Congrats Erin!

Our good friend, Erin, graduated from ultrasound school last night and we are SO happy for her!

some BRECKEN love

She was a little hungry, hence the screaming
Either she was flashing some gang signs, or showing off her pink nails...hmm

She Loves her Daddy

Love her.

What a Champ!

At less than 3 weeks old, Miss Brecken slept through the night last night...10:30pm to 6am. I hope this becomes a trend, I slept through the night at just a week old. Here is a little picture of her napping in the boppy this morning...so sweet.

And this is the yummy brunch Levi made for me while she slept :)

My Must Haves (so far)

Just in my short two weeks of being a mom, there are some things I've found I can't live without....

My Ju-Ju-Be Be All diaper bag. It's washable, durable, has a ton of great features, including lots of pockets and compartments to organize.

The Bob.

I'm not really pumping for storage yet, but it definitely helps me out! Medela Pump in Style Advanced.
LOVE the gowns for sleeping! So much easier and quicker than snapping up pj's in the middle of the night. (You can find these at Kohls).

LOVE my Rock-a-bye glider/ottoman. It was my Craig's List special. Got it for half the price than at Babies R Us. It is the most comfortable chair ever and I love sitting in it to feed my Brecken Girl.

The Boppy. A must have. Very multi-functional. A butt pillow for mom (a need the first few days), a prop for holding up baby on the couch and arm relief when holding or feeding.

These blankets are my favorite. The wraps by Aden + Anias. Great for summer babies, light and airy, but still keep them wrapped and comfortable.

A web cam and Skype to keep in touch with proud grandparents and aunt in UT and Great Aunt Karan in TX.

And last but not least, my little MUST HAVE, Brecken. Love her the MOSTEST!

All things PiNk

Amazing what you can do to a sleeping baby...poor thing!
If dental school doesn't work out for Levi, he has so many talents he can fall back on, including manicurist. I think he would fit in perfectly at one of the Asian nail salons :)

I'm Back!

First, I need to thank Levi for taking over the last 3 blog posts, he did an awesome job! (And of course is still welcome to post anytime). It's been a little over a week since Brecken was born and feel like I have so much to catch up on.

Levi pretty much told the story how it was, so not sure I can add much there. However, I would like to say, through all the painful contractions and sometimes literally wanting to die, the thought never crossed my mind that Levi was a jerk for doing this to me! He was my rock through the whole thing. He might have felt like he wasn't helping me at all, since I really didn't listen to him when he was trying to help me breathe (I think the breathing is useless and a total waste of time!!) But he was there trying to help me in any way the whole way through. I also would like to second his notion of, THANK GOD FOR EPIDURALS! I was so done by the time we got to the hospital and couldn't have been more disappointed that I was not more dialated than a 5.5. Also, since Brecken was such a big baby at 8lbs, 12oz (I was 8.8, when I was born), I'm even more glad I had the drugs. When she came out, one of the nurses said she was at least 9-10lbs! I couldn't believe it! I had an awesome birthing experience at the hospital between the nurses and doctor that were in the delivery room.

Everyone also keeps asking me how nursing is going...and it's been great so far. From the first moment they put Brecken on my chest, her little mouth was opening and closing ready to breastfeed, which was so amazing they would already have those instincts. She has latched on perfectly, so it hasn't been too painful for me. I cherish every moment I spend with her and kind of like being the only person that can fulfill that need for her.

Sleep has also been a big topic of discussion, and Brecken has been a champ as well. The first few nights at home she was waking up twice a night, but the last 3 nights, it's only been once! Some are also kind of shocked to hear Brecken is sleeping in her crib as well. We really don't have room to put a bassinet in our room, so it's just easier for her to sleep in the crib, which she seems to have no problem with. We also decided against using a monitor in our room as well. Her room is about 2 steps across the hall, so we hear her when she cries. Now we can avoid all the little noises she makes throughout the night through the monitor. I know I wouldn't sleep as well always thinking she was about to wake up. Levi has been a big help in this area too. We kind of take turns, but he is been awesome about getting up to get her, change her and bring her to me in bed to feed. He will then take her back to burp her and lay her back down. He has been the best Daddy and I can tell she's got him wrapped around her little finger already.

