Welcome New Contributor and Her Family to Mommy Katie!

Over the years on here at Mommy Katie, we have added posts from outside contributors and expanded our audience by adding new content creators like last year when Estrella joined in and began taking over the YouTube channel. Well like many families, here at Mommy Katie we are constantly growing and with that we have added a new contributor who will be taking over the content geared at babies and new moms. This new contributor's name is Heather and here in just a few short weeks, a baby girl named Zoey will also be joining us over here at Mommy Katie once she decides she is ready to come and join the rest of us in the world. For now, little Zoey is comfortable and growing, and Heather along with her husband and kids are preparing for her arrival.

Heather is currently the mother of 4 amazing kids, 3 step children and 1 grand baby, ranging from ages 24-4, and once little Zoey arrives, she will be the mother of 8. I asked Heather to introduce herself and create a little write up for our readers so you guys can get to know her and her family as you have gotten to know mine!

"Greetings from our family! We are a large family that has resided in Tacoma Washington for approximately 20 years. I currently have 7.5 children, 1 of my own, and 3 that my husband and I share with one on the way along with 4 step children who are all in their 20's and one grand child. Unlike most families we have a family where there are disabilities that play a big role, but that do not keep us from enjoying our lives together. I have MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and have been living with the issues that are associated with MS for many years now. This aspect creates a interesting scenario for my own motherhood journey, but with the support of my husband, children and friends, I have been able to manage and be grateful for the time I have with them. I currently home school my kids along with the help of our older kids and my husband, allowing me to be with my kids and also allowing us to explore our world around us together. For the past several years we have raised chickens and ducks, which the kids enjoy collecting eggs from to cook with, taking care of and giving us a fun mini farm right in our backyard. Along with the home schooling and mini farming, we also love to create DIY projects, experiment with projects we come across, and cook, which is not only fun to do with my kids but also teaches them some great skills. We look forward to providing content for you guys to enjoy and also engaging with the Mommy Katie audience! Thank you for taking the time to read this to get to know us a little better and also thank you for this opportunity!"

Heather

My HOPE Dolls

My HOPE Dolls are a unique collection of plush talking dolls. With positive and affirming messages, they teach spirituality and meditation for every day life, those living with sickness, disability, creating peace and love (anti-gun violence and antibullying), LGBTQ community, military families, overcoming grief, infertility and more. They are fun, educational, therapeutic and bring comfort to kids and adults. www.myhopedolls.com

An added feature of My HOPE Dolls is that you can record your own personal message on them and the recipient will have your beautiful message to carry with them. If you’re a grandparent who lives far away, a military parent who is deployed, or you know someone who is in the hospital, the recipient will have your personal message to treasure while you’re apart.

My Hope Dolls are featured on Indiegogo at http://igg.me/p/my-hopedolls/x/9909012 a crowd funding website, to raise money for manufacturing the doll collection and a line of children’s products. With your donation on Indiegogo, you can also pre-order your doll in time for back school, birthdays and ahead of this holiday season. See our collection and give someone the gift of hope.

After using fertility drugs to become pregnant, I experienced a great loss in my life when my baby died while in my second trimester. I know what it’s like to be given a treasure and have that treasure taken away from you. I relied on my spirituality and mediation to make me whole again. During that process of overcoming grief, the idea of My HOPE Dolls was born. My Hope Dolls are in memory of the baby I lost.

With HOPE, everything is possible! 

New job
Overcoming grief
Healing from sickness
Infertility
Equality
A family to love me
Peace within ourselves
Pass an exam
To find love
Anti-Bullying
To be loved
Better at sports
Food
Starting a new business
A home Peace in our community
Financial security
Anti-Violence
Anti-racism
Anti-sexism
Overcoming Fear
Losing weight

This post was created by My HOPE Dolls.

It's A Girl!

So I have been a little delayed in getting some posts up, over here at Mommy Katie, we have been a little busy. A little 5 lbs and 14 oz busy that is! Welcome the newest member of the Mommy Katie family, she was born early Wednesday morning and is just as sweet as can be!

Alyssa is my niece, and I was so blessed to be there and be a part of her birth. The delivery was a smooth one, and my sister in law did well for her first delivery. Alyssa is a new part of our family, and will be included in many fun baby posts to come!!

This little girl is very special to our family, for many reasons. As many of you know, who have been following me over the years, my husband was adopted. He has 6 biological siblings, and of the 6, he and 3 of the youngest siblings were all adopted by the same family. My sister in law, is my husband's youngest biological sibling, making Alyssa a very special little girl and a baby girl who will always hold a very special place in our hearts over here at Mommy Katie!

Being there from the time my sister in law found out she was pregnant, and being able to be in the room during the delivery, was an amazing experience. I have had my own babies, but I have never witnessed another birth from start to finish.

