Brynlee Jean

She is finally here! Brynlee Jean was born on October 15th, 2009 at 6:12am. She weighed in at a hefty 5 lb. 11 oz. (which really is great, since she was 4 weeks early).






The story: I started having the low burning contractions a week earlier and since I hadn't wanted to switch doctors with only a month and a half left the hospital I was supposed to deliver at was an hour away. We called our friends (the bishop and his wife, really one of the only people we knew) in our new ward and took the kids over. I was worried that since we had an hour drive and this was my forth baby, I didn't want to wait too long. We made the hour drive and my contractions didn't change. I was in the hospital for 45 minutes before they sent me home. Towards the end of the visit I asked Scott if the contraction I was having was showing up on the monitor and he said it wasn't. I told the nurse that my last contraction hadn't showed up on the monitor and she just shrugged it off and said I wasn't dilating any more (I was only at a one) so even if they were real, it would still be a while.

I was so frustrated as we drove home and wondered if what I was feeling was really 'real labor.' I spent the next week in misery. Almost precisely at noon my contractions would start and last until I went to bed. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life! But I kept waiting for the contractions to get to the point where I couldn't walk or talk through them. Then on the 14th I was doing my daily walk around my house hoping to get things started (more), when much to my disbelief my water broke. Thankfully I was in our tiled kitchen, but most of it was absorbed into my clothes. I just stood there, dumbfounded not quite believing what had just happened. The contractions weren't any stronger than they had been a week ago, but there was no questioning what had just happened. I had never had my water break outside of the hospital, although it did break on its own when I was dilated to a six with Caden. I called Scott who was still at work and told him what had happened. He left immediately. Of course it was the worst traffic Scott had ever seen and it took him an hour to get home. In that time I was able to get the kids to the bishop's house and get my bags packed (again) and was waiting outside for Scott when he drove up. We decided since my water had broke and that was usually when things started going really fast and traffic was insane that we would just drive to a closer hospital.

It was scary at the hospital because I was a Vbac (Vaginal Birth After C-section) and they didn't know if the doctor on call would be one that was okay with Vbac's. Fortunately it was my second Vbac and the doctor on call was young and not only okay, but agreed to give me pitcoin if things slowed down, which was unheard of a couple years ago. The two nurses I had were fabulous as well, I'm sure it was divine intervention that led me to that hospital.

Unfortunately I was still only at a one, I couldn't believe it. I wanted to cry. They got me situated in my room, IVed and checked me again a few hours later. Although the contractions still weren't any stronger and were coming between two and six minutes apart I had dilated to a four. I immediately asked for the epidural and only an hour later was sitting nice and numb. Usually this is when my body relaxes and I start to get going. This was around midnight. Of course, since nothing had happened like my previous pregnancies, I did the worst thing possible and stopped progressing. They started me on pit. and we started to our long wait.

At around 4 am my nurse came in with this peanut shaped birthing ball style thing. She helped me turn on my side and put my top leg over it to help open my pelvis and let Brynlee's head come down to put more pressure on my cervix. It was really strange. Because my one leg was higher than my heart, the epidural wasn't being as effective on that side, so I started feeling some of the burning pain in my lower abdomin. After an hour and a half I was turned over and the other leg put on top. The pain switched sides, and was kind of funny even though it was painful. After 45 minutes on that side I felt a sudden urge to push and thought I better call my nurse. She came in and I jokingly told her she was only allowed to tell me I was complete. She looked up at me and said very seriously, "whatever you do, don't push." Umm, yeah, when you're in full blown labor that is easier said than done. The room was chaos for a few minutes while everything was set up and Dr. Benion came rushing in. I pushed three times and she was out.

She didn't cry and I was really nervous about her, but they put her on my tummy to clean her off for a few seconds and then took her to the warming table. She had swallowed a lot of fluid on her 'roller coaster ride' out of me and the nurses were doing everything in their power to get her to cry. She refused. They took her to the nursery and Scott came back later saying she had recieved a shot and had blood drawn and hadn't cried yet. Her blood sugar was a little low, and she was cooms positive (has to do with our blood types being different, and means she was much more likely to get really jaundiced), but only spent a couple hours in the regular new born nursery before she was able to join me in my room. We were told immediately that we would have to supplement with formula to push the bilirubin through her system. I was worried about nursing but she still latched on after she had a bottle and this gave me some hope.

We left Friday afternoon (she was born Thursday morning) with instruction to have blood work done to check her bilirubin and we also found out she was slightly toungue tied, but not enough to cause concern. The boys stayed with my in-laws through the weekend. On Sunday they got to meet their sister for the first time. Because of the H1N1 virus children under 13 were not allowed in any patient areas. Some hospitals in the area have even prohibited children from the hospitals at all.

Anyway, she is just over two weeks old, and despite my trying was not able to breast feed. I pumped for a while until she started showing some of the same BM issues both Caden and Ethan had. We have switched her to a special formula and so far is doing okay with that, although still really gassy. At least she's pooping on her own still! Other than she sleeps all the time! She has decided that arms are much more comfortable, so we are trying to break her of that, but she is sooo cuddly.

