Welcome Bridget Harlow O'Brien!

Bridget came to us on Saturday 11.12.11 at 7:20p via C-section; weighing in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces and 20.5 inches.  She was Pixie in the hospital until we were discharging.  Brendan and I had been having a very hard time with a name.  Finally, as they were getting the wheelchair for me to leave the hospital Brendan and I laid Pixie down and started to call her different names…she was making a little fussy noise when we laid her down and then when we called her Bridget she stopped fussing.  That was when we knew she was Bridget. Harlow is Brendan's mom's maiden name.  With that said we still call her Pixie!

The short of it is that I labored at home starting on Friday after we got the call that I was schedule for a C-section and continued to do so until about 5:30p when Brendan said that we were going to the hospital.  When I got there I was dilated to a 6 and 100% effaced.  When they told me that I felt so validated that the pain was not just in my head and that I was not a wimp! From the moment we reached the hospital everything became very rushed.  I remember the lady who took me from the ER to the birth center kept saying do not bear down…and I just remember thinking, lady I have no desire to do so but I am not going to tell you that because I want to be admitted.  As we got into the room they were giving Brendan scrubs to change into and I was off to surgery.   Within minutes Pixie was born! 

Due to a ton of fluid I was carrying and that Pixie was born via C-section,  she did not transition very well (from womb to outside life).  We both had a bit of a fever so on Sunday they put an IV in her and gave her antibiotics.  Then on Monday night Bridget was really fussy and I could not console her.  The nurse took her to the nursery to give her another round of antibiotics and noticed that she was having dusky spells (not breathing right) and they heard a heart murmur.  She was then taken down to NICU.  This was not a fun experience but I was so glad I had decided to deliver at TG!  She was in the NICU for a little over 24 hours.  Poor Brendan had to take care of me and Pixie while we were on two different floors.  Billie and Pat came over a ton during this time to take care of us.  Brendan had to be the person to stop all visitors because we were in no state for it.  

Pixie ended up being discharged before me!  We went to our pediatrician and everything seems to check out great. We have a follow up appointment with the NICU cardiologist in a couple of weeks so I will keep you posted.  Due to everything going on, we did not take many pictures!  But here are some so you can see how stinking cute she is!

Dad and Bridget!  Dad did all of the heavy lifting since mom could not really get out of bed.  He did all of the diaper changes and lifted her to me everytime we had to feed.

Bridget taking a nap on mom's bed after feeding.

Homeward Bound! The white outfit is what Brendan and Connor went home in.  She does not look like a newborn in this picture...it cracks me up!



I know this is a boring video...but she is just so alert and ready to take on the world...that I had to post it. This was taken when she came back from the NICU.

Really a c-section?

It has been a quiet week for the O’Brien’s.  Brendan and I did not get out of our PJs Sunday…it was most delightful!  When I came to work on Monday I walked in to this happy bunny from “Grandma” Jane and “Auntie” Quinn…it was so fun because when people walked in to my office you could see their mood lift and just be super happy.   Every time I looked at it I wanted to take a nap…so Laurel took it to my car on Tuesday.  This will be the perfect chair do to the monthly pictures of Pixie to show how much she has grown!  I am so excited!

As you can tell from the pictures…I am trying to stick it out but I am definitely tired and ready for decisions to be made. Wednesday we had our doctor’s appointment and this is where we are at….we had to schedule an ultrasound for Thursday to see how big Pixie is getting. I am not sure who I have mentioned this to but last week I was told to prepare for a c-section. I have been trying so hard to be a come what may person...but c-section was not in my plan. Don't get me wrong I am in a loose loose situation...I really do not want to go through either process...I want to twinkle my nose and magically have her in my arms...All of that said, I have come to terms with the possibility of a c-section and we are now at the mantra of healthy baby- healthy mom. On Friday, I got the call from my doctors office that we are scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday at 8a! Ready or not we are having a baby!

 

Thursday was a very happy day!  We got to celebrate Judy’s 73^rd birthday!  Jude is a kick…some of my favorite things that come out of her mouth are:  “shut up you’re not special”, “God Kid”, and then the profanities that she can string in one sentence is AMAZING.  Most of all she is one of the most supportive women you will find.  She does not coddle unless you need it…rather she gives you practical advice on how to move forward.  For example, buy a plastic bat and beat the hell out of a tree if you are so frustrated you can barely take it.  I will say…it works!  Happy Birthday Jude!!

