Our Birth Story

Sawyer Reed Junkin arrived on December 20th, 2009 at 0058! To tell his birth story I feel like I need to recount Bronner's. Bronner was born on November 10th, 2008 after a medically indicated induction for cholestasis of pregnancy. I had wanted to go natural then and tried but ended up getting an epidural at 7cm. I was on a lot of pitocin and ctxing well. I changed positions and tried everything I knew but I had not prepared enough nor had I anticipated the strength of the pit contractions. I had tried to "entertain" our family in the beginning instead of concentrating on each and every contraction whether they hurt or not. NOT that I am saying our family wanted / needed to be entertained but when there were people in the room talking no matter how quite they were whispering it was hard to concentrate. Knowing that they were in the waiting room, waiting on me to do something was also distracting. SO anyways. I ended up with an epidural and puked through the pushing phase. After an hour or so I was over it. Not the pushing but the puking. So I begged for forceps. I didn't have to ask much as when Dr T walked in all I could do was puke. Bronner was really low and it was an easy forceps assisted delivery. He did great, we did skin to skin, and he nursed well, although he was not near as alert as Sawyer was. I ended up with a significant episitomy/tear and side wall lacs. Not so much fun! I had to go upstairs in a bed b/c I was still so numb from my epidural. Dr L put it in, did a fab job but I just didn't like the way it made me feel. Unable to move and out of control. From the day I delivered I was disappointed in my experience and myself. Wishing I would have tried just a little bit longer to continue without an epidural.

So in April when I found out we were expecting again I began to prepare. I had delivered my friend Katie just a few weeks before I found out. She did wonderful, went natural, all with an induction due to high BP. I just kept remembering how disappointed I was in myself. So I read a lot, talked to people who had done it before, and prayed. Really seriously prayed for the outcome that I felt God had laid on my heart. And I prepared my husband. He was not thrilled about the idea in the least bit. He was scared something would happen and without an epidural, off to sleep I would go and deliver a baby without even knowing it. But he came around as he saw how dedicated I was. He just said whatever I decided he would support and he did a great job! So as I neared term I got more and more excited. I went weekly for checkups and progressed from 2-3 cm at 36 weeks to 4 cms at 37 weeks. We had decided that I would come in on the 21st and see if I had made any change. If so she would induce me so that I could be delivered when she was on call which I really really wanted and be home for Christmas. Dr T was going out of town for the weekend but said call me on Friday if you think something is happening. If not we will be back around lunch on Sunday! Don't do anything on Saturday. Well Wednesday night as work I ran into her in the hallway. We chatted, I told her I was ctxing a lot, and she said well don't jinx yourself and let your water break. I replied: oh nothing will happen this weekend. Have fun with your fam for Christmas and off we went. Me back to work and her home to her sweet boys. Thursday and Friday pass with nothing happening. Friday night Jeremy's mom and dad came over to spend the night and we went to dinner and finished Christmas shopping while they babysat. Saturday morning I woke up and stood up and my water broke at 0730 at 37 weeks and 4 days. I was unsure since I had a full bladder and you know sometimes when your preggo with a full bladder things can leak. Well when it kept running down my leg I was pretty convinced but not wanting to look silly I didn't call immediately. Sawyer was moving well and I wasn't contracting much. Well I didn't leak for awhile and Jeremy and his dad wanted to run some errands, so thinking that maybe it really wasn't my water I sent them on their way. Well a little while later I felt another gush, noticed I was bleeding and called Katie. She was like yeah your really need to call, so I called Jeremy and had them come on home and jumped in the shower. I called Dr H, who was on call for Dr T, and off to the hospital we went. We got there and my friend Leigh took care of me. Katie was planning on coming in but she was at Children's hospital with her son but was in the process of getting discharged. So she was going to go home and drop them off and come take care of me. Well Leigh did a sterile spec on me and it was negative. Nitrazine was positive indicating that my water had broken but blood also turns it positive and they thought this is why it was positive and the spec negative. They even looked at slides and they said negative as well. So feeling silly Jeremy and I headed home. We stopped and did some last minute Christmas shopping on the way home and I continued to leak. We got home and Jeremy's mom and dad left to go do some shopping. Well about 7pm, after leaking all day I called up to work and asked what I should do, not wanting to bother Dr H again. Well he happened to be standing right there and said I really needed to come back. So we left Bronner with Jeremy's parents to put to bed and we went back. Here the real story begins!

