We are so blessed!

After writing our last post, I got curious and starting clicking 'Next Blog' at the top of our blog page. And with each blog I explored, I felt more and more blessed. Truly blessed. Not lucky. Not fortunate. Blessed. He is watching out for us, and the majority of the time, we don't realize or acknowledge Him.

The first blog was about a family who lost their baby at 37 weeks. Do you know what happens when a baby dies in the womb at 37 weeks? You go through childbirth. Either vaginally or via Cesarean. Just as if you were having a baby and nothing was wrong. Except the whole time, you know that you'll be leaving the hospital without a baby. Sutton spent two extra days in the NICU after I was released. That shouldn't even COMPARE to leaving the hospital knowing you'll never take your baby home, but as awkward as I felt being wheeled out of the hospital, bags, flowers, balloons, swollen uterus and no baby in my arms, I know that, to me, it is unimaginable to think about the grief and awkwardness of leaving in the same manner as a woman who just had a baby, who is carrying him or her in her arms, empty-handed and empty-hearted.

The second blog was about tying a bedsheet over a toddlers crib as he has outgrown it and had been climbing out of it for a couple of weeks. That was a good laugh. Once the family bought him a toddler bed, they shut him in the bedroom (not in a mean way, as I typed that, I realized it sounded bad) and he fell asleep up against the door with his little fingers reached out from under the door. Good Heavens! As Sutton has never really slept anywhere but his pack and play (or at least not with us) I hope that's not us in a couple of years! I'd cave in an instant! But not sooner than Rusty! He's the softie.

The third blog was about how a 6 1/2 month old baby wouldn't sleep more than 2 hours in her crib. Sutton sleeps from 7-8pm to around 7am. That's around 12 hours a night. No feedings, no interruptions, no fussing. Just sleeping.

The funny thing is, I COULD HANDLE A 'DIFFICULT' BABY! I'm my best under pressure. The higher the pressure, the more calm and take-charge I am. Seriously, we are COASTING with Sutton. Debbie (Rusty's mom) says that he was the BEST baby and once he hit the toddler age, he was a stinker, but soooo lovable. 'Naked Roll!' anyone? (Inside joke.)

It just astounds me how easy we have it with Sutton. He inspires more prayers of thankfulness than I've ever offered in my life.

Diaper Explosion!

Well, it finally happened. Sutton pooped and it made a big ol' mess. I was kinda wanting to start bragging on the fact that this hadn't happened to us yet, but I guess that's out now!
We were just finishing up dinner and Sutton was in his bouncy seat right by the table (within easy reach in case I needed to pop a binky back in his mouth and/or start bouncing him with my foot) when he started getting fussy. I thought he was just bored looking at the underside of the table so I started giving him a little bounce every now and then. Rusty finished eating first, so we went over to Sutton, bent down to pick him up.... and ran halfway across the kitchen, holding his hands up in the air, saying, "I can't deal with that! I'm going to throw up right now! I can't do it!" I think he mentioned something about having to go in the garage; I'm not sure. It was pretty dramatic.
I thought it was just a stinky diaper. Sutton is only an every-3-day-pooper, so it tends to be a bit smelly. At the exact moment I bent down to pick Sutton up, Rusty starts hollering again about how it's "everywhere! All over his legs! It's all on his bouncer." etc. So I take a peek....

And I crack up. I don't know why it's so funny! I start asking Sutton, in a baby voice, of course, "Do you have poopies everywhere? Are there poopies all over you?" which makes Sutton smile and coo and just give me this coy little look. Which makes me crack up even MORE!

We finally got him cleaned up, bathed and his bouncy seat in the washer. Clean baby, clean bouncy seat, a pile of wash cloths, towels and one smelly onesie in the washer, we concluded our latest stinky adventure!

11 weeks old and growing so much!

I promise I'm doing a much better of job of taking pictures than this blog would suggest. It's been almost two months since my last post. I'm going to justify that by saying that I would rather spend precious moments with Sutton than blog.

This past weekend, we got a visit from Rusty's parents, Grammy and Grampy. It had been TOO long since they got to hold and cuddle with Sutton. We had a great time visiting, eating and playing with Sutton.

Sunday morning, my dad, Pedro, drove in for the day. He hadn't seen Sutton in about a month and needed both a baby fix and a break from the busy life at the Coop and ranch. He didn't stay long, but he got some good snuggles and talks in with Sutton. I just love watching them together. I don't know if it's the glasses or the moustache, but Sutton just cracks up everytime he sees his Pedro!

Today Sutton is 11 weeks old and is just the most fun, outgoing baby! He smiles and 'talks' and is right on the verge of laughing and rolling over.

Two weeks ago, Rusty and I spent our first night away from Sutton. We stayed with our friends Ryan and Kristen at the JW Marriott here in San Antonio. My mom and sister, Sutton's KK and Tia Brooke, came to stay with Sutton. Here is a view from our room at the resort. Gorgeous! While we were getting ready for dinner, we were able to watch a beautiful, small, intimate wedding ceremony held right outside our window!

