Hello Wisconsin

In October we became Wisconsiners, or as I like to say "cheese heads" (since Wisconsin is one of the largest dairy producers in the US).  Brandon had an interview for a health and safety manager position with Chieftan Sand, a sand mining company, back in late August.  For his final interview they flew us out to Eau Claire Wisconsin, and a day after the interview they called to offer him the position.  A couple weeks later we flew out to Eau Claire again to make our decision. Brandon had been with Barrick Gold for 6 years which included three different job assignments in Salt Lake City Utah, Perth Australia, and Elko Nevada.  It was a tough decision. Not only that, but after living in Perth Australia for 3 years we were finally closer to family (3.5 hour drive) which we loved. We weighed the pros and cons, and after a lot of thought decided accepting the position in Wisconsin was the right move for our family.  Brandon signed the contract with a start date of October 13.  Within a month we were packed up, moved out...said goodbye to our first home and wonderful friends in Elko Nevada, and headed for the midwest for a new adventure.    

leaving for Wisconsin

Brandon had an industrial hygiene conference in Washington DC mid October, which we purchased airline tickets for three months ago, long before we knew anything about the Wisconsin position... Andi, my mom and I were joining him for a little vacation to do some sight seeing, and we had arranged for Brandon's parents to take Ella.  It happened to be at the worst possible time, since it was smack in the middle of us moving to a different state, but it all worked out.  Brandon started work on Oct 13, and then we met up in Washington DC Oct 17-21, and then I flew from Salt Lake to Eau Claire on Oct 25.  It was insane!!!! Add a couple kids into the chaos, and I think I'm done traveling for at least 6 months.  

My mother in law, Joni, flew to Eau Claire with me which I am SO grateful for.  She was a huge help with the kiddos on the plane, and we loved having her visit for a week.  

we made it!

 We got into Eau Claire just in time for Halloween.  

Ella loved trick or treating!  We are in a new neighborhood, so were pretty much the only trick or treaters.  Since we were the lone trick or treaters Ella got LOTS of candy, and was perfectly content.  Hopefully next year we will know all the trick or treating hot spots.  

The weather is definitely colder than what we are use to, and by the 1st of November we already had snow, and lots of it!!!

We are still getting familiar with the area.  There is lots to do for kids here, including lots of indoor activities that will awesome during the winter months.  

Eau Claire has a really nice community feel, and we have really enjoyed living here so far!  Looking forward to our new adventure and discovering all that Wisconsin has to offer.  Missing all our family and friends in Salt Lake, Perth, and Elko though. The one benefit of moving so much is that we have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, the downside is that we have had to say goodbye to them.  Grateful to have made life long friendships.  Here's to hoping I can keep this blog updated for my friends and family around the globe.  Love you! :)   

photo shoot

A photographer from the hospital came and took newborn photos of Andi. They were so adorable that I had to buy them... Even though they were pretty pricey.  She is only a day old in these photos.  Such a sweet little angel.   

My friend Emily made adorable matching big sister, lil sis t-shirts for the girls.  I decided to test out my photography skills and take some photos of them wearing the shirts before they out grew them.  Andi is 6 weeks old in these pictures.  I think they turned out really cute! Not too shabby for an amateur photographer.  ;) Unfortunately, by the time I got both girls dressed for the photo shoot Andi was on the verge of a melt down, so she has her binky in all the photos.  Wish I could have gotten some photos of her beautiful gummy smile.  

Hospital stay

First family photo

My hospital stay with Andi was different from when I had Ella. For one, I was in the hospital with Ella for a full week.  Ella was in the NICU for four days or so, and then after that had trouble nursing so they had us stay a couple more days to make sure she was feeding properly.  I was only in the hospital for two days with Andi, and no NICU (thank goodness).  Another difference was when I had Ella Brandon stayed at the hospital with me and spent the night. This time around since it was baby #2 Brandon had to stay home and take care of Ella.  He brought Ella in the mornings and late afternoons to visit, and then came back in the evenings to spend some alone time with Andi and I while my mom watched Ella.  I missed Brandon and Ella being around, but at the same time it was nice to have some alone time with Andi.  I really tried to soak in those peaceful moments of holding, and nursing her.  Just the two of us... because I knew once I got home it was going to be pretty hectic trying to juggle a two year old and a newborn.  I also just wanted to cherish my time in the hospital with Andi being so new and fresh from heaven.  With this being my second baby I know just how fast they grow up.  I wish newborn snuggles would last forever.  I love the way newborns smell, how petal soft their skin is, how they fold up into a little ball when you hold them, and the little newborn noises they make.  Pure perfection!

