Our Baby Story

Rileigh Cait Ford: Born Feb.25, 2008. Weight: 7lbs Height:19 3/4 inches Head:12cm Chest:13cm My tiny little baby girl with a head full of black hair! She looks like a little indian baby now, but we'll see. Dec did too, but he's the blondest of all my kids now. I'd really like to see her keep her hair and dark skin. You can also see her on the web nursery I may be bias, but I find her very beautiful!!!The order of the first five pictures tells it all. It went just like that.Nurse came. I waited. Dr. Hix broke my water. I wasn't smiling anymore. Rileigh Cait was here!

We arrived at the hospital a little before 5:30am. It took them awhile to get anything going. Then the nurse forgot to pass on info during shift change, so it was about 8:30 before they actually got things going. Dr Hix came in at nine, but he couldn't break my water because of Rileigh's position. He left to do a "procedure" and came back at 11:00 to finally be able to break my water. I really expected things to go like before. After about an hour, I decided, if it was going to be a while, I might as well have an epidural. She got me all ready and checked and I was an 8. No point in getting one if I was that far along...I thought. Then I changed my mind again in about 15 minutes. She left to go get things going for the epidural and I about came up out of the bed. Its amazing that they call that "pressure" All I knew was I needed to push and the only medical person in the room was my sister. She calmly paged for the nurse, but when they didn't hear her, I wasn't so calm. By the time the nurse got in there I was a little paniced. I knew I wasn't supposed to push, but my body didn't want to listen at all. She yelled for the back up doctor, and poor Dr.Gorman came running down the hall with his intern. That intern may chose a different profession after what he witnessed. Dr. Groman was trying to get his scrubs on over his dress clothes while telling the nurse to stay there and be ready to catch. I pushed once. Literally. As soon as he got over to us and they said I could push when I was ready, there she was! I asked him afterward if I only pushed once and he kinda laughed. He said that I pushed once and she came out from her waist up, so he helped her the rest of the way out. I was just glad they let me push! Oh and the intern, he never moved from his spot in the corner. I guess Rileigh just wanted to enter our little world with some flare! She did that for sure.

Visitors

We had a lot of visitors come to welcome Rileigh Cait into the world! It was so nice to be able to share our bundle of joy with our friends and family. We love you all! Shelly, my mom and jeff's mom Helen Jeff was able to change her first diaper! That was such a blessing. He really wasn't sure he'd be able to do much more than hold her, but he can! Praise God!!

Brandon actually held the baby! He was a natural. Pamela managed to get a picture with Rileigh's eyes open! Becky came too All of the kids came after naptime to see there new sister. They loved her of course! Brayden wasn't too sure what his Granny was holding, but he knew it wasn't him.Mike and Sarah came and stayed for a while. They were so excited, I can't wait to see how they react when its their turn to have one.Angie stopped by after work out. She thought some others were coming too, but "lost" them along the way. My cousin, Elesha, stopped by the next morning with her kids. Isaac was so sweet. He had picked out a teddy bear and matching outfit for her. Its a good thing he is sweet because, he'll be the only boy with two little sisters to deal with.Kristen came by after that. She had Zane Micheal with her. He is so adoreable. He just "talked" to Kristen. I would ask Kristen a question and he'd say no. He wasn't too sure about the baby, but he let her hold it anyway.

We had a few other visitors that managed to avoid Jeff and the camera. It really was nice for everyone to come see us and thank you all for the thoughtful gifts.

bringing home baby

With all three of my other babies we've stayed 2 nights in the hospital. i am a firm believer that every woman should get 3 days in the hospital for recovery. This time we didn't have a good reason to stay, so we came home Tuesday afternoon. Things have gone fine, but there have been a few times, I wish we had a nurse here. (Shelly had to head back home for work and school.) Anyway, here's a few shots of coming home with Rileigh Cait.A good friend brought me the flowers. With three pink ones, Edana and I decided it was one for each girl in the family. Daddy taking everything to the car. It is amazing how much you accumulate in one night! Snuggled up and ready for the ride home! She didn't even cry when I put her in her seat. I couldn't believe it.

