One year ago today...

One year ago today, I was 39w2d pregnant.  It was July 1 - a Wednesday - and I was working from home because my manager had moved to NYC and there was really no reason for me to go into the office when I could just lounge around my house in the air conditioning for the last week or so before my baby arrived.  MrKLB was at work.  I had been to my weekly OB appointment on Monday and was excited that I had an induction date, in the event that he did not decide to arrive on his own.  I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I was excited!

That morning, an email conversation started between my best friend from college (A) and myself.  A has a son who was born 2 years prior.  I saved those emails and am so glad that I did because looking back on them helps me recount the events that led up to the birth of my son!  So, in honor of Brady's first birthday tomorrow, I'm posting them here (leaving out the other random things we were discussing in between):

7:49AM
Me:
> So, I think I may have started having contractions yesterday evening.  I
> was definitely having some pains that started in my back and would sorta
> go into my abdomen.  I say sorta because the majority of the pain was in
> my back, but a couple of times I definitely felt it in my stomach.  These
> feelings were pretty far apart and not as intense as I assume the real
> contractions will be, so I basically just ended up going to bed and
> figuring that I'd wake up if I were really in labor.  I don't know if
> they continued or not, but they didn't really keep me up.  So, I'm
> wondering if it will continue today or if that was just some random
> contractions that don't necessarily indicate labor is close.  Did you
> have any contractions prior to actually going into labor?  If so, what
> did they feel like?  When you woke up that morning and knew you were
> having J that day, what were you feeling?  Was it already the
> intense, regular contractions or did it start with less strong
> contractions that eventually got closer?


A:
> oh!  So I can't really respond now, but...
>
> Maybe you were :)  Maybe you aren't.  Who knows?  I had some that changed
> intensity when I got up and moved, so I assumed they weren't real, but
> then in the morning the contractions woke me up and J arrived the
> next day.  They were less strong contractions than at the end---I didn't
> even really have to breathe, just noticed them.
>
> Feel free to call me anytime.


11:22AM
Me:
> Hi!  So, I'm pretty sure I'm having contractions today.  I feel the pain
> in my back and then through my lower stomach.  Sometimes more on the
> back, sometimes more on the stomach.  So, I'm just writing down when I
> feel them and will start to get excited only if they start getting closer
> together.  I know walking is supposed to help get them more intense and
> closer together but I can't decide if I want to do that yet.  I'm
> confused/anxious/excited but also worried that this is either "false
> labor" or just something that is going to continue for days until I go
> into "real" labor.  Who knows. I don't want to get my hopes up too much
> just yet.  I'll keep you posted.
> 
> I may call you later if I need someone to talk to me to either convince
> me I'm in labor or that I'm not.  Ha!


A:
> OMG!
>
> YAY!
>
> Before I started walking around, I paid all the bills.  I figured there
> was no telling when I would get to that again :)
>
> Then I took the dogs on a walk because, you know, I figured they might not
> ever get to leave the house again.
>
> Do the contractions stop when you move?  As in, if a contractions starts
> when you are sitting, does it continue when you start walking?  If so, I
> htink that is supposed to be real labor---but there is still no telling
> how long early labor will last.
>
> Are you at home?  Is K with you?  Make sure you eat, even if you don't
> want to.  They won't let you eat at the hospital, and by the time J
> arrived I was so hungry I was almost more focused on getting the baby out
> so that I could eat rather than so that I could have a baby!


11:40AM
Me:
> The last one I had definitely continued when I stood up to walk to the
> bathroom.  I'll see what happens with the next.  I just ate some lunch,
> too.  I am at home but K is not.  I am okay with that until they
> become closer together.  I may take the dogs for a walk soon, but it is
> hot so I have to be careful not to get overheated.  I'll definitely take
> my phone with me, though.
>
> Will keep you updated...


A:
> Don't overheat!
> It really sounds like you are in labor. :)
> Sending lots of easy labor vibes to you...
> It is really amazing how excited this makes me...
> Hopefully this means you will avoid a 7/3 birthday for him.
> Now I jsut have to convince myself that you getting really close to having 
> a baby doesn't mean that I am excused from working today.


12:55PM
Me:
> Just went for a walk with the dogs for about 35 minutes.  Now I'm sitting on 
> the exercise ball and trying to cool off.  I'm getting no work done today, but 
> hopefully you can get some done!  I'll update you later if anything 
> exciting happens.