Sutton

One day shy of three weeks old.

The 'Story of Sutton'

As I type, there is a precious, beautiful angel sleeping on the couch next to me. Sutton Don Brown was born at 11:51am on Tuesday May 4th, 2010. He weighed 7 lbs 15.8oz and measured 20 1/2 inches. This is his story:
After a very relaxing weekend, I awoke (on our couch, where I was 'camped' to accommodate my massive preggo self) around 1:30am on Monday May 3rd. I wasn't sure what woke me up at first and then I realized that I was having a very strong contraction. "Just another Braxton-Hicks" I told myself and got up to go to the bathroom.

After laying back down for a few more minutes, my discomfort eased and I drifted back to sleep. Only to be awoken by another contraction. I figured I had been asleep at least an hour, so I checked the clock and, to my surprise, I'd only been asleep about 10 minutes. "Hm." I thought. "Let's see what's happening here." I got out my cell and timed that contraction and how long it took for another to come on. Almost exactly 10 minutes! I was in labor! And tired! And I couldn't go back to sleep because I was too excited!

There was no telling how long this was going to take and Rusty needed his rest, so I quietly paced the house, timing my contractions for about an hour. Rusty finally woke up and asked what I was doing. "Timing my contractions" I told him. I thought he went back to sleep when I told him to, but he later told me he was just playing 'possum and  didn't go back to sleep at all.

When it was time for both of us to get up to go to work, we decided I wouldn't be going in after all and that Rusty should go in at least until I talked to my Dr and see what he wanted me to do. My contractions were still about 10 minutes apart and were not painful, just uncomfortable. After speaking to my Dr, we decided I should head into his office that morning just to see how things were going. Rusty came home from work and we headed to Methodist Plaza with delusions of grandeur. We were CONVINCED we would just head across the street to Methodist Hospital after the appt. Nope. While I was fully effaced, I was only dilated to a 3 and we were instructed to go home until either my water broke or my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart. We would have a baby either that day or the next!

We both called our families and let them know that the ball was rolling on Sutton's arrival. After lots of back and forth, my Mom headed in to town from Houston. Rusty and I headed home to time contractions and wait. I won't bore you with minute details of that day. Here are the highlights: a trip to Academy for tennis shoes, a stop at Sonic for a Super Sonic cheeseburger (I had convinced myself that I shouldn't eat if I was in labor, but then I caved. I caved BIG: cheeseburger, strawberry limeade and tator tots BIG!) and, once my Mom arrived, several walks up and down our street.

Finally, my contractions picked up in speed and strength. About 8:30, we all loaded up and headed to the hospital. And here's where it gets fun!

By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were very uncomfortable and about 3-3 1/2 minutes apart. I had pre-registered online, so after a few questions, Rusty and I received our wrist bracelets and I was taken to triage for observation. And boy, was I observed. I was still only dilated to a 3, so I was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and was told that I would be checked for progress later. About an hour went by and I asked to be disconnected from all the whosits, whatsits and gadgets so I could walk around. Since only one person was allowed in triage with me, Rusty and my Mom took turns coming back to keep me company. By about 10:30 I was NOT a happy pregnant camper. My contractions were about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes apart (mind you, I was still in triage and had no pain medicine) and they were STRONG. If I had any thoughts about a 'natural, med-free birth' at any given time, those thoughts were long gone! It helped so much to have Rusty watch my monitors and let me know not only when a contraction was coming, but when it was at it's strongest and when it was on the decline.

At 11:30, I had dilated to 4 1/2 and it was decided that I could be admitted. I asked the triage nurse what would have been our indicator to come back to the hospital if I hadn't made progress and was sent home and her response was that I was in too much pain and my contractions were too close together for me to have been sent home. Um. Then WHY was I left to labor in triage for 3 freakin' hours!?!?!?!? I will spare you my opinion of triage nurses at Methodist Hospital and of whomever 'Dr Stone,' the on-call OBGYN was that night. As I was wheeled away to be admitted and shown to my L&D room, one of the triage nurses called out, "You can have your epidural at any time now!" If I hadn't had a massive IV stuck in my wrist, I would have raised my arm and shot her the finger as I rolled down the hall.

As I got settled in the L&D room, my water broke on it's own. Thankfully, the anesthesiologist followed me into my L&D room, and I was set up with my epidural. Forget Ambrosia, epidurals are the nectar of the gods! My only issue that night was that I felt so guilty for being in a great big, comfortable hospital bed while Rusty and my Mom were crunched up on the two chairs in the room, trying to sleep. Sometime in the night, Rusty's parents arrived, having drove in from San Angelo because they couldn't stand to wait until morning. Debbie is an angel and a stronger woman than I would have been for staying up all night in the waiting area at the hospital.