Now we have some other very sweet and adorable nieces and nephews from my husband's adoptive siblings who are also very special kids, and we love. But seeing and holding her was an experience unlike any other, she not only looks like my sister in law, but I also see my husband, our kids, and their biological mom in her. My husband has 2 other nieces that we found out about last year from one of his brothers, but none of the other siblings that we know of, have any children, so for those who know what it is like for adopted children, being able to see, hold and be there for a baby who is a part of them is an emotion like no other! I not only felt the instant love for this baby girl, but seeing my husband hold her was a special moment for all of us.

I will be getting more posts up shortly and winners emailed. Just been a little preoccupied with this little beauty!

Help Foster Children Find That Forever Home With The Alliance For Children's Rights Forever Hoodies

Product Received

As many of you may know who have followed my blog over the years, my husband and I are huge advocates for children. In fact, my husband is a CASA in our town, which means he is a court appointed advocate for children in the court room. My husband finds this passion for helping kids due to his own experiences as a child. He is 1 of 6 who were adopted by his adoptive parents, who also ended up adopting 3 of his younger biological siblings, and he is 1 of 7 kids that his biological mom had, all of which who were taken from their mom and either adopted or put into the foster care system. My husband was a toddler when he was taken from his mother, and at the time, he and 2 of his brothers had been taken from her. One was adopted by his and my husbands grandparents, and my husband and his older brother had been put into state custody until he was adopted at the age of 8. The older brother who had also been put into state custody, remained in the care of the state until he turned 18, never finding that forever home. When my husband was adopted, he found himself to be very lucky, and he and his adoptive parents found themselves torn due to the fact that because the older brother had shown behavioral issues, they could not adopt him as well. The years that my husband was in foster care, he was put in foster home after foster home, as well as many group homes, all but giving up on the dream of having a family and someday finding his forever family. This journey that he went through as a child, has lit a flame in him that is strong, and as a adult, he not only advocates for children in the court room, but he is also president of a local club called Badger Hearts, that raises money for foster kids who age out of the system and want to go to college. They raise money to purchase the kids a hope chest full of items for their first apartment or dorm. In all, he aims to continue to help foster children in the system, and give them hope that there is a light at the end of what seems to be a never ending tunnel. So, when we come across groups who have the same passion for children, we find ourselves interested in knowing what we can do to help.

Recently I was introduced to such a group, called Alliance For Children's Rights. Through this group, anyone can help a child, by donating and helping to raise awareness, which is something that touches my familie's heart in so many ways. They help kids in foster care, to ensure they are taken care of and are loved. They understand that the reason why many of the kids are in the system is because of abuse, extreme poverty and more. Instead of turning a blind eye to these innocent children, they help them, by protecting their rights and insuring they have safe and stable homes, as well as access to the healthcare and educations they need. I was sent a hoodie from the Forever Project and when you make a donation of $75 or more to the Forever Project you can not only get a hoodie, but you can help a child find a forever home, which to a child in the foster system, is everything to them. We also appreciate that they not only help the kids who are in the system awaiting a home, but they help the ones who transition out of the system, so they can go on to college and live the life they aim to live! Another thing I like is that 100% of the proceeds, goes to helping the kids. So this year, while you are seeking out to accomplish your resolutions, help a child with their own resolution of finding that forever home, or going on to college by donating to the Forever Project today!

This was not a paid post and honest/original opinions were used and they are my own. Thank you to the company and/or pr agency who supplied the product for review.

