Its been a while!!! Like a LONG while. But I'M BACK!! Lets get started by catching you up on my life! Still very happily married, Lillie is a wonderful 16 month old (OMG I know!) and we are all happy as ever! Here are some updated pictures....

I will talk at cha later bloggy!

Ashley Wright

Our NICU Journey and Other Struggles

This was the scariest experience of my life. I didn't know that anything was wrong with my baby. All of our ultrasounds were normal. She was even supposed to weigh normally! It seemed like our world was crashing down around us.

"Your baby should be back in your room by the end of the night." That is what everyone kept saying. Well that didn't happen. I dont understand why they even said it. It just raises your hopes to let them crash and burn. She ended up having to stay for TWO WEEKS! We even had all of our things packed and ready to put her in the carseat at one time. Then we got delayed another week. It was soul shattering.

Lets start from the begining shall we? I was diagnosed with PCOS in August of  2009. We started trying to get pregnant then. I always knew that something wasn't right with my system. I never had normal periods. Starting from age ten they were messed up.

At age thirteen my mother put me on birth control. Not that I was even sexually active. My sisters had gotten pregnant at ages 14 and 15 (on purpose) and I guess she was just scared. To this day I blame the birth control. I gained 20 lbs in the first three months. 20 POUNDS! That is insanity.

Well this kept on till I was 18 and found the love of my life. I moved from Texas to Ohio just to be with him. (See previous posts for this story). All the stress that came from the move away from all of my friends and family had gained me another 30-40 lbs. I know. I was huge. I was 231 pounds of sad young woman. But the one part of my life that I was happy with was my wonderful husband!

He was everything that I ever dreamed of. That is why we started trying as soon as I found out I had this disease. All I ever wanted to be was a mommy. It took us 12 cycles to get pregnant. Six cycles of Provera, Metformin, and Clomid. We had actually given up the month before. It seems like it always happens when you take a break. I found out on my birthday that we were pregnant. I was puking and puking and puking some more. I didn't even think that I was pregnant. I went to the hospital and found out there. I of course had to check again the next day.

So from day one I had trouble. Morning sickness galore and through the pregnancy I had high blood pressure, swelling, gestational diabetes, preterm labor, hospital visits and bed rest. She was of course a girl.

At 35 weeks she was estimated to weigh 7 lbs 3 oz. I was measuring 39 weeks. I ended up in the hospital when I was 37 weeks due to high blood pressure.

 I was there for a week and it stabablized its self so I was allowed to go home. At 38 weeks I had another ultrasound and she was measuring 7 lbs 13 oz. I had no idea how it was possible for her to only gain 10 oz in three weeks, but they werent concerned. So the induction went as planned at 39 weeks. (See Just My Luck, A Photo Journey)

We went in, ended up in an emergency c section and our NICU journey began. The first problem was her blood sugar. She was so used to my sugar being high that she couldnt keep up. That problem was resolved in three days. Not without 9 different I.V.'s of course. She was bruised, literally, from head to toe. Our next obstacle was jaundice.

She was put under the lights on the second day. While still on her I.V. and feeding tube. We were only allowed to hold her while trying to get her to eat. Which she couldn't do. She could barely take 10 cc's of breast milk. They wanted her to eat 75. So after three more days of lights, (day 5 of NICU), she was done. Now our only obstacle was to get her to eat. You would think that a 10 lb baby would know how to eat but thats where you are wrong. She was eating less than most of the premies.

Day after day after long, sad day we waited for her to figure it out. The doctors kept saying one more day, one more day. They said that a light bulb would come on one day and she would just start gulping it down. On day 9 of NICU we thought she had figured it out! We had all of our bags ready to go and she was all packed up and ready to go in her car seat. But it was time to eat. She only took 20 cc's. So they wanted us to wait for the next feeding to see how she would do. 10 cc's. The next feeding they put in the feeding tube again. She wasnt coming home.

We hit our lowest point. At one point we just sat in our bonding room begging God WHY? Why did this happen to us. There are so many bad people in the world that neglect their children and hurt them. Why was he punishing us? Why was our daughter struggling? All we could do was pray. Pray that she would be ok.

