Christmas with Big Pop and Honey

Christmas with Big Pop and Honey was wonderful. Taylor got some many great things as did Clay and I but the best part about it was being able to spend time with Big Pop, Honey, Elle, and Marie. I know they all enjoyed seeing Taylor and getting to love on her. I forgot to take our camera so as soon as I get pictures from Cheri I will upload them.

Taylor has been doing great we think we have finally got her on a schedule. Thanks to Grin. We had a schedule for a while but it got all messed up some how or another. We have had to start putting a little bit of rice cereal in her formula because just the 4 oz. of formula was not satisfying her and if you gave her more formula she would spit it up. The rice cereal seems to be working very well. We also had a pooping problem for a little while and we tried everything to get that under control but nothing seemed to help her poop on her on. We finally tried prune juice and it worked wonderfully. Taylor is pooping all the time now. Crazy we are excited about our daughter pooping but we are. We have our 1 month check-up Jan. 5 and have to get shots, Mommy is not too happy about this but knows it has to be done. I will let you all know how that visit goes. I am sure it will go just fine.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and Taylor's 1st Christmas could not have gone any better. Now we are looking forward to the new year. Although I am not looking forward to going back to school at all. We hope everyone had a great holiday and has a happy new year.

Christmas so far....

Well we have had Christmas at Lee Lee's and Grin and Pop's house. We still have Big Pop and Honey's to go. We have had such a great Christmas this year. Everyone has enjoyed seeing Taylor and we have enjoyed being with everyone. I have posted some pictures from Christmas at Lee Lee's and Christmas in Columbus. Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. We love you.

Lee Lee feeding Taylor


Lee Lee and aunt Catie


Me Christmas at Lee Lee's


Taylor got this from Santa "War Eagle"


Clay Christmas at Lee Lee's


Taylor Christmas at Lee Lee's


Grin says this is Taylor's pole dancing outfit


Trying to get a picture of the gran-babies


Taylor Christmas Eve


Abby Christmas morning


Alan and Sarah Christmas morning


Grin, Pop and Wesley Christmas morning

2wk weight visit

Hey everyone, I hope you are all doing well and are ready for Christmas. I know we are. Clay, Taylor and I are so excited about spending time with family these next couple of weeks. Christmas is a little scattered this year, we are having Christmas with the Enfingers this weekend, with Lee Lee and Aunt Catie on Tuesday, not sure about Big Pop and Honey yet, and Taylor and I are leaving for Columbus Tuesday afternoon sometime and Clay will join us Thursday night. Although it may seem crazy we are all just thankful that Clay is here and not at the academy and that we get to spend time with family. We have been so blessed this year and to end the year with a daughter is going to be so wonderful.

I have to catch you up on the past couple of weeks. Friday morning I woke up at 3am with a fever and chills. I took some medicine to see if it would help but by 7am the fever had gotten just a little worse. I called the doctor and they fit me in to come see her that morning. Clay and I both thought it was the flu but the doctor was not exactly sure because I had my flu shot. She had blood test done on me and called me around 4pm to let me know my white blood count was twice as high as what it should be and that I need to go to the hospital. Not the way I wanted to start the weekend. At first they thought I my uterus was infected. I had 2 CT scans and a chest x-ray. They all came back fine. So when the doctor comes to my room the next day and says "so your the mystery women" I kinda freak out. They started me on antibiotics which reduced my fever and I finally got to go home on Monday. I would have gotten to leave Sunday afternoon but my IV went bad and made my arm swell up and caused my skin to have redness everywhere, so they wanted to watch me over night. I was so ready to go home because I had not seen Taylor since Friday. Clay stayed with me and Lee Lee and Aunt Catie watched Taylor and they did a wonderful job. Thankfully I am all better although they still are not sure what was wrong. The doctor did say it could have been a taste of the flu and that the flu test could have been wrong (it was negative when they checked for it).

As for Taylor's 2 week weight visit, it went well. She weighs 7lbs. 12oz. So since we left the hospital she has gained 1lb 3oz. The nurse said she looks great. She has a lot of eye boogies which could be caused from a clogged tear duct but that is normal in babies and we are doing what the doctor said to do and hopefully we will get rid of some of those eye boogies. Also, she may have a little hernia but nothing to worry about right now. I had one as well and look at me I good. So we are not going to stress about that. Overall Taylor looks great and she is gaining weight just as she should be. We could not be happier.