My mom got to come out for a week and it was SOOOO nice to have her here. I am still not sure what I will do with three kids on my own when Scott goes back to work on Monday. I am not looking forward to it. I'm sure I will survive, though, because that's what us Mom's have to do, right? Try to survive.

Bryn and Uncle Taylor.

Brynlee and Grandma Nelson.

Grandma Neville and Brynlee.

My sweet kids.

I love this picture.

Thanks for the outfit Jaime!!!

Great Grandma Rice and Brynlee.

A four generation pic... sort of.

Brynlee, Cade and his cheesy smile. I love it!

Not Another Update!

I couldn't call this an update because I already have too many of those. So, here is what has been going on since my last update. Scott got an opportunity to transfer through USAA to Phoenix, AZ to help expand their mortgage department. It also came with a nice promotion to manager and raise. Scott and I, unlike many people, never felt connected to TX. He grew up in the Phoenix area, in Chandler, and I consider myself a California girl, or at least west coast so we jumped at the opportunity. We knew it would be difficult to sell our home in San Antonio, but had the option of living with Scott's parents and siblings while we waited. Unfortunately it was an hour and half drive for Scott from his parents in Queen Creek to north Phoenix. But we didn't have to pay rent and the kids got A LOT of time to spend getting to know their grandparents.



It wasn't easy living in a 2000sq ft home with theree bedrooms and two and a hlaf baths with six adults and two kids, but we survived, and all relationships are still intact. While we were there, Gary, my father-in-law taught me how to fish, which I actually love, despit still not having caught a thing. Everyone was so helpful with the kids which was good because there was a lot of stuff they couldn't get into. Taylor, Scott's youngest brother, proposed and married a fabulous girl, Patricia. Ashley was pretty busy as she works crazy hours, and we didn't see much of her at all. I got to be part of a writing group that was fabulous and Nathan started preschool.

Taylor and Patricia

The hardest part was being pregnant and sick. I didn't do much but sit on the couch and spend time in the bathroom. It was very stressful on me, living with my inlaws, so it wasn't too surprising that I ended up in the hopital at 28 weeks with preterm labor. But they have this new test called a fetal fibronectin test that checks for a protein that is released when your cervix starts to thin. If it comes back negative there is a 99% chance that you won't have a baby in the next to weeks. I was negative every time but they still wanted me to take it easy becuase of that 1%.


Finally at the beginning of August we sold our home. It had been three months since we moved, and we were anxious to get into a home closer to Scott's work before the baby came. On September 25th we moved into our house in Sun City, AZ (yes, that's the city with all the old people, but we live in a very family friendly neighborhood). Barely three weeks later, and four weeks early I had Brynlee Jean (see next post).

So, this is actually the house next door to ours, but it is exactly the same as ours.

This is our front entry and the boys 'race way.'

This is our huge living room.

My beautiful kitchen!

Master bath.

Kids upstairs bath.

Huge laundry room!

Amazing loft!

So here we are in our new home, three kids and over twice the space we had in San Antonio. It is a great time to buy here if you can! Our home is 3207sq.ft., so please feel free to come and visit, we have plenty of room. Oh, and my sweet mom bought us a really nice queen sized guest bed (she wanted to be comfortable), that she said other guests are welcome to use when she is not here. We have four bedrooms, two and half baths, a great room down stairs, as well as a small sitting area right as you come in the front door (it is currently the toy room). Upstairs is 34' by 18' loft, and every bedroom has a walk in closet. The masters is downstairs, which I am actually loving and I finally have my separate shower and tub. Okay, I really am not trying to brag, I am just still in awe that we got such a fabulous deal. It is too much house for us right now, but we never want to move! This is where we hope to raise our kids and kick them out of the house. After that we might down size, but we'll see. So, if you are ever in the area, look us up!

Update

Well, it has been three months, I think it is about time for an update.
We started off January with lots of house guests. The first was my good friend Laurie Lough who used to live here. Her and the kids came down while Jeremy (Dad) had a rotation for his ENT residency away from home. Miles is five and a half and was a huge help in healing my heart after Ethan died. He was about 11 months old and was 'my little boy' for about a year until Nathan was born. Lily and Nathan wew born 27 days apart, and man is she a doll! These were taken on January 13, 2009.


Next are just some pictures of the boys hangin' out before bedtime. Jan. 20, 2009


We got the privilege of helping out our friends the Ben and Alisha Loveridge as they prepared to move. They used our house as a base of operations, and ended up staying the night their last night in town. Now they have moved on to bigger and better things in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And I can't wait to come for a visit!!! Jan. 24, 2009


At different intervals throughout the day this is what you will see at our house. Two boys sitting at the window watching cars go by. Seriously, this is one of their favorite past times. It is so funny. Feb. 16, 2009



So, I do have a good excuse for not being on top of my blog. This semester I have started back at college. I am just taking two classes, Psychology and British Literature I. I am really enjoying it. My Mom watches the boys for me. Thanks again Mom!!! Feb. 26, 2009

Here is Dad and the boys rough housing. I don't always like to watch. But Scott hasn't seriously injured them yet, knock on wood, and they love it. Mar. 1, 2009

Cade is saying, "Rawr!"