We got to LDR 15 at 2015 and got changed, into bed, and on the monitor. My friend Kelley was taking care of me until we confirmed rupture and then Katie was going to come in. At 2026 Kelley and Dr H looked in the speculum and both agreed that I was NOT ruptured. I just kept saying but I am leaking all the time and they replied well it's dry down here. Like really really dry there is no fluid. So feeling silly again I asked if we could just stay for awhile and see if I leaked. Dr H agreed and I decided to turn on my side the way I was positioned when I first noted the leaking early that morning. At 2050 I had another leak and called Kelley back and she confirmed that indeed I was ruptured and no I wasn't crazy! She called me 3cm/50% (like I mentioned earlier Dr T checks a little on the big side) but we were officially having a baby that night. At 2115 Katie had taken over and Dr H broke my forebag of water and we waited for the contractions to start. At 2135 they started and IV so that I could get antibiotics since I had indeed been ruptured for over 12 hours. At 2207 I got my first dose. Our protocol states that you have to been on antibiotic therapy for 4 hours prior to delivery or the baby will have to stay a mandatory 48 hours and have blood cultures drawn. Well we didn't think that would be a problem but thankfully it was! At 2235 Katie started my pitocin at 2 milliunits. At 2300 we went up to 4 and I still wasn't hurting and was only contracting every 5-6 mins. At 2320 we increased it again to try and get the contractions closer together. So up to 6 we went and I was still tolerating it well. At 2350 I was starting to get a little uncomfortable and felt like the contractions were to close together so we went back down to 4 milliunits. At 2359 I wanted to know how I was doing to mentally prepare myself so I had Katie check me. I was

5.5cm/85%/-1. Feeling like I needed to do something I flipped over to my hands and knees and started to become much more uncomfortable. At 0020 I was getting super uncomfortable and started contemplating whether or not I really wanted to do this. Jeremy and Katie did a great job encouraging me, telling me how great I was doing, reminding me why I wanted to do this and rubbing my back. Katie rechecked me at this point and I was 7cm. At 0022 I specifically remember looking at the clock and thinking I can't do this anymore. It was the first time I started to doubt myself and really hurt with the contraction. Katie and Jeremy kept reminding me that this just meant that I was getting closer to delivery. I asked Katie to turn the Pitocin off and see if that would help a little bit and she did. At 0024 I got off my hands and knees and onto the birthing ball. At 0031 the puking started and I knew I must be close but kept saying "I can't do this". Both Katie and Jeremy kept encouraging me anyways. At 0043 I felt like pushing and Katie checked me and I was 9cm/-1. Dr H was called and notified of my exam but he was in the OR doing a C/S. Hopefully he would be done in time but if not Katie would be delivering little Sawyer! At 0048 I was still 9 and thought I really wanted my epidural. Katie told me no and that I might hate her now but would be glad in a little while. She was so right! At 0051 I was sitting up on the side of the bed and Jeremy was rubbing my hair. Both him and Katie kept telling me how great I was doing. I had been praying for just a little break. Well it might not have been as long as I thought but I didn't have a contraction for what seemed like 5 mins. Next thing I know I threw myself back on the bed and told Katie that he was coming. That was at 0056. Laying on my left side I pushed little Sawyer into the world at 0058! He was perfect in every way. Weighing in at 7lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long. Dr H barely made it in time for delivery but did a good job helping me not to tear. After one stitch and lots of emotions it was all over. The delivery I had planned and prayed for!

Right after delivery. Not as pretty as the pics of Bronner's delivery!! I was hurting just a bit!

Katie getting Sawyer all cleaned up!

As here almost a week later there is nothing in our birth story that I would change. Jeremy's parents took care of Bronner and childcare was not a problem. I had been worried about feeling pressured to entertain again. With it happening in the middle of the night that was not a concern. We meant to call when I began to hurt just to let them come up to the hospital but forgot. I mean I only hurt for 36 mins! My only other worry throughout the day on Saturday was that Sawyer would be born on the 19th. I had miscarried on December 19th 2007 and really wanted each baby to have its own day to be remembered/celebrated. How God answers our prayers! Throughout the night I was upset that Dr T wasn't there but Dr H did wonderfully and I really ended up not minding a bit that he delivered and not her. He was so complementary of our natural delivery. I know that most people have no desire to go unmedicated but really if you ever want to it is incredible. Even Jeremy noticed a huge difference. When I asked him if we do ever have another child if he would want me to do it again he said absolutely. The recovery is so so much easier. I was up and about 20 mins after delivery and only hurt from the cramping afterwards. Sawyer was so much more alert and content. I would recommend it to anyone!

Me and my boys!

Bronner's One Year Checkup

Bronner turned one last week and we had to go to our well baby visit. He now weighs in at 23lbs and 9oz and is 30 3/4 inches long! He is doing great! We are transitioning to whole milk!! Yay for no more formula. That junk is so expensive! Hopefully little Sawyer will be able to breastfeed until he can have whole milk and save us some money! We are working on a sippy cup but you know he doesn't like his milk in a cup. So I am trying not to force the issue and just let him do it own his own. Now granted the main reason is I am sure that when little Sawyer gets here he is going to regress some and if he sees him getting a bottle I'm sure Bronner is going to want one too. So why work so hard at something only for all that work to come undone? And the fact is I have many other things to do like keep up with a one year old and grow an almost term baby! I ordered my new moby wrap on ebay the other day and can't wait to get it in. Jeremy says it looks like it is from Africa and it does but it works for them and with 2 kids under 1 we are going to need something to strap one of them to us! Hopefully we will like it. I used a Baby Bjorn with Bronner and liked it but I didn't feel like it was tight enough against me for a new born and put a lot of strain on you neck/shoulders, where the Moby is an all over wrap and evens out the pressure some. Or so the article says! I'll let you know how I like it! Sawyer is growing well and we go back for our next check up on Tuesday! I was checked at my 32 week appointment because I have been contracting more than normal for me but was only a FT/50/floating. Yeah basically that means I had a baby a year ago and my cervix didn't have ample time to recover and close all the way!! :) Anyways I'll let yall know how it goes! Hope you have a great week!

