Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we headed over to Morris Hill Cemetery here in Boise. It is a huge old cemetery and we enjoy checking out all the headstones.

Don't look at the dork in front, but the awesome cemetery in the background. I love old cemeteries with raised headstones. So cool. (the mosoleum, if that's what its called, in the background is for someone who received the medal of honor in 1908)

Ivy leans on a headstone (we told the kids not to step on them, she decided sitting and leaning was okay).

The boys are admiring some headstones with pictures

Grandma was impressed by how good the pictures look because they are from around 1915

Grandma and the boys

Dex, Corbin, and Ives looking through the military headstones.

Our first family photo, too bad you can't see Echo. She's hiding in the sling. The last name on this headstone was Jensen (Scott's grandparent's last name), we couldn't find a Brunson one.

Grandma and kids (minus Echo)

It feels like I'm on Vacation....Almost!

I have been a mother of four for 10 days now. Its not so bad......I have had lots of help. Maxine and Regin (or if you are Dexter, Regin and the other Regin) were simply angels in our house. They did all the cleaning while they were here, played with the kids non-stop, took them to school with me, even babysat while I took Echo to the doctor. It was so wonderful having them here. I wish I could keep them. Seriously. I want them to move in. Sorry I cried when you left guys. I'm a teensy bit hormonal. Plus I love you both. You understand right? I miss you like crazy.

The night before I blubbered at the front door as Max and Regin successfully escaped the chaos, Marde came into town. She is a whirlwind of fun and joy for our kids. They all adore her and couldn't wait to get started on all of her "projects". We've had fun going to Costco and eating free samples, to the Mall and riding the escalator, to the park to swing, and right now she has Scott and the boys at Walmart, and I'm sure she'll find a way to make that exciting as well. She lets me nap, she loves holding the baby and changing her diaper, and she loves putting the boys to bed (even if she has to lock one of them in the closet for a few minutes while he throws the mother of all tantrums). She's a great help too. I wish I could keep her as well. I'm sure I'll cry when she leaves too. Because I just had a baby and that's what I do.

In other news, Echo is doing great. She's a champion nurser and wants to eat all the time. I can barely keep up with her. If it weren't for all this nursing, I really would feel like I am on vacation. There is a silver lining though. I already lost all the weight I gained during the pregnancy, plus 5 extra pounds. Awesome. Also, I feel great most of the time, like I didn't even have a baby. I just get tired, and a headache seems to pop up at some point everyday. Not a big one, but still very annoying.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who prayed for us when things got scary at the end, and thanks to everyone who brought us meals and stuff. You guys are awesome. And of course, a big thank you to Russell, Collette, Maxine, Regin, and Marde for stepping up to do lots of babysitting and helping out. And last but not least, thanks to Mark and Ross for lending us your women!!

And now, because what would my blog post be without pictures, here are some pictures!!

Aunt Max holds her new niece. Sorry I didn't get pics of Regin, I only got video of her. What was I thinking.

Ivy is now OBSESSED with her new baby sister. She showers her with kisses, and loves when she is awake and looking toward her.

Corbin also likes to hold her now. He can even keep her calm sometimes.

Daddy takes a shot at nursing! Just kidding, he's just keeping Echo out of the sun.

Napping with Daddy. It is impossible for him to stay awake when a sleeping baby is nearby.

She looks like she's waving. Really she was scrunching up to scream for some food.

I swear we didn't pose her! She fell asleep like that, all by herself. She looks like a doll!

Echo LOVED her warm bath. Not a single tear shed. Don't worry, we were careful not to get her gross little belly button wet. Ps..yes, its herniated, just like the boys. Must be hereditary.

Oh man, isn't she precious?!

A Winner and A Birth Story

So the person who guessed the date correctly, oddly enough, was Scott (the baby is his prize), and the closest on the weight (since no one guessed right on) was my sister, Maxine with 6 lbs 10 oz. Congrats Max, I'll figure out some sort of spiffy prize.

