Starting our Journey...

Brady, 5 days old.

We are finally settling in and adjusting to everything. My mom is staying with us this week to help out and it is much appreciated help! Besides catching up on sleep and trying to heal, I didn't realize there was so much we don't know. Why don't these little guys come with an instruction manual?

Brady, 4 days old.

Last week was a frustrating week! We ended up in the hospital last Monday because I was having contractions every 5 minutes for an hour. Since this is our first child, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be feeling, so we headed to the hospital. I was hooked up to the monitor and they told us I was at 3 cm, so we headed back home. Last Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment and he said I was at 4 cm. We made my weekly appointment for the following Wednesday and the doctor said since I made so much progress, he would be really surprised if I didn't have the baby by then. I called work and they told me to stay home, go for a walk and have the baby!

With so much anticipation, I was determined to have this baby! Wednesday I got the entire house cleaned and everything was ready for Brady to come. So, of course Thursday I was really frustrated when nothing was happening. Jeff's last day of work for the week was on Thursday, so we went for a walk when he got home. We headed off to bed with nothing happening. Friday I woke up feeling great. We went for a walk in the morning, ran some errands and came back home. When we got home I was starting to have back pain and occasional contractions. We went for another walk, took a nap, then went out for dinner. When we got home from dinner, I was in pain. We sat down and timed my contractions, but the back pain and contractions were getting a lot stronger, so we headed back to the hospital. When we got there, I was only at 4 1/2 cm and we had to walk around for 2 1/2 hours! At the end of 2 1/2 hours, I was having very strong contractions and we got checked again. I was at 7 cm, so they admitted us at 1:00 am! I got my pain medication and epidural, then at 6:00 am we started pushing. Brady came out an hour and 16 minutes later!

Brady meets Mommy and Daddy!

Uncle Brad holding Brady.

Aunt Marissa meets Brady.

Jeff and Brady with Grandma and Grandpa G.

Brady with Grandma O.

Jeff, Grandma G., Great Grandma, and Brady.

Grandpa O. with Brady.