Our Birth Story

This was our birth story I wrote soon after Kayman was born. I thought I would post to my blog that I am determined to tend to on a regular basis:) Our Birth Story To preface, this will be lengthy considering our labor was much longer than I ever anticipated. On Thursday, January 31, one day after our “due date,” I began having contractions at work when I returned from lunch. I ate a Wendy’s cheeseburger and fries fyi. I was timing them and they were coming every 10-15 minutes or so. I had actually forgotten I had timed them until I was looking at a notepad from work randomly after she was born and saw all of the times written down. I was thinking it might be the real deal, but wasn’t completely sure. They were definitely strong enough to get my attention but I continued to work. I just knew I was not leaving work early because we were having a record week and I was bound and determined to finish strong since it was going to be my last day before maternity leave regardless of when she decided to make her debut. At one point I was walking by my office manager, Mika, and she looked at me and said, “I think we are going to have a baby tomorrow morning.” I wish she would have been right:) After work, I went home and did a prenatal yoga session with Celeste McNeal. I informed her about what I had been experiencing and she cautioned that women can do that and to not get overly anxious. During the session, I only had 2 contractions so I was thinking it was false labor earlier in the day. After she left, Alan and I decided to go to Red Lobster for a late dinner since it was already 9pm. Random since we have never eaten at Red Lobster:) As we were walking in, I had a pretty strong contraction. It was to the point I went directly into the bathroom before we were seated to wait it out. We ate and as we were leaving I had another one. Again, it was pretty strong. We went to bed around 11:30. I began having them at the same pace as earlier in the day. Alan, trying to be helpful, kindly reminded me that I should rest in between contractions. I might have snapped at him a little since it was difficult to rest when they were as strong as they were. Needless to say, Alan was able to get some sleep that night and I was up dealing with the contractions. Thankfully he did get sleep since we had 2 nights like that. I sent Sarah, our Doula, a text at 1:04 am informing her my contractions were 10-12 min. apart and EVERY contraction I urinated. Weird, but I guess it’s not uncommon. She didn’t respond until 6:28am which was my fault since I should have called, but I didn’t think it was too urgent at that point or I would have called. She said “Don’t try and ‘do’ everything right, just ‘be’ present and listen to what your body is telling you. Relax your forehead, your jaw and your shoulders. When you release those parts the rest of your body will follow. Your baby’s birthday is today!!” I wish she would have been right:) I took a bath around 7 am, per Sarah’s recommendation, and listened to the hypnobirthing birth affirmations. It was very relaxing. Did I mention Alan was still sleeping?:) I got back in bed and relaxed in between contractions. Alan and I listened to a hypnobirthing cd together mid morning and I really think it hypnotized me because I was out for about an hour, yet it seemed like I had slept for 12 hours. I have no idea if I was having contractions or not. At the time, it was exactly what my body needed since I didn’t sleep the night before. The contractions continued throughout the day. It seemed like they would be consistent and then slow down. Sarah came by mid afternoon to check on us. She recommended that since we had been laboring at home all day, we should get out of the house and walk. I should mention I was scheduled to meet with Dr. Donnelly, my OB, at 11:30am but we cancelled the appointment for obvious reasons. I spoke with Dawn, her nurse and they continued to monitor my progress throughout the day. I was aware that Dr. Donnelly would only be available until 5pm to deliver me and then Dr. Lauralee Ribaudo MD would be on call over the weekend. Back to the labor, Alan and I got in the car and went to Starbucks. Right when we walked in, I had another strong contraction. Again, I immediately went to the bathroom to breathe through it. We then went to Promenade mall to walk. I wanted to find another robe so I would have 2 at the hospital just in case. I honestly don’t know how long we were at the mall, but my contractions were strong. I’m sure I received a few stares. We were in Macy’s when a sales associate asked me when I was due. Yesterday actually:) She really encouraged me to have the natural childbirth and told me she was sure it was going to be a wonderful experience. She was a very nice lady. We found a robe ...and it was on sale:) We went home and things were progressing at the same pace...slower than I wanted!! We got in bed that night but it didn’t last long for me because lying on my side made the pain almost unbearable so I was up trying different positions to make myself more comfortable. Up until this point, Alan was being a wonderful support to me but it was about midnight-1am when he took it to a different level. I was sitting on a stool leaning over the bed when I had a meltdown. Alan got out of bed and took it upon himself to get what I like to call my “Hugh Hefner chair,” pillows, a cold rag and had me sit in it while he was behind me massaging me. He could not have chosen a better time to take charge as I was struggling and was getting frustrated due to discomfort and lack of sleep. Also, I had no idea a cold rag would feel as comforting to me as it did. So much so I took