Brooke's Birth Story

I joked with Jamie on Monday that Anna's birth story took me several posts to tell; I could tell Brooke's in two sentences. This little girl was in a hurry to get here! Here's how it happened:

We went to bed around 11 on Sunday night and I was having Braxton Hick's contractions, like I did most every night at bedtime. I didn't think anything of it because it wasn't at all unusual. Every contraction made me feel like I had to go to the bathroom, so I kept getting up. I wasn't looking at the clock or keeping track of how often I got up, but I would guess between 11pm and 2am, I probably got up 4 or 5 times. Maybe if I was timing it I would have noticed a pattern, but I wasn't.

At 2 I woke up with a particularly uncomfortable contraction, but it still didn't feel like the real thing, just a slightly more crampy Braxton Hick's. I was laying in bed, rubbing my belly, waiting for the discomfort to pass so I could get up more easily, go to the bathroom, and go back to sleep. And then my water broke. I gasped and grabbed Jamie's arm, startling him awake and told him, "My water just broke!" And then the fun began :)

He got out of bed, called his grandparents to come stay with Anna and threw a bag together for himself. I already had my bag packed (a lesson learned from Anna's early arrival - pack early!), but Jamie tossed in a few last minute items like our camera and then we were ready to go. Except that this whole time, while Jamie got us ready to go, I was just sitting in bed unsure what I should be doing. I finally snapped out of it, put some clothes on, went into Anna's room to give her a kiss goodbye (and you know totally break down and start bawling over how she wasn't my baby anymore) and then we were ready!

This whole time I was having contractions and I kept expecting them to get really painful, but they weren't. A couple of deep breaths was all I needed to get through each one. Once we were in the car, they started to get a little stronger, but I could still talk to Jamie through them. As long as I could squeeze his hand and take a deep,slow breath during each contraction I was fine. I tried timing a couple as we drove in case they asked me at the hospital how far apart they were coming. Within two minutes, I had three contractions. I decided that "less than a minute apart" was a good enough estimate.

Once we arrived, I asked Jamie to go inside, tell the registration desk we were there and ask them to come get me with a wheelchair. My water had already broken, my contractions were kinda weak but close together, and I had no idea how far along I might be. I didn't want to try walking in. I had one really strong and painful contraction while I waited. And let me tell you something, when you're waiting in your car having contractions it feels like those wheelchair people take FOREVER!
They got me registered and in a room quickly and asked if I felt ok to go into the bathroom and change into a gown. I did feel ok. Until I got in there. Then I quickly started feeling not ok! I had a very strong contraction, felt like the baby was coming NOW, sat down on the edge of the tub and could not move! Jamie called for the nurses who came in, helped me out to the bed and then helped me get changed. The midwife came in, checked me and said I was complete and the baby was coming! Two pushes later, Brooke was delivered, just 1 hour and 20 minutes after we woke up! Thank goodness we got there when we did or Jamie would've delivered her on the side of the road! After her arrival, Jamie and I were just looking at each other, laughing and going "What the heck just happened?"


Brooke did great. She had a little bit of trouble clearing her lungs and the pediatric nurse considered having a respiratory doctor have a look at her. But within a few minutes she was breathing really well on her own. I got sick after delivery and felt pretty crummy for a few hours, but nothing like what I went through with Anna! By 6am, we were both doing great and ready to move up to the mother/baby wing to recover. Brooke's official time of birth was 3:21am on Monday, and by 3:00pm on Tuesday we were ready to head home!

She's a super easy, content baby who hardly cries. She's such a wonderful addition to our family and we are really enjoying her!

In case you're wondering, her name is one we liked for Anna but we knew Anna's middle name would be Marie and our second daughter would have the middle name Ellyn (after Jamie's mom). We decided Brooke sounded better with Ellyn, so we decided to save it. After discussing every other possible name in the book, we went back to it. One thing I wasn't too sure about was that I liked Brooke, but didn't love the nickname Brookie. It's funny though now that she's here, I call her Brookie all the time. It's just her.

