Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone. BJ and I have had an eventful halloween- very scary- let me tell you. We had a normal morning- breakfast, second breakfast, and then the scary part- a bath (lots of screaming except when he was getting his hair washed he loves that)- followed by being dressed in his costume from Grammy. True to baby form (moms know what I'm talking about) not 2 minutes after I dressed him in his cute Halloween shirt, he vomited breastmilk all over it and the couch. So the shirt is in the wash- we'll try again later. But it was kind of classic- so here is a scary pic for your halloween pleasure. The shirt says "this is my costume". Literally I was going to comb his hair before it dried and then take a pic!! Too late I guess.

Otherwise, things are going well. He has his moments- the fussy times where he will not sleep, but mostly is eating like a champ- (maybe too well given the vomit!) and sleeping between feeds during the night- thank the Lord. We're starting to get into a routine, but obviously he has his own plan sometimes! Th great news is Wednesday I took him to a breastfeeding weigh in at the hospital and at 8 days of age he was already above birth weight- now 8 lb 12.2 oz!! What a great eater!! We say he didn't get to be 8 lbs in mommy's tummy because he didn't like food :). I'm feeling pretty good, but still get "zingers" around my incision around the R side. I hope that leaves soon because I would like to start some light exercise- walking and yoga, but want to be cautious especially with the pain.

Better run, Grandpa and Grandma Workman are coming today so we need to go get things ready for them. BTW Thanks for the shirt Grammy- it was a big hit (or maybe splash!)

1 week old and special thanks

Wow- it is amazing- BJ is one week old; (I realize that seems very new- it is, but it is amazing) one week has passed since God blessed us with this awesome little boy. Things have been going very well here at home. We were released from the hospital on Thursday and were happy to get home. He's eating well, loves to breastfeed and is getting on a bit of a schedule. Last night was the best night as far as sleeping goes, so hopefully it wasn't a fluke and it continues. BJ's eyes are starting to "track" together more, and he had some more awake time during the day yesterday. He went to his first doctor's appointment on Friday and things looked great. His weight did not drop anymore after being released from the hospital, and he really hasn't been jaundiced. Brandon has gone back to work (yesterday, although he worked a 1/2 day last Thursday). My parents came out for their first visit with their grandson, and it was awesome. Seriously, everyone has been so supportive and helpful and I appreciate it all, but let me take some time to tell you why my parents are so awesome. If you want to skip the sappy stuff- jump to the pics.

My parents came out Friday evening- ready to help. Both Mom and Dad were very clear they were here to minimize the work that Brandon and I needed to do. My dad spent most of the time here (minus the BJ time) working with Brandon (and without Brandon) on the basement. They got a ton accomplished- HD antennae up and wired and finished almost all of the ceiling work- which is such a great help given my 10 lb weight lifting restriction for 6 weeks. Plus my dad, in true Don Lund style, showed his true servant heart going out of his way to try and figure out what I needed- always offering to carry anything- especially up our stairs, checking on how I was feeling, and even going out of his way to make sure I had my favorite cereal in the house. I don't think he stopped working the entire time he was here. He is great with BJ, and it was great to see them spend time together and bond.

My mom has always been one of my favorite people in this whole world. She is the true Proverbs 31 woman- 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." That is my mom. She has been my best friend- supporting me always through every step of my life- and I put her through a lot throughout the years. She arrived Friday ready to take BJ so I could nap, offer suggestions and organization to make my life easier, cook multiple meals (and extra for the freezer), and clean my entire house. What a blessing. My freezer is full, I have gotten more sleep, my house is not cluttered with baby stuff I can't find a place for, and my house hasn't looked this good ever. (She even took out my staples for me on Saturday!) Plus, she has been amazing providing emotional support for a pretty emotional mom over the last few days- letting me cry about anything and everything. She is amazing with her grandson. I just can't do justice to how appreciative I am for her. Needless to say, I've already lost some tears seeing her go. It will be a lifetime goal that I can be even half the mother my mom was for me for BJ- he would be an extremely lucky guy.

Also, if I'm saying thank you's, I cannot forget my amazing husband. Like most males, Brandon was a bit nervous about having a baby and how he would be as a father, but he had nothing to worry about. He is a natural. He may be improving some of his technical skills (mostly just diapering), and he may not know all the answers, but I love seeing him with his son. He is completely smitten. He's taken a million pictures, and a fair amount of video. He can't wait to see the little guy when he wakes up or gets home from work- and asked yesterday if BJ could go help pick up some elk at a friend's house (anxious to show him off). He is constantly trying to figure out how to help me (which can be hard when I don't tell him). He continually tells me despite the leftover soft tummy I'm beautiful, despite his somewhat sleepless night that I did a good job keeping BJ quiet for him, and just that I'm doing a great job as a mom. I know that having a baby puts strain on a marriage, but I think I love him even more- and I hope he knows that.

Okay, I'm done with my sappy tribute- don't worry, I don't plan on doing this with every visitor we have or on a regular basis, but I felt I needed to publicly thank these awesome people in my life.

Now for the pic time.

Here's BJ!!!

