at that moment in time I would take another boy in a heart beat.

August 12, we found out Kaden would need the open heart surgery we have waited seems like forever for! Something about the CHD journey…it never happens when you want it to. It was then we decided to stop trying to get pregnant. One of my biggest fears was I would be having a baby at one hospital while Kaden would be at another one having his surgery. I didn’t want that. I wanted to be there for my little man. At this point I really didn’t care if I got pregnant or not. My focus was now totally back on Kaden. After been told on two different occasions he would have to have surgery and they ended up falling through and lead to more waiting. His cardiologist wanted us to look around and decide on a surgeon so she could send the records and get it rolling…In the mean time we were getting ready to buy a new home and signing papers on it. My husband and I, after looking and reviewing and comparing different surgeons from all over the US we decided on Dr. Fraser at Texas Children’s in Houston Texas. He has more experience in repairing Aortic Valves and he was close so that was a plus.

October 12, as stated before we found out we were pregnant. I thought I might have been but I didn’t want to get the test just to see another negative. Derek is the one that was actually pushing to get one this time. So he picked one up from work that afternoon. After telling him I wasn’t going to take it, we might as well wait a little longer. He proceeded with, “Kaci, there are two test. If it is negative we still have one.” So I gave in and took it. For you ladies out there, that was the LONGEST 3 mins I think in my life!! Once I seen it was postive I just started tearing up. Because one…I was happy, I really was. I was finally pregnant, BUT second…I was thinking my worst fear was going to come true. That fear was put to the side as soon as I walked in the living room. Derek was playing outside with Kaden and came to check on me. He said well… and I was like “well…we’re pregnant” lol. His response…”I told you!!” Ha. Then he went out side and started running around with excitement. (little fyi, he’s a runner. He runs 5 miles a day even on his lunch break at work). After saying we wasn’t going to tell anyone until futher along…I found myself taking a picture of the test and sending it to my mom, and my sister. They couldn’t believe it….*weird family fact…when I had Kaden my sister was 2 weeks pregnant with her first, Makalya and didn’t know it at the time…well when she had Chloe…her second…I was 2 weeks pregnant and didn’t know it, ha** Anyways they were excited and couldn’t believe it. Since Derek’s mom couldn’t receive picture text we went over there…The way we broke it to her was I had pictures of Kaden’s thumb that he recently, at the time, shut the car door on. There was 2 pictures on there and I told her there were 3 with the third one being the picture of the POSTIVE pregnancy test. It took her a while, but she asked if were serious and I was like uh yeah lol. Needless to say everyone was excited but by the end of the day…by the way I took the other one the next morning just to make sure lol…I was setting wondering how God was going work this one out.

Feb 4, we took Kaden to Houston. Of course you all know the story I posted it on here. But they were wanting to have surgery this summer. But when they found out that’s when I was due they bumped it up to March. While we were waiting on a surgery date and not hearing back. I e-mailed them and asked what was taking so long. They disagreed on the timing of the surgery and decided now wasn’t the best time for surgery but wanted us to come back to check everything again.

Feb 6, I went for a check up and ultrasound to try to find out what we were having. They tried to find out what she was but she wasn’t showing, and rescheduled to come back 2 wks later to try again. While we were waiting for me to see the doctor, I got a call from a perinatal specialist, Dr. Gore, they were confirming the appointment for the next day. Not knowing I had an appointment, I asked if they could change it to that day and they did. They wanted to check the baby’s heart of course. Praying and hopeing for good news. I was nervous as all get out. Thankfully everything came out great and couldn’t see anything wrong with the heart…and we found out we were having a GIRL!! I continued to see the specialist once a month up until I had her. At the time I didn’t care if we had a boy or girl, we actually already had a boys name picked out: Preston Wesley (preston after Derek’s maternal granddad’s dad, and Wesley after my maternal granddad’s dad), but didn’t for a girl. When I was pregnant with Kaden we had Emily Grace for a girl picked out but didn’t have a boys name. So I guess it was just meant to be. I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to have one of each. God is Awesome!

April 6, we took him Kaden back and everything was stable! We were told once again that surgery will be put on hold. Thank God! I no longer had to worry about his surgery now I could focus on this new PINK bundle of joy.

Now for the good stuff. :)

I was scheduled for a repeat c-section on June 3 at 7:30amand had to be at the hospital at 5:30am. I went to the doctor May 25th and was told it was going to be moved to June 2, because my doctor was going out of town the afternoon on the 3rd.

June 1st, I couldn’t sleep for nothing! I had a last bit to eat at 11pm before I had to be cut off from drinks and food at midnight. I was listening to “I saw God today” just smiling and over excited, while Derek was playing a video game and Kaden fast asleep on the couch. I had a million things running through my head. Who would she look like? Would she have my hair color? Would she be ok? Would everything go smoothly? Most importantly…would her heart be ok even though we were told it would be?…

Derek and I couldn’t go to sleep that night. I think I finally dosed off around 1:30 just to wake up to the alarm at 4:30. We were on the road by 5 heading to the hospital. As soon we got there they were getting all the information they didn’t have previously, getting my IV started (kudos to my nurse she got the first time, and said I was the first redhead she was able to get the first time. Ha), and waiting…some more, and me STARVING. Ha...