Finally in the car and ready to go home. We took Jeff's car and left the van for mom. Boy did it make me glad we have the van. His car is so tiny, we almost couldn't fit her seat in the back. AT HOME!! Isn't she beautiful. She was fussy and I couldn't figure out what to do for her. I took her clothes off and she calmed right down. She cuddled up to me and we slept for three straight hours! We are all very thankful to be home with our beautiful baby girl. Thank you all for your prayers and sharing in our joy.

5:30am

Well, I'm off to bed. Not that it is exactly early, but my husband seems to think any time before midnight is early. Anyway. We go to the hospital at 5:30am to be induced! I really am excited. I'm so worn out, it kind of doesn't feel real yet. I'm sure it will at 4:00 in the morning...i'm NOT a morning person. If things are anything like last time...i might have a precious new baby by mid morning or noon! Now that does excite me! Hope everyone has a good day, and for those of you that are close by, feel free to stop in. We love the visitors!! Oh...Shelly will post pictures as soon as she can. God bless everyone!

Proved me wrong!

Jeff has proven me wrong yet again. I posted last night that he was still in his splint, so Rileigh Cait would win our little race we had going. He had occupational therapy tonight and came home with great news. He is officially out of his splint. He has a couple of small ones to help him stretch out certain fingers, but those are worn more for exercise than protection. He is still wearing his gauntlet. I'm sure some of the guys at the ranch find that amusing. I do! I think he mostly wears it because the scars kind of hurt in the cold weather. He's doing really well. Please continue to pray for him though. If his thumb doesn't start working, they may have to go in and do some more work on it. Its doing pretty well at the base, but he still isn't able to flex the tip. We are praying and believing its just a slow process and will be working fine before long. NOTE: jeff said it himself, so i can say it....any process that Jeff is involved in is slow! (thats kind of an ongoing joke in our family.)

Having a Baby

Okay, so you all know I'm having a baby, but now, I have a true date. I went to the doctor today, and have dilated to a 2 1/2. He went ahead and had his nurse schedule an induction. I can't wait. Monday, Feb. 25 is the official day. (Unless, of course, she decides to make an earlier appearance!) I wouldn't necessarily mind if she came earlier, but Monday is still a week earlier than my due date. I'm just so excited next week by this time, I should have a beautiful baby girl. Don't worry, Shelly will post plenty of pictures for me with her new camera, I'm sure! Guess this means Rileigh Cait wins the "race" Jeff is still in a splint some of the time and the house isn't finished. I'll post some pictures of the house's progress in a day or two. Dad has done a lot. Shelly came this weekend and helped out. They've stained most of the floors that are going to be stained and started primering and painting. Now if the workers would just get out here and do their stuff! Maybe they'll be moved in before April.... Oh! on the note. My new couch will arrive on Thursday, so I guess for a few weeks we'll have a LOT of seating. I'm pretty pumped about that coming too, but not near as much as I am about Rileigh Cait! Any of you that want are more than welcome to come by. (There is always a ton of people in and out when I have my babies. We love the company!)

Wild Weekend

We had one crazy busy weekend. From date night, to birthday parties, to baby showers. It was non-stop for the Fords. Knowing all the thing going on this week, I talked mom into babysitting for Jeff and me on Friday. We actually went on a date! I was so excited. We had a little miscommunication and Jeff ended up in town with no gas and no way to buy gas. Opps! Mom and the kids ran me to town so we just went from there on our date. Unfortunately, I looked horrible. (Well, I felt like I did in my everday clothes, no make-up, and ponytail.) We did some shopping. I even got to go to Kirklands! Then went to dinner at Red Lobster since there was no point in going to Shogun if I can't eat sushi. It was WONDERFUL! We ran into some of my old friends just as we were preparing to leave. I was so suprised to see Jessica coming to our table. I read her blog all the time, but I hadn't seen her and David in ages. It was a very fun date night...probably our last before the baby comes. That may be wishful think because I'm so ready to have this baby!