The gang is all here to celebrate Jude's birthday!  Front Row from Left to Right:  Janice, Jude, me, Bobbi Jo, Michelle.  Back Row from Left to Right:  Bob, Quinn, Jane, Rick, Deb, Marc

Toot, Toot!

Yes, that is the sound of my own horn. Actually the way I am feeling I feel like it should be more of an ooga, ooga (HA!).   I stood in the pouring, and I mean pouring, rain last night for 99 minutes (90 minutes of regular + 9 minutes of added time) to support our Seattle Sounders and watch Casey Keller play his last game in Seattle.  Although, we did not win because Real Salt Lake and the referee were total dork-faces…it was a valiant effort and work the freezing feet!

We had our doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and there is no progress…but we still have a couple of weeks.  We are now at our weekly appointments so I might know more next week.   At this point, the doctor is recognizing that Pixie is a LARGE girl and is monitoring her size closely.   More to come on this.

I had the opportunity to meet with Cailyn, Jocelyn (AKA Joc) and Ang Ladenburg (ok it is really Angela Lindquist now…but that will never be her name to me) at one of my favorite places in Tacoma---the Rosewood Cafe.   These are friends that are always so supporting, encouraging and just flat out fun!  We are so different in personality, views on life and how we handle things yet we are the same at the core and value each other’s thoughts and perspectives.   I am not really sure how the 4 of us came together as a group…I mean, we worked together,  but we have maintained this cherished friendship for years and have not worked together for YEARS!  It is always fun when we get together (because we see each other quarterly at best) we just picked up as if we saw each other last week…it is not strange that we do not know every detail of everyone’s life.  It is just accepted that those details don’t matter and what matters is that we are here and love each other!  I always leave refreshed and ready to take on anything that comes my way.   At this get together, I was so encouraged about the birthing process and afterwards.  Joc, Cailyn and Ang have all had such different experiences and were so gracious enough to share what they really went through and how they felt…basically telling me that if I do not feel a particular way that people are expecting me to feel that it is ok and I am not a crazy person!  I just love these ladies and am so blessed to have them in my life! I could go on and on so I will stop…   Sorry I did not take a picture of this group…but I will when they meet Pixie and post it for you!

Random things:

Ok you know---these boys are the love of my life---This is Joel (Obi Wan) and Jackson (Chewbacca) on Halloween...Can you really look at this without smiling?  They come home in less than 14 days!!

I had to go in for another glucose test (if you have never had one before,  it is like simple syrup with lemon lime flavor, it is pretty much horrible).  When I got to my office,  this was waiting for me...How sweet is Michelle.  She knew I needed a pick me up. 

I had pitting edema (where you swell so much it leaves indents)  on Thursday night so on Friday Pat and Olivia (AKA Oli) came over in the morning to make sure I was elevating my feet and to visit.  So super fun!!

Rough day today with lab tests and kind of feeling done....but we took the weekly pictures...be kind!

Until next week! XOXO

Should they really tell you?....

So we are in the safe zone.  At any time I can go into labor and it will be safe for both Pixie and me.   We had our ultrasound today…First I will just say our ultrasound tech rocks!  She loves her job and it is clear she loves babies! 

Brendan and I had so much fun looking at sleeping (and maybe a bit grumpy) Pixie.   I was wondering if we were even going to get good shots because Pixie sleeps in and our appointment today was at 8:30a….Pixie usually starts her wakeup procedures around 10:00a.   I am so glad we went in when we did because she moves a ton in her sleep…so it worked out great!  

Going into this appointment I really wanted validation that Pixie was long.  I had felt her leg bone and thought holy crap that is huge!....well I was validated and then some.   Our daughter is off the charts huge!  Her head size is large, her stomach is large,  her legs are long and she has hair!   She is very healthy! With the disclaimer from our ultrasound tech that because all of the measurements (head, stomach and leg) were so large she thinks that she is only 15% accurate on predicting the weight and the weight can be 1.5 pounds off plus or minus….Pixie is weighing in at 9 pounds today! So for every week I go she is predicted to gain ½ pound.  May I remind you that I still have 3 weeks to go!

