So I had a little photo opt with Gage today. Yeah I actually got dressed and put make-up on. It was a big step for me considering that I've been hanging around the house in just a sports bra. I've now graduated to the status of a cow. So it was nice to feel like a women again even if I'm the only one who gets to enjoy seeing me. Well I guess Cody is around too and he could probably use the reminder after having to see by body go through some very un-lady like treatment over the last week. The first picture on the blog is not focused on anything but a very funny face that Gage makes a lot. He's got what we call shifty eyes and he is always checking things out around him. I think it's pretty dang cute!



Other pictures on here include his Popeye face and also one with his eyes open wide. The video however I think reflects best the different expression that he is capable of doing. The pout is my absolute favorite. And he is very good at it.




























In other news I got pooped on big time today. I figured that with a boy I would expect to have the occasional instances where he pees on me. However today he really out did himself. I was changing his diaper and had his legs lifted up high while I wiped his bum. Well sure enough he wasn't done with pooping because it came shooting out and covered his blanket, the carpet and my pajama bottoms. Poor me. And the funny part was that as I was cleaning things up he did it a second time and got me again. Mom and I thought it was pretty funny.

Lastly I wanted to write a thank you to my wonderful mother who made this whole ordeal so much easier. She came rushing up here to see the baby being born and she stayed till today helping out at the house. She cooked and cleaned and watched Gage at night but most importantly she keep me company and showed me that she loves me. Her little grandson adores her and I couldn't have gotten through the first week with as much calm without her. She was a life saver through the whole Jaundice thing and I'll always treasure the time we spent together smiling and cooing to little Gage. Sometimes it's great to just have someone else around to talk about what a miracle little newborn are. So thank you mom for all your help and I hope your birthday is fun filled. You mean the world to me. Love you!

Some Videos!

Here are some videos that aired on facebook but are now here for any of you that don't check it. I think he's the cutest thing but I might be a bit biased.

Gage Lynn Brower

Well , where to begin? I guess the real beginning of the whole labor and delivery story started on Sat when I thought my water broke. Being the ever generous wife I had sent Cody down to Pocatello a day early so he could hang out with his friends and the on Sat I would meet back up with him in Pocatello for my baby shower. Sat morning I was getting out of the shower and felt a rush of water. I figured that was my water breaking so I headed up to the hospital and called Cody on the way- convinced that he would have to drive up super fast to help. Well I got to the hospital and was told that my membrane was intact, I wasn’t in labor, but at least I was dilated to 3 cm. So for the rest of the day I bled on and off and felt some not so fun discomforts in belly. The baby shower was wonderful and I got some wonderful gifts that have already been put to good use. Again, feeling confident that no labor was impending, I had Cody go to his friends house to pull and all nighter again with the computer games. After talking to everyone and staying up way too late I finally went to bed at 2 only to be woken up at 4 for no reason at all. I was in the habit of using the bathroom every time I wake up so I stood to walk down the hall and felt a huge rush of water coming out. I waddled as fast as I could to the bathroom and realized that even though all that water had come out I still had a full bladder and needed to go to the bathroom. That’s when I knew that something crazy was going on. I decided to go back to bed and found that I couldn’t sleep due to these weird pangs in my stomach. I decided to start timing them so I got my book and a watch and found that after one hour they had gone from 7 min apart to 4 mins. By the time that I came into the hospital I was having them every 2. I had the option of trying to drive the hour and a half back to Rexburg so I could have the baby in the hospital I had planned but the thought of driving that far with so much fluid leaking out. Plus Cody made it very clear that he wasn’t all too excited about delivering the baby in the car. So we stuck around and Cody’s mom and sister Kaiann brought some cards over and we played games for a bit till the contractions started getting bad. So I decided to get an epidural when I hit about 4 centimeter after about 6 hours of labor. The interesting thing is that the moment I arrived they put me on pitocin just to help things move along but it seemed to not be progressing me very fast. So I got medicated and the doctor who stuck me was very nice. In fact everyone on staff at Pocatello were the most attentive, wonderful people. Especially the doctors and I think they are the hardest ones to find. Anyway- the epidural finally started working until an hour later when pain and contractions started coming through. The anesthesiologist gave me a booster and told me to stay on my left side. Unfortunately Gage’s heartbeat would slow every time I did so I just had to work through the contractions. So the doctor came in to talk about c-section possibilities because my dilation was slow. He said we’d give it an hour and then check again. Well after an hour I was at an 8 and after the nurse left the pain got really intense and I started to feel a lot of pressure. I called the doctor back in who told me that I was at a 10 and was ready to go. My mom was about 10 minutes away driving up as fast as she could. She had caught a flight at 9am that morning when I told her that my water had broken and she rented a car in Salt Lake to drive the rest of the way to Pocatello. So I had my sister in law get on the phone and tell her to start breaking traffic laws. As luck would have it she arrived just as I started pushing. I thought she had barely made it but unbeknownst to me I had an hour and a half of hard pushing ahead of me. My epidural still wasn’t working right and the anesthesiologist was in an emergency c-section so he couldn’t come and help me. Turns out that several things worked against me in getting the baby out of my body. 1^st off I have tilted tail bone that makes passage around it difficult. Gage still has the scratches on his face from passing by it. 2^nd I apparently have a very narrow birthing canal and 3^rd Gage had been with so much pressure on his head for so long that his head had swelled up considerably. So I pushed and pushed and I can really understand the idea that having a baby is like running a race. I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs between contractions and I seriously wondered several times if I would pass out from lack of oxygen. Each push saw minimal results and I heard “you’re almost there” for about 45 minutes straight. My mom and Cody were such a help in pushing, telling me when the contractions were starting and more importantly letting me know when they were ending. As luck would have it the anesthesiologist showed up about 30 minutes before he was born and he was able to give me another booster to take the edge off. At one point the doctor told me that if I got an episiotomy he could have Gage out in just one more push. As tempting as the offer was I was really scared of getting cut. I think being able to see myself in the mirror made me reluctant to do it so I opted to go without and Gage was born just 10 minutes later. When he came out he was all grey and purple and not crying. I remember being so relieved but also very worried why he wasn’t crying. They had Cody cut the cord and they placed him on my chest for just a moment before they whisked him away to give him oxygen. He seemed so big to have come out of me and felt so cheated that everyone else was able to be up and moving around looking at him and I had to stay there and get stitched up. I didn’t tear on the outside but there were several lacerations on the inside. I never did ask how many stitches I received but it took at least 20 minutes to finish them all up. By then they had taken Gage to the NICU for oxygen treatment. He was grunting and whining softly (obviously a sign of the horrible trauma he had to endure). They also ran several tests to make sure that the severe bruising on his head wasn’t bleeding into his brain. So finally 4 hours after having him I was able to go to the NICU and see my little boy. And he is so beautiful! Even with his abnormally large swollen head he is the sweetest little guy you’ve ever seen. I stayed at the hospital for 2 days and brought him home. My mom has been here helping out and I can’t ever repay her for the service she’s given and the support she’s offered. Such a champ! Gage has had really bad Jaundice for the last couple of days and that has been very scary for us. He has had an ultraviolet light pad that we keep to his back at all times. He also wasn’t feeding very well so the lactation gal from WIC came over last night for a home visit and brought a hand pump. It turns out that she was heaven sent because it was while she was here that we learned just how bad his jaundice was and it turns out that he needed to be getting a lot more to eat than he was getting. They actually defined his condition as failure to thrive and that qualified me to get a rented double pump from WIC for free. It has been so nice because the hand pump was terrible with my carpel tunnel. Actually it hurt so bad that I had Cody pumping me all last night. Romantic- I know. Talk about seeing your wife in a whole new way! But thankfully we got some more blood results taken today and he is improving so we’ll be able to stop using the light pad by Saturday. I’ll be so happy to hold him again without a huge power machine attached to him and the pad. Well I’m going to leave the stories at that since I think this is about 3 pages long already. Enjoy the pictures and sorry they were so long in coming. Thanks to everyone for their support and help!

