The 4th of July

The second weekend home Brice got to meet more of his family. Aunt Kyla, Uncle Jake and Cousin Riley drove in from CA and we got to spend the weekend hanging out and taking lots of pictures.
Katie and Ryan also came in from IL for Owen's baptism. The day they left (Brice was only 4 days old) we went to the Hulihee's for a delicious breakfast. Grandma Ruth also arrived on the 4th to start the month long journey with us!

Are Growing Family

The next week Darren went back to work and I was pretty much in a tired haze, just adjusting to the new baby, snuggling a lot (my favorite next to kisses), feeding him every hour and a half to two hours and trying to take care of myself. Buddy is still extremely good with the baby, he has accepted him into the family no problem. At first he would follow me back and forth to the baby's room when I fed him, now he shoves his head under the bed waiting to get more sleep :)



Brice had his 5-day doctors appointment where he weighed 9lbs 4 oz so he hadn't lost or gained anymore weight since the hospital. He had to get a few tests including jaundice, the results showed he was perfectly healthy.

Happy Birthday Brice

Wednesday June 23rd my mom came to the hospital at 5:00am because the estimated time of arrival was 9:00am. That time came and went and the stronger my contractions got, the more the epidural stopped working. I received some more medicine which made my legs lead weights and helped with the pain. By the time it was time to push I could feel everything, except my legs :) I had a great support team with me for pushing. Darren my wonderful husband, my mom the great coach, Nurse Irene who practically delivered my baby and Dr. Linnerson who stayed calm when I was screaming at him to get the baby out! After 45 minutes of pushing, our big, handsome boy Brice William McCollem was born!

STATS - Arrived 2:36pm; weighed 9lbs 13oz; 22 inches long; 15 inch head; 14 inch chest; 10 fingers and 10 toes!



We stayed at the hospital for two days making sure everyone was healthy. He got poked and prodded and passed all his tests. We left the hospital on Friday June 25th after giving a hug to nurse Michelle who was so wonderful and helpful for my two day stay at the hospital. Darren pulled the car around in the 108 degree weather and we took Brice for his first car ride...home!

Induction Day

I went to Banner Desert medical Center to be induced at 10:00am on Tuesday June 22nd. Darren and I enjoyed Monday together cleaning and relaxing. On Tuesday morning we had our bags packed and headed to the hospital. When I went in I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. After three rounds of gel and walking around the hospital they decided to break my water to see if it would help me progress and start contractions. Contractions started mild and by around 10:00pm I started really feeling the contractions, at around 11:00pm I asked for the epidural. I am glad I did because it helped me sleep as much as I could during the night and kept my energy up for pushing the next day. Unfortunately they had to keep flipping me from side to side and put an oxygen mask on me. The nurse did this because the baby's heart rate would drop after some contractions.
The picture is of Darren the morning of induction day, he had the history channel on and was cold in the room!

I'm Back!

For those avid readers out there that thought I would never return, have no fears, I'm back :)
I have had a very busy eight weeks as you know and I am ready to blog again. So follow along as I play some catch up and enjoy the cute photos of Brice William McCollem!

Congratulations Scott and Liz

A big congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Scott and Liz McCollem. They tied the knot on May 29^th. Darren and I wish we could have been there to celebrate with you. We miss and love you guys. Liz even though you have been with Scott for almost 10 years, we would like to officially welcome you to the family!

External Cephalic Version – May 27th, 2010

Who would have thought you could go from “boring” visits to the doctor, to a whirlwind of a week.

We went for an ultrasound last Tuesday May 25^th, because the Dr. wasn’t sure if the baby’s head was still down. We went in and the baby was breech, butt down. Then Darren asked if she could tell how big he was. She said she would do a rough estimate and the head was measuring at 39 weeks (I was at 36 weeks). So she called and got an order to do more measurements and he was running at 38 and ½ weeks, 8lbs has a big head and lots of hair! A reminder that a baby in the last month can grow a ½ pound to a pound a week!

