One month old and full of good news!

Gosh, has it really been 30 days already?? I can't believe that. It seems like just a little while ago Branden and I were all "Gosh I can't believe we only have a couple months left." Went so fast! I can't imagine the last month without our little Burrito though, smooshed feet and all.

What also went fast was Caden's healing with his little feet. Great news there! This 3rd set of casts he has now are likely his last. His feet got that straight that fast. Next week they'll assess him but more than likely he'll graduate from the casting to his little snowboard (boot braces with bar). And he won't need either Achilles snipped! The orthopedic could get his left foot to flex just as much as his right this time, and they're both doing what they should be. He also had his ultrasound on Friday to check his hips (breech babies are high risk for and often born with hip dysplasia), and it appears that they're just fine.

Needless to say, Friday was a great day (we won't talk about how Friday night/Saturday went, hehe, that first day after new casts is miserable for both of us). Today the casts are fully dry and he's used to the new positioning of his feet. He's a happy boy. Happy 30-day Birthday little Nugget.

When stampers attack

Grandma and Aunt Sessie got bored last Sunday...

...and today we get this set taken off and replaced with the 3rd set. Luckily we get to keep the casts, so he'll have some art to hang onto.

"I can't put my arms down!"

So, I decided I need to go get the mail yesterday. But I had a conundrum. I couldn't yet carry bebe in his car seat, but would need my hands to open the mailbox so I couldn't carry him up in my arms. Then it hit me - we got a sling, I could put him in that! So I did. I bundled him up in his snowsuit...and then realized that it still doesn't fit him. As you can see below, it drowns him, but he had enough of his arms IN the arms that when he moved, the whole suit arm moved too. Hilarious. He loved the sling. Wasn't sure what to make of the snowsuit though. I kept getting a raised eyebrow and "Uh, Mom? What gives?" looks on the walk.

Lil' straighter

Had the first casts removed today and the second set put on. The picture's kind of grainy because it was taken with my cell phone, but this is Caden's right foot after the casts came off this afternoon. Looking at it now won't mean much unless you know that before the casts, this foot was the worse of the two; it bent inwards almost 45 degrees and the toes were bent back up towards the top of his foot. Now after just the first casting, it's nearly straight. His left foot is even better. The doctor thinks he'll only need this second casting on the left to get it totally straightened out, but his right foot'll need the full set of 4 castings. More news on the Achilles too - his right foot won't need it cut but his left one will. So we're half lucky, hehe. But after the casts come the booties and physical therapy (yay we get to start work on his little fingers then too!) and then by the time he's ready to crawl, he'll be good to go. Lot of work on a tiny body, but I'm so grateful this is something they can fix early and with relative ease on him!

You should see the other guy...

Our poor dude had the first of his castings done this afternoon (picture enlarges when clicked on). He'll need probably 4, maybe 5 all together; this one and 3 more. By the last one they'll know if they need the 5th or not. After the castings are done he'll be in little boots that are attached together by a bar for 23 hours a day until he's 3 months old, and then after that he'll only wear those braces at night until he's about 2 or 3 years. We might be lucky. 95% of babies with clubfeet have to have their Achilles cut to allow their heel bone to descend out of their ankle joint. The orthopedic can already feel his heel bone (instead of that area in the back of his feet being just squishy), so he could be one of the very few kids that doesn't need that procedure done. The doc'll know more by the end of his castings. We can hope!

Baby's 1st Christmas

The Randall family Christmas night. Isn't our little Santa so handsome?

Here's a couple of more pictures from Christmas Day. The first one below is Caden cozy in a gorgeous blanket our sister-in-law sent. Love the Pooh! The second is just him in his bouncer dressed in his red Christmas outfit. We had a good Christmas. I had a bit of a recovery glitch, I started bleeding really heavily early that morning, so we had to stay in so I could stay down. But a quiet holiday as opposed to one spent trying to visit 5 families in one day was a nice change. And it was nice to spend our second Christmas since moving back from Seattle here at home.

Finally here

After much anticipation and frustrations, little Caden Bradley is finally here. I had just a regular OB appointment on Thursday the 18th, but when we got to it I was contracting, and had been for 2 hours. The OB decided to take Caden that night and told us to be back at the hospital at 7pm. At 8pm they prepped me, and at 9:19pm Caden came into the world weighing 6lbs 9oz and measuring a bitty 18 inches long. Pictures (unfortunately for me because I'm bloated from the fluids they had pumping into me) enlarge when ya click on em.

He spent his first day being cuddled and loved and posing for his first photo shoot:

His second day chillaxing in his hospital bed, flashin Gang Baby "brutha" signs:

When he was awake, he was so alert, so bright eyed. Even at just 3 and a half days old.

