I have the best kiddos

Okay, I had been stressing today BIG TIME for the past week! Today was Hannah's dress rehearsal for dance and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to handle it with the two younger ones in tow. Yet somehow, by the grace of God, we did it! I threw Cameron in the Baby Bjorn and Layla stayed by my side the entire time. I was able to get Hannah in and out of costume quickly between numbers and get back out to the auditorium with enough time to sit and video tape! I cant believe it! All three kids were SO GOOD! Cameron never even woke up once and he seemed quite content being tucked close to Mommy in the bjorn!

Hannah was a vision of beauty and she truly brought tears to my eyes just watching her. It was such a magical moment watching her perform since dance was something so close to my heart and something I have always been so passionate about. It was so very wonderful to see her in some respect, "following in her Mommy's shoes". She enjoyed it so much so that she actually said that she would like to put cheerleading on hold and stick with dance again this fall. YAY! I wasnt sure how we were going to fit cheerleading and all it entails into her already busy hockey schedule and I truly believe she does so well at dance, I would like to see her continue.

So it was quite an eventful day for us and we are gearing up for an afternoon and evening of company! Hmmm by the time #3 comes.. there is just no rest for the weary! LOL Here are some pics I took with my cell phone and I am going to try and post the videos as well a bit later!

On one last note... GO ANDREW! He is HOME from the hospital and the doctors have said that he is nothing short of a miracle! His counts are going up daily and he is doing wonderfully! Those prayers are working!!!! Keep them coming!!!

June 21, 2010

Settling In

Cameron is settling in just perfectly! It is already so difficult to remember him swimming around inside my belly and that makes me a bit sad. However, life is surely complete now that he is here! The girls are both doing well and today is Hannah's very last day of Kindergarten.. sob sob.. Seriously, that could not have gone by any quicker! I cant believe that as of today at 3PM I will have a 1st grader! I think I need to somehow keep that thought tucked away or else I will be a crying mess by the time I pick her up! I am looking forward to the next several weeks having all three of my "babies" home with me for the summer!

God has surely blessed me!

Hoping to get more pics up soon but for now... it's time to take Miss Layla out to her new little pool!

My Blessings!

Family of FIVE!

"Nine months of waiting and wondering and now,

here he is... more perfect than we could have imagined,

more loved than he'll ever know."

Baby Number #3 has FINALLY arrived! This is the first moment I have had to post but I can not even believe that I am a mother to a beautiful baby BOY! Cameron John Murphy arrived in the wee hours of Thursday, June 10th at 3:54AM weighing in at 8lbs 2 oz and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely gorgeous from head to toe and big sisters are THRILLED that he is here! (As is Mommy and Daddy)

I started having a lot of pain starting on Monday. It wasn't contractions but just pain and it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife in my bladder. When I went for my appointment on Wednesday, I was 4cm and 75% effaced which I was surprised to hear since my body had never gotten that far on it's own with the girls. By Wednesday night the bladder pain had gotten worse and I was having contractions all over the place, but nothing time table. I couldn't walk it hurt so bad and I finally decided to call the Dr. after much persuasion from my sister and father. The Dr. on call told me to come into Labor & Delivery. We headed on down after my parents came to stay with the girls and were admitted to the ER immediately at around 8:30PM. I was checked and apparently was still only 4cm and 75% so they decided to watch me for an hour. By the time that hour was up, I was contracting every 2 to 3 minutes and it was beginning to hurt. Yet, I was still "only" 4cm so the resident said that they were going to send me home with some Ambien so I can sleep. UM WHAT? I didn't understand! She told me I could come back when my body got to about a 6 or so. My response, "How on EARTH do I KNOW when that happens???" Moreover, I am contracting every 2 to 3 minutes, would you like me to return when I have had the baby? Seriously, don't mess with a crazy woman in labor! HAHAHAHA SO after some tears and a bit of whining, the resident pulled some strings and got me admitted.