Like I said before we can not wait to be with everyone for Christmas and we are so excited for those of you that have not met Taylor to meet her. She is just precious and will have you wrapped in no time.

Taylor is finally here!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to update everyone on Taylor but yes she is here. Saturday Nov. 28 my water broke around 3 or 4 (cant remember) so Clay and I put our flashers on and headed to the hospital. The contractions were pretty heavy and it seemed like forever before they could give me any medicine. They did give me some pain medicine to help out a little before the epi. It did not really help it just made me sleepy. I dilated pretty fast and before I knew it I was pushing. I pushed for 2 hours and she was just not going to fit. So they get me ready for a c-section. In the mean time my epi. had worn off and I was in some pain but they finally got that under control. I did not even know they had started the c-section until Clay looked at me and said "your daughter is here". Clay got to go back with the nurses and take pictures of Taylor getting cleaned up and taking a bath and getting weighed. He also got to bring here back to the surgery room to meet her mommy for the first time. It was the sweetest moment. Taylor was born at 10:09pm Nov. 28, 6lb. 15oz. 20in. She is so beautiful.
In the hospital Clay and I were both getting cabin fever and we were ready to leave. Although I will say this everyone at the hospital was great and exceeded our expectations. They kept me good and doped up lol, and complemented Clay on what a wonderful job he had been doing. I have to agree he was so great in the hospital and still is.
We brought Taylor home that following Tuesday (the day I was supposed to be induced). The first couple of nights I will have to say that Clay and I began to wonder are we going to be able to do this? But after those nights everything has gotten so much better. Taylor is sleeping 4 hours straight at night. Clay and I take turns on who gets up to feed her. He usually takes the first feeding and I'll take the second. (cant wait to sleep 8 hours again) Although it gets hard sometimes, Clay and I could not be happier. Taylor is a blessing and we would not change anything. She makes the cutest and some very funny faces. She seems to always projectile poop when her daddy changes her. We actually had to shampoo the carpet the other day because she had pooped during a changing and it flew straight out onto the carpet.
We have our first visit to the doctor Dec. 16th. She goes in to be weighed and I go to my doctor for a check-up as well.
We are going to Mississippi for Christmas and cant wait for everyone to meet our little precious angel. She is more than happiness to us and we look forward to many years to come with her. I have posted a few pictures and I will get more asap.

3 days until we go to the hospital

Well lots to tell. I'll start with Saturday night. We went to the hospital at about 11pm that night. I was not filling Taylor and yes it scared me. When we got there as soon as they put the monitor on me we heard her heart beat and we heard her moving around. I still could not fill her move but the nurse said it could be because the way she is positioned. I was so relieved. I stayed there for a while and was having contractions about 3 and 4 min. apart but since they were not strong and I had not dilated they let me go on home. We got back home around 1am and I finally felt Taylor move.

Our final Dr. apt. was Wed. We had another ultrasound to see how much Taylor had grown in a week and surprisingly she was only 6lb 15oz. The Dr. said that she thought the measurements from the last ultrasound were off and that she feels I could have a vaginal delivery instead of a c-section if I wanted. So of course I want to experience this and now we are scheduled to go to the hospital Monday night at 7pm. Around 5am Tuesday morning we will induce and start the labor process. I am nervous but very excited. Pray for Clay and I because we are clueless. (ha) The next time I post something on this we will have our little Taylor with us.

37 Wks

Ok, so today I am 37 weeks pregnant and since we are inducing at 39 weeks that means that 2 weeks from today Clay and I will be Daddy and Mommy. It is still weird to think about. When I look at my left hand and I see this beautiful ring on my finger, I still feel as if I just got married yesterday. (Mom did a wonderful job with the wedding by the way) Now, we are bringing a little girl into our life, that we will love with all our hearts. We are so anxious to meet her and hold her and love her unconditionally.

We finally figured out how to use the car seat. Who would have thought it could be difficult. But you know once we(well I)read the directions it all came together. As far as I know we are as prepared as we can be as of now. Sure we will need more diapers. Sure we will need more drop-ins for bottles. Sure we have no clue what we are doing but we do know this, some how, some way, and for some reason the Lord felt it was best for us to have a baby right now. He thought well Ashley is still in school, and Clay is about to start a new job, and yes they will be stressed but they can handle a child. So Clay and I decided instead of worrying and stressing right now that we will just trust Him.

