THANKSGIVING

We took Bridger on his first road trip for Thanksgiving. He did really well in the car. It's amazing how much extra stuff we had to take. We filled the back of the Subaru.


It was great to see family. Bridger got to meet his cousin for the first time.


We also had Bridger baptised by my dad, which was very special.

Bridger Pictures

I am ready to make the catch. This was literally ten minutes after we heard that Kristen was going to have a c-section. 13 minutes after this picture I was a dad.




Grandpa and Grandma came by to visit. Grandpa has not thrown Bridger down a flight a stairs onto a pile of pillows yet. Yet.



This is Bridger's most frequent look. We like to call it his Grumpy Old man look.




Uncle Keith came by for some quality time.



Mom and baby. Beautiful.

Baby Bridger

baby Bridger Andrew was born at 9:06 am on Friday, September 19th. He is very healthy, weighing over 8 lbs 9 ounces and is about 20 3/4 inches long. He had a nice loud cry, yet for the most part has been very quiet. Pictures will follow soon.

Getting to this point was crazy. We had an appointment last Monday, where a doc that we had never seen told us that if nothing was changed he would induce on Friday morning. So, we got excited, packed our bags, and got everything in order. On Thursday night we were suppose to check in at 7:30 at the hospital, Kristen had already started having contractions, and I of course made us late to the hospital.

Once there, we(Kristen) answered 1,000 questions about her life and whether she had suicidal or homicidal thoughts. She answered correctly.

After being hooked up to the machines which monitored contractions and babies heart-rate, Kristen had a painful night of no sleep and strong contractions. We still were under the impression that nothing was really going to happen until much later. After having her water broken by the doc at 7, Kristen was given a epidural at 8:00. At 8:30, the doc was called back in and an internal monitor was placed which checked the contractions and baby's heart-rate. At this point Kristen and i were still thinking that it was going to be a long day of labor with lots of cords coming into and out of her body.

The doc looked for 5 minutes at the data that was coming from the machines and turned to us and said that we needed to move to a c-section. This was not what we were thinking. Kristen and i looked at each other, told one another that we loved the other, and things really began to move. Kristen was whisked away to the operating room where six people did some stuff involving knives, drugs, and blood. Really just a good night out on the town.

i was brought in, told not to fall over, and was able to watch the birth. Bridger is big and suction had to be used and it still was tough getting him out. When he did come it was the most amazing thing in the world. I cried like a father.

Kristen was able to hold Bridger for a bit, but had to be sewn back up. I took Bridger to get checked, Kristen was fixed up, my family stopped by, and we finally got a room. There is more, but this is really long so I will stop for now.

Pictures will be here tomorrow.

-matt

Holding Pattern

So, we have had two more appointments with no real new news. Kristen's appts. included Thursday which involved a blood pressure test that stayed the same and then a Friday appt. where the ultrasound showed a baby with head down and slowly working its way down. Really, nothing new.

Kristen is slowly going crazy on bed-rest, which is only on its' fourth day. Heaven help us if it goes until the 18th. She has had a number of very good friends stop by for lunch and hanging out, but there is only so much HGTV that a person can watch. Oh yeah, she is also reading Tori Spelling's biography, which was a fun item for me to purchase at the book store. Overall, we're good, but anxious.

-matt

Crazy week

It has been a crazy week at the house. First, Kristen had to visit the crabbiest nurse that she has seen. Next, her blood pressure was a bit elevated, which led to the docs wanting to see Kristen twice a week. So now, every Monday and Thursday we will be going to the docs' office. Next, the doctor's mentioned Preeclampsia which sounds bad but everything always looks good after the blood tests and the other expensive tests they run. So, Kristen might have Preeclampsia, and she may not. The doc has told Kristen to get as much rest as possible-this has been difficult however due to the 7-pound human growing, kicking, punching, and tumbling inside of her. We'll see how this idea goes.

On a good note Kristen's school has found a substitute for Kristen's maternity leave. She has experience as a long-term and hopefully will do a great job.

Also, we have finally scheduled to see some Pediatricians, so pray that we love one and can cross that off our list.

Other than that, all is good, the nursery is ready, the bags are packed, the car seat is installed, and Kristen is ready to get that thing out of her belly. We'll keep you updated.

-matt

Week 34

Here is Kristen at 34 weeks. She is so happy. Really, who wouldn't be?

Bad baby

Kristen has been getting annoyed recently. The baby has been hanging out on the right side all the time and it is starting to get uncomfortable. Kristen sometimes whispers to her belly that the baby is being bad. I have yet to tell her that according to research the baby, while obviously gifted, can not yet respond to verbal commands. The baby has grown in size and people are dumb when they ask Kristen if she is having twins or if her due date is next week. Dumb questions. Dumb people.

Matt has slept very well and has been spending most days watching movies. He gets no annoying questions and does not have to lug around a 25-pound eating machine. His life is hard right now.