Guess Who's 3???????

Three years ago , November 12, 2006, I became a mother to the most precious, handsome, loveable, energetic, curious, all-boy, athletic, fun, sweet, perfect little boy ever. I can't believe my baby is already 3? No way. It seems like just yesterday when we were pulling into our driveway bringing our bundle of joy home for the very first time. Alot has changed in these three years. Alex now has a baby sister who he absolutely adores.
Alex loves playing outside. He loves riding his bike, swimming, running around at the park, and just watching the neighborhood kids play, they are very much older than he is. For the longest time he was into “CARS” but that has now changed and loves anything “STAR WARS”, he is taking after his Daddy. Alex isn’t a very picky eater and will eat just about anything in front of him. He loves going to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and play so we try to go at least once a week. His most favorite food is CHEESE. He requires it on everything. I am so surprised he is not constipated with how much dairy he eats and drinks. He always has a glass of choclate milk in the morning and at night before he goes to bed.
He can count to 12 and knows some of his colors. He loves to draw and color in a coloring book. Alex has gone to Mother’s Day Out since he was 5 months old but this is the first time he is not going this year. I took him out because I was afraid that Alexa would get sick easily with her being a preemie so I didn’t want Alex bringing anything home to her. Hopefully we’ll go back in January. I really want him to fellowship with the other kids.
Alex I LOVE you so much and couldn't have asked for a better son. Happy 3rd Birthday!!!!

Do They Look Alike????

Alexa @ 4 months

Alex @ 4 months

4 Months Old!!!!!!!

3 Months Old!!!!

My how time flies......Alexa is already 3 months old.

:) Smiles from Alexa :)

Foto of the Day :)

Precious

Circus 2009

This past weekend we took Alex to his first circus. We went to see Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey at the American Airlines Center. We all had a blast and can't wait for next year.


Alex's favorite part of the circus were the elephants.

BIG BROTHER little sister

2 Months

Alexa's 2 month check up went really well except for the fact the peditrician was really concerned with the mutliple birthmarks Alexa has. She has a total of 7 birthmarks. The peditrician measured her birthmarks and throughout her next visits he will measure them to make sure they are not getting bigger.
Here are her stats:
Weight- 9lbs 14 oz (22%)
Length- 22in. (31%)
Head Circ.-14.8in. (15%)

After her visit we went to Claire's and got her ears pierced. She was already upset from the 3 shots she received at her DR visit so the piercing made her even more upset. Rob picked out pink flowers since it seems everything she wears is pink.

Update........

Sorry for the late post. Alexa finally came home on June 22nd after a week stay in the NICU and a 2 week stay in the special care unit. I thank God for the doctors and nurses who participated in Alex'a care. Alexa had a follow up with her peditrician on June 25th and she weighed 7lbs and 6.5oz and was 20 inches long. She received a clean bill of health. Alexa is now 6 weeks old and is such a blessing to Rob and I. We are still having trouble getting her to nipple a bottle and she occasionally forgets to breathe while she is eating so these are the issues we are dealing with right now.

Getting ready to leave the hospital 6/22/09

Alex holding Alexa for the first time 6/22/09

1 month old 6/30/09

6 weeks old 7/12/09

Alex and Alexa 7/12/09

Praise You in this Storm!!!

Alexa is still having apnea spells with bradycardia and still isn't feeding very well. She now has a upper respiratory infection so she isn't allowed any visitors except Mommy and Daddy. With everything that is going on with Alexa, God is truly the only one who can carry us through the storms of life. I just have to remember that He is there for Rob and I and all we need to do is pray regardless of any storm that is brought forth. Continue to pray for healing on Alexa so that we can bring her home soon.

A Major Setback :(

Yesterday Alexa had a major setback and had a apnea spell while I was holding her. She had gone 2 days without a spell. In order for her to go home she has to go 5 days without a spell and nipple 8 bottles and yesterday she was 0 for 6 :(

Alexa sucking on her fingers!!!

