Our New Addition!

We welcomed our new little boy, Braxton Blake Tracy, into our family on December 8th. He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

Our Labor Experience :

The Beginning - Sunday, December 7th:

I went into the hospital to be induced. I thought that everything would be just fine and I would get my epidural to stop any pain. Little did I know, I was in for the worst pain I have ever felt. I was already having contractions, but I had not been feeling them. They were just small ones and I was still only dilated to 1 cm. They gave me medication to help me dilate first. It worked a little bit, but was working very slow. I slept through the night minus nurses coming in every half-hour.

The Next Day, Monday, December 8th:

At 5 am, they gave me second dose of medication to help me dilate. At that time, they wanted to start the medication to help me start "real" labor, but I still wasn't dilated enough. Later in the morning, I started feeling a lot of pain and was ready for epidural. But, right when I told the nurse this, our doctor came in to break my water. He wanted to try it even though I had not had the pain medication yet....bad idea! He attempted and failed because it hurt so bad that I was screaming. I'm not a wimp and I can take a lot of pain....but, this experience tested my limits! Meanwhile, they had tubes and oxygen on me, I looked like I was in some serious condition. Blake was not doing well seeing me like this and it was really getting to him emotionally. He said that he just kept going into the bathroom to pray to give him strength. To add to his struggle, the doctor came in to give me my epidural. They positioned me to put it into my spine and hit a nerve! OUCH! I just felt this horrible pain shoot all the way out to my whole left side. Then he kept hitting it because he said sometimes they can get past the nerve...not the case here! So, they had to take it out and do it again. This time it was still pretty painful, but they barely got it in. Apparently, I do not have much space for it in my spine. Blake could not even watch him put it in the second time after hearing my screams the first time. I did not know what was going on! Now, all this may make our hospital sound horrible, but it wasn't the doctor's fault. It is just some people have special problems that cannot be foreseen. Our doctors and nurses were great...really!

Finally, I have medication....or so we thought:

Later that morning, our parents came in to visit and see how we were doing. Previously, the doctor had speculated that we would have the baby between noon and 4pm. Towards the end of their visit is when I started really feeling the pain. I was going more into labor and they were trying to get me more dilated. But, I was still feeling pain. The nurse kept saying that I would feel pressure. I kept telling myself that it was just pressure and that I would have to deal with it. As time went on, however, I had a feeling that it wasn't just pressure. Each time the nurse would come in she would ask me my pain score from 1 - 10...I really got sick of this question. Anyway, I just kept feeling more and more pain. My contractions were every minute...so it was pretty much non-stop. They wanted to give me more of the medication to help me start going into labor so I could push, but I was still not dilated enough. The baby kept going to sleep because he was getting stressed out from all the contractions. I think maybe he just wasn't ready yet. However, it was too late to turn back now! Well, it turned out that the epidural was working everywhere, but where the pain really was. I could feel it all because (we think) the baby was sitting on a nerve that was blocking the medication from getting through. So, as the hours drug on, I just felt more and more pain. They gave me a ton of drugs in hopes that something would get through, but it just wasn't working. Blake was getting so upset because I was just crying and crying wanting the pain to stop. We just kept hoping that I would dilate enough to start pushing. That time would never come.

Things start to turn around...:

Blake was back in forth praying to know what we should do. He just couldn't really handle all the pain he was seeing me in and was having flashes of me being in a serious condition. It really got to him and he almost fainted on time. He asked Lex to give me a blessing. The nurse had asked everyone to leave the room about an hour before because I was really getting bad. And, it was hard for me having all those people see me in such bad pain. I just wanted Blake there to comfort me at that time. Lex came in and gave me a blessing which I cannot remember what it said. But, then, amazingly, I fell fast asleep. When I woke up, I had this feeling like he was just ready to come, it was time and I knew it! Right after that, Dr. Smith came in to see if I had dilated anymore. But, it turned out that I my cervix was swelling and my dilation was getting smaller. So, he said I had about a 5% chance that I could deliver normal, but that he would recommend a C-Section. I said LET'S DO IT! So, the pumped me full of more drugs and off we went for the surgery.

Finally we get our boy!