The next day they ordered a head ultrasound. Even they weren't sure why it was taking her so long to figure out how to eat. The results were negative for all the tests. Nothing was wrong with her brain. Thank the Lord. So we just kept waiting, and praying.

On day 13 she figured it out. Her bottles were being drained in a matter of minutes. If she took all of her bottles in a 24 hour period we were to go home!!!

On day 14 we came home. It was the happiest day of our lives. I really couldn't believe it. But little did we know that NICU wasn't the only struggle Lillie would have.

Baby acne. For three months so far. Its still not all the way gone.

Colic. For FOUR LONG WEEKS.

Constipation.

Milk allergy.

GERD.

Ear infection.

And here we are today.

She is getting so big. All of her problems are resolved and I have never been happier. I love my little chunk!!!!!!!!!

Just My Luck (A Photo Journey)

On May 5th 2011 I was admitted to the Perinatal Unit of Akron General Hospital to be induced. Josh and I were VERY excited. I had suffered through my last trimester of pregnancy with hospital admissions, accidental pitocin, and terrible pain. I thought that Lillie was going to explode thru my uterus at any point! At my last ultrasound she was measuring 7 lbs 13 oz. That was a week before my induction. I KNEW they were wrong. I could see every movement that she made. I could even see her practice breathing. We ended up going thru with the induction anyways.

An hour after I had gotten settled in my room (aprox: 6 PM) a doctor came in and told me that they wanted to try using a foley bulb to expand my cervix before they started any Pitocin. I was glad that they were going to try something besides that because we have all heard horror stories about it. So they placed it. HOLY EFF. They asked me if it hurt and I just stared at them. OF COURSE IT HURTS YOU MORON! Yikes. They told me that they would be back in 3 hours to check on me and to call if I needed anything. About two hours later my contractions kicked in. It was awful. So I asked for pain meds cause I am a pansy. The nurse came in and had me transferred to labor and delivery.

And this is where the details get a little foggy. They gave me morphine to take the edge off the pain. It worked. For a little while. Then they came in to check me. The foley had done its job and I was dilated to 3 centimeters. After I was checked they started pitocin. And my contractions got really intense.

And then I asked for my epidural. Oh boy does Pitocin suck. I was insanely happy to see the anesthesiologist. Hearing all these stories about getting an epidural had me scared to death. But I realized that if your already hurting that it really wont matter to add some more pain. It started working immeadiately after he was done. I must have had a really intense dose because I could no longer move my legs. But I was happy at least!

They of course inserted a foley and checked me again. I had progressed to a 5. (Approx: 2 AM) Somewhere around 3 am they came in and broke my water to keep things moving. (I was in and out of sleep at this time so details are sparse). Someone came back in to check me at 7 am and I hadnt seen her before, meaning that a new shift had begun. As she was checking me she felt another bag of water. I didnt know that there could be more than one. So she broke it and felt again. There was another bag of water. I was begining to feel a bit like a freak of nature. She broke it. And apparently that wasnt good enough. She called another nurse in and began to press very hard on my stomach to get all the fluid out. Then they checked me again and I was a 6. They then left the room.

Ten minutes later I got the biggest shock of my life. My doctor came in and checked me. She said that Lillie's heart rate had dropped to 30 and she felt the cord. The moron nurse had shoved so hard that the water had carried her cord out with it. Dr. Johnson looked at Josh and calmly asked him to go get help. He looked scared and she said, very panicked, "NOW!" Around twelve nurses, doctors and techs swarmed my room and rushed me into the O.R. I glanced at Josh as they were running me out and he looked petrified.

I entered the room and they asked me to move to the table. That wasnt happening. So they grabbed me up and practically threw me onto it. (Ripping out my epidural). The anesthesiologist interted more meds into my epidural, which we didnt know had come out. He asked how I felt and I told him that my back felt wet and cold. He said that was a normal sensation. The doctor pricked my stomach and asked me if I could feel it. I said YES OWWW! And I heard someone say, "We lost her heart rate." And the doctor cut me open. I screamed and thrashed as they held me down. I could feel everything. My heart rate went sky high and they put an oxygen mask on my face. The last thing I remember seeing is orange and red. I passed out.

