A Brief Update

Here is a brief photo update


All the girls got a Nintendo DS


Disney Land was a blast


Scott is not as strong as he thought he was


Neither were the kids

Lila is 2 months

Soooo I know im a bad blogger. but at least im posting before she turns 3 months.
Lila is such a blessing! She has acid reflux and is very colic. but you know what they say..."it should all be better by 3 months". I really hope so. She has started smiling and cooing. She loves to cuddle (especially with daddy), and loves to take baths. She has started holding her head up by herself, loves her binks, and is so chubby. Here are a few pictures taken at about 6/8 weeks.

In A Name

Lila
Meaning: you are mine

Grace
Meaning: by the grace of God

Ritchie
Meaning: awesome (okay not really, but it should)


We named our little girl Lila Grace Ritchie. By the meanings alone it discribes her. I knew before I had her she would be my little Lila. My moms name is Lila and her Grandma before her. It is a name she will have to live up to. My mom is one of the strongest people I know. She is compasionate and sweet. She is rightous and unwavering. The things I want for my kids. Perfect name for a perfect little girl.

Birth Story and a whole bunch more...

At 37 weeks my dr. had decided that for my and my baby sake, he was going to induce me. To be on the safe side he ordered an amniosynthesis (sp?). Tuesday the 7th Scott and I woke up early and got ready to head to Spokane to my perinatal specialist. I was having a few contractions which was to be expected since I was carrying so much amnioic fluid. I didn't think anything of it. We got to the appt at 9 and the dr did the amnio. He said that the results should be in around 4 today. They monitered me and my contractions for an hour as a saftey precaution since the amnio can put you into labor or break the water sac. The contractions were uncomfortable and still going strong. I asked the nurse to check me before they let me go because I was starting to feel alot of pain and it was an hour and fourty five minute drive home. She checked me and I was dialated to a 3-4. I told her my concerns and she went and talked to the dr. A couple of minutes later she came back and told me to hurry home and not doddle. ??WHAT?? Scott and I hurried home and thankfully made it to the hospital. When I got there they admitted me and I was at a good 4 I asked for an epidural. My dr. came in around 6 and broke my water.....there was ALOT of water! Around 4 the amnio results came back that the babys lungs were not developed. They had to medvac (helicopter) her back to Spokane! Lila Grace Ritchie entered this world at 8:30 that night. She was 8lbs 4oz. I was able to hold her for a few minutes then they rushed her off to Spokane. Scott stayed with me that night and we left the next morning for Spokane to see our new daughter. She was beautiful! The nicu team was so good to me and to Lila. Her lungs were fine dispite the amnio results but she was having apenic spells that concerned the dr's. They kept her for 2 weeks I stayed with my sister liz during this time. Scott was able to stay with the kids because he was on "maternity" leave. They finally sent her home on an apnea moniter. Sunday the 26th she was blessed by Scott in the Othello 2nd ward. Scott, my dad, grandpa Mitchell, Jared Carter, Sean Anderson, and Shane Provost. That week I took her to the dr. who said since she was doing so well that we could take her off the monitor.
On Saturday the 9th I noticed that Lila had been sleeping alot. later that day she started looking a little grey around the mouth and not eating as well as she had before. I called the dr and they advised me to put her back on the monitor and see what happens. she did fine till the night. All night the alarms went off. I took her to the emergency room early sunday morning. Othello Hospital monitered her for a few hours and decided they were not equipped to handle the symptoms she was having. They flew her back to spokane on the 10th. Lila was in the picu at Sacred Heart for a week and a half after finding out she had pertussis (whooping cough). This was a very trying time for me. She was so weak and helpless. Her stats would drop and there was nothing anyone could do but hope she came out of it on her own. It was really hard to watch her go through this. The pertussis got alot worse. after a week she was no longer contagious and she started taking baby steps to getting better. They let her go home on the 19th. She is on the apnea monitor for 3 months. Even though she is not contagious she will have symptoms of the pertussis for 100 days. Everyday is a little better. I am gratefull that she had the monitor to warn us of the things to come. I am so thankful she is home now safe and sound. We just love her to bits. The kids have been so much help and have adapted much better than I thought they would (especially the boys). I am so gratefull for all the prayers and service that was shown my family during this time. It means so much to me. I know my heavenly father was aware of us and blessed us through our friends and family. :)

pregnancy....