> Yeah, I'm thinking this could be a July 2 baby unless the contractions stop... 
> Still trying not to get too excited yet, but we'll see how that goes...
>
> Yes, send easy labor vibes!!!


A:
> I think that you are allowed to get excited... I mean, even if the
> labor doesn't move quickly, you are 39 weeks pregnant, and you are
> going to be meeting your baby "soon".  It just depends on what "soon"
> means...


1:43PM
Me:
> Thanks!  :)
>
> I really am excited... just trying to decide how excited I should be.  I 
> have actually considered going to get a pedicure (the place is about 
> a mile from my house) but haven't decided yet.


A:
> Go get a pedicure.  Let me live vicariously through you.
>
> Then come back and take a long hot shower or bath.
>
> I have had *one* pedicure since J was born.  I could probably
> make the time now, but daycare takes so much of our money...

2:17PM
Me:
> Getting a pedicure now!  :)
>
> And probably taking a hot shower later...
>
> And hopefully having a baby some time soon!


A:
> your toes are going to look so pretty :)
> Get someone to take a picture of you today with your belly at its
> largest.  I wish I had that picture.


4:31PM
A:
> OMG.  How are you doing?


5:15PM
Me:
> I'm doing fine.  Still at home.  Contractions getting closer together 
> but not under 5 minutes yet.  I showered and am now putting last 
> minute items in my bag.  I anticipate being in the hospital tonight.  
> I'll let you know if I actually go, but probably won't be able to update 
> after that until either they send me home or I have the baby!!!


A:
> Yay!
> I'll be (and am) sending lots of wonderful labor thoughts.  Hopefully
> your experience so far has been good---it has sounded good from this
> end, at least!
> Send me updates to this address, that way I can get them from my
> phone...


9:35PM
Me:
> Going to hospital.  Prayers welcome.  :)
>
> Will update when I can.  Pretty much an emotional wreck now...


12:35AM (7/2)
A:
> I know you probably won't get this, but I wanted to let you know I am
> over here thinkin' about you.  I hope that you are either holding your
> baby or getting some rest.
> Sending prayers and birthing vibes.


9:56AM
Me:
> Hey!  Quick update -  got to hospital around 10pm.  Was only 2cm 
> dilated but almost fully effaced which they said was great.  Offered 
> me epidural and I got it around midnight.  Fantastic stuff.  After a 
> couple of hours they said they'd let me labor throughout the night 
> and give me pitocin at 6:30am bc my OB is on call today.  So, we 
> slept most of the night (off and on) and I got the pitocin at 7am.  
> Just saw my OB at 9:45 and she checked me again and I'm 6cm.  
> She broke my water.  Said I'm doing fantastic and should be holding 
> my baby by this afternoon!!!
>
> I'm not in pain.  Excited.  You are the only one who knows we are 
> here still, so lots of prayers for a quick, safe end to this journey!!


A:
> Hi!  Thank you SO much for the update.  I was at daycare working on
> the newsletter, and I was SO happy to hear from you.
> I was really hoping that you either had already had that baby and were
> so caught up I didn't know yet, or that you had gotten an epidural so
> that you could rest.
> YAY for 6cm.  YAY for broken water.  Things happened fast for me after
> they broke mine---hopefully they are happening fast for you too!





And then the next time she heard from me, I was calling to tell her that I'd just met my beautiful baby boy and his name is Brady Jasper B!


I tear up just thinking about that whole experience and am happy to have these emails as a reminder of the excitement and joy I felt that day!


I did take that last belly pic, too, and am so glad I did.  This is me not too long before we left for the hospital:

And this is me with my beautiful baby boy:

Oh, and if you want to read my full birth story I posted it here.

Happy Father's Day

MrKLB enjoyed his first Father's Day this weekend.  We had a lazy morning and I made Pioneer Woman's Migas and they were really good!  MrKLB loves Mexican food so this was a great way to start the day.  I took these photos of Brady and framed them and gave them to MrKLB so that he could take them to work.  I think he really liked them:

Brady also gave his Daddy this book:

And he got some parts for his Jeep Wrangler that he wanted.  We cooked out later in the day and did a little shopping, but mostly we just relaxed with Brady.  All in all, I think it was a good Father's Day.

1st Birthday Party Invitations!