The Business of Being Born

I watched Ricki Lake's The Business of Being Born yesterday and really enjoyed it. It was very pro midwife and anti OBGYN which was hard for me to get over since I do work with OB's everyday. This was the main part of the film that I didn't agree with. I think midwives would be very useful in low risk vaginal deliveries but I think that they all should be working under a MD. I have no problems with people delivering at birth centers and such but just in my opinion would rather them be connected to some sort of hospital system. I would actually love to work in a birth center attached to a hospital. The best of both worlds. Natural deliveries with an OR down the hall! I know that these are truly low risk deliveries and the reality of something awful happening is rare but it is those rare cases that are so devastating. It only take seconds for labor to go from great and wonderful to life threatening. There are times that you need an OR and there are reasons that we make people have IV's. I know that they said that midwives bring this stuff to your house but honestly trying to start and IV in a pt that is hemorrhaging is really hard. I guess working in this situation everyday you tend to have a biased opinion. I did wholeheartedly agree that we do way to many interventions. There is an influx of c/s and interventions about 4-6 pm. Is this because OBGYN's want to go home or because they have been laboring all day and really need them. Well that honestly isn't my call to make but I would say there is definitely some of both. We do inductions for people that are "favorable" or "uncomfortable" instead of letting them labor themselves so that their own MD can deliver them. Now granted I want my MD to deliver me and I loved being able to have Bronner's birthday planned. It is much easier!! But if you truly want the best chance to have a vaginal delivery with no interventions like a vacuum or forceps or an epidural your best bet is to stay at home until real labor starts and not worry about who is on call! Just my opinion though! Anyways it is a great documentary but take it with a grain of salt and do your research on the other side of the story too!

Bronner is Turning ONE Tomorrow and Candy Cane will be 32 Weeks!

I haven't been so good at updating lately. It seems when I am home and have a minute I am either so tired and would rather sleep or something more important needs to be done. Weeks 28-31 have been pretty uneventful for Candy Cane and I. He and I both keep growing! He finally turned into his vertex/head down position on Halloween! That was the weirdest feeling ever but I am so thankful. Now I can continue to plan for my natural delivery! Jeremy thought I was crazy but I kept laying upside down and eventually it worked. Now granted he didn't turn while upside down but I think he got the message! He is just taking his own sweet time. Hopefully he will be a laid back boy like his big brother. Bronner is growing like a little weed. He goes on Friday for his one year check up and vaccinations. Hopefully it will all go smoothly. He now has 4 teeth on the top and 1 on the bottom. Yes they are supposed to get their bottom two first but he got 3 on the top, then the bottom one, and then last night I noticed another one on the top. Hopefully that other bottom tooth will come on out soon! He is so cute with all these teeth! He is walking holding on to one hand or one of his push toys or the couch. He is doing so good and hopefully by the time CC gets here he will have mastered the skill! He is waving, clapping, and talking a lot now. He says mama, dada, moo, uhoh, wow, hello (and even holds something to his ear when he does it ... super cute!), and lots of other babbling I'm sure we will soon figure out!

Our first Halloween was fun. I wasn't planning on doing much since I had to work that night but Jeremy said he needed at costume. So I bought him a little dragon one and he was so cute. Jeremy took him to MS for the weekend since I was working Saturday and Sunday night and they went to Jason and Dyana's fall festival and then went trick or treating at Jeremy's moms. I'm sure Jerms loved the candy but thankfully nothing came home with them!

This past weekend was Bronner's birthday party. Most of our family was able to make it and we had so much fun celebrating his first year. The day didn't start off so great when my preggo brain forgot that I had put my wallet and such in the diaper bag the day before when I took off to Publix to pick up a few last min things and that cake. Well I get up to pay and there is no money to pay with! How embarrassing. They wouldn't take the number over the phone which is plain ridiculous so I had to go home and get my stuff and go all the way back! Thankfully they just kept my stuff right there and all I had to do was pick it up. Carter, Corbin, and Karsyn all had a great time playing with baby Bronner and getting some attention from grandparents. Bronner got too much! He now has plenty of toy and things to do! Look on facebook for some pics there were way to many to load on here!

Tomorrow is officially the big day! Bronner will be ONE!! Candy Cane also turns 32 weeks tomorrow! We are getting ever so close to meeting our little guy! I can't wait to watch my boys grow up together!