Blake got dressed in his little surgery outfit and I was out of it because of all the drugs they had given me all day. I was shaking uncontrollably and felt nauseous since I hadn't eaten in 24 hours. They rolled me down the hall and got all set up. Blake got to watch the whole thing and hold my hand. I kept asking him if he could see him yet. Finally, I faintly remember hearing Braxton cry and them holding him up to me. It was a huge blur because I was out of it. Blake and I were crying and crying. Blake said I kept asking if he was ours and if we were going to be able to take him home. I couldn't believe he was here and he was ours. I don't remember what happened after that. I know our families were anxiously awaiting getting to see the baby. But, Blake wouldn't let them until I got to really see him and hold him. He knew that I would want to see him first. He wasn't sure if I had because I was so out of it. When I finally came too, I just started crying because I was so sad that I couldn't remember anything. But, right then they brought him to me and he was the most perfect thing I had ever seen. I just couldn't stop looking at him. He had my lips and everything else his dads. He even had hair! At first we thought it was curly, but it was just wet. I still can't believe how perfect he is!

This was the hardest most painful experience I ever had. But, having our sweet baby here has been completely worth it. We had everything planned out in our heads before we got there on how it would all go...but, nothing went as planned! It was so great to have family there to support us the whole time. Even though they ended up in the waiting room for hours (sorry!). It just felt like this was all meant to be and this is the little son that I was suppose to have at this time. We love him so very much and we can't get enough of him!

P.S. Please excuse any grammer errors. I don't have much time to check these things right now! Sorry!

To My loving and beautiful wife

Emily i just wanted you to know how much i love you. You are truly the greatest. I don't think there is a wife out there who did more during your pregnancy, such as work, cleaning house and other chores that were probably difficulty like carrying our boy for 9 months. But i have to give it to you. You rarely complained and just did what needed to be done. I love you so much and just wanted to give you a shout out, cause you deserve it. I know that Braxton is in for a treat when he is held by his mother on MONDAY THE 8TH. Our doctor told us to come in Sunday night at 9:30 to start the inducing. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you EM

Still Waiting.....

Well, we are still patiently waiting for the arrival of our little boy. Our pace has not slowed at all because we are saving everything we have for this little one. All we do is work, Blake goes to school, and we sleep! So, if you never see us...sorry! Know we love you! We had another doctor's appointment this week, but there is no change in my "progress". So, we just have to sit and wait patiently. I'm not in too big of hurry though and I'm really kind of excited to see how it all plays out. I'm sure to some of you moms that seems crazy because everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready to get him out! I don't want him to come before he is ready, but who knows what will happen! We will find out soon enough!

We are Getting Closer!

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything is great with the baby and I am 1 cm dilated! The doctor didn't act like that meant he was coming any earlier....but, in my mind it does! I'm getting so nervous and exciting. I think I'm nesting. I want to get everything in order before Braxton gets here. I feel like there are a million things to do. I don't know why I waited until now to get it all done. My fluid was fine and has not gone up. Everything is great! Now we just wait! That is no fun....I keep thinking in my mind that it could just happen any minute. I could just be at Walmart and SPLASH there goes my water! The doctor said it would be like Niagara Falls because of all my extra water, maybe I should keep a towel with me. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm just super tired and feeling like an elephant. But, that is how pregnancy is right! I can't wait to get our little boy here! I'll keep you posted.

Baby Jack

Laura and Jason had their sweet little baby....Jack Jason Miller! He is so cute and Laura is doing great. We can't wait to get Braxton here to play with him!

Blake's Dream Come True!

Blake and Lex got to sit in the VIP section at last Saturday's Jazz game against the Clippers. Blake's work gave him and two other of Blake's friends tickets to the game. He was so excited he couldn't even sleep the night before and I think Lex was just as thrilled. Blake told me Lex said it was the coolest experience of his whole life! They got free drinks and a real meal to eat. They also got a gift bag with a CD and a bunch of other stuff. Blake yelled at the ref the whole game and the ref even threw a water bottle at thim and told him to cool down! That's my Blake! He loves his basketball and the Jazz. They got to sit in padded seats with small flat screen tvs in front of them. And best of all....the Jazz won the game!

Another Doctor's Appointment!

We had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday. Everything is good and my fluid has not really gone up any. Dr. Smith said he would not let me go past my due date, so now I know for sure this little boy is coming out in less than a month probably! It still just doesn't feel real. We are looking around for a pediatrician. If you know anyone let us know! I'm getting huge and I don't know how much further this tummy can stretch.

Baby Shower!

