Thanksgiving 2009- Braden 10 months old

Burkholder family

Our little Drummer Boy

Riding the horsey with a little help from Daddy.

Wagon ride

9 1/2 months!

Braden seems to get stronger and learn so many new skills almost daily. He now very quickly crawls, easily pulls up to stand on just about anything and is even starting to cruise along the coffee table. With his new found exploring skills also comes some new bruises and tears. We have tried to baby proof, keep sharp corners covered and are constantly redirecting him from "No-No's". He is also learning to exert his will and at times have had a battle of the wills when it comes to table manners and changing diapers. We hope he will be an obedient child, but so far he likes his own way better than minding us. He's a bit of an escape artist and can get through small openings when we try to barricade him in the living room. And he can almost do a pull-up on the side of the pack-n-play. It probably won't be long until he can climb out. Oh boy oh boy! (eeek, what's a mom to do?) He is constantly babbling saying "mama" and "dada", but not really associating it with us yet. He also has learned to eat the Gerber Puffs (cherrios type food) without gagging- most of the time. :) He now has 2 bottom teeth which makes his smiles that much sweeter, but he has to smile really big to see them.
My sweet little baby is turning into a bigger boy. It's fun, but also kind of sad to see the little baby things fade away in place of a willful almost toddler. We still count our blessings everyday to be able to have our little Braden.

8 months old

Braden and Pooh in his new rocking chair from Grandma and Grandpa

And another month has passed. It's amazing how quickly the time flies! Braden is now 8 months old and has gained so many skills just in the past week. He is now rolling proficiently which is exciting, but makes bedtime/naptime challenging as he will roll over and "play" with his binkie or his bear or just scoot around in his bed instead of sleep. He also is now sitting completely independently and can stand holding onto furniture for a short time. Braden is on the verge of crawling probably within the next week or 2. He gets up on hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Sometimes he'll lunge forward, but land on his face. He'll figure it out soon!

Also, he is beginning to cut a tooth on the bottom. You can kind of see it, but you can definitely feel the sharp edge with your finger. He's not bitten me yet (knock on wood). I know friends have said that once they do that, nursing becomes that much more challenging.

What a blessing!

Braden is now nearly 7 months old. How time does fly! He's getting more and more personality which is so fun to get to know. He is generally happy and definitely has a silly side to him. (I'm sure he gets that from his Dad :) ). He smiles easily and laughs often. And....we're finding is very ticklish. Curtis is able to get him laughing pretty hard from his tickles.

Physically he is able to roll over tummy to back and almost from back to tummy. He is able to sit nearly by himself for a short time. He loves to stand with just a little support- even just a hand hold. He is loving his exersaucer and loves to jump around in there. He gets to laughing and shrieking when he's in there. He cracks us up and Chloe is always jumping with his high pitched squeals.

I was realizing again today what a perfect blessing he is. At times he can be frustrating with getting him to eat/nurse enough or nap adequately. But he is such a good baby overall and we are so blessed to have him. When I hear of others going through fertility struggles or difficult pregnancies, it reminds me of the long hard road it took to get our little boy. He is our little miracle! I actually have an appointment with Dr. Jarrett (my reproductive endocrinologist) on September 1st to consult about our long term plan to keep my endometriosis under control and to discuss plans for baby #2- although that will be at least a year from now before I'd want to get pregnant again- in an ideal world.
More pics to come. . . . .

He's growing up . . . .

At Splash Island, Braden's first chance to swim. :)

At Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Trying on his new hat.

Happy boy!

It's been a while since I've posted last. Braden is now 5 months old and continuing to get bigger and change more and more. As of 6/24/09 he weighed 13 lb 8 oz. He's actually getting a little chub in his cheeks and some meaty thighs. It's amazing when he was so tiny and a skinny string bean for a long time!

