Brady Breton is Here

He's been here for almost a week now but you might say I've been a little too busy to make an entry on here. Right now he's cuddling on Daddy's chest so we'll see how far I can get here.

I probably don't have time to go into as much detail as I would like on things but I'll see what I can do.  Wednesday morning, the big day, Duncan, my mom, and I got to the hospital a little before 5:30.  That night I barely slept.  I just wasn't tired.  I woke up at about 2:30 and read for a good hour.  So yeah, coupled with the same thing happening the previous night, I was a little tired but I'll just chalk it up to training for what was to come.  I checked in and got taken to a room where they get your IV going and get you hooked up to the fetal monitor.  Shortly after we got in there, a nurse came and said a friend of mine was also there.  We already actually knew who it was.  Duncan's boss, Andy, and his wife Rachael, had been there since the previous afternoon.  She wasn't due with her girl until late in the month but nevertheless, there she was.  Before my IV went in, the nurse brought us down to say hello and we chitchatted with them for a little bit.  She was only 1 cm dilated so we were pretty sure we would be giving birth first.   Back in the room, I got my IV put in and honestly, that was probably the worst part of the whole giving birth experience.  It wasn't that bad but it stayed sore for a while after it was in.

At 7:36, they wheeled me into the OR.  This was a different OR from Aubree because they built a new wing on the hospital.  As luck would have it, they had a CRNA in training from the College who was to put in my spinal.  That made me a bit nervous but the guy she was working in was very nice and he was giving her very careful direction.  Wouldn't you know but it was by the far the best of the three spinal/epidurals I've had.  I honestly didn't feel a thing.  The CRNA, Alex, said he uses the smallest needle possible and puts extra numbing stuff on it.  That clearly did the trick.  Oh, let me also mention here that I did try to get my mother in but the nurse, Blair, stated that it was "hospital policy" not to let other people in.  Honestly, I think that's a line they just give people but I wasn't about to get into an argument over it.  Anyway, Duncan was called in and before you knew it, there was a crying baby at 8:04 (four minutes before Aubree.  We betting on whether it would be before or after).  The doctors were supposed to be Dr. Moore and Dr. Breit but for some reason Dr. Breit wasn't available so it ended up being Dr. Dukes whom I do like very much too. So yes, Brady came out crying and I'm sure I don't have to state that it is probably one of the best sounds in the world.  For some reason, it seemed like it took an extra long time for me to see him (Duncan was next to him during this time) for the first time but maybe it just felt like it.  He weighted 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.  I found out later that he peed and pooped right after he came out.  At least they knew the equipment was working!

After this, I was whisked to the recovery room where after a little bit, I nursed Brady for the first time.  No problems with that so happy times.  During this time, they were working on the room we were to go to.  We had joked that one of the VIP rooms would now be taken because of Andy (who would obviously take precedence over us) and indeed, that is exactly what happened.  We thought they had four now instead of two because of the new wing but it turns out that they had to remove the original rooms to put on the new addition.  One of the two was being used and the second was reserved for Andy for whenever they had their baby.  We were a little disappointed but the regular rooms are quite nice.  But then, after we had been in there for a few hours, they said the other people had vacated it and we could move in.  So off we went into the big room.  It actually wasn't nearly as nice as the old VIP rooms but still very nice indeed.

Around 11:30ish, the moment we had been looking for happened.  Grandma came to the hospital with Calleigh and Aubree.  Well, to say they loved him would be to put it mildly.  They barely gave me a second look but ran into the room saying "Where is baby brother?"  They both got to hold him and were in awe of him.  They wanted to touch him, kiss him, pet him (as Aubree would say).  This is how it would continue for my time in the hospital.  They just wanted to be around him whenever they could.  I was so happy to see this. I figure the novelty will wear off eventually but for now, I love it.

The day flew by and everything went really well.  My meds were working great and I didn't have any pain.  Duncan stayed with me the first night and from about 8 pm on, it was just the three of us.  This was also the time that the Bruins game came on, unfortunately not on TV though.  I got it on my computer and was glued to that.  Around 10, the nurse came in and helped me get up for the first time and I watched the third period sitting in the chair.  At 11, she came in and took out my catheter and I walked around and used the bathroom.  It still blows my mind when I think about how painful it was the first go round and how long it took me to move.  What a difference a few c-sections makes!  All of this was only made better when the Bruins had another definitive win and tied the series 2-2.  The night went pretty much as expected.  He didn't ever cry for a long period of time or anything but we did notice a phenomenon that has continued through now.  He cries every time you change his diaper.  It's crazy.