We had my baby shower on Saturday. Melissa and Trudy Tracy held the shower at Grandma William's house (Blake's grandma) in Sandy. We had really great soup and Grandma's homemade bread. We also had some yummy sweets. My mom got to fly in to spend that special time with me. We had such a great time and talked about babies for hours, four of us are pregnant! This is probably one of the last pictures of Laura pregnant because she had her little boy (Jack) on Monday. I am so greatful for our friends and family. We got so many great things that we really needed. I didn't know how much stuff one little baby needs! Good thing I had some mommy pros there to show me how everything works and tell me what else I will need. He is so loved already and he isn't even here yet. Thank you to everyone for all your support and love! We are so happy to share this time with our great family!

We got our crib!!!

My mom got Blake and I the most beautiful crib! Blake put it together and we got to put our bedding in it. It looks so great and we totally LOVE IT! We still do not have a mattress so the bedding doesn't look just right in the pictures. Take a look....

32 Weeks Doctor Appointment!

We had another doctor's appointment on October 15th and we finally got to see little Braxton again! He really looked like a baby this time. Dr. Smith said he is definitely a boy! We had to do an ultrasound to make sure that he was not too big. Well, from the measurements, he was actually already almost 5 pounds! Yep, that is big. I looked it up and the average baby is only 3.75 pounds at 32 weeks. He is growing big and healthy though. I gained a few pounds too, but I guess that is just something you have to deal with when you are pregnant. I, also, had some extra fluid which is not good. The doctor said this can be due to diabetes (which we know I don't have because of tests) or there could be fluid in the baby's lungs because there is a virus. He did not see any fluid in Braxton's lungs. So, he said there was no explanation and we would just continue to do ultrasounds for the remainder of our visits. If it gets too high, then he will have to induce me. Its weird, but I don't really want to be induce. I just want him to come when he wants to. I know most women would love to be induced, but I guess at this point I'm okay to keep being pregnant. Not to mention all we have for him right now is a crib! We didn't have any other problems and we go back again for 34 weeks soon. YAY! I'm starting to like going to the doctor. I still get really nervous because I don't want to hear anything bad. I'm thankful we have such a great doctor though. He always answers all of our crazy questions!

Baby Holker

Introducing the Gabriel Carson Holker! Our good friends Aaron and Laura just had their first baby on Sept 18th. They live in Colorado in our old apartment complex. We were pregnant buddies together! We love them and they are going to be great parents!

Our Doctor's Visit!

We had our 30 week doctor's visit on Wednesday. Everything is good except I'm measuring 3 more inches from the last time....and I only gained 1 pound. So, I guess this baby is getting really big! We will see because he scheduled us for an ultrasound at the next visit. I'm so excited to see our baby again....that is the best part. I'm feeling good excited I'm a little anemic and I have had some problems with my iron supplement. I'm starting something new so hopefully that will make me feel better and be less cranky! I'll keep you posted.

Our New Place!

Everyone has been wondering about our new place! Here is a picture of the outside. We are still working on the inside....so once we get everything set up and unpacked I will add more pictures.

Utah v. Oregon

Blake and I love sporting events! We got tickets to the Utah v. Oregon game on Thursday night. It was so much fun and we had yummy stadium food. We were really worried that they were going to lose, but they pulled through in the last 3 minutes. Blake loves his Utes! After they won, all the students stormed the field…You gotta love college football!





Videos

Blake's First Job As A Daddy!

Blake and I were so excited to get the nursery all set up for the baby. So, about two weekends ago, we decided that we were going to paint. We went to Home Depot and bought this pretty paint call "Baby Bow". Blake asked the Home Depot people exactly what brushes to buy and got all the stuff we needed. So, we get home and Blake just opens the can and starts painting! He was so excited to get his boy's room painted that he didn't tape anything off and just painted the centers of the walls. So, when he was done that day there was white all around the edge because he hadn't marked it off. His friend Cole came over the next day and saw the room. Cole said he would help Blake the next week. Blake wanted to do it himself so Cole just directed him in what he needed to do. He finally got it done and he is very proud of his work! Now all we need is some furniture! We are getting there... :)!

Blake Starts Painting

Cole Came Over to Show Him How It Was Done!

Blake and Cole Finally Finished the Job!

Emily's 25th Birthday --- Fun Times in Utah!!!

My Birthday BBQ With Friends

My Birthday Dinner With My Sweet Hubby

I had quite an exciting birthday which lasted about three days! I haven’t had a real birthday with anyone around in a year or two. So, it was nice to be around people who love me.