As for Clay's job we still have not heard when he is leaving. We are just in that waiting stage yet again. Hopefully he will be going to the academy in December if not then he will go in Feb. I think we both just want to know. Sometimes I think it will make our life "so much easier" but who am I kidding our life is just about to become even more crazy. (In a good way of course)
As for me and school, a week from today is my last day. My teachers have all be gracious enough to let me take my finals early. I once again will have all A's. Yes, I am very proud of myself for this because I have come along way with this school thing. Also being pregnant working and going to school is not as easy as you think.

If Taylor decided to come early I will let everyone know. Just pray she does not come before I take my finals so that I do not have to come back after she is born.

36 wks 4 days

Well we have had 3 doctors visits since the last time I updated this. The first visit the doctor put me on a monitor for about 20 or 30 min. When she came in she looked at the monitor and said I was having contractions that were about 5 min. apart. Mine and Clays eyes got HUGE! We were not expecting that at all. We were really not ready to have a baby that day. I mean we did just go in for a a weekly visit. I got admitted to the hospital right away. Clay was down stairs filling out paperwork and I was in the delivery room getting poked with needles. They started an i.v. just to get some fluids in me to see if that would help slow or stop the contractions. I also had to get a shot in my arm every 20 min. (just 3 of them though)this shot help relax my bladder. Finally, Clay gets to the room and we just do not know what to think. We called our parents and put them on stand-by just in case. I was there for a couple of hours I guess and the doctor came in and the contractions had stopped and she let me go home. What a relief. Not only was I not going to have to be in labor before I was mentally ready but also Taylor was not going to be early. If she would have come then her lungs would not have been fully developed. So we just thanked God for letting everything be ok.

The next visit was short and sweet. Everything was fine we heard Taylor's heartbeat and we got to leave. As for the visit we just had yesterday (Friday the 13th) we got alot of news. I had an ultrasound because the doctor wanted to see how big Taylor is right now, to get an idea of what we may be dealing with on Dec. 1. Well it was crazy looking at the ultrasound because she was like a normal size baby in there. The whole time I'm looking for a little spec like the others and finally I see her face and its the size of the little screen. It just amazes me. To know that Clay and I made this person in my stomach. Anyway, we got her approximate weight which is about 6lbs 13oz. Which means come Dec. 1 she is going to be 8lbs or more. Thank you Clay. :) The doctor suggested we really think about a c-section. Not my first choice but Clay and I want to do whats best me and Taylor. After discussing the risk of both a natural birth and a c-section we are going ahead with the c-section. There just seemed to be less risk with a c-section since I am so small. The option is still there if we decide we want to have a natural birth but since its a scheduled delivery we had to go ahead and schedule the c-section. Just pray for us. We know God is in control and he is going to take care of us.

So only 17 days until little miss Taylor is here. Clay and I are so excited and can't wait to meet her. Its crazy that in less than a month we will be parents. Its a scary but amazing feeling.

New Date

Hey everyone,

We had our first baby shower on Sunday the 11th. Taylor received so many nice things. She already has so many people that are going to spoil and love her to death. The shower was all pink and brown (which are the colors of her room). Clay and I are so grateful for everyone involved and that came. Just having our friends and family there meant more than any gift that was brought. Although the gifts were nice and will help out, the fellowship was even better. Clay and I don't really get out much anymore therefore we do not get to see our friends that much. The shower was a chance for us to hangout and just relax. I wish I could name everything Taylor received but it was so much that I would probably leave some things off. I'll try and get some pictures up of the shower if deddy can remember to e-mail them to me.