Work has been great lately. I have had multiple natural deliveries or attempts at them and they have all done great! I am starting to really plan for our delivery and hopefully will be teaching Jerms some classes soon. I know he is oh so excited! I have just finished ready Natural Child Birth the Bradley Way and it was great. I don't agree with everything in the book and there is no way that I would use this method solely ... mainly b/c your coach or spouse has to be super involved and I don't think Jerms wants to go that far! But I did learn some great tips and things to watch for about labor. It has really helped me come to realize that this is what God made women's bodies to do. Now I don't think that people should go natural because they have to and I'm not even saying that I will make it but it is definitely a great option for a faster recovery and a more alert baby. Epidurals are great things and many women need them but sometimes we push things to far. I am starting to realize that where I work is definitely more of a business of birthing babies than a welcoming of a baby into the world. To many people are forcing their labors before they are ready and they end up with options they didn't want. Especially in their first pregnancy. So anyways I am really starting to look forward to and prepare for my delivery and praying that it will be everything I want it to be. I really feel like God has laid a desire on my heart to do this unmedicated and I am hoping to achieve this goal!

Eventful week 26 and Bronner's Bday Photo Shoot!

Week 26 of Candy Cane's pregnancy (who really needs a name by the way!) was very eventful! On Thursday night I was admitted to L/D for gallstones and had great care by my wonderful friends! I was hurting so bad and just kept telling myself that if I could do this I could labor naturally. I mean it hurt worse than any ctx that I have ever felt and you didn't get any break. Now I am sure that at the end the delivery part would hurt worse but it only lasts minutes. This lasted about an hour before I finally got some pain meds and some relief. I was discharged Friday morning with a follow up with the surgeon on Monday. Well Sunday night I started hurting again and back to the hospital we went. Thankfully this wasn't as bad although the pain med did not work as effectively and I had to have 2 doses to get some relief. Monday morning I had surgery to removed my gallbladder and thankfully all went well! I did have some significant ctxs all night Monday night and ended up getting multiple meds for that but once they eased up I was feeling so much better. Turning 27 weeks on Tuesday and getting to come home from the hospital will hopefully lead to a better end of the pregnancy. Thankfully my Mom was here to help with Bronner and will probably be staying through the middle of the week. Hopefully I will be going back to work on Monday and saving my time off for when Candy Cane comes home!

While home and recovering I did a little photo shoot of Bronner for his birthday invites! Here are some of the pics!

24 weeks and viable!

So this week marked 24 weeks of candy cane's pregnancy!! He is now considered viable even though we don't want him to come anytime soon. After Christmas would be great! I took my glucose tolerance test today and passed with flying colors so I can officially continue my horrible diet of potatoes and grilled cheese! I had also gained a considerable amount of weight this visit so maybe I should watch what I eat but I mean after throwing up everything for so long food is just to good to ration! Next goal is 28 weeks and the third trimester!
Bronner is now "cruising" very effectively and getting into everything. We are going to have to baby proof the kitchen and bathrooms soon as he loves to open and close cabinets. He watched his first Alabama game of the season and looked oh so cute in his jersey. Jeremy was really proud! He is now 10 months old and I guess we are going to have to start planning a first bday party soon. I can't believe how fast my little man is growing up! If only he could stay a baby forever!

A Summer Full of Learning and Fun!

We are officially in week 20 of candy cane's pregnancy!! He is getting big and finally moving around where I can feel it. I have what is called an anterior placenta ... just meaning the placenta implanted on the front side of my uterus between the outside and him ... so it takes awhile longer to feel them move since they have to kick hard enough to be felt beyond the padding! I have been super sick with this pregnancy and was on a reglan pump for 5 weeks and then a zofran pump for 5 weeks. Neither of which I would recommend to anyone but finally at 19 weeks and 6 days it is finally gone! Now that I am finally eating (and keeping it down) maybe I will gain some weight. Not that I'm complaining about the lack of weight gain but you know cute little baby bumps don't come without some cost! So anyways if you don't follow me on facebook ... we found out on Aug 11th that candy cane is another boy! We are still name looking and yes it will probably be awhile. Jeremy and I can't agree on anything. Last time we both had names we liked ... didn't agree and then Jerms mentioned Bronner and we both love it. Hopefully something similar will happen this time. I LOVE the name Aeden/Aiden but Jeremy hates it. He can't come up with anything though so I just keep calling him Aiden/Aeden and maybe he will change his mind! We are hoping little candy cane will come out on his own but if not are thinking he will be evicted shortly after Christmas or right before the New Year. Yes I complain about the week between the two are work being so super busy but I will be evicting this child for my tax credit!! (And he will be 39 weeks and ready to come out!) On work stories I have done two water births lately and have really really enjoyed both experiences. Not that I am saying I will be birthing this child in a tub but I have been considering it. My doctor doesn't "do" them but said I could if I wanted to. I mean I am a water birth educator and all! Who knows. Only time will tell and if I induce this labor that won't be an option anyways. Next up is my sugar ... which means I am almost viable! 3 weeks and counting!

In Bronner news ... he is getting so BIG! Last week was our 9 month well baby visit. He is officially 20lbs and 1 oz and 28.5 inches long. He is going to be tall. I guess he really didn't have much of an option in this department though! He is sitting and pulling up and taking steps when holding on to things. He will be "cruising" in the next week or two I'm sure as he is already starting to try. He has definitely skipped the whole crawling process. I was worried about it at first but the ped said some just do that. He is otherwise right on target. He is eating solids and trying to learn to use a sippy! We are hoping to have him off the bottle by his bday since candy cane will need them! No teeth yet but are looking to get some anytime. He has been "teething" for what seems like forever. Running temps off and on and chewing and drooling on anything in sight. We have take lots of trips this summer to Jeremy's mom and dad's to swim and he LOVES it. (Well many of the trips were without me due to puking but you know!) We have been to the beach and my mom has come to visit. All in all we have had a great summer and are enjoying our ever growing family!