Thursday night, Blake and I went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and some yummy birthday cheesecake. It was so good and Blake sang me a solo "Happy Birthday" song! I told him that I couldn't eat my birthday cake unless I had someone sing for me. It was so great to spend time together.

On Friday, my real birthday, Blake scheduled a whole spa day for me at Visions Spa in Draper. He did so perfect. I had a massage, facial, pedicure, and manicure! It was so nice. The massage was a little hard because big-pregnant me could not get comfortable. First, she had me on this special pillow for pregnant ladies and it hurt my sides. Plus, I'm a little claustrophobic and I couldn't stick my face into the pillow. So, I turned over on my back. She had my knees propped up and my head flat. We did that for a few minutes and I started getting dizzy. I started sweating and I kept telling her I was really hot. It was funny! I felt like I had no control over my body. So, I turned on my side and everything was GREAT! Once I got comfortable, it was just what this pregnant girl needed! Everything took about 5 hours....I just turned off my phone and enjoyed the quiet. I'm sorry I missed some birthday wishes while I was there. It was so sweet to hear from everyone! I always think about my Nana who would call me very early on my birthday before school to sing to me. I had quite a few singing phone calls this year. I love it!

Friday night, we had Laura Miller's baby shower and she got a lot of cool stuff!!! I can't wait for our baby to get here!!

On Saturday, my wonderful sister-in-law, Melissa, organized a lunch at Noodles for me! She knew I loved Italian so I got it! It was great. It was just Laura, Angie, Melissa, and me so the main topic of conversation was our babies coming. I'm sure Melissa was getting sick of hearing it! But, she is so great, she stuck it out! I love her!

On Saturday night, my wonderful in-laws hosted a BBQ for my birthday. We had all of our couple friends and a few extra! We had a great time because we really haven't seen them since we got back from Utah. Great times and a great birthday!

Great Baby Decorating Ideas!

My cousin Suzonne Stirling has written these great books for crafts and decorating baby and childrens rooms. Check them out...you can get them on Amazon.com!

Our Baby Bedding

We Are in Utah and Everyone has a Baby Bump!

We are finally back in Utah and moved into our new townhouse in The Villas - Sandy, UT. It was not an easy move, but we got here and Blake is finally done doing summer sales for APX. Out townhouse is great and our ward is amazing! It is a small ward for Utah only about 250 members. It covers our townhouses and the apartments next to us. So, as you can image in it all people our age or retired...just about with a few exceptions! Last week I got called to be the Young Women's 2nd Counselor. There are only 5 young women in the ward and I'm just so excited! I cannot even wait...I just feel like there is so much I have to give and so much I have to learn. I just want to give it all I got! Blake was called to be the secretary for Sunday School. So, he is mainly in charge of taking role for all the classes, which is not easy in this ward. He has to know everyone's name because it is not good to pass the role during class. The bishop wants everyone to know they are welcome and that we know who they are. I think it's great! And, Blake is great with names and remembering people. Our bishop is great and greeting me about three days after I moved in. He told me about the ward and our neighbors. Then about three more neighbors left notes on our door and other sent emails to welcome us. It is so neat that this ward is so welcoming! Blake was also called to be a home teacher. The ward has had 100% home teaching for the past two years! That is really amazing and I think we will learn a lot about serving in this ward and really grow. We are excited!

We are still slowly unpacking because that is really something we both hate doing. We have more clothes than we ever thought and not enough furniture to fit. It is just too bad that I cannot fit in most of my clothes right now! So, once we save up hopefully we can get this place looking good! We have a great patio for BBQing and a great path for walking. The baby's room is perfect and we have already used some of our wedding gift cards for bedding from Pottery Barn, our splurge! The colors are baby blue, darker green, white, and brown...I love it and so does Blake....check it out below this entry.

We both have new jobs. I'm working for Professional Installation Service our of South Jordan. It is a very small business that installs draperies in hotels all over the world. It is actually the biggest company that does this in the nation. I arrange all their travel and do some other clerical type work. My official title is "Office Manager". It is neat working for a small business because you really see how things work. I'm getting them organized and have a great schedule. I was worried about finding a job with being 6 months pregnant, but they welcomed me with open arms! They are extremely family friendly and only about 3 minutes from our townhouse. I can work from home when I need to...its great! Blake is working for APX at their inside sales department, still selling home security! He likes it a lot even though he has to drive to Provo every day. He likes to stay closer to red territory!