Our first stop brought a suprise as well....If you've seen pictures, you know how skinny Jeff is, well he went to get out of the car and his belt broke! Now, that was funny. So, instead of my husband getting to look at the latest comics at Vintage Stock, we ended up at Wal-mart. He grabbed a new belt and went to pay for it and put it on. While I waited, I wandered through the kids clothes. Know what happens when you leave me alone in wal-mart too long...I buy stuff. Actually, I was very excited by the time Jeff got back. Edana had made it known that she wanted to match Rileigh Cait at Easter this year. I couldn't quite bring myself to do the exact matching thing, but everyone will match color-wise this year. Even Jeff...I don't want to think about me yet...I don't even know if I'll be back in my regular size by then.

Here is what I found. I'm so excited about there Easter clothes. Edana loved her dress. Dec could care less, but Aidan is having some issues. When I showed him his new button up shirt, his exact words were, "I don't think that is right for me." He hates buttons. I already know what Easter morning will be like. I'll have to hold him down to get that shirt on him, but I only do it on Easter and for Easter pictures. He can just suffer through. (i'm such a mean mom)

Saturday night Pamela and Holly, along with all the other ladies from "the ranch" gave me a baby shower. As always, we had a blast!

Holly mad a sheet cake that was sooo delicious, and Bethany made the punch!

Everyone was there but Jennifer and Marty. That can be hard for us to all work out sometimes. We have "girls night" as much as possible. I think in some ways, we are what keeps each other sane. Getting together to have fun and realizing you're not the only one whose husband works insane hours and seems to always be at the ranch. They are an amazing group of women.

Debbie is our "resident nurse" Her and her husband live on the back side of the dorms in a nice little apartment. How they do it, I don't know. I'm glad that our housing was actually down the road. Ardith(standing) is our bookkeeper. She is also kind of the saragot grandma to us younger girls!

Bethany and Maria! They are the two newest "wives." Bethany and her husband(Russell) came last May. Maria and her husband(Mark) just started the first of Janurary. It was actually my first time to meet her. I believe that they all went to Bible School together, and that is how Mark ended up at the ranch.Tara is the poor dear that got stuck in the kitchen after I left. I still feel sorry for her. She works so hard though, and never complains. Not even about the silly National School Lunch Program. She is so sweet and calm.

This is Karen and her daughters (Abi and Sarah) Karen works in the classroom with Jeff. They are quite a pair. I've yet to figure out who is more laid back. They make a good fit in the classroom and with Marty (their supervisor).

Pamela (trying to look big) and me. It seems like there is always someone pregnant at the ranch, and its finally Pamela's turn. She's trying really hard to stick our her belly but its not there. She's four months and not really showing at all. (much to everyone else's disappointment) We lived above B and Pamela for two years. Boy do I miss her! So do my kids. Shes like an aunt instead of a co-worker's wife. She is definately one of my closest friends.

Here is a final picture of all the girls who live on the "commune"(we still haven't come up with a good name for the staff housing area.) minus Tara. She snuck out, quietly as always. I miss being out there with all of them. I wouldn't move back, but I sure do miss being able to drop in on any of them whenever, or having Pamela just a flight of stairs away. I have a feeling I'll especially miss them this Spring when all the big trips start happening. Its nice to have company when your husbands are all away! We may have to invade...Declan was the only male(unless you count the dog, Jester) and only baby there that night. As you can tell by his dirty face, he had plenty of attention and food. And, yes, he was very worn out by the time we left.

While I was having fun with the girls. Jeff had the older two Fords. They went to a birthday party for a girl at church. Afterwards he took them to the mall and they played in the "playground" That is their absolute favorite place to go in the winter when they can't go to the park. Jeff's hand is really improving. Its slow, but he only has to wear the splint when he drives now. He even took notes at church sunday with his right hand. I was very impressed! I guess that is all for our weekend! Thanks to all my girls for the great gifts! I had a great time!

