Here are some photos from a photo shoot we did ourselves.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Month 1
Here are some photos from a photo shoot we did ourselves.
Friday, April 15, 2011
First Few Days
Isabel SallyAnn Brinker
3.9.11 - 8:43pm
8lbs 1oz - 21in
Proud family lovin' on Isabel
Going home!!!
Meeting big brother Bobby
First bath at home
Our precious little baby girl
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Birth Story!
Isabel SallyAnn Brinker - this is your birth story.
On the morning of Tuesday March 8th, 2011 I was sleeping on the couch because I was too uncomfortable to sleep in bed anymore. I had been on the couch since about 2am, and still couldn't quite fall fast asleep. I was just on the edge of consciousness... so at 5:45 it didn't take much to bring me to full alertness when I felt my first contraction. It didn't really hurt, but felt like a stomach cramp. I laid there with my hand on my belly talking to you in my heart, hoping another contraction would come along soon. Sure enough it did! I wasn't quite ready to think that I could actually be in labor yet, so I waited for one more, and you didn't disappoint me. I got up and got the iPad and started timing them.
At about 6:30 it was time for daddy to get up for work, so I told him that I had been having some contractions. He and Uncle Jeff were going to work out before going to work so I decided that I would tag along and walk on the treadmill to see if it sped up the contractions at all. Of course 7am is a prime time for working out so there weren't any available treadmills. Dad and I took off on a walk down the city path instead, timing contractions the whole time. At this point they were about 8 - 10 minutes apart. When we got back to the gym to pick up Uncle Jeff we had to make a decision if dad was going to head in to work or not. We decided to call Abuelita to see what her take on it was. She said that her labor with me started the exact same way. Being that the contractions were something brand new that I hadn't had before, and they were regular, Abuelita was pretty sure we were in the early stages of labor! Woohoo! Instead of dropping off Tia Rosa at school and then heading in to work herself, Abuelita went home and started planning her trip to coming down and meet you! A phone call to Grammie was next and the two grandmas started planning and coordinating their travels! Dad decided to work from home for the day.
The rest of the day was spent timing contractions, talking logistics (both grandpas started their drive down, and Uncle Luc and Blake were flying in later in the evening), going on a walk with Jenny, Wyatt and three week old Karlee, and doing a little photo shoot with the Blue Prego Dress in between contractions. After all, this was the last chance to get pictures of you inside my belly!
While we were shooting the blue dress pictures Grammy, Abuelita and Tia Rosa arrived around 5pm (thanks to Uncle Jeff and Auntie Sam!). It was pretty funny for them to be welcomed by a laboring mama in a tight blue dress! I told them that I was planning on going to the hospital in style! Haha! It was soooo good to see them! We were all extremely excited that you were on your way into our lives! While hanging out we perused through my baby photos and the grandmas told me birth stories while Tia Rosa was in charge of the iPad and timing those contraction!
Later in the evening Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sam & Taylor brought us some dinner, and a little while after that Auntie Abby and her mom stopped by to say hi. You see Auntie Abby's mom and your Abulelita raised their kids so similarly that we really wanted them to meet before Abby's mom headed back to Texas the following morning. Pretty much we were just having a fun pre-baby party all day! That night we went to bed and I tried to sleep in between contractions - that's not so easy to do! Somewhere between 2am and 4am the contractions started to get more serious and I had to focus more to stay relaxed and not tense up. Around 8am the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and had been that way for about an hour, so we loaded up and drove to the hospital!
When we were admitted at about 9am I was dilated to 5cm - half way there! We strolled around the room a little bit, I tried using a birthing ball, sat in the shower, sat in a chair, sat on the edge of the bed... some time around 12pm I had them check me again, and I was only to a 6. I started to get a bit discouraged. The contractions were very serious, but we hadn't made that much progress. As we were nearing transition (the hardest part) I was starting to loose my cool. Auntie Harm had been messaging me for a few hours which was awesome, but we were to the point where nothing was going to help. My feet, hands and face were getting a bit numb because I was not able to focus on my breathing. I decided to ask for something to take the edge off. They gave me one dose of fentanyl which didn't take away the pain, but made the contractions bearable. I was able to have longer rest periods between contractions and began to refocus myself and get back into the "zone". I thought that the fentanyl had slowed down the labor, but Tia Rosa said that according to the monitor I had some of my strongest contractions then! It turns out that I got that help just at the perfect time! When the nurse came to check me again I was dilated to an 8! Abuelita suggested that they break my water to speed things up. Well you had a surprise in store for us! When they broke my water around 2:30pm we found that you had gone poop in there! So the medical team had to put in place some extra precautions just in case you swallowed any of that yucky stuff. There was going to be a Pediatrician and an extra nurse there during delivery just in case.
