Baby Update

I haven't gotten a chance to update you in our baby. Thursday we went to the perinatologist to get a very in depth ultrasound and look at the baby. We started with the ultrasound. It was great to see the baby. The baby was not very cooperative. The things that we needed to look at the baby would not move certain ways to see. The lady told us that it was a good thing we did not want to know the sex of the baby because baby was not showing anything, and she did not even know what it was. After time and poking and making baby move, we got all the measurements we needed.  It all worked out but we did not get very good pictures. We also got to see the baby's heart more closely. The calcium deposit is still there in the heart, but the heart looked to us like it functioned just great.

After the ultrasound the perinatologist came in to talk to us. He thought that the the baby looked great. He explained that just going off of my age, like any other person my age, the baby had a 1/1200 chance of having down syndrome. After the ultrasound, even with the calcium deposit in the heart, the baby now has a 1/2400 chance of having down syndrome. The odds were brought even further down because of the baby's normal size, femur length, humerous length, and nasal bone.  The only way to know for sure would be to have an amino which has a 1/200 chance of losing the baby, and that is not an option for us.

Because the calcium deposit will not in anyway effect baby and the baby's heart function, we are very happy. It should clear up on it's own, and we do not even need to tell our pediatrician if we do not want to. At this point we are just expecting a completely healthy baby, and we are feeling so blessed.

We also found out baby was 1 pound 7 ounces as of last week, and the heart rate was 150 beats per minute. Both weight and heart rate are perfect.

I did not scan the ultrasound pictures in because they were not very clear, but here is a picture of my belly with 4 months to go. ( I really need to take some better belly pics!)

God is so faithful, and we are so excited to meet this little miracle and get to know all about it. Only 16 weeks left!

Brady's Birth Story Part 3

You can read part 1 and 2 of Brady's birth story here and here. I left off with having pretty much my perfect labor and birth.

Brady arrived beautiful, healthy, and perfect. You know how some babies have a squished look because they spend hours and hours in the birth canal? Not Brady, he really looked just perfect as soon as he came out. I am a little biased though, what do you think?

The rest of the day we had many visitors and phone calls. We sang Brady happy birthday and had cake. My Mom was able to come in from Texas that evening and she loved meeting him. That day he slept and ate, and was a great baby. We had so many visitors and were so excited that we did not sleep. So everyone was very tired when Brady decided to be up all that night.

Breast feeding was going well, I was sore, but Brady's latch was great. He just could not seem to get enough. He seemed starving constantly and my colostrum was not enough for him. The next day he did really well and slept, but with more visitors, we once again did not get any sleep. We decided to stay the night at the hospital one more night so that I could make sure I had the hang of everything. This was the night when it started to go down hill for me. Brady would not sleep, and I could not sleep with him on me. (I would have terrible nightmares of him falling off of me, or me rolling on him. Even though he never really slept in bed with us, and slept in his own room at 2 months, I had these nightmares until he was over 6 months old.) At like 5 in the morning I caved and asked the nurses for a pacifier. With a pacifier and being tightly swaddled with two warm blankets we got some sleep. 

When the nurses changed over, they took his temperature, and he had a little fever. She thought two warm blankets was too much for him,  and that is what caused the slight fever. We let him cool down some, and he was fine. He had his pku test the next morning, and we all headed home. It was so great to be home. My mother-in-law made us dinner, and I had  a slight emotional breakdown due to stress and lack of sleep, but other than that, the night went so well. I was able to catch up on some sleep, and I felt confident that next morning, that we could indeed handle this.

I remember getting on the computer the next morning, Tuesday July 1st, (to put him on the waiting list for the school I want him to go to, crazy I know, but it is that competitive), and holding him and feeling such bliss. That afternoon he was fussy and felt hot to me and once again he had a slight fever. We had to see his pediatrician for his first check up that afternoon, so we called and went in a little early. Our doctor thought maybe he was getting hot, because it was summer and we do not have AC. She suggested to keep him cool, but to call her cell phone if we had any questions or anything.

Later that evening around 7 or so he felt really hot to me and I was trying to cool him down, but he had a 101.5 degree fever. While I put cool washcloths on him Jeremy called our pediatrician. She told us to head to the hospital ER and to be prepared to stay for a few days. We were terrified, and I prayed the entire way. Fevers in infants can be very dangerous, and cause brain damage so we were quite scared. By the time we got there his fever had come down some but they still needed to do some tests. That was the worst part. They did xrays, a catheter to get urine, blood work, a spinal tap, and put in an IV. Of course we both cried the whole time. It was one of the hardest things to hold your 3 day old infant while he gets a spinal tap. They had a difficult time getting his IV in and tried so many times that I had to leave. They told Jeremy if they could not get it that last time, they would have the nicu nurses come in and do it in his head. Thankfully they finally got it. 

