For Haley

I've been getting grief about updating this blog...

But why sit at the computer when I can enjoy this sweet (and oh so busy!) man????

3 Months

Jude-baby turned 3 months old last week. I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. He didn't have a checkup this month, but ended up at the doctor anyway for some skin issues.

Here are his 3 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 12.5 ounces

Length: 25 inches

filling out your 3-6 months clothes

Eating at least 8 times a day...or 9...or 10 some days :)

You are pretty happy as long as your belly is full. You smile lots and are starting to have the sweetest little giggle!

You love your playmat, especially the octopus. You like to talk to him.

Your newest trick is to make buzzing noises with your lips.

You are spending lots of times with your cousins and loving it.

Your eyes are still blue, but your left eye has some brown coming through near the bottom of your eye.

You like to watch TV and to take in all your surroundings. You like to sit being held facing out best.

You love the itsy, bits spider & patty cake and our morning exercise routine.

You HATE tummy time with a serious passion.

We are so in love with our little man and enjoy everyday we spend with him!

Jude Scott Bruner

So my goal was to get this written yesterday, but Jude celebrated his 2-month-birthday with a pretty nasty cold so we spent the day tryingto rest, cuddle, and me wrestling Jude enough to clean some snot out of his nose! So, I'll be writing Jude's birth story today instead!It's funny when I think about that it's already been 2 whole months since that day. Some times I feel like so much has happened to us since then, but at the same time I still feel like it all happened yesterday.

So...the story of Jude...

As my due date (November 17th) crept closer, I was convinced that there was no way he was coming early. My doctor got quite the kick out of me at my weekly appointments at the end. She'd start every appointment with "What's new?" to which I respond (with attitude, I'm sure) "NOTHING." She would then giggle and go about the appointment. Through my 39 week appointment, I was making no progress and we were making plans to induce the week after my

due date. My due date was a Thursday with Thanksgiving being the next Thursday. I really, really didn't want to be induced but also wanted to be able to enjoy Thanksgiving with my baby and preferably not in the hospital. Dr. H had originally wanted to induce me the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but due to the amount of inductions that night I couldn't be scheduled until Monday (would be the 21st). I just kept praying and praying that I wouldn't make it that far. And I am so glad I didn't because knowing what we know now, we would have still been in the hospital for Thanksgiving.

So...my 40 week appointment (Tuesday, the 15th) rolls around and I still felt no different and was certain Dr. H wouldn't see a change. She checked me and I was finally dilated...to a 1 and was effaced 80%. PROGRESS! The doctor did some things to try and help me along and sent me on my merry way. I went to work that afternoon and started having some contractions at school that afternoon. They were very irregular and not very strong and I was certain they would go away by evening. I stayed late at school that night to get some things prepared for the teacher coming into my room for my leave. I got home around 5:30 and was feeling the contractions a little stronger, but still nothing that was getting me too excited. After dinner that night, Ca

leb and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and the contractions were slowly getting

stronger and closer together but still were about 10 minutes apart. We came home and went to bed, but I couldn't sleep because the contractions were still getting stronger. Around midnight was the first time I allowed myself to think that this possibly could be leading to the real thing. I called into Dr. H about midnight and she told me that it could in fact be real labor and to keep timing them. Once they got to around 5 minutes apart she said to come on in. So I'm up all night timing contractions (actually found an iPod app to help track them!) while Caleb slept unaware that I was still having contractions. Finally, around 4 am when they were

about 3-4 minutes apart, I woke Caleb up so I could take a shower and we could head into the hospital. We got to the hospital about 5:30. My contractions stayed between 2-3 minutes apart but still weren't real strong. I finally saw my doctor around 11:30am Wednesday. She felt like this was real labor, but gave me the choice to either go home and labor or be admitted and break my water. All I remember asking was "If I stay, can I eat lunch?" I was starving and knew once the process started they wouldn't let me eat. If she answered no, I was going home. If she said yes, I would stay. She said yes, to eat quickly and then she would be back to brea

k my water. She broke my water about 1:00 pm Wednesday afternoon and I was thinking he would for sure be born that day. BOY, was I wrong! I progressed pretty slowly while still having contractions. I got to about 3 cm by about 5:30 or so that evening and was having some pretty bad lower back pain so I asked for something to help with the pain. I wanted to go for awhile without the epidural but needed something to take the edge off. I don't know what I was thinking because all pain killers make me very sick to my stomach. So I spent the next 3 hours contracting and puking pretty consistently. Around 7 they decided to start the Pitocin

