Baby Dedication

This past weekend we had Katelyn's Baby Dedication at church. My family came down from Chattanooga to be present. They stayed from Friday night until Tuesday morning. Here are a few pictures that my sister got of the baby dedication on Sunday.

Laura, our Children's Director, presented us with a children's Bible.

Taylor was watching herself on the screen and Katelyn seemed to be looking at the pastor the whole time.

Bro. Hugh likes to hold all the babies.

Here are some other pictures that we got while my family was staying with us.

Rebekah and Taylor played really well together. They liked to play with the string beads.

Story Time!

We bought a $10 pool at Wal-Mart and filled it up in the backyard for the kids to play in. We had wanted to take them to the Splash Pad, but it is only open on the weekends during naptime. This was a good alternative and the kids had a blast! Daniel ended up putting the pool at the bottom of the slide so the kids could slide down into the pool. I think Taylor did it one time and then she was done. Rebekah did it over and over. I think it was a little bit overwhelming for the little ones.

Rebekah and Taylor loved the sandbox. Joshua, not so much.

Taylor liked to get the hose and rinse the sand off of everyone else.

I love this little silhouette of Taylor and Joshua. I am tempted to blow it up and cut it out.

I think everyone was watching Mary Poppins here.

Taylor was glued to it and wanted to watch it over and over even after everyone had left.

Ready, Set, Fly!

Katelyn's Fall

Most of you already know by now that we had a scare with Katelyn this week. For those who have not heard or do not know the whole story, here it is. On Wednesday afternoon around 4:00, I had just given Katelyn a bath and was taking her into her room to get her dressed when she squirmed out of my arms and landed, head first, onto the floor. I immediately called 911 and she was rushed to the ER. On the way, I called Daniel and he met us there. Once we got to the ER they took a couple of X-Rays and then decided to do a CT Scan. During the wait I had a peace that Katelyn would be fine. She was acting normal and eating fine.

After a long time of suspenseful waiting the results were in and they were not good - a skull fracture and bleeding. She would have to be sent to Macon or Atlanta to see a neurologist. This was all we were told - no prognosis whatsoever. Not having been through this before, I immediately starting expecting the worst. After the doctor left the room I broke down briefly. A nurse did finally come in to check on me and gave me some reassurance. We found out that Macon would not take Katelyn, but we were not told why - I am assuming either they do not have a neurologist anymore or they would not take infants - so we were going to be transported to Egleston in Atlanta for further observation and testing to see if she would need surgery. In my mind I could only think the worst. Right away we started preparing for another ambulance ride. Daniel ran home to quickly throw some things for an overnight stay in a bag and I stayed with Katelyn while the nurses attempted to get an IV in her. This was very difficult and stressful.

We arrived at Egleston around 12:30 AM on Thursday. My confidence level rose immediately upon stepping insdie the ER at Egleston. By God's providence, the neurologist on duty was already on the floor checking other babies with head injuries, so he was available as soon as we walked in the door to check Katelyn out. He was very reassuring. All of Katelyn's reflexes were good and she was not showing any signs of a concussion. He told us that he had some other patients to check on in the other hospital and then he would read the CT scan and then let us know if they would need to admit Katelyn to the hospital.

Several hours later the ER doctor came in and told us that the radiologist could not find anything on the CT scan and that she was free to go home. My first reaction was "Praise the Lord, she is healed!" My second thought was why did one doctor see something and another doctor see nothing? I had to believe that it was a miracle. We knew that so many people were praying - even people who don't know us.

At 3:30 in the morning we started the trip home. We stopped about halfway home to get a room and sleep a couple of hours before driving the rest of the way. Right about 5 minutes from home we get a call from Egleston asking us to come back for another CT scan. Another radiologist had looked at her scan from Americus and did find a small fracture in her skull and possible bleeding and wanted us to return for another scan. Daniel told the patient rep that we 3 hours away and she said not to come back. She would call our Pediatrician and have him order an outpatient CT scan. Well, after talking with our Pediatrician he told us that he preferred us to return to Egleston so they could get the scans that they needed. Soooo, at 3:00 yesterday afternoon we headed back to Atlanta.