Many have also asked where we got her name from, and when I went to EFY (church camp) at BYU one year, there was a girl named Brecken, and she was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the name ever since.

This is all just such a miracle, I can't even wrap my mind around it all. I love being a mommy and feel so blessed to have this precious little girl in our lives and can't believe how much I love her. I also never want her to grow up! Could time please stand still? I love how tiny, cuddly and perfect she is. Since I know this won't happen, I guess we'll just have to have more :)

Thanks to everyone for all of their thoughts, prayers and congratulations. This is a very exciting, new time in our lives and can't imagine it any other way and would never want to go back! We did wait 5 years before having a baby, and I'm really glad for that time, but it's definitely time to start this new chapter in our lives as our little family of THREE!

A few pictures from this week:

Grandy, thanks for coming to help all week, we miss you!

Aunt Callie, Grandy, me and Brecken

First bath at home

Sammi & Brecken...so sweet

Too Cute

Pictures of Brecken

These two pictures are a couple of my favorites.

Kelsie after the epidural. Yes, she is texting while having a contraction.

Brecken is a girly girl. Look, she is already playing with Mom's hair.

Her first bath.

Grandy (Kelsie's Mom) and her first grand baby.

My grandparents 7th Great grand baby.

My Dad with his 7th grand baby.

My Mom.

My sister Holly.

My niece Aspen just touched Brecken and you can see she loves her already.

Melissa and Lexi

My niece Lexi loves babies!

My Aunt Kim.

Brecken with her proud daddy.

36 hours old.

How it all went down:

Kelsie had been feeling contractions since last Thursday and we thought for sure we would have the baby before the weekend was over. To her dismay that didn't happen. Then Monday night her contractions were only 5 mins. apart for nearly 2 hrs. Since we were virgins at this whole labor pains deal, we decided we better go to the hospital just in case. When we got there at 9:30pm, they checked her cervix and said she was at a 4. They said they would keep an eye on her for the next 2-3 hrs. and let her know if she was progressing or if we would be going home. Well, 3 hrs came and she was still only at 4cm dilated. Because Kelsie was planning on having a natural birth, they suggested that it would be best if she continued to labor at home and to try to get some sleep. The nurse said to come back when they were very painful and 2-3 mins. apart. They gave her an ambien so she would be able to sleep, and sleep she did. However, the contractions continued all through the night even though the only one that knew she was having crazy contractions would be me. Drugs are great! When she woke up on Tuesday she continued to have contractions that were ten minutes apart and were much more painful. Those lasted all morning until about 2p.m. Then they decreased from 10 mins. to 7 mins. to 5 mins. to 3-4 mins. apart sometime around 5:30pm and she was not waiting any longer to go to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital (after having an awesome reason to fly on the highway) we were expecting the nurse to check her and tell her that she was at least dilated to 8 or 9cm. When they told her she was only at 5&1/2cm, her next words were, "I want an epidural!" Let me just say, "THANK GOD FOR EPIDURALS!" She was texting and talking as she was having contractions instead of moaning, screaming, crying and giving me stink eye and thinking,"You did this to me you Bastard!" Shortly after 10:30pm they checked her and she was at 7cm. They told her that they would be back in a couple hours to check her progression. At midnight she told me that she felt like she should push. I went and got the nurse and she checked her and to her surprise she was fully dilated and the baby was only about 1 inch from crowning. They called the doctor and began pushing a little after 12:30am. And after only 6 short contractions of pushing the baby was here. (They told Kelsie that she would probably push for 2-3 hrs. since this was her first baby and because of the epidural. Man, was she relieved when she only pushed for less than 10 mins.)

My wife is a champ! She labored for nearly 33 hours. I love her so much!

And what can I say, I'm a proud 1st time daddy!

-Levi