Manic Monday

Baby Bug had his first photo shoot today. He's a little bit of a temperamental subject, but we managed. Enjoy! :O)

Almost 3!

I'm such a slacker. Our sweet boy is 19 days old- almost 3 weeks, and I haven't updated our blog since he was 1 week. I now understand more than ever, why "adults" always say that time flies and that kids grow up so fast. They really do!
We went back to the doctor on Thursday for a quick weight check. Brennon is back up to 8 pounds and 10 ounces, exceeding his birth weight by 1 ounce and gaining almost a pound in a week. He's still 21 inches and seems to be getting stronger and smarter by the minute. The doctor told us that between weeks 2 and 4 babies go through a really big growth spurt, explaining why the last few days he's been SO hungry and SO tired. He also said that we don't have to wake him up to eat every 3 hours anymore- music to my ears! Brennon can now sleep 4 to 6 hours without interruption, but because I'm breast feeding and breast milk doesn't sustain a baby as long, 4 hours is about his personal limit. All is very well on our homefront! :O)

Busy Bees!

The last 9 days have been very busy for us- thank goodness Justin’s on vacation and for our help and visitors! So far, Brennon is a great eater and sleeper. We’re on a flexible schedule of eating about every 3.5 hours and sleeping most of the time in between.

He LIKES;
*car seat and car rides
*bouncy chair
*swing
*being swaddled, commonly referred to as Burrito Man

He DISLIKES;
*having his diaper changed
*sponge baths
*having his clothes changed

Brennon also had his first Pediatrician visit on Monday. We decided to take him to Priority Care Pediatrics and so far we’re very pleased. On Monday we saw Dr. Cattaino and he said Brennon is in great shape! He’s still 21 inches and 7pounds 14 ounces, which is the same weight from the hospital last Friday. It’s very typical for babies to lose close to 10% of their total body weight after birth. Maintaining and gaining are now the key!

Happy Birthday III

Tuesday, July 20th was a BIG day for us. I had a horrible time sleeping, hence the previous blog. I felt calm and ready more than anything. Poor Justin, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. We got to the hospital at 7:30AM, and I was admitted right away. We were the only c-section scheduled for Tuesday morning, which was nice because the pre-op and post-op area is very small and we had nurse all to ourselves. I have never in my life filled out so much paperwork and been asked so many questions, and I even pre-registered on NKC’s website! This was also our first experience with the renovations going on at NKC; the suction to the operating rooms had to be temporarily turned off and this ridiculous alarm went off for at least 15 minutes. Working with kids for so long, I’m a professional at tuning things out, but the alarm made Justin even more anxious. Meanwhile, my OB/ Hero#1 arrived and visited with us, as well as the Anesthesiologist/Hero#2. They both were both very upfront about the procedure and answered all of our questions and concerns. 10AM arrived very quickly and we were ready! The “worst” part for me came next; the spinal block. Between my natural anxiety of being in the operating room and my bulging disk, I was a hot mess. It took twice as many numbing injections than normal and then as soon as he got it in, I couldn’t stop shaking. Full body shakes and vomiting are my natural reaction to anesthesia. Then, after the longest 36 minutes of my life, baby cries and screams galore! This too I am so thankful for; c-section babies typically have breathing problems at first. We were then in recovery until about 11AM and Mr. Brennon headed to the nursery. We had LOTS of visitors waiting for us. Yet again, another example of how loved and lucky we are. Overall, everything at the hospital went perfectly. We both had great nurses and the entire experience was amazing. I feel and have felt a MILLION times better than I had anticipated. Thank goodness.

Hello Beautiful!

Brennon August Judd

Welcomed at 10:36AM July 20, 2010

8lbs 9oz, 21 inches

It’s My Baby’s Birthday!

It’s after midnight.
I am no longer allowed to eat or drink anything. For most, that would be considered a feasible task, however, in the land of Ridiculously-Pregnant-Insomniac, not so easy.
So, here I am blogging away.
Everyone keeps saying that my life is about to change in ways I can’t even fathom… honestly, I’m not even scared. I love the idea of being a mom and all that parenting entails. Maybe tomorrow will bring on a whole new array of emotions, but tonight, I’m pretty peaceful. On the other hand, my crazy-nervous husband who needed to vacuum the stairs before he could sleep; not so much. Gotta love him. I am however, trying to prepare myself for the Fanatical Grandparent Fanfare that tomorrow will bring. I can only handle so many sobbing adults. :O)
The lyrics to Michael Buble’s Haven’t Met You Yet keep running through my head. I know it’s a love song, but it seems somewhat fitting.
I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get, I just haven't met you yet!
Happy Birthday Brennon August, Mommy loves you.