So Doctor Alperin called me after the ultrasound and since the baby was breech they wanted to do an External Cephalic Version (flip the baby around manually) ASAP because the bigger the baby got the less likely chance the baby would flip around. That Thursday we went to triage at Banner Desert Medical Center for the “Flip” they prep you for a C-section because that is worst case scenario. So after an ultrasound confirming again he was still butt down, the Dr. came in and manually on the outside of your stomach tries and flip the baby so he is head down. Yes it is painful, but it was worth it because it worked (and I know no one nor does Darren that is has worked on)! The Dr. said he could still flip back, but because he is big the chance is less likely. Darren was telling me after that the Dr. was doing kungfo moves on me, because he hand was like 3 inches into my stomach trying to get the baby’s butt to move up.

Skip forward a week to my weekly doctors visit on June 2^nd and the Dr. said he was still head down, yeah! The new plan is at 39 weeks we will decide if I should be induced since the baby is big. The doctor already told me he will not let me go a week past my due date like they normally would. So the baby will definitely be here in a least a week and a half.

We are both looking forward to the baby arriving and are definitely ready for him (well as ready as we will ever be)! We at least know we are going to have a big healthy baby boy with lots of hair. Don’t worry Darren went out and bought a brush already :)

What a Busy Week

Ok here is an older post I wrote, but never posted, a lot has changed since this, more to come!

First Darren and I had our two week check-up on May 12th, another boring check-up and when I say boring I mean fantastic, because boring is good!

Then on Saturday May 15^th Darren’s work threw us a baby shower at the hospital. We got their and everyone had pitched in and made a dish, so I was well feed. Then we got spoiled with more gifts, clothes, bottles, diapers, bibs, books, too much to list. Everyone was again so generous and it was great meeting all the nurses Darren works with. That night we invited mom and dad over. Mom and I went shopping for organizational stuff for the baby’s room. The week before I got a ton of clothes washed and put away, but after a second shower I had round two to go and needed more shelves! Darren cooked up some burgers and steaks and had a nice Saturday evening with the folks.

Sunday was a full day, baby class day from 9-5. Although a very long day, it was very informative and the instructor was great. We learned a lot of what to expect, how to prepare, what to do to try and relax and of course got to watch the birthing video. Let’s see if I will remember it all once I go into labor!

Doctor's Appointment

We went to my Doctors appointment on April 28^th for my two week checkup, yup you read that right I am going every two weeks! Doctor said my blood pressure is good, weight gain is normal (eeek), I am measuring on track and the heartbeat sounds good. He also felt to see if the head was down, and it was. I am feeling the baby so much now, rolling and kicking, it is pretty cool.

As of Tuesday May 4^th I am 33 weeks, 8 months, that’s only 6-weeks to go! I am starting to feel the pressure of making sure everything ready for baby. Below are a few tips about how big the baby is!

• The baby is anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length
• Weigh more than four and a half pounds and could grow a full inch more this week alone
• His eyes are closing during sleep and opening while awake
• He has developed his own immune system that will be able to provide protection from mild infections
• He is a Honeydew this month :)
  

Busy and Great Weekend – April 23rd – 25th

Wow what a busy and exciting weekend Darren and I had. On Friday after work we went to the Ford dealership to look at the Ford Escape. We went and looked the week before, but they didn’t have one for us to test drive. Of course we thought we were just going to test drive, but guess who walked out of the dealership with a new 2010 Ford XLT…yup the McCollems. We felt very good after some great wheeling and dealing and are very happy with the car.

On Saturday my family threw a surprise baby shower for me, it was so nice! The shower was at Belaros at the Seville Country club. They had a nice breakfast and all our friends and family were there. My sisters, Jake and Riley all drove in from California to be there, it was very special. Darren and I got so much stuff, from diapers to the highchair and everything in-between. We got so many cute clothes too, which I still need to wash and put away :) My favorite things were the handmade blankets. Grandma Englert made us a beautiful blue knit blanket with ribbons running through it and Darren’s Co-worker made us a very nice quilt with a construction design, both are very talented! My sisters had everyone play a few games one included a raffle, if you brought diapers! Darren and I kept talking about how generous and thoughtful everyone was, we appreciated everything!

After the shower Darren and I unloaded all our baby stuff at the house, then went over to my parents to BBQ with the family. I was great hanging out with everyone and the weather was beautiful. Riley definitely kept me entertained, she is just so cute!

On Sunday morning before everyone left Darren made breakfast for everyone. Including his delicious waffles, eggs and fried ham.

Like I said it was a very busy and exciting weekend!!!