April 18, 2011: Happy Birthday Brayden!!!

Better late than never... We have been just a little busy and I am finally getting around to blogging about the big day!  Brayden was originally scheduled to be due on May 10th so we were more than a little surprised when Brayden decided to make his appearance three weeks early!!!  The weekend before Brayden was born, luckily Brian and I got alot done and ready for his arrival.  I got fresh highlights on Friday, we put the finishing touches on the nursery, went to Babies R Us and got most of the rest of the things that we needed including some newborn clothes that we did not have any of, finished up packing our hospital bag, went to the grocery store, I made a big batch of food which I froze most of.  We felt like we were really ahead of the game and that we were super prepared for Brayden to be born.  On Sunday we went to the first Spurs playoff game with Brian's parents.  I told Brian that night, that was probably going to be my last public "outing" until after Brayden was born.  I was just starting to feel uncomfortable, had the most swollen ankles, and just felt blah trying to get dressed to look cute.  Little did I know that I would go into labor later on that night!  On Sunday night, we went to bed like normal (around 8:00!!) and I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst stomach pain that had me doubled over.  Neither Brian or I were getting any sleep because I was so miserable and could not get comfortable and back to sleep.  Finally around 3:00 in the morning we called the on-call doctor to see if we should be concerned.  He was not very helpful and just said that it was hard to tell from talking to me on the phone and that if I felt like I needed to that I should go in to the hospital.  I got up and took a bath and surprisingly it made me feel a lot better.  Neither Brian or I wanted to be "those people" who go into the hospital early just to get sent home because we are not in labor.  Since I was starting to feel better we finally fell asleep around 4:30, I had already called in for a sub for the day knowing I would be exhausted after a night with no sleep.  Brian got up around 6:30 and started getting ready for work.  While Brian was in the shower, not to be too graphic but I noticed a little leakage.  I went and told Brian and he was not sure what to think.  He continued getting ready for work and I then noticed that I was still leaking randomly and I knew this was not normal!!  I called the doctors office at 8:30 when they opened and they were so slammed being that it was a Monday morning that I was on hold forever and was not able to talk to anyone.  We decided to just get ready and go by my doctors office to see if they could get me in.  I proceeded to take a shower, put makeup on, get dressed, and added a couple of things to my hospital bag that we brought with us just in case.  We got to my doctor around 9:30 and they told me that since they were so busy and the on call doctor was not there yet that we should just go over to labor and delivery and get checked out.  My doctors office is connected to the hospital so we just walked over to labor and delivery where they got all of our information and put us in a triage cubicle to get checked out by a nurse.  As I was changing in to my gown, I had a huge gush of water on the bathroom floor that freaked me out!  Sweet Brian even cleaned off my nasty flip flops for me!!  We sat around for a few minutes and then met our nurse-Tanya:  little did we know she would be our nurse for the whole day and would help deliver our little boy.  She hooked me up to monitor Braydens heartbeat and my contractions.  I told her that I thought maybe my water had broken so she did the swab test and since the swab did not turn black, to my surprise she said that it did not appear that my water had broken.  At this point I was 3 1/2 cm dilated and since they did not think my water had broken, I was not in labor.  She said they were probably going to have us walk around a little bit and monitor me for about 2 hours and if nothing else happened they would send us home.  She spoke to the doctor on call and they decided to do one more test just to be sure that my water was not leaking from the top.  She came in a few minutes later with the tools and a huge lamp to go in and check me.  After checking me and doing the swab test again-it turned black right away, she told me that my water was indeed leaking and that I would be having a baby today!  Brian had left the cubicle and was right outside waiting and I shouted for him to come back in.  I was in tears as I told him that we were going to have Brayden today.  While we waited for Tanya to get me admitted and move us to a L&D room we called our familes and friends to tell them the news and told my mom she better get on the road from Dallas.  They moved us to a very nice private room and hooked me up to pitocin to help me dilate all of the way.

Our last picture as a family of 2!