Happy Birthday!

Tuesday, July 20th is the day and I CANNOT wait!
We went back to the OB today (my last visit!) to check my progress, or lack thereof. My blood pressure is still great, Brennon’s heartbeat is still in the 140’s, and I’m still not showing any early signs of labor. No contractions, no dilatation, no thinning. SO, the c-section is on! Everyone keeps asking why no induction and why not wait for natural labor and my OB really cleared it all up for us today. It really has nothing to do with how much they estimate he weighs, it’s literally about is size; head, femur, abdomen, and spine measurements. Induction with big babies causes complications and although we can wait for natural labor, I will still need a c-section. Without being too National Geographic, my pelvis is too small and even if his head fits, his shoulders and abdomen will not. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little disappointed at first, but all that matters is that my Lil’ Peanut is healthy. Although it could change at any second, I’m thankful to have a plan and be a bit prepared.
6 days and Brennon August will finally be here!

In other news, my good friend Lauren and I are working on a small photo business. Check us out and refer us if you like what you see!
http://bigpicturephoto.blogspot.com/

Maternity Pics

Here are just a few!

More to come, when the Hubby isn't on vacation! :o)

38 Weeks

Today may have been my first real parenting experience in “life is what happens when you’re busy making plans!” Today was my scheduled and routine check up along with a growth sonogram. The sonogram was ordered by my OB last week, because Lil’ Peanut was measuring big. Let me just tell ya, lil’ doesn’t describe my Peanut anymore! The sonogram calculated his weight at 8.5 pounds, his head measurement at 39 weeks, his abdomen measurement at 40 weeks and his femur measurement at 41 weeks- I’m not even 38 weeks until today! Overall, he’s in the eighty-second growth percentile, for a newborn.



So, I leave the sonogram office thinking that my OB will want to talk about inducing-wrong! She gave us until Tuesday (also known as 4 days) to deliver naturally; otherwise, we go back on Tuesday to schedule a C-Section. I’m not sure how I missed this in the four books about pregnancy that I read, but apparently there are more risks or complication factors, for me, when inducing a large baby. FYI; anything over 7.5 pounds, at 40 weeks, is considered big. The average weight gain for a baby, at this point in pregnancy, is roughly a half of an ounce daily. So theoretically, in 4 days, he has the potential to weigh 2 more ounces.


I was a little discouraged after leaving the OB’s office, because I thought we had moved away from needing a C-Section, but “life is what happens when you’re busy making plans!” More than anything, I am so grateful that both of us have remained healthy through the last 38 weeks. We are beyond blessed.


So, I will be a mom in roughly 4-7 days.

Today was a good day.

36 Weeks!

36 weeks today and the countdown is on! I had a check up yesterday and Mr. Brennon had finally decided to turn, head down- halleluiah! Everything else is great; my blood pressure, his heart rate, and we’re still measuring right on target. However, this little man is in absolutely no hurry to get out… no dilatation and no thinning of the cervix. :o( So, we wait...

Our house however is 100% baby ready, I think... We recently went and picked up the remaining needs for the baby, and let me just tell you, babies need a lot of stuff! This may come as a shock to some of you, but I have become quite the coupon collector. Yesterday we saved $95 at Babies R’ Us, thanks to my coupons! Also a HUGE THANK YOU to my Head Start friends, we bought our pack and play with the gift card from you all!

I would include actual photos, but we sold our cameras in anticipation of this…

Isn’t she beautiful?!? I’m so excited to have a camera of this caliber!

Anyhow, we currently have a play yard, travel system, bouncy chair, and swing all in our living room. Tomorrow we’re doing a small closet overhaul to add more storage and hopefully be able to actually put things away!

Baby Shower and Dad's Day!

We had our second baby shower last Saturday, June 19th. My Aunt Leslie and Bridget, Mother-in-Law, graciously hosted another shower for us in St. Joe. This location was more convenient for the majority of our families and we had a Sussical time!

Lisa, my Step-Mom and my Sister, Annelise had Dr. Seuss cupcakes made that were adorable and delicious. Annelise also found some baby shower games that I had never played before. The pictures below are of Play-Doh babies that everyone constructed and then I had to pick my favorite. (Please ignore the hamster with the mohawk, thank you Conner...)