Pumpkin Pies and Candy Canes!

I am so sorry to have stayed away from this for so long. But, here comes the excuse, we have been super busy around here. Well and I haven't been quite up to par. If you notice the title of this post you might be able to figure out why! If not follow along. Bronner was born November 10th 2008 as you all know so consequently his little nickname has been pumpkin pie or kumquat while in utero. Pumpkin pie stuck around though and I frequently find myself calling him that! Well now onto Candy cane! Yep you guessed it ... we are expecting in December! Well the official due date is Jan 5th, 2010 but we will be delivered by the New Year. When I found out, oh 5 weeks or so ago, I thought I was due in early December but I was a little off on my calculations!

So to answer the onslaught of questions right off the bat:

A: no this was not planned

B: yes we are super excited

C: yes I know many of you will think we are crazy for having babies 13 months apart

D: no we were not preventing this ... unless you count exclusively breastfeeding which obviously didn't work for us ... many times it does just not for me!

E: a little TMI but for those that are dying to know ... no I didn't have a period between Bronner and Candy Cane so that is why I thought I was farther along than I thought

F: yes I found out at approx 3 weeks and 4 days ... how I don't know ... I just had a flashback one day while puking and figured I might as well rule that out and go with the flu ... that is until the 2 pink lines popped up on that plastic stick

G: and finally yes we will be staying at out OWN house for Christmas and Candy Cane's bday in the years to come!!

So I hope yall now know why this blog hasn't been updated and are as excited as we are! If you think we are crazy feel free to have your opinions but please don't tell me! I already know how much work, stress and joy this is going to entail! We are hoping and praying for a smooth and health pregnancy. Hopefully avoiding cholestatsis but knowing that there is a real possibility it could happen again. Praying for a happy and healthy baby and thinking blue!!



In a little Bronner news he is giving kisses, eating and loving it, and continues to work on sitting for a long period of time. He would much rather be standing up that sitting down. He is not interested in being on his belly so we haven't figured out the crawling thing yet but we will get there! He is getting so big and we can't wait for summer for trips to the pool and the beach!

Easter and such

The last few weeks have been really busy around our house. Bronner is now eating apples and cereal, rolling over, laughing more, and growing like a weed! I can't believe how fast it is going. On Monday April 6th I delivered little Brewer and Katie did awesome. She went natural and really did amazing. It has so inspired my desire to do it again and go natural next time. I do have to admit I am a little disappointed that I got my epidural last time. Next time, when God decides that will be, it will be a different story. Jeremy is already prepared so don't try to scare him!! On Thursday Caitlin and I took B to the botanical gardens and got some great pics. Check out my facebook for them. There were way to many to pick to post on here! We had so much fun but would definitely wear different shoes next time! I didn't realize how big that place was. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and we all enjoyed it. We ate some Davenports afterward which I haven't had since the good ole SU days and I forgot how good it was! On Thurs night little Brewer was readmitted to the hospital for reflux but is now home and doing well! Hopefully he will continue to feel better. Saturday we travelled to MS to see family and for Kyndals wedding. It was all fun! We did some egg hunting, visiting, birthday celebrating for little Carter .. who by the way is now 5 (can you believe it!), and lots of kid chasing! The kiddos had so much fun together. Little B didn't sleep so well though. We were up a lot during the night and are super tired and counting down till bed time!

Easter is an important day to us and we hope to teach Bronner the true meaning of easter. Not the bunnies and eggs version but the Jesus died on the cross on Friday for all of our sins and rose from the grave on Sunday. We pray daily that we will be good parents and raise our children to be Godly men and women. Jeremy and I have discussed the fact that it is common not to "do" the easter bunny/santa and know that these aren't the real reasons for the holidays. We also love imagination and remember our own childhood and recall these memories alot. We haven't fully decided what we are going to do about those issues but are pretty sure that we will participate in the imagination part but stress the true meaning of the holiday. Any ideas? What do yall do?

Anyways hope yall are having a wonderful easter weekend and hope you know the real reason we celebrate today!

This and That

March is flying bye and April is almost here! Can you believe that it is almost summer! I can't wait to enjoy the summer sun and be outside! We are working on the yard/flower beds and I can't wait for everything to start blooming. Bronner is growing like a little weed himself! Starting pull into a sitting position with help but only staying there for seconds at a time before crashing. I can't believe that he is going to be 5 months old soon. We have been trying to introduce rice cereal but he is not loving it. He seems to be doing just fine on bmilk alone so I guess we will stick to that for now. Hopefully by 6 months or so he will be at least taking rice cereal and we can start on a few solids like squash and bananas! Oh the joy!! (and the mess!) He is doing really well and starting to get the hang of sleeping through the night. He did it for the first time last night when I was home but has done it 3 times this week! Hopefully we are in the home stretch and it is getting better! Last night we went out to celebrate Em's bday at Benkei. It was fun except for the fact that B got a little fussy on the way home. I mean he was 35 mins late to eat. You would have thought the poor kid was starving to death! But we had fun and a little fussing on the way home doesn't hurt anybody ... except for a mommas heart. I almost made Jerms pull over but he was still in his bday outfit and stuff so I didn't want him to fall asleep for the night and then have to be woken up. So we dealt with it and made it home to feed and then we were blessed with a restful nights sleep!