I refused to take pictures of Brady being back in the hospital. Thankfully my mom and mother-in-law took a few.

We stayed the night in the pediatrics unit, where they gave us enough room for Brady, myself and Jeremy to sleep. The told us we would have to be there for at least two days until tests started coming back. In the meantime they set him up on fluids and antibiotics. Everyday they would come by and take blood, and give us no real answers. They thought that he seemed slightly dehydrated, and his sodium levels showed that. He also weighed only 6 pounds 12 ounces when we were readmitted to the hospital, and was born at 7 pounds 12 ounces. My milk finally came in and I was able to nurse and get Brady rehydrated. By Friday morning, the 4th, my mom had to go back to Texas, and I felt bad because the whole time she was here we spent in the hospital. It was so nice having her here to help out though. Also on that Friday we were discharged and so happy to go home. It was a very joyous celebration for our family to watch fireworks from our backyard that night.

To this day we have no real answers. The conclusion was that he had a possible infection and the antibiotics cleared it up. The crazy thing is that since then, he has not ever really been sick. He has had common colds, but nothing serious. Other than his first week of life he has not had any antibiotics. And even when he gets a little cough or cold it is like it is no big deal to him, while his wimp Mom is dying. Nothing is going to slow him down! I have a new respect for parents of truly sick children. You feel helpless, and it is quite devastating. I am so thankful for a healthy child!

Brady is such an amazing boy, and I feel so blessed that God is letting us raise him. I loved having him, and I love watching him grow up. Sorry if all of this bored you. but it means so much to me, and they are memories that are forever with me, now we can look back and read them too.        

Brady's Birth Story Part 2

You can read the beginning of Brady's birth story here. I left off our story with going to bed on my due date, June 27, 2008.

I slept great that night, a full 8 hours at least. Of course I got up to use the restroom every few hours but I had learned how to almost sleep though that. I woke up around 8:30ish to what I thought was a powerful kick. Now looking back it may have been my water breaking. I used the restroom, and tried to go back to sleep, thinking that I was going to sleep in as much as I could before Brady came. Unfortunately my body had other plans.

*Warning, this is where is starts to get gross. If you are worried about that, you may want to stop reading.*

I had a series of very violent bowel movements. (Sorry, see warning above.) So bad that I asked Jeremy to go look on the internet and see what the symptoms of salmonella poisoning were. I thought that maybe the delicious tomato I had the afternoon before was causing this. Then I felt it. My first real contraction. It hurt, Bad! I then told Jerm he did not need to read up on salmonella, and that we might possibly have a baby that day.

By now the bowel movements had slowed down but the contractions had started. I had planned on having Brady naturally, so I was quite surprised with how much they hurt. I also thought we would labor at home for as long as possible. I remember trying make our bed, but I think I was only able to take the sheets off of the bed. As my contractions increased I got in the shower. The only thing that brought me relief from the pain was the warm shower. I washed sitting in the shower, and tried to relax while Jeremy got things ready and called family.

While I was in the shower, Jeremy talked to his older sister Jennifer, who is a nurse, and has birthed 3 kids. She asked a very valid point: had we timed contractions yet? At this point it had maybe been 30 minutes since I woke up, so we were feeling like this was moving at a little faster pace than we expected. After timing the contractions there was less than 4 minutes in between them. We started getting ready to go and Jeremy called the nurse at the birth center to get her opinion if we should come in or wait a bit. While he was on the phone with her, I got in the car, and they figured out that I was ready to go no matter what they thought.

The short drive to the hospital was terrible. Every bump in the road was worse and worse pain. After getting to the hospital and getting to the triage room, I started to get sick. I started vomiting, and it was not good due to the lack of food in my system, because I had no time to eat. I barely got my gown on and set up on a monitor, all while vomiting. The nurse checked me and I was still only at 4cm, but she was sure I was in real labor. At around 10:30 a.m. they admitted me and I was put in room #16.

Right before giving birth, after epidural. This picture is my motivation to watch my weight gain closely!