    

Daddy with his girls

I was a little worried Ella would be freaked out seeing me in a hospital bed with iv's hooked up etc.  But luckily I think she was a little too young to even notice.  She was just excited to see me, and was very interested in the "baby," especially her feet. haha She kept pulling up the blanket to look at Andi's feet, and then would squeal in excitement.  It was such a precious moment being able to have my two girls together for the first time.  Ella is so loving and sweet to her baby sister.  I hope they grow up to be best friends just like Michelle and I.  I love my two girls.

The other main difference was we had family around this time!  Back in Australia we experienced the pregnancy, and delivery with just the two of us, which was also special in its own way.  This time around I was grateful to have my mom, mother in law and sister be there for the birth, and both of our families were able to come visit in the hospital. My best friend Rachel even surprised me and flew in from California to visit us in the hospital. Best surprise ever! I loved showing off my sweet baby girl, and it was so wonderful to have all the love and support.  Thank you to everyone that visited.  I wasn't very good about remembering to take photos so I didn't get a picture of everyone that came to visit.

One thing I find funny is people always tell you "make sure to rest in the hospital because you won't get much rest when you get home."  That is completely false haha.  The first night in the hospital they came in to check me every 2 hours! Different nurses came in at different times to take my blood pressure, check my bleeding, temperature etc.  In addition to that I was up every couple hours nursing Andi, so I would just be laying down to go to sleep after feeding Andi and the nurse would walk in the door to check me. On top of that I started getting additional blood clots in my leg so a vascular surgeon kept coming in to check my veins.  The pediatrician came in a few times to check on Andi.  It was a nightmare.  Michelle slept over at the hospital with me the first night since Brandon was with Ella.  Sometime around 5:00 am someone came in to test the tap water in my room, and Michelle and I just burst out laughing.  seriously?!?! couldn't it wait until 7 or 8 o'clock.  Then the resident that delivered Andi came in around 6:00 am to discuss contraceptive options with me.  I could have punched him in the face.  haha Then there were visitors coming off and on during the day, which that part I loved.

Despite getting zero sleep I will definitely look back and cherish the memories of my hospital stay with Andi.  Some days I wish I could go back and relive those moments with Ella.  Not the pain part, but just the fresh, new feeling part.  Oh babies.  Such miracles.  I am so grateful for my little family.  They mean everything to me.  :) 

Going home as a family of four!

Ella was so excited that she got to ride in the wheel chair with me :)

Andrea Michelle Reese

Andrea Michelle Reese born May 7, 2014 at 11:51~ 7 lbs 1 oz ~ 21 inches

We are officially a family of four!  Our sweet baby Andi joined our family on Wednesday May 7, 2014.  Here is her birth story. :)

I was originally seeing an OB in Elko Nevada, but at 30 weeks switched to a high risk OB in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah hospital due to complications.  Other than baby girl being breech until 36 weeks she was healthy and growing perfectly.   It was more so an issue of my body not handling the pregnancy well.  I had severe varicose veins on the left side of my body that appeared pretty much the second I became pregnant, and progressively got worse as the pregnancy went on.  By 18 weeks I had to wear compression stockings 24/7 except at night when I slept, and at 30 weeks I stated getting blood clots in my leg and was put on blood thinners that I had to inject into my stomach twice a day.  Not fun.  I think i'm finally over my phobia of needles now. haha  Not only do varicose veins look unpleasant, they are extremely painful.  I couldn't stand for more than a couple minutes without being in pain.  If it wasn't for the compression stockings, which helped ease the pain, I probably would have been bed ridden my whole pregnancy.  In Sept/Oct I will have to get surgery to repair the veins.  

