The Bates Family
Allen, Leah, Brookelyn, & Braedyn

Monday, February 18, 2013

Baby Braxtyn

In the midst of juggling two crazy kiddos' schedules and Allen's CANcer treatments, we have also been busy preparing for the newest Bates to arrive! We have officially decided on a name, Braxtyn.  All credit goes to Daddy for picking his name.  When Braedyn was born, we wavered between the two names, so when we found out this baby was going to be a boy, Allen was sure he wanted to name him Braxtyn.  (He already has visions of Braxtyn scoring a touchdown, making an "X" with his arms as a celebration dance.)

Allen helped put the final touches on Braxtyn's nursery this week! Here are some pictures:

In this one you can see the rug.  We agonized over the rug, buying and returning several before finally deciding on this one - it is super soft sheepskin!

Thank you to Pinterest for the idea of painting his name on the wall! The black "B" is actually a letter that is hung on the wall, and then I made stencils for the green letters.  It was tedious but not hard.  I also repainted all the knobs on the changing table and armoire to coordinate with the grey crib.  

We thought the tree branches looked cute on top of the armoire.  

Here is a shot of the footstool Allen helped me make to coordinate with the rocking chair.  The buttons on top are in the chevron fabric.  

Back at the gender ultrasound (18 weeks), doctors found several small cysts in Braxtyn's brain.  As a result, we had a Level II Ultrasound done before Christmas.  That ultrasound showed that all but one cyst had gone away.  It also showed that the baby's placenta had implanted very close to the cervix.  This is dangerous because the baby must be delievered before the placenta.  So, the doctors scheduled another Level II Ultrasound, which was done last week (at 28 weeks).  The great news is that all the cysts are gone! However, the placenta hasn't moved up and is sitting 1 cm from the cervix.  The doctors aren't optimistic about it moving up these last few weeks, but it is possible.  I have an appointment with the OB Wednesday, so we will just wait and see what she says.  If it doesn't move, then Braxtyn will be born by scheduled c-section.  In Allen's words, "Why not check another medical procedure off the list?!" 

We were able to get some great pictures of the not-so-little guy durning our appointment! I say not-so-little because like his brother and sister, he is measuring big.  He is a whopping 3.2 lbs already (2.5 is normal)!  The first thing we both said is that he looks just like Braedyn.  


 We can't wait to meet you, Braxtyn!


Friday, February 1, 2013

Baby Shower/Congrats on the New Job Party!

Allen has the sweetest co-workers! They have been amazing throughout Allen's treatments, offering to help in so many ways!  When Allen took a new position in Sam's Club, he was sad to leave his awesome team and colleagues.  They were so thoughtful to throw us a baby shower/congrats party!
They did such an adorable job of decorating!
They really helped us get started planning for Baby Bates' impending arrival!
A little small for Daddy, but perfect for the baby!
Check out the name tower one of Allen's co-workers made for the baby! Adorable!
It was such a fun afternoon!