At about 3:15 I felt my first urge to push a little bit, but I wasn't completely dilated yet. By 4:50 I was about 9cm, but the real pushing didn't start until around 5:30pm. Tia Rosa was updating everything via text. Here is the play-by-play!
5:25pm - She's going to start pushing!!!
5:32pm - She's pushing!
7:22pm - Still pushing. But she's getting closer to delivery.
7:47pm - We are ridiculously close to having this baby!!
7:52pm - A couple more pushes and contractions and they are going to get ready for delivery.
8:01pm - Everything's set up for delivery. All that we need now is that baby!
8:11pm - A few more pushes and we'll meet baby!
8:37pm - Still very very close. A few more pushes.
8:47pm - ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!
On 3.9.2011 at about 8:43pm we celebrated your birthday!
The pure joy in that room was nothing short of amazing. Your two grandmas were overjoyed with tears, your daddy had misty eyes and there were ear-to-ear grins all around!
You didn't swallow any meconium (baby poo) so you were placed right on my chest and we just stared into each others eyes. I couldn't believe that you were my beautiful baby girl! Your skin was silky soft, each fingernail and toe was so perfect. (I secretly was already looking forward to putting nail polish on them!) You were so tiny, yet at the same time I couldn't imagine how you had fit inside my belly! You made my life long dream of becoming a mommy come true! Not only was I a momma now, I was YOUR momma, and you were MY baby (well OUR baby - I can't leave out your daddy!) Nothing in the world can describe or be compared to holding you for the first time and knowing that you are an extension of your daddy and me, and both of our wonderful families. While I already loved you from the very first time that I knew you were growing inside me, that love was magnified immensely when I got to actually see your beautiful face, touch you smooth skin, and smell your brand newness!
You were born "sunny side up" or in medial lingo "posterior". That was your second little surprise for us! The nurse later said that if I had had an epidural you would probably have been born by emergency c-section because I wouldn't have been able to push you out. It turns out we were lead to have a (somewhat) natural birth for a reason! Those three hours of pushing went by faster than I thought, and were ever so worth it! You were 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 21 inches long - exactly like me when I was born! Your feet were also the same length as mine too! You have your daddy's chin, nose, long toes and adorable dimples, but my long fingers and big feet! We are still learning about your temperament and personality, but so far you seem to be a mix of both your daddy and me. You love to be cuddled and held - it doesn't matter if a perfect stranger is holding you, as long as you have warm loving arms around you, you are in heaven. But you also have a little bit of a stubborn streak and don't really like to sleep at night, or sleep by yourself. But during the day you are a super happy girl with a smile that illuminates your whole face and brings pure bliss to anyone else who is around too!
When we were admitted at about 9am I was dilated to 5cm - half way there! We strolled around the room a little bit, I tried using a birthing ball, sat in the shower, sat in a chair, sat on the edge of the bed... some time around 12pm I had them check me again, and I was only to a 6. I started to get a bit discouraged. The contractions were very serious, but we hadn't made that much progress. As we were nearing transition (the hardest part) I was starting to loose my cool. Auntie Harm had been messaging me for a few hours which was awesome, but we were to the point where nothing was going to help. My feet, hands and face were getting a bit numb because I was not able to focus on my breathing. I decided to ask for something to take the edge off. They gave me one dose of fentanyl which didn't take away the pain, but made the contractions bearable. I was able to have longer rest periods between contractions and began to refocus myself and get back into the "zone". I thought that the fentanyl had slowed down the labor, but Tia Rosa said that according to the monitor I had some of my strongest contractions then! It turns out that I got that help just at the perfect time! When the nurse came to check me again I was dilated to an 8! Abuelita suggested that they break my water to speed things up. Well you had a surprise in store for us! When they broke my water around 2:30pm we found that you had gone poop in there! So the medical team had to put in place some extra precautions just in case you swallowed any of that yucky stuff. There was going to be a Pediatrician and an extra nurse there during delivery just in case.
At about 3:15 I felt my first urge to push a little bit, but I wasn't completely dilated yet. By 4:50 I was about 9cm, but the real pushing didn't start until around 5:30pm. Tia Rosa was updating everything via text. Here is the play-by-play!
5:25pm - She's going to start pushing!!!
5:32pm - She's pushing!
7:22pm - Still pushing. But she's getting closer to delivery.
7:47pm - We are ridiculously close to having this baby!!
7:52pm - A couple more pushes and contractions and they are going to get ready for delivery.
8:01pm - Everything's set up for delivery. All that we need now is that baby!
8:11pm - A few more pushes and we'll meet baby!
8:37pm - Still very very close. A few more pushes.
8:47pm - ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!
