Lucy in the sky with diamonds

It's official!!! Tyler & I are expecting a sweet baby girl!!! 

Her name is Lucy Kay Brox. I've always loved the name Lucy. It is a classic vintage name (much like my name). And Kay is my mom's middle name. It just seemed like the perfect name for our sweet little peanut.

Turns out old wives tales aren't all right. My cravings have been super spicy foods, steak, french fries, and brownies. YUM! But to be perfectly honest what normal person doesn't crave those foods on a regular basis!! Also I didn't have morning sickness too bad. I was nauseous mostly at night and dry heaved a few times but I never actually threw up. Because of that EVERYONE except like 5 people were sure I was having a boy.

When I first got pregnant I thought for sure it was a girl, but then I thought well maybe that's just what I want. So then I started to convince myself it is a boy! So when we went to our first ultrasound Baby Brox decided she was going to be sleeping, with her legs closed, and in a position where it was impossible to see ANYTHING.

She was sleeping with her legs in indian style crossed and hunched over with her head resting on the placenta. Which instantly made me laugh because I sleep EXACTLY like that. I knew then she must have been a girl because she was being shy (like her mom). But Tyler and I decided to take our gender reveal pictures anyway. My friend Amy took them for us and they turned out SUPER cute. We took one with each color balloon so that way we could use whichever color applied.

Luckily we got to go back the next day. I drank a nice cold and sugary smoothie and it woke her right up! She was hanging out upside down and then flipped all around. It was very cute.

As soon as the ultra sound tech told it was a girl I cried, and so did Tyler. Even though nothing had changed our sweet baby finally had a name and a gender, we could starting calling her by her name instead of baby Brox. She is the most beautiful little person I've ever seen and I am just so in love with her.

We are thrilled to continue the journey of pregnancy and reach the next mile stones (kicking!!!).

Popping (baby) bottles!

By now I think everyone knows

TYLER AND I ARE HAVING A BABY!
Due January 1, 2016!!

That's right! We finally decided now was a good time. We thought about waiting to tell people until I was past the first trimester but because I have the clotting disorder I am considered high risk the entire pregnancy. So we reasoned that if we told people we would get more prayers (we were right! and we are so thankful for them!!)

I knew I was pregnant before I tested positive on a test. Tylers mom made these delicious peanut butter chocolate cookies (she is seriously the best baker) but for some reason the idea of those cookies made me want to throw up! It was super weird and it made think something is up. The next morning I decided I would take a pregnancy test. After 5 minutes of waiting there was a very faint second line! I quickly woke up Tyler and had him confirm he saw the second line too! Over the next few days I took quite a few more other tests (just to be sure).

Because of the high risk I was immediately started on Lovenox injections (blood thinner shots). Giving yourself a shot is not the easiest task but it is worth it to know it is for a healthy baby and to keep me healthy too!

baby was the size of a poppy seed (those are poppy flowers)

Side note how cute is this Preggers shirt from ILY Couture

it is SOOO soft and so comfy! I love it.

We went to an appointment when I was only about 4 weeks but it was too early to see anything. So they rescheduled me to come back on May 8th. This was a hard day for me because it is the anniversary of my dads death. But we went and saw a tiny blueberry with a healthy beating heart. It was so wonderful. 

We scheduled another appointment in 2 weeks (today) to see the doctor to make sure everything is still going good. It is! The baby is growing (it's a strawberry now) and still has a strong beating heart! We are scheduled to go back again at the 12 week mark! I can't wait. It is so exciting to see this little baby grow. Tyler & I both think we are having a boy (even though it's too early to know). Either way we will be VERY happy! 

Catching up

SO much has happened since my last post. Life has been crazy, out of control, I'm talking marathon after marathon... on  netflix. :) I have truly been enjoying the relaxing life that comes after graduation. Also my energy levels have been completely depleted lately, probably from all of those marathons...

I guess I'll start with talking about graduation though! It was one of the best days. I finally survived completed nursing school and graduated with a 4.0 Bachelors of Science in nursing. A few weeks after I graduated I took the NCLEX and somehow managed to pass even though it was all a blur of tears and stress.

After I passed NCLEX I officially accepted my first big girl job! I will be starting in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in May!! I am so thrilled to be starting in my dream unit, especially as a new grad!

