My baby Brinley is 12 1/2 pounds...not a baby anymore! She is so fun and I swear even just through a nap, like 3 hours, she will be a whole new person when she wakes up. She is a wonderful baby and is staying awake more and more, at the good times too.
Now, a month later, she isn't growing as much every moment, but more fun! She loves to talk and sing!
I promise I would be posting more about Brinley and her ever growing moments, I have pictures to prove it, but our internet hardly works...when it does, I post.
6:55 am... thought I was peeing my pants... actually my water broke, it only took me 40 min. to figure it out. Duke had an interview for an internship and I was not ready to have a baby on December 4, although it was my prediction. If it weren't for Bill and Debbie, I wouldn't have been out of the house by 10:30.
On the way to the hospital, Debbie came along. We named her our "Shadow" which she gratefully accepted. We passed McDonalds, and I knew I wouldn't be getting any more food, so I wanted to stop for an ice-cream cone. After we pulled into the drive-thru and ordered my vanilla cone, we were informed the ice-cream machine could be broken. Shadow said, "God is watching over you Nicole, you don't want to be puking that up." Two seconds later, we were informed that I would be getting my $1 value vanilla cone, and I exclaimed "God is watching out for me!"
Then I asked "does the Shadow want anything?" as Duke drove off. She replied "I guess not." and I said "I guess the Lord is watching out for you too." it was so funny!
Now for the seriousness...
After checking in, and getting situated in the room, I was dialated to a 3, and was still enjoying myself. Then came the patossin... slowly and surely those contractions came. When I was at a 7.5 I went to the bathroom and decided it was time to get an epidural, so I could relax and enjoy a game of rummy. It was a good thing I did, because I was dialated to a 10 an hour later. It was 5:00 and time to push. As it turns out, I'm not made to have babies the right way, and after 2 hours of pushing, was wheeled to the operating room.
Back to the pushing, after 45 minutes, Duke looked at me and said "she hasn't moved for a while" I was determined that she was coming out. The doctor was also determined and so we tried a few different things, one of which was the vacuum. He told me we'd try it through 6 contractions. After 4, my mother-in-law (Shadow) said "nothing is happening", and in came a bunch of nurses, and I was shipped off to the OR. It was kind of emotional, especially because I could feel the contractions that I couldn't push through, and the anethsesiologist was taking his dang time (15 minutes to be exact) and it hurt. Duke thought both me and the Brinley were both going to die, thinking it was an emergency C-section. So he was emotional which then made his mother emotional. The rest was a breeze, even the recovery (especially since its been a month).
Now it's Duke's turn to the rest of the story since I was a wee bit loopy...
This Thanksgiving was spent in the mountains. Duke, myself, and my in-laws went to their cabin for a few days. It was a very relaxing Thanksgiving, which was very much needed.
Wednesday night, Duke and I signed on our house. On the way back home to pack , Duke started to have chest pains. We were about 10 minutes from home and his arm went numb. It kinda freaked us out, so the next hospital we passed, we pulled into the ER. The good news is, it was a quick clinic and they were able to get us in right away. He had an EKG and all turned out fine. The doctor just laughed and said "the top two reasons for stress/anxiety are buying a house and having a baby", and they were both our first.
My in-laws weren't expecting that night at the cabin, especially because it was so late. We scared them to death. They thought we were fellow woodsback men with guns ready to blow thier heads off. haha
Alright, time to catch up on the missed blogs. This last month has brought a lot of craziness, from moving into our new house, having a baby and finishing up the semester.
Before the baby, Duke and I went to a series of birthing classes (missing the last one), which turned out to be fun and educational. The best night was learning all the different comfy positions and learning how to breathe. This night Duke decided to put on the empathy belly, which didn't last long. He definitely had empathy. There is a harness which is strapped on tight around your lungs, making it feel like there is a baby in your lung and then tight down on your bladder. Then they add weights and more items under the harness that makes it even more uncomfortable. Duke really acted pregnant and once he sat down needed to go to the bathroom. It was pretty funny and he looked pretty miserable.
We also were able to move in slowly the week that Brinley came, putting up the crib and getting the kitchen mostly moved in. On Saturday Duke was able to move in the big stuff while I was in the hospital.
Wow, time has flown! I'm getting down to the last month and a half. The rest of this month will consist of school, work, and moving! The next month will be finals and baby...hopefully it falls in that order. At the beginning of December, Duke will have his last interview with Cooper and Norman, an accounting firm, and hopefully get the internship he's wanted for next spring. Life never stops hoppin'!
12 weeks