This past week we've started rice cereal. He's eaten it once a day for three days and as of last night was already learning to open his mouth for the next bite. It was so cute! Curtis took video of his first time, but we'll take more pics again soon. Also, this past week Braden had a chance to go the pool twice. Once at Plainfield Splash Island and the other and Aunt Cara and Uncle John's neighborhood pool. He seemed to enjoy it and both were very hot days!


This week Curtis has been gone at Annual Meeting to Seattle, so it's just been me with Braden and Chloe. It's tough being a single parent especially trying to go anywhere for the day with only me to manage everything. Braden and I went to the zoo with Christy and her family 2 days ago. It was a challenge to manage all the stuff, stroller, feeding him, changing him, etc. on my own. Oh, well. . . . I'm getting the hang of it.


I visited our friends Jake and Carrie yesterday who just had a baby 2 days ago. Baby Maureen was 8 lb 2.5oz. Holding her she was so tiny! It's hard to believe Braden was more than 2 pounds lighter than that when he was born!!! And he weighed about 8 lb at 6 weeks old!!! After holding Maureen I came back to Braden and had a new realization of just how much he has grown! It's amazing how you don't notice it seeing him everyday!! My little baby is growing up! I had the thought of I hope I get to do this again someday, but even if I don't. . . .I feel more than blessed to have Braden! I'm continually reminded of the miracle of him. Even now as he tries to fit his whole foot in his mouth and shrieks so loud that Chloe jumps. It's great! I love every minute (even when he's being a turkey. . . )

A year ago today. . . .

Exactly a year ago today, our little Braden was transferred into my womb as one of the two embryos below. Which one? We'll never know. The past few days I've been pondering the miracle of his creation and the events we were going through a year ago. It's mind boggling to consider the miracle of his life. We look back and feel oh so blessed that God has given Braden to us to raise. As of this past Thursday, he is 15 weeks old. What a transformation from a year ago! He continues to become more and more interactive. Right now as I type this, he is laying on his play mat beside me cooing up a storm, as well as having hiccups and kicking at the toys hanging from the top of the mat. He's the cutest thing ever!!!

As of 3 weeks ago on April 20th, I started back to work part time. The first week was hard, but continues to get easier. I know he is in good hands with my sister, Cara.

I'm continuing to attend a Breastfeeding support group once a week on Wednesdays. I'm glad I found out about it. They have a scale so we can track our baby's weight gain and a lactation consultant runs the class making rounds to answer any questions that we have and talk about common topics of concern. I'm also making a couple friends with other new mommys. As of last Wednesday, Braden weighed 11 lb 3 oz. He's still little compared to most babies his age, but we're making progress. Considering mine and Curtis' size, he'll probably just always be a little small, but that's ok. :)

Braden has been sleeping awesome at night usually 9-10 hrs and going 10-11 hrs between feedings. He's now nursing usually 5-6 times per day with his last feeding around 8-9 o'clock. It's great!!! Naps don't always go as well, but most of the time he does ok sleeping 45min to an hr.

I feel so blessed to BE a mother for this Mother's Day. I guess I technically WAS pregnant last Mother's Day, but didn't know it yet. Praise God for his grace and mercy!!!!

Braden is one of those beautiful embryos. . . .

Our happy smiling boy! Don't you think he looks like Curtis here?

Braden loves playing with and chewing on his lovey bear. It's too cute!

This darn head is so heavy . . .

2 months

Yesterday Braden had his 2 month Dr. appt. We've been hoping that he was keeping up with the 1 oz. per day weight gain recommendation and he has- exactly. He now weighs 9 lbs. even which is exactly 1 oz per day more than the last Dr. appt. Yeah! He's now 21 3/4 inches long and 37 cm head circumference. He's still bottom of the chart, but we've climbed up a little from 2% to 4-9%. Little by little. . . .

