Prepare yourself. It's been a while since I've caught up on all of this. I will just copy and paste what I have written on other sites and try to update this more often. :)
10-14-08
Time fly's by...........
My baby is 1 month old tomorrow. :( I don't want him to grow up.
We had his well child visit today.
He now weighs 8lb 9oz and is 20.5 in long. Omg...he's getting big. I hate it. 
He is still doing well and such a great baby.
10-08-08
Things have been great. I could not have asked for a better little man. He is just amazing. He has been staying awake longer during the days. He still just eats and sleeps at night. I am so blessed he knows his nights from days. He is a spoiled little man, though. He gets to sleep w/ mommy and daddy every night. He doesn't like the bassinett too well. But he loves his bouncy seat with the music and lights and the vibrations. So tonight I think we'll try the vibrator on his bassinett and see if it helps him sleep better. If not, oh well he'll just have to snuggle w/ mommy again 
He has been such a great little shopper too. No fussing (unless he's pooped or hungry). I am just so tired these days. Every night, right around this time (7pm) I get extremely sleepy and often take a nap. Then I wake up to tuck in the kids and go right back to bed, after I make sure Brandon is taken care of.
Tony is a big help these days. He has been helping a little more w/ the ebay stuff. He does the packaging which is a huge help to me. Plus it's the part I hate the most. I still shop, print postage and go to the post office. But what he's doing is so much more helpful.
We go next tuesday for his 1 month check. Holy cow...my little man will be a month already. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want him to grow up. I want him to be this age FOREVER!!!
Well here are a few updated pictures....
This is him 3 weeks and 2 days old...........
His kissy face..........
What you talking about Willis face............
B and Auntie Jenn............
09-22-08
Today was Brandons 1 week check up! I can't believe it's been a week already. Holy crap how time flies by.
Well he's back to his original birth weight 6lb 13oz. He grew 1/2 in.....he's 19 in now. geesh 1/2 in in only a week. wow. His circumcision is healing perfectly. He is doing so awesome now!! I am so much more happy and so is he since we started bottle feeding.
I don't cry nearly as much anymore. I was so frustrated in the beginning and things are now getting back to normal. Dh is such a big help. He watched Brandon today while I went to TH to pick up Carmen and do the ebay shopping. Such a relief.
Brandon is eating about every 3-4 hrs. I set my alarm for 3 hrs at night and if he isn't awake i set it for one more hour. I don't let him sleep past 4 hrs. He is drinking 2-3 oz now per feeding. Basically about 2.5oz. He leaves a little. I don't force feed him or try to convince him to finish the bottle. I just let him tell me when he's done. He's finally adjusted to the formula and I haven't been getting surprise diapers every diaper now.
On my way out of the Dr office I weighed myself. I was mortified when I was in the hospital and weighed myself and saw i had only lost 5 lbs. But today when I weighed myself I lost 15lbs. Yay Only 9 more to go until I'm back to my regular weight!!! 
So that is the update for now.Here are pix I took yesterday 6 day's old.
09-21-08
Sleep is a virtue.
Another reason I love Tony so much is when he see's I am stressed he is always there to support me and help me.
We found out that I am no longer able to breast feed. I am not producing enough milk. I tried pumping when Brandon wouldn't eat the other night and didn't even get out a teaspoon. I think that is one of the most devistating things I have gone through thus far. I cried and cried for hours. Just thinking that the last 4 days I had basically starved my child. It is one of the most horrible feelings I have ever felt. After a real good cry and Tony crying right along with me we accepted the idea that I will have to bottle feed. It's really no one's fault.
What teenager thinks about breastfeeding when getting a breast reduction? I was 15 when I had my breast reduction. Never had that been discussed or the thought crossed my mind. And even if it were discussed, at that age you don't really realize the benefits of breast feeding. I am guessing that not enough of my milk ducts were aligned properly therefore causing me not to be able to express enough milk for the baby.