Thanks for reading my "2 sentences" that of course turned into a saga!

Brand new!



Getting acquainted





Meeting Anna



Happy Birthday to Me!

I'd like to start off by saying cake is good, but icing is awesome! Mommy was right - sugar is delicious. I had a great time on my birthday digging into my cake, opening presents and, once the sugar kicked in, going good and crazy and entertaining everyone.

Yum! Cake with blue icing!

 Now that I'm one, I'm doing all kinds of fun things! I started taking a few steps on my own and every day I get better and better at this walking stuff. By the time my little sister arrives, I might give up crawling altogether. I like to stop and do headstands from time to time. I bend over, but my hands and head on the floor and stick my tushy up in the air. Just like an olympic gymnast.

I also talk A LOT. I have a few words, although Mommy and Daddy are the only ones who understand me. I say "Ruff!" when someone asks me what a puppy says (I also say "Ruff!" if someone asks me what a kitty says...or a pig...or a cow...). I also like to find things on the floor, hold them up to show Mommy, say "Yuck!" and then put them in my mouth. Most of the time I just babble. I tell a lot of stories and will talk all day long. I like to tell secrets, too and will whisper to someone if they whisper to me. But I can be very loud, too!

I love being one!

My hair is getting long and I can finally wear bows. But of course, I pull them out as soon as Mommy puts them in. I put stuff on my head all day - toys, clothes, Mommy's sunglasses - and love for anyone watching to tell me I'm so pretty!

I come to Mommy and Daddy for snuggles now. I'll lay my head on their chest or shoulder and say "Ahh ahh". They tell me it's adorable :) Mommy thinks it's especially cute when I lay my head on her belly and snuggle with my baby sister.

I still love to eat, but only if I'm having what Mommy and Daddy are having. If they try to eat in front of me without sharing I get very angry!

By my next post, I'll be a big sister!

11 Months!

I'm 11 months old now! That means I'm only 1 month away from my first birthday! Can you believe it?!

Me and my elephant hit the road again for this month's celebration. Here we are in Waynesville, NC.

Me, Mommy and Daddy went up to the Smoky Mountains with my grandma and grandpa and Aunt Julie and Uncle Aron. We spent two nights in Gatlinburg, TN and one night in Waynesville. I liked the mountains, but did NOT like driving through them. The winding roads made me carsick for the very first time :( Being carsick is yucky! Mommy had to clean my clothes out in the river when we pulled over. But once we got done the yucky driving part, I had a great time! I swam in the hotel pool, went hiking in the mountains, and spent a lot if time with Grandma and Grandpa! Here's me and Daddy hiking:



Don't worry, we got my carrier adjusted so I wasn't hanging all the way down his back the whole time!



I'm not quite walking yet, but I can stand on my own and cruise on the furniture. I'm getting pretty close to taking those first steps! I like to rearrange the furniture by pushing chairs around the house. At my Great-Grandma Kerr's house, I always move her kitchen footstool across the kitchen. It looks better there, but she keeps moving it back.

 I'm also mimicking words. I try to say "yuck", "all done", and "oops". And I love to blow raspberries and give fishy kisses - I suck my cheeks in to make a fish face and then make a kissing noise.

I LOVE to wave. I wave to say "hi", "bye" and "night night". I also like to wave at my own reflection in the mirror. That pretty baby always waves back :)

I'm usually a happy, smiley girl and I can get pretty giggly! I'm very ticklish now, too. But when I'm tired I get very dramatic. I will cry bloody murder over the tiniest little bump. I'm just not happy when I'm tired!

One month from now I'll be celebrating my first birthday! Mommy says I'll get to eat cake and ice cream. I'm not sure what that's all about, but she makes it sound pretty exciting! I'll let you know what I think next month!

Just for fun, here's a video of me getting my exercise. I could do this all day long. And I scream when Mommy or Daddy makes me stop.