Just a few days ago we had another episode of him apparently ingesting blood, likely from a crack on my nipple. He then spit up blood- a lot of it. It's was really scary and gross. I called the Dr. and he didn't seem terribly concerned since Braden was acting happy and healthy. I just pumped the entired day and bottle fed to give my nipples a little bit of a break. Then at his appointment we discussed it further. Dr. Kersteff (his pediatrician) thought it also could have been from a small tear in his upper GI from increased spitting up that he has done lately. He decided that we should do a trial of giving him 3-4 weeks of Zantac for reflux. So, we're trying that, but I still believe it's from me. I also may speak with a lactation consultant just to make sure we're getting the latch right and not continuing to break blood vessels on me. Also, he got his first shot, a combination of 3 vaccines DTP?, Hib and polio. There was another they wanted to do also, but we're postponing that for a month. I believe vaccines have their importance, but I also believe in being cautious with all the publicity about possible austism risk. ( Although research denies that claim). Our basic plan with vaccines is to get only what is necessary and not more than a few at a time.

Braden and I have had lots of outings lately. I've been to lunch with several friends that have had babies within a few weeks of Braden. He'll have several little friends right around his age. I also took him into work last Thursday so everyone could meet him. He's a little charmer smiling at everyone. :)

We'll be going home at Easter which will be our first time to travel since having Braden. I'm sure it will be quite the circus with him, Chloe and all our stuff and just being away from the conveniences of home. It will be good to be with family, though. :)

Smiling boy!

Braden gets cozy with Chloe. Hanging out with Grandpa

Grandma feeding Braden a bottle

Our first walk in the stroller on a beautiful 70 degree day!

Braden trying on a hat made by my friend Laura.

And. . . the best one yet. . . Braden's beautiful toothless smile smiling at Daddy. He started smiling at 6 weeks and he's the cutest thing ever!!!

Braden is becoming increasingly more alert and interactive. It's so fun! What initally was a somewhat glazed expression responds to our voices and now smiles at us. We love it! He is such a good baby and now rarely fusses unless he's hungry, needs a diaper change or is tired. And, the best news is that the last 5 nights he has slept through the night (6-7 hrs). It's been awesome!!! I'm hoping it continues.

1 month old

Here is one of the pictures used in Braden's birth announcement. Sorry we couldn't send one to everyone.

Yesterday Braden had his one month check-up. He weighed in at 7lb 2 oz. and his lenth is 20 1/4 inches. He's at the bottom of the growth chart, but he started out small, so it will be a while before he catches up. The Dr. says they hope for a 1 oz/day growth. It's been 25 days since he was last weighed and he's gained 19 oz. So, he's a little behind, but the Dr. isn't worried saying he is within normal range.

We're still breast feeding and overall going well. We had an episode this past weekend where I apparently had a crack/blood blister in a nipple and Braden consumed a little blood. Disgusting, I know. He spit up pink, blood tinged milk a couple times. I went back to using a breast shield for a while to let things heal and we'll try to wean off of it in the next couple days. Since yesterday he's been eating like a fiend. He must have heard the Dr. say he was small and he's trying to catch up. :) He's been eating often every 2- 2.5 hrs and often for 45 minutes total. We also have introduced the bottle the last few days with breast milk. He took to it with no problems. Curtis has been feeding him each time and is enjoying the baby-daddy bonding time. :) The first time we gave him the bottle, he took 3 oz and then woke up hungry again less than 2 hrs. later. The next day we gave him 4 oz. and he was still acting hungry rooting and trying to suck on his hands. So, we gave him 2.5 oz more and he took it without even slowing down. 6.5 oz for a 1 month old seems like a lot, but apparently he was hungry and he didn't even spit any of it up. So, if this little boy keeps eating like this, he'll catch up eventually. :) But, might wear me out in the process. At least he's still doing well at night going 4-5 hrs at a time between feedings and sometimes even 6-7. Overall I don't feel horribly sleep deprived. I guess I'm getting used to getting my rest in smaller doses.

