Next

Here we go again. My life seems to be constantly changing. A month ago I had my second baby. My son was born 8-8-12. I had another c-section. He was 8lbs 1.9oz. He was so much smaller than Abrielle. So the day of my scheduled c-section, I was told to sign in at the hospital at 11:00am. I would then assume my surgery would be around 12:30/1:00. Well, time kept passing and passing and passing and passing. We kept waiting and waiting and waiting.  We never received an update. The whole time I'm sitting there starving to death. I was supposed to be NPO by midnight the night before my surgery. My last meal was around 10:00pm the night before. And of course all my family who is with me is eating because they can, and they are hungry. So you know I snuck a few snacks. The people at the front desk wouldn't even let me have ice chips. Are you kidding me. I'm not going to aspirate on ice chips people. Anyways, the waiting was becoming unbearable. At one point I was so frustrated and starving, I started to tear up. So Ryan went to ask what the hold up was. He comes back and says they're ready for me. Geesh. Evan Taylor Edwards was born at 5:46pm. So yeah, I waited for 6 hours to have a c-section. If I would have known, I would have eaten a nice breakfast because of course after surgery I was put on a clear liquid diet.

After Evan was born, I asked the doctor if I could leave after 24 hours. She said I had to stay 48 hours. Ugh. I was ready to go home the next afternoon. Of course I had to wait. Since I was recovering so quickly, the doctor said I could leave after 36 hours. That sounded a little better. At the end of my stay, I was just pacing the room. I was ready to go. We even called out to the nurses station a couple of times to ask for our discharge papers. You think they would be happy to get rid of me. Instead, they take they're time. So other than the never ending wait in the beginning and the torturous wait in the end, it was a good stay. All of the staff at Tripler Army Medical Center was super nice.

I guess I should say most of my stay in the hospital was good. My family came to visit me in the hospital. Of course they brought Abrielle. To say she was not happy doesn't even come close to describing how she reacted. If Ryan or I was holding Evan, she didn't want anything to do with us. She cried and screamed and threw a fit the entire time she was there. It hurt seeing my daughter react like that. There was nothing I could do. She was so angry. She was so mad at me. I knew she was going to have some adjusting to go through, but I didn't know how badly she would take it. So, of course, after seeing her react like that made me want to get home even more.

When I finally made it home, Abrielle was a happy girl. It was so nice to see her. She wanted me to pick her up. I was put on restriction. I'm not supposed to lift more than 20lbs for 6 weeks after the surgery. Well, that didn't happen. It's only been 4 weeks. I've been lifting Abrielle for about 2 weeks now. She's doing so much better with Evan. She helps me with him by giving me a diaper when I need it or covering him with a blanket. She'll give him kisses and is always asking to hold him. I'm so relieved she's falling in love with her brother. It makes things easier. I think seeing me in the hospital with an IV and out of our normal environment didn't help her reaction when she saw me. Things are much better now.

Now to tell you about my new little guy. He is completely opposite of Abrielle. First, he was smaller than her when he was born. He's only in the 50th percentile for height and weight, and his head is in the 25th percentile. Abrielle was always in the 90th percentile. He poops a lot, but no where close to how much Abrielle pooped when she was that little. Evan does great in a car seat. He basically sleeps the entire time he's in it. Abrielle started screaming as soon as she heard the click of the buckle to the car seat. Evan is calm. He only cries when he's hungry. He has had a few nights where he gets fussy because he's so gasy. Also, trying to get him to sleep in his crib is becoming a challenge. Abrielle slept with me for the first 2 weeks of life then went straight to her crib. She did great. Evan, not so much. He likes to cuddle, which is nice, but I need my bed back. That is something I will have to work on. I use my swing with him. He does great in the swing. I used it a lot with Abrielle too. I love my swing. So who does he look like? I'm really not sure. Abrielle looks like her dad. It's all in the eyes. I think they both have my nose, though. Sometimes I think Evan looks like Ryan. I don't know yet. I don't think Evan and Abrielle look anything alike. I guess time will tell.

So my life has changed yet again by having another child. However, it's not over yet. In a couple of months I will be making my way to Guam. I will be leaving Hawaii and moving to Guam on November 20. The movers will be packing my things on November 15. It should arrive in Guam no later than December 27. I really hope it doesn't take that long. So I will be without a couch or a bed for quite some time. I can't say I'm looking forward to that. Well, we have been pretty lucky because Ryan has not had to go out to sea since we've lived together. He has been here with Abrielle. Now we're not so lucky. Ryan leaves today. He'll be gone for a week. They come back to Hawaii for 2 days, and then they're gone. I won't see him until November. Even though we knew this was coming, it doesn't make it any easier. The thing that is hardest about him being gone is missing out on our babies. Evan will be 3 months old the next time he sees him. I know Abrielle is going to miss him like crazy too. I guess I'll have to get used to being a single mom, also. I know I'll be fine. It will have it's challenges, but I will survive. It won't be as bad since I'm not working. I love that I can stay home with my babies. I know they are being taken care of. Even though people keep telling me to get a baby sitter so Abrielle will say more words, I wouldn't do it any different. I think staying home with my babies is more beneficial to them then sending them to a daycare or a babysitter. So please stop trying to persuade me to do otherwise. I'm not going to listen anyways. You raise your kids the way you want, and I'll raise mine the way I want. Your way isn't more right than mine and vise versa.

I've been trying to start getting things ready for the big move in November. I think I might start packing things up soon. I really hate moving. It's nice movers come and pack everything. I have to unpack everything though. Plus, my things get damaged along the way. One of the biggest challenges I will have to soon face is the actual travel to Guam. Here's the challenge. I will have to get to the airport not only with my luggage but also with my 2 children and my 2 animals. It's very likely that Ryan will not be able to come back to Hawaii once he arrives in Guam to help me move. So I have to prepare myself for the worst. I know I can get some help going to the airport. I'll have to rent a car and have a friend drive too. So once my luggage is turned in and my animals are taken care, then it's the 8 hour plane ride with 2 babies I'll have to endure. Traveling with Abrielle was challenging enough. I'm not looking forward to adding another baby to the equation. It's hard to keep Abrielle entertained the entire trip. I start having anxiety just thinking about it. Then once we arrive in Guam, it's getting off the plane and getting all of my luggage together and figuring out where to go. It's a lot of unknown. I don't like the unknown. I like being able to plan things out.

So I guess that's what my very near future holds for me. It will be challenging, but something I know I can get through. I will have to ask God for his help. I'll need patience and strength. What does the far future hold? Not sure. We can leave Guam January of 2014. Ryan's contract isn't up until August of 2014. So we could be in Guam until then. The only way we could be re stationed in January is if Ryan re-enlists and does shore duty. That would be a 3 year contract. If he doesn't re-enlist then we will be in Guam until August of 2014. It's up to him. If he does shore duty, he will probably enroll in school. I'm not sure what degree he would get. He doesn't even know. What I do know is it will be different living in Guam. I never even heard of Guam before the Navy. I hope we can travel to another country while living in Guam. We have our passports so we're ready. I'm not sure what else to say at this time. Hawaii will soon be my past and Guam will be my present. New adventures will be coming my way.