Things have been wonderful, however, since Brandon has been on the bottle. Except for the explosive diapers almost ever time he eats, he is so much happier and content now. He sleeps very well and there is no more fighting w/ him about latching on and off the breast. Last night I actually got almost a full night's sleep. Also last night was the first night he's slept in his bassinet. I last fed him before going to bed at 11. When he woke up not too much later, Tony came in the room and asked if I wanted him to take him. Of course I didn't turn that offer down. I have been awake w/ him the last 5 nights. Since Tony is transitioning to night shift he was going to be awake all night anyway. So, every time Brandon woke up last night Tony fed him, changed him, burped him and so on. I got 8 hours of sleep last night (Except for the fact I am such a light sleeper and every time Brandon made a noise I was tuned in.)
I am so happy how things are going now. Life seems to be getting back to normal again. Tomorrow I start doing everything on my own again. Taking Carmen back and forth to Preschool, taking the kids to their activities...ect., ect. With still healing from my surgery and all I am limited on what I can do. I can't lift over 10 lbs, it sometimes gets uncomfortable when I am up walking for a while, my back still hurts from the epidural and so on.
BRANDON IS HERE!!! B'S BIRTH STORY
It was about 3:30pm when I first started noticing contractions. But since I get Braxton hicks all the time, I thought nothing of it. Carmen's bowling party was just ending. Jenny and I were fighting over money. LOL She was trying to give me money for something and I would not accept it. We were going back and forth until she gave it to Carmen. Well at that point how do I take money from a 5 year old at her birthday party. So I gave in. I told her (Jenny) she was making me have contractions Jokingly. We finally got done cleaning up from the bday party and headed home. All the way home the contractions didn't stop. I still paid no mind to them, again, as I thought they were just BH contractions.
We got home and I was wiped out. Plus I really can't carry anything inside so I went straight to the couch to lay down. After laying there for a while, I realized the contractions were coming about every 4-5 minutes apart. I still thought I was over playing the situation so I layed there for quite some time. Finally when they didn't go away 2 hours later, I called my doctor. He told me to lay down (duh, been doing that now for 2 hours) and to drink water and see if they subside. Nope, they did not. We waited for about 45 minutes before finally deciding to head to the hospital. I really really thought I was jumping the gun.
We took the kids over to Mari's house (a very close friend of mine) and dropped them and headed to the hospital. I was in no hurry to get there cause I thought they were just going to send me home.
We got to the hospital and walked up to the nurse's desk and told them why I was there. Instead of putting me in an observation room like they did the last time I was there, they put me directly into a labor and delivery room. I thought it was strange, again because I just knew I was going to be sent home. The nurse gave me the gown and everything to put on. I was so out of it I was forgetting which undergarments I needed to take off. I even asked if I had to take off my shirt and bra because I was cold. She said if I wanted an epidural, yes. I still hadn't even thought that far ahead…….EPIDURAL….. I won't need one of those tonight.
She checked my cervix to see if I was dilated. When I had my appointment earlier that week I was at 1cm dilated and not effaced. So when she checked me that night I was surprised to hear her say I was 50% effaced and 3cm dilated. Really?? I thought asked. So she placed a call into the doctor and we waited. I had to wait about an hour before I was rechecked. She told me if I had not made any progress by then , they would send me home. So an hour went by and I was rechecked. No progress was made. She called my doctor and he was uncomfortable letting me go home. I was instructed to walk for an hour and return to be checked again.
So, off to walk. Tony and I walked outside. It was beautiful and so nice to be kidless and hold hands again with my husband and not stressed. We talked and enjoyed each other's company. Other than the fact I looked like an escaped hospital convict walking the streets of Terre Haute at night and having contractions, it was kind of like a nice little date. We really enjoyed it. We went back to L&D to get rechecked about 30 minutes later. I was totally shocked when she (the nurse) told us I was now 75% effaced and 4cm dilated. WOO HOO!!!! I was one happy camper. I knew then that it was only a matter of time. Since I was making progress they decided to keep me. I asked if I could walk some more instead of getting the IV right away. So we walked around more, walked up the hospital stairs…..did everything we could by walking to bring on the labor!! Next time she checked me I was at 5cm. That is when it all became so real!
