Meet Brayden James

After being checked at my 38 week appointment and having no signs of a baby coming soon, I opted to schedule a C-Section for the 11th of June.  I really didn't want to go through the same thing as I did with Addy and go late and then have a c-section anyway.  Plus I knew I was going to need help and my mom was available that week to take care of Addy. So she came up monday evening. We also had a family bbq at our house that evening to celebrate elise's birthday. So it was a late night by the time we got everything ready to go.

Here I am arriving at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning! It was so early.

 After getting all checked in at the front and walking up to the mother and baby unit it was just before 6:00.  The actual c-section wasn't scheduled until 7:30 and they spent nearly that whole time getting me ready for surgery. They had a new nurse who was training so it took extra long. What I really remember was that she missed my vein when putting in my IV which is crazy because I have pretty great veins and nurses never have a problem. Also getting a catheter put in is never fun. I was also freezing cold and couldn't get my body to stop shaking.

At 7:30 they wheeled me down to the operating room, which was sooo cold, they numbed me up then Mitch came in and the doctors went to work. It didn't take long for them to decided it was a good thing I came in for the c-section because the lining of my uterus was really thin from all the medications I'd been taking to get pregnant.  At 7:49am our little 6lb 11oz baby boy came kicking and screaming into this world. One on the nurses said he was "a fiesty one", turns out he really is quite mellow. Mitch says the doctors missed his Do Not Disturb sign!  It was fun for me to hear him screaming while they were getting him all cleaned up and checked out. Then the doctor casually informed me that I had a lot of scar tissue that had attached to my bladder so they were going to fix it and I was just going to have the catheter for 10 days. What? I really thought he was joking but he wasn't.  Luckily they brought in our little man about that same time so he was a great distraction while they fixed me up. The anesthesiologist even had everyone sing happy birthday to baby workman since we still didn't have a name picked out yet.

Such a special moment to see and hold that little man. Still gets me teary eyed.

After they finished up, they wheeled me back to the recovery room where I once again got sick many times although it wasn't as bad as with Addy but maybe I was just more prepared for it.  Soon after they brought the baby in and since I was still having sick moments I opted to give him a bottle instead of trying to nurse. We also tried to figure out his name if it was Brayden or Graham and after awhile we started calling him Graham.

After I started feeling better they moved me into a different room and Mitch went to get Addisyn to meet her new brother. It was so sweet to see her although she was a little hesitant at first because I don't think she realized I would be in a hospital bed attached to things.  After a short time she wanted to hold the baby and now she just loves him.

Proof at just how squished these babies are inside the womb.

So brand new and innocent.

The proud papa.

My favorite picture of these two!

A couple of our hospital visitors.
Ted, Elise and Elle also came the day before. Trish brought all the kids on Wednesday. Then we had a few friends and neighbors stop in. 

Why do we take these awful pictures of ourselves?

 So after that first day of calling our baby Graham, I decided that night while nursing that it just didn't fit.  In the morning I told Mitch that I didn't think he was a Graham and he agreed. Although I think he was just tired from sleeping on the tiny pull out couch but he said he was fine with calling him Brayden.

I love his bright eyes.

and his Workman mouth and chin.

And this amazing woman was in and out helping with Addy.  They made some really cute tissue paper flowers which they brought to the hospital and I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them.

That first night Mitch stayed with me at the hospital but the second night I sent him home to help out with Addy.  I loved those first few nights of snuggling and getting to know my new little baby.  I didn't put him in the baby bed because it was still too hard to get up and down out of the bed. So I just kept him with me all the time and soaked in all his preciousness.