In New Years resolution news: We got the TITLE to OUR yes it is now officially OUR car!!! YAY! I couldn't be happier! It is such a relief to know that it is finally done! Now on to the lawn mower and then we can move on to Dave's baby step 3!

One of the blogs that I follow is linked on my site! Please pray for little Stellan. You can go to Mckmamas blog to read all about him but he is suffering from SVT (a really fast and abnormal heartrate). Something he suffered from in the womb and was not expected to survive. He is 2 weeks older than Bronner so it really hits home. Please lift this family up in your prayers as the continue to try to find the right combo of med to treat Stellan with until he is a little bit older and can tolerate surgery to block the extra pathway in his heart that is causing the abnormal HR!

Abby delivered and Julia is cute as a button! They are doing great so thanks for thinking and praying for them! Katie is still preggo and 36 weeks tomorrow!!! She is on bedrest for BP issues so keep her in your thoughts and prayers ... only 2 weeks to go till her goal of 38 weeks and hopefully we can work out my work schedule to take care of her!

Thats about all from here! Hope yall have a good week!

March 09 - Snow and Turning 4 months old!

In Feb when my Mimi and Poppy came to visit! I love my cow outfit!

It SNOWED in Birminham and Bronner got to play! We had so much fun catching snow flakes and building snowmen! Jeremy played with the neighbour kids and had a snowball fight and trying to walk up the hill I slid down! It was all quite entertaining. Bronner didn't enjoy being all bundled up but we stayed out for a little while! As Alabama weather goes the next weekend (it snowed March 1st, Sunday) we were wearing shorts. Bronner turned 4 months old on the 10th and we had our ped check up. He now weighs in at 15lbs 12 oz and is 25 3/4 inches long. He has slimmed up and dropped from the 90th to the 80th percent in weight but has gone up from the 95th to the 98th percent in length. He is starting to look more and more like me and less like Jeremy. It is really funny to walk up to someone that hasn't seen him in awhile and they always say "wow he definitely is your kid!" We spent some time with my grandparents and aunts as they came to visit last weekend and got to play with cousin Karsyn.

Bronner loved her and I can't believe how much she has grown. She is definitely becoming a little lady. We also got to see Neese and Grandpa Junkin that weekend and Aunt Dyana and Uncle Jason and Aunt Emily. They all couldn't believe how much I had changed in a few short weeks. Bronner is starting to enjoy tummy time a little more now and loves to watch tv. So I have started to combine them ... ie he gets to watch the news with me in the morning but only on his tummy! We also love praise baby and try to watch it once a week or so. He is learning to sit up in his exersaucer and has learned to push the buttons or pull the toys to make the music play. His face lights up when he actually does it! He is so stinkin cute! Other than that we have been enjoying time at home!

Update on our New Years Resolutions (they may not be in the same order!)

1. I now only have 5 lbs to go to get to my prepreggo weight!! That wii fit sure is working ... if only I could get up the motivation to change my diet these last lbs would probably drop off a little faster but I just can't do it!

2. We paid off the car last week and are waiting on the title in the mail from the bank!! Now only to make it last at least 2 years before we buy another one. We are using Dave Ramseys debt snowball and hopefully will be paying off the lawn mower by the end of the summer to be completely debt free ... except our house ofcourse and that really doesn't count right?

3. We have been to church but are still struggling with sunday school. It falls right during feeding time and is so early for me. I know these are excuses but we are getting there. Planning on going this week!

4. We are working towards our savings goal and hopefully will be going to AK next summer!!

5. We love Bronner and couldn't be happier!

I hope yall are keeping and making goals! It is so much fun to check something off the list for me at least. I am really type A if you can't tell! Anyways I promise to try to get on more often and keep yall updated on little B's life!

Playing Wii with Daddy is hard work for a little fellow!

Keep my friends Abby and Katie in your prayers as they are both expecting ... Abby is overdue and waiting for delivery and Katie is getting close to our goal of 38 weeks! I can't wait to see pics of little Julia and hopefully help deliver Brewer soon!

Catching Up

It has been awhile! Feb has gone by fast. Bronner is now 3.5 months old and I can't believe how fast he is changing. Valentines was great. Jerms and I played Wii with Bronner. He still loves to play Wii and ride in his "backpack"! He is now cooing, sticking out his tounge, and Jerms says he has heard him laugh twice but I haven't yet. Mom was here for a week and it was great visiting with Mimi but we all got sick. Mom had the stomach bug and Bronner and I both have colds / upper resp things going on. I just started a Z Pack so pray we don't get thrush. So far so good but we are only on day 2! Other than that nothing much has been going on. Lots of working and trying to figure out our schedule. It is getting much better and hopefully we will be in the grove soon!