it with me to the hospital and put it up to my face during every contraction so I could breathe in the cool air from it. I bet Alan and Sarah collectively made it colder for me no less than 50 times:) It was almost like a “security blanket” for me as weird as that sounds. Sarah came over to our house around 3am. We walked the house for awhile. At around 4:30am, she decided it might be best if we transport. She said I was a “quiet laborer” and was not exactly sure where I was in the process. I bet she changed her mind about me being quiet about 9cm dilated:) We arrived at the hospital at 5am. We checked in and they sent us to triage. I got changed and “checked.” I was 6-7cm dilated and 90% effaced from what I remember. I was actually encouraged with that progress and was thinking she would be here soon. As expected and taught in our Bradley class, labor typically slows down when you transport to the hospital and this is exactly what happened. Once we were settled in our room, we started walking the halls, which helped it start back up again. Sarah suggested we change positions every 30 or so minutes so I went from sitting on the bed indian style, to sitting on the birthing ball, to walking, etc. My friend, Bre Batey, came in to adjust me and work on acupressure points. I was grateful she was so patient since she lives out of town and was not expecting to hang around as long as she did. She drove in Friday. Chiropractic is such an important part of our lives and it was comforting to get adjusted at such a life changing event. One thing I did that I wasn’t planning on doing as frequently as I did was allow vaginal checks. At first I was encouraged, but then I started getting frustrated when I was stuck at an 8cm for what seemed like forever. Looking back I wonder if I was mentally stuck which was causing me to be physically stuck. I remember at one point going into the bathroom alone and just breaking down. I was tired but I also had fear. I’m not sure what exactly it was I was fearing. I will presume the unknown. Dr. Ribaudo came in and suggested we break my water. She thought that would help things progress faster. I asked if we could have a minute to discuss it. The 3 of us talked about it. Sarah said that it would be more intense since the contractions would be closer together but as far as intensity, they would not be more intense than I had been handling. I agreed to letting her break my water. Before they did I told Alan to go and see if my Mom wanted to come see me before things progressed. He went out there and told her she could come in, but I guess he also told her I was in “distress” and she declined. It was probably a good thing because I know she would not have wanted to see me in pain. The apparatus used to break the water is much more intimidating and misleading as I felt zero pain, but talk about a gush! All would have been ok but little Miss K decided to poo in the womb as there was meconium in the fluid. This meant that NICU would have to be present at the birth in case she were to aspirate any of the fluid. The contractions became closer and closer together and were becoming more difficult to bear. Sarah suggested I sit on the toilet and bear down. I will spare you the details but in all honesty, at that point I really didn’t care much about anything. I remember learning and reading about losing all modesty. It could not have been more true. I just started stripping down. I didn’t even want my headphones on anymore. As a side note, up until this point, I had been listening to not only hypnobirthing cds, but Celine Dion, who I admit I am obsessed with and one Whitney Houston song that I downloaded during labor, “One Moment in Time.” I know it’s cheesy but I was in bed one night way before she was born and I heard that song. The lyrics say, “Give me one moment in time, where I am more than I thought I could be...” It resonated with me and it was helpful to me during labor. Back to where I was...Sarah also suggested I force myself to vomit, which I did. After the bathroom timeout, we moved back to the bed where I was on all fours leaning over the top of the elevated bed. At this point, rather than breathing through the contractions, I was just bearing down. I remember Sarah asking if I felt her and I really wasn’t sure. And then I really did feel her and knew exactly what I was supposed to feel. It felt like she was right there, but then she went back up. I started vomiting again in this position but it was spontaneous. Sarah asked Sherri if they had a birthing bar for the bed, which they did. They set it up and I had all my weight hanging from it and squatting. I thought that was how I was going to give birth but Sherri came in and told me I had to lay on my side as they had lost her heartbeat. It was quickly found. I told Sherri not to scare me like that. It was on my side I felt her again and I knew she would be there soon. They called Dr. Ribaudo and by the time she got in the room she was crowning. I was on my right side holding onto the railing of the bed with my left leg pushing against the bar and Dr. Ribaudo had my right leg. I felt her head come out. They said it was 45 seconds before the rest of her came out as she had shoulder dystocia. I felt Dr. Ribaudo “go in” after her and I remember hearing them say something to the effect of you have to push and get her out. And so I did:) 41 hours after labor started, she was here on February 2, 2013 at 4:35 pm!! What a blur! They immediately put her on my chest...best feeling in the world. I told her...”we did it.” It’s easy to think I was the only one laboring but she was too that whole time. I asked Alan where he was during the whole process