Bryson Vincent Fleurkens

I guess now that a week has passed, it's time to sit down and write about baby Bryson's birth.

I was scheduled to have my c/section on Wendesday, the 19th. Unfortunately I got really sick on Tuesday and ended up going to the hospital that night to get checked out. I was extremely dehydrated and was given 3 bags of IV fluids. I was also told I needed to stay overnight to be monitored. The nurses were told I might still have the c/s in the morning so at midnight they took away all my water, juice, and snacks. That sucked. In the morning, I was prepped as if going into sugery. Finally, my OB and the pediatrician talked with each other and decided the best thing for the baby was to keep him inside for a couple more days. So I was rescheduled for Friday the 21st.

On Thursday night, I got barely any sleep at all. I was so nervous. I had to be at the hospital at the unholy hour of 5:30 so at 4 a.m. I got up and showered and tried to calm down. My mom showed up at the house to stay with Brody till he woke up and we were off to have a baby! The nurses were so great about calming me down and getting me all prepped for surgery. I was taken to the OR right on time. After taking some vitals, they were ready to administer the spinal. This was the moment I had been dreading for MONTHS. But I am happy to report it was not as bad as I thought it would be. A small pinch, some pressure and I was numb! My upper body however, would not stop shaking. I am not sure if it was nerves or the icy cold OR, but it was driving me crazy! Mike came in and sat holding my hand. Apparently, that spinal worked better than I thought, becase I wasn't even aware the doctor had started until I felt the enormous pressure of them pulling at the baby. Within about ten minutes of starting, we heard that beautiful first cry (or should I say scream? the kid was not happy). I peeked around the curtain and saw my sweet baby boy getting cleaned up. Then I asked for the morphine. :) The anesthesiologist told me as soon as the baby was taken to the nursery, he'd give me some. So they wrapped up baby Bryson and Mike brought him over to me so I could look at him and touch him. We got a couple of pictures taken and then Mike, the nurse, and the baby left for the nursery, I was drugged up and spent the next 30 minutes being put back together. I spent about 45 minutes in recovery and it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when I had Brody. I wasn't shaking uncontrollably and I wasn't dying of thirst. As they wheeled my to my room, Brody appeared and handed me a Nutra Grain bar, which I thought was very sweet. I got to see my baby pretty quickly which was nice after having to wait 7 hours to see Brody when he was born. I spent the rest of the day chilling out and getting moved into a new, bigger room. My three day hospital stay was relaxing and uneventful. Mike came home each night to stay with Brody. I didn't mind until the last night, when I think the hormones started to kick in. Then I felt kind of lonely.

Since we've been home, Mike has been awesome. I don't do anything really except take care of myself and the baby. I am a little scared when I think that Mike has to go back to work in week. I am sure I'll be fine, but still, it's going to be an adjustment. Here are some pictures of Bryson's birth day:

Getting ready to head to the OR.

Not happy about things (and is that not the most adorable head of hair you've ever seen?)

This face is just priceless!

Getting kisses from big brother

Brody helping feed his new baby

OH! He weighed 8lb 10oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He's my tiny baby!

3 More Days!

Wow, I cannot believe that in 3 days (well, less actually since the surgery is scheduled for 7:30), I will have a new baby boy! I swear, it feels like just yesterday that second little pink line showed up on the stick! I am so excited to meet my new little guy but also so nervouse for the actual c/section. I hope it's as quick and pain free as possible! Brody is very impatient to meet "his" baby. He thinks that the doctor is going to take him out of my tummy every time I have an appointment. It'll be nice to tell him on Wednesday that she really IS taking the baby out!

Here is a picture of Baby Bryson(?) from back at 28 weeks:

Brody is doing great. He is FINALLY peeing in the potty and can go teh whole day wearing underwear with no accidents. However, he refuses to poop on the toilet and asks us to put a diaper on him in the evening so he can do his business. He will "try" to sit on the potty if we beg hard enough. Usually that means 2-3 minutes sitting there talking to me or Mike. Then he jumps up and needs his diaper. I guess I'll take what I can get right now. Hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon, I really want to sign him up for pre-school in the fall, he wants to go so badly. I also worry about his speech. He is very hard to understand. He gave up his binky back in November so I know that isn't the problem anymore. I figure I'll give him a couple more months and then talk to his pediatrician.

Yesterday the poor kid was pukiey sick for the 2nd time ever. He only threw up twice but that was plenty for me. The second time, I had to make Mike come back fromt eh new house to help me clean up. Getting down on my hands and knees to clean puke off the floor is not easy right now. Anyway, by 7:30 last night, you would never even know Brody had felt bad. He was running all over the place and playing with his toys and the dogs. I let him stay up about an hour and a half later than usual since he had spent the whole day resting and dozing off and on.

Here is Brody a couple months ago playing outside (I need to get better at taking pics, I am really slacking lately!)

The house is coming along really well, although it looks lilke now we won't be moving in till mid-March. We'll be crowded for a while, but it will be worth it when we finally get moved in. The only problem is Mike's mom and dad are going to be here March 10th to visit and we have no idea where they will sleep. Our little two bedroom will already be crowded with the four of us who live here! I guess we'll figure something out. I don't feel right asking them to postpone the trip again (they were going to come in Feb.) when their new grandson is here. I need to get some pictures of the house on here, since I decided to delete the house blog (never updated it). Here are a couple of Brody playing in the basement a few months ago.

As of right now, all the rooms have been framed in, the electricity has been roughed in, the roof is done, and they are working on the siding. I know there is lots more that has been done, but that's the stuff that stands out in my mind!