On 3.9.2011 at about 8:43pm we celebrated your birthday!
The pure joy in that room was nothing short of amazing. Your two grandmas were overjoyed with tears, your daddy had misty eyes and there were ear-to-ear grins all around!
You didn't swallow any meconium (baby poo) so you were placed right on my chest and we just stared into each others eyes. I couldn't believe that you were my beautiful baby girl! Your skin was silky soft, each fingernail and toe was so perfect. (I secretly was already looking forward to putting nail polish on them!) You were so tiny, yet at the same time I couldn't imagine how you had fit inside my belly! You made my life long dream of becoming a mommy come true! Not only was I a momma now, I was YOUR momma, and you were MY baby (well OUR baby - I can't leave out your daddy!) Nothing in the world can describe or be compared to holding you for the first time and knowing that you are an extension of your daddy and me, and both of our wonderful families. While I already loved you from the very first time that I knew you were growing inside me, that love was magnified immensely when I got to actually see your beautiful face, touch you smooth skin, and smell your brand newness!
You were born "sunny side up" or in medial lingo "posterior". That was your second little surprise for us! The nurse later said that if I had had an epidural you would probably have been born by emergency c-section because I wouldn't have been able to push you out. It turns out we were lead to have a (somewhat) natural birth for a reason! Those three hours of pushing went by faster than I thought, and were ever so worth it! You were 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 21 inches long - exactly like me when I was born! Your feet were also the same length as mine too! You have your daddy's chin, nose, long toes and adorable dimples, but my long fingers and big feet! We are still learning about your temperament and personality, but so far you seem to be a mix of both your daddy and me. You love to be cuddled and held - it doesn't matter if a perfect stranger is holding you, as long as you have warm loving arms around you, you are in heaven. But you also have a little bit of a stubborn streak and don't really like to sleep at night, or sleep by yourself. But during the day you are a super happy girl with a smile that illuminates your whole face and brings pure bliss to anyone else who is around too!
Isabel SallyAnn Brinker you are perfectly loved.
Welcome to world and the Fraley-Brinker family!
Welcome to world and the Fraley-Brinker family!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Week 39
Any day now! We had an appointment with my chiropractor yesterday and she did a foot soak with some message/acupressure/reflexology stuff along with a special adjustment to open up my pelvis and encourage labor to start! So we'll see how it goes! Now that I'm officially on maternity leave the only thing I have to concern myself with this next week is having this baby! That mean lots of spicy food and walking!
Last weekend we were supposed to do some professional maternity photos, but the photographer fell through so we went out and did some on our own with our new camera. I gotta say that Dave did a great job! My husband has been impressing me over and over again these days. He cooks me dinner all the time, cleans up the kitchen without having to be asked, sweeps the floors and does tons of other household chores that aren't as easy for me to do anymore. I am falling more and more in love with him every day! Today he made me cry when he played the song he wrote for the baby "Can't Wait". He already is such an amazing daddy! He daily goes above an beyond the call of duty and has given me such amazing support and love throughout this entire pregnancy. I know that he is going to truly be the key in us delivering this baby naturally. There is no way I would be able to do it without him.
Last weekend we were supposed to do some professional maternity photos, but the photographer fell through so we went out and did some on our own with our new camera. I gotta say that Dave did a great job! My husband has been impressing me over and over again these days. He cooks me dinner all the time, cleans up the kitchen without having to be asked, sweeps the floors and does tons of other household chores that aren't as easy for me to do anymore. I am falling more and more in love with him every day! Today he made me cry when he played the song he wrote for the baby "Can't Wait". He already is such an amazing daddy! He daily goes above an beyond the call of duty and has given me such amazing support and love throughout this entire pregnancy. I know that he is going to truly be the key in us delivering this baby naturally. There is no way I would be able to do it without him.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Week 38
Today was quite the informative day. We learned a lot about our little baby after spending 3 1/2 hours at the hospital! It all started with our normal 38 week appointment where the doctor listened to the heartbeat (152 bpm), did a pelvic exam (1cm dilated & 80% effaced), and measured the fundus (34cm). She was a bit concerned because the fundal height should match how far along you are. So 34cm is about 4 cm off from the 38 weeks that we are at right now. She said that it could be due to a small baby, or low amniotic fluid. She then wheeled the basic ultrasound machine in and did some measurements of the amnionic fluid pockets. A measurement of 5 or lower means that there isn't enough fluid and they would induce. A measurement of 8 or more is desired. We were at 7. This was enough of a concern to her to order a real ultrasound in the Imaging department and a Non-Stress Test in Labor and Delivery. So down to Imaging we went. I really wasn't worried about the baby being too small, but I was concerned about there being enough amnionic fluid. The ultasound showed that having a small baby is not in the cards for us! The measurements of the baby indicated that little Baby Brinker is already 7lb 13oz! The margin of error is about 14 oz, so BB could be as small as 6lbs 15oz or as big as 8lbs 11oz!!! Because of the measurements she put our delivery date to be around March 4th - almost a whole week before the original due date! Baby's feet are big (just like mom's) they are over 3 inches long, baby's head is large (ouch!) and baby has long legs (those Fraley genes!). Oh, and the amount of amnionic fluid is competely fine!
