My Favorite (Baby) Things

I have so many funny baby stories/adventures to share, but before I get caught up on the last few months, I thought I'd share some of my favorite baby items, thus far.

When I first registered, I put EVERYTHING on it. I gathered lists from a number of my friends with recommendations of "must have baby items". I then decided that I needed all of it. First lesson was realizing that there were only so many people that were going to be buying us gifts, so I should really only put the items on my registry that either: 1. I couldn't/didn't want to buy myself 2. fun things other would rather buy for us or 3. expensive items that multiple people could go in on together. People who are having multiple showers or a very large shower and/or a large family may want to put more items on their registry so there's more to choose from. I ended up taking things off of my registry, fearing that we wouldn't get the things that we really needed. In the end, we got almost everything we needed or ended up purchasing them with gift cards that people had given us. It all, obviously, worked out.

Everyone has different circumstances, so each mom will have different reasons for their must haves. Some people have bigger/smaller houses and live in different weather climates. I think it's still fun to gather lists from friends to see that kinds of things they recommend.

Here's are may must haves based on the last 4 months....

Car seat:
We went with Chicco Key Fit 30 - did you know it's pronounced "key-ko"? I didn't! We really like it. A few people I know used the same brand and really liked it. It also had really high safely ratings. We got it from AlbeeBaby.com. I highly recommend this website. The car seat was much cheaper here than it was at Babies R Us (BRU) and had free shipping.

Pack 'N Play:
I knew I wanted a pack n play, not only for travelling, but also because I figured that this is where he would sleep for the first few weeks/months. We picked the style that had a "newborn napper". I thought it seemed like a cozy place to sleep. He did end up sleeping here before moving to his crib, however, it seemed to be quite an adjustment going from the cozy cocoon feel to flat on his back in the big 'ol crib. He's since adjusted, but he wasn't thrilled at first. I still highly recommend the pack n play.
Stroller:
I love love love our Snap 'N Go stroller. It's absolutely the best invention ever. It's makes taking the baby anywhere a breeze. For those who don't know, the infant car seat fits right into the frame of the stroller. It's super lightweight and easy to push. One of my top three baby items, for sure! I also have the Maclaren Techno XT. I got it on a discounted website for almost 50% off. It's kind of big, so we'll be using it more once he's able to sit up on his own. It'll be great for outings and travelling.

Swing:
We went big on the swing and chose the Fisher-Price lamb cradle swing. I'd been told by numerous people to get a swing that goes both back and forth and side to side, which really proved to be a good thing. At first Brody only wanted to go front to back and now he prefers side to side. We use this to get a nice fat nap out of Brody during the day. Bad habit, I know, I know. It's a sleep machine for sure! It also has different reclining positions and a lap bar with toys.

Bouncy Seat:
I never thought we'd get as much use out of a bouncy seat as we do. We went with the Fisher Price Bouncer. We have two - one at my mom's and one at our house. Brody actually spent a lot of time sleeping in his bouncy chair when he was a newborn, so this thing was a lifesaver. Now, he loves to play with the toys while Joe and I have dinner or while I'm getting ready in the morning. It's an affordable baby item that I highly recommend.

Bottles, binkies, etc:
We first started out using Playtex Drop In Bottles and used them for about 2.5 months before switching to Avent bottles. I liked the Playtex bottles, and had used them before when I was a nanny, but I got tired of dealing with the liners. I originally wanted them based on the fact that the liners were disposable and it cut down on the time it took to wash bottles. But, really I don't mind washing bottles. I do them once a day and it takes all of like 5 minutes. Plus, you still had to wash the playtex bottles. The avent bottles are wider and shorter. For some reason I really preferred this over the taller, skinny bottles. Call me crazy. I've also been using the Avent pacifiers. We were using the NUK brand, but then I tried the Avent ones and he seemed to not spit them out as much.

Play mat
Brody loves his Mobile Gym play mat. My mom got it for him right before Christmas. Even at 6 weeks, he was totally into the lights and toys. Now he grabs on to the toys and "talks" to the animals. It's another top 3 must have for us.

Baby Carriers:
We have both the Bjorn and the Ergo Carrier (borrowed). People swear on the ergo carrier over the Bjorn, but I think they kind of have different functions. I like the Bjorn better for littler babies, where the ergo works better for bigger/older babies. I also think that Joe would much prefer to use the Bjorn over the ergo. I have used each of them one time, but hope to get much more use out of both of them.

