It's been a long time...

Yes, it has, and a busy one at that!!

Eli is 5 1/2 months now, and Zach is two. Both boys are growing like weeds! Time seems to be truly slipping away...



Zach celebrated his second birthday at Conger Park in Hernando. We had a great time with good friends and good food. Zach is a little chatterbox more than ever: full of questions and keen observations. His vocabulary is quite advanced (and that's from the pediatrician, not me!), as he speaks in complete sentences, grammatically correct! I suppose my "English" genes are rubbing off! He still loves Thomas the Tank Engine and has added the Wiggles to that list. He is constantly singing and dancing...and he loves his little brother!



Eli is definitely a McKellar baby, resembling my sister's and my baby pictures. His eyebrows are so dark! He smiles all the time, and he just sparkles when he watches his big brother. I realize the boys will have their sibling rivalries as they get older, but I do see a deep friendship already growing.

Elijah is here!!!

Elijah Newell Swartz actually arrived on Tuesday, February 10 at 11:38pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz, and was 20 inches long. He looks just like his big brother...with a head full of dark hair!! Everyone is doing well at home adjusting to the newness of it all...

Snow days at 36 weeks...

Snow and ice blanketed the Midsouth today, and every student cheered. County schools, churches, day cares, and DOCTORS' offices were closed. I got the call around 7:15am that my appointment would have to be rescheduled because the office was closed. Well, lovely.

I expressed my concern to the girl who called, detailing my symptoms: terrible pains, amplified swelling, and more than general discomfort. She suggested I call the on-call nurse and maybe go to Labor and Delivery. After talking to the on-call nurse, that's exactly what I did.

Linda, a less than friendly and questionably competent nurse, "took care of me" in triage. She asked stupid questions and did not know that Judaism was the box to check when I said I was Jewish. I was hooked up to monitors for an hour or more and never saw a doctor. According to Linda, the doctor on-call reviewed the monitor readings and said that I was having irregular contractions. Now, that doesn't mean Braxton Hicks...these were real contractions, just not regular. So, the doctor "didn't see any reason to keep me, but if something happens...like your water breaks, do come back." Thanks, Linda. I never would have thought of that.

So I returned home to take a long nap with my sweet son while my husband called off from work, bought groceries, and made a wonderful dinner. I feel like hell with the same regular pains that were considered irregular at the hospital. I just hope to make it through the night...so I can try to get through to my doctor to reschedule my appointment...along with everyone else whose appointments got canceled today.

Not quite the way I planned to spend my day...but I must also mention that my wonderful sister was here to hold my hand, text me (while I was alone in triage), and share in my utter frustration at the entire waste of a day. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day...and this child will come soon.