Obviously It's been a while....

Mallory is now almost 11 months old....I am about to start my second year at Lubbock Cooper South....Ryan is working in Lubbock now! He got a job teaching first grade at Harmony Science Academy...a charter school in town...we are so excited!!

Mallory is growing so fast...pulling up, talking up a storm, eating big people food, etc. I can't believe she is almost ONE!

Maybe we will try to update more lol....we are so thankful for all of God's blessings!!

Baby Mallory is Here :)

Mallory Lynn Braquet was born on Friday, September 10, 2010 at 1:12pm. She weighed 7lbs, 1 oz and was 20 inches long. Here's how it all went down :)



We reported to the hospital at 8:30am to get prepped for my C-Section. We quickly found out that the hospital was PACKED and we were put in an overflow room, which was tiny! They also found out that the A/C wasn't working on the wing.....but they quickly fixed it so they wouldn't have to listen to numerous hormonal women :) I wasn't too nervous about anything except the IV....I hate getting IV's! The nurse we had was very good. I filled out paperwork, answered questions, and then she told me that Dr. Killeen wanted me to have not one IV but TWO...one in each hand just in case. They weren't sure what all the fibroid would cause them to do and so it was a precaution. Megan (the nurse) was great and got both IV's the first try!!! :)



About 10:30am they began to wheel me back only to find out that a lady had just came in with an emergency situation and so she got my time slot. That wasn't a problem...however, they kept saying I would go back anytime so I just stayed in the wheelchair....and sat there for 2 hours! My feet were so swollen and my back was hurting!!



Finally about 12:15pm they came and got me! The nerves kicked in a little at this point. Once we got back to pre-op I was informed that my blood work that was drawn 3 hours earlier at been LOST--so a nurse had to come and try to draw more blood. She got an earful from me because she kept grabbing my hand where the IV port was located and squeezing! It hurt so bad and I ended up crying :( It was a combination of nerves, pain, hunger, and all of the emotions of my Mimi's death and Ryan's mom's death swirling around at once. They finally got my blood drawn and took me back to surgery. The spinal was inserted (which didn't hurt at all!) and they quickly got to work.



Once they let Ryan cvome back in everything went so fast!! It was so weird to be completely numb from my chest down. I did get nauseas during delivery but the anesthesiologist was amazing and gave me some meds to combat the sick feeling. Before I knew it I heard our baby girl crying!!! Ryan was crying, I was crying, she was crying..it was a beatiful moment that I truly believe only parents understand. I got to watch them clean her up and after she was warm and wrapped up they brought her over so Ryan and I could love on her. There was a nurse taking pictures the whole time with our camera...she was so great!



Ryan got to go with Mallory to the nursery while the doctors began deciding what to do with the fibroid. I kept hearing things like "Wow, that's interesting!" and "Man that's huge!" After a few minutes they actually sent a nurse back to get Ryan because he had the camera. They normally don't let the dad come back to the operating room so I knew immediately that they really wanted pictures. I found out why rather quickly! The fibroid weighed in at over 2 POUNDS!!! Dr. Killeen told us that day after that it was very close to some of my major arteries and also wrapped around the connection between my kidney and bladder. He said it was very risky removing it but they had to because of the size alone! It was way bigger than Mallory's head!!! I am so thankful I had two wonderful surgeons who took the time to make sure they were making the right decision and that I had many prayers being lifted up for me.



Most of Friday I was very out of it. The morphine they put in my spinal for pain made me incredibly sick and most of the day was spent throwing up and drifting in and out of sleep. I don't even remember the visitors we had or Mallory nursing :( They did come in at 8:30 that night and move us to a much bigger room! It was wonderful and we were so blessed with the best nurses!!!



It is now a week later and we are doing great! Mallory had her one week check-up this morning and weighs in at 6lbs 3 oz. They are not concerned because we now know that she was not getting the nutrition she needed from me--yesterday we had a formula day and there was an obvious difference in the way she acted. I am coping ok with not being able to breastfeed...especially knowing that I was basically starving her for the past few days. I am pumping as much as I can now but it's definitely not enough for her to get the calories she needs!! She has a little bit of jaundice as well but the Doctor isn't concerned with that either because her levels are low.



Thank you again for all of your prayers and support over the past few weeks. We are doing very well considering all of the sadness we have been dealing with. Our little blessing has arrived and is healthy! That's all that matters!!!! Feel free to come visit anytime :)

The Countdown Begins

WOW!! I can't believe two weeks of school have already went by! Ryan and I are both enjoying our new jobs...Ryan has settled in to teaching kindergarten and has a really good group of kiddos. I am still learning names (700 in all...gonna take a while) and am settled in to the schedule but of course will be out for a while as of Friday :) We are sooooo excited to finally meet little Mallory in person! We go in Friday and will update as soon as we can! We want everyone to meet her....our prayer is for a safe delivery and a healthy little girl. I am currently just trying to get all my lesson plans done so I don't have to worry about them while I'm gone :) Thank you all for all your prayers and love! I can't believe this pregnancy has flown by!!!!