 This whole time, all morning, I had not been in any pain and was not really feeling the contractions as they happened.  Brian's parents and sister came and hung out in our room and my dad showed up a little while later.  The nurse came and checked me every couple of hours and I was dilating and making good progress though I was still not in any pain.  My mom showed up at about 4:00 and I was so happy she made it before Brayden was born!  Right about this time, the pain set in as the contractions got more intense.  We went ahead and told our families to head to the waiting room because we thought it was time to be alone.  Around this time, I decided that I was not going to get an epidural.  I was already 8 cm dilated and was not in that much pain and figured I could endure this a little bit longer.  I am not a huge fan of needles or of feeling numb so this decision was not to hard for me to make.  Right before 5:00 they called my doctor and told her that I was ready to start pushing.  She came right over and we got started!  After just one push, my doctor said that it would probably be a while and that the baby was a ways from coming out.  She told the nurse to call her when we got closer.  Literally 5 minutes later the nurse had to call her back because Brayden was about to come!  She was surprised when she got back and after only 23 minutes of pushing Brayden was born at 5:23 pm.  I definitely could not have done it without Brian by my side, he was so excited and kept me motivated to keep on going!  We were beyond excited, happy, and emotional as Brayden was born.  We could not believe that this little tiny baby we had been waiting for 9 months had finally arrived and we were able to see his sweet little face, fingers and toes.  Of course the moment Brian had been waiting for was seeing those boy parts to confirm that he was indeed a he!  Brayden was 6 lb. 11 oz and 19 7/8 inches long, great size and weight for being three weeks early.



Sweet baby Brayden







Our first family picture :)




I love this one of Brayden looking at daddy!



Proud Papa!



 After cleaning Brayden and I up and letting us have some time with our son, they brought our families in to meet him.  They could not believe they had to wait so long to see him and were thrilled to finally come in.



Grandpa Rehkopf



Grandma Torres



Aunt Christi





Grandma and Grandpa Barron



Then they took Brayden to the nursery to get a bath and some further tests.  Brian got to go into the nursery and help give him his first bath!!

Brian was so surprised they said to put his head under the sink!  Good thing they taught Brian how to give him a bath, he had to teach me when we got home!

 He also got to be there as they got his handprints and footprints.  Of course, our families were right outside the nursery having a photo shoot as Brian helped bathe little Brayden!  In the mean time, mama finally got to have something to eat and drink!!!  I had not eaten since the night before and had nothing to drink since early that morning, I was so thirsty and famished!  The first thing I did was gulp down a couple glasses of water and then had a coke on ice- it was the best coke I ever tasted!  My mom stayed back with me and hung out while the others were at the nursery with Brayden and Brian.  At about 8:00 our families went home and the nurses took Brian and I to our room in the postpartum wing where we would spend the next couple of nights.  We had another great, private room this time without all of the lights and machines.  Not too long after they brought Brayden in to be with his mom and dad.  After hours of looking at him and talking about him, Brian and I tried to get some sleep which was impossible as we jumped up at every one of Braydens sounds and noises!  We decided to let the nursery take him for the night so we could get a little bit of rest and they brought him back to us every 3 hours so he could nurse.  The next couple of days were filled with us getting to know Brayden, and lots of visitors that couldn't wait to meet the little guy.  We got to go home on Wednesday the 20th after 2 nights in the hospital.  It was hysterical trying to get Brayden in his carseat, because neither Brian or I knew how to do it the right way.  The nurses are not even allowed to help you by law so we were on our own and just had our fingers crossed we had it right on the way home!



In my car seat and ready to go!  He looks so tiny!



 I think the drive home was the most careful Brian has ever driven and I definitely was that mom who sat in the backseat with Brayden while dad drove.  When we got home, Brayden got to meet his big sister Mia.  She was curious and gave him alot of kisses but has welcomed him into our family with no problem.  She has been maybe a little jealous and a little protective of Brayden but is adjusting just fine!



Mia meets her brother...





First of many kisses!



  As we just passed our original due date on May 10th it is hard to believe that Brayden has already been with us for a month.  Already, we cannot imagine our lives without him or what we did before him.  Hopefully now that we are into a little bit of a routine I will be able to update more on what adorable new things that Brayden is doing daily! Thanks to everyone for all of the love, support, and well wishes the past month!!!



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