The Fun has Arrived!

Brayden Weston Brown was born December 9, 2009 at 11:11pm. He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and measured 21 inches long. He truly is a bundle of joy and the best Christmas present we could ask for. We brought him home last night about 8:30 and are still trying to get the night/day times straight with him. Maybe our next Christmas present will be a little more sleep at night :) But, lack of sleep is a small sacrifice for the wonderful blessing that has been given to us.

WARNING: the rest of this post is long and detailed (not inappropriate), so if you get bored easily, skip to the pictures at the end.

Here's the birth story (well, what you'd want to know). Preston and I had a doctors appointment on the 9th at 3:30 for our usual weekly check-up. We both went straight from work and met there expecting the usual "everything looks normal, see ya next week" routine. However, it turns out my bloodpressure had skyrocketed (140/100 if that means anything). I don't really know much about normal blood pressure, but I've always been normal when I went in. They thought it might be toximia because I've been swollen for the last few weeks too, but I didn't have protein in my urine and I wasn't seeing spots. The midwife came to check me and my belly was measuring right and little Brayden's heartbeat sounded good. She checked my dialation and I was at a 2+ and was soft, so she told us she was going to send us down to labor and delivery where they could do a couple other tests and possibly decide to induce me. She told me that unfortunately, it probably was toximia or something similar that wouldn't go away until the baby was out and since he was full-term he wasn't in any danger of coming now, but I would be in danger going around with high blood pressure. So, down to labor and delivery we went. Needless to say, they decided it was safest to just keep me there and induce me. I had a feeling that the baby was coming this week, but no idea it would be through induction. My body seemed to be preparing anyway and he would have made an appearance soon, but now we got him a little early :)

It all felt kinda sureal for them to say they would induce because that meant I was having my baby ... ready or not. The midwife in labor and delivery told me that it would probably be at least 24 hours before the baby was born and she would be surprised if I had him before 7:00pm the next night. She was getting off her shift right away, so another midwife was the one who came just as they started my pitocin around 6:30 or 7:00 pm. The nurse, Kim, and the midwife, Angel, were both so great! They really made the difference in my experience. I sent Preston home to get our stuff and install the carseat so it was ready to go, assuming that it would be a while until anything really happened. It wasn't 2 hours later that my contractions had started to get pretty painful and intense, so I started timing them. I told Preston that I was having contractions every 5 minutes that lasted 60 seconds ... pretty sure that's active labor. I didn't every say anything to the nurse about them being painful because that's my way of coping ... just pretend like it doesn't hurt and it won't. Plus, I figured she had the contractions monitored and I didn't want to sound wimpy ... as far as I knew, I still had 22 hours left to go, so I wasn't about to complain now. When Preston and my mom got there I told them that I wanted to ask about the epidural, but I wasn't sure if I should wait a little longer since I had so much time left. They both thought that I should ask about it since I was in pain. So, when the nurse came in I asked about maybe getting an epidural soon and she looked surprised, but said that was fine. She told me she'd have the midwife come check my dialation first so we new my progression. Angel came in and said I was at a 4 already, which was pretty good. She said that from here, the average would be 1 cm per hour, so approx. 6 hours would be normal. That would mean my little man would be born at 4 am December 10th. They brought the anesthesiologist in and I got my epidural just before Preston's dad was able to come and help Preston give me a blessing. He didn't stick around long, but we told him to tell Preston's mom that I was progressing fast and he'd be born in about 6 hours. He headed off and Angel came back to check me again and maybe break my water to speed things up. During the blessing that I got, my water actually partially broke itself, so with each contraction some would get pushed out. I told Angel, so she checked me and said that she'd just break the rest of it so that it would all come out. Then she measured me. In 30 minutes I had dialated to an 8. Yes, 4 cm in 30 minutes ... not too shabby. My legs were starting to go numb, but I could still feel all the contractions with at least a little pain. After the water broke, the pain was almost back to how it was without the epidural, so I was grateful to have at least a little help in feeling less pain. Luckily for me, I didn't have to endure the most intense contractions for long because I was moving so quickly. Kim started to pull out the delivery table after I was at 8cm and by the time she had it out, Angel told me that I was to a 10 and 100% effacement, so pretty much I was ready to start pushing. About the time she said that, I could feel my contractions start pushing for me, so I knew he was coming quick. Angel got her robe and gloves on and I started pushing. I pushed for 8 minutes and then he was out. It all happened so fast I still didn't know why there was a little baby sitting on my tummy and it certainly hadn't hit me that he was mine, but there was something in me that knew I was now a mother. My son was here and he was beautiful. I had been induced a mere 4-4 1/2 hours earlier and now my son was in my arms. It was hard to believe. But, now I know a new talent that I've been hiding ... making babies :) It's like I was made to have children or something ... easy pregnancy and easy labor. I have been so blessed and I know my little boy is a special spirit. He has a great life ahead of him and I can't wait to see who he becomes!

When they took Brayden to get wieghed and measured, Preston was with them across the room, so I asked him who he looked like. His response was a bit surprising ... he said he looked like a duck. What? haha. But, he does get duck lips because he sucks his lower lip into his mouth so much. Since we didn't have a name, we called him Duckie for a little while until we picked a name. So, now what you've all been waiting for. Meet Duckie:

final pregnancy shot.

our little boy in his burrito wrap (as we call it)

Preston, Brayden & Grandma Brown

Our family & Angel, the midwife who helped us become complete!

A somewhat creepy picture of me, but adorable picture of Brayden in all his cuteness!

When they first pulled him out and set him on my belly.

Father & Son

The little man all purple and sad from his trip through the birth canal

Our family

Proud Mommy

Cutest boy ever!


Getting dressed in his clothes for the first time ... they're HUGE!

all wrapped up for the cold outdoors


all our hospital bands

great picture ... it just screams "Now What?" to me :)

Sadie loves the baby. She wants to kiss him all day long. She stayed up with us all night and followed me around everywhere I took little Brayden. Sometimes I had to close her out so she wouldn't be in the way during feeding, etc. But, she's been very sweet!

Brayden is a wonderful baby. He didn't cry when he came out until they sucked stuff out of his nose and mouth, but then stopped. He still doesn't cry too often, just fusses until we figure out what he needs. He's figuring life out pretty quick and we're getting good at breastfeeding. So, life is great and we're loving our new little addition!