as he does not like the site of blood. He said he was leaning over my head talking in my ear during all of the pushing. I honestly don’t remember. He also told me the NICU Dr. on call was ready to cut the cord immediately and take her but Alan told him no and to put her on my chest as we were waiting for the cord to stop pulsating. I’m so proud of him for saying that because I had no idea what was going on. I don’t know how long it was before the cord stopped but he said Dr. Ribaudo showed him it had stopped and let him cut it. They did end up taking her from me because her body temp was too low. Hindsight, I wish I would not have let them because she needed to be skin to skin with me but in the moment that is what happened. Alan was with her. One of the nurses said, “did you hear what she weighed Mom?” I said “no” and she told me 8.2 lbs. That explained a lot!:) I was shocked she was that big!! Dr. Donnelly was guessing around a 6-7 lb baby since I had only gained 15lbs. She was a little chunk and was 21” long and she was perfect! True to fashion, she was stubborn and born during the KU/OSU game. Oh the irony:) Alan was with her while they were doing her footprints, etc and he pulls out his phone to check the score and casually brings his phone over to me to show me his Pokes are winning with 1:35 left. I tell him to turn the tv on. My legs are still in stirrups. A nurse in the room said, “You really are a fan.” Yes I am:) The whole series of events was surreal and I as reflect, it is still surreal I am one stubborn person and I knew I wanted to do it all natural. I “preach” a lot in my practice and even outside of my practice about the potential dangers of all of the interventions that I believe are abused and can cause more complications. Thankfully we have the interventions we do for an emergency situation and I would never have hesitated to utilize them if Kayman or myself would have ever been in danger. We were blessed to have a healthy delivery and with an amazing support system, the power of prayer and sheer determination, we did it 100% natural. As a woman, I have never felt more empowered. It was such an exhilarating feeling the minute I saw her for the first time. I am also thankful I was able to endure the process as it was so much better for Kayman. She didn’t have to feel the effects of any drugs and we believe she was more alert because of it. Alan actually asked a nursery nurse if she noticed a difference with natural births v. births with pain meds and she said definitely yes and the babies are more alert. She was adjusted within the first hour after birth by Bre. I can’t think of a better way to start out her new life. It sure beats the hep b vaccine! Chiropractic will be such an integral part of how she is raised and I felt so thankful Bre stayed to give her first adjustment. Our baby was wide eyed right in the middle of the night her first night too:) We kept her in our room the entire stay, which was only 24 hours after she was born, and when they took her to the nursery, Alan was by her side. We actually got more sleep the night she was born compared to the previous 2 nights:) Before we got pregnant, we discussed whether or not we would like to do a home, hospital or birth center birth. Alan was adamant we were in the hospital to deliver. I was torn for various reasons. One is we go against the grain on a lot of things that are standard practice. It’s not that we want to be defiant, but rather we have educated ourselves on a number of things pertaining to the birth process and beyond. I didn’t want to be on the defensive in the hospital setting. Overall, I can say we had such a positive experience with all of the hospital staff. They really adhered to our birth plan and let us be an integral part in making decisions. They were very respectful of our choice to birth naturally and supported us in any way that they could and for that we are so thankful. We are also thankful for the support Sarah provided. We both knew that regardless of where we decided to deliver, we would hire a doula. Sarah was the first and only person we met with, even though we had planned to meet several and then decide. We both felt very comfortable with her at our initial meeting and knew she would be the perfect fit for us. I do not think I would have been able to hold out without her presence and I know Alan agrees. She has attended many births and knows what to do. Us on the other hand have not and because it is such an intense and at times an overwhelming environment I might have caved. She not only supported me, but she was a great support for Alan as well. Whether it was words of encouragement during and before labor, getting me apple, orange or grape juice, making my washcloth cold, being there so Alan could step out for a minute, and taking all of the pictures that we will forever cherish, we both owe her a huge thank you. The hospital staff also sang her praises. After about 45 minutes or so, our parents came back to meet her. There were some proud grandparents in the room!:) They had been waiting all day for her to arrive. Soon after Aunt Heather, Uncle Jake and Stephanie were there. Uncle Josh came after we moved to our postpartum room. Her cousin Hadlea and other friends and family visited on Sunday. There is no doubt Kayman was surrounded by love. No one could have ever prepared me for the amount of love I would feel for our sweet Kayman. I was recently listening to a Celine song that I had listened to literally hundreds of times before but the lyrics of this song all of a sudden had more meaning. “And I know, there is no other, love like a mother’s love for her child.” Words could not be more true.