Once we got upstairs it all went like clockwork (like I knew it would)! Pitocin was administered at midnight and I received the epi around 1:30 or so. Once that kicked in, and boy did it kick in, I knew it wouldn't be long. I was feeling no pain and listening to my Harry Connick, Jr when I realized the time had arrived at around 3:30 AM. My Dr. came in and said that I was fully dilated and it was time to go. Speaking of which, this was when my husband excused himself to go to the bathroom. YES he DID. The nurse was speechless and asked if we should wait or not! LOL. I told her yes, he would be back. Only Billy. From there, Cameron came out much like my girls, with four contractions and in about 10 minutes! Hearing the doctor announce that he was a BOY was surely surreal! The whole experience was completely magical as it had been with my girls. It took us a bit to decide on a name but in the end, we knew that Cameron would fit him perfectly. Taking a little inspiration from "Cam Neely" and having us be all hockey fans and such and it was what Billy wanted so how could I say no?

I still can't believe he is here safe and sound and that we are now a family of five! How very blessed we are! The girls are completely smitten with him and havent left his side for a moment! Thank you all for your well wishes and thank you Lord for sending us this beautiful gift from above!

Now.. on to figureing out a new name for the blog!!!!

Waiting

Baby Murphy is still snug as a bug in a rug in this belly o' mine. I am trying so very much to just be patient, but patience is surely not one of my strong suits! It's been quite the tease for the past several weeks as I have had contractions on and off quite frequently. Just when I think it is going to turn into the "This is it" moment, they go away. Last week's appointment really got me excited when I found out that I was already 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. Yet, still no baby to be had! I know this drill all to well as the same thing happened with Miss Layla. When Baby Murphy is ready, he or she will come. Until then, all I can do is wait and try to enjoy these last days of pregnancy and try to ignore the "Oh MY GOD, LOOK AT YOU.. How can you go another day???" comments. LOL

The girls are doing well.. knock on wood. Hannah seems to be back to her happy, chipper self and Layla is staying healthy! I couldn't ask for anything more! I just pray we stay at this status quo now so we can enjoy our summer!

I am still asking that you keep the Cavanaugh/Frezza Families in your prayers. Friday was twin brother Jake and Andrew's procedure. Jake was Andrew's bone marrow donor and what a brave little man he was. How wonderful that he was able to do this for such a deserving little Andrew. To give you an idea of the special, special little boy Andrew is I had heard a story about him being very concerned that Jake was doing this for him. That Jake had never been in a hospital and he didnt want him to be afraid. He was explaining this all to his nurses and asked the nurses to please give Jake something so that he wouldn't be afraid. Such a sweet little boy.

Both procedures were successful and now we just wait and pray that this marrow takes for Andrew. Please keep sending those prayers as I know they are being felt by this family. You can keep updated on Andrew's status at Boston Children's through this link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/andrewfrezza

ENT

Hannah is going to the ENT today to see what our options are and if the ear has begun to heal yet. It is still draining at this point. Her pediatrician also recommends that we push for an MRI of the ear to see if that Eustachian tube could be deformed from her history with the hemangiomas. I truly believe that is the culprit causing all of these issues at which point we will have to figure out a more permanent tube type solution.

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UPDATE:

I was able to get Hannah an appointment today at 4PM. Unfortunately this coincided with my ultrasound so thankfully Billy was able to get Han to the appointment. He was a trooper bringing both girls in the pouring rain and traffic. I wrote down a list of questions and here is what we know so far:

First and foremost the doctor wants her tubes back in ASAP. (Round 3 of tubes is scheduled for June 30th currently, but I am going to try and move that up as we will be on the island at that time.) Thrilled about this however, as when those tubes are in, we are symptom free!

Secondly, he does not feel as though she will have any long term hearing loss or issues. He feels as though this is completely a fluid issue. Her ears looked to be healing which means the antibiotic is working however, there is still fluid which would contribute to her still having discomfort. Speaking of which, I did get a call at the end of the day from the school saying she was having some minor pain in her ear. I was able to get a form from the school nurse which the ENT filled out for me so that they may administer Motrin in cases where Hannah may be in some discomfort. I truly dont want her missing any more school because of this and the Motrin certainly seems to help.

Lastly, he agreed on getting the MRI and I am calling the pediatrician tomorrow to have them schedule one. It IS quite possible that the Eustachian tube is what is causing all of this and if that is the case then we will have to discuss a long term solution but for now, the tubes will rectify the issue. FINALLY PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO LISTEN TO MY THEORY! Whooo Hooo!

So all in all, a good appointment at the ENT. Now.. does anyone have any sedatives to give to Hannah for when she comes out of the anesthesia? YIKES! Not looking forward to that! LOL She is a year older and a year stronger.. she is going to kick the ever living you know what out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!