I awoke in the middle of them stapling me shut. Passed out.

I woke up in recovery holding a baby. I looked at her. Passed out

I woke up and asked Josh about ten times how big she was. "9 lbs 13 oz, 20.5 inches long" Born at 7:50 am. Passed out.

I woke up and tried to breastfeed her. The nurse came in to check Lillies sugar. It was so low it wouldnt register on the monitor. They gave me a bottle of formula to feed her. She barely drank anything. I passed out again.

I woke up one last time and they checked her sugar, it was 30. A nurse came in, took my baby, placed her in an isolette and explained that she was going to the NICU. I was in tears.

The NICU nurse came in and took Lillie. Josh went with her. I was all alone. I fell back to sleep.

The next time I woke up they had me get out of the recovery bed and walk to my next bed. (about two feet). That hurt. Then they wheeled me into the Special Care Nursery to see Lillie.

 I only got a small glance and had to go to my room. I missed her so much. I spent the next couple hours asleep. When I finally woke up Josh's parents were there and had gotten me flowers.

I finally got up the strenght to go see my baby around 3 pm. It was so hard to see her with wires everywhere and an IV in her head. I just held her and cried.

The story will be finished in my next blog. "Our NICU Journey"

Its Been A While

Wow. So I finally figured out my username on here. Took long enough right? Well since my last post my life has been getting better and better!!! I have a beautiful, healthy, and FEMALE baby!!!! She is amazing to say the least.

Two Weeks Old

 One Month Old

 Two Months Old

 Three Months Old

 I will be posting my "Last Months of Pregnancy" blog and my "Labor and Delivery Story" blog will be coming soon!!!!! Check back!!!!

Lillie Cadence :)

Well as you have probably heard WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!!!! I am so excited! We already have everything for the nursery picked out and we are starting on it next weekend! I can't wait to VLOG the "decorating" process and the finished product! She is gonna be here before we know it! Only 18 more weeks!!!! Here are a few sneak peeks! This is her comforter and the paint colors.

Oh and of course our new ultrasound pics :)

If you cant tell what you are looking at, the top picture is her profile. Her little head is on the right hand side. And the bottom picture is obviously her girly junk :). I will put more pics up later but "Daddy" has all the others in his "brag book". She is gonna be so spoiled! Oh and we are also getting FIFTEEN boxes of girls clothes on Friday!!!!!!!!! Sizes newborn to 3T! THANKS KELLY!!! I am so excited! I will probably VLOG about that as well lol! Here are some pics of things that we have already received! The jammies are from Kelly and the cute dress is from her Grandpa Wright! Its her dress for Christmas next year :)

Well I cant think of anything else that is going on right now so I will talk to you guys later!!!

Love and Lots 'O Pink Stuff,
Ashley and Lillie =)

Halfway There!

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I will be 20 weeks pregnant! I can't believe how fast time is going and I can't wait to meet our precious baby. I am so proud of our little one already! I just love feeling all the kicks and flips inside my belly. We find out in FIVE DAYS if were going to have Lily Cadence or Parker Mason. I will be on the phone all day that day! And yes India I will call you first :). Followed by my mommy and sisters and Josh's family, and Casey of course! Then I will post on Facebook and I will most likely blog about it! AHHHHH! I am so excited to start working on Baby Wright's nursery! And of course to be able to call baby by his/her name! (Apparently baby is excited too! *Kick, kick*)

I really need to get my butt up and start cleaning the house before Joshie gets home so I am gonna cut this one a little short! But in the mean time you guys can check our our wedding pics!!!!!!

Oh and here is a funny little video for all the crappy gifts that everyone is about to receive for the holidays :) Remember to be safe and have a Happy Christmas!

Love and Mistletoe,

Ashley and Lily/Parker

19 Weeks Pregnancy VLOG

Hey guys here is my VLOG. Don't make fun of me. Tell me if I should do this once a week or not. I swear they will get better as I keep doing them. :)

Love and Baby Kicks,

Ashley and Baby Wright :)