Life as a family of 5

Things have been busy to say the least! We are enjoying our family of 5. The boys have adjusted well...Parker was pretty seemless, while Carson needed a few days to adjust;)

We were released from the hospital TOGETHER on Monday July 11th. We had a few conditions about leaving on day 3. Insurance will pay for 4 days, but who wants to stay longer than you have to?!?! I was put on blood pressure medication "temporarily" to help keep that in check and Reece needed a bilirubin check the next morning. We probably should have stayed that extra day, but I was ready to get out of there. Bebe and Pop brought the boys that morning so we were able to ride home as a family of 5! We had some tears over who got to sit by Reece, so we stopped half way home so C and P could trade spots and share time sitting by him. We made it clear that this was a one time deal! It was only a one way trip and the first trip, so I could see the urgency!!

We took Reece to see Dr. Brian the next morning, where his bilirubin checked out fine. We were told to feed him a bit more often since he was a "preemie"! Really, Brian, you're calling my 36.6 baby a preemie?!?!? He just wanted him to get a few more feedings a day, so we went back to alarm clock feedings, which are really hard-- I mean isn't it easy to turn off a beep?!? You can't turn off a scream if you know what I mean!

The next several days we had lots of visitors and friends and family fed us delicious meals almost everyday. It only took me a few days to get moving around better, but my blood pressure continued to give me problems. I was feeling bad and having terrible headaches. I headed back to the doctor the following Monday and she doubled my medication because my bp was still running pretty high. I am still on that double dose, which has helped me feel much better. I am still having headaches, but she is thinking it's my migraines coming back as opposed to being bp related. I'll stay on the meds until my 6 week check-up.

My friend Kayla and her girls were headed back to Virginia from her parents' house, so they came and stayed a couple days with us. The boys loved having the girls here....and as always, we enjoyed visiting with Kayla, but missed seeing Chad, AGAIN....dang Airforce keeps him workin'!! It was great timing for them to meet Reece too!

Fun with the Breedloves




Making S'mores- a Douglas/Breedlove Tradition!!




Parents too


Reece went back for his 2 week appointment and was a little piglet!! He had gained 11 ounces and grew 1 1/2 inches. We were thrilled and were relieved of the alarm feedings!!! We had one bump, his organic acid, one of his newborn screening tests came back abnormal, so we had to have blood redrawn for that. It made me a wreck for several days, but the second draw came back normal, so all is well:)

2 weeker


Grandma Sue was able to come down the following Sunday to spend the week with us. The boys enjoyed having her here for "alot of days" and we did too! We got a couple of "off nights" from Reece duty and got some uninterrupted sleep! We did some shopping, some playing and celebrated her birthday while she was here. Jennifer, Troy and the kids were able to come down to celebrate and meet Reece too!

On Monday, July 25th, my dear Granny passed away. She had been in the hospital, but it still came as a complete shock. Dad was able to be up in Illinois with her for more than a week before she passed....and he was with her that day. We aren't having a service just yet, per her wishes, but will at a later time. I am devastated. For those of you who don't know, Morgan, Reece's middle name, was Granny's maiden name. We chose that for his middle name to honor her- and our hope was that he would have some memories of her- as she was our only living grandparent, that he would have a chance to know, at the time of his birth. Wow....what an awesome lady she was...I learned so much about love and life from her. Selfishly, I wanted to see her again and for her to meet this sweet baby, but am grateful that she didn't suffer and that my memories of her will be of that spunky, full of life, Granny we all knew and loved.







July 2010


Feb 2011

Baby Reece is here!

July started like June ended, bed rest, doctors appointments (Pop keeping the boys while my friend Tracey drove me), and people taking care of all my stuff! Dad and Brenda were able to come down for 4th of July weekend. They took the boys out for breakfast each morning, including their first trip to Waffle House- wow, such a milestone in their lives;), shopping at Target, swimming, a trip to the McWane center....it was a busy one!! The boys had a great time.

After they hit the road Monday morning, Brad and the boys headed to Bebe and Pop's house for lunch and swimming....after a fun-filled afternoon there, we fought off the rain and celebrated the 4th inside at our neighbor's house. I went over to eat and people served me on the couch....geez, I had it good....but then headed back to the couch while the daddys and the kids did fireworks outside. I did sit on the porch for a few minutes so the boys could see me "watching" them!

Tuesday I headed to the doctor and the pressure was up again. I did the PIH workup for the 3rd time and after the all clear I was sent home...to come back Thursday. Thursday when I arrived at the doctor, pressure was still up and Dr. Davis said it was time....the baby was not going to gain much more maturity and my health was becoming more at risk for something "catastrophic" to happen. Geez...ok, I get it....did she have to say catastrophic?!?! Bebe had taken me to the doctor, so she headed over to the hospital with me and I got admitted. They did yet another PIH workup to determine if we needed to deliver that afternoon or if we could hold off for Friday morning. Needless to say, Brad immediately headed that way....he didn't want to "almost miss it" again!!