Summer 2013

Let me start by saying I have easy, easy pregnancies and really cannot complain at all. I feel absolutely fine and normal until I start to get a belly and then the last 8-10 weeks I have aches and pains, can't breathe well, get heartburn, etc. So really nothing compared to what other women deal with.

BUT, even an easy pregnancy has no-nos. And last night I got to thinking about all the things I am going to do next summer when I am (hopefully, fingers crossed, please dear God) NOT pregnant. For the first summer in three years. Here's what I've come up with:

1. Go to theme park or fair and ride every ride until I puke. Jamie and I were discussing plans for a visit to his parents' in Orlando next month and he suggested going to a Disney park. I voted for MGM because it has the best rides. Oh. Right. I can't do those.

2. Lay out and get tan. Not that a pregnant woman can't tan really. It's just that laying out is tricky when there's a watermelon in your belly. I have not worked out the logistics of where my two babies will be while I'm tanning. Please don't bother me with reality.

3. Drink margaritas. I'm not a big drinker, but I do LOVE the occasional frozen margarita in the summer. And I miss them. I went right from pregnant to nursing full time to pregnant again without ever satisfying that craving.

4. Go out on the lake - any lake will do. Last summer Jamie's uncle posted pictures of his family out on their boat swimming and jumping off rocks. It looked SO fun! I asked Jamie if we could go with them one time. Then I remembered that jumping off rocks is generally not recommended for expectant mothers. Next summer, we're so doing it even if I have to steal a boat from someone.

5. Lay on a blanket in our yard. Not that I can't do this now, but every time Anna and I go outside to relax and enjoy the warm weather, I realize I'm a little limited. I can't lay on my back or stomach. I have this strong desire to lay on my stomach on a blanket in the grass. Ahhhh.

6. Play tennis. When I was very young, I attended tennis camp one summer. All I remember is bouncing the ball on the racket, sweating. So for most of my life tennis = hot and boring. Then Jamie reintroduced me to it while we were dating and - surprise! - I like tennis! But for the last two years every time it's been nice enough outside to play, I've been knocked up. Next summer, my goal is to play a lot with Jamie and maybe even find a girlfriend who likes to play, too.

In the past I've written about my tendency to live for the future instead of in the moment. I may be indulging in that particular character flaw right now. But hey, a girl's got to have dreams, right?

The Scariest Thing I've Ever Seen

Jamie and I decided to take a trip to Whole Foods this weekend, just for kicks. The nearest one is a good 30 minutes away down closer to Atlanta. On our way home, Anna fell asleep in the back of the car and Jamie and I were having a conversation that turned out to be a little eerie in retrospect. See, the last several times I've taken a road trip I've passed ridiculous traffic going the other direction. Crazy accidents and stuff that had the other lanes backed up for miles and miles. But I never seem to hit it myself. Saturday this happened again, and Jamie and I were cruising along on 85 North checking out the traffic on 85 South, joking about my strange gift.

Then all the sudden just in front of use to the right, I saw a red Chevy Blazer do something cars aren't supposed to do in the highway. I'm not even sure what I saw exactly, just that my brain knew something wasn't right about the way that car just moved. And before I could figure out what I had just seen Jamie said, "That just happened!" He quickly pulled over onto the shoulder and got out to see what was going on while I called 911. As I talked to the operator, turned around in my seat and looking out the back windshield I started to put it together.

On the shoulder was a very large John Deere tractor. And the Blazer had obviously smashed into it. I had the following conversation with the 911 operator:
"What vehicles were involved in the accident?"
"A red SUV, maybe a Chevy Blazer and a tractor"
"You mean a tractor trailer?"
"No, a tractor. A John Deere. Like they use on farms."
"What is that doing on the highway?"
"I have no idea"

In retrospect, the tractor was obviously there to do some sort of landscaping work on the shoulder. It had backed up a bit too far, crossed into the far right lane of traffic and the Blazer's driver either didn't see it or didn't have time to stop before hitting it.