Other items that I love...
Children's Place PJ's- Stretchies- we put these under his sleeping bag
Carter's Sleeping Bag- I tried everything...swaddling lasted all of a months. The woombie never took and the sleep sack made his arms cold. The carters fleece sleeping bags are my favorite!
Carter's Onesies (long and short sleeved) Kohls has the best deals on Carters' stuff
Trumpette socks- we only have one pair so far, but they stay on so well, and they're SUPER cute!
Pampers Swaddlers Diapers
Pampers Sensitive Wipes- B got one diaper rash early one when we tried to switch from these wipes. It went away as soon as we went back.
Carter's Hooded Towels Are you noticing a theme? I loves Carters! These towels are much thicker than most hooded baby towels. I think they'll last longer and be perfect for the pool/beach as well.
Onesie Stickers- I think these stickers are the cutest idea for recording your baby's growth through pictures. I get so excited to take B's picture every month.

I'm sure I'm missing something. There are so many great baby things out there. It's so funny to think about what you think must have and then don't end up using....and then the things you didn't think you'd want/need are your favorite items.

Another thing that I highly recommend is joining Amazon Mom. You can become a member and even do the subscribe and save membership where you have diapers, wipes or anything else delivered regularly for up to 35% off (15 off for joining amazon mom and 15% off for doing the subscribe and save). It's so easy and convenient. Diapers and wipes right to my door? Yes, please!

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What's that? You want to see a picture of Brody? Ok, here he is from the other day. He's sporting his airplane overalls from his Auntie Nancy :)

3 Months

Brody is 3 months old!

(technically almost 4 months at this point, but I'm catching up. Pretend I wrote this 2+ weeks ago, describing the month leading up to turning 3 months)

I think I'm going to start using a more standard format for these updates to keep things (and myself) more organized!

How big is Brody? It's all a guess now, since he hasn't been to the doctor since his 2 month check up. He'll go back again in a few weeks for his 4 months check up and shots. I'm so anxious to see how much he weighs. My guess is that he weighs somewhere around 13-14 lbs. That's a lot right?

He's wearing some 0-3 months and some 3-6 month clothes, now. He's in 3-6 months in Gap/Old Navy, although we have to roll the sleeves. He seems to have a longer torso and shorter arms and legs. Wow, that kind of made him sounds like a funny looking baby. He's not, I promise. Carters weight "limit" for 0-3 is 12.5 and although we think he's more than that, he can wear some of the onesies. Definitely not the pants! He's got a belly!

He's still in size 1, pampers swaddlers, although they're getting a little snug. I see size 2s in our not too distant future.

Teeth? Nope, no teeth. He's chewing on his hands a ton and drooling everywhere, so we're prepared for one to make an appearance, but nothing yet.

What's he eating? Brody is still on soy formula and eating 4 oz every 3 hours. He lets you know when he's hungry, that's for sure. Sometimes he can only manage to go 2.5 hours before he's ready for another meal. As suggested by the dr, we tried the milk based formula, to see if he could tolerate it. She said just one bottle would let us know. Well, he took one bottle and we didn't notice any difference, so we proceeded to feed him the milk based formula for the following two feedings as well. We weren't really sure how we'd know if he was ok with it, since our only sign before was that little bit of mucus/blood in his poop, and that only appeared maybe twice in 2 months. Later that evening, Brody had a melt down for an hour or so. We contributed it to the formula, and promptly took him off. I'm not really sure if it had anything to do with the formula, considering he'd had evening melt downs before, but we've been back on the soy ever since. The doctor said we could try again in a few months.

Sleep? Brody's sleeping patterns are definitely inconsistent, but he's gone some longer stretches this month. He went 7 hours between feedings one night, and 6 hours the next. He's gone back and forth between nights of longer stretches, and night with 3 hours stretches. Oh, he's also officially in his crib. Did I mention this? It's wonderful. Of course he's still having his daytime naps in the swing. I'll tackle that issue later.