Being pregnant is not all that bad in my opinion thus far, other than I have no control over my body growth sometimes. My cousin Laura told me that it is Heavenly Father's way of making us less vain! Thanks Laura! He still is not moving too much, but I guess he might just be comfortable or something. I have a great new doctor I went to about two weeks ago and he said that I was measuring big! I told him that my husband is six foot six and that I'm having a giant baby...he just laughed...I'm serious though! He is measuring about two weeks ahead of what he is suppose to be...don't worry...he's not overweight...just long! We have registered at BabiesRUs which has the best stuff! I know that they do not have very many in Louisiana, but you can order it online and have it shipped cheaper than shipping it yourself! I wish I could be home to show everyone my tummy getting bigger! My dad is so excited about his first grandson! He only got girls...so he is so excited! I say in the title that everyone has a baby bump because three of Blake's cousin's are pregnant too...Laura (due in November), Angie (due on Christmas), and Jessica (due in May). So, our baby will have lots of cousin almost his age. Laura is having a boy and Angie is having a girl. My cousin Jenny just had a boy in February too...so our baby will not be lonely!

My family is back safe in their homes in Louisiana. I know they were in your thoughts and prays and I appreciate it! They did not have any damage and hopefully won't get hit by this next one coming up.

Well, it has been a long summer with Blake working super hard everyday selling alarms. I'm glad that we can both be on a normal schedule for once and not have to travel all the time. We can finally just be with each other and have dinner at a normal time every night. It is the little things we take for granted sometimes! We are just so excited to sit down at night and watch TV together! We are totally inseparable right now...we just love each other so much.

On the Move!

Well, we are getting ready to move to our new townhome in Sandy, UT! We are very excited and Blake has had me locked up in the house packing for a past few weeks. So, I decided to go visit my family in Louisiana. I got to stay for a week and see most of my family. It was so much fun! I miss them a lot, but I do not miss the humidity in Louisiana! Everyone is so excited for the baby and we all got to catch up on old times. Blake is doing great with selling alarms and just trying to figure out what he is going to do when he gets back to Utah. Everything seems to be falling into place, we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it just brings us so much closer to go through these times together!

Emily

Bye Bye Air Force .... Hello BABY!!!

This has been quite the busy week! I found out last Thursday that I had ten days to out-process for the Air Force and today was my last day! I'm officially out on July 19th! I'm very excited to start this new chapter and to be able to focus on my family and the new baby! Wednesday my office had a going-away lunch for me and gave me a great framed picture of an American Flag with Pikes Peak in the background (that is the big mountain that is in Colorado Springs). They all signed it giving congrats on the baby and wishing me luck. I just thought it was great that someday Braxton would be able to look at the picture and what people wrote and know what we have done for him. And, what I have given up to be the best mommy that I can.

We also had our last appointments with our baby doctor here in Colorado. She said everything is great! We also got our official ultrasound to check that the baby had all his parts! And, he did. It was really neat because the lady showed us all his organs and bones...everything is there! She said it looks like I may be due a few days earlier, but not much of a difference from the original due date. He weighs about 10oz. He was facing upside down with his face toward my spine...with his cute little head resting right on my bladder...no wonder I have to go all the time! It was so cute because she was trying to get him to move around so she could measure and take pictures and he was moving his little feet all around. She did not say how long he was but his feet were all the way about two inches above my belly button. This might be a big baby!

It's a BOY!!!

There's his little pee-pee!

He has his hands over his ears...I don't think he wanted us to see him.

We did a sneak-a-peak photo today of the baby to find out the gender because....well...we just couldn't wait anymore!!! He was moving all over the place like he was on a pogo stick and moving his hands over his face like he didn't want us to look at him. It was sooo neat! Check out our cute little Braxton! Blake and Elle were the only ones that thought it would be a boy and it was! We are so excited and Blake can't wait to buy him little Michael Jordan shoes!

Happy 4th of July!

Blake got to take off early on the 4th of July so we could go see the fireworks at Memorial Park! We talked all the other's in his office into coming out too. It was a great time to relax and see an amazing show! Afterwards, we went and ate wings at our favorite place, Buffalo Wild Wings! YUM!

Riddin' Pretty!

Since our little family is growing, we had to trade-in my cute little Honda Civic 2-Door for a 2008 Honda Accord 4-door. I'm not complaining! We got a great deal! Check it out!