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!