Personality He's becoming so much more interactive. We have these little conversations that consist of "cooing" back and forth. He looks right into my eyes and chats away. It's fun activity that we usually do together after his bath. He's also becoming more predicable. We know what kinds of things are going to set him off, and what will calm him down. He's a creature of habit I think, and likes a schedule (like his momma). When he's getting tired in the evening he gets a little bit cranky. A bath will always calm him down. He loves his bath. But every night when I go to dry him off and put on his jammies, he smiles and coos, until I get to put his second arm into his PJs. Without fail. Every night. He's a funny guy. He cries and fusses until his arm is in, he's zipped, and I scoop him up. Then he's calm again.

New Developments/Adventures: Brody has his first haircut this month. You might think to yourself, "hmm, that's kind of early, isnt it?". We didn't have any issues cutting his hair. It was growing in all funky and we thought, why not. Joe was cutting his hair, so we figured, lets just buzz Brody's as well. Basically we just evened it out. we perched him in his Bumbo chair on the bathroom counter and Joe went to work. Brody couldn't have been less phased. He was a total champ, obviously having no idea what what going on. He's such a good boy!

Brody celebrated his first Super Bowl (and 3 month birthday) by cheering on the Steelers. They were not successful in securing their 7th ring, but we had fun rooting for them anyway. I take full responsibility in their loss, considering that I bought Brody a new onesie (second picture below) to wear for the big game, when he should have just worn his old one (first picture below) for continued good luck. Oh well...



Holiday Gallstones

Let me just preface this by saying that prior to having a baby, I had never been in the hospital for anything. I'd never had and surgery other than having my wisdom teeth taken out. I've never broken a bone or even had stitches. So being in the hospital for the second time in two weeks was a crazy ordeal!

Here's the story...

Just before Christmas, when Brody was only 6 weeks old (to the day) I wound up in the hospital with gallstones. I had no idea that this is a common occurrence after pregnancy. I had never heard of it happening to anyone else and didn't come across it in any of my pregnancy/baby books.

I was fine the entire day leading up to when I went into the hospital. We visited with friends in the afternoon and then went to a graduation party that evening. We got home at about 8pm and settled in on the couch to relax. I wasn't feeling well, so I went to lay down in bed. After about an hour I decided to take a bath because my back hurt. Things just got worse from there. I had an awful pain in my stomach, right in the middle between my ribs. It was a sharp but burning pain, so I thought it may have been heart burn. Joe ran and got me pepto and maalox, but neither helped. At just after midnight I decided something was wrong and we needed to go to the emergency room. We decided that we'd go to the closest hospital to us, which is not the same one where Brody was born. Joe looked up the info online and said it was a 15 minute wait in the emergency room. I figured I could handle that wait- fearing that it would have been much worse and I would have been doubled over in pain among a whole bunch of weirdos.

Joe dropped me at the emergency room entrance and went to park with Brody. When I walked in, it was completely deserted. Not only was the waiting room empty, but there was no one at the front desk. I used the little phone as per the instructions on the wall and a nurse came right back to let me in. I answered some standard questions including when my last period was....eplying with "uhhhh, maybe January? I just had a baby 6 weeks ago". Joe walked in with Brody at that point and I was escorted back to a room. I had no idea what was going to happen next, how long I'd be there or what kind of tests I'd have to go through. I was talking to Joe about whether he should just leave me there, when a nurse stated that I'd at least be there for 3 hours while tests were being run. We decided that it would be best if Joe took Brody home, so they could both get some sleep. He did all my insurance paper work  for me while I was hoked up to an IV and given some pain medication. They also took some blood from me. I then said goodbye to my boys and waited for someone to come in and talk to me.

A doctor arrived rather quickly and asked me a few questions before telling me that I'd be getting an ultrasound done of my abdomen. I was wheeled down the hallway for the longest ultrasound ever. The pain medication was working so I wasn't really feeling any discomfort. After the ultrasound, I was wheeled back to my room- which had a sliding glass door, like for a patio- to wait. Remember how I mentioned in the birth story, that it's not so easy going to the bathroom with an IV attached to you? Well, it's even harder when the nurse puts it in your right hand!