We celebrated Easter with family and had a super fun easter egg hunt! My nieces were just too cute and very good at finding the eggs.

No normal pictures... EVER :P

Tyler & I really wanted to go to Disneyland to celebrate me graduating and before I started working and things got crazy again. So we booked a trip and invited Kylan to come with us too. It was so much fun! Disneyland is my absolute favorite place in the world, I would pick going to Disneyland over anywhere else. It was a lot of fun and I already can't wait to go back this summer for the DIAMOND anniversary!! Oh and for the churros.

Think FAST

So this weekend was Valentines Day. 

I wanted it to be a super romantic weekend because I just finished nursing school and finally feel less stressed. So I woke up early and cooked us chocolate chip pancakes, eggs and bacon and then we went and got a couples massage. We then got home and started to get ready for dinner (we were going to go to a very nice restaurant). Well after I got ready I was looking at myself in the mirror and thought, "wow, my eyes look so weird." So I looked closer and noticed something was up with my pupils. I then went into the bathroom to look where the lighting was better and noticed they were still unequal. 

We learned in school that the eyes are always a clue into what is going on with the brain. So I called my mom and she suggested we drive to the ER. I started putting on my shoes and suddenly got really light headed and felt sick to my stomach. I told Tyler to call 911 immediately because I knew I was having a stroke. I stuck out my tongue and took a picture and it even deviated, my right leg was tingling. I felt so weak and so tired. 

Now flash back to 1999. I woke up to my dad throwing up and shaking really bad. Something was off. He was always sick but this time was different. My mom called 911 and then suddenly my dad started saying, "Oh my head, oh my head." At that point he just kind of laid down. EMS got there and stabilized him enough to get to UMC. But my super young (35 years old) dad had suffered from a full blown stroke. He had a clot in his brain that burst and there was nothing they could do. It was a heart breaking time.

Fast forward to 2008. I had just started college and was feeling like these little break outs that I kept having were ridiculous. I wanted to start birth control to see if that would help my hormones be more regular. Well lucky for me I had a fantastic doctor at the student center who got an extensive family history and decided to run some clotting disorder tests. Turns out I actually have 2 clotting disorders that must have been genetically passed down to me from my dad. Because of these clotting disorders I am at a high risk for clots so I had to be careful.

Now back to this weekend. Tyler brought me over to the couch as we waited for EMS to show up. I just kept thinking of my dad and started to feel anxious. I could tell Tyler was freaking out too. So I told him I think he should say a prayer. He gave a very sweet prayer that instantly comforted me and helped me feel the spirit. The fire department got to our house first and started the vital signs and such. By the time EMS got there and got me up to go to the ambulance my eyes were almost back to normal. 

So I got taken to Centennial Hills Hospital. The hospital called a code white (stroke) and rushed me back to get a ct scan. Scan came back normal. I had less tingling and was feeling better (just super ridiculously high anxiety). The doctor still admitted me and decided I needed to get an MRI done in the morning and meet with a neurologist. I got the MRI done and that came back negative too. So I was discharge to go home with the diagnosis of TIA (transient ischemic attack- aka mini stroke). A TIA is basically a clot in the brain that doesn't cause any lasting damage. Luckily I have a hematologist already and will be seeing him asap to probably start on some blood thinners. 

I couldn't help but think what caused this TIA though (besides the fact that I am a high risk for clots because of the clotting disorder). I am only 25, I am very healthy and I work out all the time. Then I remembered the last month I have had a pain in my right lower calf muscle that I thought was a strain because it hurt every time I flexed my toes. Well, that is a positive sign for blood clot in the leg, but I wasn't thinking about that OBVIOUSLY because I am so young and feel invincible! I am pretty sure now that I had a DVT in my leg and when we got the massage the clot was dislodged into my brain.

If there is one thing this scary experience has taught me it's that there is no greater thing than being surrounded by love. I am so thankful for my sweet husband that never left my side and my amazing parents that were there for me. My awesome friends that called and texted and even left nice Facebook messages. I am so thankful for those sweet thoughts and prayers. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father who was watching me this weekend and protecting me as well as providing comfort to my family. This was a very scary experience that could have had a fatal outcome. I hope no one ever has to go through something this terrifying and if they do that they will also be able to think FAST.

Right now I am just happy to be home, recovering & snuggling with my husband and puppies.