About 3:30 was when the nurse convinced me to get my Epidural. I was still trying to hold off. I wasn't in that much pain yet. Then I remembered that Dr B said I would probably go fast since all my other deliveries went fast. I didn't want to miss the mark to get my epi so I decided what the hay……I'll go ahead and get it. I hate getting ANY kind of needle in my back so I had a whole lot of anxiety. When she stuck my back it sent a jolt down my leg. That has never happened before. I was not a happy camper for about 5 minutes until the felling went away. Once that went away off to get some sleep. Or so I thought. Tony slept, but I couldn't. I had so much anticipation. The nurse checked me through out the night. Once I got my epidural all my contractions stopped. What the heck?? Normally with my other pregnancies that sped along my labor process. The doctor came in at 7am and broke my water then started pitocin. About that time Ashley showed up. Yay, I had someone to talk to since tony was still groggy and trying to sleep on and off.
Every time they tried to turn me on my left side the babies heart rate dropped. So I spent the whole time on my right side. Jenny finally showed up after much convincing and crying between us both. She almost couldn't come because she was feeling under the weather. Then I finally asked the nurse if it would be ok if she sat in the far corner with a face mask on. YAY!! She said yes. So I called Jenny and made her come!!! I am so glad I had my wonderful friends and my husband with me.
Finally when I was 7.5cm dilated I called Mari and had her bring the kids to the hospital. Yep, it was almost time. I knew that it would only be a matter of about an hour before Brandon would be here. So Tony, Mari, the kids, Jenny, and Ashley were all there. We were ready. I finally got to 10cm along and it was time. The nurse suggested I do a trial push. Well that trial push lead straight to pushing. Although I had an Epidural, for some reason I could still feel EVERYTHING coming down the birth canal and out of me. It was basically like giving birth without contractions. I remember someone say stop pushing the doctor needs to get his gloves on. I told them I couldn't stop I had to keep pushing. The doctor was barely able to get ready to catch the baby.
Out he came…..what a relief. I never noticed he wasn't crying. All babies cry at birth unless something is wrong, right? That is what I thought. It wasn't until the pediatric nurses were telling Dr B how many breaths in 1 minute and said something about calling the NICU did I realize he wasn't crying. I looked over and saw his lifeless like body laying there looking like he was having convultions. Immediately I started crying my heart out. I felt so helpless. I wanted to comfort him and was unable to. They let me give him a quick kiss and they took him off to the NICU. I was then told he came out with the cord wrapped around his neck. I had pushed him out so fast they were unable to correct the problem until he was out. He also had a bruise across the top of his head from pushing him out and his lungs were filled with fluid.
Once everything in the deliver room was settled down I requested to be wheeled to NICU to see Brandon. Tony went right away to see him. I told him to go and report back to me. I knew he would tell me things the doctors and nurses wouldn't. So they wheeled me over and he still was breathing so heavily and not crying. I bawled just at the sight. We were not allowed to hold him. We could only talk to him and touch him. The nurse gave him a bath in hopes to make him cry to get the fluid cleared out of his lungs. His stats were all still very low at that point. She bathed him and we watched. Nothing. No crying, stats were still low. I hated seeing him this way but pulled myself together and held his hand, stroked his little feet, kissed his elbow (I'm so short that was all I could reach) and we both talked to him. All of a sudden his stats went up!! Pulse ox 98-100 heart rate climbed, bp was great. I was in awe of what just happened. Just by us talking with him, stroking him and loving him he was alright. I thought it was just premature and the stats would go back down, but they did not. They continued to climb and be normal. After about 10 minutes of seeing his vital signs remain steady we decided to leave and go back to the room and take a much needed nap. I knew that once I left him the way he was he'd be okay.
We got back to the room and both cuddled on my hospital bed and slept. Boy that was sooo needed. 20hrs of no sleep and being in labor is for the birds. Very tiring. About 2 hours later they released Brandon from the NICU and brought him to our room. We got to hold him basically for the first time and love all over him. It was such a precious moment. We decided that since we were kidless we'd enjoy dinner to ourselves before calling Mari and having mass chaos in the room with the kids.