Am I making this story way longer than it needs to be??? I think I'll just get to the important stuff. :)

Ok, so anyway- I think I fell asleep after I got back to my room, and woke up at about 6am when the Doctor came in to talk to me. As soon as he sat down he said "well, it's definitely a gallstone, so you'll have to have your gallbladder removed." He told me that I did have an option of being sent home with pain medication, although I'd eventually have an attack again, and have to come back to have my gallbladder removed, or I could be admitted that same day and have it taken out right away. I opted for the latter, thinking that I just wanted to get it over with and get back to my family. I also didn't want to have another attack and do this whole process over again. I was told that the surgeon would come in to visit me soon and that I'd be moved up to the surgical floor by 1pm. I texted Joe right away to let him know and then called my mom to tell her. After that, I did what every normal person would do- I posted it on facebook. Almost immediately I had a handful of people responding, saying that they or someone they knew had the same thing happen after giving birth. So crazy that I had no idea!

I was sent up to the surgical floor at around noon that day and hung out there for a bit. Joe had come back and was hanging out with me before I went down for surgery about and hour later. Funny story- As we were waiting in the hallway to go into surgery, we were talking to the anesthesiologist. He was actually the man I was picturing for my epidural! Where was he 6 weeks ago? Oh right, wrong hospital. Anyway, he was standing at the foot of my bed when all of a sudden he asks me to stick out my tongue. I do, and he gets this crazy look on his face and says "why is your tongue black?" I totally thought he was joking, and looked to Joe. He had the same look! I realized that it was because I had eaten so many of the chewable pepto tablets the night before for that "heartburn" I thought I had. I'd read online that it will turn your tongue black. The doctor immediately seemed relived but we all had a laugh over it. Joe even took a picture with his phone so I could see it. I looked like a giraffe.

A few minutes later, I was wheeled back to the operating room. I don't know why they didn't knock me out first, those rooms are scary looking! The anesthesia took effect quickly, and before I knew it, I was partially conscious and in a recovery room. That part is a little fuzzy, though I do remember asking the nurses if they did some lipo suction for me while they were in there. I remember joking about that beforehand, but I cant believe I actually asked them that!!!

Later I woke up in my room, where both Joe and my mom were waiting. That was kind of fuzzy too. I remember feeling very drunk-like and then falling asleep again. When I woke up later, I was much more alert. I was uncomfortable, but I had this lovely little button I could push for more pain medication. It couldn't be pushed more than every 20 minutes and I used it sparingly unless I wanted to fall asleep. I felt guilty being away from Joe and Brody, but I was getting some much needed sleep.

My hospital roommate was discharched that evening, so I had the room to myself overnight. The next day was a little uncomfortable, but still not awful. My mom, Joe's mom, Joe and my friend Kristin came to visit and hang out. I slept a lot during the day too, which was nice. The plan was for me to be discharged that night. While I was anxious to get home to Brody, I selfishly admit that I sort of wanted to stay an extra night. I was still in some pain and knew that I wouldn't be able to care for Brody the way I'd want to. I was scared to go home and not be able to hold him the way he wanted and be kind of helpless about things. I did end up going home that night, and everything worked out. Joe's mom said she'd stay with us, so we could both get some sleep and she'd care for Brody. My mom came the next day to help me while Joe was at work, and so Peggy could go home and rest. It was definitely tough being uncomfortable and not being able to do what I needed to do for Brody. But I was thankful to have the help of our family.

I healed a lot quicker than I thought I would. I felt a huge improvement each day when I woke up. By the end of the week, which was Christmas, I was feeling great. My incisions were a little sore, but I was feeling pretty much back to normal.

I didn't have any restrictions after the surgery in terms of diet, which amazed me. Apparently it's an organ that has a function, but at the same time, the body operates just fine without it. I haven't noticed any differences in my digestions, etc since the surgery. So amazing to me.

This was all such a crazy experience! I am so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends around to help us. I'm also very lucky to have such an amazing husband who really became a total hero for me. I love my little family. :)

No relevant picture for this post, but here is a picture of Body and his daddy. They definitely became even better buddies while I was in the hospital. It's one of my favorite pictures. Cari took this one too.



Two Months Old - Santa, shopping and gallstones...

Brody is two months old!