Here he is all ready to go home on Monday. I had to use 2 of the hospital's blankets to stuff around him on both sides because he was so tiny inside his carseat. You can see here, he's clearly impressed by the process:

My mom and dad had cleaned the apartment for me on Sunday, since I didn't get the chance before he was born, and we came home to a little tree set up. And what's a tree without a little present underneath it?

He's just hangin out all bundled and comfy in his bouncer, little Santa hat and snowman blanket and all:

"Whoooa...what are you gunna do with dat?" is the question going through his head right here, I'm sure of it. Grandma Berrett was over visiting and we gave him his first bath.

So there he is. My handsome little circus peanut in the flesh. We've discovered fun things already. Sneezes and hiccups are a good way to make daddy laugh. Some things I thought that couldn't get any bigger, did (and then some!). And he likes to be wrapped in his blankets like a little burrito. He's got some little clubbed feet that will need some casting done to correct (we see the pediatrician on Monday to set that up), but other than that, he's just as perfect as can be.

I'm recovering pretty well, though I've decided the most annoying thing about the c-section is that it's robbed me of my core muscle control, so my back is WAY sore from overcompensating to keep me upright. We're getting ready for Christmas, and will be sure to post most pictures then. Happy Holidays everyone!

Just 7 days left

Yep, that's right. We got the date at my OB appointment on Thursday. If I don't go on my own before next Thursday (I'm 50% effaced so he thought there could be a chance I would), then the doc's going to take him; we scheduled a C-section for the 20th because baby is stubborn and hasn't turned yet...and probably won't by that time. Little stinker. But he'll get to share Brando's birthday! From now on, B's birthday presents will be the opportunity to put all of Caden's toys together. He's so excited, I know it.

Nursery time

As promised, I took pictures of the nursery now that we've got it all finished and everything set up. The decor was a set from Babies R Us called the Lambs & Ivy, and it's their jungle theme. Super cute. If you want to see detail, the pictures embiggen when clicked on. This is from the doorway looking in.

This one is from the window by the bookshelf looking towards the other wall and closet.

And this one is from the bookshelf looking back towards the doorway. The little hanging thing on the wall by the door is a little bag that's got a hard bottom and a split opening down the center so you can stack a bunch of diapers inside it. Very convenient.

So the room's all done and I have everything else I need (after a great final shopping trip today provided by my older sister to net me a nursing bra (or 3, thanks Leich!) and some bottle liners). Now all we need is baby!

2 weeks and counting...?

Well, looks like it's pretty certain that we're going to get a before-Christmas baby. Just got home from an OB appointment. My Braxton-Hicks contractions are coming pretty consisent and strong now (at least 10 or 11 in a day, every day) and I've started to thin a bit, but not only that, the little Randall Runt is still breech and my OB says that if he hasn't turned on his own by my next appointment on Thursday the 11th, it's likely he's not going to because he can't (my uterus is a little abnormally shaped, which he said is probably why the baby never turned to begin with). But they won't try and manipulate him, or do what they call a "version" to turn him because this far into the game that procedure puts undue stress on the baby, is just horrifically painful for the mom-to-be, and can cause more complications than it is at all beneficial. So, if he hasn't turned by the 11th then we'll likely end up scheduling a C-section for the next week; we're far enough along that he'll be considered full-term and will be fine. Boggles the mind to think we very well could be welcoming little Caden into this crazy family in just 2 weeks!

Cradle ... and the cow that jumped over the moon

This is a cradle we got from Branden's sister, who I think got it from a grandparent. We'll be using it in our bedroom until baby is ready to be in his own crib in his room. It looks pink in the lighting, but the bedding is actually just white with little yellow dots on the bumpers.

Aaaaaand as requested, another belly shot. Much to my dismay (and after discovering those stretch marks), this is what I look like at almost 34 weeks. I was on bed-rest earlier in the week because of contractions I had Sunday, and my OB made me laugh when he took me off it on Thursday and said, instead, I'd be on "restricted activity." Hello. Is movement while 8.5 months pregnant normal activity? Had to chuckle. Sigh...are we there yet? hehe

Onwards and upw..er, sidewards

Had my 32 week appointment yesterday. Things are going really well. He's 4lbs now and my OB says he's on track, gaining a half a pound a week, to be right around 7-7.5lbs on his birthday. No new picture this time, he was rather shy so the scan wasn't very clear. He's also a little breech-bum right now, his noggin right up in my diaphragm. Makes breathing and eating rather adventurous. Not that I feel much like eating; not only is he pushin on my tummy, I'm freaking huge! Or feel huge. I've found my first belly stretch marks (sob) and it really is quite impossible to shave my legs. Good thing we're going into winter where I can hide the shag beneath a wardrobe of long pants every day!