More pics

Braden was given an embroidered t-shirt from a Wild Birds Unlimited store owner. Here he is sporting his up and coming love of birds like his grandparents. :)

Braden's first bath was not the most pleasant of experiences for him. You can see he was not too happy about it.

But, getting wrapped up in his froggie towel helped. :)

Braden continues to be a great baby. He slept 6 straight hours last night. It was wonderful and I feel somewhat rested today. He has had some issues with spitting up lately and I'm learning that he doesn't do well to lie flat on his back after eating. We are continuing to get into a routine, but some days I feel like all I do is nurse. . . . when it takes 40-45 minutes each time between eating, changing, burping etc. . . Then a little over 2 hours later we're doing it again. Whew. I am trying to enjoy each moment though. I try to find time to work out a little bit and if I can accomplish one other thing during the day (laundry etc) I feel like I've actually done something.

It's hard to believe on Thursday he'll be 4 weeks old already. Time is flying. . . .

Our precious boy!

Both of the above pictures were taken today. Isn't he the sweetest?!!!!!!

The decal on Braden's wall. So true. . . . .

Braden and Chloe getting to know each other. She still isn't too sure about him and isn't a fan of our attention being divided, but overall she is adjusting well.

Braden right before leaving the hospital.

This is the first post I've done since Braden was born. Curtis has done the last 2 since I was unable with everything going on, obviously. We're now home and adjusting well. My parents stayed with us from Sunday, Jan 25th through the morning of Thurs, Jan 29th. It was such a blessing to have them here. My dad cooked up a storm in my kitchen and my mom helped to clean, do laundry, organize my kitchen etc. It was wonderful. After they left, Curtis was still home the rest of the week. It enabled us to try and establish a routine together before he had to return to work. At the end of the week and through the weekend, I started to feel crummy, had one very sore and red breast and developed a fever of 102. I called my Dr. and determined that I had mastitis and was quickly put on an antibiotic. As if recovering from a C-section and taking care of a newborn wasn't enough. . . .it was a rough couple days.

But, we are definitely doing well now. Curtis is back to work this week and Braden and I are on our own. I'm starting to feel like I have a routine and getting Braden on a good feeding/sleeping schedule. This sweet boy has done so well with sleeping (knock-on-wood). I'm feeling quite spoiled. For the last 4-5 nights, he has slept 4-5 hrs at a time and I'm even having to wake him up much of the time. So, I'm not feeling terribly sleep deprived- not like I expected. He also is eating very well. At his 1st Dr. appt. last Friday, he had already gained weight back to his birth weight. He was 5 lb 8 oz when we left the hospital, and as of 8 days old was back to nearly 6lb. The Dr. was very pleased as he said that most breast fed babies don't reach their birth weight until at least 10 days.

I'm definitely enjoying being at home with Braden! He is such a joy and a blessing. Sometimes we just look at him and marvel at the miracle of his life. I know all babies are miracles, but with the difficulty of his conception he seems more so. He is a miracle of modern medicine and a gracious, loving God. We feel blessed beyond words to have him in our arms. I wasn't sure if this day would ever come and feel so honored that God would allow us this opportunity. Even if he is the only child we'll ever have. . . it's OK. We feel like we've won the lottery with him!

We had professional pictures taken of him this past Saturday. If you'd like to view them, they'll be up until February 10th. The website is http://www.sprinklesoflight.com/ Go to "clients" and type in password: braden . We think they are very precious and we'll have a hard time choosing.

We are Home:) More Pics of Braden

Braden and family are now back at home! We got home this afternoon around 1pm. Amy's parents are staying with us until Weds. Curtis has this entire next week off. Braden is doing great but very sleepy today. It is a chore trying to get him awake enough to nurse but hopefully that will continue to get better each day. Chloe and Braden met for the first time this afternoon and Chloe is super curious about her new baby brother!

Here are some more pictures of Braden.

Pics of Braden!

Introducing Braden Lee Burkholder!!!

