Three weeks have whizzed by...

Well hello there, long lost blog readers :o) Not much time for posting these days... But here's a few shots from yesterday and a little about what's going on in our lives the past week as we get to know baby Ro!


Good morning! I think this is how he says "I love you" -such a sweet angel baby :o) Makes the long nights worth it! We've been nursing about every two hours- which means about an hour or so of sleep at a time for me. Wee-ha! But he's so darling I just can't complain- (too much.)

We try to get a little exercise every day - hooray tummy time! He can lift his head up off the floor for a second at a time, and his legs are kicking machines. Little stud muffin... I, on the other hand, desperately miss my work outs. Three weeks of no exercise makes me feel like a slug- and I have three more weeks of recovery to go. *sigh*


Cloth diapering is going great. We are going through nearly 20 diapers a day (man- what a pooper!) so it's fun to think of all the money we're saving! The laundry's not so bad- I do a load every day but it's not like you have to match socks or fold the shirts just right or anything- it's just wash, dry, and dump into the right basket when they're done. We're using a little TP to scrape the poo into the toilet and then rinse the rest out - it's amazing that they aren't staining with his mustard-yellow poo. Three cheers for Charley's Soap. And his huge diapered booty is so darn cute! One downfall to said booty- onsies don't quite fit right. But there's this super nifty little gadget I have to share with you:the Onsie Extender! I picked up a pack of them at Mother Nature's for 5 bucks- they make his cute little halloween outfit (and all other onsies) fit just right. (Thanks for the cool duds, Nanna!)


Rowen is quite the "suck"er. He tries to latch on to just about anything near his lips. When he's hungry he goes at it in full force, ramming his little head into things. We call it "bobbing for nipples." hahaha. I can't wait until he figures out where his hand and mouth are- then he'll be able to suck his fingers to his little heart's content! Last night he repeatedly got his fist in there for a moment at a time- I had to catch it on camera of course. He was trying so hard!

We like to wrap up the evening with a nice bath about every three days. He's liking it much more than he did the first couple times! Water in the face is no big deal, and he seems to like a good little scrub. However, he does hang on to his seat for dear life!
He's napping and sleeping pretty well- we're doing our best to put him down awake (albeit groggy, barely awake) so that he can learn self-soothing skills. He's doing a great job :o) (Proud Momma!) there's one exception, of course: the 7:00ish hour. For whatever reason that is fussy time. So he's happy falling asleep on Daddy's chest, and that's all right with us for now. He's still so small and snuggly and cute any way- resistance is futile.
Night night!

Our First Day Without Daddy!

Boy, the walls sure are quiet! Matt had his first day back at work today- which means Rowen and I are on our own. I was a little nervous about it last night- but now that it's 4:30 and daddy's on his way home- I think it went quite well! We sure missed our favorite man, though. That's for sure. For the past two weeks, he's done 95% of the housework, 90% of the diapers, 100% of breakfasts & lunches (thanks to many lovely ladies from church, mops, and other friends and family, neither of us have had to do any dinners!), 50% of the night time duties (nearly everything but feeding- he can't help there quite yet!), 100% of walking the dog, and so much more... he's just been an amazing dad and husband.
So in ode to my hero, my husband- here's a few pictures that I love :o)


Trying to help Rusty feel included...

wearing Rowen- too cute. love it.

daddy's in charge of bath time until I can lean over the tub again...

The diaper master!

This new parent thing is pretty exhausting...

I call this one "sideburns" ;o) Rowen's are hard to see in the picture, but they are there (seriously, down to his ear lobes just like daddy's) and they are adorable!
I actually had to make my own breakfast this morning. :o( Matt's been cookin' up scrambled eggs, egg "mc"muffins, strawberry crepes with whipped cream, hash browns, whatever I requested! This morning (of the picture) I just wanted cereal- so it came on a tray with a little flower. He's so darn sweet.

sneaking in a nap together

the cord "stump" finally fell off! Diapers are easier without this obstacle. :o)

love love love

Rowen's photo shoot

Can you believe it, Rowen is 10 days old and he has already had his first photo shoot. Our friend Kristy blessed us with a photo shoot last Sunday to capture Rowen's newborn state and all his cuteness. She has posted some sneek peeks on her blog so check them out.

http://lifecandids.blogspot.com/

We are so blessed

Well this week has been awesome. We not only were blessed with the birth of Rowen and have been enjoying every minute with him, but we have been blessed by so many friends and family stopping by for visit and bringing us food. For all those parents out there, you know how nice it is not to have to cook when you have a newborn.