The PIH workup came back with increased creatine ratio...meaning my kidneys were starting to be effected. She said it wasn't an emergency type situation at that point, but that we needed to get that baby delivered before it became one! This is the same problem I had with the boys, so I knew it was go time. We scheduled delivery for 8am the next morning.

After phone calls, text messages and emails being made/sent out- Pop and Daddy brought the boys and joined us at the hospital. We ate dinner and then the boys headed home with Bebe and Pop for the night....Brad didn't want to risk missing anything;)

At 5am the nurse started getting me ready...around 7, Gramp, Granny, Abigail and Rachel made it after getting just a few hours of sleep at the hotel. Around 745 they came and got me and Brad and I walked, literally walked, about 100 feet to the operating room and got ready to meet our new little boy!! They had a little bit of trouble getting my spinal in, due to the hardware in my back, but after a few tries and going in from the side he got it!! Just a few minutes later @ 8:14 little Reece Morgan was born. He screamed immediately (thank you Lord) and they said, "Wow, he's a wiggly thing!" Seems par for the course:)

Mom and Dad waiting


Direct from the OR- we didn't have any pics of the boys like this!!






Headed back to the room with Mom!


Our new addition




Big Brothers!!




Our sweet Reece Morgan



Our Family of 5!


We are alive and well...surviving one day at a time!! Feeling so blessed to have 3 healthy boys!

Welcome to the Family!

Storytime Blue Baby Announcements

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June!!!!

June was busy and full....just like the beginning of summer should be! I had to work until June 2nd....so that was a tad annoying, but I had alot to do to prepare for being off...so it was busy everyday! I even stayed late on that last day to finish stuff up!

We began the first weekend in June with a pool party with some of Brad's extended family. We try to get together at Christmas and in the summer. It's always fun. We had a good turn out- and we had missed the summer get together one year due to moving so we were glad to be a part of it this year! There are lots of kids and the boys really enjoy pool time, so they rocked and rolled all day long!! No hint of a nap in sight! Here are some pictures from the long, hot, but fun day!!

Hot Tub with Pop!!


Even bowed up you can still see those ribs!!


Floating with Daddy


Sunday morning we packed up and got ready to head to the beach for the week! Usually we go to the beach later in the summer, but due to some other big event that will be taking place in July, everyone was willing to get it done early this year. Bebe, Pop, the boys and I headed out Sunday midday...Pop drove us- so I could put my feet up- the Tahoe was packed down. After a stop at Steak-n-Shake, which took almost 2 hours, we made it to Navarre Beach, Florida early evening. We have never been to Navarre, but it was fabulous! We spent the week on the beach- playing, looking for shells, building castles, riding in the boat, swimming, eating, and tried to fit in a little bit of rest! Thursday afternoon, Leah, Guncle and Kerrigan joined us- and Thursday night Brad finally joined us! He's got limited vacation time again since he changed jobs, but we were glad he got to come at all!

Some highlights from the week:
Carson and Parker getting CARS 2 cars, just for finishing dinner- hmmmm, was Pop a part of this trip?!?!

The boys being flipped out of the boat as a huge wave came in- Parker bruised face, both screaming/crying/covered in sand, people offering to help a 32 week preggo mom- apparently I looked like I needed help since they were crying! Parker was taking a nap well after the crash and it was almost impossible to wake him up!

Carson getting into hats...he got 2 new ones while we were there and I think he still wears one most days!! PS...both of his new hats are really for grown men, but he doesn't care....he wears them anyway...no matter how big they are!!

Both boys really started to embrace pool time....Parker putting his face in and floating around in a ring, while Carson is all over the place- arm floaties, rings, sometimes with nothing...wanting to "swim" to everyone!

Lovin' the Beach!!!






Under the Umbrella with BeBe....looking for snacks I'm sure!


Parker spent ALOT of time at this bar.....he's in NO RUSH to eat a planned meal!!


Carson LOVED the boat....inside or out!


Hunting shells with Pop!


Family Photo Shoot @ the Beach








When we got back from the beach, I had my 33 week appointment with the doctor and....dun, dun, dun.....my blood pressure was up, just a little, but it was up. She told me to start "resting when I could", which is not done easily in this girl's world;) I quit doing softball that week, and rested more than normal, but that weekend was busy....we had family pictures taken, bought a new car, and celebrated Kerrigan's birthday!! We bought a GMC Acadia, which I LOVE...but haven't driven it much! The boys really had a good time at KJ's party- I sat with my swollen feet up and took pictures! Happy Birthday Kerrigan!!