sucks! At least for me. I thought I should write my feelings down about the subject since I will never go through it again and its all so fresh in my mind. Im sure there are those out there who love being prego, and good for you. For me however it is hard. I am a type 1 diabetic who is 30 years old. Pregnancy is super scary. So many things can go wrong and the dr's make sure I am aware of ALL of them. This time around I had no complications with the baby but for some reason my body produced 2x the amount of amniotic fluid it was suppposed to :( when I went in for my amniosynthesis at 37 weeks my fluids were 50! the high side of normal is 24. I couldn't breathe, my back was spasming from the weight in the front, I couldn't eat, or sit up straight. No fun. My insulin intake also goes WAY up. The good part about being pregnant is that you never have to worry about how you look in clothes...your supposed to look fat. furthermore you get to bring a beautiful baby into the world. and lets not forget the first little flutters you feel. It never gets old. Ive gotten to experience pregnancy 6 times. I am so grateful to my heavenly father for watching over me during these trying times. And allowing me the privlige of fulfilling the reason I was put on this earth, to raise his children and teach and prepare to live with him someday. I am blessed.

Happy Birthday Lila

So Lila made it here tonight. Our day started at 7:00 am with a trip to Spokane to see Jenny's specialist and have an amnio done. When we left for Spokane Jenny was having regular contractions (not unusual for the past several days). We get there, do a quick ultrasound, jenny had twice as much amniotic fluid as a "normal" pregnant woman would have, They do the amnio and tell us it will be about 6 hours til results are in. Jenny is hooked up to some monitors to make sure the amnio didn't put her into labor/make her water break. She was contracting the entire time and was checked before we left...she was dilated to a 3. Doc lady tells us to go home and don't doddle. We head home, get to the hospital at 3:15ish. By now Jenny had dilated to a 4.5/5, they could feel her "sack," Dr. Elali comes in and pops water at about 6 o'clock. Lila progresses real well on her own, several fantastic pushes and she is almost out, however Jenny was running out of steam. The super head vacuum thingy was used and at 8:52 Lila was the newest citizen of Othello.
During this the amnio results came back saying her lungs were very much not mature...they needed to score a 50 on their little testy thing and hers were a 24. They had called a specialist team to fly in from Spokane before Jenny's water was broke as a precaution. The decision was made to send her off regardless; this way if something were to happen she would be where she needed to be to get help. Othello isn't really known for their ICU. When she was born her heart rate was hovering around 200bpm, but her O2 saturation was 96-99%. Lungs were working great. Her blood sugar when born was 149, but just before leaving it dropped down to 60. I called about 11:00 and Lila had just gotten to the NICU. Her vitals were great, breathing fine, heart rate dropped down to the 150s, but her blood sugar dropped down even farther to around 30. She is currently sitting in Spokane in the NICU and will be there for a minimum of 3-4 days (Dr.'s orders). It's kinda fun because she looks just like Hazel and Myles did...Dr. Elali said we should put all of their pics side by side and see if we can tell them apart. I may have to do that and see just who can. I am not convinced I could myself.

The Man Trip

So for the past two weeks I have been on a "Man Trip" with my brother,his two sons, and Myles. It really has been a lot of fun. We drove from Othello down to San Antonio Texas to bring Brandon a piano. We also put in a laminate hardwood floor in his kitchen, entry way and bathroom. Today (our last day here) we went to Sea World for Bodies birthday. It was a lot of fun, Myles had a blast. I have decided to tell the story through pictures.

belly shots

My sister Liz is opening up a new web store for her maternity clothing line called fly belly...very exciting. She asked me if I would mind posing for some pictures for it. She hired an awesome photographer. This is me at 30ish weeks prego. I am glad I have pictures to remind me of this time in my life, as well as helping my sis out. We also snuck in some family pictures...love them!!!