Getting Answers With 23andMe

Product Received

When it comes to family and knowing where you are from, you can go and start researching your family tree, but what if there are more questions you have? Like, why are my eyes blue? Are there any traits that I might have that could possibly lead to medical concerns in myself and my kids? And for those like my husband, who am I, and where did I come from? See, my husband was adopted at age 8, after being in the foster care system for 5 years. He was one of 7 children that his biological mother had, which all had been taken away from her at some time in their early years of life. The family that had adopted him, had also tried to adopt his older brother, but were unable to due to behavioral issues. That did not stop them from trying to keep as many of the kids together as they could, so as they would find out that his mother had another baby, they would adopt the child, making my husband one of 6 who were adopted, and 1 of 4 who were biological siblings. His adoptive family had to work with him on a lot of issues, like trust issues, like many young children who are adopted. They taught him the importance of family, and they tried to help him and his 3 younger siblings find the other siblings who were out there. They were able to find the older brother much later in life, and they helped reunite him with his younger 4 siblings when my husband was in his early 20's. As for the other 2 siblings, they had lost contact with a younger brother, who was thought to have shared the same father as my husband, and who had been adopted by their biological grandparents. With the oldest sibling, a sister, well she is still out there. Over the years, my husband has had many questions. Like who his father was? Did he and his long lost younger brother share the same father? Where did he come from? In 1993, one person who had many answers, his biological mother, passed away. Then in 1999, his adoptive father died, and his adoptive mother passed in 2009. Leaving any answers to some questions lost. His adoptive parents tried to answer as many questions as they could. They helped him stay in contact with his biological mothers parents and a aunt as well. But as far as any other questions, no one really had answers. Like when we had our first son, he was born with medical issues. Could this have been a genetic trait? Do our boys and my husband look anything like his dad's side? And one big question, is the one brother who had been lost for years, his full brother? Something that many had thought, but only one, who had passed away several years ago, knew for sure. A couple of months ago, we found the brother, and after sharing pictures from childhood and of our kids, we noticed a lot of similarities. My husband and his brother were separated when they were toddlers, and even after being apart for most of their lives, the two are very similar. They share a lot of the same likes and dislikes, they even have mannerisms that are the same. Then, one thing that really stood out was when his younger brother said that my husband looked nearly identical to their said dad. For me that meant, we needed to take that next step, the step to where we could possibly get some answers and move forward from there. I put up a post on the site GoFundMe.com as well as on here, to try to reach out and get help with finding answers. We wanted to get a DNA test done, to put the question that has been on my husbands mind for the most of his life, who was his dad and was this brother his full brother? We also wanted to share the story so that we can possibly find the eldest of the siblings, a sister, whom we have yet to locate. Well to help move forward the wonderful people from 23andMe send both my husband and his brother a genetic testing kit.

When the kit arrived, we were ecstatic, I mean, my husband was finally going to be able to get answers, answers about who he is, where he comes from, and answers about a family that until recently, he did not know existed. We right away got the sample after following the directions and put it in the mail. We also set up my husband's profile and checked to make sure his brother did the same. It seemed that the few weeks it took to get the results, were longer than other weeks. My husband was constantly checking to see if they were in, even though the package said it could take a few weeks. Nevertheless, it was like a child waiting for Christmas to get here so he could open that long awaited present. When the results came in, I was sitting in a airport, waiting on a flight so I could get home. I opened the email and started to read it, then called my husband. He was home, along with the youngest of the siblings, his sister, and when I heard them go on the site and see his profile, I started crying, like a big baby right in the middle of a busy airport. See, the sister is another with questions, she is the youngest and when his family had adopted her, she had been found with the biological mother 3 days after she had died. She was a newborn baby, left in a car seat. So, seeing the maternal part of his genetics, was also a big deal for her. She was the only sibling to never know their bio mom, and she also never had a chance to meet the biological grandparents before they had passed away. Hearing them both go silent when they started looking at the maternal side, gave me the chills. I decided to let the two review the results, and that I would wait until I got home to look the site. Just from the amount of information we got from my husband's results was amazing. I mean, we were able to track his ancestors all the way back to Europe, and even to specific parts of Europe. We found his health risks, which had we not done this, we would not have known. Like his risk factors for Atrial Fibrillation as well as so many others. A couple of days went by, and we had not seen anything from his brother, then when it hit, we were beside ourselves. We went to look at the maternal profile, and it showed his brother as sharing the same DNA profile. Then, when we went to the paternal side, to see about my husbands father, it showed his brother on there as sharing the same DNA profile! It was something that my husband always knew in his heart to be true, but something that no one had ever looked into. My husband and his brother share the same father. Not only is it huge to now know that his brother is his full brother, but he also has a whole other family, one he has never known. When my husband was born it was said that he was in fact his fathers son. His dad and mom then had his younger brother. His parents broke up shortly after, and his biological mother told his father that my husband was not his son. This then led to the suicide of his father, which is the reason the grandparents only adopted the brother and why they never told the brother anything about my husband and why they never tried to keep in contact with my husband. See when we had found the brother, he was unaware of the fact that my husband was possibly his full brother, he also did not know he had 3 younger siblings. Having 23andMe give us the results they did, answered so many questions and has also opened the door to a whole new family, one my husband never knew existed. Having both my husband's and his brother's profile on the 23andMe site not only gives them answers, but we are hopeful that maybe the sister who has not been found, will decide she wants answers, and who knows, maybe there will be a update on here with even more news on this story in the future! So if you want answers, whether about your ancestors, your health risks, genetic traits, as well as more that can be found from genetic testing, then stop wondering and order your 23andMe kit today!

This was not a paid post and honest/original opinions were used and they are my own. Thank you to the company and/or pr agency who supplied the product for review.

