Update Continued...

My Hospital stay flew by. We had so many friends & family come visit and we were adjusting to being new parents. Brodie was so sweet. He slept & slept. I would wake up every 3 hours and wake him up to feed him. My nurse told me that next morning to enjoy the sleep and let him sleep. I just felt like waking up every hour to stare at him. There is nothing like it in this entire world. I now truly understand as best as I can Gods love for his children. We stayed 3 days.

It truly is a whole new world when a baby is born. Life changes. It is a wonderful change. It comes natural and your body happily accepts all that changes. The "sleepless nights" I was warned about became my favorite bonding time with Brodie. It was our time. It was in those times that I learned about him the most...how he likes the temperature of his bottle, how he likes to be held, etc. In his first month, he would wake up every 3-4 hours to be changed and fed. He slept in his bassinet that was attached to his pack-n-play by our bed. I also kept a monitor in there so I could simply look at my night stand and see/hear him breathing. I quickly started working from home so I had a strict routine. My theory on babies thus far is that a baby on a routine is a happy baby. A routine does not mean that you have to stay at home all the time. Me & husband are ALWAYS on the go. It just means that no matter where you are or what you are doing-that your baby is on a routine. At about 2 months old, Brodie outgrew his bassinet. We put him in the bottom of his pack-n-play and he didn't sleep at all. The next night I put him in my bed because I was so tired. He slept through the whole night & we loved him being in the bed. You may think I'm crazy & you may say we are creating a monster but we decided to let him sleep with us and he has every since that night. He also has slept through the night since then.








OKAY, REWIND. I just realized I'm skipping a lot of things...
BABY SHOWERS:
One Monday night at IWC(my church), I was preparing for Soul Steppers practice when one of my best friends Mandy Rahn comes in and asks if the kids could go in with the womens team so they could watch and ask questions. I said sure since my group was small that night. Little did I know, they had a baby shower planned. As I walk through the awakening drama room doors, I see my mom. I look at my sister, Amanda & say "Why is mom here??". She gives me this weird look and then I realize its a surprise shower. The worship and arts teams through my an amazing shower and I received some great gifts



Family Shower-Thanks to my mama, sister, sister-in-law, cousins, & aunts...

 

 

 

 

Looking back-they couldn't of picked a better theme..."Ashley's Little Pumpkin" Brodie was born a few weeks later on Halloween morning. He is my little pumpkin! More to come....

Since I've been MIA..........

 

Since I've been MIA...


My goodness-time sure does fly when you are having fun! I have been so busy that blogging has been the last thing I have thought about...until a few days ago. I was on a hunt for an old video and remembered that I had attached it to my blog. I started going back and reading old post. Even though my blog was short lived, it made regret ever stopping. I wish I would of wrote down all my thoughts through my entire pregnancy but OH WELL. So since I've realized how this truly is an amazing way to look back and remember things...I've decided to start blogging AGAIN. This time I'm going to try my best to stick with it. I think its important to always finish what you start. So here is what I've been doing since I've been gone...


My last post was June 13th 2011:


We sold our house & bought a new one. We had a wonderful buyer so we accepted them before our new house was ready. We decided to stay with my parents until August 1st.

July 7th. This would have to be the worst day of my entire life thus far. My cousin & best friend passed away unexpectedly. July 6th was a normal day. I woke up, worked, & then came home. Kimberly and I sent text all day because she had just found out she was pregnant and was going to the doctor. She went to the doctor-all was well with mommy and 8 week old "Layton". Kim decided that whether the baby be a girl or boy she would name him/her Layton. Layton went along with her other children's name Laney & Logan. Her husband also liked the name. We sent our final text at 10:30 pm and then she sent me a picture of the ultrasound. A day wouldn't go by that we wouldn't call or text. At 11:30, she posted on Facebook that she better get to bed before Goldilocks wakes up. (Laney-her daughter). Phillip and I went to bed and at about 1:30 am my mom rushes to my bed and wakes me up and tells me to pray for Kim that they found her passed out. I began to ask God for healing & protection over Kim & Layton. I just knew something was wrong. About 30 minutes later, Shelley (Kim's sisters) calls to tell us that she was gone. GONE? Was this real?? How could she be gone? Didn't I just talk to her hours ago? I decided to stay home as my parents and sibling rushed out the door to the hospital. I was 5 months pregnant and knew I would upset myself being around the family. I laid in bed against my husband in shock. I didn't cry, I didn't move, I didn't talk...I couldn't. I just found out that the most special person was gone. GONE? The next few days were a blur. It finally hit me at about 8:00 the morning and I couldn't stop crying. Luckily, I had something inside of me to keep me strong. Yes, I'm talking about my little boy Brodie, but I'm also talking about my savior, Jesus Christ. I had a peace that passes all understanding in the most tragic time of my life. Kimberly left behind her mother & father, 3 sisters, 2 children, a husband, a brother in law, 2 nieces, many cousins, aunts, uncles, & many friends. What caused Kim's death? We still do not know. All reports have came back inconclusive. This has been the hardest part with grieving...that there is no explanation to why she is gone. I decided to name my baby after her. I changed our original name-Brodie Hunter to Brodie Layton. Kim & I were 4 months apart. We were more than cousins-we were like sisters. Part of me is now in Heaven. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. I think I will miss her all the same for the rest of my life.