Update on Alexa

Alexa is still learning to nipple but she didn't have any apnea spells last night or today soooooo praise GOD!!!!! I just feel physically exhausted and am still recovering from my c-section so pray that I get some strength.
6/09/09

6/09/09

6/08/09

6/08/09

The Birth of Alexa Isabella Castillo

There is soooo much to update and like I said in my previous post there is not a day that goes by that I do not recognize and remind myself how incredibly blessed I am. I praise the Lord for His blessings in my life, especially for my little Alexa Isabella who was born on May 31st 6 weeks early. My water broke that morning at 5 and I headed to Presby in Dallas where I was on bedrest for 2 weeks for preterm labor. By the time I got to Presby I was 4cm dilated and yes indeed my water was broken. An hour later I was 6cm dilated and I was planning on an elective c-section because of the complications I had with Alex (episiotomy, forceps delivery, 4th degree and hematoma) so they hurried and got me ready for the c-section. By the time I got back there I was already 8cm and the contractions were getting very painful. Alexa was born at 9:18 a.m. pink and crying. All babies born less than 35 weeks gestation go to the NICU so as soon as she was born they took her to the NICU. I was able to see her as soon as my recovery was over and she just looked so perfect. She was a BIG girl for her gestation weighing in at 6lbs and 11ozs and was 19 3/4 inches. She initially had trouble nippling so they feed her via feeding tube. That night she began having periods of apnea (where she quits breathing for greater than 20 seconds)so she required oxygen via nasal cannula. Alexa stayed in the NICU for a week and finally moved to the special care nursery on Sunday. She is still having trouble nippling and a occupational theraptist is still working with Rob and I but she seems to breastfeed awesome. Her apnea spells seems to be less and less and each new day. We are hoping to have her home by next week.

The day before I delivered- 34 weeks

Playing with Alexa's Bouncer!!!!

Finally Home and 31 Weeks :)

I finally came home on Monday but on bedrest. I still have to take my Procardia (for contractions) every 4 hours. Just wanted to thank everyone for your prayers.

Alexa is growing!!!!

Enjoying Nap Time!!!!!

"Lord, grant me the courage to walk on" ...

Sorry for the late, overdue post. Hopefully I'll be able to answer a couple of questions:

*What condition has brought me to the hospital????
On Monday, April 29 about 3p.m. I noticed that I was having the worst heartburn and headache so it was Alex's nap time and like any other day I tried taking a nap with him. I was really uncomfortable and couldn't sleep so I just got up and went to the living room and watched TV. Around 8p.m. I still had the heartburn and headache so I called my DR and he suggested that I go to CVS or HEB to check my blood pressure since I had preeclampsia with Alex. Rob took me to HEB to get my blood pressure checked and it was 134/88 which I thought wasn't that bad. I called my DR and gave him the results of my blood pressure and he suggested that I go to labor & delivery just to get checked out. I told him that I would just rather taking a Ambien (sleeping pill) and go to bed and promised if the headache got worse that I would go to labor & delivery so off to bed I went. I did go to sleep but woke up at 1a.m. with the worst headache so I woke up Rob and Rob's parents came over to watch Alex and Rob and I headed off to Corsicana.

Once I got there, they put me on the monitor and I was contracting every 2-4 minutes so the nurse checked me and I was already 2cm dilated and my cervix was thinned out 50% so she gave me a dose of Procardia to stop the contractions and it didn't help. I was put on a medicine drip called magnesium (don't wish this drug on anybody)to stop the contractions but it wasn't helping either. Since Navarro doesn't have a level 2 nursery my DR decided to ship me to another hospital that had a NICU in case I was going to deliver because I was only 29 3/7 weeks. My DR tried sending me to Baylor in Dallas but at the time their beds were full so Presby had a open bed for me and I rode the hour drive to Presby by ambulance.

Once at Presby, they sent me to labor and delivery and I got settled in and saw the OB DR on call. They checked my cervix and my dilation was still the same as the previous so that was a good thing but I was still contracting. I was kept on the magnesium that night and was bedridden. The next morning I was real short of breath and started having chest pain so they finally weaned me off the magnesium from 3gm to 2gm to 1gm until I was completely off the magnesium. By the time I was contracting irregularly from 5 to 8 minutes and then I was contracting just occasionally.