Brother's Re-Connected After 31 Years On Social Network Now They Need Your Help

Two Brothers
Toby & Terry 31 Years Ago

I do not do a whole lot of personal posts, most of the personal things that come my way, I share on social networks so that family and friends can all be updated. Well, there is a big thing that has been building up since I met my husband, and for him, since he was just 4 years old. See my husband was adopted, in fact he and 3 of his biological siblings were all adopted by the same family. The thing is, when it comes to my husband's biological siblings, his biological mom had 7 children all together.

Top, Toby & Oldest Brother Travis
Bottom Left Michael & Eli, To the Right 5 Siblings, Eli, Travis, Toby, Bottom: Leah & Michael
Adoptive Mother Mary in middle of Toby & Travis

My husband was in the state system from the time he was 4 until he was 8, the reason why he is so passionate about social work and why he is pursuing his degree in the field. He went through a lot of things that no child should ever have to go through, abuses that can give most nightmares. When he was adopted, he was 8 years old, a age that is very hard for a lot of orphans to be adopted at. From there, when his biological mother would have a baby, his adoptive parents would be notified and they would then adopt the babies. In 1993, my husband's biological mother passed away, this is also when his youngest sibling was adopted. Now, my husband had 3 other siblings, 2 older and one younger. His older brother, had also been put into the state system at the same time that my husband had. They were together until a couple of years before my husband was adopted. His adoptive parents tried to adopt the older brother, but due to his behavioral issues, they were not allowed to. The older brother ended up aging out of the foster care system. My husband's adoptive parents had kept track of the older brother and in 2001, they met up for the first time since they were kids. After that meeting, they tried to keep in touch but lost contact until 2010, when we found him on Facebook and reconnected.

My husband Toby on Left
Long Lost Brother Terry on Right

Now, there were still 2 other siblings that my husband had, who he had no contact with. An older sister, who was adopted when she was a baby, and a younger brother, who had been adopted by his biological grandparents at the time that my husband was put into state care. I have tried helping my husband locate these 2 siblings. When it comes to the older sister, we have not a clue on how to find her. We know her birth name, but that is all we have. As for the younger brother, we had sent letters to the address we had, as well as others that we came across, and every single one was sent back to us. We went on the different social networks numerous times over the years, and contacted men with the name we knew, who were about his brothers age, all to come to a dead end. My husband was a truck driver, and over the years he actually went to the area that we believed his brother lived, and he searched for him. It was not until late last night that our search for his long lost brother came to a end. We were at a friends house when we got a message on Facebook. When my husband came to me to show me the message, I right away got chills. We were at a loss for words. I told my husband that when we got home he needed to message him back. He did, in fact the two stayed up pretty late messaging back and forth. The last time these two brothers had had any kind of contact was when my husband was 4 years old and this brother was 2. There is so much the two missed over the years, so many things that his younger brother was told that is not all true about how they ended up where they did. They both have families now, I found last night that I not only have a new brother in law whom we had been searching for since we met, but I also have a new sister in law and 2 nieces. Well, that is where you come in. There are a few things that you, my readers, can do to help reunite these two brothers. First, there is still a sister out there. Her birth name is Robynee Cox, we know she was born to a Debrah Shelton. We believe she was born in Phoenix Arizona between the years 1970-1973. If you can help share this story, maybe we can locate her, the last of the siblings.

Left: Sister Robynee w/ bio Mother Debbie
Right: Photo of Bio Mother Debbie Before She Passed Away in 1993

Now, there are other things that we need your help with. One thing behind the story of my husband and this long lost brother is, it is very possible the two share the same father. When they were separated, it was partially due to the suicide of his younger brothers father. It is believed that the father committed suicide after a fight with their biological mom, who in a heated argument, told their dad that my husband was not his son. The father was heartbroken and took his life after being told this, and he said in his suicide note that he killed himself because of this. That is when the grandparents went to adopt the younger brother, and because they blamed my husband for the suicide of their son, and because they were not sure if he was their grandson, they wanted nothing to do with him. It was said that their mom said that the dad was in fact my husbands dad, but none of his younger brothers family would answer questions, or even reply to anything we sent. My husband and his brother want answers, which many can not be answered due to the fact that both their biological mother and father have both passed away. Also, the man who might have had many answers for them, the grandfather, has also passed, taking many secrets to the grave. So, we have looked into getting a DNA test, which costs a lot of money. Another thing is, we would like to reunite these brothers after 31 years. My husband and I are in Texas and his brother is in Ohio. With my husband in school, well, we do not have the means to get him a ticket to see his brother. His brother's wife is also in school, and their situation is similar. So I am going to help my husband and his brother by reaching out to you. We would like to raise money to help get one of them a plane ticket, or even one of the families if possible so we can all meet, but at least for one brother. The second item is, we would like to be able to get the brothers a paternity test, to see if they share the same father. And if you can not help financially, we would like to ask that you share this story, in hopes that we can locate the older sister. To help, we do not know if she knows about all of the siblings, but here is some info on names in order from oldest sibling to youngest:

Robynee Cox  born 1970-1973 in Phoenix Arizona
Travis Rosette born 1975 living in San Francisco, Ca
Toby Sexton born 1978 living in Amarillo, TX
Terry Miller born 1980 living in Boardman, Oh
Eli Sexton born 1988 living in San Diego, Ca
Michael Sexton born 1989 living in San Diego County area, Ca
Leah Sexton born 1993 living in Amarillo, TX

Preparing for the Journey #NSNation #spon

Like many other women out there, I struggle with my weight. I have gone on many diets over the years and I have lost and gained weight then lost and gained some more. I have always found it to be like a roller coaster ride, due to the fact that I will start out in full swing ready to tackle the weight loss head on, then with in a few weeks right back where I started. Going back to those old and unhealthy habits. I have realized that in order for the weight loss goals I have set for myself and dream of achieving, I will not only need to really restrain myself from falling back on old habits, but I will also need to have a plan set in place that will aid me and help me stay on track. In the past I have gone out and bought new groceries to change the way I eat, but then myself or my husband go to the store and end up buying the foods that do not go with certain diets. Knowing  all the facts on how I have failed in the past, I knew that going on a diet where the meals are set for me is the way for me to go. So, in the next couple of weeks I will be starting on a journey, that I am really looking forward to, and one that I know I will get results with. I am going to be starting on the Nutrisystem Diet, and I will be updating you on my progress along the way. I am really excited to not only start this diet and share it with my readers but also to be a Nutrisystem Blogger and to make a change in my life for the best!!


Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog

Merry Christmas To All, From Mommy Katie!!

I want to wish all of my amazing readers a very Merry Christmas!! 

Striving To Live Up To My Own Expectations #CloroxLounge

When we are kids, we are asked what we want to be when we grow up, and the answers that we come up with can be simple ones but when the reality kicks in as we grow up, those dreams and goals can be hard to achieve. I know that when I was little, I had wanted to be a princess, and I realized when I got older that my dream of being a princess might not be a realistic dream. So I came back down to Earth and came up with a realistic goal and ambition for my life. To be truly happy, you have to think about what makes you happy in life. What can you see yourself being or doing in life and see yourself being happy as well, what is your passion? That might be hard to pinpoint, but when I was in high school, I knew that I loved helping people and I also had a passion for writing. I have always loved sharing my life, and I love helping others so that they can live their own lives as best as they can. I not only love to be happy in my own life, but making others happy is very gratifying for me. So that is when I had to really think, what can I do in life, where I can truly be happy, make others happy and live life to the fullest? Well, I have always known that I wanted to write, but when I started looking into my career options, I found that nursing was part of my calling in life. Once I went into the medical field, I found myself to be very happy, and I enjoyed my job. I went into the psych field right off the bat, and I loved it. I loved being able to help people, being able to talk to them and help them talk through their issues. I loved being that person who was there to listen. I loved knowing that when I went home each day, that I did what makes me happy, I helped another human being. Even though it was in a psych facility, I was also there to provide a safe and therapeutic environment, and the nurses I worked with where also part of this goal that we set each day for each and every one of our patients. When I had my daughter, I realized that for me to be happy, I wanted to be able to be with her, at home, but at the time I did not have the support to reach that goal. I also realized that even though I was happy with my job, I was not achieving the goal, the ambitions that I knew I wanted to reach from the time I was little. I was not writing. After having my daughter, I found myself in a sweet but also bitter situation. I was happy being a mom, working in the medical field, but I was not happy with my spouse at the time and I was not completely happy with what I was doing with my life. So, I left, I left my daughters dad and decided that if I was going to be happy and achieve my dreams in life, I was not going to be able to do this while I was with him, I needed his support both emotionally and physically and it was not there. When I left him, I found myself again. I found that even though times were hard and I was going to have to adjust to a new life not just for myself but adjust as being a single mom, I would be able to do it. I was once again finding pride in myself, but deep down I knew that there was still something missing in my life. I knew that after having my daughter that I wanted that family, I wanted to achieve the goals that I had once set for myself, and even though I could not be that princess of royalty that I had once dreamed of being, I realized that I wanted to be treated like a princess by who ever I ended up with. Then, shortly after becoming a single mom, I met my husband. When we decided to get married, I put everything on the table. All of my dreams, ambitions, goals, and all of the good and bad that comes with me. I learned that being upfront and that not hiding anything was the best way to go in life, and the man I married was the one who did and still does treat me like a princess. We support each other in everything we do, or want to do in life. I found that I could do home health, be a mom to now three amazing kids, have a husband who treats me like the princess I had always wanted to be, and last but not least, I found that I could write and be a blogger! Which when you put it all together is everything that I had wanted to be in life. I have found myself and I am happy, and that is what life should be about!