Where did all these kids come from?

Here are some pictures of last weekend when I was down in Salt Lake for my cousins funeral. Although it was a very sad reason for all of us to get together it sure reminded me how great my family is. I love them all so much and it is so neat to watch their little kids grow. Pictured here are some of the fun we had just kickin' it in the hotel and spending time together. I think my favorite part about the weekend was watching Cody and Ami play together. I captured a classic moment when Cody is seconds away from being drooled on. The look on Cody's face is priceless and you can see the droplet falling out of Ami's mouth. The other pictures include Carson being very intrigued with my tummy and especially with trying to figure out where my belly button went to. I wish we all lived closer to each other so these hang outs could be on a weekly basis and not every few months. I also got to see my cousins who I love dearly. Andrea is always so much fun to be around and I hadn't seen Nicole for years! The drive down was uncomfortable as I presumed it would be and sleeping at the hotel turned out to be not so bad due to the fact that there was an ice machine that I used to ice my wrists. I've had a couple of doctors visits and they continue to have no suggestions for me on how to ease the pain of my carpel tunnel. I did however get my doctor to agree to inducing me a week early if this doesn't let up. I know the benefits of just letting the baby come but I just don't know how much more of this I can take. It helps to be around the cute kids of other people so I can see how worth it this whole thing is. I'm being thrown a baby shower tomorrow from the Browers and I can't wait. I'm going to go to the hair salon and have them do my hair (since I can't do my own with hands as numb as I have) so I'll be able to look the best that a preggie possibly can. I'll be sure to include pictures in the next post. my tummy routinely gets tight and hard with what I assume to be Braxon Hicks and that only leads me to hope more and more that he's getting closer to coming. It's hard to remember that he's just going to come when he's ready and that there is nothing I can do to speed up the process. A dumb part of me is so excited to have him so I can have a month break from work. How dumb is that reasoning? I get the feeling that he is going to be far from the "break" I'm expecting to get :) Well that about does it for my update. Expect more pictures in the next blog and pray that I don't go into labor tonight. Cody is down in Pocatello tonight so it would be very bad timing on the baby's part. Miss you all!

Baby Craze!

