Two Weeks!

I can't believe Chase is already 2 weeks old! In no time at all he'll be 2 months, then 2 years, then I'll be walking him to kindergarten, giving him advice about girls, and helping him shop for dorm room essentials!

Okay, I must slow down. Or rather, HE must slow down! He's already almost 8lbs, he slept for 6 hours straight last night, and I may be crazy but I think I heard him say "mama." Sue me for getting carried away; he's most likely my very last infant ever, so I'm relishing every minute of this stage. Yes, I've been caught staring at him for hours, and I've been known to pull him in bed with me and sleep with him after the middle of the night feeding time. Bite me, Baby Wise!

For those of you who know my younger sister, Rachel, I will tell you that Chase looks exactly like her baby pictures in this photo below (and also resembles her son, Judah, with the fabulously wide eyes and little chin). Love him, love him, love him!

Chase Bradley is here!

Chase Bradley R. joined us on Wednesday afternoon at 3:59pm, after a less-than-5 hour induction labor. There was a little craziness that included trouble with the epidural (mainly due to an anesthesiologist who was talking on his iPhone and answering pages while holding my needle), a drop in my blood pressure, a drop in the baby's heartrate, the need for like 5 bags of fluid to be pumped into my swollen body for hydration...etc, but overall it was a simple process that resulted in 8 minutes of pushing and the most awesome baby boy ever!

Once again one of my favorite parts of childbirth is seeing Greg's expression when the baby first enters the world; he literally suspends his breathing and gets the most fabulous look of awe on his face and is immediately smitten. Of course I get all teary eyed at that point, and neither of us can believe we ever didn't have that particular little one in our family. This experience was no different; I was so nervous that a new baby would take away from the dynamic of our family of four. As soon as Chase was born though, it was like we'd always been a family of five.

Enough ruminating. A few details for you: Sweet Chase was born at 3:59pm on Wednesday, July 15th. He weighed 6lbs, 7oz, and was 19 inches long. He looks almost exactly like Noah did, but with strawberry blonde hair (which I had as a baby) and several of Lauren's expressions. He's absolutely perfect and has such a sweet temperament, a very light squeak of a cry that only arises when he's starving, and he has great cycles of sleep time and wake time already. I'll shut up now, and let you see for yourself!

Most Unproductive Hospital Visit EVER

For those who don't know, here's a little update. Last week I was babysitting for my friend's daughter at her place (also had my two kids) when I suddenly started having contractions and apparently a minor separation of the placenta (which I found out later, and I won't tell you the symptoms of this b/c it's not pretty).

I called the doctor who of course told me to head to labor and delivery immediately. Immediately? I have two 3-year-olds and a 1-year old in my friend's apartment. Furthermore, Noah had been playing with their super cute cat all morning and had just started to have a massive allergic reaction to her including itchy, swollen eyes, and large bumps around them.

About 15 minutes later I was able to hobble downstairs with three toddlers in tow, get them all in my minivan, and head to the hospital where Greg met me at the valet (I freaked out the poor valet driver when I showed up to L&D all hunched over and needing a wheelchair).

After several hours of sonograms, dopplers, etc., it was determined that I needed to SPEND the NIGHT at the hospital. I also apparently needed to have like 4 bags of IV fluid pumped into my already swollen body as it slows down contractions and protects again loss of fluid around the baby. Fine. Sounds noble so I agreed to it, but when my eyes were swollen shut the next morning and my feet looked like sausages I was pretty unagreeable about most things.

I finally got to go home on "light activity" (with two toddlers waiting for me? Right). I'm now just waiting for the REAL hospital visit that will actually be productive and end in us being able to take home a baby rather than just lug 4 additional pounds of fluid-filled pregnant lady across the threshhold. Greg's words? "At least you're okay honey. All of you. Heh heh." I don't think I laughed.

Girls' Weekend 2009

My 9th annual Girls' Weekend (college girls' retreat) was a couple of weekends ago, and it was fabulous! We ate candy and desserts, took turns making meals, talked for hours on end, went to bed super late, got to know a couple of the newest infant additions, went out to a nice dinner in a Plaza in far North Dallas, looked at pictures, played games, and talked about the past and coming year. Basically, we did what we do best!! As you can see here and here, we've kept many traditions alive and wouldn't trade this weekend for anything.

Top: Me, Sara, Ruth Lee, Kelly
Botton: Jenny, Emily, Christy