Then we got to go up Labor and Deliver for the Non-Stress Test. I actually had to get admitted into the hospital first! It was pretty crazy to be hanging out in an actual delivery room wearing a hospital gown, sipping juice, eating string cheese, watching Ellen, with monitors on my belly. Of course the test showed that they baby's movements and heartbeat are perfectly normal!
Even though I was a little worried there for a minute, deep inside I knew everything was fine, and it totally is! I'm glad we know a lot more about our baby though! So much fun to already see family traits, and know that I could possibly be pregnant for only another week!
The wonderful changing table/dresser that matches the crib! So thankful to the Landry family for such a wonderful hand-me-down!!!
Then we got to go up Labor and Deliver for the Non-Stress Test. I actually had to get admitted into the hospital first! It was pretty crazy to be hanging out in an actual delivery room wearing a hospital gown, sipping juice, eating string cheese, watching Ellen, with monitors on my belly. Of course the test showed that they baby's movements and heartbeat are perfectly normal!
Even though I was a little worried there for a minute, deep inside I knew everything was fine, and it totally is! I'm glad we know a lot more about our baby though! So much fun to already see family traits, and know that I could possibly be pregnant for only another week!
Here is a picture of our baby! This is a straight on look at the face, as baby is laying on their side. Can you see those chubby cheeks!?!?
Baby's room is finally coming along! And just in time apparently! Here is the cute co-sleeper all ready with baby's swaddle/sleep sack! Now we just need the baby!
Baby's crib with bedding. Still gotta get a mattress though...
The wonderful changing table/dresser that matches the crib! So thankful to the Landry family for such a wonderful hand-me-down!!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week 37
Full Term!!!!
This week marks the big milestone of carrying this baby to full term. So pretty much we're in the "window" and could have the baby any day! Although my gut feeling is still that BB will be born after March 10th, so we could still have a month left... but we shall see!
As of right now, I would LOVE BB to be born any day before the due date. The pregnancy has been blissful so far, but within the last week I've had A LOT more aches and pains. Just last night, my hips hurt so bad I could hardly walk! I hope my chiropractor can patch me up so that I can teach for a few more weeks. My official last day at school is March 4th. Only 10 more instructional days left! At our last doctor's appointment we got confirmation that BB's head is indeed down. All the extra aches around my pelvis are due to the pressure of there being a head down there! That is awesome news, and I'm trying to focus on that each time I grimace when getting out of the car, getting up from sitting down, or trying to roll over in bed! The simple things, aren't so simple anymore!
This week we are finally putting the baby's room together, packing our hospital bags and getting the car seat installed. By this time next week, we should be set and ready to go! Each passing day brings us closer to holding this baby in our arms. I honestly can't wait to go through labor and just get this baby out into the world and out of my belly! :-) The excitement makes all the uncomfortableness sooooo worth it!
Week 37 belly
The bulge!
Our Valentine's Day dessert! Daddy knows what momma likes!
This week marks the big milestone of carrying this baby to full term. So pretty much we're in the "window" and could have the baby any day! Although my gut feeling is still that BB will be born after March 10th, so we could still have a month left... but we shall see!
As of right now, I would LOVE BB to be born any day before the due date. The pregnancy has been blissful so far, but within the last week I've had A LOT more aches and pains. Just last night, my hips hurt so bad I could hardly walk! I hope my chiropractor can patch me up so that I can teach for a few more weeks. My official last day at school is March 4th. Only 10 more instructional days left! At our last doctor's appointment we got confirmation that BB's head is indeed down. All the extra aches around my pelvis are due to the pressure of there being a head down there! That is awesome news, and I'm trying to focus on that each time I grimace when getting out of the car, getting up from sitting down, or trying to roll over in bed! The simple things, aren't so simple anymore!
This week we are finally putting the baby's room together, packing our hospital bags and getting the car seat installed. By this time next week, we should be set and ready to go! Each passing day brings us closer to holding this baby in our arms. I honestly can't wait to go through labor and just get this baby out into the world and out of my belly! :-) The excitement makes all the uncomfortableness sooooo worth it!
Week 37 belly
The bulge!
Our Valentine's Day dessert! Daddy knows what momma likes!
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