Summer is Gone.....But A New Chapter is Beginning

Well I can't believe it but summer is officially over! Tomorrow marks the first day of school for both Ryan and I. We have been going hard getting ready for the past 2 weeks so it will be nice to get to see our kiddos and get going!

As many of you know my Mimi, Mom's mom, passed away two weeks ago....she passed away peacefully in her sleep and is now happy and healthy at Jesus' feet. It still seems like a blur and it is hard to think about...but I just hold on to the fact that she will be watching over us with renewed vision and the ability to walk. I do miss her though.

Here's the latest on Baby Mallory: As of last Tuesday she weighed in at 5lbs 7oz and was in the 28th percentile. Because of this they took me off of twice a week NST's and so now I will only be going to the doctor twice a week...my regular OB once and then the specialist for a NST and ultrasound the other. We were super excited to get a good report!!!! They also showed us that she has been under the average weight line on the graph since we started, so it made more since that she is a little smaller. The fibroid is getting blood flow and therefore taking some of her nutrients.

We also found out they had already scheduled my C-Section for September 10th!!! That will be an amazing life changing day ( LOL...unless she decides she wants her birthday earlier).

We can't wait! We just invested in a video camera and will hopefully be sending out and posting some test videos in the coming days!

My hospital bag is packed, Mallory's carseat is installed, and we are just waiting now....enjoying the final days of just the two of us (+ Clyde).

Love you all!! Thank you for all of your continued prayers.

Update on Baby Mallory--32 weeks--Prayers Please

I'm 32 weeks pregnant today....and overall still feel pretty good. We went to the Perinatologist this morning for a sonogram. I love going to those because we get to see literally every inch of Mallory's body...she showed us the blood flowing through her umbilical cord and heart. We listening to her heartbeat, which was 145 at the time and she measured the fluid around her. As she does the ultrasound she explains what she's looking at and said everything looked really good.

She then looked at our "second child" as we call it "Freddy Fibroid." You kinda have to just find something to laugh about or it could be super scary :) She measured it and then put all the numbers in. She said Mallory was exactly 4lbs, which we thought was good. She was 2lbs 11 oz at our last sono at 28 weeks.

I went to the bathroom....a regular occurence lately :) and when I returned Dr. Atkinson's nurse was there. They had shown him the numbers and all and said that Mallory is only in the 23rd percentile for growth. She should be larger than 4lbs. Yes...we know ultrasounds aren't always accurate but the technology that they have is pretty darn close. She said that since the fibroid has actually grown in the last four weeks they are afraid it is taking nutrients from the baby and therefore wanted to start NST (Non-Stress Test) monitoring twice a week from now one. Basically they hook me up to the monitor and monitor for contractions, Mallory's heartbeat, and her movements. She has to meet several criteria to pass the test and if she doesn't then we look into other measures.

We had the first test today and she was sleeping so they came in and "buzzed" my tummy and woke her up. She moved around after that. She passed for today. I go back this week on Friday and then after that I go every Monday and Thursday.

I am also keeping a chart for her movements on a daily basis. This will also help us make sure she is not in any stress.

We trust that God is in control and I know He is going to take care of our baby girl....but we are also preparing everything just in case she decides she wants to get out of there early :)

Thank you for all your prayers and I will be sure to keep everyone updated!!

Love!

Ryan, Liz, & Mallory

It's Been A Good Trip :)

Well Ryan and I are packing up to head home today. It's been a very good trip and we are so thankful that we were able to make it. We got here on Wednesday and just hung out at the house for a while. On Thursday and Friday we visited Ryan's mom, walked the mall, and took Nana and Paw Paw out to dinner for their 50th anniversary (which was in May). Saturday was the baby shower and it was wonderful. Nana, Sissy, and Melinda worked so hard and we are so thankful for everyone who came and showered little Mallory with so many blessings.

We are excited to get home though....only 2 weeks until we both get back into the swing of school. I'm praying I'm able to make it through a full day...I get tired sooo easily. But it'll be ok! This week is full of doctor's appointments, Ryan has a few trainings, and finishing up getting stuff ready for Mallory so we don't have to worry about it when school starts.

And....Clyde has had a great time at Grammy and Papa's....but he's ready to come home too. Papa fed him a carrot the other night and he sorta liked it. He loves them bunches but I bet they are ready to get rid of him too :)

Love,

Ryan, Liz, Mallory, & Clyde

On the way......

We are headed down to Nederland. We left yesterday and drove to Corsicana, where we spent the night. We could have driven farther but because I'm 31 weeks pregnant we decided to take it easy and take two days. We are going to finish it out today....I'm feeling pretty good :) Prayers accepted though for peace of mind and safe travel.

Things are going well for us...we were so blessed on Sunday by Mallory's baby shower in Plains. She is definitely never going to go naked :) We are so very thankful for all of God's blessings!!!!

Love,

Ryan, Liz, Mallory, & Puppy Clyde