The invitations for Brady's first birthday party went out on Monday morning!  I can't believe it's less than a month until his birthday (which is July 2)!  We're having the party the weekend after the 4th of July because some of our friends were going to be out of town for the holiday.  So, we'll be celebrating Brady's birthday two weekends in a row!

Here is the invitation for Brady's party (the white text on blue background shows up better in print than on the screen):

We're doing red and baby blue as the colors with argyle and sock monkeys being used for the "theme".  The smash cake that we are having made is going to be adorable!  I can't wait to see it!

1 month and counting...

Brady turned 11 months old yesterday.  That means 1 month until the big 1st birthday!!

Party planning is coming along nicely.  The invitations have been designed and ordered.  They arrived this weekend and now I just need to get some stamps and send them out.  They are too cute!  I'll post a pic here once I get them sent.  I've also designed a "Happy Birthday" banner for the party that I'll need to print out and assemble.  The cake and cupcakes have been ordered, as has the cake topper and t-shirt for the birthday boy to wear!  It's all very exciting... I love to plan!

We hit another big milestone last night... Brady took his first steps while holding onto a toy!  Well, technically he took his first steps while holding onto a training potty - LOL!  My sister-in-law gave us the training potty they used for my niece and it's still sitting in our sunroom because we haven't moved it to the basement yet.  Brady likes to play with it and open and close the lid.  Last night he opened the lid and then pulled himself into a standing position.  The potty started sliding on the hardwood floors and he took one step and then two more to stay with it!  MrKLB and I were both standing right there so it was fun because we looked at each other and said "Did you just see that?"

We had a great trip to North Carolina this weekend to see MrKLB's parents.  Brady got to ride in the boat for the first time and play in the sand and get in the ocean.  Here are a few photos from the trip:

Waving to Daddy from the front door:

Swimming in the pool:

On the beach:

And here are a couple more of my favorite recent photos:

Mr. Cool:

More party updates to come...

Party Planning!!

7 WEEKS!  Brady will be 1 in seven weeks!  That means it's time for first birthday party planning!  So, I've put my creative hat on this week and have picked a theme and color scheme.  More details to come, but here's an inspiration board I put together from ideas I found on the web:

I guess it's not that hard to tell what the color scheme will be!  I'm designing the invitations now and the plan is to make most of the decorations myself.  I don't want to go too overboard because obviously Brady won't really notice or appreciate any of this, but I do love to plan so really this is all for me and MrKLB and our family and friends so that we can celebrate one beautiful, amazing year of life!

Oh, and I bought these super adorable sneakers for Brady online today:

Can you stand the cuteness of those?  They were 50% off so they make me doubly happy!  I hope they fit... it's always hard to guess what size shoe to get him... why do all of the baby shoe manufacturers use different sizing??  Anyway, he may be wearing those for his party, too!

Stats

I thought I'd throw Brady's stats into this blog for those of you who don't read his blog:

Age	Weight	Weight %	Height	Height %	Head	Head %
Birth	8lbs		21”		33.0cm
2 Weeks	8lbs 4oz
1 Month	9lbs 11oz	44th	22 1/4”	65th	38.8cm	57th
2 Months	12lbs 10oz	66th	23 1/4”	73rd	40.9cm	68th
4 Months	16lbs 10oz	79th	25 1/4”	57th	44.2cm	89th
5 Months*	17lbs 8oz
6 Months	18lbs 13oz	70th	27 1/2”	80th	46.7cm	98th
7 Months*	19lbs 8oz
9 Months	21lbs 12.5oz	65th	30"	90th	47.5cm	93rd
10 Months*	22lbs 4oz

*Indicates a visit that was not a regular checkup - so not all measurements were taken.

And a few pics just for fun:

Change

I LOVE being a Mommy!  I always knew I wanted to have children "when I grew up", and I knew that I would love my children and enjoy watching them grow and learn and achieve, but I don't think that anything I could have imagined would have ever come close to the reality that is being a Mommy.  I know that I have only been a Mommy for a short time now, and the road ahead will be filled with both triumphs and heartaches, but I love it and I embrace it.

Brady turned 10 months old on Sunday and he learned how to crawl on Monday!  MrKLB and I were both there to watch him take his first crawling "steps" and we were so excited for him!  Yes, I know once he really starts crawling he'll be into everything.  And I know that we'll have to actually consider baby-proofing the house.  And I know that it will be harder to get him to sit still in restaurants or for any reason when all he'll want to do is crawl around and explore... but nonetheless I cheered those first steps and am so excited to see all of his changes.  As a Mommy I have learned to love change!

