Its JULY!!!!!

Hello out there world. Its July. I have just sat down at my computer for what feels like the first time in two months. So May has passed us by. The last month of pregnancy for me was the worst. I wanted to get out and go but I was constantly in pain, uncomfortable, and tired. I felt like I couldn't do anything. So we hung out at home, visited friends and family in Hillside, and waited. June 6 Mary Catherine made her debut. She was born at 2:40 pm weighing 7lbs 4 oz. We had a great birth experience. Mama was induced Friday morning but the action got going when my water was broken in the afternoon. Mary had trouble breathing right away. It was very scary for everyone. They were not sure if she had a collapsed lung, or if she had swallowed some fluid or what was wrong. She was put under oxygen at the hospital in Ottawa. The next morning it was decided that she needed to go to Peoria to the NICU. Off she went in an ambulance and Mama, Papa, Grandma, and Allison followed in the afternoon. Ben had gone to stay with Uncle Jim and Maritza and the girls for the weekend. We got down to Peoria and found that Mary had been diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborns. What this meant is that the veins that are supposed to open at birth so the baby can breath didn't and Mary was breathing like she did in utero. After a few days of that Mary was very tired and they put her on a ventilator. She was on that for a few days and then she started getting better. Two weeks after she was born Papa and Mama got to bring Mary home. While Mary was in the hospital Aunt Christine came to help with the big kids. We alternated between staying in Peoria and staying at home. Aunt Christine was a big hit with the kids and a huge help and blessing to mama and papa. Papa took the kids to do some fun things in Peoria so mama could hang out at the hospital with Mary. There are many more details to the story that I wont go into but Mary is now a healthy growing three week old who is nursing, pooping, and crying. She loves to be held by mama and papa. Ben loves Mary to pieces and Allison is getting used to her. Allison is a funny little toddler and loves to pat the baby. Ben loves to sit with mama when she feeds Mary and hold her hand. Right now Mary and Allison are sleeping while Ben plays quietly. I will keep updating as I can.