Burke's first week home!

Yes, I'm SO behind - it's been over a month since I've posted and I'm behind on all things Burke. I return to work next Tuesday *insert some small tears here* so I decided I better catch up.

Over a month ago now, I posted all about Burke's entrance into the world and promised more on our hospital stay. I will keep it as brief as possible with mostly pictures!

Overall, it was a wonderful stay. Minus the whole c-section thing. Recovery was bad. There's just no other way to say it. Getting out of bed - O.M.G. worst thing I've ever had to do. Lets just say there were a LOT of tears shed. I spent the next 3 days pretty much in my hospital gown eating hospital food while so many friends and family members came to visit. See:

For all my friends and family members who were not able to make it -- get ready to be flooded with pictures of Burke from the first few days of his life!

 

 

This is Dad's favorite picture he says :)

 

 

My dad, Grandpa, is loving his first little grandbaby!

 

 

Brennan's dad, Paw Paw, loving his FIFTH grandbaby in 3 years!

 

 

Brennan's mom, Maw Maw, loving on her newest little addition to her grandbabies

 

 

Some proud grandparents!

 

 

I spent the next 2 days pretty much in my hospital gown eating hospital food while so many friends and family members came to visit. I did get out of my hospital gown on the third day and into my normal clothes. "Normal" meaning pajamas. Duh. See:

Yes I have a double chin and no makeup and I am sportin' the hospital gown --- get over it! lol

 

 

 

The little SwaddleMe swaddler is amazing. He sleeps in one every night!

Plus: look at those lips!

 

 

First time in his carseat headed home for the first time!

 

 

Burke is meeting the pups!

 

 

He's just so little!!!!

 

 

Hanging on the floor with the pups

 

 

 

Cutest.Yawn.EVER!

 

 

 

Little bitty boy in a big crib! Yes, he's been in his crib since day 1 and I wouldn't change it! I love that he's in his own room and own crib!

 

 

I love his little smiles!

 

 

I just love his little wrinkles on his head!

 

 

Headed to his one week doctors appointment! I was so happy to get out of the house! I wasn't cleared to drive for the first 2 weeks post-delivery so unless Brennan took us both out - I was inside the house! Since we didn't want Burke to get exposed too early to germs - we went to places like Taco Bell and ate in the car lol. It didn't matter though - I was just happy to get out!

 

 

Overall we had a pretty good first week at home. Brennan was amazing! He was able to take off work for a little over a week and stay home with me. Since I was in a lot of pain there was no way that I could have been home alone and done it all myself.

 

 

I PROMISE to post more often! Burke is doing so much and I will post his one month pictures and newborn pictures SOON! Promise! Stay tuned....

Burke's birth story

It's been 2 weeks and 1 day but I am finally getting around to posting the eventful day of Burke's birth for all the family and friends who live out of town! I tried to be as short as possible!




4:00am: woke up, showered, and was able to eat a light breakfast (last meal for quite a while)

5:30am: Brennan and I were checking in at the hospital and getting into the room

6:15am: pitocin was started! This is supposed to "trick" my body into beginning contractions. The nurse said I was having some small contractions on my own when I came in that morning. I was barely 1cm upon checkin.

After this, Brennan and I sat and watched tv, he watched movies on the ipad, I cat-napped a little while some family members trickled in and out.

My doctor came in that morning around 8:30 to check my progress. I was having contractions about every 4-5 minutes on a regular basis. Whoo hoo!

12:00: my doctor came back to check on me. My contractions were about every 2 minutes, but then I would go 6 or so minutes without any. So they upped the pitocin. I had made no progress.

3:30: the doctor comes back in. Still no progress. Contractions were close, but not regular. I, at this point, was in discomfort - but not pain. I was not on any medicines at this point to control pain. This couldn't be a good sign.
*Did I mention I was STARVING at this point? Water just wasn't doing it for me. But I didn't have an option.

At this point, we began to ask her "ok, what now...this clearly isn't working". She said she would give it 2 more hours and see. The pitocin was nearly doubled of what they normally put anyone on. If that didn't work -- we needed to talk about a c-section.

I lost it. I cried. I was so upset! I did NOT want a csection. I wanted to be able to have skin-to-skin with my baby boy as soon as he came out. Brennan and I wanted Brennan to be able to cut the umbilical cord. I wanted to be awake and aware of what was going on (but of course after an epidural). I was most upset because I knew that if we went that route - it would be at least 30 minutes before I would be able to feel and hold my baby boy. I was so upset.