Kayman 7 months old

Kayman turned 7 months while we were on vacation last week. Her personality develops more and more everyday and we fall more and more in love with her everyday. It is crazy to me how much I love her. She has not quite gotten crawling down on her knees but when she wants something, there isn't anything that will get in her way to get there. If it Momma's milk she wants, she will crawl up me and start pulling at my shirt. So what if she wants to nurse until she is 10:) HA In all seriousness, she really is a boob baby. There really is no other way to describe it. On our flight yesterday, we were in the air 4 hours. She was attached a good 3.5 hrs. She is a Momma's girl right now and I LOVE IT! She is not yet sleeping thru the night. She has started eating solids and gets excited when she sees us getting her food ready. She hates having her face wiped after she eats though. She loves her outdoor swing. Gpa and Gma have one at their house too and that is my Dad's favorite thing to do with her. She is such a happy baby. She is also spoiled rotten. I said it, she is rotten but I am ok with it:) I'm going to sleep. The club specials I drank last night (& wine) were not as special this morning.

I am a MOM!

It has been 5 1/2 months since we were blessed with our our little peanut, Kayman Alana Kilian. I always think, I should really be documenting this journey and yet I never sit down to do it. Clearly, since my last post was over 2 years ago I am not good with being consistent so here is to a new start. Don't get your hopes up. No one could have ever prepared my heart for the love I would have for our sweet girl. I am loving every minute of it...minus a few (more than a few) sleepless nights:) What can I say, she loves the boob. Period. She would be attached all hours of the day if she could be. She is now at this point where she will nurse, pull away and give me the biggest smile and then attach again without losing eye contact. I am definitely getting manipulated. She has also started doing this fake cry when I walk in the room and she sees me. She can be perfectly happy with whoever has her but the second she spots me the act is on. A few of the things she is doing now: She is sitting up by herself. She sat up in her bath tub tonight for the first time. She loves cuddling with us. She loves watching Avery's every move and Ave has been so protective of her. She is scooting backward when she is doing tummy time. She loves her saucer. One of the toys on it plays a song that says, "Red, Yellow and Blue" Alan will sing "Red, Yellow and Orange and Black." That is fine because when she plays with one of her chew toys with all of the different colors on it, we go over all of the colors and when we get to blue, we say "pretty" and when we get to orange we say "ugly." Mature parents we are:) Some days she likes going on walks and some days she lets you know strapping her in the stroller was not your best idea of the day. Knock on wood, she has started getting in her carseat with no issues. BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT! She loves the water. She has found her voice. She will be sitting there and just scream and loves seeing herself in the mirror. It's especially cute when she does a happy scream at 4am:) She chews on everything. Teeth soon??? I am sure I could keep going on and on but I am instead going to bed before someone wakes me up for her first feeding of the night.