Baby Layton


 

Her 2 beautiful Children


 

Her Family:  

"When you look up the sky and smile, I am smiling back."




August 1st, we(Me & Phillip) packed up and moved to METTER. Metter is about an hour drive from my hometown. We bought a 4000 sqft home on 14 acres of land...our dream home. We decided to sacrifice the distance for what we've always wanted.

 

August-October: We settled into our new, bought a few goats to help with grass, & started working from our home office. Meanwhile, we are preparing for Brodie's big arrival. I had the best/worst pregnancy. Best meaning I was healthy and so was Brodie. Worst meaning I had ever side effect possible. I was sick throughout my entire pregnancy, I had pain under my ribs constantly, heart burn, and the worst...swelling. I was so swollen. I gain a total of 45 pounds & I'm still trying to shed away the extra weight.

I was due 11/11/11 & was scheduled to have to be induced on 11/2-hoping for a 11/3 birth date.

Well, Brodie Beasley had other plans.

Saturday, October 29th our church had its annual Trunk or Treat. Phillip and I attended because we were very involved with children's ministry. It was cold & I was miserable. Later, my family told me I looked miserable too. :) Well, the next day(October 30th) we decided to skip church and relax. I couldn't relax. I woke up and scrubbed my house. When I finished I looked at my husband and said, Brodie is coming today. He laughed and told me to get ready for lunch. It's a family tradition for us to eat together as a family after church. Since we didn't go that day, my family decided to come to me. My mom is blessed with what we call a "knower." She just knows when something is about to happen. SO my dad, mom, sister(Amanda) & future brother in law (Jareb)<~OH big event I skipped on October 21st Jareb proposed!), 2 brothers(David & Dustin) sister-in-law (Megan), and a family friend (Ryan) drove an hour to eat lunch with me. As we are pulling up to the gate, I feel a small trickle-almost like a I laughed too hard and peed! (TMI~> sorry) As you ladies know, fluids are a tricky thing while pregnant. I grabbed my husbands arm and said I think my water kinda broke. He looked at me and said KINDA? I had no contractions so I told him it may have just been something else. We decided to go to Ryan's to eat. While eating, Phillip convinced me to call me doctor. My doctor(Michael Jackson<~seriously) told me that it sounded like a leaking bladder but to head to the hospital just in case. So we all head to Candler Hospital<~an hour away. We got there at about 5:00 pm. On the way there, Jareb & Amanda rode with us and we laughed and talked. I did not feel like a baby was on its way. When I got up to a room, the nurse told me that Dr. Jackson told her to check me out but he was positive it was false labor. The nurse asks me to show her the liquid that I felt. I explain to her that it was a very small trickle and it was now dry. So she told me to lay on the bed until I felt the same thing. Luckily, I had another small trickle within minutes. She did the Q-tip swab and it turned bright blue/green. She said "Yep, your water is breaking." We always imagine a huge rush of water like the movies...but NOPE not me. So, I was placed in a room. The nurse called Dr. Jackson and said "Let her labor." Family started piling in and visiting. When I was at about 4cm I was in so much pain I asked for my epidural. It came quickly. I was the most nervous about this, but it was NOTHING. It was done in a flash and my contractions were immediately gone. I was laughing and talking with family as they came in 2 by 2. WELL, at about 5 cm I started feeling tremendous pressure. The nurse came in and I told her about my pain. She called back the anesthesiologist and he checked everything. I could feel the liquid running down my back & my contractions were gone but the pressure was unbearable. He said I had some sort of block and the epidural would not take away the pain. So TMI again-I could feel everything below my stomach. Needless, to say the next few hours were AWFUL. Family was no longer allowed to visit and it was me, Phillip, my mom, and sister. I was no longer dilating. At 4:00 am, Dr. Jackson finally arrived and broke my water.<~NOW that is a weird feeling. At the same time my nurses changed. This was heaven sent. I was at 9 cm. Dr. Jackson said that if I wasn't fully dilated by 5:00 am then we would be doing a c-section. At that time, I couldn't imagine the contractions for another hour but I wanted to have him naturally so I pushed through. My new nurse started working with me to help me dilate. At 5:00 am, she checked me again and said I was ready to push. AND I was ready. Phillip and mom helped me breathe and Amanda stood by my side. I pushed with her for what seemed like a few minutes and then she was calling the Dr. saying it was time. I pushed one time and will never forget as he came out and I laid eyes on him. Phillip was smiling ear to ear, my mom was laughing and crying and so was Amanda. It was an amazing feeling. They took him to the side, cleaned him up, & daddy put on his first diaper. Phillip puts him in my arms and I look at the prettiest little boy I've ever laid eyes on. He was born on October 31st (Halloween) at 5:29 am weighing 7lbs 9 ounces and 20 inches long.  

Video made by my brother in law-Jareb.
Brodie Layton Beasley from Jareb Tomberlin on Vimeo.

MORE SINCE I'VE been GONE coming soon!