That afternoon I was able to move to antepartum where I was still on bedrest with bathroom privileges, off the monitor and was finally able to eat a regular diet. So here I am today still on antepartum. I was monitored twice a day for contractions and Alexa's heartbeat but now I am just monitored once a day in the morning. I was on bedrest with bathroom privileges but now I am able to walk in the hallway for 15 minutes twice a day and am able to go outside via wheelchair once a day. I was still contracting occasionally but they have not been painful but just feel tightening of my belly but (knock on wood) I have not had any contractions these past 3 days. I did have a scare on Wednesday with some vaginal bleeding but I had a varicosity vein that ruptured. I am taking Procardia every 4 hours to prevent contractions.

*How long will I be here?????
I am 31 weeks today and will be here until I am 34 weeks. They will do a swab called fetal fibronectin and it test for preterm labor. It actually test if you will go into preterm labor within 2 weeks. If it is negative then I will be able to go home on bedrest and continue taking the Procardia at home but if it comes back positive then I might have to stay here until I am 36 weeks :(

*What do I do to keep myself busy?????
I can actually say that these 2 weeks that I have been here has gone by fast. It seems that the day goes by fast but the nights just drag on. I just watch TV and I have a DVD player here so I have watched a couple of new releases. I am not a big reader of books buy started reading a book and reading magazines. When Rob is not working he and Alex are here visiting so that helps alot. Oh and yes I am on the computer alot, especially facebook.


There is not a day that goes by that I do not recognize and remind myself how incredibly blessed I am. I praise the Lord for His blessings in my life. Especially for the wonderful and supporting husband He has given me who is going through all this while working full time, caring for Alex, tending to his needs, cooking for him and doing the laundry and tending to the household chores. Today was a difficult day for me on an emotional level because tomorrow is Mother's Day and I won't be at home with Alex. This is still a big adjustment for Alex. He'll call me and say "Mommy you sick" or when leaving the hospital he'll say "you come Mommy?". This just breaks my heart.

I just wanted to thank everyone who prayed your hearts out to help our family through this tough time. All I know is that we are so blessed to have wonderful family and friends who have lifted us up and kept us strong through this. There are many days that we felt we couldn't have made it without all of you. I want to stand strong, to persevere in this trial, and to bring glory to God in doing so. I honestly couldn't do this without Him. He is the Creator of the universe, He is my Savior and He is God. Please pray for us as we continue to endure. Pray that we finish strong and that in the end we have a healthy baby girl. "Lord, grant me the courage to walk on" ...

Update on Alexa's Room :)

Easter 2009

Easter started with egg hunting at the community wide easter egg hunt at the park. The park was divided up by age groups and it seemed like Alex was one of the tallest one in his age group. He knew exactly what to do and ended up grabbing 35 eggs. Then later on that evening we went to Amy's for a delicious brisket dinner and also hunted more eggs. Then on Sunday we went to church where Alex won a huffy bike. He is a little to big for it so we will have to save it and then we went to Rob's parents and they also cooked brisket for lunch and enjoyed another egg hunt. Alex got some much candy that I ended up throwing some of it away.

A Work in Progress

Rob and I have been busy decorating Alexa's room. We finished painting, putting up the wall border, putting together the dresser drawer and putting up the crib. Now we just have to put up the wall decorations and rearrange the room. SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!

Random Pics!!!

This morning Alex was in a good mood and wanted his pic taken so here is some random pics of him.

26 Weeks :)

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I had my 26 week DR appointment yesterday and Alexa is growing well. She was head down so hopefully she stays that way so that I won't have to have a C-Section. The heartburn is back and I am not sleeping well at night but I try not to cpmplain about it because I thank God everyday for this pregnancy. Alex is starting to realize now that my belly is getting bigger that he is going to have a baby sister. Our goal next week is to start painting the nursery. I am soooo anxious to get it all down and see how it is going to turn out.