Anyway, here is the story you've all been waiting for:

I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday the 18th at 7am because the doctor was concerned about the baby's health. Tuesday night Scott and I took the kids to Russell and Collette's house so they could babysit for us until my sister arrived from SLC. After we had dropped them off we ate dinner, and went home. We had just laid down in bed at midnight and were talking when I felt a gush. I wasn't sure it was my water and tried to sleep. An hour later I felt another gush, but I was still unconvinced. I gave up on sleeping then and went through some last minute preparations for the hospital, and watched some tv. As the hours went on I felt more and more gushes and finally became convinced that my water had indeed broken. It was already getting so close to the time we were supposed to check in at the hospital, and I wasn't having any contractions, so we decided to just wait it out.

We showed up at 7, told the receptionist lady about the water, and she scolded me for not having come in earlier. I got feisty with her, and we were finally shown a room and set up with pitocin. The doctor showed up at 8 to break my water, and I informed her that it was already broken. She didn't believe me and attempted to re-break the bag. It didn't work. She said she'd come back in a half hour and try again. Scott and I laughed because she thought I was crazy.

Contractions got hard and crazy very fast, but I worked through them. Probably around eleven I had to use the restroom, so I stood up to walk over and of course, lots of water gushed to the floor, and the nurse finally realized that my water really was broken. As I came out of the bathroom I was shaking uncontrollably, and the nurse told me I was going through transition. She called my doc telling her she'd better come soon, as another doc checked my progress and declared that I was dilated to a 7, it was a painful exam and I started to cry. Just then I heard my doc ask the nurse over the phone about my water, to which she replied, "yes, it appears it is broken afterall." Scott and I looked at each other and just laughed, even though I was struggling a little bit.

My doctor showed up a short time later, and she and the resident doctor said I could push, so I did, only to be told to stop because there was still a small rim of cervix in the way. I had to wait an excruciating 10 minutes or so for the rim to go away. It was hard, I was trying not to lose it. Finally they said it was gone and I could push, and it hurt. I screamed. A LOT. I panicked over the amount of pain. The only way to lose the pain, was to push the baby out. So I did. She popped out at 11:58, the pain stopped and so did the screaming. The doctors proclaimed with joy, "its a girl!" and laid her on my chest. I didn't have a tear or need an episiotomy, and instantly felt better.

Scott said, "No way, I can't believe it!" a few times and looked so happy. I was happy too. Happy it was over, and happy to have another baby girl. The baby was beautiful and perfect and weighed in at 6 lbs 9 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. We named her Echo, because it is an uncommon name that we both loved, and gave her the middle name of Marita because it is a combination of our mom's names (Marde + Dawnita = Marita).

She is very happy and easy-going, but constantly rooting for milk. I feel like I nursed her non-stop in the hospital. We were able to check out of the hospital thursday afternoon, and went home to our sweet kids who welcomed baby Echo with open arms. Ivy is suffering through only minor bouts of jealousy. My milk came in at lightning speed, and I am struggling with the pain that comes with it.

I am so happy to have this sweet, content little baby home with us, and that she came out completely healthy despite the threat of the ICP. That, by the way, is supposed to clear up for me in the next few weeks. So yes, I'm still itchy, but not for much longer.

Thank you everyone for all the prayers and positive thoughts, we couldn't have done it without you! Here are a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.

Scott loves his new baby!

I love this picture

In the carseat, ready to go

Dexter is the only one of the kids really interested in holding the baby. He's so sweet with her.

You can't really see it in the picture very well, but I had little purple broken capillaries all over my face from the pushing. That had never happened before. Weird.

Its a boy!!

Just kidding, its a girl! Fooled ya! Echo Marita Brunson entered the world this morning at 11:58, and made us the proud parents of two boys and two girls. We couldn't be happier! I don't know who won the guessing game, and I'm not in the mood to write out the birth story yet, but be on the lookout in the next couple of days. In the meantime, let these adorable pictures keep you happy til then.

In Response to a Question

Scott's cousin Heather left a comment asking why I am "anti-inducing", so to clarify, I'm posting this because it is just too much for a comment.

I am not anti-induction. I think it can be a good thing for many women. A lot of times a baby or mom may have a medical condition requiring an induction to have a safe outcome for both people involved in the delivery, and I am fine with that. Also, a lot of mom's like choosing their child's birthday, or choosing induction because they have other children and it is definitely more convenient to plan for a babysitter when you know exactly when that baby will be born. I can absolutely relate to that, and I don't judge anyone who makes that decision.