Play-doh Baby WINNER!

My cousin Emmy made this adorable diaper wreath for us. It had blankets, bottles, spoons and bibs attached. I love new and creative ideas and this was one for sure! The tag even said “Made with Luvs!” TOO CUTE!

Overall, the day was amazing. Let me just say, Mr. Brennon is a super spoiled little man! At this point, I’m not sure that there are any baby boy clothes in Northwest Missouri, which this child doesn’t have. We are so thankful and appreciative to everyone who loves our Little Peanut already! :o)

After the shower, we went out for a Father’s Day family dinner at Whiskey Creek.

We're pretty adorable.

I'm not really sure what to call this...

We are lucky enough to be able to say that Brennon is going to have 2 AMAZING Grandpas! My Daddy and my Father-in-Law are honest, respectable and hardworking men that we are proud to have in our family. Brennon will be able to learn all things manly, and more than I even want to know about, from both of them. Although Justin doesn’t think that Father’s Day applies to him yet, I think he’s pretty amazing.

Thanks Mom for the Seussical daiper cake!

Bridget, the Mommy-In-Law

LOVE my girls!

My Granny, my Aunt Tracie, Me and my Mama

My updating is getting a little better. Things have been VERY busy for us. We finished the nursery, had our first baby shower, celebrated Mother’s Day, I had my last week with students, a 29 week doctor’s appointment, and I had my last day of work- HELLO SUMMER! (I’m already struggling to find things to occupy my time, but that’s beside the point…)

Our shower was AMAZING, thank you Mom and Aunt Tracie! My Granny got to fly in from Nevada and we spent time with other family and friends whom we don’t always see. We were overwhelmed by the amount of stuff people brought for our Little Man! He is already very well taken care of and will be the most handsomely dressed guy EVER! We are truly blessed and very loved. My first Mother’s Day was the following day, and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t even realize it applied to me. We spent the day with family and A LOT of food!

My last doctor’s appointment was May 14th. The doc suggested that we start thinking about a pediatrician and birthing classes. Everything else was great; my blood pressure, his heart rate, and then I made the mistake of saying that I don’t feel Brennon kick or move 10 or more times in one hour. The doctor sent me to fetal monitoring, within the hospital, where they attach two small monitors and belly bands to your tummy. Brennon is just fine, maybe a little lazy… His movements were right on target, after being shook and poked. But, I still didn’t feel a lot of them. The nurse mentioned that maybe at my next appointment the doc would check to see if he’s still breeched and/or the placement of my placenta. Both could be affecting his movements and my lack of feeling.

My last day of work was Thursday, May 21st and the AWESOME GIRLS I worked with surprised me with baby gifts. I’m so thankful for my experience this year at Head Start and appreciative to the ladies I’ve met and built relationships with. Thanks again! :o)

Nursery; finished at last!

For those that don't know, I wanted a Dr. Seuss nursery before we knew the gender of our baby. I had some what of a vision and tried my hardest to make it perfect. And yes, I did do all of the murals myself! :o)

The crib in a million pieces!

My Cat in the Hat sketch on the wall. All of the characters started out this way.


The finished product...

Horton

Thing 1

Thing 2

The Cat in the Hat

My favorite book, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

28 Weeks

Yes, I have been a lackluster blogger mommy, but I’m back! Today was a big day. I had my 28 week check up and all is very well. My blood pressure was 128 over 70, Brennon’s heart rate was 140BPM and I got a physical therapy referral for my sciatica. For those that haven’t heard, I’ve been fighting some sciatica and swelling in my left hip and leg. It basically feels like a pinched nerve, and then my hip gives out kind of randomly. So, I’m excited to see a PT and see if they can give me some tips to help get me through the next 80 days!

After that, we headed to Prenatal Imaging for our 3D sonogram. Justin's parents, his sister, his Grandma, my parents and my sister ALL joined us. Brennon was even broadcasted live in Las Vegas for my Granny via the internet. I’m glad we had the experience, but even after laying on my back, my side, sitting up, shaking and poking my belly, and jumping up and down, our son was less than cooperative. He kept his hands, elbows, feet and knees in front of his face the entire time. We did learn that he is currently breached, he has no hair, and he has his face pressed up against my belly. Conclusion; he’s either a hardcore sleeper (like both of us) or just a plain brat like his dad! He is pretty handsome though. :o)

HI GUYS!

Angry eyes

Foot on face...

Hand on face...

Hand still on face...

It's a BOY!