I was compensated for writing this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and The Clorox Lounge blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.” (make sure you link to http://thecloroxlounge.socialmoms.com)

Wyatt Is Here!!!

The wireless contraction tracing device

Sorry I have not updated sooner, but with Wyatt here and me trying to get back into the swing of things, it has been a bit hectic around here. So here we go. Little Wyatt Michael Sexton was born on Tuesday September 4 at 12:22pm. He weighed in at 8lbs 10oz and was 21 inches long. For me, he is the biggest baby I have had. My other two were each 6lbs 13oz, so Wyatt is my whopper, lol. Well we were hoping to go in for the induction on Sunday, but since it was the holiday weekend, the Dr wanted to wait until Monday at 7pm to start. Now I had been on complete bed rest in the dark for the past month and a half then for the past three months, I was on plain ole bed rest due to going into premature labor. It seems that after they stopped the labor a few months ago, I still had contractions on a regular basis, but they were not strong enough to do anything. Then my blood pressure started to shoot way up and after all of the negative results coming back for preeclampsia, I was sentenced to complete bed rest in the dark, boo. I started to go back into labor a couple of weeks before the induction, so we were very hopeful, but then Wyatt decided to turn breach on us so we did not want him to come until he flipped back around. Once he flipped back a couple of days later, the labor started to increase, and I was dilating, but Wyatt's head was just not going down, so.... we had to once again rely on a induction. Come last Monday, I was a wreck, I was swollen like never before, I hurt everywhere and I was as huge as a house, or that is the way it felt, but 7pm just could not get here soon enough, the day went by so slowly. Once 6pm came around we went and packed up everything we were taking to the hospital, picked up my sister in law to stay with the kids and headed to the hospital. They started me off with some cervidill, which helps soften the cervix. I went in anticipating another quick and drug free labor like I had with Robert, this was so not the route we went this time. I cramped all through the night, and because of my blood pressure they had to monitor me closely, which meant that they took my vitals every 30 minutes, so I did not sleep that night. On the plus side I got to try out this new wireless contraction tracing device that was cool because it tracked baby and contractions even when I moved and I could get up and not have to reset anything. Come morning at 7 am they took out the cervidill and started me on a pitocin drip via IV. The Dr was going to come in later in the day to break my water, so in the meantime my contractions started to get a lot stronger but Wyatt's little head was still not in the pelvis. So, the nurse decided to put me on my side and put my leg up over the other, which worked like a charm because with in a few minutes I went from a 4 to a 7 and my water broke as well. Knowing my history with my previous labor with Robert the nurses had to get into full swing to deliver my Wyatt. The Dr rushed down to our room and at that time my pain was more than I had remembered it being with Robert, plus I was going on no sleep, so I went for the epidural. My husband had wanted to deliver Wyatt just like he did Robert, but right after the epidural went in I was fully dilated and ready to go.

Wyatt then went into distress and my oxygen levels went down as well, so my husband was not able to deliver our Wyatt, which was ok with him since he could see that there was a problem. It turned out that little Wyatt had gotten stuck in my pelvis. His shoulders were too broad and were not going to fit through. The Dr said that we were going to have to do a emergence C Section if I could not get him out soon. Well, I took all I had and bared down and pushed that little boy out. He ended up having a bowel movement on his way out so they had to suction him right away. But once I heard that first cry, I knew that he was going to be ok. I honestly can not remember being in so much pain, and I dont think that the epidural did too much for me either other than making my butt numb and also leaving me with back pain that I am still having a issue from where they put the epidural in at. But, with the end result being a very adorable baby boy, I will deal with the after math! So now that you know the story, meet our Wyatt Michael Sexton!!!

Big sister Estrella

Big brother Robert

Bringing Wyatt home!! 

Baby Wyatt!

I got some really awesome and much anticipated news today from my Dr.!!! I will be off of bed rest in the dark come Monday evening, because we will be inducing my labor so that we can meet little Wyatt!!! I am so excited, not only will I get to finally meet our little guy, but I can have a life again. I have had to limit my time on the computer due to the doctors orders, so my posts have been going up slowly. But once I am ready to go, I will get caught up and get those awesome giveaways up for my amazing readers!!!!! So for now, wish me luck!! I will be induced starting on Wednesday night around 7pm cst, so I will work on a couple of posts between now and then and once he is here I will get those new baby pics up! Oh and wish my husband luck as well since he is planning on delivering our little man!!!! :)

Maybe Baby?????