My Bday

I turned 26 yesterday and am actually dealing with it better than I did 25. Maybe because of my little man! I really wanted to be preggo by 25 and when I wasn't it was hard for me to deal with. Little did we know we would be in just 4 short weeks! So for my bday this year I cancelled my gym membership. Yep thats right! Don't forget that one of my goals this year is to lose the baby weight so we bought a wii and wii fit! It is so awesome! I love it!!! It is easy to do and I can do it while B naps or is in the swing. Jeremy actually is playing tennis right now while B is napping in the baby bjorn. Anyways I finally uploaded pics from the last few weeks so I will get you up to date. I am also back to work and it is going wonderfully. Jeremy says that the nights are better than expected so thanks for praying! Little B is still not sleeping through the night but is only getting up once so that isnt to bad! Pumping and all is going great at work. I have wonderful coworkers and they always help me get pumping time in. Hopefully that will continue. We are off to a work/friends party for Kelley's house warming and my bday! I can't wait. Needless to say I will be pumping and dumping tonight and tomorrow! Thankfully I make way to much milk! Thanks to auntie cait for coming to stay with little B!

Welcome to the Mommy World

As Kelly, Beth, and I were dining at our new McAlister's on Wed I decided I needed my haircut! Yep they both have super cute short hair styles and I felt like I needed to join in the fun. Kelly said that "I now need a mommy hair cut". Well I obliged and went today and chopped, I mean really chopped, off all my hair. It is still growing on me but I absolutely love the back of it! It is the front I am having a hard time getting used to. Well anyways onto the pics!

PICS TO COME ... JERMS IS ON THE XBOX AND FORBIDS ME TO DOWNLOAD PICS WHILE HE IS ON THERE ... IT MAKES his CONNECTION TO SLOW!! :)

In mommy news ... Bronner is doing wonderfully! He is batting at toys in his gym and his little daycare teacher has mentioned what great hand eye coordination he has. Do we have a little athlete on our hands? We sure hope so! He is getting really really big. I mean like huge ... we will be in 6 month clothes before we are 3 months old I have a feeling. Oh well maybe he will be tall like his daddy.

My mom has gone back to Houston and we miss her! People kept asking if she was still here and up until last week she was ... yep that right she was here for about 10 weeks ... well she did go home for a week at the beginning of Dec. We loved it!!

Last but not least I am going back to work on Monday night. It is going to be a sad day ... not to go back to work, I am looking forward to that ... I won't be seeing my B as much. He will be going to daycare a lot and I am not looking forward to that. But finances and my sanity don't allow me to stay home so off to work I go. On the sanity end I can't wait to fill my nights with birthing moms, their families, the drama that brings (mainly with the families not the pt although sometimes the pt is a little dramdram ... yeah we work in homewood/mt brook :)), and the drama of working with 7-10 females!! I can't wait! Anyways the finances can't wait either! We are doing good, getting through Christmas and all the ish that happened while I was out without using savings but it is getting close, we need a good night shift sized check! How do you dayshift girls have any fun money I am not loving this without my shift dif!

Jerms is keeping B all night Monday night by HIMSELF for the first time ever and he doesn't want a run through. I pretty much have begged him to let me sleep in the other room and let him get up with B all night tonight just to make sure he A: hears him and actually gets up and B: if he has any questions can ask me now and not call me at work when I prob wont have time to answer. Well Jerms has refused. He says he will be fine and isn't worried about it. I think he has a great big rude awakening coming his way on Monday night. So start praying for him now he is going to need it!

Something New

I am in need of something new! Let me know what you think about this! I am going to try and get an appt for this week and if I do I will let you see the before and after pics!

Leave me a comment: girl 1 or girl 2! I really like girl 1's front and girl 2's back! Maybe they can be combined! But I am scared the hair in the eye thing would get on my nerves.

Day Care

Day care started Monday. So we have now been two days! Yay for me! I have to encourage myself to take him, then again when I get there to get out of the car, and then throughout the day not to go get him. I know this may seem silly to some but I would rather him be with me. I am so ready to go back to work and get some adult interaction and the adrenaline that comes with my job but I will miss my boy! Pray for us as we transition into this new phase. I start back to work Monday night. Friday night is going to be our trial run ... you might want to say extra big prayers for Jerms next week ... I think he might have a rude awakening coming his way! Anyways gotta run and feed little B before bed but just wanted yall to know that we have made it through the first day and we are all okay! Many tears lighter but still doing well!

Shots, BW Day 3ish

UPDATE **** Bronner slept through the night last night ****

Loving me some baby wise! God works in great ways! Bronner woke up at 730 yesterday and I was able to work his nap in, in his bed before we left of the doc appt which was awesome. Unfortunately he missed his next two naps that afternoon ... well really he dozed in the car seat. He was back to his old self last night, naps are a great thing at this age I guess! He did well with the shots and only screamed for about 20 secs. The nurse was fast and that made it a little easier! He went to bed last night at 1130, woke up at 645ish, ate, and back asleep while burping, so back to bed he went and not another peep until 955! Way to go little man! It was great ... except for the incredible engorgement I felt when I woke up :)! Hopefully this will be his schedule for awhile. It would be awesome. I could come home from work, get his ish ready for daycare, shower, feed and then we could sleep until 1000, wake up, feed, go to daycare, mom can come home and sleep till work time! Am I dreaming? Probably so but oh well. It may work for a few months anyways! Thanks for all the prayers! Hopefully he will keep the same schedule tomorrow and then we will know it is working!