At his two month appointment, Brody weighed 11 lbs, 8ozs. He also got his first shots, which were not fun. He did ok. I also did ok. His band aids fell off, however and there was blood all over his blanket and my hand. Freaked me out, but everything was fine. He got new snoopy band aids and we moved on. He passed out on the way home, and by midnight, he seemed to not even have any tenderness in his legs. He started wearing wearing his 0-3 clothing at about 6 weeks with the exception of a few newborn outfits. He's in size 1 pampers swaddlers diapers. This boy has big feet, though. He fits into all 0-3 size baby shoes and is quickly outgrowing his socks.

Lots of fun things happened in the last month. The Holiday season was in full swing, so we decided to take Brody to the mall to meet Santa. We went on a Monday afternoon, so it was very quiet and no line at all. Santa was very friendly and great with Brody. Even though Brody was sleeping, we got some great pictures. Santa recommended that they take a picture where he's also sleeping and it came out so great. We got lots of compliments. I had already ordered our Christmas cards, but if I hadn't, this picture would have been used for sure!

Brody also got to attend his first Christmas Party for his Daddy's work. He slept most of the time, but also got some love from a few work friends. He also visited my work a few times and got lots of attention from both my co workers and the students.

December was a pretty nice month, weather wise, so we were able to get out and about. We did some Christmas shopping, lunched with friends and had outings with Daddy. It was so nice to have time during the holidays. We went on a lot neighborhood walks. For the most part Brody falls asleep right away when we got on a walk- just like he does in the car, but at least he seems to enjoy getting out.

When Brody was 6 weeks old, I had emergency gallbladder surgery. He spent one night with just his Daddy and the next two days and nights with his Nana (Joe's mom) and Nan (my mom) helping out. I missed him terribly, but everything worked out. It was a crazy time and one that will be detailed in my next post, so stay tuned.

I healed rather quickly from my surgery, so Christmas was not disrupted at all. We kept most of the same traditions that we've done for the last few years and added some new ones. Brody enjoyed his first Christmas Eve breakfast with my family and family friends and enjoyed Christmas Eve dinner at Frankie Johnny and Luigi's with my family again that evening. We decided now that we're our own little family, we want to start celebrating Christmas morning at our house. We used to go to my mom's for brunch, but now she comes to us. Brody got a fun play mat, that he actually seems to enjoy as well as a bumbo seat. He has lots of fun things to try out. We spent Christmas Day at Joe's Aunt and Uncles house with the rest of his family. It's a great group to hang out with, so we all had a lot of fun.

The Monday after Christmas, we went to the doctor and ended up putting Brody on soy formula. I guess his little tummy was having problems digesting the milk proteins. My brother had a milk allergy as a child and so did Joe, so I guess we passed it on. He's been great on the new formula. Prior to switching, he was having a few meltdowns at night and he no longer has those. I'm guessing the regular formula was just upsetting his belly. Now he seems much happier and appears to even be gaining more weight! Hooray for chunky babies.

Cari and Steve arrived just a few days after Christmas to visit with us for the week. Brody had such a great time with them loving all over him. I think he definitely reinforced their baby fever! We headed up north to the family cabin to celebrate New Year's Eve and Cari's birthday. Lots of fun was had by all. It was a very low key weekend with lots of snacks, wii and card playing and SNOW! The snow was a major surprise to us. We were up late playing the wii when Joe looked outside and noticed what he thought was snow. He called over the east coast experts who confirmed that it was in fact snow! We figured it would be gone by morning, but there was even more when we woke up. It was so beautiful. Cari and Steve may not have thought so considering that they'd just left a blizzard, but Joe and I were in heaven. It has snowed at the cabin before, but not since 2001. I thought it was a great way to start off 2011!

Brody is no longer sleeping in the hallway! Hooray! When Cari and Steve came to visit, we had them stay in Brody's room, so we moved Brody to the pack 'n play in the family room. It had both a changer and a "newborn napper" so it was multi functioning. He took to the napper really well, and has been sleeping great.

Cari did a little photo shoot the day before she had to head back home. The pictures came out amazing! She's really talented and just keeps getting better and better. Thank you so much, Cari for such stunning photos of our little monkey. Here are a few pictures from his 2 month photo shoot. Check them out and then check out more of Cari's work here.

December was a great month. Our holidays were wonderful and we loved visiting with our out of town guests! Only a few more weeks of maternity leave left. :(

One Month!

Brody is one month old!