He's finally here!! Amy went into the hospital last night at 4pm to be induced. She labored throughout the night until around 10am this morning but was only dilated to 4 centimeters. Although her contractions were strong they were too far apart for labor to progress properly. Amy was started on another drug pytosin sp? to try and get the contractions closer together. Although this did help speed up the contractions it also caused Bradens heart rate to drop which is not a good sign. Basically this meant that the placenta was wearing out and not providing enough blood and oxygen during the contraction. After 2 hours of contractions Amy hadn't dilated any further and her doctor said that it was her feeling that labor was not going to progress fast enough to keep Braden out of stress and that that actual pushing at the end of labor could cause an emergency. After talking it over with the doctor we all agreed that the best course of action would be to stop the medicine and do a c-section while Braden was still doing well. So that's what we did! The surgery went GREAT! Mom and Baby are doing very well. Braden was born at 2:40pm weighs 6lbs and is 20 inches long! Praise God for our baby boy! We are so grateful for everyones thoughts and prayers and for all of our supportive family and friends!

Getting closer

My appointment with my OB yesterday was rather uneventful. Basically everything is the same as a week ago. My belly is still small. In fact she said my belly has been the same size since December 17th. She didn't do another ultrasound, but did check his heartrate and quizzed me about his movements both of which are fine. She did explain more about what to expect this week. Basically I'll go in tomorrow afternoon and they will start me on a vaginal suppository drug to begin to get my body into labor. She said the dose is given every 4 hours and usually takes 3-4 doses to get my body started. So, it's easier to begin slowly through the night. The following morning I may be started on pitocin depending on that progress. Supposedly some people start into labor without the pitocin. She did warn me that if things don't progress despite all the meds I may be given two options of either C-section or go home to let things progress on their own for another 24 hours. We're praying against both of those possibilities. We pray that my body responds well to the meds depsite the fact that I'm not dialated at all yet.

Tomorrow is my last chance to get everything ready, pack my bags and get to the hospital. It will be a crazy couple days. We'll keep updating so watch for anything new and of course pictures. :)

Slight change in date

I finally heard back from my Dr's office on Friday regarding dates and times to be at the hospital. They want me to be there by 4pm on Wednesday (Jan 21st) for a Thursday (Jan 22nd) delivery. Initially when I called the office and I told them that Thursday would be good for induction, I wasn't sure if that meant BE there on Thursday or induce on Thursday. Anyway, now we know. Curtis will still plan to work a full day on Wednesday and then come hang out with me, but will plan to sleep at home on Wednesday to be with me the next couple days. I guess on Wednesday I will be given some kind of drug to soften and ready my cervix and then will start the Pitocin on Thursday morning. It's crazy to know this is only a few days away. . .

Please pray for Curtis as he has come down with some kind of stomach flu bug last night. He's been in bed all day and feeling pretty crummy. We're praying that I don't get it and that he's well enough to be part of the coming events this week.

I have another Dr. appt tomorrow morning, so if anything changes I'll keep you posted. :) Our baby boy will be here before we know it!!!!

Plans for next week

At my OB appointment today I was still measuring small. Basically the same as last week. Dr. Fenoughty decided to have another ultrasound to determine how well he was growing. He is now 6 lb. 1 oz. , only 5 oz. bigger than last week. His growth is starting to slow and he's now dropped to the 16th percentile in size. Bascially what that means is that the placenta function is slowing down in it's ability to provide adequate nutrition. All this to say. . . time to get him out. :) She said that we need to plan to induce sometime next week and that we could decide the day. So, tentatively we're planning on going in Thursday to begin the induction with a delivery on Friday. The office still needs to get back with me to confirm this. Also, I have another appointment next Monday to check me again to make sure we don't need to move it up sooner. I'll keep you all posted on details, but basically we're having a baby next week. :) :) The bummer of inducing is that I'm not dialated at all yet, so it could take awhile and there exists the possibility that it wouldn't progress well leading to a C-section. But, it doesn't matter. We just want to get him out and have a healthy baby----whatever it takes!!!! Please pray that:
1) Baby continues to gain weight and that the placenta continues functioning until Friday.
2) That my body would begin to ready for labor on it's own to start some dialating.
I'll let you know if anything changes.