Baby Wise Day 2

So day 1 went well! He only cried a max of 8-10 mins with nap times and slept well with all of them! He did sleep last night until 430 which is our normal time to feed so I didn't immediately get him and within 5 mins he was back to sleep. At 545 he woke up again and ate well! He then slept until 810!! He didn't eat great and woke up from this cycles nap early and then ate great! His naps have been b/t 1.5 to 2 hours today just like the book says! He has not cried with the past 2 naps and is now laying in his bed looking around and hopefully will fall asleep shortly without crying. The hard part is to keep him awake after feedings since he is used to going to sleep. Hopefully this will get easier. Pray tonight is a little better than last and we are headed on the right path. His little cry sounds hoarse from all the crying but hopefully that will get better shortly. If that is all that happens in the process and we end up with a schedule and a happy baby then I think I can live with a mild sore throat! Pray for my sanity too ... it is hard listening to your child cry knowing that if you pick them up they will be comforted but I am doing good so far! Tomorrow is the big shot day. Unfortunately it is at the end of a nap so what I am thinking is putting him down in his car seat at home. Then while napping ... since he loves the car seat ... go to the doc office, do the appt, then nurse in the car. I might take a bottle too just in case.

Any other suggestions appreciated!!

Thanks for your prayers! Love yall!

Starting Baby Wise

After much night time fussiness and Bronner not sleeping much or at all during the day I decided something had to be done. I mean he has to sleep sometime. Well last night Jerms and I went on a date night, thanks auntie cait for babysitting! Well we ended up at the bookstore and I was looking for a book about sleep training / helping ... anything really to get some sleep. Well I saw Babywise and picked it up. I had heard about it from many people but had always heard about the ridged scheduling that came with it and that was why I wasn't really interested from the beginning. Well we have been doing the eating schedule from day one but sleeping has been another story. I didn't want to be that mom that had to stay home to let her kid nap. I am a go person and wanted to continue to be able to do that. Well while Jeremy was off and about I read the first chapter and it was all about choosing how to use the book and being flexible. I decided to buy it and try it out and see how it worked for us. Nothing could hurt right! Well after a long long night be started this morning. He is doing good so far. Napping with only crying for the first 10 mins or so before putting himself to sleep. Yes he is going to the pack and play awake and putting himself to sleep!! Now tonight will be the true test! He went down at 1030 and slept till 11. He isn't supposed to eat again until 1200 ... I am giving him this late night feed to hopefully make a later morning instead of the other way around due to the way I will be going back to work. He has been whimpering / crying for 3ish mins every 6-7 mins since 11. Jerms nor I have looked at him or picked him up yet! We are struggling listening to him cry but so far so good! Hopefully after his 1145/1200 feed he will be asleep for the night. We are praying after a week or so he will be sleeping through the night ie 1200 to somewhere between 6-8am. So pray for our sanity over the next few days and I will keep you updated with our progress. Little B also goes to get his shots on Tues so pray it all goes well. This probably won't be the best baby wise day!

8 Weeks Old

Little B turned 8 weeks old today! I can't believe it ... can you! He is getting so big ... I promise pics to come soon. He is now wearing 3 month clothes and pushing them in length. Hopefully we can make them last a few more weeks ... I mean who ever heard of a 2 month old in 6 month clothes ... really we need to stay in them a little longer! We had our last family Christmas on the 1st and were are Jeremy's family for the weekend. Jeremy's great aunt died so we had those arrangements to attend and were gone much longer than planned. Never have either of us been so glad to see our own house and bed than we were last night! Thank you Jesus for our bed and our house! We LOVE it! Little B is sleeping much better and last night slept for 5 hours! We are so thankful. We watched the sad Alabama game and are so sad to see the football season end. Anyways not much else going on except I am supposed to be on a diet to loose this baby weight ... see my previous post! Gotta go for now ... B is hungry! Love yall!

Not Me Monday

So I got this idea from a blog that I follow and it is so cute I thought I would try it out! Check out http://mycharmingkids.net/ for tons more Not Me Monday links!

I did not back into the garage door track today and cry about it ... nope not me!
I did not leave dirty dishes in the sink when we left for jerms family Christmas on Thursday nor did I leave the crumbs on the counter not cleaned up ... no not me!!
I did not let me 8 week old wear the same pjs two nights in a row just so I did not have to do laundry ... no not me!
I would never let my 8 week old go 2.5 days without a bath and just bathe with baby wipes ... no never!
I would never pray that my child would only sleep 30 more mins and soothe him to sleep in bed with me ... who would ever do that ... def not me!
I would never start a diet and then go out to lunch with hubs and get something so not on the diet only to come home and eat a whole thing of chunky monkey ... that would never happen with me!

Hope yall had a good week!