(Technically he's now 3 months old, but I'm starting at the beginning. I'll catch up- eventually)

So much has happened in the last 4 weeks! We brought Brody home from the hospital with a little bit of jaundice. We were told to put him in the sun as much as we could to try to get rid of the bilirubin. He actually enjoyed sunbathing.

He went to the doctor twice in the first two weeks. Both times were to check on his jaundice. His levels were low the first day, but the pediatrician still recommended he come in two days later to be checked again. We continued to lay him in the sun and by the end of the week, the jaundice was gone.

Brody definitely lost weight in the first few days. He was born at 6lbs, 7ozs and weighed in at just over 5 1/2 lbs during his first week. The doctor wasn't concerned, so we tried not to be as well. Needless to say, he's a pipsqueek that will be in newborn clothes for a while. Even some of the newborn stuff is too small for him. He's also in the newborn size pampers diapers and probably will be for a while.

I nursed Brody for ten days, before realizing that it wasn't working for us. We went to formula, and Brody took to it like a champ. We're using Enfamil Newborn formula and feed him 3ozs every 3 hours. Our little monkey (that's what I call him) is also a fan of the pacifier. We're calling them binkies or binks. He took to the Nuk brand moreso than the soothie one that the hospital gave us. They look so big on his little face!

Brody had lots of firsts this month. First bath, first time eating out in a restaurant. First walk. First trip to the mall, target, and babies r us. Brody loves to shop with mom.

Brody was only 2 1/2 weeks old for his first Thanksgiving, but he got to meet his Grandpa Larry and Grandma Judy. They flew in from Illinois to meet our little man and spend the holiday with us.  My dad very much enjoyed getting to spend time with his new grandson. He also got to spend some time with his cousins and Aunts and Uncles for Thanksgiving. His cousins definitely think he's a cool little guy.

Brody is a pretty good sleeper, but it's definitely more sporadic at night. He definitely knows when it's been 3 hours and he is ready to eat! He's a noisy little guy when he's sleeping, so although he started out in the 'newborn napper' in his pack 'n play he has recently moved to the bouncy chair which is strategically placed right outside our door. It's close enough that we can hear him when he wakes up, but not so close that we wake up to all his "peeps and squeeks" as we call them. He sounds like a little monkey. It's cute, but we like our sleep too. So, yes...our son sleeps in the hallway. You'd think that we'd just move him into his own room, but that's to far away. Maybe next month. :)

We're having the best time with our little guy and are looking forward to lots of fun to come in the next few months. We've Got Christmas coming up, as well as a visit from our east coast friends, Cari and Steve.

Two Became Three. Brody's Birth Story- Part Two

So we were on our way! We hadn't even gotten to the first stoplight when I realized that I was having contractions. They weren't awful- but they were definitely contractions. After timing a few of them we realized they were exactly 5 minutes apart and stayed that way for the entire car ride, getting only slightly stronger. I called my sister in law on the way and informed her that we were heading to the hospital. Joe also called his parents. I had already called my mom and texted many many friends! We were about halfway there when I realized that there was something I just had to do....so I promptly turned on Party In The USA, and proceeded to rock out and made Joe join me. You see, I figured if I listened to that song every day on my way to work while I was pregnant, maybe Brody would literally be born to love that song! I'm not sure if it worked, but we still had fun "bobbing our heads like yeah"... :)

It was after hours when we arrived to the hospital, so we had to use the night entrance. Basically this just meant that we went to the back of the building and called on the little phone to let someone know I was in labor. We were buzzed in, so we headed to the front desk. As I was filling out paperwork, I heard Joe ask the nurse behind the counter if she went to our high school. She did! She was one year ahead of us, and after she shared her maiden name, I completely remembered her. This was coincidence #1. There will be more. The same nurse took us to the Labor and Delivery room, to get me settled and changed. My contractions were getting stronger at this point so my belly started to feel a little uneasy. This subsided within a half an hour or so, but getting up and going to the bathroom is not so much fun when you're attached to an IV.

The nurse we knew ended her shift shortly after we got there, and a new nurse came in to greet us. I had a total of 3 nurses throughout the delivery and this 2nd one was not my favorite. She had a lot of personal stories to share- long ones. And she didn't seem to quite have the bedside manner that the other 2 had. However, she was very helpful during my epidural-which we'll get to in a minute....