So now for the news. We went to the doctor Friday the 16th. We thought we were going to miss the visit because there was a wreck in the tunnel so traffic was backed up. We always leave in plenty of time so that we will arrive a few min. early or if anything like a wreck were to happen we would still have time to get there. Well yesterday when we left we did not realize until we were in the truck that we needed to put air in the tires. I was thinking this is going to put us cutting it close to our appointment time. But we stop to put air in the tires (better to be safe) and then we are on our way. We get on the bridge and get about half way across and we come to a stop. For those of you who have driven across this bridge its long and typically if you are at a stop then something is wrong way up in front of you. I think again, now we are going to be late. We decide instead of going through the tunnel we are going to go downtown Mobile (keep in mind neither of us know how to get to the Dr. office this way). I decide to call the office to let them know if we are late we are only going to be a few min. late and to get directions. (We have a GPS but do not know how to use it.) Ok so we have our directions and we finally get to our exit and we have a little more than 10 min. to get there. Oh yeah the operator I spoke with told us if we were not there by 11:20 we would not be able to see the Dr. because she had to go to surgery. This upset me because these visits just give me a peace of mind and irritated Clay considering every time we go we have to wait on the doctor. We decided to be optimistic and not let it get to us, if we don't get to see the Dr. then we will just trust that everything is ok (Taylor moves so much that I know everything is ok) and we will go and set up our appt. in two weeks. We were not going to let this become a bad day. We finally arrive at the doctors office and yes we are late about 15 or 20 min. to be exact. We did get to see the doctor. While we were waiting we saw on the news the wreck that put us back. I say all that to say this its crazy how the Lord works, if we would have left earlier we would have still be in traffic because we would not have been able to take the exit we took. If we would have left later we would have been in traffic still because by the time we saw it on the news the traffic was backed up across the entire bridge. Finally, if there would have not been a wreck then we would have taken our same route and would not have learned a new way to go. The good thing about knowing another way to go is that if there is backed up traffic the day we have to deliver then we have an alternate route. So our crazy starting day ended up being a very good one. While we were talking to the doctor she told us "I wish you would have called to let us know you were running late because then they could have told you I was backed up with patients and to take your time getting here." Clay and I looked at each other remembering what we were told when we called and just laughed.

Now for the news. We are inducing on Dec. 1 if of course Taylor has not decided to make her appearance yet. I will go into the hospital at 5am that morning. If anything changes I will be sure to let you know. It is a possibility it could be the Sunday before that. We will know more after our next Dr. visit on the 30th of this month.

Hope you all enjoy these things....


Ashley

Only 61 days to go!! Give or take some....

Well I decided to start this blogging thing. I have one out there from a class I had but did not like that one so I am starting another one. This is to update everyone on Taylor. We only have 61 days to go before we get to meet our little girl. Of course less if she decides to come early and more if she decides to come late. Clay and I are so excited and patiently waiting her arrival. To be honest I am scared, so scared!! Clay he is probably nervous but of course he will not admit it yet. I wish I would have started this blog earlier than now so that I could update everyone on all of our doctors visits. Just to let you know we have only had good visits. I have officially gained 30 pds. !!!! and I still have more to come I'm sure. Taylor is just as active as ever. At one point I found myself asking when will I start feeling her move and now she will not stop moving. Still freaks Clay out a little when I tell him to put his hand on my stomach so he can feel her. To be honest she already has him wrapped around her little finger. I am going to try and upload a few of our 3d sonogram pictures we have if I can figure out the scanner. There is one with her legs crossed and actually it is the best picture we got because she did not want to cooperate. Kinda funny that the one of her feet is the best one considering Clay and I both have a phobia with feet.

Clay and I are really looking forward to the baby showers. We are excited to see everyone, friends and family and really appreciate everyone who has helped out with them. We could not be more grateful.

I guess I could also let you all know about how my pregnancy has be going since most of who will be reading this are in Columbus and I do not get to see all of you. Of course that is what moms are for I am sure she has kept everyone updated for me. Thanks mom. :) For the most part my pregnancy has gone extremely well. The first trimester I was soooo tired all the time and had lots of headaches. After the first trimester everything seemed to get back to normal other than the part of my belly expanding so far out that I literally can not see my feet anymore. The changes your body goes through is crazy, some changes I would have to say "I have been blessed" speaking of expanding parts of my body, and other changes not the best but all a part of it.

Clay has been to every doctors visit with me and I would have to say that I am very impressed with him. It makes my nerves calm a little considering all the blood they took from me, the flu shot, and everything else that makes me dislike going to the doctor. You see I do not do well with needles. I kept telling Clay this but he was like its ok, it won't hurt you will be fine. So when I tell him ok I may pass out I thought that may help him out on how I really do not do well with needles but nope he still insisted I was being to dramatic. So, we go to the doctor and this is the day they have to get all the blood from me (5 of those little tubes to be exact) I'm laying there and Clay is sitting on the other side of the room and all of a sudden my face is pale, I'm sweating, and I'm dizzy. Lucky for me I told the nurse before hand that I do not do well with needles so she had already laid me down. Thankfully I did not pass out I just had to lay there for a few min. but I know for a fact Clay will listen to me from now on considering he was the one holding the nice pink puke pan for me :)

As for the pregnancy right now, I am doing great. I cant really sleep at night and my back has given me some problems. Other than this Taylor and I are just trying to keep up with school. By the way she is due the week of finals which is just crazy.

I hope you all enjoy this and I promise I will do my best to keep this up especially when Taylor finally gets here.