I am back in the hospital, yuck!! Saturday morning around 3am I was awoken by chest pain, shortness of breath and when I got up to check my blood pressure, it was 144/107 which is no good. So I went to the ER, they did a full workup on me and sent me to Labor and Delivery. By noon, my Dr. came to visit and let me go home but told me to come back to Labor and Delivery on Monday morning at 9am. So I did, and I am still here. I was to come in and get some blood work done and a non stress test done along with a sono. The sono and non stress test were great, little Wyatt is doing awesome, but his mommy is another story. When I checked in, my blood pressure was again elevated, I am quite swollen and after the Dr read my lab results, he informed me that I would not be going home today, that I would have to stay and do a 24 hour urine, then once he gets the results on that he will either let me go home or keep me. Through out the day, they have checked my blood pressure and ran the leads on the baby, he has been doing great, but after relaxing in bed all day, my blood pressure is still up and I am contracting on a regular basis again. As far as when Wyatt will come, I am not sure. With my experience with this same scenario, I end up in the hospital for a few days until the Dr is satisfied with the gestation of the baby, then we deliver. I know that earlier today when we did the sono, they checked to see Wyatt's practice breathing and the nurse said he looked like he was doing really well with that. I also know from experience, that the only cure, the only way I will get better is for me to have a baby. So.........maybe, hopefully, I will know something more tomorrow, my husband and I, well myself even more so, are ready for Wyatt, and I am kinda hoping we will maybe have a baby in the very near future!!

Trying to Keep This Little Guy Baking....

This pregnancy has been a bitter sweet one to say the least. I have had many ups and many downs, it has been a 50/50 thing. I love going through the days feeling little Wyatt move around, it is a feeling that only a mama can experience and I know that the feeling of baby moving inside of me wont last too much longer. Well as most of you know, a month or so ago I started getting these little annoying contractions, that are regular and after some time I got to the point, like I did with my pregnancy with Robert, where I got used to the little pains and tightening and did not really notice them. I had a goal to stay out of the hospital until the big day, but that was not happening. I ended up going into labor last night, which was scary not only for the fact that I was not expecting that to happen but also for the fact that it is still too soon for little Wyatt to make his big debut into this world. The doctors decided to give me a shot of Terbutaline in order to stop my labor. It worked, but it also gave me the shakes and made my heart race, which was not very pleasant. After some tracing and the nurses and doctors being pleased with mine and babies vitals, I was allowed to go home. At four in the morning I woke up to those contractions coming back. Not good, but they were not near as painful as the ones I was having that landed me in the hospital last night. As today has progressed, so have the contractions. They are not too close together and I am still able to function, but all of this has worn me out. I am exhausted and I am hoping and praying that maybe they will let up because it is still a bit early for Wyatt to come. I am still following orders and taking it easy, or as easy as a mama can take it with two kids home all day, but I am doing what is needed, which is rest and trying to eliminate any stress. I am lucky to have such wonderful family, friends, and readers as well, I had updated the status of what was going on last night on my personal Facebook, and I had some really great and uplifting emails from people today which really does help me and makes me feel more at ease with what ever happens. Thank you for all of the support and kind words, and I am still here, I will continue getting posts up and I will keep everyone updated on little Wyatt!

Update

I am home. I was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening, which I felt was way too long to have to spend in the hospital, but it has been really nice to be home. Until today, I was still feeling woozy from being sick and the meds, but today I was able to get things done outside of the house and I am starting to get my house back in order. I do appreciate my husband and my kids taking care of things, but it is amazing how messy my house can get in just a few days of me not being here, lol. I am just really glad to be home and not hooked up to machines. I am working on getting posts out slowly, but you will see more of the ones I got behind on while I was MIA, go up, lots of great giveaways and reviews so keep your eyes open. And I want to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts, I love getting emails and messages, you are all really great and I am glad to have you here at Mommy Katie!! Rest is still a go, so I will continue to enjoy the great comments and interactions with you all while I go through the last stretch of this pregnancy!!!

MIA

Sorry guys. I have been out of it lately, not feeling too hot. I got some kind of horrible stomach bug which landed me in the hospital for a little while. Cant seem to keep much of anything down, which in hand is not good at all for the baby. This morning I am feeling better, just hope that by this afternoon I can pass the test of keeping something solid down for once..... I do not do hospitals well, and I am so tired, just can not seem to make myself fall into a good deep sleep for the life of me. I think it has to do with the fact that I have nurses and doctors poking in and out, checking vitals, drawing blood and checking my IVs all day and night. So heres hoping, to me being able to go home today so that I can maybe sleep in my own bed tonight and finally get some much needed rest........

A Little Update....