With my first child I feel like I was tricked into induction by my doctor. I was young and inexperienced and when he asked me if I'd like to have a baby the next day I thought, "yeah, I'd love to not be pregnant anymore." I didn't find out until later that he had another motive in mind. The pitocin led to painful contractions that led to being pressured into getting the epidural (which did not go well). All in all, it was a pretty horrible experience that I vowed to never go through again.

With pregnancy number two I did my research and prepared myself to have a natural delivery. My doctor (the same doctor that tricked me. Why I didn't switch, I don't know), tried to pressure me into the epidural and induction at nearly every appointment. I still refused. Finally, on March 27th he forced me into planning an induction on the baby's due date (which was the 30th). I was not happy, and secretly hoped I would go into labor on my own before. Luckily for me I went into labor that very night, and was able to labor at home for a while before heading to the hospital. I had a very fast labor and was ready to push less than two hours after arriving at the hospital, and no one had called the doctor yet (since it was the middle of the night). He took 30 minutes to arrive (all the while I had to HOLD THE BABY IN). He barely made it in time to catch the baby after I pushed just twice. I tore. Bad. The doctor stitched me up (without any local anesthetic) and chastised me for not having the epidural, saying I wouldn't be twitching from the stitches if I had (we actual have the majority of this conversation on video in the background, it makes me so mad to this day).

This is turning into a long story. Sorry. The med-free delivery was easy and fast, and I felt great even though it was 2:30 in the morning. So after doing this delivery on my terms despite a pushy doctor who wanted things convenient for him rather than me, I decided I wouldn't agree to an induction ever again. We moved to Idaho, I got pregnant and got a new doctor and was ready to do things my way without any pressure. Then we found out about the heart condition and suddenly I didn't have an option. I still did a natural delivery free of an epidural or any other pain medication, but I had to have pitocin. The pitocin was not pleasant. I have had natural contractions, and pitocen induced contractions and I much prefer the former. Pitocin makes them harder and faster. When you don't have medicine for pain, it makes a difference.

Anyway, to make this long story a little less long, I'll sum up by saying that I am disappointed. I will still have the natural delivery that I want, but I don't get to labor at home before being stuck in a hospital bed dealing with overly painful contractions and being tethered to an IV and not being able to do all the things that help relieve some of the pain. I hope that answers your question Heather. I'm sorry if I offended you or anyone else out there that prefer an induced labor, it is not my intention. I just prefer things to be more natural.

Wouldn't ya know it!

I don't know why I plan things! Things never go according to plan.

I went to the doctor today for a non-stress test and regular appointment. While the non-stress test went fine, the doctor is concerned about the color of my urine, which is brown (delightful eh?). It too is a symptom of ICP, but since I didn't have it until a few days ago, she is concerned my bile salt deposits are going up. She's worried about the stillbirth factor and wants to play it safe, so she moved my induction up one day to wednesday the 18th, which is when I will be exactly 39 weeks. She didn't think it was a good idea to wait a second longer.

Also, I lost 3 lbs and I'm now dilated to 3 centimeters, so she thinks labor is on its way soon anyway. She stripped my membranes in hopes of encouraging it to start on its own. I was all for it since if I go into labor on my own, the need for the pitocin will no longer be there, unless, ya know, something else doesn't go according to plan (but we're not going to jinx it by talking about it). So anyway, a new baby is on its way VERY soon. Wish us luck! And please pray for a healthy baby!

You know you're nine months pregnant when...

~Random people at the grocery store think its okay to touch your giant belly and say, "You must be due any day." or "Look at your perfectly round belly, that means its a boy!" (I seriously got both at Target today, one from a customer one from the checker).

~You find yourself wandering the aforementioned grocery store in search of small snacks you can hide from nurses while in the labor/delivery unit of the hospital.

~You answer someone who is speaking on the phone and then realize you were just listening to a voicemail.

~Whenever people you know, who see you day after day say, "You're still pregnant!"

~You are afraid to make plans because you might be in labor that day.

~Your neighbors spy you waddling/walking around the neighborhood (with three bored and tired kids in tow) every evening.

We Brunsons' Are A Special Bunch

Everyone is special, but the Brunson family appears extra special these days. Want to know why?

1) Every year only 1000 babies in the US are born with HLHS. For 2008 Ivy was one of them. Bummer.

