Spunker-Roo

So for a few weeks here now we have been toying with the idea of finding Spunky a new home. Its not that we don't love him dearly, but for the last few years, especially since Kaitlynn came about, we just aren't the best owners. We feed him and bathe him and take him to the vet of course, but that little extra lovin we would give is not there- we just don't have time. Bella and Kyra will be disappointed I am sure, and frankly I don't want to see him go, I just think we are doing him an injustice by keeping him here alone alot when he has some great years left to be loved. We shall see.

First Doctors visit

We took Olivia into see the doctor because while we were at the hospital her Bilirubin levels were a bit high. Not so high that we had to put her under the light or the blanket but pretty close. So we went in to see our pediatrician to have a blood level taken- she did not like this. Luckily all the numbers were good so we were cleared to keep her at home with us- I don't know if I could handle giving her back at this point ;) We stopped by the store to pick up some Tylenol (ours is out of stock of course) and Bella really wanted to walk in with Timmy. I had no problem with this especially since I was still on the Tylenol 3 with codeine- so not much bothers me right now. That is except my back. While the anesthesiologist was putting in my epidural, he had to crunch through some vertebrae to get the sweet spot. At the time it hurt but I was in so much pain with the contractions I really didn't care much- now I do. Luckily I have a weeks worth of pain meds so I am going to take it easy and let Tim enjoy running around with Katie Bear.

She's Finally Here!!!

Olivia deiced with a little prompting to make her much awaited appearance today. The drama started last night at 10:30 when the OB department at Bellin called and asked us to come in this morning at 11 instead of 7 because they were getting pretty full. At first I thought Tim was joking and then my laughing turned to tears when I realized that not only was I going to have to wit longer to see my princess but there was a chance I may not get induced at all if there were enough natural births- NOT FAIR! So I went to bed pretty crabby and honesty nervous but finally fell asleep. We had brought Kaitlynn to Tim's parents assuming that we were going to be induced so our little alarm clock was out of service this morning. It was actually kinda nice because we slept in a bit, got my bag packed and went out for breakfast at McDonalds (I crave those steak bagels- gross I know but totally delicious). so at breakfast Tim says to me "You wanna catch some rummage sales?" I know he was just trying to keep my mind off the baby but I was so stoked it was ridiculous- now there is the man that I married! We hit some sales- one all the way out in Pilson, Wi before we headed into town to meet our new baby. We made it just on time and got settled in the observation room for a bit while our birthing room got cleaned up from the mother before me. Once we got into that room though it was game on: they strapped me up to the monitor to hear the heartbeat, I got my IV and they started the antibiotic for my strep and I was on my way with the pitocin. It took a few hours and some significant burning in my arm but after a bit my contractions were well under way- I think I forgot about this part because It HURTS LIKE HELL!!! I probably only went through an hour or so of full on contractions but it felt like and eternity. I give those brave natural birth mothers credit because I think they are nuts. My epidural came shortly after mid afternoon along with some serious relief. But some future back pain I am sure because he had to crunch through some bones to find the sweet spot. I guess I will deal with that later. My parent stopped in about 6 pm to say hi before they got a bite to eat. I told them to take their time because i wasn't going anywhere fast at all. I layed on my side for about 45 mins and progressed from 4 cms to 10cms. (Yes Paula you were right). I felt a coldness on my leg- or so i thought seeing I was numb from the waist down and asked Tim to look under the covers. GROSS he says. It turns out that my bag of water was sitting on the bed, just sitting there. The nurse came in to see it and popped it, but turned around again to call the doctor because I had been having a consistent contraction for over 30 mins. Turns out my body was pushing her out without me knowing it! The doctor came and said lets take a look and Timmy goes "I think that's the head" He was so disgusted by the whole thing that the doctor started laughing at him and I laughed and then the baby came right out- I literally laughed Olivia out- It was great. No tearing at all- which also means no panty taco construction (some of you know what I mean). I felt so much better!!! We had a few sweet moments together before family came in to see us. She was born at 730 pm and was 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. A little bit bigger than her sisters but exactly the same size as her cousin Dominic- weird huh? Olivia RoseMarie Bronander... that's what we named her... and is she a joy!
(But now I am ready to sleep)

Sick Babers

I have never seen Kaitlynn so sick- EVER. She had been feeling fine all morning and we were not ever aware that she was feeling "punky" (something my mom says) muntil after lunch at the Golden Corral. She woke up from her nap and wa super cuddlely. SO much so that I had Timmy take a piture because I hought it was super cute. That was until she started to projectile vommit- it was super gross and frankly a bit scary. I guess its alot different when someone is throwing up and when its a baby with spit up. Kaitlynn didn't know what to do either. he just looked at me with those big eyes and blew chunks all over the carpet in the living room. Luckily we were ready for round two and had her close to a bucket and a blanket. Round three though was out of left field as we though she was done but oh no- one last zinger for momma and the washing machine. I just cried right with her... it was a horrible feeling not being able to help your child and keep them safe. Luckily after a few hours and a call to ask a nurse and poison control miss Bella Bean was feeling much better. Turns out we are pretty sure she ate something that was bad at the buffet. Needless to say we will not be going there again anytime soon!