Brennan and I talked with the nurse (who was absolutely amazing!) for a while so she could explain exactly what would happen.We wanted to be prepared. I also asked my doctor if she would ever be "off" and I would have another on call doctor deliver Burke. NO! She was amazing! She said she would not leave me - she would see this through. (even if it meant going home to just change if it would be a late night....who by the way had 3 kids at home sick with the flu)

5:15: my doctor comes back in. No progress. None. We asked her for her honest opinion. She told me we could wait it out, but we might be waiting until Wednesday. She recommended a csection. Brennan and I trusted her and said ok.

At this point, things are very blurry! They moved FAST! Within minutes Brennan was in this fancy get-up

 

 My amazing nurse was also now in her gear and my doctor was off to get her partner and scrub up. They put me in sterile clothes, pushed my parents out the door, and rolled us out. (Literally, this was happening in seconds). They pushed a few more bags of liquids into my IV (I think I had at least 6 bags of fluids...) By this time I was beyond tears. It was happening. There was not time to get upset. It was what it was. I had gotten my crying out between 3:30-5:15

No, not the best picture -- but I know later in life I will appreciate the picture and memory

They wheeled me back into the OR and made Brennan wait outside while they administered the epidural. It really wasn't as bad as I had  thought. However, there is NO way I could have done it without my nurse. She simply was my angel that day! While they gave me the epidural, I hugged her and squeezed her and buried my head into her chest. She was a lifesaver. But, I made it.

Instantly, I went numb. It was weird. I could not feel anything from my neck down. I could move my head from side to side but that was it. I saw my doctor walk in with her partner, followed by Brennan. I knew it was go time.

They then blocked my view with the big blue curtain and ran warm air over my neck. Which was good because I was shivering at this point! Luckily, my amazing husband bought me and put on my fuzzy socks and that helped!

 

 

 

5:56pm baby Burke was born! Yes, less than an hour from the time we decided to go with the c-section, our precious boy was here.

 

I felt a lot of pressure, tugging, and pulling and etc. But never pain. They talked our way through the process. I couldn't see anything of course. Brennan sat by my head and supported me and talked to me the whole time. I couldn't tell you how, because I was extremely drugged, but he was a pro. When they were ready to pull Burke out they let Brennan get the camera ready and snap away. We got some really amazing pictures of him joining the world. (I'll save those for privacy)

They let Brennan get up and walk over to where Burke was placed in a warming bed to get cleaned off, weighed, and measured.

 

 

 

 

They then handed our precious boy to Brennan to bond and walk him over to me. They then took Brennan's camera and started snapping away for us. Again, I can't even say how amazing the entire hospital staff was! They captured some really great photos for us in these moments.

 

 

I finally got to meet my little boy! I didn't even shed a tear. I was just so excited it was all over. He was here, he was safe, he was healthy, all was right with the world! What an amazing moment!

 

 

15 minutes later, I was all sewn up and they were cleaning up. I got rolled into a hospital bed, sat up, and was given my little angel. I still couldn't feel much (a little in my arms) but it was amazing to be able to hold him and kiss him and know he was here!



 

 

 

They wheeled me back to the room, washed up Burke with his first bath, and I began to get some feeling back! They allowed the family to come in and see us and see Burke. I REALLY don't remember much of this. My eyes were the heaviest they have ever been in my entire life. I couldn't barely keep them open. There was over 20 people there supporting us (so my mom says) but I don't remember. I think I was falling asleep with everyone in the room!

 

As soon as I was able to wiggle my toes, they moved us up to our permanent room. The family followed shortly there after. I was still hungry. It had been too long and too stressful of a day to not have food. I asked for dinner. Nope! Clear liquids diet only.  UGH! My dinner that night consisted of jello, gummy bears, and chicken broth. No joke. Thats really what they brought me. I was so tired I ate it and passed out. around 11pm.

 

 

 

 

 

I will share more about Burke's stay in the hospital at a later time. This post was long enough! :)

 



Happy birthday Burke!!

Monday, November 26 Burke arrived at 5:56pm. Weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 20 inches long!

He has the longest torso! I am not real sure where that came from. He had hair but not a ton which I love! He has the absolute best complexion. He's got light colored hair and eyelashes and eyebrows. My doctor thinks hell be blonde. Hmmm

I am up trying to soothe little man. Dad is trying to catch some sleep!

While I do not have the energy to post his entire birth story I will say we welcomed Burke in by csection. While not ideal, he's here!

Who can't love this???

Our last weekend as a family of 2...

