Earning Our Wings

I am just melting into the sofa after one action packed weekend. Brady and I ventured to Houston, Texas for the long holiday and I couldn't have asked for a better trip there. Keyword: there. 

I was a nanny for about two years before snagging a job teaching. Ryan and Andrew taught me more about myself than I ever imagined possible. I am the mom, teacher, and wife I am today because of them and their parents. Needless to say, I make it a priority to go visit them each year because I know I will learn something new and the memories we make are priceless. 

This year was extra special because Brady got to go. Not only was it his first time in Texas, but it was his first plane ride. The trip there was flawless. We got through security without any issues. Take-off and landing were textbook and he naturally made tons of friends along the way. He spent most of the flight itself sleeping in my arms, something I soaked up because I know those cuddles are going to be gone before I know it. 

Houston was an absolute treat. Ryan and Andrew loved on that little boy like there was no tomorrow. Each morning Ryan changed his diaper, made him a bottle, and made me a cup of caramel coffee. Talk about five star service! 

I can't even describe the joy that these three bring into my life. Watching them grow has been a privilege that I will never take for granted. I can only pray that God continues to grow my heart in preparation to watch what amazing things these three do in life.  

As it was time to leave I was so sad, but I looking forward to seeing Brian. Brady learned to say 'da-da' over the weekend. Despite the fact that Andrew insisted he was Brady's daddy, I knew his real dad was missing us just as much as we were missing him. 

We arrived to the Houston airport an hour early and arrived at our departure gate in record time, fifteen minutes. Shortly after arriving we learned that our flight was going to be delayed a little over an hour. No big deal. I had enough for two bottles and could always nurse if it came to that. Though it seemed like forever we eventually boarded and Brady and I found a spot in the very back next to the attendant station. (*I definitely suggest Southwest. They were seriously the most accommodating airline I have ever been on.)

We made friends with an awesome flight attendant who was 8 weeks pregnant. She and I talked pregnancy and motherhood most of the flight and she was a huge help with Brady. She told me that I made motherhood look so easy and she hoped that she would be as great as I was. I'll admit my mom head blew up just a bit. Oh, but I was about to be brought down real fast..

As we landed the pilot said he would love to take his photo with Brady. I couldn't wait! So I began to gather our things when all of sudden I placed my hand on Brady's bottom. He was completely soaked and I quickly realized from the scent that it wasn't just pee. It was his first true blow out. Seriously?! What. The. Hell. It was then I realized I had no more clean diapers and no change of clothes. I am always prepared. I am always organized. How did this happen? In a moment of despair I did all I could think of. I cleaned him up, threw his pants in a plastic bag and made a makeshift diaper out of a burp cloth. The flight attendant that once thought I was a mom goddess looked a little.... okay, a lot less confident in my parenting abilities. 

I laughed it off and assured her that this would never happen to her. (Sometimes you just need to lie to those first time moms to put their their hearts and minds to ease.) In the midst of all this I decided I HAD TO HAVE his picture taken with the pilot. The captain looked strangely at Brady's bare legs and crazy cloth diaper. All I could think to say was, "Ummm, shit happens."  

Joy after Loss

Cortney and I grew up in the same school together. Many of our afternoons were spent in the school gym playing basketball. She was such an incredibly hard worker then, that I have no doubt she has taken to motherhood like a pro. After miscarrying she has been given such a sweet blessing in her son. Her story is such an inspiration.  

Having lost my first pregnancy you could imagine my nerves when I found out a short two months later I was pregnant again. However, I am glad to say my pregnancy was great and I loved every minute of it! I was fortunate to have no nausea or any of the other typical pregnancy symptoms. Now I had always been scared of labor because of the fear of an epidural. I have always hated LOATHED needles. Obviously, it’s a choice but one I’ve always known to be taken by the majority of women in labor. I was DETERMINED to not cave. My next best pain relieving option was a water birth; which I had an A+ pregnancy to have one. Only problem was my labor didn’t go as I planned and things changed.

About a week prior to labor I got sick, like cold sick. I couldn’t breathe through my nose for anything. I read that this could be a sign of upcoming labor. I also ate Mexican the night prior. Coincidence? Who knows! Take it as you will but on November 30th sometime between 4-4:15am my water broke and we were going to have a baby! I had tested positive for GBS. (Which by the way isn’t as serious as what you read about online, or at least my midwives and nurses didn’t act too concerned about it.) Since my water broke and I tested positive for that I did need to get to the hospital ASAP to get the antibiotics pumping to protect little man from contracting the bacteria and getting sick. A blessing in disguise because the antibiotics gave him a 1 in 4,000 chance of getting the cold, for example, for a year! 