During this pregnancy I feel that I have been for the most part chill….but now that I know there is the potential of a 9 pound baby in me….I want her out!  9 pounds was my threshold….I did not want anything bigger (not that I get a say in the matter but SERIOUSLY!).   I almost wonder if you are having something bigger than an 8 pound baby if they should really tell you….it does no good for me….except make me cross my legs and thank GOD for an epidural drip!   Yes, yes, I will survive this but I really wanted a 7 pound baby dang it!  Oh wells who cares!  She is so cute!

I have my appointment next Wednesday where they start to check me weekly to see if I am dilated…here is hoping progress so that I do not end up with a 15 pound baby!

Here are some pictures from today's adventure...sorry about the glare and that I have no idea how to rotate the picture...so tilt your head to the right....

So chin is on the left side and top of head on right side...

This is when I think she got a little grumpy because her next move was to put her hands up and move.

 

Since it is not live....it is harder to see but she is sticking out her bottom lip in a pout!

 

Clearly this is not a 3D one...but I like it....the top of her head in on the bottom of the picture, her chin is in the middle on the left,...she is facing the top of the picture...this is a profile.

Here are the standard weekly pictures!

 Oh...I am still growing!

Friend Baby Shower and Pink Hair!

We are into Week 35!  Can you believe it?!  We only have 4 weeks (30 Days) to go.   Keri and the boys fly in in 28 days.  The reality of having a baby has still not sunk in and I am at the point where I think I am a lost cause.  I think I will have to hold her and bring her home to fully understand that I have a baby.  I have to admit that I am starting to get the twinge, late at night, that I am done being pregnant.  I am not miserable or anything but I would like my stomach to stop feeling like it is under attack.    Really,  I am not asking for my body back because I know that after birth comes the feeling of being a milking cow…but honestly if I could just have a solid hour when I get home of non-assault- stomach time I would be so pleased!  I have not dropped yet so according to Jane I have a couple of weeks…which makes everyone at work breathe a little easier.

PINK HAIR:

So a long time ago…when I worked at Northwest Kinetics…a group of my friends would sit around and talk about how we would tell each other we were pregnant.   I should say that this all stemmed because we had 3 friends get knocked up all at the same time.   So my friend Janice Wiggins decided that she would bring in Rainbow chip cupcakes with Rainbow chip frosting (later this seemed to be a bad idea because we could not have it at parties because this was the signature pregnant move!) and I decided that I was going to have peek-a-boo pink highlights because when you are pregnant no-one says anything to you about what you look like…it is an excuse to wear PJs to work!

All of this said,  when I found out I was pregnant I wanted to dye my hair pink but I had conferences and weddings that I just did not feel were appropriate to go to with pink hair.   Well folks….I went and got pink extensions in my hair last week and I love it.  The best part of this is that I do not have a picture to show you…because I keep forgetting to take one and my hair is up today….so I promise you next week you can see my pink hair!  It really is not that dramatic but it is fun!

Friend Shower: I had my friend baby shower and all I can say is that I am blessed.   I have amazing friends and their support is encouraging!  The planning that Pat and Tori did for this shower was amazing!  The food was a work of art and the way they decorated was perfect and not “baby themed”!  There were no games just good fellowship and a perfect time for all of my friends to meet one another.   I had the opportunity to introduce each person at the shower which was a ton of fun and I started to laugh when I was introducing Tori’s mom.  I realized that it really did take a village to raise me!  I have so many “moms” and “aunts” that it really struck me when introducing Mrs. Vantramp (Charlie) that I have been so blessed to have such diverse and strong women in my life shape who I am!   As I looked at all of my friends and family at the table (and picturing the ones that were not there) it made me so excited for Pixie because if she is anything like me it will take the village/community Brendan and I have created to raise her and mold her into the woman she is called to be.  

 How beautiful is this!!

After I opened a gift from someone, they had to come to my chair and snap a picture with me!  This is Elece (of the Bryce/ Elece, Gregg/ Beth Ann combo, think Sounder Game Stories)   

You know Lauren by now!  Which by the way she is on the market for a man so if you know anyone!!!

Pat's mom, Anita, knitted this for me....I was super hoping I would get one of her amazing blankets!  I am always jealous of Pat's blankets!

 And you know Laurel...

 This is Emily, she transfered to Geneva with me and we have the same wedding anniversary!

This is Jamie and Aspen (the baby).  They belong to Brian P Moore, Brendan's BFF. They are so happy! 