Not many pictures to update with this time around but for those of you who don't see me regularly this is how I looked this last Sunday. Big... I know! The belly just keeps growing and growing. My motivation with work is beginning to slack off big time and the new eating plan that Cody and I are doing is going well but I'm sure missing all the sweets I allowed myself to indulge in. I'm really feeling good about eating better because as much as people keep telling me to just enjoy myself and not count calories- I have the sneaky suspecian that the stress of a baby will only make me want to eat more poorly. So here's to hoping that I can change my eating habits before the baby comes. I am not looking to lose weight by any means- I know that's not healthy- but my OBGYN said that I should be alright if I try to keep my weight at 165 till the baby is born. I'm really hoping that the baby comes early. As of right now I'm averaging about 6 hours of sleep at night and wake up about every hour to ice my wrists and shake feeling back into my hands. Cody is really sweet and has been giving me hand and arm rubs when he notices that I'm awake and can't fall asleep. I'm going to see my doctor on Thursday and I think I will really look into some after birth surgery for my wrists if it doesn't get better. The promise of early induction is looking more and more tempting. Last week Cody and I started birthing classes and we had a lot of fun while there. We go for the next 4 weeks every wed night. Our instructor is kind of an interesting women but other than that I love being able to learn breathing techniques and pain management. One of the calming techniques involves your spouse telling you a story to try and get your mind off the pain. So the teacher gave us 5 mins to lay down and be told a story. So Cody starts in with a beautifully described day with my baby horses and just 30 seconds into the story I start crying. It was such a sweet little story and once I start crying it is like a flood gate that opens. Every time we tried to gain control and start another story I would bust up in a crying/ laughing combination. We were the most distracting couple in the class. Oh pregnant moments! In other news the Brower clan is going to throw me a baby shower on the 23rd of this month in Pocatello. I can't wait!!! As long as Gage doesn't come before then :) I think Cody and I will be coming down to Utah to attend the funeral of my cousin. It's probably going to be an unpleasant drive but I want to be there and Cody still hasn't met the majority of my extended family. Anyway- Carpel Tunnel doesn't go along with typing very well so I'll try to update again when I get some more news and or pictures. Hope everyone is doing well!

Update on our first babies!

One fun activity that happened while we were at the Browers for Christmas was bringing the horses across the town to their winter pasture next to the house. Normally they're kept out in 39 acres to eat at their leisure but when enough snow falls they're brought up next to the house to be fed all winter. Unfortunately that involves "driving" the horses down the highway amidst cars passing. The only way this works is to take the main mare and gelding (male horse that's been fixed) and tie them to the truck and drive it slowly down the road. The rest of the horses won't leave the herd bosses so it's relatively risk free. And let me take this moment to stress to everyone reading this blog- if you see horses on the road- SLOW DOWN! We had people flying past the whole herd at 40-50 mph. I was just waiting for one of the baby horses to spooke and jump out in front of it. People would always do that in La Canada too when Melody and I would ride and it would blow my mind people could be so inconsiderate. Now you may be wondering how we can legally just turn the horses loose and run them down the road. Well it turns out that the county is a free range land so people use the main road to drive cows, sheep and horses all the time. Such a different kind of a place. Anyway, the horses all made it safely and the baby horses are getting SO big. I think we underestimated what a full blood draft horse would throw cause these babies are already catching up to their moms super fast. FYI- the pictures posted were taken by my new camera that I absolutely love. It is amazing what a difference it makes! One of my favorite pictures is of Pokies hooves. They have the coolest coloration to them! One of my favorite parts of the day was when little Coco was eating from the barn, just minding her own business and the lead herd mare Sugar came up and tried to drive her from the spot. Well Coco panicked and tried to jump through the feed opening only to discover that she is way to huge to accomplish such a feat so she took several more bites till she was able to get out of the way. I gave Sugar a real good scolding for it and afterward Coco came stumbling over to us with a shell-shocked look on her face. She just stayed next to us for some comfort and petting till she calmed down. Almost as if she asked "did you see what happened to me" and was looking for protection. Poor Coco is the most kind and gentle horse I've ever seen. I am sure that she will be a member of our family for a long time to come and she'll only be 1 year older than Gage so they will probably be best friends as well (hey a mom can wish!). So pregnancy wise I'm still measuring about a week ahead of where I should be so with any luck maybe this guy will come a little early. Especially since he's been nothing but trouble for the last little bit. I've moved into the swelling part of pregnancy and sadly that has ushered in the carpel tunnel part of pregnancy. It's not a very common affliction but let me tell you it's awful! My hands will go painfully numb in the night every half an hour unless I wear wrist braces all day and night. I also have to ice my wrists a couple of times a day or I don't sleep at night. As if pregnancy doesn't suck enough already! I guess it's just one way that God is able to make women look forward to labor. I've already hit the amount of weight that I wanted to gain with this pregnancy so that's a bit depressing. My doctor told me that if I eat very well for the next month then there's no reason why I need to gain anymore. I'm not sure how that will work out with the baby getting so much bigger everyday but I'd really like to keep my weight gain down as low as possible. Well I've taken to rambling so I'll close this post and tell everyone about what's going on with Law School next blog. Love you all!