Happy after my epidural.

By 7:30 Tuesday morning, I was pretty much stalled out at about 7cm. A pitocin drip was started and in no time at all, I was ready to push! My LD nurse, Mandy (I want to refer to her as God-sent angel from Heaven above, but will use Mandy because it's shorter to type) had me go through a set of trial pushes and (I'm proud to say) I did so well, she called Dr Kittrell right away and told him to come on over and deliver my baby!

Mandy and Rusty

Excited to start pushing!

I pushed for about an hour and I remember every second of it. I love delivery. I love labor as long as I have an epidural, but I really loved delivery. I will never forget every single word of encouragement from Rusty and from my mother. I will forever remember every feeling, emotion, sight and sound. I remember asking if I could push one more time and Dr Kittrell telling me to look down. And I watched my son being born.

Our emotional introduction.

Sutton has my eyes and dark hair and his father's everything else. He's a wiggle-worm and the most amazing thing I have ever done or seen. He is medicine to my soul, the light of my life and a long-awaited for miracle. And that was his story. Well, the beginning of his story!

My last two weeks of pregnancy! (Post-Sutton's arrival!)

It's hard to remember life without my sweet baby boy, but I wanted to update everyone on how my last two weeks of pregnancy went before I told the 'Story of Sutton.'

Looking at my last post, I sounded pretty miserable. Luckily, not long after that post, I found relief from my rash! After visiting the Dr and trying a prescription strength 2.5% hydrocortisone cream (which didn't work AT ALL. Just made me greasy and sticky and itchy) I googled the rash and saw that many people were trying all natural Pine Tar Soap. HOLY MOLY did that work! I had to shower with it several times a day, but after the third day of using it, my rash was completely GONE! The soap can be used on rashes, insect bites, eczema and psoriasis, so if you or anyone you know have the itchies, please try this stuff because it WORKS! OK, enough plugging my miracle-cure!

Me at 37 weeks pregnant.

One thing I do remember from the last week or so of being pregnant is that I spent so much time on the couch that my feet were no longer swollen and my back didn't hurt anymore. I found sleeping on our couch to be much more comfortable than sleeping on our bed, so I pretty much camped out in the living room for the last few weeks. Rusty was sweet enough to 'camp' with me on our other couch! As long as I had pillows between my knees, one behind my back and one tucked under my tummy, I was perfectly comfortable! Until I had to get up to use the bathroom, of course!

I also couldn't stand that we were having such gorgeous weather and I couldn't go to the beach, lake or even fishing. I went out and bought myself a kiddie pool and float and spent an entire Sunday on our back deck, just a-floatin'. Fabulous. Sheer bliss. I even got a tan!

39 Weeks Pregnant. The day before labor started.

As of the last Friday of April, I was still working and planned for my last day to be Tuesday, May 4th. Sutton, however, had other plans...

Re-Thinking Our Blog Title

So pregnancy isn't all joys and wondrous moments. I'm not having a fun last few weeks. As many of y'all know, I've developed a horrible condition called PUPPP that occurs in less than 1 in 300 women during pregnancy. It consists of a horribly itchy, painful rash. And I'm not suffering from a mild case, either. You can Google it because I'm not going into details. It will suffice to say that many women are induced early when they develop this condition due to lack of sleep and (in my opinion) for their mental sanity.
I'm still working at this point, but it's getting harder and harder to make myself get up and go in the morning. I just can't see the point of sitting at home, being miserable and eating into my leave time when I could be sitting at work, being miserable, knowing that I will have at least one more day with Sutton when he gets here. So I'm hanging in there! I don't have a last day set in stone, it's all going to depend on how my weekly appointments go. And whether my clothes still fit from day to day. I'm down to about 3 outfits that still fit that I rotate during the week!
The one fun thing I still have is looking around at all the things we have ready for Sutton. If he came right now (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!) we would be 100% ready in terms of baby 'stuff.' His nursery is all set up, we have his pack & play ready in our room, toys, swings and goodies all over the place. Not to mention some of the cutest baby clothes I've ever seen! Between Staci and Ashley and all the adorable outfits he received from our baby showers, he has quite the wardrobe! At least an hour of every day is occupied thinking what he's going to wear to our friends, Jesse and Clint's, wedding in mid-June. I go back and forth all the time!
Speaking of baby showers, Rusty and I were lucky enough to have FOUR baby showers. All of them were so much fun and we received so many wonderful gifts from family friends and co-workers. There is no way we would be as prepared as we are without all the gifts and, more importantly, ADVICE we received from everyone!
As of this weekend, I am considered 'full-term' at 37 weeks. Sutton would be just fine, developmentally, if he decided to come a bit early. Daily, I walk around the house and show him all his super-cool baby stuff so he knows that he will be just as comfortable outside as he is inside my tummy and with WAY more things to do, see, look at and explore! Surely, he's sick and tired of counting his fingers and toes by now?