It was ugly. The tractor tire, you know that ones that are as tall as me? it was completely smashed in. The front of the Chevy was crumpled. All the glass in the tractor cabin and front windows of the car was shattered. This didn't occur to me at the time, but Jamie later said he was pretty nervous walking up to it that neither driver would be alive. After I got off the phone I waved Jamie back to the car and told him help was on the way and asked him if he wanted me to see if I could do anything. My thinking was I have been trained in first aid and CPR. Those certifications are expired, but at least I know something. I way overestimated the usefulness of basic first aid and seriously underestimated the seriousness of the accident. Once I walked up to the cars, I realized there was absolutely nothing we could do except tell the drivers help was coming and try to keep them calm.

It was awful. And scary. Both drivers were conscious, but obviously seriously injured (Jamie told me later that the tractor driver was not conscious when he walked up and it took several minutes for him to come to). I've never felt so helpless.

The 10  minutes or so that we waited for emergency personnel to respond felt like a lifetime. I think Jamie and I were both so relieved to be headed home. Unfortunately, we've looked online and tried to find something about the accident but haven't been able to. So we don't know how either victim is doing.

I told Jamie last night the more time that goes by, the more disturbed I am by the whole thing. I had never considered what you're supposed to do in that sort of situation. It had never occured to me how awful the time between an accident happening and help arriving must be for those involved.

I'm seriously considering just staying home from now on.

Anna Being Adorable

It took me seriously forever to get these darn things loaded on here, so you better enjoy them!!

We're using baby sign language with Anna, so when she's finished eating I'll ask if she's all done, sign "all done", and wait for her to sign it back. The other day I was saying and signing "all done" over and over and she wouldn't do it back. Finally she said, emphatically, "Ah duh!" Now she mimics us whenever we say it and it's freaking adorable. I also say "Yuck!" whenever she puts something she shouldn't be eating in her mouth. She's started trying to make the sound at the end of "Yuck". Also adorable :)

Someone's thinking about walking! This weekend she climbed under the kitchen table, pushed this chair out and brought it all the way across our sunroom.

He did turn her around. And then she sat on the floor and looked at him like "What? I brought it all the way over here. I'm not bringing it back, too."

10 Months

My 10th month has been a big one! I finally decided to start crawling, and once I got going there was no stopping me! I'm all over the place now and into EVERYTHING! But Mommy swears she's loving this new stage. I'm also pulling up, and one of my favorite new activities is to pull up on the windowsill and look out into our backyard. And sometimes bang my head repeatedly against the window, which has Daddy convinced I'm a total weirdo.

You'll have to forgive my Mommy for this picture. She forgot about pictures until late in the day and then the camera was dying. This is the only shot she got before it died.

I haven't ventured any steps on my own yet, but I'm cruising along the furniture. Maybe I'll try walking soon. We'll see.

Now that I can pull up, I usually stand up in my crib when I wake up until someone comes to get me. Mommy and Daddy had to lower the mattress so I'm safe!

I have yet another tooth, bringing my total to 5! I'm working on the 6th. These two have been a lot nicer to me than the last two.

Here I am being silly at Buford Dam today. We had a picnic and played. Daddy stuck my feet in the water, but it was way too cold for me!

I sleep now from about 8:30 at night to 7:30 in the morning. Once I started crawling, I also started waking up again for my middle-of-the-night bottle that I had given up. Now Mommy or Daddy bring me one around 6:00am and I drink it and go back to sleep for a couple hours. As long as I've had that bottle I wake up very happy in the morning! Sometimes I'll sit and have a chat with my elephant for a good half hour or so before wanting to get up. But if I wake up hungry, watch out! I am NOT happy.

I still love to eat any and everything, including my vegetables which is more than I can say for Daddy.

I'm still refusing to say Mama, but I do love to talk! I babble all day long and love to chat with my toys and stuffed animals.

I figured out my hands are good for more than just holding stuff. I wave bye-bye, clap and can use some baby sign language. I sign "more" and "all done", but I'm not always sure that's what I want. Sometimes I mix them up.

The cuteness around here is pretty much non-stop! Can you believe there's going to be two cute baby girls in this house in a few months?