Brady's Birth

For anyone who's interested, here's the whole birthing story. For anyone who's not, there are some cute pictures to enjoy :)

Tuesday I had my regular doctor appointment to check on Brady and make sure things were ok. I got my ultrasound to check fluid levels and such and I knew right away that they were only about half of what they were the week before. I even told Quentin right before we saw the doctor that she might not let me go all the way until Friday, but I was shocked when we saw the Dr. and she told us that the ultrasound showed the cord was wrapped around Brady's neck and because the fluid levels were low we needed to induce that night. She sent us home to get our bags and come back to the hospital. I also got the news that I was now dilated to 3 cm and 90% effaced, which was quite a change from when I was in the hospital Saturday and I was at a 2 and 75% effaced.

We got to the hospital and then they started the Pitocin drip around 6:00. My doctor (Dr. Morse) was not available to attend the birth, so we had Dr. Thies and she was wonderful! About every 20 min they increased the Pitocin, which also meant stronger contractions...yipee! Mom was there to hang out with us and be a backup in case Quentin fainted, and Aliisa came and hung out for a while too. Quentin and I passed the time playing Farkle (and no, Quentin did not let his laboring wife win). When my nurse checked me around 8 I was at 5cm. I had decided I wanted to try medication-free natural birth, and I did pretty well with it until they increased my Pitocin again around 10:00 and the contrations were so intense that I decided I needed an epidural. I got my epidural around 10:30 and it only took a few minutes for it to take effect. I was at a 6 when I got my epidural, and I started dilating VERY quickly after that. It was also at this point that his heartrate would drop with each contraction, so they tried rolling me from side to side, which helped a little at first. I think around 11:20 Dr. Thies said I could start pushing, so I had to push on my side at first. His heartrate continued to drop, so they started prepping for a C-section. Quentin even started putting on the booties, gown and scrub hat for the OR. They let me push on my back a few times, and then started packing my bed up to go to the OR. Dr. Thies did an epistiotomy and said I could have one last shot at pushing before we had no choice but a C-section, so I gave it my all (which is hard to do with an epidural and you can't even really tell if you're pushing or not) and out he came at 11:39! She said it is the closest she has come to getting someone to the OR and then not having to do a c-section after all.
When they laid him on my chest for the very first time it was the most incredible feeling in the world. He was so perfect and I fell in love instantly. It truly is a miracle and we love him more and more every day! He is such a good baby and hardly fusses at all. He came out a pro at feeding, which has made things a lot easier I'm sure. It is so fun to watch Quentin with him...Brady could not ask for a better dad! So here are some pictures right before we were discharged from the hospital...

Brady James Bell

Here are a few pics of our newest addition. I'll write up the birthing story later. I figure mostly people just want pictures anyway :) He was born Feb 15 at 11:39 PM. He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 20 inches long. We are all doing well!

40 weeks

Well I am actually 41 weeks tomorrow so this is a little delayed, but here's my growing belly! My Dr. appointment last week looked good, so Brady has a little more time to decide if he wants to come on his own or not. I have another appointment tomorrow, but unless something has drastically changed I have until Friday before they will induce. So Brady has officially received his eviction notice and has been informed he is free to come ANYTIME NOW!
In other news we got to spend our last childless weekend in the hospital of all places. I had a cough for a few days and then woke up Saturday with a fever that continued to get higher. Around 7 that night I took my temp again and it was 101.3 and I realized it had been a while since I felt the baby move (granted I had been asleep probably 95% of the day) so I called the on call OB and she said it would be best for me to come in and get things checked out. They had no problem finding Brady's heartbeat, but it was staying up in the 180's which is pretty high. They said this was because of my fever and ran all kinds of tests and pumped me full of fluids. My flu test came back positive (so much for that flu shot huh?) so they gave me Tamiflu and started antibiotics to prevent it from turning into pneumonia. And they decided to keep me overnight to monitor the heartbeat. Hospitals are not the most comfortable places to sleep, especially when you're hooked up to the fetal monitor and an IV, so needless to say it was not my most restful night. But by morning Brady's heartrate was back down to 130's to 140's, which is normal so they cleared me to go home and I spent most of the day in my own bed sleeping. Now I am fever free and just stuck with the cough and stuffy/runny nose. Not the best weekend of my life, but luckily Brady and I both came out ok in the end!