My husband and I got to the hospital between 5-5:30. They tested the amniotic fluid and admitted me. To my extremely pleasant surprise my favorite midwife was on duty! She cleared more of my sac and water to see if that would help get things going. At the time I was dilated 3cm. My non painful contractions were everywhere….for 6 hours. After being checked I was still dilated 3cm. Talk about disappointing. We discussed Pitocin to get things going because the longer we waited the more dangerous labor becomes after your water breaks. The only problem was once the Pitocin was administered if my body couldn’t do keep going without Pitocin then water birth was out the window. I started off with a small dosage around 11am and built up until my contractions were regular. I had dilated to 5cm when she checked sometime between 2-3pm, which gave me hope. We could start decreasing the Pitocin. (Something to know about Pitocin, it makes contractions much more intense and I was definitely feelin em!)

Once it was decreased my contractions started spacing out so I started becoming more relaxed and the contractions became easier to deal with. Around 5pm I was still dilated to 5cm. They upped the Pitocin, which was extremely discouraging. As it increased my exhausted body started going into shock causing me to have uncontrollable shakes. I could no longer relax through the contractions. Not to mention it had now been 24hrs since I had eaten. Around 6:30pm it was determined I could not come off the Pitocin. Sadly, this meant my water birth plan was out of the questions. At 7pm I threw in the white flag and wanted an epidural. I got the magical juice around 7:30pm and even though she had to do it twice the anesthesiologist was awesome and I could not thank her enough for giving me such a wonderful experience with that horrid needle! I now felt nothing! It was great! I can’t even tell you how relieved I felt after being on Pitocin for 8 hours. I was able to sleep and regain some strength for two hours. 

Now I was dilated to 9 ½ cm around 9:30pm. Around 10pm I was the full 10cm. I was so excited and nervous because that long awaited moment was finally here! My awesome, sweet nurse made me practice push and get his head pass the pelvis bone.His face was turned slightly up so they made me turn on my left side and put my right leg in the holster to get him to turn and it worked!By the way, it’s not a walk in the park to push when you’re congested! That burned about another thirty minutes and I got some extra rest between pushing. I don’t remember exactly what time it was my midwife came in and suited up, but after a couple of pushes he was here at 11:29pm! A sweet 6lb 11oz, 19 ¼ in bundle of long awaited joy was finally here and my life will never be the same! Every long minute, every second of pain was totally worth it.

I learned TO NOT BE SCARED OF AN EPIDURAL. You can have a birth plan, but you have got to be open to whatever happens. Our ideal plan isn’t always the way baby wants to come or how our body wants to cooperate. I also felt that if I were to give-in to an epidural that I would be disappointed in myself. That wasn’t the case. Sure I really, REALLY wanted to experience a water birth but that’s just not how I received my bundle of joy. No matter how the plan goes the end goal is to have a safe delivery, mommy, and most importantly baby. No disappointment here because I have the best little boy in the world now.

I’d do it all again in a heartbeat and even joke to my husband that I could be the next “Mrs. Duggar” with 19 kids! He doesn’t think my joke is very funny ;) But for now I will enjoy and soak up every quickly passing minute I have with my baby boy.

6 Month Update and Favorite

Six months is here! I am absolutely loving this stage. The baby babies are so cute and cuddly, but that stage is a lot of self-sacrifce on mom's part. However, with the 5+ months I feel like Brady is really giving back to us. He tries so hard to copy everything we do. My favorite is when we make a monster sound at him he will growl back at us. (I am pretty sure he got that from our boxer, Molly.) 

He had his 6 month well visit yesterday. Here are the 6 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 5 oz

Length: 26 inches.

 This came out an inch less than his 4 month? Um is my kid shrinking. 

The doctor said he prob. was just scrunching his head to the side.  

Head: 42.5 cm

Favorites:

All solids to date: Brady is eating pears, apples, squash, and sweet potatoes. 

Sea horse (*See favorite board) He has traded in his wubba-nub for a seahorse.

Being held up so he can see everything at our level

Analyzing everything

Bath time

Opening presents

Watching the pups play

Car rides

Not a fan of:

Loud noises

Having his nose suctioned out (but who really would)

Haircuts, apparently

Not getting his bottle fast enough

This child has long been over due for a haircut. He could have really used one at 4 months, but we held off because he just seemed so little. However, after seeing his Christmas pictures I decided the pet detective style just had. to. go. He was a little apprehensive at first, but I think the end result was totally worth the trauma we subjected him to. 

slide and see book //seahorse toy//aviator hat

bibs //food storage set // bee highchair toy

stroller organizer

I combined this month's and last month's favorites. We seem to be using the same few items lately. We are loving making Brady's baby food. It is so easy and cost effective. The food storage system above has been fantastic for portioning and freezing meals. They are microwave safe as well. Also, one of our favorite item from our registry is the Britax stroller organizer. It attaches to the back of the stroller and doubles as storage system and cup holders. It is super easy to rinse out after a day at the park or beach. 

As we ring in 2015 I have begun to reflect on where we were and where we may go. Brady has some exciting adventures coming up and so many firsts to welcome in. We can't wait to see all of the grand things that enter into or lives over the next 365 days!