Once we were done eating I called and Mari brought DJ and Carmen to the hospital to meet their brother for the first time. They were swiftly removed from the delivery room during all the chaos of Brandon being in distressed. Good Job Mari for making the command decision to leave the room with the kids. That was the last thing I wanted them to see and have to worry about. Once in the room they got to hold their baby brother for the first time. Oh such big smiles on their faces!!!
We had such wonderful visitors during our stay. My friends here truly are the best one could ever have. I love them all!! So that is it. That is our birth story. I hope you enjoyed and hope it wasn't too much for you to read.
09-12-08
I just got back from the Dr. i feel like such an ass cause I bawled my eyes out before leaving there. I can't breathe. It sucks. The past 2 days (today and last night has been way worse) I just can't get good breaths in. He gave me an rx and sent me home. When I knew he wasn't going to admit me I broke down. I just can't take this pregnancy anymore. And please don't tell me to enjoy it cause it's my last..............this is my 4th and I have enjoyed every moment of it....up until now. IT'S TIME FOR AN EVICTION NOTICE!!!09-10-08
I got back from my appt about an hour ago, but decided to lay down for a little bit first before updating everyone.
So, he normally doesn't check at 36 weeks. I was told he normally checks at 39 weeks. But this is my 4th and he said after your 3rd they normally go really quick and sometimes early so that is why he's checking me. I had a pretty quick labor for all of my kids from what he says so he thinks this one will be fairly quick also. Not to mention he thinks this one will be smaller than my last (who was 1lb shy of 9lbs.)
So I am at -3 for station. He seemed really surprised at how low Brandon is sitting right now. I am dialated 1cm, however my cervix has not thinned any
:thumbdown: I told him how painful it is starting to get to walk and he mentioned talking about inducing at my next appointment (Next Tuesday). I REALLY really hope so cause I am just miserable right now. The backs of my legs hurt....it hurts when I walk cause I think he may just pop on out.....and when I have to go potty it feels like a pinching feeling when I walk. I'll be 37 weeks this week and he said we may be able to induce at 38 weeks. How exciting would that be? :yahoo:
I am keeping my fingers crossed that my cervix softens up between now and my next appointment. I also plan on mentioning to him how much crap they're giving dh at work because I am due while someone is on vacation. WTH??? Oh frickin well!!! But dh doesn't need that stress either. He doesn't want to be faced with retaliation or anything at work and I completely understand. So I will bring that up to my doctor also. I mean......really the baby is ready....he's all done baking. It's just a waiting game now.
Anyone have ANY tips on getting your cervix to soften up? I have no clue if it's even possible but I'll try anything at this point08-28-08
Update:
Well I went to my 34 1/2 wk appt today. they did the group b swab and the rest of the normal monthly stuff. Next appt is on the 9th of Sept and I'll be going weekly from there on out. That means it's getting closer. So far I've gained a total of 27lbs and most of it being within the last month Crap....he can come out already. I really didn't want to gain over 30. Looks like that won't be happening. Darn!!! Brandon's head is all in position ready to go. He just needs to start coming on out.
If he does not come by the 4th of Oct, Dr B is gonna induce me on the 7th or 8th. I already talked to him about it. Can you tell I want him out yet?? 
So that is my update for now. 
7-17-08
I've ran out of PATIENCE!!!
THAT'S IT!!!! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!!!
This time I'm just venting.
I am uncomfortable, HOT AS HELL, crabby and most of all have started to run out of patience w/ my kids!!!
UUUggghhhhh......
Seems as though everyone wants to debate or back talk when I say something. I've totally had it. I have absolutely no energy anymore and just can't handle it.
Not to mention this stinkin heat makes it all the more miserable for me. This week, I have been in Th EVERYDAY!! I am beginning to HATE TH.
I hate driving and having to get in and out of the car, going from comfy to miserable in a matter of seconds when I have to go inside a store to shop. I didn't even finish my shopping today. I had no energy left and decided I am going home. I will worry about it later this evening when it's cooler. I am soooo tired it's not funny.
did I say 250 day's until happiness???? i meant 250 days left of miserableness.
He has accomplished the art of smiling while NOT asleep. I love it. But this just confirms he is already growing so quickly. 