2) Of those 1000 babies only a small percentage are born with other birth defects. Ivy is one of those babies too. Double bummer.

3)In pregnant women there is only a 1 percent chance that they will develop ICP (see previous post). Today I found out that I am part of that 1 percent. Triple bummer (at least poor Ivy isn't involved in this one!)

Isn't being special grand?!

My induction is now planned for thursday the 19th. Sorry to all those who guessed days after that for the birth, but for all of you who guessed before there is still a chance the baby could come on its own earlier. Do you know who guessed the 19th? Nobody!! I guess no one anticipated this change in events eh!!

Waiting for Test Results, and Things I'm Looking Forward To:

Remember how I'm always complaining about my pregnancy itchiness? Well, several weeks ago, it stopped. I was so happy to be rid of that awful symptom. Little did I know that it would return, and the trouble it would cause.

It came back a few days ago, and apparently has a score to settle because it is not showing me mercy. The itching is everywhere, and itchier than it has ever been. Have you ever been itchy on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet? If not, let me tell you, it is unpleasant. That is where it is the worst. It takes forever to fall asleep at night, because night is when it is at its peak. Even if I do manage to fall asleep eventually, I still know it isn't over because of the two to three times I get up to use the restroom now. I can't stop scratching long enough to fall asleep. I try to practice self control and ignore it, but it is impossible. Even as I type right now, all I can think about is the itching on my left foot and how it is driving me mad.

Anyway, I spoke with the doctor about this very annoying new development, and instead of her normal, "it isn't a big deal" calming words, she looked concerned. She told me about a condition called Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy. You can learn more about it here.

In basic terms it is a liver problem that causes bile salts to deposit in the skin making it itchy. It can be pretty dangerous, causing things like preterm labor, fetal distress, hemorrhaging in mom and baby and even stillbirth. Scary stuff. I had my blood drawn to test the amount of bile salts and should have the results by next Monday. If they come back as elevated it means I'll have to be induced. Bummer. Not what I wanted to do. So I'm trying some tricks to jump start labor on its own, so I don't have to get pitocin next week. Here's to hoping it'll work.

In the meantime, in no particular order, here is a list of the things I'm looking forward to once the baby is out of my uterus!

1) Sleeping on my stomach.

2) Having some quality alone with the hubs without being uncomfortable (wink, wink).

3) Drinking water without it giving me heartburn.

4) Not having to pee every 5 seconds.

5) Holding and nursing my sweet new baby.

6) Walking up the stairs without feeling winded.

7) Not being so darn itchy!

Baby time!

So guess what?! I'm already dilated 2 1/2 centimeters and 50% effaced. The doc doesn't think I'll make it to my due date. I'm just hoping I make it to when Max is coming!! Ps Max, are you still going to come even if I have the baby before you get here? Because I'd still love to see you!! Anyway, time for everyone to guess baby stuff! Here are my guesses, please leave a comment or email me to guess:

Date: May 21 (I can be hopeful to make it that long, right? plus its my bro's birthday).

Gender: Girl (I have to say girl even though I feel like its a boy, I just want it to be a girl).

Weight: 7 lbs 0 oz

Length: 19 inches

time: 7:30 am

Good luck to you all!

Braggin' Wagon Wednesday

I think I'm going to take a break from braggin' wagon wednesdays for a while. I'm sick of doing them. I might bring them back some time in the future. We'll see.

In the meantime, I'm thirty seven weeks pregnant, my due date is May 25th and I think its the perfect time to guess when the baby will be born and all the stuff that goes with it. I have a doctors appointment on thursday, and I'll gross you out with all the gooey details of dilation and effacement so everyone can guess a more accurate date. I wanted to give you the next day to think about it and then I will have everyone leave their guesses. There might just be a prize for whoever gets closest on all categories.

Here's what you will be guessing on: Birth date, gender, weight, length, and time of birth.

Also here are the details of my previous babies so you have something to base it off of.

Corbin: Born three days before due date (but was induced) at 11:31 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 19 inches long.

Dexter: Born three days before due date (came all on his own!) at 2:36 am. He weighed 6 lbs 4 1/2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Ivy: Born eight days before due date (also induced) at 2:13 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 18 inches long.

Start thinking. I'll ask for your guesses sometime on thursday!