At 34 weeks Ella and I moved to my parents house in Salt Lake City, so that my doctor could monitor me more closely.  They also wanted me close by in case this babe decided to make an early debut like her sister (Ella was born at 36 weeks).  Brandon unfortunately had to stay in Elko for work, but was able to visit us on the weekends.  

At 35 1/2 weeks I started going into preterm labor in the middle of the night and had to go into labor and delivery.  Luckily, they were able to stop the contractions with morphine and sent me home early that morning.  From then on I continued to have strong contractions off and on for 3 more weeks until I was induced. They decided to induce me at 38 weeks because of the varicose veins.  I didn't think little girl was going to stay put until my induction date, but she did which I was grateful for! I wanted to make sure she was fully cooked, and that her daddy was there for the deliver. I didn't want another NICU baby.  

   

Wednesday May 7th was the big day.  They had us check in bright and early at 5:00

am.  They wasted no time, and by 6:00 am they broke my water, started IV fluids and the pitocin.  I was dilated to a 2 and 85% effaced when I got to the hospital.  The nurse continued to up my pitocin every hour or so to help me dilate. My mom,  Michelle, and mother in law arrived around 9:30 am.  Around 10:00 am I was in quite a bit of pain and decided I was ready for the epidural.  The anesthesiologist couldn't do the epidural right away so they gave me fentanyl to help with the pain until I could get the epidural.  The fentanyl made me super dizzy and loopy.  Luckily it didn't take too long for the anesthesiologist to get there.  Once the epidural was in I felt great and was able to relax a little.  

Sometime after 11:00 the nurse came back to put in my catheter and check to see how far i'd progressed.  My family went down to the waiting room while she checked me.  I was only at a 4.  Brandon and I made guesses as to when our little girl would arrive.  I was guessing around 2:00 pm. I was definitely wrong.  I was feeling nice and relaxed from the epidural and decided to try to take a little nap.  Brandon went down to the waiting room to tell our family that I was going to try to rest.  Twenty minutes or so later I was in excruciating pain.  I kept hitting the button for the epidural and it wasn't working.  I was in so much pain that I was literally bawling.  The pain was near where the catheter was, so I thought maybe the nurse had put it in wrong.  I told Brandon to call the nurse.  The nurse came in and I couldn't even talk I was in so much pain.  Brandon explained that I thought something was wrong with my catheter.  The nurse had me lay on my back and checked me. The nurse looked at us and in a shaky voice said "There is a reason you are in so much pain.  Your baby is coming right now." Surprise! The nurse seemed a little in shock.  I don't think she had anticipated me progressing from a 4 to a 10 in 20 minutes!!  I told them I couldn't do it, and that my epidural wasn't working.  Apparently I had progressed so quickly that the epidural couldn't take effect.  The nurse said by the time the anesthesiologist got there I would already have my baby. It was time to start pushing.  The nurse made a call to the waiting room asking the Reese family to come to my room.  They were literally walking in the room as I was pushing.  They were just as surprised as we were.  No one expected it to happen so quickly.  Three hard, painful pushes (I felt everything) and she was here!  She arrived at 11:51.  I had her so quickly that my doctor missed the delivery, and a resident had to deliver her instead. 

7 lbs 1 oz

She calmed down as soon as they put her on my chest.  She reminded me so much of Ella as a newborn.  It was love at first sight.  Child birth is one of the hardest, most special experiences.  I have never felt closer to heaven.  I wish I could bottle that moment up.  There is no greater feeling than seeing your baby for the first time.  She latched on perfectly, which was a huge relief since Ella had such a hard time nursing initially.  All in all the delivery went really smoothly, and there were no complications. I'm so grateful our family got to be there for the birth this time.

First photo with our little Andi

 

It was a rough pregnancy, but the end result made it 100% worth all the pain and misery. 

We are so in love with our sweet Andi.  :)