This is Coreen.  She has Jace and Cali.  We worked together at CRL for 9 years before I jumped ship! 

 This is Beth Ann (of Gregg and Beth Ann). Gregg is Brendan's boyfriend.

 Mom (Charlie AKA Tori's mom), me and Tori

Gen, me and Gail-  We work at Geneva and previously at CRL together.  Gen was my office mate and makes one of the best travel partners.  Gail's wedding was the very first wedding I ever help plan!  

Tori, me, Pat-  The ladies that are amazing.  Tori and I have been BFFs since 9th grade and Pat and I have been inseparable since PLU!  Thank God for these ladies...I know Brendan thinks that every day!  I would be a mess without them!

I was also blessed to have Jocelyn come to the shower.  She belongs to the group of Cailyn,  Ang Ladenburg and me.  She could not stay for the entire shower--he husband was watching the kiddos when he should have been sleeping! (He works nights) Thanks David! Oh..from the back of the table it is Laurel and then Jocelyn....it was the only picture I had of her! 

If you put one side of the table in, it is only fair to put the other in.  

Pixie is the size of a Honeydew Melon.   We have our ultrasound next week so I will post some pictures of her when we get them! 

This is week 34 pictures!



Here are week 35! (Below)

 

We have drums!

Hey there!  So this week is quieting down.  Brendan’s birthday was on Friday….and we were close to closing the bar down by 2 hours.  It was a ton of fun and we had a bunch of people show up.   Pizza, beer and cupcakes…what could be better! I had my last wedding of the year on Saturday.  It was such a fun wedding to end on! The coolest part is that the bride actually starts at my work next Tuesday.   I think right now both Brendan and I are recovering from some pretty busy past weekends.   This weekend we have absolutely no plans and are trying to see how long we can go without plans. 

It is official; we have drums back in the O’Brien house!  Billie and I did not even communicate this year about Brendan’s birthday present and bought all of the right gear to complete the drum kit again (It was stolen during the remodel).   We couldn’t raise Pixie without drums in the house…now that we have drums we will move on to…oh I don’t know…a crib!

For week 33 and she is the size of a pineapple (sorry Jack-Jack it is not a cantaloupe). Sounds a bit prickly so we will try hard not to deliver this week!  You can really see her move on the outside of my tummy…it is fun.   All in all,  I am feeling great! The tiredness is starting to set in but nothing I can’t push through. 

Until next week!

Blessing for days! (Week 32)

Earlier last (now 2 weeks ago) week my sister Keri told me that she was coming home for my family shower.   As you know I am not one to contain my excitement and I yelped/yelled/squealed at work.  I was not really thinking about what that would sound like outside of my office when two people popped their head out to make sure I was not in labor….Woops!

Secretly I have really wanted her to come out and just see me pregnant…I am not sure why but I just wanted to see her before I was in labor!  I had been trying to figure out how I could get out to Hawaii and surprise her but with all of the weddings this year…it was just not in the cards for me.   I ALWAYS miss her but I have REALLY been missing her lately.   She came out by herself (no boys) which meant a ton of coordinating and work for her husband Jed and good friend Heather.   Words cannot express how grateful I am for them taking this on so that she could come out here!

Keri and Kati

This leads me into my next wonderful blessing…my work team!  As you know I love my work team (Michelle, Laurel and Lauren).   On Wednesday, they were paying extra attention to me all day…which yay for me! But kind of strange…For example, anytime I would get up they would do the task I was going to go do…fill my water bottle, make a copy,  random things…My amazing boss Jane even had me come into her office to talk about dresses.  Note:  this is not completely out of the norm but usually we look at it when we are chatting in her office she doesn’t call me into her office for this.  We have on our calendar a monthly team meeting….which being honest I think we have had 2 in the last year.  However, due to budgets being due, I really wanted to have this team meeting to make sure we would hit goal for the year.  Wow! This is a really long story! Ok …so.... Michelle says that she is going to go get Kat (our financial life saver) and Lauren on Skype for the meeting.   I walk in to the meeting and they had changed the team meeting to a company-wide surprise baby shower!  It was so fun.   Everyone was so generous and thoughtful.  The planning that the ladies did was amazing.  I had more desserts than I knew what to do with, they made onesies and invited some of my CRL friends….Also,  my old office mate Bob Beckham came to the shower (Bob is like my big brother!)

The reveal!