Last night Sarah stopped by and hung out all afternoon and treated us to some Thai food for dinner.

Rowen picture update.

Here is another picture update. This one contains his first bath.

One Week Old!!

Can't believe it's already been a week- Hasn't Matt been GREAT about updating the blog? I, on the other hand, am either nursing or sleeping or nursing or eating or nursing or.... you get the idea: no time for blogging :) But our little champ has been napping for an hour and a half and I'm finally caught up on email and facebook- so I thought I might be able to sneak in a few details about MY whole experience! (a few details- haha- this is going to be LONG- but I've been storing up for a week!)

Last Tuesday we went in for our 41 week check up, and little Rowen was still floating way above my pelvis and my cervix was still completely long and closed- no signs of my body preparing to go into labor. Being a week over due already didn't help- and after two weeks the placenta can start breaking down so the uterus is possibly a dangerous place to be for a baby after that point. My doctor said we could continue to wait it out that week if we needed to, but again- no signs of "hope" for a natural start. She also could not recomend induction as the chances of it working were slim to none, and that could make it dangerous. At this point in my perfect pregnancy, it the odds for a safe delivery and healthy mom and baby were shifting over to the surgical birth side. My doctor also made it very clear that she would be more than happy to get me in to some of her collegues for a second opinion if we felt we needed one. But we trust her and the way she's worked with us this far so there was no need- what she was telling us was just the facts. So, after discussing all the options and spending some time in prayer, Matt and I decided that the safest and best delivery at this point for this baby would be cesarean. My doctor happened to be on call Wednesday so we scheduled the surgery for 5pm so that she could be the one to do it. As most of you know, I had really wanted a natural vaginal birth so it was a hard decision to come to and I was nervous about the surgery and the epidural and the recovery etc- but God was SO faithful to my nerves and my heart! There was concern about the epidural being difficult, but it went without a hitch. The anesthetist did a great job and after a little trial and error with the dosages everything was perfect. The surgery then went perfectly as well, no complications whatsoever, and I was thrilled to discover I could "feel" the entire birth, minus pain. That was wonderfully unexpected. When the doctor pulled him out and he made his first cry it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard and I've been in love ever since!
They showed him to me and then cleaned him up a bit and did their thing, and then placed him by my head and Matt and I got a few moments with him- I was in awe. I couldn't really see him since he was right next to my head and I was strapped down, but ooooh I could feel him and smell him and it was all so delicious! Matt went with him to do the baby thing as they finished sewing me back up. I couldn't wait to see him- but I don't remember it taking long. The "clean up" was suposed to take 30-45 mintues, and I'm sure it did, but I wasn't watching the clock. The next thing I remember is being wheeled into the post-op room and seeing him in his little bassinette so perfect all bundled up- they let me nurse him right away and it was just beautiful. I dont' have words to describe all of the emotions - it was so euphoric and unbelievable - (I know, gush gush gush!)
We had to be in post-op for a little over 2 hours before being taken to the recovery room. Meanwhile all our family was in the waiting room since about 7:00- so it was a Happel/Hosford/Leahy/Carroll/Rekate/Christiansen party for about two hours before they finally let them in to see us! We were surrounded in the love of 13 visitors at 9:00. Everyone got a chance to hold Rowen and he was alert the whole time- quietly observing everyone with a little peep here and there, always settling down so easily. It was quite a night!
We were in the hospital until Saturday noon and had lots of great care and visitors- I'll recomend St. V's to anyone- they were awesome. But I was so happy to be headed home!