Hey guys......So this is my first time making an entry into the blog (yeah, it's B). Our little guy decided that he wanted to come out today and into the world. Let me tell you, he chose the quick route, emergency c-section. Everything was going well, then his heart rate dropped into the 50's and stayed there for about 3 minutes. Phones started to get dialed and the chaos started. It took about 20 seconds for the 9 medical people to get into our room, and for me to get out of the way. They wheeled her off and told me to stay put. That freaked me (us) out for a little bit. Then a few minutes later I was told that everything had stabilized, but they were still going to take the little guy out. About 5 minutes later, my son was breathing on his own! It was really scary for a while, but both mom and boy are doing great! He came out 9:33 (Mountain Time) this morning (10/21/08). We named him Brandon Jacob after his proud daddy and his Uncle BJ (Cassi's brother) that he never got to meet. He weighted 8lbs 11.5 oz and 19" long. Here are a couple of the pictures from today......

Our chunk

So we had our last ultrasound today- sorry no pictures. The good news is that the extra fluid everyone was worried about has normalized, which is a huge answer to prayer, since this makes it really unlikely that the list of things they said could be wrong with him are not possible with normal fluid now. Praise God!! The other news is that he is estimated to be 8 lbs 13 oz. Ultrasounds- especially this late in the pregnancy-can be up to 1/2 lb off, and if I had to guess I'd say this would be smaller estimation just from watching her technique, but we'll have to wait and see how big he turns out to be. (We'll be taking bets!) I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, but for the most part am there to say I'm still pregnant (not too much to do). I'm feeling pretty good- just really tired and drained. Luckily, I don't realize how tired I am at work- only when I get home- so that is good. I'm not sleeping great- between a few actual contractions, Braxton-Hicks, and potty breaks, I think I'm pretty restless (poor Brandon), but at least I'm allowed to sleep every night in my own bed (other than trying to find an hour in a call room at work)- so we're thankful for that. The one other thing we found out from the ultrasound is that he is OP (or sunny side up) but head down. OP labors are usually longer and more difficult, so we're praying he'll change to OA prior to labor, but know it is all in God's hands. Better run, but thought I would update you all. Here is this week's pic (it's from yesterday).

I have excuses!!

So I do have some good excuses on why I haven't blogged in forever. Mostly has to do with lack of time- 80 hour work weeks really get to you, and the fact that my husband was out of town and took our computer. Do you forgive me? Hopefully so! So I'll try to update you on everything going on here. The Pregnancy: We have reached the crucial full term mark. Yesterday was the pivotal 37 week mark, so by definition, he shouldn't need much support to survive (breathe especially) should he be born now. So now it is just time to wait. Things are going fine. I have appointments weekly starting this week, and we have another ultrasound next week to make sure he isn't > 11 lbs- otherwise, they'll just schedule for a c-section. I'm praying not, although 10 lbs 15 oz doesn't sound fun to do vaginally either!! My guess is more the 8-9 lb range. Obviously ultrsounds aren't the perfect weight estimate (they can be up to 1/2 a lb off) but it gives us a ballpark, and they'll check my fluid again to see if it is increasing or decreasing. So we'll see. I'm more uncomfortable these days, but still want him to come in God's time- not my own and if that means 4 weeks of being uncomfortable I'll take it. (Remind me I said that later!) The baby's room is essentially finished, we just need to pick up last minute things from Target.

We did a birthing class last weekend which was sometimes redundant knowledge, but nice to have a reminder and for B to prepare some. We went over labor, delivery, newborn care, and breastfeeding- which was nice- and good to get some tips on all these areas.

We have the results of a recent DNA test we did on Pedro to determine his breed (drumroll please): he is mostly Lab, then smaller portions of Boxer and Newfoundland. I have to say we have had lots of Lab and boxer guesses but never Newfoundland. It was fun to find out, but B was a little disappointed he wasn't something more unique than Lab- I say he is super unique, as I'm sure you all can contest to!!

Brandon went to Minneapolis for training for 2 weeks and got back last weekend. He definitely had lots of fun (3 people were fired from his training group for having excessive fun) but he learned a lot. He is enjoying his new job- the people and the work, but is anxious to get his hands really dirty (they have been taking it slow with him getting him "ramped" up).

My mom and dad were able to spend a weekend with me while Brandon was gone and were a great help with working on the basement- what a blessing they are- coming to visit and essentially working nonstop. We're still optimistically hoping to get at least to a good stopping point before the baby comes, but we'll see how much we can do in the time we have left. But regardless, it looks great!

Other news, one of my awesome brother-in-laws, Jason, (they are both amazing) has gotten his masters in math and got a job in actuarial science in Omaha. He starts tomorrow! It was a really hard decision for Miranda and Jason, since they have loved Arkansas but thought it was best for their family. So Jason will be living with my parents in Omaha until Christmas break when Miranda moves up. The other exciting news is that they are pregnant!! The little Oswald is to join the fam May 2- so our little guy will have a little cousin to play with close to his age. We are so pumped for them. (Although their moving to Omaha will make it hard for us to talk my mom and dad into moving to Denver :)). But keep the three of them in your prayers, as it will be a long 10 weeks apart, working in different states. Anyway, lots of work to do here, so I better run, but sorry for the large delay in blogging. Here are some pics.