Yes - tomorrow is the day. The day I have been waiting for ... for 9 months of course. Or more if you count wanting to be a mom. I pray for a safe delivery and healthy baby boy {and is it too much to ask for a pain-free and fast delivery?}. I CAN eat in the morning - WHOO HOO - but obviously not much. Oatmeal and toast for me. Hopefully it will tide me over so I don't die of starvation :)

Do you believe in fate? Destiny? Whatever you want to call it? Either way - we made this discovery last night. So - long story short, Brennan has a "lucky" shirt that he has worn for all 3 nephew births and niece's birth. It's been lucky of course because they were all safe deliveries with healthy babies. So naturally, the lucky shirt had to come down, get washed, and set out to wear on Burke's birth day. Ok, so going back to the day Brennan and I started to "talk" at tailgate and what began our dating -- HE WAS WEARING THE LUCKY SHIRT!!

This is the day {October 31, 2009} with the lucky shirt .... and a blackberry on his hip. He was so cool! :)

Yes, call me cheesey or retard or whatever --- I love that! I think it's so cool (for lack of a better word) that his lucky shirt he was wearing the day that began it all. It truly is our lucky shirt. You better believe that he will be wearing it in the morning!




Anyway, the "last" weekend we spent decorating for the holiday, getting lights up, Christmas presents wrapped, and the tree up and decorated. And a few other minor things to Burke's room.

Saturday night Brennan fried a turkey, my dad cooked mashed potatoes and gravy with green bean casserole (per Brennan's request).

If you have never had a fried turkey -- you need to! Brennan also made one for Thanksgiving with his family, but Saturday night's turkey was so much better. The rub and injection is a secret recipe!

We slept in Sunday and went to have brunch at Mason's.
Sidenote: if you are ever in Baton Rouge and want a REALLY good  breakfast - go to Masons. They have bottomless champagne for $3.95 and made to order blood mary's. Besides the ginormous chicken friend steak and eggs and fruit I ate this morning. I laid off the champagne and bloody's. Duh. It was a-mazing!

After Mason's we did a lot of nothing. Unless you could a good nap in on the count {thanks to our brunch}. My dad has been cooking most of the weekend too {and even cleaning} for us. Tonight we are having some leftover turkey, with some butternut squash soup and steamed veggies.

Lucky me - we have a maid coming Tuesday to come clean floor to ceiling. Yay! We will be welcomed home to a nice, spotless house. What a nice treat. Thanks to the hubs for letting me splurge! :) This preggo wasn't going to get down to clean baseboards. :)


Yes, tomorrow we will welcome our little boy into the world and I could not be more excited. I really am not nervous -- if anything, I'm nervous that I'm NOT nervous! Maybe I will be tomorrow when we get there. I hate needles, and IV's, and all things that hurt. But -- it will be worth it of course. But prayers for a safe delivery would be appreciated. When we get released, this is what Burke will be welcomed home to!

The wreath Haley made is hanging on his door

 

 

His changing table

 

 

The alligator hooks Brittany made. Love them!

 

 

 

 

Thanks to my sister in law, Brigitte, for the cute letters above the crib

 

 

 

 

 

While there is nothing overboard about Burke's room, I just love it. It's simple, adorable, and all his. Yes, he will be sleeping in his crib from Day 1 (day 1 we're home). Call me crazy - but I'm certain that's a routine I want to stick with. I'll let you know how that goes come next week.

 

 

Well - that's all folks! The party begins at 5:30am when we go to the hospital. They'll get me on the IV and drugs and all will be well with the world. Prayers are appreciated! Burke is already one very loved little boy! Updates with pictures to come as soon as I can manage. Off for our last dinner as a family of 2 and attempts to sleep tonight!

xoxo

 

 

Recipe-swap!

As we are only days away from induction *insert happy pregnant dance here* so I'm trying to plan ahead some meals and snacks to keep on hand because I know the first few weeks will be hectic while we get into this whole parenting thing. So - I'm asking for your recipes folks!

You know I love to cook (even though I haven't posted many amazing recipes of late) but I will be short on time and I'm assuming energy this time next week. I have been looking all over Pinterest trying to find some easy recipes with staple items I can stock up on this week.
**while I would love to keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand all the time - I will not be trekking to the store every other day for a while.

I will share what I have found for you to steal if you promise to direct me to some of your favorite quick and easy meals! :)


1. Chicken and Dumplings (crockpot style)
http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/03/crock-pot-chicken-dumplings-recipe/
I have had this, thanks to my sister Erica, and it was worth making again! I promise!


2. Oven Baked Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans 
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/index.html
This is a new recipe I have not tried -- but it looks easy and pretty yummy!