In my room, I thought I could not handle the pain. I could barely breathe, and the whole time I was still vomiting. My nurse tried to calm me down, and get me to breathe. Sadly I just could not handle the pain. She offered to give me something for the pain in my IV, and it helped a little. I stopped vomiting, and was able to calm down a little. We then had to talk about pain control options since what she gave me was not going to last for long. Although I really did not want an epidural, I was still in a ton of pain, and when contractions came I had a hard time controlling my breathing. 

To help me decide on whether or not to get the epidural my nurse checked me again. Turns out I was at 9 1/2 cm. No wonder I could not breathe, I had progressed 5 1/2 cm in thirty minutes! She reassured me that the worst was not over and it would be much more painful pushing. I was still deciding, (thankfully it was not a busy birthing day) when Jeremy asked who the Anesthesiologist on was. Turns out it was the head anesthesiologist, and personal friend of Jeremy's, Joe Slavaski. Because of Jeremy's job he sees, and knows the anesthesiologists well. We had tailgated with Joe, and Jeremy has been to his football meat fest each year, and he also gave Jennifer, Jeremy's older sister her epidural. I trusted him, and Jennifer turned out just fine, so I decided to go ahead with the epidural. 

Can I just tell you what an amazing difference that made! (We have already informed him to be on around May 23rd.) One second I felt like I was dying, the next I was perfect. I asked Jeremy to get my make up out of the car, and I put some on. Jeremy's parents came in and talked to us for a little while, and we got all cameras ready. It was like nothing was going on, you would never know I was going to have a baby in just a few minutes. After about 20 minutes the nurse came in and said it was time to start pushing. Jeremy's parents waited outside the room, and we got ready to push.

I was supposed to push when I felt like I needed to, but I got impatient and would just push when I wanted. My doctor was not on call, so I had the only male in her call group, Dr. Shelton. I think I might have pushed twice, the doctor came in, and I may have pushed another two or three times. Seriously, I think we may have been boring the doctor. He was so layed back and it seemed like it was no big deal. (which really I guess he does this all the time, so it makes sense) I used a mirror while pushing, otherwise I could not feel anything and did not know if I was making any progress. In the end, the epidural made the painful experience really enjoyable, and kinda cool. Next time I will be much more open to an epidural, but only if I am in true pain.   

After a little pushing, Brady came out and was amazing and perfect. He was born at 12:09 p.m., (less than 4 hours from waking up that morning) and he was 7 pounds and 12 ounces; 19 1/2 inches long; and his head was 14 inches around. Just perfect. We were able to nurse and snuggle right away, just what I wanted, and then Daddy took him to get his first bath.

It was an amazing birth. It was painful, but really quick and pretty easy. I had no side effects from the epidural, and minimal tearing. I really could not of asked for a better birth. I really have high expectations for this next time around.

Next post I will share about our lives right after Brady was born.   

Brady's Birth Story Part 1

I wanted to share Brady's birth story before the current bun in the oven is born, and I feel a lull in my blogging at the moment, so now is as good a time as any. I also do not want to get the two birth stories confused, so I want to document this one while it is fresh in my mind. I kept a journal for Brady starting with the day that I found out I was pregnant with him, as well as the new baby, but I also want this to be on the blog. I am splitting it up into three parts because I want to include a little before story, as well as a little after story. So warning it is kinda long. If this is super boring to you, then why do you read my blog? Just kidding, just skip it, and more Brady activities will be on the blog soon.

So to begin...

First of all, I have mentioned before that Brady had been prayed over long before he was ever conceived. We actually tried for over two years to get pregnant with him. I had tons of doctors appointments, 7 rounds of a mild fertility drug, blood tests, ultrasounds, painful tests involving a balloon and my uterus (ouch), Jeremy giving me fertility shots in the bum, and an outpatient surgery. And all of that is not cheap! I would not wish that on anyone but it changed me, and my faith. We never really got a true explanation on what was causing problems. Almost all of the tests came back fine. Our next step, after the surgery was an IUI, which is much more expensive, and we were very apprehensive about. It is a great option for a lot of people, but I wanted my baby the old fashioned way. Thankfully, after the surgery, and the doctor removing a little bit of endometriosis, the very next month we got pregnant. On our own! It was one of the best days of my life to know we were finally pregnant!

Brady was due on Friday, June 27th, 2008. It was a wonderful pregnancy. Other than getting a little sick while on vacation in Argentina, I was healthy, and elated the entire time. I was sure I was having a girl. We had waited so long for our baby, that it was no question that we were going to find out what it was. Even though I thought it was a girl, I secretly wanted a boy. We needed a boy, otherwise due to Jeremy's sisters and girl cousins, the last name would die. We were so excited to find out we were having a boy, and we have loved that sweet boy ever since.