...the devil's drug. I told myself before labor that if I ended up having "Pit" I would probably need the epidural as I have heard contractions on it are pretty intense. That is definitely true. So now, I'm having strong contractions, puking, and haven't slept since Monday night (this is Wednesday evening). I ended up getting the epidural around 8:30pm Wednesday night. I instantly felt relief and the puking got better as well. I was still progressing pretty slowly. The next majo

r detail I remember came around 1am when my nurse called in Dr. H because the ba

by's heart rate kept dropping and wasn't coming back up as quickly as she liked. My nurse was convinced that when Dr. H arrived, she would order the c-section. I really didn't want to have a c-section, but just wanted what was best for all of us to happen. So the nurse stops the Pit, gets in her scrubs, and waits for Dr. H to arrive. Dr. H arrives and baby is fine. Turns out, he wasn't

reacting well to the Pit so when it was shut off, his heart rate was fine. So Dr. H says, turn the Pit back up just slower (yeah, slower is what I'm hoping for at this point!) and let her know if baby started reacting poorly again. Baby did fine, and I finally got to about 9 3/4 around probably 2:30/3:00 that morning. Then all progress stopped. I sat at a 9 3/4 for 4 hours or so. Finally around 6:30, I am ready to start pushing. I push for about 30 minutes and Dr. H

comes in. She then realizes that baby is face up/head down which makes it more difficult for him to be delivered. So the next contraction she tries to turn him while I push (please note, that all epidural has worn off at this point). She turns him, and he turns right back. She tells me to push awhile more and see if I can get him to move down at all. I push for about another 40 minutes or so and she comes back in to discover he is no lower than he was before. At this point, Dr. H. says, "Micah, I know you really want to deliver this baby, and I can let you try if you want. You're handling it fine and the baby is too, but you might consider c...."

I interrupt and say, "do it." I was so physically exhausted, still puking, and wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up. She ordered the c-section at around 7:45/7:50 and he was born at 8:32. All I remember once I got in the operating room was how tired I was. Once the

y got fresh drugs in me, I was so relaxed that it hit me just how physically worn out I was. I fell asleep while they prepped me for surgery (Caleb can't be in

the room so I had no one to talk to). I remember after Caleb came in telling myself,"I have to stay awake, my son is about to be born."

The next think I know, I hear Dr. H. going on and on about how cute he was...then I got to see him.

Best. moment. of. my. life.

Jude Scott Bruner

November 17, 2011

8:32 am

8 lb. 1 oz.

21 inches

After that, I remember them cleaning him up, bringing him over for me to kiss, and then he and Caleb leaving. Then I went back to sleep as they are stitching me up. I don't remember leaving the OR, I don't' remember being wheeled into my recovery room. I remember waking up once I was in my room and hanging out with a couple nurses for 30 minutes. No one (not even Caleb or Jude) is allowed in the room for at least 30 minutes while the nurses monitor me.

I remember Caleb coming in with Jude and our parents shortly after. Then I finally got to hold Jude and take our first family picture.

And the rest is history....

LIfe Lately

To all of my out of town friends & family...my goal is to do better at updating this blog! We have purchased a new computer and now actually have internet, so meeting that goal just got a whole lot easier.

Since my last post...

Lots has happened in our life! We have moved into the house I told you about in our last post, been busy with lots of home projects and decorating, we have celeb

rated many holidays, and we finally met our little man!

On November 17, 2011 Jude Scott Bruner was born at 8:32 am via c-section after 38 hours of labor and 27 hours in the hospital. I'll dedicate an entire post to his birth later. Be prepared for a LONG post since it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. for him to arrive! But believe me, he was worth every minute.

Here are some newborn shots of our little guy. These were taken when he was 10 days old by a lady named Annie. She did such a great job!

Look at the round tummy on this boy! He gets that from his momma. We laugh because I had a very large, round belly as a child but was chunky everywhere else to match. Jude, on the other hand, got my belly and his dad's long, skinny arms and legs. It's really quite comical to look at the shape of his little body.

Love this.

This was going to be our Christmas card (Jude is stacked on Christmas books) but didn't get done in time. So I just printed it and it will be a Christmas decoration each year!

Our new family.

This is such a Jude face. He has some very pouty lips, but the only the girl who ever gets to kiss these is me, right?!

I finally ordered some (okay, lots) of his pictures last night and think nearly every wall of our house will soon be covered with Jude! It's so strange to look at these now and realize how in just 2 short months he has changed so much!

That's all for now, but tomorrow's goal is the story of his birthday in honor of his 2 month mark!

28 Weeks

So Abrah informed me last night that I needed to update my blog because my baby belly is significantly bigger than my last post @ 20 weeks. So here is my latest belly shot.....