Here is a picture I took a couple of nights ago when Brady was practicing crawling:

I also wanted to be sure I wrote down a few things here so that I don't forget them in the future...

Surgery:

Brady had tubes put in his ears on April 22.  He had an ear infection (in both ears) that would not go away when treated with antibiotics.  He was given several rounds of various antibiotics and both the pediatrician and ENT were hoping that it would clear up as we got into Spring and he could avoid the tubes.  Fortunately, the ear infections did not seem to bother him much (he still slept well, ate well, didn't tug at his ears, etc.) so we were able to buy ourselves a little time to try a few things before jumping to surgery.  Unfortunately, though, the infection would not go away and when we went in for Brady's 9 month pedi visit they said the ears looked awful (had white pussy stuff in them) and we should go back to the ENT immediately.  We were at the ENT the next day and the surgery was scheduled for the following Thursday.  At this point I was just ready to get it over with, though, because I wanted his ears to be better and to not have to give him any more antibiotics.

We were told to arrive at the Children's Healthcare Meridian Mark Surgery Center at 6:30am on Thursday.  The surgery was scheduled for 7:45am.  Brady wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight, so I was worried he'd be fussy because he is used to nursing when he wakes up.  We got him up at 6 and immediately put him in the car, though, and he fell back asleep on the way there.  When we brought him into the waiting area he didn't cry at all.  He just kinda sat there pressed up against MrKLB's chest and looked around at all of the other babies.  Oh yeah, the other babies.  We arrived at 6:30 and the building was quiet and it was dark outside.  When I opened the door to the waiting room for the surgery center, though, you'd think it was 10am... there were people and babies and noises filling the room!  Wow.  I don't know what other surgeries were being performed that day, but some people had their parents and grandparents with them.  MrKLB asked me "what is going on that they bring their grandparents?" and I said "I hope we never have to find out."  Children's Healthcare is great and everyone we met there - from the receptionists to the nurses to the doctors - was awesome... but I hope we never have to go back!

Back to the surgery - we got checked in and Brady got an ID band to go around his ankle and we got name tags that said "Brady's Mom" and "Brady's Dad".  Then we were called back to get his temperature and oxygen levels and then we went into a pre-op room where they told us what would happen, gave us a hospital gown for Brady and told us to go pick out a toy for him.  It was really nice... they had 2 big cabinets full of toys and they let the kids pick out a toy.  They didn't really have many for Brady's age but we got him a puzzle with numbers on it.  He enjoyed chewing on it and hopefully one day he'll actually enjoy playing with it, too!  We got Brady into his gown and then MrKLB took him back to the OR.  Only one of us was allowed to go back with him, and I nominated MrKLB because I wasn't sure I wanted the image of Brady being put to sleep in my head.  MrKLB walked away with Brady and came back about 2 minutes later and we were taken to the recovery area.  MrKLB said it was a little hard to see him put to sleep, but he did great.  We were only in the recovery for about 5-10 minutes when the surgeon came in to tell us that the surgery was over and Brady did great.  A minute later they wheeled him into the recovery room.  He was still asleep, lying on this adult-sized hospital bed.  He looked so tiny and helpless.  I think I may have actually gotten emotional at this point if it weren't for the fact that he almost immediately started to wake up.  They took his vital signs and then handed him to me so that I could nurse him... and all was well with the world again.  :)

Brady was perfectly normal the rest of the day except for the fact that he would be a little upset when he woke up from naps.  We had some drops to put in his ears for 3 days and gave him tylenol for the rest of that day, but that's it.  Almost immediately it seemed that he was talking more and that his cold symptoms  (runny nose, cough) went away.  We go back to the ENT to get his hearing re-checked in a couple of weeks so we're hoping for good results then!

Here is Brady in his hospital gown (bad pic taken from iPhone):

So, now the tubes are in and we're hoping for no more ear infections!

Brady started taking swim lessons at the YMCA a few weeks ago.  He LOVES being in the pool and we've had a great time going with him.  We're looking forward to spending more time in the pool this summer.

Week 1 Lesson:

Week 3 Lesson:

Well, I think all of the other updates are over on Brady's Blog, so that's all I have here for now.