A Little bit of this, a little bit of that

The title of this post really sums it up because so much has happened since the last post. Let's start with our couples shower. First, I need to recognize the hosts/hostesses: Justin and Heather Huskey, Caron Dillard and Larry Davis, Brenner and Brooke Farr, and Lina and Jerrod Cravatto. These 8 really went above and beyond to give us an amazing first shower! They reserved the back room at Yokozuna. We had appetizers, cupcakes (my weakness) and drinks (another weakness.) So many of our friends and family made it and we had a wonderful time so a HUGE thank you to everyone who made that night so special.
Next up, the Medford shower. From the day this was planned, Alan was not too thrilled about having to attend. Obviously nothing personal but not too many guys are jumping with joy to go to an all womens shower. He went. And he liked it:) I literally am speechless about how generous everyone was to us. We are truly grateful to all of the hostesses, those that attended and those who thought of us. We really are blessed! I am so lucky to be marrying someone with such a great family. Everyone has been so welcoming to me and my family and we are very thankful for that!
On we go, the bachelorette party, and a party it was!! We headed to KC for a weekend of girl time and basketball. Let me preface the planning of this party. When Carrie and I had originally discussed the dates we agreed on the weekend of March 18. Well it totally skipped my mind that KU could potentially be in Tulsa that same weekend playing at the BOK center. Low and behold we moved it up a weekend for the Big 12 tournament in KC. All of the plans, and I mean ALL of the plans were scheduled around if and when KU would play. Did I mention KU won the Big 12 conference 7 years in a row?? I didn't?? Well we did:) So the Thursday before we leave, we play at 11 v. OSU aka my fiance's alma mater. All we kept saying (the girls) is KU better win or they are really going to screw up our plans. We won, by 1. Or rather, we survived by 1. It was not pretty. Alan did not call me until about 30 minutes post game and I didn't call him either. Quite honestly my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't dial. Friday our road trip starts. 2 cars. 7 girls.(Me, Carrie, Heather, Morgan, Allison, Licia and Brandie.) Talala,OK. Speed limit 45mph. Me 56 mph. Carrie glued to my ass at 56 mph. Double pull over. 2 tickets. (will show cleavage next time:)) I'm used to being pulled over. "I never break the rules" Carrie, NEVER been pulled over. She literally got her first speeding ticket ever. I bet she was about to poo herself. I smile thinking about it:) And we are off again...we go straight to the sports bar to watch the KU v. CU game. Shannon met us since she lives in the KC area. We win. We end up having a great time just talking and playing "I have never...". We walk back to our hotel after stopping at a second bar for a quick drink. That's when the drama started with random hotel guests. All I will say is "Prove It!" :) Saturday we got up, shopped, Leslie drove in and met us, lingerie party (thank you girls) and off we went decked out in blue to watch KU v. TX where MK met us. I had been hoping for this rematch since we lost in the regular season. Great outcome! Back to the hotel to change, off to Kona for dinner, a wine bar next and then O'Dowd's for dance party USA. In all actuality, I wouldn't consider any movements I might have made that night to resemble any dance move you have ever seen. Regardless of my lack of rhythm, we had a BLAST!!! So to the girls that made my last weekend as a "single woman" one of the best weekends ever, THANK YOU!!!! I literally could not have asked for a better weekend! You never know what you get when you mesh 10 girls from all over for a weekend, but in this case everyone meshed perfectly! As Heather said on the way home, "Can you get married again so we can do this again?" Haha:)
Lastly as I'm getting sick of typing, March Madness is here! It literally was here last weekend when my beloved Jayhawks came rolling into T-town. I just loved seeing so much crimson and BLUE roaming the streets. Alan and I went to the game on Friday night v. Boston University with our good friend Rich who gave us 2 tickets. My whole family actually went to the game as well. Before, we went to the KU pep rally which I always consider a good time. Sunday, same old story. We went to the pep rally and then back to BOK to watch KU v. Illinois. We advanced!!! Wahoo! Next up was the Sweet 16 v. Richmond. We pretty much controlled that game from the start. Elite 8 here we come!!! Next up is VCU tomorrow at 1:20. I might be counting down the hours. A lot is riding on this game. One is a win will move us on to the Final 4 which is awesome. Two is, we have already booked out flight to Houston next weekend and bought our tickets to the games. Granted we can get flight credit and sell the tickets and probably make a good chunk of change on them, but I don't want to lose!!! So as it stands...IF we win tomorrow, Morgan and I will fly out EARLY next Sat. for Houton, while our boys are in KC celebrating Alan's last weekend as a "single man." However, if he acts "single" at all that weekend, he might have a problem on his hands! Hehe Morgan and I would have our own fun parading Houston and going to the games. I need to stop before I get ahead of myself. First thing is first, BEAT VCU! Please!! I know it is no secret that KU is an obsession, but I am going to give a shout out to my wonderful man for putting up with this crazy side of me. When we first started dating which was April 2009, it was obvious we had something special, but my own Mom basically says, "let's see if he can handle her through football and basketball season...if he can handle that..." You get the point. I almost feel like my Mom was thinking I would run him off with my enthusiasm for sports:) I know his heart is with OSU, but he never hesitates to throw on a KU hat or shirt to support my team or sit by me at a game where there is a good chance I stand up and clap more than that damn Pelosi does during one of Obama's speeches. So thank you Alan for putting up with me!