Professional Maternity Pics- 32 weeks

37 Weeks

I had another OB appointment this morning since I am now going weekly. I expected the appointment to be quick and painless like all the others have been, but there was a little more to it this time. Dr. Fenoughty checked the measurement of my belly which actually measured small. The measurement in cm should coincide with the # of weeks pregnant. Up until now that has been the case. However today at 37 weeks, I measured only at 34. She also checked to see if I'm dialated at all, which I'm not, but could determine that the baby had dropped lower into my pelvis. She was concerned about my size so had to get another ultrasound to make sure the fluid levels were adequate and that the baby is growing well. It was nice to see him again on the ultrasound. The fluid levels came back fine at 14. Anything below 5 is concerning. The baby is measuring small, however. He measured approx 5lb 12oz. He is in the 17th percentile for size and I guess anything below 20 is concerning. So, then they had me get hooked up to the monitors for about 30-40 minutes to monitor the baby's heart rate and activity as well as any contractions I was having. Initially he wasn't moving much and the heart rate stayed around 135. It was interesting to see that I am having regular contractions, but not something I'm noticing much and nothing that is causing any pain. They then gave me a mini pack of M&M's and this instantly boosted his activity and heart rate which was what they were wanting to see. So, the conclusion after all this is that the baby is fine, the fluid is fine, his movement is fine, but he just may be genetically small. Not surprising considering the size of Curtis and I. Dr. Fenoughty's concern was that he's not getting enough nutrition from the placenta or that the fluid was dropping which could compromise his health. But neither of which were true at this time. Basically I'm just supposed to closely monitor his movements and if they drop off they want me to come in to be monitored again. If his movement, growth or fluid levels drop off she would induce me into labor to prevent any problems. So, all in all everything is still fine, but all the testing was a little anxiety provoking. It just looks like we'll be having a small baby which I guess is a good thing- easier to push out right? :) We just want to make sure he's healthy. Please pray for his continued growth and health in the coming weeks. :)

36 weeks pregnant

Here I am beginning the final month of this journey. It's hard to believe there are only 4 weeks to go. In a way I'm ready to be done being pregnant and finally be able to hold our little guy. But, there are a lot of anxieties too. I've wanted to be pregnant for so long that I don't want to wish it away too quickly.

In the past couple weeks I've really started to feel "big" and can feel my pelvis loosen. It takes me longer to get around and Curtis is always having to slow down so I can keep up with him. :) I had my 36 week OB appointment yesterday. My cervix is starting to soften, but no effacement or dilation yet. Everything continues to check out perfect. The baby continues to be head down with his bottom on my right side and hands/feet on my left. He's quite the wiggly one so I could figure that out myself. She's predicting him to be in the high 6 pound range or low 7 pound range. This is based on my ultrasound a month ago which is pretty accurate. I now go to the Dr. every week until the end. I asked what the liklihood is that Dr. Fenoughty (my OB) would delivery him. She said that unless she is out of town, she delivers all her patients whether she is on call or not. That made me feel good. :) The only time she plans to be out of town in the near future is in 2 weeks when she goes to Florida to run a mini-marathon. I knew I liked her. :)

We finished our labor and delivery classes a couple weeks ago. Supposedly we know what we need to know now. I don't think you can ever quite fully prepare. I'm a little anxious about the whole thing. . . . about how much pain I can handle. I'm planning on an epidural, but also waiting as long as I can before getting it so my labor doesn't slow down. I'll keep you all posted and will try to post to my blog weekly now to give updates until our little guy makes his arrival.