Proud papa after the it's a boy ultrasound

Toward the end of my pregnancy, I still felt great, I slept well, and was not too uncomfortable. My whole pregnancy I wanted to do whatever I could to try to have a natural birth. I worked out, and took classes and studied up. I was so determined that when we went on our hospital tour and were taken near the rooms where c-sections take place, I started crying. One of my biggest fears was that I would not be able to hold my baby right after he was born. In fact I am honestly still very fearful of this. Those first few moments of bonding are so special.

By the 9th of June, (37 1/2 weeks pregnant) I was 2cm dilated, and 50% effaced. I thought I would definitely have Brady before my due date. By the 17th of June, (38 1/2 weeks pregnant) I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. My doctor, and I were both surprised that I was not in labor yet. At that point I thought any day. By my due date, June 27th, I was still 3cm and 80% effaced. I also had a non-stress test to make sure Brady could stay in there as long as I could hang on. Of course he did great. I did not want to induce so we set up more appointments for non-stress tests, and decided if he still was not here by the 5th of July we would induce.

That afternoon, Jeremy and I enjoyed a nice time together. I was really craving flavored shaved ice, not just a snow cone, so he took me all over town to look for one. We did not find it, but I settled for a good sonic drink. We also stopped at a fruit and veggie stand to get some fresh produce, and I was excited to get a tomato because this was during a salmonella tomato scare. I had that delicous tomato as a snack, and that night Jeremy made me one of the best meals I have ever had. It was some kind of chicken with artichokes, in a lemony cream sauce with a side of couscous. It was so good, but because it was one of his crazy on the fly creations, we have no idea how to recreate it!

less than 24 hours before I had Brady, my due date

While I was pregnant I had a friend, Becky who was due two days after me. Turns out she went into labor, and had her son on my due date. I remember being sad that night because I thought I would have my baby first. After being upset, we decided to have a nice relaxing weekend, and to just enjoy our last weekend baby free. Little did I know how much our lives would change that next morning!

Baby Update

Just wanted to give an update on our little baby. A few weeks ago, we had an ultrasound for the baby. The baby looked perfect, and cute. And it is still a surprise, although it was so hard not to peek.

The baby's profile

 Another profile, but with the arms and legs. You can even see a little pout. This is one is my favorite.

 This one is of the face, and head.

It was wonderful to see the little on that has been kicking and moving inside my belly. It seems like this baby moves way more than I remember Brady moving. (kicking right now, in fact.)

After the ultrasound we had an appointment with our doctor to go over the ultrasound. Turns out there is a white spot on the baby's heart. Which my doctor seemed very calm about. She said I would have another ultrasound with a perinatologist, or specialist, in a few weeks. 

That seemed fine to me, and we were/are completely at ease with it. Only until looking into it a little on the Internet, did I learn that this can be a marker for down syndrome. Though I am glad I know this, it strangely does not worry me at all. We have never wanted to have any testing anyway for any markers because it changes nothing for us. God has shown us how faithful He is, and that this is first His child, that He created. I am just excited to be able to see the baby again, which otherwise, we probably would not be able to see the baby again until it is born.  

So I will keep you updated, and let you know how our baby is next Thursday. Prayer doesn't hurt, but we already know that this baby is perfectly created by God. Thank you Lord!   

Soccer Player

A few weeks ago Brady started playing soccer. It is non-competitive of course, and more like a toddler gymnastics class, but instead, soccer. They have different soccer related activities perfect for his age group, and it is helping him learn listening skills as well as early soccer skills. It was part of his Christmas present, and we also got a great deal thanks to groupon. The first day we picked up his uniform, and watched some classes, he had to put it on over his clothes, and did not want to take it off.

He loves it. I laugh because he gets so excited, he just jumps with joy, literally. When we leave soccer, he says, "Mom, I am tired." What a great thing for the child who seems to never run out of energy.

He also really enjoys his coach, coach Matt, and we even got to see him at a basketball game that he happened to be at. And Brady was so happy that his coach recognized and remembered him.

We started the session late, so we have to catch up and will be playing soccer twice a week for a few weeks, rather than once a week. It was so worth it, and I am excited to see the different sports Brady will enjoy in the future.  

Surprise Nana!

