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Yes, we're still here!

It's been a busy time of late with adjusting to Brayden more than he seems to be adjusting to us. He still hasn't quite figured out which time of day is nighttime yet because some days he figures it out better than others. He also is trying to figure out who actually lives here and who is just visiting. Last week Luke's family was in town for their first chance to visit the newest member to the family. Luke's mom and sister arrived first by plane and then the rest of the crew arrived a few days later. We enjoyed the time we spent with them and Brayden enjoyed getting to meet his grandparents with aunt's and uncle's in tow. Here are some of the pictures that were taken during the visit.

Birth Story

Yes Yes...I am aware that its been almost 2 weeks since Brayden was born, and I could have done this a while ago, but I would much rather have posted the cute pictures of my little bumkin than to talk about my experience in labor. Dont get me wrong...being a mother is wonderful, and the process of labor has its beauty and magnificence (until the real pain starts)...but the cutsie pictures are usually better recieved. So, if you would like to just X out of this entry, I dont blame you, but for the inquisitive ones in the flock here goes nothing.



I had to be induced as you all know, and I was dreading the pitocin that I knew I would have to end up being hooked up to. I did my homework and found out that that little drug makes labor very unpleasant. Not that labor is a cake walk, but pitocin only makes it worse. So you can imagine my excitement when they hooked me up to that first thing...literally. So I was on the pitocin and having contractions, but by mid afternoon wasnt making much progress. So, the turned it off and wanted to wait for my contractions to die down before trying to insert a pill to ripen things up...up there. But they couldnt do it until my contractions went away almost totally. Well...they never did. Seems the pitocin worked...just not well enough. So I knew I was in for a long labor. About an hour after they told me my contractions werent stopping an angel from heaven in the form of an OB/GYN resident came in, declared I was dilated enough to break my water (which I was told I wasnt far enough along to do a bit earlier) instead of doing the pill thing...up there. I dont think I really was dilated enough...but thats why she's an angel. The only snag with that was, Luke was taking a walk. So he came back to find me flat on my back, tears rolling down my face, thinking something terrible had just happened. Not that he really missed anything, but still...



After they broke my water they turned the pitocin back on and man o man did things get going from there!!! About an hour after they broke my water I was asking for some relief, so the anesthesiologist was called up. This is where things got hinky. See, I have a family history of whats known as a spotty spine...so I dont numb up like i'm supposed to. Needless to say, it took about 8-10 hours before we got the epidural thing right...which ended up being about 2-3 hours before Brayden was born. So...I think I sufficiently

New Pet

So thanks to Aunt Christen Brayden has his first "pets." These are the fuzzy socks/slippers that she brought with her this week. They are probably the cutest things I've ever seen. The problem is that Brayden thinks getting whatever is on his feet off is some sort of Olympic sport and does it with all the grace and dexterity of a baby twice his age...honestly...so the pups didnt stay on for long, but Mommy captured the moment before the kicking and removal began. And before anyone says so...we are aware the they dwarf his body...but would it be as cute if they didnt??

My loves...

Being a parent has definately been a new experience. Never in my life did I think I could smile at 3 am...I mean literally...I didnt know it was possible. Nor did I realize what a sound sleeper Luke is. He can "wake up" and rub my back while I'm feeding Brayden and yet never really truly wake up. If only I had the gift of "waking up" to feed the baby and not really wake up. Hmm...but then I guess I wouldnt be coherent to smile while smooching some sweet baby cheeks, would I? Quite the conundrum.

At any rate...this is a montage of my husbands new found spiritual gift...baby whisperer. He can get Brayden to go to sleep on his chest in a way I wish I could. But I think my smell means food. Luke must be putting out all the sleep vibes...and my vibes must be screaming "MOOO!" But I'm at peace with that...and I have cute pictures of my two loves as a result.

In Case You Were Wondering...

So I know that we havent been as diligent about posting pictures of Brayden as we promised, so this is my feeble attempt to make up for it, and to hopefully make peace with all our out of town family who religiously check the blog.

Brayden is doing great. We had a really good night last night, which was nice since Gigi had to step in and help me lull him back to sleep the few nights before. Luke was out in the field Monday and Tuesday, so she was my savior after 2 or more hours of no success lulling him back to sleep. All you moms out there know what I'm talking about. But its all worth it when I look at how beautiful he is and think about how blessed we are to have him.

I'm feeling great and grateful for that fact, but still trying to take it easy. My mom has been great but is leaving tomorrow, so we will be excited for Luke's mom and sister to get here on Saturday so we can have a few extra hands. Luke has to go back out into the field Sunday night so they will be a Godsend while I still try to figure this mommy thing out.

Enjoy our little angel!

Home At Last

So now we are home. Brayden was born early Friday and we were cleared to come home around lunchtime yesterday (Saturday). We are really excited to get started with real life, even if that means feedings every 2-3 hours and a baby that hasnt quite figured out this post utero thing yet.

The delivery was hard but you realize that its true what they say...you forget faster than you think you will. Plus, you get to stare down at the fruits of your labor anytime you want to. I'm feeling a lot better just getting to be home sleeping in my own bed, and Gigi is taking great care of us via good meals and lots of waiting on hand and foot. I'm sure I'll be back in fighting shape in no time...right???

My mom stays until this upcoming Thursday, and then Luke's mom and sister come in Saturday evening, so the help just keeps on coming and we like it!

Here are some more pictures of the delivery/hospital stay. I'm embarassed to say we dont have many pictures from here at home yet...but dont let that discourage you...photo ops will be abundant from here on out.

Happy Birthday Brayden!

Here's a very abbreviated version of how everything went. Today is already one of the most exciting days of my life and it's only 10 AM. Kristin and Brayden did an amazing job and you can see the results of the work they put in. Brayden weighed in at 7lbs 7 ounces and 19 inches long. We arrived at 6AM yesterday and he was born @0323 this morning after 21 hours of work. We will give a much more detailed account with more pictures later but Mommy and Brayden are happy and healthy and should be coming home Sunday morning because the hospital wants 48hrs observation time. Long story short I'm a Daddy to a baby boy!! YES!!

Induction Day

Well, it's 525 and we're putting things in the car and touching up the house for when we return. I couldn't help but get a couple more pictures in before Kristin's belly shrinks down to normal size. I know that we have a fair amount of people following us and waiting for results so i will try to get those out as soon as possible. But as for now we need to get going so here's the bright eyed and bushytailed 5 AM pictures.

D Day

So here we still are on the 4th of July...and at this point we are waiting very impatiently for a different kind of delivery of our little guy. Tomorrow morning at about 6 am we will go in for an induction. It seems that Brayden is a bit too comfy in Mommy's tummy, but luckily at this point my discomfort trumps his comfort. So hopefully by Friday morning we will have our much awaited bundle of joy and will finally have something more interesting and much more precious to post on our blog.

I had my 41 week appt yesterday and everything with Brayden looks great so hopefully things will go smoothly tomorrow and into Friday!!!

Hopefully our next post will not only hold good news, but pictures of the fruits of our/my labors (literally).