Day 2 we had some visitors like Allen, Tangie, Jennifer, and Tiffany (David and Yully had stopped by the first night).  That evening they whisked him away for his circumcision.  Even though the thought of it doesn't sound very appealing, they said he didn't cry.  They numb the area and also give them some succralose in his mouth which really distracts him.  It all went well and then we had the extra diaper changing step of putting petroleum jelly on him every time.  We had already concluded that it's more work to change a boy and this just added to it but at least that part is only temporary.

The second night went better than the first although probably because he spent most of the night in bed with me.  That will not last long!

Friday morning Dr. Breit did my checkup and said all was well so he said we could be discharged.  Brady passed everything to with the pediatrician so we were good to go.  This was my goal since it's now up to a co-pay of $325/night and there was no way I wanted to stay more than two nights.  By 10:30 we were already discharged so it all happened very fast.

As a review on the hospital stay, we felt is was excellent.  The nurses were all very good and attentive.  They have a little area where you can get free refreshments and the blueberry scones were to die for.  I had many of those.  I got three (free) massages which is practically a reason to have a baby right there.  The only negative we could mention is the five star dining.  Yes, they call it five star.  We would give it one or two stars top.  The food, of course, is free for me as the patient and then Duncan could order too for $5.  They had a menu and you could select what you wanted off it.  The problem was that the food just wasn't that good and the service wasn't very good either since they kept forgetting parts of the meal.  But, as I said, that's the only thing we could say something negative about and really, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Andy and Rachel ended up having their baby, a girl, at 9:30 that evening and of course, ended up in the other VIP room right next to ours.  Kind of funny how it all happened that way.  With Aubree, my friend Jennifer from the hospital had her daughter on the same day too.  Needless to say, Duncan and Andy kept popping into each others room to chitchat and I'm pretty sure some work talk was part of it too.

We got home in the early afternoon and real life finally began.  I saw "real life" but really, I think the real life will begin next week when my mother leaves.  Right now I'm just very appreciative that she's here to keep the girls occupied so I can focus on the baby.  My dad left on Friday afternoon because he had to preach on Sabbath.

Saturday morning Duncan and I took Brady in for his first check-up at the pediatrician.  They want you to come in the day after you leave the hospital.  Everything was very good.  They did a test for jaundice and he was fine with that (even though the doc though he looked a little yellowish).  He weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces so he had lost 7 ounces since birth.  He weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz when we left the hospital the day before so they were pleased he had already gained an ounce back.

The nights have been interesting.  I'm still trying to find the right sleeping combination whether that be in our bedroom, his room, downstairs, in the swing, in the pack-n-play, in the rock 'n sleeper, etc.  The thing I can say about him is that he's not a night screamer or crier or anything like that.  If he's not sleeping, he just makes these little grunting type noises.  I think for now we're going to settle in downstairs and I'll be using the swing and sleeper.  He's been going about the standard two to three hours between feedings so it's been about 11-2-5 type thing.  So yeah, I haven't been getting a ton of sleep but I figure as long as he's not crying hysterically  at any point during the night, I'm good.  And you know, the amazing thing is that despite not getting many hours of sleep, I still feel pretty good.  I think God must specifically give mothers the ability to function on limited sleep.

The girls are still crazy about him and I have to really watch him lest they smother him to death with kisses.  They've kept a busy schedule with Gigi here.  Calleigh has been going to Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Markham Woods Church from 9 to 12 this week (Monday - Friday).  So that's been exciting for her.  They've gone swimming just about every day and Aubree is practically a little fish now herself.

Yesterday I went in to get my staples out and Dr. Breit declared that I was doing exceptionally well.  I haven't taken any pain meds since that time so it's been over 24-hours and I would say I'm done with them.  The recovery process has been terrific.

I'm sure there are lots of other noteworthy things I'm completely forgetting about but that's all that I can think of for now.  Oh, actually, I have two more things.  One, is that when I think back on Brady's birth, I'm sure I won't be able to think about it without thinking of the Casey Anthony trial.  I don't watch a lot of TV but once you start nursing, you find yourself with the TV on for entertainment.  Well, as I'm sure many can attest too, every channel practically is showing this trial.  Don't get me wrong, I find the trial very fascinating and I've watched quite a bit of it.  I just wanted to state that was are completely inundated.  It's bonkers. The second thing is...Yesterday I had Brady on my lap and I was talking to him like you would normally talk to a newborn.  Aubree was sitting next to me and heard me talking to him saying "Should I check to see if you need to be changed first or just feed you?"  And Aubree says "He can't talk to you."  Just in case I was thinking he was going to answer me I guess!

Zero for three in kids looking like me.