One of my excuses for not blogging the last weeks was the craziness of Nana's (Jeremy's Mom) surprise party. Nana had a tough year, she was not looking forward to the big 6-0, and she does so much for all of us, that we really wanted to do something special for her birthday.

We started planning a while back. Jeremy's younger sister, Julie, is currently traveling in Central and South America so we needed know everything in advance. Besides the big surprise party, Julie would arrive to surprise her mom, and also Jeremy's Grandparents from Texas.

After looking at a few places around town, we decided the best place and most cost effective would be the Mason Jar. Problem was, we actually ate there last year for her birthday. After sending out evites, planning for food, and arranging the cupcake cake we were ready. The plan was to have Nana meet us out for a normal family birthday dinner. The problem was, when we mentioned going to the Mason Jar, she said she was not impressed with that place, and she wanted to go somewhere else! Too bad, that is where she was going! We made up a story to get her there, and 60 plus people gathered in a private room to surprise her.

She was shocked! It was awesome, and we were so glad she was surprised. After seeing all of her family, friends, and Jeremy's grandparents, she still was in awe. We then snuck Julie, Jeremy's youngest sister, who Nana thought was in Costa Rica somewhere, in to surprise her. She was so shocked.

Overall it was a wonderful night, and will provide memories for years to come. Happy Birthday Nana!

Christmas Part 2

We were busy, busy while in Houston. I did not get pictures of all of our activities, but here are a few.

Brady pretend sleeping, after playing music with Great Grandpa Yeats.

 Brady with one of Great Grandma Carter's calendar's she made before she passed away. He thought it was beautiful.

 Brady loved playing in all the fun big boy toys at Grandpa's house.

Grandpa's big work truck

 The boat

 Grandpa's fast car

 Whee! We went to my favorite childhood park, Bay Area Park to play. It brought back many memories.

 Monkey on the monkey bars.

 Come here, ducky, ducky.

 Brady and Grandpa feeding ducks.

 Our family feeding the ducks.

 The ducks loved Grandma Karen's shoes.

 In the car with all of our stuff, on the way home, we were filled !

And of course, we had to stop at the Big Texan. 

Fun and busy trip. We love seeing family and friends, and had a wonderful time. 

Christmas part 1

Blogging more often isn't once a week? Fine, I will try harder.

Our Christmas in Texas was a whirlwind but quite fun.

At the Taj Mahal of Gas Stations, as Jeremy likes to say. (somewhere in Texas)

 Brady at the grocery store, in the tower of cokes. Grandpa Max entertained him while we shopped.

 Without the Dvd player, Christmas eve at Great - Grandma's would have been a disater, and very dangerous for my 92 year old Grandfather.

 Snuggles with Grandpa

 Opening Presents

 This picture does not do the amount of presents justice. Seriously there were millions!

 Opening presents on Christmas morning

 Holding my cousin's 2 week old baby. I was holding her, and showed her to Brady. He looked at me surprised, and said "The baby came out?!?" We had to convince him, that she was not our baby, and ours was still in my belly. Too cute!   

Brady lovin on his Grandma

And that was just a few of our celebrations! Next blog post will be about what else we did while in Texas. 

Christmas Activities

Here are a few activities and ways we celebrated Christmas before we left for Texas.

Christmas cookie decorating at a friends house.

 The disastrous table after the kids were done.

 Salvation Army bell ringing

 The Bell ringers

 Christmas #1, opening presents with Nana, Gramps, and Cousins.

We love Christmas so much we stretched it out over a few weeks. Soon I will share all the craziness of our Texas Christmas.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful holiday, but it was busy, busy! We are so happy to be home and getting back to normal. With the New Year comes new goals and resolutions. I have a few new goals this year, and I am excited for simple but nice changes to my life.

• Brady potty trained (Who's goal is this really? I think it should be Brady's!)
• Make my bed everyday (Some people may think this is silly. I have never been a bed maker, but I love seeing a made bed during the day and getting in it at night, so I want to be better about this.)
• Read through the entire Bible. ( I tried last year, but sadly I was unable to read it all. I think I am using this site's reading plan, and it also comes on my phone. I may use my same bible, but I may try the new one I got for Christmas.)

• Blog more consistently (With an exception of time off for the baby.)
• Stick to our budget, and do not waiver on the Dave Ramsey envelope system.
• There will be probably be more after the baby, but I am keeping it light until I see how much our little miracle changes our life as we know it.

I really like to have goals, and I love how the start of a new year is a clean start for so many. I hope everyone has a fantastic year, and it is very blessed!