Farewell 2014

January -

The beginning of the year started out rough as I had started having complications in the form of severe lightheadedness that would literally bring me down.  We tried many different 'fixes' but nothing ever worked consistently.  My doctor put me back on Zofran to help with the nausea in hopes it he added nutrition would help.  Towards the end of the month, we experienced an ice storm that caused my appointment at the high-risk clinic to be cancelled and left me scrambling for a clinic that could do my 20-week scan before leaving for Illinois.  My OB worked some magic and got me squeezed in, and we got some unsettling news - baby was indeed a girl, but had a two vessel cord which meant that I was officially high-risk and her growth had to be closely watched.  I headed back to Illinois to help with my mom after her surgery and Chad resigned from J&S.

February -

Chad met me in Illinois and joined me at my baby shower at his parents home.  We were packed pretty tight for the drive home, but managed fine.  After returning home, Chad packed up to Baton Rouge to begin training for his new job at Performance Contractors.  Chad returned home on the weekends and we both managed to survive without each other.  We also celebrated our third anniversary early at Perry's Steakhouse.

March -

March brought with it my first hospital admission for preterm labor.  It was not the best experience, made even scarier since Chad was in Baton Rouge.  I was discharged and followed up with my doctor that day.  He told me I needed to start cutting back on my hours as it wasn't benefiting me or the baby.      A week later I was admitted (this time to a different hospital, the one I'd later deliver at) for decreased fetal movement and protein in my urine.  Joy...  The good news was that after that admission I knew that hospital was right for me.

April -

I started seeing my high-risk doctor biweekly to monitor CJ's growth, and cur back on my hours at work.  Chad returned home mid-month and started working at the Kinder Morgan Plant in a Galena Park.

May - 

I followed doctors orders and went on maternity leave early.  I started having weekly appointments with both my OB and high risk doctor and had a lovely baby shower thrown for me by two of my greatest friends here.  My OB talked about inducing me the second weekend of the month, but we decided to let CJ cook a little bit longer.  I had yet another hospital admission, this time because the fetal heart rate was in the 200's.  After rehydration via IV fluids, I was discharged and followed up with my OB the next day.  He was relieved that her heart rate had dropped because he was worried he was going to need to do an emergency c-section on me.  That day we scheduled CJ's official eviction date - I was to go in on the 20th to begin induction.  At 4:31pm on the 21st, I gave birth to my beautiful Charleigh June.  She spent her first five days of life in the NICU and was discharged earlier than anticipated.

June-

I spent my first days alone with Charleigh and managed on very little sleep.  Her reflux started to appear and we fought her pediatrician to treat her for it, which he refused to do.  We ended up at the hospital having some tests run on her, which showed that she did have severe reflux.  We continued to beg the pediatrician to treat her, but he simply limited her intake.  Needless to say, it was a rough month.

July -

Chad's family came down for almost two weeks and helped out around the house.  I took Charleigh to a new pediatrician who agreed that she needed treatment for her reflux and suggested her allergies may be worse than we thought. My friend, Crista, had her baby girl and I helped at the hospital by watching her oldest daughter while she did the nitty gritty stuff.  Daddy flew down to help me drive back to Illinois for two weeks; I got to introduce a Charleigh to a lot of my favorite people.  Charleigh had a weight check with her ped in Illinois and he switched her reflux medicine which made a world of difference.  Probably the biggest thing that happened was that I turned in my resignation and officially became a stay at home mommy.

August - 

Charleigh had a weight check with her new ped who was pleased with her progress.  Unfortunately, she was diagnosed as 'failure to thrive' because of her size.  We started sleep training at the pediatrician's urging, and she's been sleeping through the night ever since!

September -

We continued to work on our daily routine and got into a good groove.  We went to lunch and wrnt shopping with our friends. My friends (and neighbors) had their son, who is another miracle baby.  We met with Dr Williams in regards to formulating a plan for a Frozen Embryo Transfer.

October -

My mom came down for a few days, and Charleigh cut her first tooth days after mom left.  We dressed Charleigh up for her first Halloween and enjoyed the cooler weather.

November - 

I started Christmas shopping early and had Christmas cards sent out before Thanksgiving.  We continued to monitor Charleigh's weight and she got her six month shots.  Chad's family stayed with us for Thanksgiving, and it was nice to celebrate the holiday with family.

December -

I celebrated my 33rd birthday, went car shopping, and drove home for Christmas.  This time we took a different route and spent a day with my Uncle Stu in Bentonville, Arkansas.  We had a lovely Christmas with family and made the drive back here packed into my car like sardines. We had our first ER experience with Charleigh as well as our first experience with seeing the on call physician.

While 2014 was a pretty awesome year, I know that 2015 will be much better.  We had a lot of wonderful things happen this year and count our blessings daily.  We cannot wait to see what 2015 brings!

Stay tuned for the following blogs:

Road Trip!

A Very Coffman Christmas

Charleigh's First Christmas

Sardines in a Tin Can

7 Months Already?!

 Our First ER visit