After the busy weekend.....dun, dun, dun.....my blood pressure was through the roof and I went to see the on-call doctor. He sent me for lab tests and after the all clear I was put on strict bedrest at home. I knew that I had to take it seriously, so I spent the rest of the month on my left side in my bed, on the couch, and on the floor, just to change up the scenery!! The boys did well, and we had offers from pretty much everyone we know to help out with anything and everything we needed. Family and friends brought food, played with the boys, went shopping for us.....we are truly blessed to have such an amazing support system! I did sneak in a trip to my friend Monica's house, which is just around the corner, for a shower from our Sunday school class- and a few other friends too! My friend Nora and I are due 2 weeks apart, so we celebrated the upcoming arrival of 2 sweet little boys together! I don't have any pictures from the shower because everyone made me stay on the couch with my feet up! Brad even went afterward to pick up the gifts! It was a good distraction from my "jail time"....and so sweet of our friends to do it for us!

Family Pictures by Angie:)










Kerrigan's Birthday Party

Our Month of May

Our month of May was another exhausting one. Our community endured some pretty devastating weather on April 27th. The morning brought severe winds and storms...although there were no tornadoes that morning, we had wide spread power outages and damage to trees, houses and property. I attempted to get the boys to school and report to work, only to find their school closed when I got there and my school system closing at 10am due to only a few schools having power. After driving for almost 2 hours (normally about 30 minutes), being turned around several times because of huge trees covering every path. I made it to work, with the boys in tow....and only had about an hour until closing!! Many tornadoes ripped though town later that night, a few of them just missing us directly. Many people in our community and surrounding areas, including people I work with, lost homes and loved ones that day. It was definitely a day we'll never forget.

The first weekend of May, Brad became part of the United Methodist Disaster Response Team- which allowed him to be part of the first responder team. He worked the next several weekends on tornado recovery. My school system missed another 3-4 days of school as we tried to help clean up and wrap our minds around what had happened. We ended up NOT having to make those days up, as the President and the Governor declared our county a federal disaster area.

We enjoyed Mother's Day with church and lunch at the Bright Star with BeBe, Leah, Guncle and Kerrigan. It was Leah's first mother's day....so it was extra special for her! My boys got me Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (In case you don't know, this girl LOVES donuts....even when I'm not preggo!!) and a trip to the spa! Can't wait to use that!

Next up was Rachel's graduation from UT. The actual ceremony was mid-week and since I was trying to save up my sick days, we headed up to Knoxville the weekend after to help her celebrate! We enjoyed hanging out with her! Granny and Gramp took the boys on a trip to Toys R Us....Brad and I were informed that this was a trip just for them and that we weren't allowed to go! Ummmmmmm, no problem at allllllll!!! They came home with a few new things....and were very excited! Chuggington trains seem to be the latest infatuation....I was letting them pretend their Thomas trains were Chuggington trains, but you know Grandparents....they don't think like that!!

Playing our new game with Granny


The following weekend was BeBe's birthday, so we celebrated with a trip to Costa's on Saturday and followed up with lunch and pool time on Sunday! Happy Birthday BeBe!!

We are so glad that Pop got the pool ready!!


Lovin' the hot tub!


Ummmm....Carson, did you forget something??


The boys finished up the "regular school year" with a trip to the zoo. Daddy took the day off and took them this year- and they had a blast. He was sending me picture messages so that I didn't feel left out:) It's fun getting to see them with their friends from school. I mean, we hear all the stories, but to see them interacting with them is just plain fun. Please notice the "binonculars" around their necks in some of the pics. They made them at school and were so proud. Brad said they used them the whole time!!

We're ready!!


The new Africa exhibit was awesome!!


Thank you Grant for being the only one looking at the camera!!


Please Parker.....Don't jump in!!


I had my first pre-baby baby shower at work. My sweet friends Tracey and Daphne organized it....and we got some sweet stuff for our lil guy! It's wonderful to work with people that are also some of my dearest friends. It was fun opening all that little stuff again!! I did catch some flack for not having a name picked out yet....we have some girls that like to monogram and they wanted to know his name!! Ummmmm, Brad?!?!?!?!

I also started coaching a 14 and Under Viper softball team the last few weekends of the month....so we spent Memorial Day weekend at the softball field....just like old times! It's something I sure do miss....but my legs and ankles did NOT thank me for being out in the 90 degree heat at 30 weeks pregnant! I was helping out while I was able....and enjoyed coaching again. Of course, it was short lived-but I was glad to be a part of it while I could!