Welcome Baby Brandon!!

Baby Brandon has arrived! He arrived 3 weeks early, at 8:35 PM on Sunday January 31st, 2010, weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces. He was welcomed by his "Big Brother" Logan, and his mommy and daddy.

























Ok - so I'm really late posting this, but things didn't go according to plan. :) (Do they ever??)

Baby Brandon was supposed to arrive February 18th, but after everything we did to hope for a normalish pregnancy (surgery at 13 weeks, weekly shots, dr. visits every other week, etc), I just couldn't do it the easy way... I came down with a "severe case of pre-eclampsia" and ended up in the hospital for an emergency C-Section the evening of January 31st. The good news - I got to sleep through the surgery because I was not stable enough, and they had blood on stand-by that was police escorted from Seattle with lights and sirens going (luckily I didn't need the blood).

I got to spend a few extra days in the hospital, and my family has been very helpful (especially my husband, Logan, and my Mom) as I try to recover from both the surgery and the pre-eclampsia. They are still watching my blood levels and blood pressure, but I'm on the mend. I also still need to go in for minor surgery to undo the surgery I had at 13 weeks... I was not well enough for them to do it during the C-Section - drat!

I'd like to thank all of you... readers, authors, publicists, etc for hanging in here with me as I've been missing for quite some time. THANK YOU!!

I'm really looking forward to sharing some great books that have come my way over the past few months, as well as some great products for the family and babies in particular. I'm also going to try to share some toddler tips as I go (you know, those elusive art projects and activities that you have to wrack your brain to think of when your little guy or gal is bored and you DON'T want to turn cartoons on). :)

Now - a question for you - have you experienced pre-eclampsia and gone on to have another baby?? I know it is risky, but possible with a lot of doctor visits.

Quick Update!! Yes - I've Been MIA!

Yes!! I am still alive and here... just having a difficult time with the pregnancy... suffered a bad fall (luckily baby is just fine, but I'm still recovering), and have had some unexpected reactions to one of the medicines they are having me take for our high-risk pregnancy.

That said, I only have a few more weeks of the medicine, so will hopefully feel more normal very soon. :)

I realize that I've been VERY quiet, I'm WAY behind on emails (about 700 unread after my hubby very nicely went through and deleted obvious spam/store/un-needed emails), I have missed some scheduled posts and many tours for some great books and products! I'm going to work hard over the next few days (crossing fingers) to start catching up, so stay tuned for some info on some absolutely wonderful books and products!!

Missing you all!!

Wendi

Baby Update: It's A BOY!!

We just got back from yet ANOTHER trip to the doctors, and they were able to confirm without any doubt that we are having a little boy!! We are all so excited. . . and the best news??? Baby is doing great!! He is right on track and appears to be nice and healthy. :) Hmmm - guess we need to start thinking of names????

Special Announcement

We recently found out that we are expecting a new addition to our family around Valentine's Day 2010.

Update 11/19/09: Things are going well - we had a little scare with the Gestational Diabetes test, and I had to take the LONG version - yuck!... But passed! We (both baby and I) are still doing well, and the doctors are really optimistic so far. The weekly shots are getting old, and making me moody, which the specialist confirmed is one of the side-affects. Otherwise, if you happened to miss the BIG news a little bit ago, we are having a boy... so bring on those name suggestions!

Update 8/18/09: I had surgery last week, and it took a little longer to recover than I expected, but so far both baby and I are doing great, and there have been no complications to the surgery. Hopefully we will get to find out if it is a boy or girl soon! :)

What does this mean? Morning sickness ALL day, and a high risk pregnancy which means surgery coming up, lots of shots, and doctor visits almost every week.

I am going to do my BEST to keep up with the commitments I've made and those I will be making.

If I happen to miss a tour date, please feel free to email me at wbarker@hotmail.com. I promise NOT to miss anything on purpose!

It also means reviews might be a little more abbreviated than normal as I usually spend a good three to four hours per review just in getting it typed/formatted and published.