Anyway, I'd only bee there for an hour or so when my in laws showed up. It was fun to have company. They live nearby, so it was easy for them to pop over. I also got a call from my friend Kerry who was just up the street at a function for her son's school. She also joined us, which was awesome. She delivered both of her kids at the same hospital and was super excited to be there with us. We all chatted for a while before I decided to get the epidural. I knew before coming to the hospital that I was going to get one. I had planned on it even before I got pregnant. My thinking was that I wouldn't get a cavity filled without Novocain, so why wouldn't I get an epidural. :) Everyone pictures what their anesthesiologist will look like, right? Well, I did. He was going to be an older man- maybe in his 60's- with white hair, glasses and a nice big smile. I guess the hospital didn't get my mental memo, because they sent in some hot-shot looking 30-something woman who was all business. Needless to say we did not become friends after my experience. I wasn't really nervous about the process at all. I had heard that it was super fast and basically just felt like a pinch. This was not the case for me. It was AWFUL. I felt the pinch, which wasn't bad. I also felt that damn woman digging around in my back for what seemed like an eternity. I think she tried 3 times to find "the spot". She also made reference- rather flippantly- that either the tattoo on my back wasn't straight or I had a mild case of scoliosis. Two thoughts here: 1. are you using my tattoo as a guide, because that's weird. 2. Really, you're trying to tell me now that I may have scoliosis? Awesome. Needless to say, I was crying bawling. It wasn't the best experience, but it did end up working and I started to feel my contractions less and less.

We were told that I still had a ways to go. I don't even remember how dilated I was. Since my water had broken, they didn't check me very often because they didn't want to create and infection by continuously going in there. Since it was after midnight, we decided to try to get some rest. Joe's parents and Kerry left so Joe and I tried to settle in. Joe had gone into work at 6am that morning, so he was exhausted. He passed out rather quickly, but I was too excited to sleep. I spent most of the night texting whoever was awake. My sister in law was up and excited so we were texting back and forth. Her son was born 3 months before Brody and apparently in the same exact delivery room! (Coincidence #2) I think I may have gotten an hour or so of sleep, but at 4am, I realized that my bff in Maryland was surely awake with her kids, so we texted back and forth for an hour or so. I think I probably got another hour of sleep after that, and then my mom arrived. She was there for a while before heading out to get some coffee for herself and Joe and returned just before I began pushing.

Our 3rd nurse arrived at 7am and she was wonderful! She came in with this big smile on her face and said, "hi, I'm Judy!". Just her smile and her warm personality made me instantly happy that she would most likely be with us for the delivery. She was amazing. It was just she, Joe and my mom in the room for the delivery which to me was perfect. Judy was super helpful and got Joe and my mom involved. She was the best coach and cheerleader. She praised me for a push well done and kindly let me know when I could do better. Before the pushing began we chatted a bit about where I worked and what I went to school for. She was telling me that she went to San Jose State for her nursing degree and mentioned that she did her undergrad in Pennsylvania. I told her that I also went to school in Pennsylvania, and before we knew it, we discovered that we both had the same alma mater! (Coincidence #3) Definitely a small world on that one, considering that almost everyone I tell where I went to school responds with "huh?".

I hadn't read a lot of birth stories and the ones I did read seemed to deliver their babies rather quickly. This was not the case for me. I began pushing at 8:45. Judy told me that because this was my first baby, I could push for up to 2.5 hours. That seemed like an eternity to me! I had a clock directly in front of me, so I just watched the hours go by. After about 45 minutes of pushing I was pretty sure my epidural had worn off. My legs didn't feel as heavy and the contractions were getting more and more painful. I was pushing and pushing, but his little humongous head was not descending. The doctor came in a few times to check. And although he was not overly concerned about myself or the baby's health/safety, he told me that I needed to keep working on getting that baby down because he wasn't where he should be by then. The pain continued to get worse and I felt like I had zero strength left. I remember telling Joe that I couldn't do it, that I didn't think I could keep going. I think that was about an hour and a half in. Things are kind of a blur after that. Somewhere between an hour and a half and three and a half hours in, I found the strength. I remember Judy telling me how close I was and then running to get the doctor to see if he could help me a long. He came in shortly thereafter and said, if I could just get the baby down a little farther he'd use the vacuum to get him out. I must have gone into full force because I was giving it my all. I pushed and pushed and pushed. I pushed for longer than I was supposed to, and didn't really rest in between each push. Before I knew it, our gorgeous baby boy had arrived. He was perfect. We were so anxious to find out how big he was because everyone estimated that he'd be big. When he measured 6lbs 7ozs, we were beyond surprised! His head was definitely larger than average, but it was perfect. He was perfect. He was immediately bundled and then placed on my chest.