My parents finally arrive and get Kaden to the waiting room. I gave my little man a kiss bye…and I give my momma one last kiss before I’m wheeled away just a hour from then. I couldn’t help but tear up. My mom is awesome, I love her so much she so strong and fighting breast cancer wonderfully. I couldn’t believe God was giving me a daughter that I could have a special relationship like my mom and I do. Before too long it was 7 and everything was set to go, they were just waiting on my awesome doctor to come and talk to me. Dr. Grafa finally came around 7:30 and said, “Well we made it, are you ready?” . My response, “Oh yeah”. : - ).




My Momma and Bethany (her #4 grandkid and 3 granddaughter)
Two out of the 3 most important girls in my life!
The other being my Memaw!

My wonderful Memaw and Bethany.

Nurses came in about 7:40 and asked if he came in and I said yes. Next thing I know they were telling Derek to get ready and they were wheeling me out.
They got the surgery blankets and I was switching beds and they were putting the blankets over me it was oh soo cold in there! Lol. I didn’t remember all these details with Kaden I guess because it just happened so fast then and didn’t have time to think about the details. (I’ll go into details when I do his birth story).

They asked if I was having a tubal and I said no. Then they started with the spinal Derek and I decided not to. We didn’t want any more kids, but just incase you know. But If I was able to change my mind in that OR I would have!…I didn’t have a good experience with the spinal this time. It took them a while to get it in. They had to use a bigger needle and put it in a different spot of my spine. I don’t know if that was the reason, but my blood pressure dropped 2 different times dangerously low. I had trouble with nausea and they kept giving me medicine for that. For you ladies who have had a spinal you know what I’m talking about when I say, when I felt the numbness start coming closer to my chest it was fine of course and it’s a werid feeling, but once they got me some what situated I felt it start coming up to my throat and had some trouble breathing. SCARY feeling!…My nurse was starting to get worried because my lips were turning pale and my face, after another dose of the medicine for nausea (making it 4 total), I was finally feeling better and my nurse (loved her!!) said you look better, your lips match your hair. Ha. Then she proceeded to tell me that my blood pressure dropped really really low two different times. I was thinking oh that’s why I was feeling like that, no more kiddos for me! Then next thing I know they were saying, ok she’s stable bring in the dad. At this time they were already cutting on me. Derek walked in and felt so much better seeing him, but told him this is the last one, no more kids. Lol.

It took Dr. Grafa a while working around all the scar tissue, but I kept asking Derek what time it was. Finally I heard ok Dad do you want to see…and next thing I know I was hearing the most sweetest cry! Kaden was screaming when he came out (even 3 weeks early), Bethany was crying but not screaming. Such a girl. Ha. Dr. Grafa mentioned how big she was and had a ton of hair. I guessed her to be 8lbs 6oz she wasn’t that but she was born at 8:06am : - ). They took her over to the bed to clean her up and Derek was saying she has your hair and she looks like you…

A few second old!

Of course momma was smiling ear to ear along with the tears lol. She was screaming good by then, but when they brought her over to me, like with Kaden, as soon as I started talking to her she calmed down.

First time I seen my babygirl!

That’s the best feeling, knowing she knew me already. I was happy, so estatic that I had my girl and she was healthy as far as I knew.

They took me to recovery and brought her back in there along with Derek. You can so tell we had a heart kiddo first because the first thing Derek said…”She doesn’t have a heart murmur”…Praise God!! Then he said she is 8lbs 10.6 oz and 19.5 ins long. It was so nice to hear she didn’t have a heart murmur and her O2 stats were good. I was one happy momma that couldn’t feel anything. Ha

I was then rolled to my room soon after and I was able to see my little man and the rest of my family. Once they gave Bethany a bath we soon noticed her hair wasn’t red, its but mainly in the sunlight. It’s dark brown with red mixed in. And a few days later we noticed she looks more like her Daddy than she does me. Lol. But she still adorable of course. : - ). Our family is now complete. We have our boy AND our girl.

She was worth the year and half waiting to get pregnant. She was worth all the trouble I went through during the OR. She was my daughter and I wouldn’t trade her for the world. I love you Bethany Kate!!

All ready for town...along with the bow my momma made me!



Aren't I cute?!?!

The way she got her name:

We decided on Brooklyn but after a few months I decided it wasn’t girly enough for me. Lol. One day Derek was talking about Starbucks (he’s a coffee addict. Lol) and was talking about his favorite one in Allen, TX. And I was like where and he said in Allen you know off of Bethany dr and Frontage. And I was like That’s it! Bethany! Lol…

We struggled for a middle name for a while. He talked about Marie, because our ice cream shop we used to eat at while dating (still do) was called Beth Maries and he just thought that would be perfect and I told him you got Bethany but your not getting Marie. We went through different names like Mae but I didn’t want her initials to be BMI . I’m weird when it comes to naming kiddos lol. So one day we were at a bookstore, Derek and Kaden when looking at something while I was looking for baby books in Barnes and Noble, and came across a Christian baby name book. So I started fliping through it, I was looking to see what Bethany meant and it was House of God, thought that was neat. Then I went to my name Kaci and came across Kate while flipping back to find my name. Noticing it mean pure one, I thought this is it! Bethany Kate…It just fits. When I told Derek he was ok whatever and didn’t seem to care. When it got closer to having her he wanted to change it and I was like look you got Bethany and I can have Kate it’s only fair. Lol. So he didn’t seem to fight me too much on that since. So Bethany Kate it is. Beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.

Now you get to watch her grow up throughout the years through our blog along with her big brother. I will posting a post on her 2 months tomorrow or Wednesday according to how she acts tomorrow after her shots. :/ Thanks for reading.. I know this was long. Take care and May God bless you all!!