3. White Beans with Ham
http://www.plainchicken.com/2012/01/slow-cooker-ham-white-beans.html
My dad makes a REALLY good white beans and ham meal - but this looks similar I think. Besides, these freeze extremely well! Serve up with some cornbread ... you're crazy if this doesn't make your mouth water.


4. Soda Crockpot Chicken 
http://www.southernplate.com/2008/08/slow-cooker-coke-chicken-1-on-my-list.html



I am actually trying out a new recipe tonight for a spicy black bean soup. I'll be sure to post the recipe and some pics if its worth anything. :)


I am also stocking up on snacks to keep around - so feel free to pass along ideas that were helpful for you! I eat oatmeal pretty much daily for breakfast and will continue that but snacks I plan on getting:

• String cheese
• Yogurts
• Granola bars and fiber bars
• Fruit cups (it's a better alternative when I don't have fresh stuff on hand) 

So let me hear your recipes and snack ideas folks! Please?!?

Slowest week ever!

We are officially in the last week of "normal"! Our little boy will be here in LESS than a week from right now! Ok we'll I better have delivered him by 5pm...I have a feeling this week is going to be super slow as I am waiting for next Monday! At least I'm officially off work until January!

Next Monday we head the hospital to get induced and meet our son. That's so weird...our son.

We spent our weekend preparing for Burke and resting. A lot more resting than anything.

Friday night we hung out here at the house because the hubby had to work Saturday morning.

I was very lazy all day Saturday while the hubs was out. I laid on the couch and watched a movie. I figure my days of laying for a solid few hours at a time are limited. I did manage to keep the kitchen clean and laundry caught up though. I've been taking it easy to ensure my swelling isn't bad and my blood pressure is still healthy for this last week.
Remember: my blood pressure was a little higher than normal last appointment so I've tried to cut out most salty foods (do you know how hard that is?!?) and rest. I took my blood pressure at school every day last week and it was very normal. Maybe I just had one bad day.

Saturday night the hubby and I did a little more Christmas shopping (we're almost 100% done!) and then had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. We ended the evening with a stroll around Barnes and Noble to get Burke a few books for Christmas.

Sunday we slept in until 9am!! Then my amazing father in law came over and helped Brennan get the yard in winter shape since I'm not much help. They weeded the garden, mowed, edged and cleaned up the yard. I'm so happy my FIL is willing to come help - Brennan definitely enjoyed the extra hands.

We officially have all hospital bags packed for everyone and loaded into my car. It's just a waiting game now! We go back for our last appointment Wednesday morning and get to have an ultrasound too! I'm anxious to see him since it's been 18 weeks since our last ultrasound.

Continue to pray for a healthy baby boy! More updates to come. I'll have a post with his completed nursery later this week too so check back!

Set your calendar! November 26 it is!

Well the date is set! Burke-man will be here on Monday, November 26!

 

Yes, that is one week earlier than planned! But I'd much rather it be a week early than a week late. This little boy doesn't feel very little anymore! He is quite large and heavy and uncomfortable!

 

I had my 37 week appointment today and my blood pressure was a little higher than usual. It wasn't extremely high - but I have been a pretty stead 118/80 everyweek and this week was higher. Also, I've gained a lot of water weight and swelling the last few days has been pretty bad. So, I just have to make it through the rest of this week with work then we have off all next week for Thanksgiving. I will definitely be taking it easy the next few weeks as we prepare for our little guy. I can't wait to spend some more quality time with daddy-to-be with just the two of us.

 

Last Friday night we had a special date night at Ruffino's. Ruffino's is a super delicious restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner - so it's a special place for us! We had a nice dinner, amazing food, and quality date time. By far the BEST thing there is their crabmeat cheesecake appetizer! If you have been there -- you know what I mean....

 

Then Brennan had TWO ginormous pork chops with shrimp

 

And I had redfish with crab meat and the most delicious sauce ever!

 

What a wonderful date night to celebrate the last few weeks of just the two of us *insert Will Smith song here*

 

The rest of the weekend we slept a LOT (we did skip church to sleep in -- but I figure God will forgive us since we are limited on our sleeping in very soon), did a lot of Christmas shopping, and hung out together. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Brennan continues to amaze me on how supportive and loving he is. He has done so much to help me relax and get ready - he's amazing. It's very clear to see he will be the best daddy ever!

 

At the very least we DO have Burke's bags packed, in the car, and the carseat installed in my car. Brennan and my stuff is laid out - and will be getting into the suitcase in the next 48 hours! Overall, we are ready - I just didn't expect to have the date set yet!

 

Continue with the prayers for a safe and healthy Burke and delivery (I'd appreciate that)!