Recovery has been slow and a wee bit tender- but going VERY well. My dear hubby keeps reminding me to take it easy and I'm doing my best to obey! ;) Nursing is going so smoothly I can't believe it- from the very first try he's been 10-15 minutes each side and every 1-3 hours. Which is helping him sleep about 3 hours at a time at night- and boy do I know that we're blessed by that! Everything he does is amazing and we are so thankful and filled with joy- I just can't describe it. Aahh, love.

Everything has truly been beyond comprehension. I know that being so completely covered in prayer has made such a huge difference on our whole birth experience and everything concerning his first week of life. God has chosen- for whatever reason- to bless us with this amazing tiny being and we just can't get over it!

So thanks for your prayers, thanks for reading this incredibly long blog, thanks for your well-wishes and visits, thanks for the meals if you've been one of the providers :) thank you for being our friends and loving little Rowen into his new life! It's amazing!

Picture update.

Here are some pictures of us at home with Rowen.

Rowen at home

Time to go home

Well they let us go home. Everyone was doing great so at 12pm they let us take Rowen home. Here are some pictures of last nights visitor and our trip home.

Matt's mumblings: Rowen is two and a half days old.

Ok, so we didn't want to be those parents who think that there baby is the cutest and the most perfect baby, but it is hard when he is. Rowen is doing so good we can't even believe it. He is eating like a champ every couple hours, he sleeps good and when he is not sleeping his eyes are big and open taking in all the sights. He is not fussy and doesn't cry unless he is hungry or needs a new diaper, and he has past every test with flying colors. Even when he is poked and proded he doesn't complain or cry.

We feel so blessed. The Lord has been so amazing through out the whole pregnancy and now we have this perfect little bundle of joy that we can look at everyday and be reminded of how truly amazing He is.

Thank you all for you thoughts and prayers and all the wonderful emails. Not only are we blessed having Rowen here, we are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to share this special event with.

Enjoy the new pictures.

More pictures

WELCOME TO THE WORLD ROWEN!

Wow has it been 41 weeks and 1 day already! It seems like the time has flown by and Rowen has entered the world. Brianne's pregnancy has been for the most part wonderful. From a husband's perspective I went into this whole prepared for the worst; mood swings, strange cravings at 2am, bed rest at the 6th month, complications from her bone disorder, etc. But all I have to say is the Lord is awesome and He does amazing things. Brianne's pregnancy I don't think could have gone any better. It it so cool to see the Lord work in mysterious ways and bless us in so many others.

Well today is the day when we got to see God's precious little gift that he has been working on for the last 41 weeks and 1 day.

Yesterday Brianne had her 41 week appointment and with much prayer and discussion with her doctor, it became clear that a Cesarean birth was going to be the best and safest mode of delivery. And since her doctor had today off at the clinic she was able to schedule us at the hospital for today at 5pm.
So that brings us to the birth of our precious little Rowen. Everything with the Cesarean went perfectly and at about 5:20pm on October 8, 2008, Rowen enter the world. He weighted in at 7lb 7oz, 20.5 inches and 9 on his APGAR. Both he and Brianne are doing wonderful and we couldn't be more happy. Here is a sneak peek at our little guy.














There will be more to come so stay tuned.

Matt's Mumblings: It's Time!

Well we are on our way to the hospital for a 5pm Cesarean birth. It is crazy to think that in about 4 hours that I am going to be a dad! Keep checking for updates and pictures!

baby shower madness ;)

Nicole (due Nov 11) Kathleen (due Jan 14th) Me (due Sep 30 - what the heck?) and Brittany (due Oc 14th)
Okay, so none of it was madness- but going to two back to back was pretty funny :) I have to say, it is nice to be pregnant at the same time as some of your friends! Its a really joyful yet tough time in life and sometimes it's nice to have gals that are right there with ya. Oh my- how many bellies there were at Nicole's shower! Kathleen's was after hers. Both were a good time and I wish you ladies the BEST for the last part of your pregnancies!