Columbia's Blizzard

Unfortunately, I am not talking about a DQ blizzard. It has been snowing hard since about 6:30 this morning and is supposed to keep going until tomorrow around noon (last I heard). We are up to 14 inches and going strong, with predictions of final accumulations around 18 inches. Plus the snow is really dry, and it's windy so there are some big snow drifts. Kirsten requested some pictures, so this post is mostly for her. It's hard to tell really how much there is from the pictures. The one with Dad shoveling is the 3rd or 4th round of shoveling. Anyway, here are the pictures...Luckily I was able to catch a ride to work with Dad. More importantly, he made a special trip to pick me up from work (at that point we had about 10 inches I believe). Otherwise I would have been stuck overnight at the hospital, which is not exactly my idea of a fun night.
MU actually shut down the campus, which is extremely rare, and they have already called off classes tomorrow as well. They even shut down Dad's bank this morning, which is also rare. Pretty much everything around is closed except, of course, the hospital.
I never thought I would say this, but I have been telling Brady to STAY IN for a few days until this all clears up. I told him before the storm hit that it was his last chance to come early, and he didn't cooperate then, so hopefully he listens better this time. Otherwise, we might be having a home birth. It's a little nerve racking, but I think Mom seems to be the most concerned about the possibility. That is a huge surprise because she never worries about anything :)

38 Weeks

We're getting so close! I tell Brady every day that it's time to come. Maybe one of these days he will listen. He's definitely running out of room in there!

Go Quentin!

Well, Quentin started his new semester. This time he is only attending one college though :) He is full time at MU now, and he definitely has a full schedule. He is taking 13 hours, but there will be A LOT of papers and a lot of fun times with Physics. He has two writing intensive classes, Physics, and an intro to ultrasound class.

The exciting news is that Quentin got an interview for the ultrasound program!!!!!!! Not everyone even gets and interview, so we are pretty excited and I am so proud of how hard he has worked to get to this point. His interview is scheduled for Feb 7. Brady is due to arrive Feb 8. Whaaaat?! No worries though, he told them when they scheduled that his wife could be having a baby that very moment and they said they would reschedule if need be and were very understanding. But really the only reason he would need to reschedule is if I am actually in labor at that exact time. I guess the odds are pretty unlikely right? Anyway, feel free to join in our prayers that the interview goes well!

Baby Showers

If one thing's for sure it's that Brady is already very well loved and taken care of by so many people! We're lucky enough to have had baby showers the past two weekends and both were so much fun and provided us with basically everything we still needed to take care of baby Brady!

The first shower was thrown by Jade (and Janet and Jordan) and Kayla. The turnout was great...I think we had around 20 people there including my wonderful in-laws who all had to make a significant drive to be there. I got all kinds of clothes, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, bath stuff, blankets, diaper bag and pretty much everything else you can think of for a baby! The cake was super cute and yummy (I'll have to steal some pictures from Janet) and I absolutely loved my diaper cake. Another fun thing was the "guest book" where everyone wrote down when they guess I'll have the baby, how long the labor will last, the size of the baby, etc. It was fun to read through and is also a fun little keepsake. The only thing that would have made the day better would have been if I had not gotten sick, but I guess you can't have it all right? Thanks everyone for a great shower!

The next shower was with my coworkers, so Quentin was fortunate enough to get to join in on the fun for this one :) Chuck and Genola were gracious enough to host at their house and I think everyone had a really good time. The food was delicious and Danielle picked out a cute cake. We got pretty much everything else we needed for Brady including a boppy, bumbo, more diapers (can you ever have too many...I think not), clothes, cute little Nikes, shades and a mirror for the car, etc. After gifts and cake the guys headed downstairs to play pool and the girls got to chat for a while. Later I got to demonstrate my lack of pool skills. We ended up staying until about 11, which is probably the latest I have stayed up this whole pregnancy. I am so lucky to have such great, supportive coworkers! We are winding down to the final days now. I'm 37 weeks, so if this kid comes on time (and I am hoping and praying that he does!!!!), we only have 3 weeks left. He can actually come at any time now so the bags are packed (well, the best I knew how), the crib is ready, and everything is good to go. I am getting more and more excited every day. Not just to get my bladder back and avoid the rest of the discomforts of pregnancy, but to finally meet this little guy! So feel free to come whenever you're ready, Brady!