Feburary 8

Eight years ago today our family suffered the unimagineable. I'll not go into details because its something to painful and personal. My cousin had left her abusive husband, finally. In his demented mind he decided to take away the people she loved the most. He shot her mom, her baby, and himself. Her mom, my aunt, survived, but that precious baby never saw his first birthday. He was so sweet, so happy, and so smart, but his life was taken just four days before he would have turned one. Words could not express what our family went through. I wish I could say it was the first tragic experience with domestic violence our family had seen, but it wasn't. Just six months before that my own sister went through a terrible experience of her own. The ending there was better, but the uncertainty and fear was drawn out longer. Unfortunately, it hasn't been the last time I've had to watch a family member be abused. I've watched over and over as my brother-in-law chooses to stay in an abusive relationship, endangering himself and his beautiful, helpless children. Yes, even men can be abused. My attitude about this may be different than others, but it makes me so angry. I have been in public and seen men hurting women before. (usually when Shelly is with me...don't know why that sort of thing happens.) How many people walk by and never try to stop it. It doesn't cause me fear, just extreme anger. There is no reason to fear these people, if your not the object of their abuse. You don't even have to get overly confrontational. Just pull out your cell phone, call 911, tell them what you are seeing, get a good description of the person, and let the police take it from there. If they try to leave, write down thier liscense plate number so you can give it to the police. Please, DON'T WALK BY WITHOUT TRYING TO DO YOUR PART....what if it was your family member? I hadn't inteneded to blog about this, but as I pulled up msn this morning and scanned the news headlines there it was. Ouater of US Women Suffer Domestic Violence. Educate yourself on this issue. If one in four women are affected, chances are someone you know and love could be in need of your help. If you are in a dangerous situation, get help. Don't wait until your family or kids are in danger. Do it now! Don't be too proud to go to a Women's Shelter...maybe its not the nicest facilities in the world, but its worth it to get away safely. You can have and do better, no matter what you've been told!

My Sister

Today is Shelly's birthday. Some people are extremely attached to one parent or another. I'm very close to my parents, but its my sister that I'm overly attached to. She is my bestfriend. We've gone through a lot together, some good, some bad. We weren't the greatest sisters when we were young, but as we've grown, we've grown together. She's the first one I call, well, with anything; questions, news, boredom. It doesn't matter. I rarely go a day without talking to her. Jeff gets three breaks a year: summer, Christmas, and spring breaks. Guess where they are spent? Yep! At Shelly's. It does help that she married my favorite youth sponsor, and Jeff, even, gets along with her! (that's a joke: Jeff gets along with everyone...him and Shelly like to barb each other.) Here is Shelly with Uncle Loyed. She will always be his girl and he'll tell you as much. Of course when it comes to Uncle Loyed, none of us Bailey's would be what we are without him. Maybe him being such a fun uncle is why Shelly is such a fun Aunt. Here she is messing with Garrett. She really is a great aunt. All of the kids adore her. Just ask Edana who her favorite person in the whole world is! Its Shelly, and Uncle Shawn is "the man." (yes, he taught her to say that when she was about a year and a half) When it comes to having babies, there is one person I can't be without. Shelly! (Sorry, Jeff and mom) No, I want them there too, but Shelly is the one who keeps me calm and focused. I pray I'm induced because I'm afraid if I went into labor on my own, she wouldn't make it here in time. Then, what would I do! I don't want to think about it. Last Spring Shelly graduated from the LPN program at a local college where she lives. She was, of course, at the top of her class. She is too ambitious to stop there, though. She is in school getting a few more classes under her belt so that she can complete the RN program. Personally, I think she should be an OB nurse. Take it from someone whose had her in the room with them during delivery. No one else could do a better job. Most people see her life as good and near perfect. It hasn't always been this way. She's had harder times than most could even imagine, but by the grace of God, she's always come out on top. She is my sister and best friend, but she is also one of my heros. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHELLY!!!!!