1st Birthday

Yee Haw Brown Birthday

Shutterfly birthday cards and birthday party invitations.

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4th of July Weekend

I haven't written in a while so I felt like posting a new blog. Something has been weighing heavy on my mind: when you're pregnant you have this vision of how everything is going to turn out & that everything will be just perfect. I've realized nothing goes like you planned, but in the end you will be a lot more happy with the life you have. I may not know when my son will crawl or even walk, but those moments are going to be even more special because of that.

We are looking forward to spending this 4th of July (Tucker's 1st) weekend with our wonderful family. Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

My Wonderful Life

When our daughter Emma was 7 months old I found out I was expecting again, needless to say I was scared to death. I soon got over my fears and there we were, in the doctor's office having my first ultrasound. We found out the due date was December 26,2009. I was so excited that I was going to have a Christmas baby, what a wonderful Christmas present that would be!!!

Throughout the first few months of my pregnancy I hoped and prayed for a little boy (since I already have my little princess). When we went for the next ultrasound, to find out the sex of the baby, they told us it was a boy. The night before we had made two different onesies for Emma to wear, one said "Big sis to a baby girl" and the other said "Big sis to a baby boy". As soon as we left the doctor's office, Randall changed Emma into her onesie and took her by my Mama's work, then to see my Daddy, and then we took her to see Randall's parents...that's how they found out we were having a boy, we didn't want to tell anyone over the phone. Everyone was so excited for us. We had an amazing baby shower, almost everything was John Deere and camo, just like Daddy of course!

In early November I went for my monthly check-up, the nurse weighed me...and I hadn't gained any weight. The doctor was concerned, so she wanted me to go every week for an ultrasound to monitor the baby and also for a non-stress test. Another doctor saw me the next time and decided we needed to have an ultrasound to see how much the baby weighed (they didn't check weights @ the weekly ultrasounds). He warned me that if the baby was 4lbs or under they would probably induce me the next day. Sure enough, little Tucker was estimated to be 4lbs.

I checked into the hospital at around 3pm on December 9,2009. After being induced, they decided he couldn't tolerate labor so we would have to do a c-section. I cannot explain to you the fear I felt at that moment! I remember the moment Tucker was born (7:52pm), waiting to hear that cry...and a few seconds later I heard my baby boy for the first time. I got to see him for a few seconds, then Daddy went with him to the Nursery. One of the nurses came back in and said he was 4lbs and 17in long. I just couldn't wait to hold him, and I finally got that chance the next morning.

And now starts my rollercoaster, the excitement was short-lived. The on-call pediatrician came in and told me some of his features made her think he had Down Syndrome. "This can't be," I thought, "what did I do wrong?!" They wanted to do further testing to find out for sure, and it took about a week of anxiously waiting to find out the diagnosis. I still remember those moments vividly, we were taking Emma to daycare for her Christmas party when Randall called to check on Tucker and see if the pediatrician had come by yet. She got on the phone and he says she asked him if he wanted to wait until we got there, he told her "no", then all I kept hearing him say was, "ok...ok....ok", I knew, in that very moment I knew the answer. When he got off the phone I started crying and just kept saying "NO", but the answer was yes, Tucker has Down Syndrome.

As soon as we got to the hospital, my in-laws were waiting in the waiting room for us. I hugged my mother-in-law and just cried. I told her the only thing I was really worried about was what would happen to him when we're gone. I soon got the courage to go into the nursery and see my little man. The nurses brought me kleenex when they saw me crying, thank God for those amazing nurses!!!

We stayed in the hospital another week because Tucker was having problems keeping his temperature up as well as his oxygen. Then, 4 days before Christmas, we got to bring him home! We were so excited to have him home with his Sissy for Christmas!

Since then, Tucker has started occupational therapy, which is going really well. We have had such great support from all our family and friends. I know some people really don't know what to say, but to these people I just want to say: don't feel bad, don't feel like you have to worry about what the "right" words to say are, just tell us congratulations & what a beautiful baby boy we have and how he looks like his Daddy. Again, we have had such a wonderful support group just in our family and friends and we are so thankful to have them in our lives. We have been very blessed with 2 amazing babies!!!