These next picture were taken of our bedtime routine. We line up the boys to change diapers and put on pull ups. They aren't always very cooperative. I can't believe how big Nathan is getting. He is such a kid now, his baby fat is all gone :( . Mar. 2, 2009





This is a picture of all of the preschool kids together. They have so much fun together now. Mar. 3, 2003

From left to right is: Haden Burstedt, Parker Clawson, Hannah Sears, Rebeccah Burr, Alex Spencer, and Nathan Nelson.

So, just a quick update, we have been so sick. I am going to try and give a list of all the things we have had the last month. Nathan had strep throat, a bacterial ear infection, and pink eye. Caden had a virus (probably just a cold, but I thought he might have been getting strep, but of course not, it had to be something completely different), he had a low grade fever for six days. Then a week later (no fever) we found he had a double ear infection. He also has had pink eye.
Now, let me describe a little incedent that happened on Feb. 20, 2009. Caden was in the midst of his low grade fever when he got mad at me for not giving him my cup of water. All my kids do this no breathing cry when they get hurt or are really upset. He proceeded to do this, but after I thought he should have started breathing again, I realized something was wrong. He looked at me terrified with his mouth wide open, head back, like he was in the midst of his crying, but couldn't take a breath. I thought he was having an allergic reaction and his throat was closing up. I started screaming at him to breath and his eyes rolled back into his head and he went blue. I had him in my arms and ran to the kitchen to get a phone when he started having what I thought was a siezure. His back was arched, I couldn't move him and his arms and hands were taut and curled into his body. I had been sitting next to a friend when her son had had a still siezure from hitting his head. It looked just like he had. Caden still wasn't breathing as I called 911 and I checked for a pulse, which he had, and laid him down on the floor. I put my hand on his chest and stomach to feel for breathing and there was none. I gave him a rescue breath and then had to tell the operator what was going on. After I gave her my address Caden started breathing again in short shallow gasps. I smacked his cheek and he opened his eyes, but just laid there. After a couple of minutes he started crying and it was one of the best sounds I have ever heard. The paramedics came and checked him out. His fever was 100.3, but they thought it was still probably a febrial siezure. About an hour later he was playing fine, still pale, but acting normal.
I took him to his pediatrician on monday and she said it sounded like a breath holding episode, but just to be safe we were sending him to a pediatric neurologist. I was really upset, no one seemed to believe me.
At the neurologists office they did an EEG, but nothing showed up on it. Then I spoke to the Neurologist. He had me describe exactly what happened in great detail. Then he said, "What you just described is a text book example of a breath holding episode." I was upset again, but he told me to just let him explain what a breath holding episode is.
A breath holding episode does not mean the child is holding their breath. 27% of children do some sort of breath holding when they cry. 4.6% have severe breath holding spells where they lose consciousness and sometimes exhibit siezure like activity. Children have no control over this, and it is believed to be genetic. Breath holding episodes are as controlable as a siezure is to someone with epilepsy. Breath holding episodes do not hurt the child, even the severe ones. If they start happening very often there are medications, but they have only a 50-50 chance of helping. Once a child has had one severe one he is more likely to have another. The neurologist just told me to be prepared for more. Most children out grow this by age three and at the latest age eight. There are different studies that are looking at the benefit of giving a rescue breath to a child who is having a severe episode.
So basically the Doc said this didn't hurt Caden, it will happen again, count to 20 and if he still isn't breathing call 911 and give him rescue breaths, but don't hurt him by doing so. I was so relieved to have an answer, but I am so scared of it happening again. I kept saying, "Oh my gosh, he looks just like Ethan." It was a horrible event, and one I am still trying to find meaning in. But at least Caden is okay.
Five days after that happened, Nathan woke up from a nap with blood coming out of his ear. He said it didn't hurt and he hadn't complained about his ear at all. I took him in to see the pediatrian. She couldn't see anything because of the amount of blood and wax. She took a sample and sent him home on antibiotics and ear drops that I had to administer twice a day along with the the eye drops for the kids pink eye, three times a day. They got the results back that it was a bacterial ear infection resistant to the antibiotics he was on. So we switched and have not seen any blood since, thank goodness.
Scott got pink eye as well, but thankfully nothing more serious than that. I think after all of my scares, my immune system was down, and I ended up with Laryngitis this week. I couldn't talk more than a whisper on Wednesday, and since Thursday have a really bad smoker/pubesent boys voice. On top of that I am coughing like crazy.
Anyway, we have been busy, but hope things will get better as we get into the warmer months. We'll see. Wish us luck!!!