Due Date

Well today is my original due date to deliver the baby... and its not gonna happen. I am dilated to 2-3 and effaced but she is way too comfy in there to come out. I guess I really am made to carry babies. However I must say that I am now too big to keep working. I started my maternity leave today and I am glad because I really don't think that I would be able to get around the hospital very well anymore. Don't get me wrong- I have the want to work- just not the ability. So I guess its couch city for me- ya right! The good news is that if baby doesn't come on her own we are looking at induction on Saturday morning- so there definitely is an end in sight- whew!This is a picture of Bella patiently waiting on the couch with her monkey from Nana and her juice- what a ham!

Labor Day Weekend

I was hoping to have a little precious baby to tell you all about today but after seeing my doctor this past week I was informed that we may be sportin this belly for a few more weeks- BOO! As I am sure you can tell I am very ready to pop this "puppy" out. I spent the majority of Friday recuperating from working a night shift on Thursday night. I am just not built for these long nights anymore- 12 hours is a long time- not to mention that my bladder just cant keep up with the pace. I had been called to a code Pink (emergency Csection) right when I got into work so that didn't start my night off well. Although I must say that it did take care of a good hours worth. Unfortunately it was a set of twins and the 2nd one didn't make it- which being pregnant was a little hard to watch. One of the girls actually asked why I was in the room. She said "We don't usually let the pregnant ones watch this." The only problem is that I HAD to be there- so I held her hand and prayed that everything happens for a reason. Anyways- on to happier news. Saturday was spent doing a little rummaging in the morning with my momma and then she and I headed up to Algoma (my favorite place as of late) to do a little window shopping and catch a bite at my favorite little bistro Cafe Tlazo. I had an awesome bowl of soup as per usual and my craving was fixed. While we were that close we decided to go to the Flying Pig for a little creative inspiration before heading back to Green Bay. We met up with Tim's parents at Rosatis for supper and some good conversation before miss Bella Bean and I took a bath and hit the hay. Kaitlynn has done pretty well sleeping in her big girl bed but she has a little bit of a hard time falling asleep in it. So her favorite thing to so is grab her little pink blanket and crawl into bed with mommy. I know I am probably starting a behavior that I am going to regret in the future- buts its so darn adorable I cant help it! Sunday Kaitlynn, myself and my parents went over to Shawano to see the county fair. (This one reminded me of Timmy and I)

It was just the right temperature to walk around in and just the right size so as not to be too big for us to handle. Don't get me wrong, I do love start fair- its just gotten soooo big that its hard to take everything in, especially for Bella. She did have fun walking around with BaBa(my dad) and seeing all the animals. She even practiced her animal noises. She has the cow down perfectly but the others are a little harder for her. WE stopped midday for an ice cream break and then checked out the horse barn- which my mom liked alot. She had a horse named Charlie as a kid (get it- Charlie horse) but she doesn't really talk about it all that much. You could tell today though that she remembers that time fondly. All I remember about being a kid is being bucked off the back of a pony named Amber onto the dirt trail behind my grandparents farm- I guess that explains alot doesn't it? Today the four of us headed to Bay Beach for some last minute rides. The park will be closing soon for the season So we have to get in as many rides as possible before it gets too cold. Kaitlynn absolutely adores Bay Beach and I think dad and I are right there behind her. We got to ride the train as a group and then Bella rode the caterpillars and the boats- that is until the rain came and washed us all out. I was in no mood to hang out to see if it would stop raining so we packed it up and headed home. Kaitlynn fell asleep in the car so we dropped her off to nap and then headed to Home Depot for a new leaf blower (too long of a story). Got that errand run a few others and then went out to lunch. I had an awesome Kiddy Cocktail and a so-so sandwich but then an incredible nap. It was a great holiday weekend and I am very glad I got to spend that much time with my family. If you are wondering where my other half was- he fished on Saturday, car show on Sunday and lazy day Monday... we both had a great weekend!

Last Official Day of Summer Fun

This past Sunday was our last free day together as a family. We decided to get some chores done around the house (Tim and Kyra's favorite) and then go play- at Chuck Cheeses (not my favorite). So we waited for Kaitlynn to wake up from her nap and then loaded into the car to make our way to the West side of town (all of a 15 min drive, but a drive nonetheless). As we pulled into the driveway all you can hear is Kaitlynn saying "Ya ya ya." Which was actually pretty funny because I didn't even know she had been here before let alone recognize it. But I guess it could have been the giant mouse on the billboard- who knows? Tim and Kyra immediately got their tokens organized and dashed off to play games. Kaitlynn and I headed to the Toddler area where she could bounce and climb all over the place. She had fun tumbling with the other kids and it made me realize that she really doesn't spend that much time with other little ones her own age. I think I might have to sign her up for a gym class at the YMCA because this little girl can run! I actually had a hard time keeping up with her- maybe mom needs a gym class too :) After the children (big and small) had their fill of playing games we walked next door to my favorite part of the afternoon- Red Lobster. Kyra got to eat her favorite crab legs and I got my special treat of lobster, shrimp and crab legs. I would typically save this type of celebration meal for something big like graduation, but I figure we are celebrating baby Bronander #2 just a little early! One of the funniest things I have ever seen Bella do happened today too while we were out to eat. The first thing she did that was gross but awesome was to eat ketchup like it is soup. Now I know you are say- well whats the big deal? The funny part is that she used a lemon as her spoon- GROSS! She dipped her lemon wedge into the ketchup and then proceeded to like it off- until she ran out of ketchup... I think this may be a sign of things to come. The second thing she did (Paula you will like this) is she full on licked the tank where the lobsters are kept. It was so disgusting and we were so shocked that we didn't even get it right away. If this little girl doesn't wake up with a purple polka dot tongue and a fever I will be very surprised ;)