The first picture of him still makes me laugh. It's the cutest things ever, but he doesn't look anything like he does now. I guess four hours down the birth canal can do that to you.

Two Became Three. Brody's Birth Story- Part One

I had planned on taking thirteen weeks of maternity leave. One whole week to myself, and then the next twelve to be with the baby after he arrived. Instead, I got all thirteen weeks with my little guy...

My last day of work was Friday, November 5th. I had been counting down the days because I was tired. It was still pretty warm and I'd been going to a lot of meetings on campus that last week. Needless to say, I was ready to do some relaxing. I couldn't wait to finally be on leave. My boss told me I could take a half day to go home and relax. So after lunch with a co worker, I headed home. Joe went in to work at 6am that day, so he was home at 2pm. We sat around on the couch together for a bit before deciding to go to Chipotle for dinner. Before we left for dinner, I made a quick potty trip- ***TMI ALERT***- only to discover that I'd lost my mucus plug. Not just some of it, not just a tinge of blood- THE WHOLE DARN THING. There really wasnt any confusion. I knew what it was, and was kind of excited. However, I'd read that it really wasn't much to get excited about, as it could take weeks to go into labor after it's appearence. I of course called to tell my mom, who apparently called my brother who called my dad. My mom also spoke with a friend who is a nurse and she said that it is definitely a sign that "things are starting".  My sister in law also said that she want into labor within a few hours of losing hers. I still wasnt buying it.

Anyway, Chipotle was quite delicicious and apparently the last thing I'd eat for the next 20 hours. After Chipotle I wanted to stop by Target and see about getting a new camera, since ours was pretty junky and we'd need a better one to take pictures of the little man. We picked the one we wanted and then headed back home.

When we got home, Joe went out to the garage to work on a putter that he was cleaning up for a member at the club. I was super excited to plop on the couch and watch Private Practice- it was the episode after Charlotte got attacked and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. So there I was, all of 15 minutes in, when I realized I had to pee. As soon as I stood up, however, my water broke. Right there. Just a small gush. Then some more. I ran to the bathroom, where it was completely evident to me that, "holy crap, my water just brok". I ran to the garage (still leaking amniotic fluid- it's never ending, apparently) to tell Joe. He responded with "seriously?" before jumping up and coming inside.

I called the hospital who informed me that the on call doctor woul call me back- she did within ten minutes and said to get things together and get to the hospital by 10pm. This was at about 8pm, so we had some time to kill. Joe took a shower and I made sure I had everything packed. I was so giddy! I couldnt feel any contractions, so other than the constant leaking, everything was bliss! I ran around packing up all the last minute items we had on our list....computer, ipod, new camera( good timing, huh?), snacks for me and Joe, cell phone chargers, etc. Then I jumped in the shower- redid my hair and make up- yep, I did it- and then put a cute little headband on and of course took a picture to document the still blissfull state I was in.

Then we threw everything in the car, and headed out the door...

To Be Continued!

Getting back on the horse...

Is that what people say? I've only been on a horse once and it wasn't fun. hmmm

Anyway, I'm making a new year's resolution to start blogging again. Not that I blogged a lot, but now I have the best reason to blog. Who doesn't want to read about my super cute baby? Well, I realize not everyone does, but more than anything I want to document Brody's life. People kept telling me to write things down because I'd forget them. Guess what? I didn't write things down and now I forget.

Well, I haven't forgotten everything, but there are things that in the moment seemed so important, unbearable, crazy, etc but once those moments are over you totally forget about them. I also forget certain stages, but I figure that he's only 3 months old, so I can probably go back and make stuff up write about what I do remember.

So anyway, get ready to go back in time a whole three months. I hope to start with the birth story and move on from there.

And because blogs are always more fun with a picture, here you go....

This one of my favorite pictures of Brody. He's probably about 2-3 weeks old here. Funny guy. 

Stay tuned.....