So, as you know from my post last night, I have been having contractions. At 23 weeks pregnant, having contractions is not a good thing, I feel like I am walking on eggshells now. True I went through this same scenario with Robert 4 years ago, but I did not think I would have it happen again. Around the same gestation I started having contractions. Some have asked me if they are braxton hicks, but with braxton hicks you get those irregular pains that come and go. Contractions are regular and with the contractions I am having, my Dr confirmed it today at my appointment today that these are regular, about 3 minutes apart which is what they have been since yesterday. Good thing is I am not dilating, down side, they dont seem to be wanting to stop. I had a very restless night of sleep last night, trying to get comfortable. Being pregnant, a woman already has a hard time sleeping, but with these mini contractions that are every three minutes, they make sleep even harder to come by. I have been dragging my feet today, I have no energy, and I am hoping for sleep to come to me tonight. I go back to my doctor in 2 weeks, and like with Robert, it will probably be every 2 weeks until I deliver. I hope to be able to hold out until at least 36 weeks, which was my goal with Robert and I made it. Robert beat the odds, on top of having his own medical issues, he came out screaming and was a healthy 6lb 13oz baby boy. I am hoping and praying that I can last that long, I keep telling myself I did it before and I can do it again. I remember that after a week of these wonderful little contractions, I became immune to the pain, which I am hoping happens again if I will have to endure another rough pregnancy. At least this time around, we live just a few blocks from the hospital, and not a couple of hours like before, so I wont have to be away from my husband for the remainder of the pregnancy. Having the Ronald McDonald House was a blessing during that time, but I much rather be able to stay home and if need be, I dont have far to go to get to the hospital. So, here I go again, and I will make the best of it like I did last time. I know what to expect and what I need to do to try and keep Mr Wyatt in as long as I can, I just pray he is on board with me.

Excuse Me

Today turned out to be a somewhat eventful day. As most of you know I am pregnant. At this point I am 23 weeks along. Last night I started to get what I just passed off as gas pain. It wasnt until this morning that I noticed that the pain was coming and going. So just to play it safe, I started to time the pain. After about an hour I noticed that the pain was coming and going every 3 minutes, not good. Along with the pain, I developed a horrible migraine. I called my Dr. and like I had imagined, he prompted me to get to the hospital's Labor and Delivery. When I got there I was admitted so they could hook me up to monitors and watch my contractions. Now the pain, or contractions I have been experiencing were not strong, and that is why I hesitated to time them. After I had been there for a while, the nurse came in and said that she had to check me. Luckily I had not dilated any, but unlucky for me, I was having contractions and they are about 3 minutes apart. It appears that for now, these annoying little contractions are just that, annoying little contractions that I experience every 3 minutes give or take. This was not the best news I wanted to hear, I was hoping that the pains could have been related to a UTI, which I could have taken care of and dealt with, but no this is something that I have had to deal with before. When I was pregnant with Robert, I had the same thing happen, at about 3 months prior to my due date with him. With Robert, the annoying mini contractions lasted throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. So for 2 months I put up with those annoying little pains, I ended up having Robert 1 month early, so I did not endure the pains for the full 3 months, but 2 was long enough for me. Not sure what the Dr will do. I was discharged a little while ago and I have to see him tomorrow morning. With Robert, I ended up on full bed rest. I was on bed rest with him from the start, but after those mini contractions started, I was ordered full bed rest, which meant I was only allowed to walk to the bathroom and back, yuck! So, for the time being and maybe even for the remainder of this pregnancy, you are going to have to excuse me since it appears my boys like to give me a hard time during my pregnancies with them. I will continue blogging, but if this turns out to be a deja vous of my pregnancy with Robert, I might not be in the best spirits at all times. Like I have said in my reviews for baby products, I did not get a chance to prepare due to bed rest, the bed rest was because of this same issue. I am hoping that with the help of this blog, I will be able to prepare for this baby with out having to go out since that might be out of the question for me. I will however, have plenty of time to read all of the comments and respond, so amuse me, tell me some jokes, update me on the outside world since the next few months might be viewed from my bed :(

Wordless Wednesday...

Apparently I have a uncooperative baby....

I went to Stork Vision to get a 2D Ultrasound done on Saturday to get the sex of the baby...I loved the experience there, the staff was so welcoming and the environment was very calming and comfortable, and well it appears this baby has its own agenda and refused to cooperate. So we will go back on the 28th and try it again. The plus side is, I got some really cute pics of the baby and a video, my daughter got to see the baby and towards the end of the video it looks like the baby even waived to us, as my daughter pointed out! When the 28th gets here, I am going to try anything and everything I can do to make sure this baby does what we need it to do, then I will share all of the details!!

Wordless Wednesday...

Robert really loves his Step2 Wagon, so much that lately he has decided that he will sleep in it when he is not playing in it...

Earlier in the day, he decided to get his nap mat, his blankets and pillow, and place them all in his wagon. This is how I found him at nap time.

Wordless Wednesday...

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!

This picture was taken by Kristin Orr from It's My Shot Photography!!