I SUCK at blogging

I really do. I would rather read other's blogs. I really want to be good at this but it really is not natural for me. Right now I'm lounging on the couch fighting a virus of some sort...blah. Alan and I went out on Friday night with 2 couples, Morgan and Jeff and Licia and Pauly. I woke up Saturday feeling awful, and not the awful feeling I am used to waking up to on a Saturday morning...although that may have been part of the headache but I don't think a hangover can cause a fever?? I spent the entire day in bed or on the couch and I'm still on the couch. After 2 weeks of snow and ice, I was looking forward to getting out of the house to enjoy the nice weather, but scratch that. Instead I have been stalking FB pages and blogs, as if I hadn't done enough of that on the snow days. I sincerely want to thank all of my fb 'friends' who feel the need to air ALL of their dirty laundry. It truly is entertaining. On to the next topic...the wedding...go figure:) We are a little over 3 months away. I was supposed to pick up my dress yesterday. Maybe next week. Our office is starting to get bombarded by wedding stuff. The challenge is realizing ALL of that stuff will be traveling with us. It looks like we will have around 60 people traveling with us. WOW! That is a great group and we are so looking forward to everyone celebrating with us! We are also looking forward to some warm and sunny weather!! Us Oklahoma folk have seen quite a bit of snow as of late. No, we don't hold a candle to states that really get snow, but we also don't know how to handle snow when we get it. People panic and the place shuts down. Not good for business...or is it?? Keep shoveling people and don't watch our for those slick spots:) Totally kidding...kinda:) Well, Alan just got home with Ave. She has been at the groomer today. I'm going to go tell her how pretty she looks and smells, because that is what good moms do.

Say 'Yes' to the dress!!!

It's official, my wedding dress and reception dress were purchased on Friday!!!! A couple of months ago my Mom and I headed over to OKC to JJ Kelly to look at dresses. I found one I loved, but I could not commit because that would have been too easy. So I continued to shop around. I looked in KC, one place in NYC and around Tulsa. I found a couple I liked in Tulsa but not the way they were, so a lot of alterations would have to take place to make it the dress of my dreams. In my mind, I kept going back to this dress in OKC. So, last Friday my Mom, Heather and I drove to OKC to try it on one more time. Deana, my future MIL, met us there. I tried it on and needless to say...it is the one! Ironic enough, it is the very first dress I tried on! I love it and I can't wait to wear it for our wedding. Since we are getting married in the morning, I am planning on wearing a second dress for the reception and I found it that day too, so 2 more things to check off the list!
Since I am on the topic of wedding talk, an update on planning. Our save the dates have been delayed. We are hoping to get them out asap. We, as in not including Alan, met with the florist in Medford on Thanksgiving. He is more than willing to take a backseat when it comes to flowers, colors, really anything that involves details:) Her name is Margie and she will be making our bouquets. I can't wait to see what she puts together for us. Bridesmaids dresses have been picked and Heather got her dress on Friday. I think they are going to be great and easy to travel with. I love the color too. As much as I am a planner, we are kinda at a standstill until we have an idea how many guests will be attending so we can order everything. Less than 6 months away...crazy!!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Avery!

Yesterday was Avery's 7th birthday. Her Daddy bought her a couple of new toys and she was able to cheat on her diet. She went on a long walk and a car ride, so all in all a great day for her. Before Alan and I met, Bree told me she was moving in with him and he had a lab. I was kinda bummed because I told her I would never be able to hang out at his house since he had a dog. From the time I was 2 years old, I developed allergies to dogs, cats...you name it. I also develped asthma. Growing up, I was always the kid that had to leave slumber parties, friend's houses, etc if the owners had animals because my asthma would flare up, eyes would swell, and I would be on my breathing treatments in no time. I have always been hypersensitive to labs in particular. Although I am fortunate as things could always be or have been worse than that health problem, it was definitely not fun and there were many scary times. I have always said this health issue keeps me from having a zoo since I LOVE animals. So back to my point, since I have never been able to be in a home with animals, I prepared myself for short visits to hang out with Bree. I knew she wanted me to meet Alan, but in the back of my mind I was thinking it could never work because he had a dog and I can't be around an inside dog. I know that sounds weird but it is always something I had to consider. At the time, Alan was traveling a lot for work, so I would go over and hang out with Bree. I was noticing that my breathing was doing pretty well, crossing my fingers. So I started hanging out there more and more, (especially since Alan was starting to crush on me at this point:)) and my asthma was in control. I remember calling my Mom saying how crazy it was I could be around this dog. Low and behold, a year and a half later I have a four legged shadow that I can't imagine not having. I can't begin to explain how much I adore this dog...and I know it is mutual! Alan has moments of jealousy since she was his baby for years before I came in the picture;) She is my cuddle bunny, boo bear, baby girl, and the list goes on! Do I think it was fate? Absolutely! I am still allergic to animals and I can still only be in houses with animals for a short amount of time, so when we leave because I can't breathe, I'm not lying! I can't explain it but I'm thankful.