Amelia Maie Barnett

Two days after my last post our family welcomed a baby girl into the world. Amelia Maie Barnett arrived on her due date, January 11th. 7 pounds, 12 ounces. She came at Layne's worst time after chemo. I went into the hospital at 11pm at night. We were very sad Layne wasn't able to be there for the delivery. He stayed at home and my mom and sister in law Ciana were able to come in with me. Ciana was able to take pictures and take some video throughout the night. So, Layne is able to see how the night progressed and we got her first cry on video. I was okay that Layne wasn't there up until she was born. Then I was very sad he wasn't able to be there. Layne was able to come in about an hour after she was born and meet her, and then headed home to have a nap. Little things like that wear him out pretty good right now. I was actually a little relieved he didn't try to come to the delivery. He doesn't do well with me being in pain in previous labours. I won't get into details but dry heaving in the corner of the room is involved :) This labour was by far my worst. The pain was significantly worst than my previous two pregnancies. I was very happy to get an epidural and I know he would not have managed well with this one. Amelia is one sweet little girl. She is definitely a blessing in our lives right now. 

Layne first meeting Amelia

Layne was able to come back later on in the day to see the boys meet Amelia

Amelia gets to go meet all the nurses at the cancer centre tomorrow. Layne starts his next round tomorrow. He met with the oncologist today and he seemed pretty excited Layne is doing so well and getting close to being finished. It makes us excited. We also met with the surgeon today about Layne's hernia. He still isn't convinced Layne has one. He thinks it could just be muscle weakness. He will look at the PET scan that Layne is getting in March. It will give him a better look at his stomach and then he will see what it is. In the mean time he wants Layne to try and do as much strength training to build up his abdominal and back muscles as he can. He says he will not do the surgery until Layne is recovered from chemo and in good health. 

This weekend Layne celebrated his 31st birthday. It was fun to have my parents down to celebrate with all of us. Its good to have things to look forward to and fun things to do.

He got a gourmet meal of beef tenderloin for his birthday!

Singing happy birthday

First Sunday together! I love our little family!

Good Start To A New Year

Well I sit here 2 days away from my due date. Quite annoyed and uncomfortable. With both my other pregnancies I went early. But it looks like this little girl is quite comfortable where she is. I shouldn't complain too much because I was hoping for a January baby and I am so happy I didn't have her in December. I have an appointment with the Dr next Tuesday to make a game plan if she doesn't come this weekend. I had a Dr's appointment today and everything looks good right now. I am having a few more contractions tonight, that are getting a little more intense, so fingers crossed! I wasn't going to post anything until she was born but people have started to ask how Layne is doing so I thought I would give a quick update. 

His round right before Christmas went really well again. The boys were able to go and deliver candy canes to all the nurses and patients there. They had a blast. They dressed up as reindeer and went around the clinic. Everyone loved them and we really hope it brightened their day. I am glad that my children find joy in helping others, even at a young age. I think it will start a tradition in our family. We will try to do it every year! Layne finished his round Christmas Eve. We have a big family dinner and activities and nativity on Christmas Eve, and Layne decided to stay home. He didn't want to pick up anything from anyone. I don't blame him, and thankfully with everything thats going around out there, our little family still hasn't been sick. This is definitely a blessing in our lives.

Ready for the cancer centre

Ready to hand out their candy canes. They had "sweet ones and spicy ones", and people got to choose which ones they wanted.

It was a tradition for Layne to get 5 guys after each round of chemo before his second surgery. This was his last meal before his second surgery. He has been avoiding it because it brings back memories but he overcame that with his round before Christmas! We quite enjoyed the burgers!!

He just finished his 8th round this week. We are 2/3rds of the way done! He only has 4 more rounds to go. Things are still looking pretty good. With each round he just gets more and more tired. He could sleep forever I think but its nice he has 2 busy boys to help keep him motivated. He usually takes a long nap each day but is a wonderful husband and father and helps all that he can. His hands still bother him. They go numb on and off but it still goes away in-between treatments so they will not adjust his medication yet. He still goes to the hospital to get hydrated for 4 days after a treatment. This seems to work for him, so we are not going to stop doing it. I am glad things seem to be going so well and hope the last 4 rounds prove to be the same! I am excited for this year. I know what Layne is going through is hard but I have no doubt in my mind once he gets through this he is going to feel so much better than he has in a very long time! Happy New Year!