Tomorrow marks the 28 week mark. I can't believe we are in the third and final trimester. November can't come soon enough, but will be here before I know it, I'm sure. I have been feeling really impatient lately for him to come. I think what did it is that I knew I would follow Chels in the baby delivering business and she delivered, so I'm up next! :)

Overall, I feel okay. I am having some big time back issues right now that are making pretty much my entire life uncomfortable. Baby Boy Bruner is hanging out pretty low and that doesn't help out my history of back, tailbone, and pelvis issues...I hate to see where this kid goes when he "drops!" I have been frequenting the chiropractor and get to wear an absolutely adorable maternity belt. It might be the most uncomfortable thing I've ever worn, but I have noticed that it has helped a bit since I've been back at work.

In other news, we officially closed on our house last Tuesday so we will be able to move in a few weeks. We gave our sellers 30 days to be out, and I think they are more than ready to be out but their seller is taking his time. Since we are the last domino to fall in the chain of moves, we must wait patiently for our turn.

Caleb has been busy working on the crib. He thought it would be really special (and I agree) to have himself, our dads, and the living great-grandfathers to Baby Boy Bruner build the crib. I picked out a design and he is working hard to make it all come to life. I can't wait until its finished and we are in our house to start really preparing for our little man's arrival.

We have yet to pick a name for Baby Boy. We both have choices we really like, but unfortunately they aren't the same choice. Caleb's solution is to throw them both out and start completely over, but I'm having a hard time giving up on my name choice!

Finally, I am back to school and so far am really enjoying my group of kiddos this year. Lord knows I needed a good class after the year I had last year. I have some really fun personalities that so far just make me laugh and don't drive me too crazy. The entire class is also OBSESSED with the fact that I'm having a baby. I'm certain that one girl in particular has yet to learn a thing from me this year because all she can think of is Baby Bruner. She asks me at least once an hour "What's your baby doing?" to which I always answer "Oh, he's just hanging out." Another girl was convinced she saw him moving all over the other day, but it was just my belly shaking when I laughed at something. Then I overheard a boy tell another boy that he could see Baby Boy's foot...again, no, but they are having a great time talking and thinking about him. They also think they should get to name him...we will see how desperate we get!

We're Still Here!

Hi all. So, clearly blogging has not been high on my priority list lately (or for the last year and 2 months), but my goal is to start doing a much better job. I really don't have an excuse now since I am on summer vacation with little to no responsibility at the moment (which is really rather enjoyable).

So...lots of changes have occurred for the Bruner's over the last year or so. We found out in March that we are expecting! We found out last month that it is a BOY! We were both very excited about this news (I have to say both so Cal doesn't look bad when I make people think he would have been unhappy with a girl!). Anyway...we were really hoping for a boy for lots of reasons.
1. All his cousins born this year are boys and he won't have cousins on Cal's side of the family.
2. Cal really wants a start on his "litter" of boys to dominate the sports field.
3. If this kid is born with my hair, I don't want another head of hair to do. At least with a boy, I'll just keep it short! ;)

We are of course kidding, we would have loved a girl just the same and know that our little one will be just perfect come November. I am a little over 21 weeks along. The beginning of this pregnancy was terrible. I was nauseous and vomiting constantly, and lost about 10 pounds by the time I hit the second trimester. Thankfully, that has improved a lot. I still have some nausea but have been able to keep my food down most of the time!

Because of our expecting arrival, we moved from our apartment, but unfortunately didn't find a house before our lease ran out. So...our stuff went into storage and into the Johnson house we moved! We have a nice size bedroom and were able to bring our own bedroom furniture (I'm not sure I could have survived without my bed!). Josh, Abrah, and the boys have made us feel so welcome and I have enjoyed my summer vacation with two of my favorite boys in the world. It's been fun to see Myles grow a little each day and Riley is always entertaining (minus those first few mornings where he would crawl in my bed to snuggle super early..doesn't he know I'm on VACATION?!).

We had been house shopping for the first few weeks we were here and were really discouraged with the selection of choices that we had. I was getting really frustrated when a cute little gem popped up just before the 4th of July. We saw the house and less than a week later had accepted the seller's counter offer and are now in the process of finalizing all the details. We are excited to have a permanent residence for awhile (we were becoming pro's at moving) and can't wait to get into the house and make it our own. However, I'm not sure what Riley will do when his Aunt and Uncle (who he now thinks are his brother and sister with another brother on the way) move out. Luckily, it's just down the road and Riley knows he can visit anytime he wants.

So...that's a brief update of the last year of our lives. I promise I'll do a better job of keeping up for all you readers out there (if I still have any after 1 year+ of no posting). I know Jenny and Chels have been on my case to blog again...

And here are some pictures....

06.30.11 (20 weeks)


Baby Boy Bruner

Caleb really enjoyed the ultrasound because Baby B would NOT take his hand down from his face. Caleb made the remark that it's like he doesn't want to be bothered while sleeping or something. I have no idea which parent he would inherit that trait from! I think Cal is a little afraid he has two of me on his hands :)

Happy Birthday, Rease!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 1 year old girl!

We love you!

and We love you too, Riley.