The roller coaster continues...Upon arriving back at Egleston the new ER doctor checks Katelyn out and tells us that basically we returned for no reason. He confirmed what the second radiologist had said - that there was a small fracture and what looked to be a slight amount of bleeding. But he did not think it was necessary to get another CT scan. He did order some more X-Rays to be sure that she did not have any other broken bones, but he did not want to expose her to anymore radiation. The X-Rays came out clean. The fracture on her skull was more visible on the X-Ray and it was very small. The spot that they thought was blood could not be confirmed as such and was insignificant. He told us that we should have stayed for observation the night before instead of being released and then having to return. We also got to talk with a neurosurgeon who confirmed the same thing the ER doc told us. So, basically we returned for a follow-up visit. At least what we got was more peace of mind.

So, the final update is that Katelyn does have a small skull fracture and possibly some bleeding (which is clinically insignificant) but she will be just fine. We have felt all of your prayers for us and for Katelyn. We believe that God heard them and has answered. We are so thankful for Katelyn's health and glad to finally be back home for good. We are overwhelmed by all of the people who were praying for us, both those we know and love dearly and those who we have never met. I am so thankful to those who got the word out for us. We were not in a position to send out updates, but again, God places His people to do the things that we cannot do. Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement. We love you all!

All Aboard!

Somehow I missed posting this. While my mom was down visiting and helping out with Katelyn and Taylor after I got home from the hospital, we took a ride on the SAM Shortline. It is a tourist train that tours some of the small towns in south west Georgia. There is a stop in Americus, Plains, Cordele and a few other towns. We took the Archery Explorer tour. It starts in Cordele, but since there is a stop in Americus, we got on here and didn't have to pay as much. Here are a few pictures of the train.

Taylor gives Grandmommy a kiss.

Our first stop was in Plains, GA, where Ex-Pres. Jimmy Carter lives. Plains is also known for their peanut cash crop. The Peanut Festival is held here every year in September. We got to sample some homemade peanut butter ice cream. Yum! It was very sweet.

Doesn't Taylor make the cutest little peanut!

Our last stop was at Archery, GA, the boyhood home of Jimmy Carter. I will not say that I am a fan of Jimmy Carter, but it was interesting seeing how and where he grew up. It seems like it would have been a hard life back then.

The Living Quarters

The Farm

There was a beautiful peacock on the farm strutting his stuff.

Taylor got tired of riding in the stroller and wanted to walk around most of the time.

At this point she decided that she'd rather push the stroller.

Katelyn's First Visitors

We were not in the hospital for very long - just over 24 hours - so we did not get that many visitors in the hospital. Also, the hospital where I delivered Katelyn was not in the same town where we live. After the tornado hit in March 2007 there were a lot of changes in Americus. Our hospital here was completely destroyed. Two of the doctors in the group that I used for Taylor left town - not because of the tornado but for other reasons - and the new doctors were not taking any new patients by the time I became pregnant with Katelyn. I was forced to go to another town because there were no available doctors in Ameriucs. I chose a group in Albany that was just wonderful. I plan to stay with them because I liked them so much. The office was so nice and updated. They made my former doctor's office seem antiquated and archaic. So, all this to say that I did not receive many visitors.

Bud and RuthAnn brought Taylor down to the hospital to see Katelyn that afternoon after I delivered her. When they walked in the room Taylor seemed a little confused and worried that I was in the bed. I think she thought that something was wrong with me. I did look pretty rough. I had no makeup on and I was pretty swollen. I was nursing at the time, so they all left to get some dinner in the cafeteria. When they got back Taylor got up on the bed with me and Katelyn and wanted to hold her immediately. Her first words to her little sister were, "What's up Kate-Kate?" That is her nickname for Katelyn. Ever since then she has loved holding her baby sister and doesn't want to put her down. It is really sweet.

Taylor with her new baby sister.

Grandpa "Budsy"

What a proud Grandma!

One of Daniel's coworkers, Pete, came by to see us and bring a gift. He is a great dad and really great with kids. He would like to have more kids himself and I hope one day he will.

Aww, how sweet.

After we got home from the hospital my parents came down for a visit. My mom stayed a couple of weeks to help with the cooking and cleaning while I got some much needed recovery time. It was so nice to have her here. It was a good distraction for Taylor to keep her for being so jealous of Katelyn in those first days at home.

Another proud Grandmommy!


Granddaddy and his Poe girls

Daddy did not stay the entire two weeks that Mama was here. He went back to Chattanooga and then down to Huntsville to get my grandfather and bring him down here. I was glad that he was able to come and spend some time with the girls. It was good for him too since my grandmother passed away so recently.

Super Gramps!

There are more pictures to come, but these are just the first few visitors that Katelyn had in the first couple of weeks of her life.