 Keri and Jackson on the screen

This is Kebecca...named by Jackson given to Pixie by Grandma Jane and Quinn.  It is the softest thing ever!

XOXOXO!

As I said, Keri came home!  She flew in late Thursday night and stayed with Chanda (in Seattle) .  Friday morning Chanda and Keri came down and we went to Babies-R-Us with my mom.   Man was this an experience.  We must have spent a good hour to hour and a half in the stroller/ car seat section.  Keri and Chanda were flipping, folding, lifting, pushing strollers to make sure that I had registered for the right one…which I did not…but they took care of it.  It was AWESOME!  Two moms in action! 

I had a wedding rehearsal that night and Keri had other obligations to attend so we agreed to meet up and go to the fair that night.  As most of you know, the Puyallup Fair is a big deal to me.  It was such an awesome time!  We decided that Keri and Chanda were going to stay the night so we had all night!  We did a quick call to Pat and she met us down there.  It was so fun to show Pat how to really do the Puyallup!  (Because she has been doing it wrong for many years!) The strategy of the Puyallup is to do the activities on the way to your next food destination.  I will say that I ate my weight in food:  Krusty Pup (hand dipped corn battered hot dog---not a frozen corn dog!),  1/3 of Keri’s Krusty Pup,  ½ of Brendan’s Earthquake burger,  swirled chocolate/ vanilla cone from the dairy, couple bites of Brendan's strawberry cone, part of Chanda’s Elephant Ear and a small bit of Pat’s Cowchip Cookie (chocolate chip cookie).   It truly is the happiest place on earth.   We also got to watch some horse show race where Brendan and I proceeded to embarrass Chanda and Keri (I think Pat is immune to us by now) because we were cheering for the racers.   We also needed to find the fried butter station (not the everything fried station that has fried butter but the just fried butter station).   After kind of a long hunt we found the fried butter and determined there was no way we could eat it!

 I made them sit in the hands...because I love them!

There is a difference between an Elephant Ear and a Funnel Cake...call the elephant ear a funnel cake and Chanda will not share!

Brendan took this picture because the two fair snobs (Kati and Chanda) were at an info booth asking for the fried butter station...I think he wanted proof that we did not know EVERY thing about the fair.

We then went home and watched the premier of Grey’s Anatomy (thank you Brendan for setting up the Hulu account on PS3)…Finally we went to bed after wiping our tears from the show.

Saturday, I had a wedding in the afternoon so I got a little nap in…thank goodness!

Not sure if you can see Gabby (our cat) sleeping on the belly of Sadie (our dog)....it was a good nap!

Then on Sunday we had our family shower. Pat, Billie and Keri planned this shower and it was wonderful.  Pat got the ball rolling, Keri got the invites and addresses and Billie did the execution! There was food centered around me so cheeses and pickled items! Also a vanilla- lavendar cake! YUMMM!  

It is a very rare thing for a girl of a divorced family to have one family shower.   I am so blessed that my parents are mature enough to put their kids first.   Seriously, Keri and I have never been asked to choose between our parents.  On big days (graduations, awards ceremonies, weddings) they always sat next to each other and never made us feel like we had to worry about the dynamics of that.   That said Sunday was amazing!  My three moms (Janet, Cathy, and Billie-Brendan’s mom) and three families were at the shower and it was like we were all one family.  Keri had to catch her flight so she left a little early from the shower which I think was a good thing because it did not give me any time to realize that she was leaving for Hawaii…my brain still thinks that I will just see her tomorrow at her house….so not the case! The best part is that we kind of talked Billie out of playing games and then once Brendan and James got to the house the 4 of us (Brendan, James, Billie and I) played the taste the baby food and guess game...it was fun! Here are a couple of pictures from the shower.

 My Aunt Laura, Grandma Nelson, Mom (Cathy) and you guessed it preggers!

 My sisters:  Keri, me, Kaylene, Destiny

 Kathleen (Sister-in-law) and Billie (Brendan's mom)

Really...you cannot guess this one...my mom (Janet) and me 

 My ROCKS!  Chanda (my fake sister AKA Keri's sister-in-law), Keri, me & Pat (by now you know she is the person that keeps me sane!)

The update on Pixie because that is what this blog is supposed to be about!:   Things are cooking along quite nice…I have moved to weekly doctor appointments.  She is the size of a large jicama. I am definitely feeling pregnant!