Cheek chub

Had my 29 week ultrasound today and everything's looking good. Especially my not-so-little-anymore circus peanut :) He's 2.5lbs now and starting to fill out. Look at his cheeks! This scan was awesome. We got to watch him yawn (twice) little yawns and at the end of the second one he promptly stuffed one fist into his mouth. His little nose even scrunched up as he tried to get all his fingers in and then started nomming away at his hand. I think I'm in love.

October in Utah

This was what we woke up to this morning....



You can always tell when it's snowed overnight, because you wake up to this total dead silence. 6-7 inches by the time it was all over. Typical Utah winter weather...and we're not even out of October yet! Luckily we're back up into the high 60's by the middle of the week.

6 Quirks

(Tagged by Carrie)
Definition of a quirk: Noun
1) A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncracy: "Every man has his own quirks and twists." Harriet Beecher Stowe.
2) An unpredictable or unaccountable act or event; a vagary: a quirk of fate.

Rules: Link the person that tagged you. Mention rules on your blog. Tell about 6 quirks of yours. Tag a few fellow bloggers to do the same, then leave a comment somewhere on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.

1. I never let the microwave finish..I stop it at 1 or 2 seconds before beeping, then open it. Drives Branden crazy because I never clear it afterwards.

2. I have a Pound Puppy I got when I was like 4 that I still sleep with. It doesn't matter where I am (at home, camping, at our cabin), I have to have him shoved up under one arm.

3. I read in the tub. I won't lie in bed or on the couch...if I get a book, I wait till it's bathtime and then read it while I soak.

4. I don't like it when my food touches. If there is more than one thing on my plate, I have to have each thing separated in its own little pile cause it bothers me if it touches something else.

5. I hate wrinkles. I'll smooth out the bed covers before I climb into bed at night. Each time I or someone else gets off our one sofa, I'll smooth out the wrinkles in the slip cover. OCD? Yeah probably, hehe.

6. I hate getting water in my face. I'll do anything I can not to 'go under' while swimming, and I freak when I get splashed by spray from the shower.

Now that you know how "quirky" I am, I'm gonna tag the following:
~Heidi
~Jen
~Steph

Beluuuuga!

I was petitioned to do another belly shot. So I did. And I regret it, hehehe. This is me at 28, almost 29 weeks. I feel huge!
...
I look huge! And I'm in a pair of Branden's sweats, so the fact I can't wear my own makes me feel even bigger, hehe. But the belly button turkey-timer hasn't popped yet, so I figure I've still got room to grow.

Insert stress here

I'm not a happy camper. Or more accurate really I should say I'm a stressed camper. Branden's company has thrown us another 'fun' situation. They're sending him to Dallas for about a week for some training. Now training's not a bad thing at all....except that they're sending him there in December. Hello. I'm DUE in December. Regardless of what week they actually send him, I could literally go at any point in that month. They've already jipped him out of being able to come to my OB appointments, ok fine whatever, but sending him away during the month his wife's due to give birth to their first? Negatory.

He's been trying to secure another job for about the last 3 months now. We badly need it. We'd really appreciate any prayers or good voodoo vibes that we find that something before December.

Grandma couldn't wait

I'm a huge sucker for the sleeper outfits and beanie hats. My mom knows this, and found this newborn sized (5-9lbs) one early. Of course she couldn't resist. It's made out of that really impossibly soft velur fuzzy type fabric, and the paw print on the foot of the sleeper just kills me.

Hello baaaaby

World, meet Caden Bradley :D I had a targeted ultrasound today, which is just a really in-depth scan where they measure every bone in his body they can find, take a peek at his heart valves, check his spine and kidneys, and all around just make sure he's doing what he should be doing. We also got our first stills of the 4D. And our first profile shots.

In this first one he's all wadded into a little ball, with his hands up by his forehead and his feet by his hands. In the one below, he's sucking on one of his hands. You can see his thumbnail there by his little nose, and then he's got his fingers, from pinkie to pointer, shoved in his mouth. He's almost 1 and a half pounds now. My handsome little monster :)

Not short but getting wider

Had a rather unique ultrasound today. Apparently there's some linkages between high-risk pregnancies, which is what mine was labeled for the first almost 16 weeks, and what's called "short cervix". If the cervix is less than like 1.8 inches, it's called "short" cervix, and that can lead to premature labor. I qualified to have a free ultrasound done to measure mine, and I'm happy to report I'm nice and long. I was also petitioned to post a new belly shot. So here I am at 21 weeks (got a new ticker). And yes, this is me officially in maternity pants. Buy-bye zippers! (and actually, that's really nice!!)