Conrad Jeremiah Brown

Once the craziness of summer camps and swim lessons ended the first week of August, it was time to focus on getting ready for baby. I signed up for water aerobics, which I absolutely love doing while pregnant and especially at the end when my body can't handle any impact really. I would be exhausted the days that I did it, but it felt so good while I was in the pool that it was worth it. All of my babies have come early and from my doctors appointments it was looking like this one would follow suit. Just in case he didn't we had an induction set up for Tuesday Aug 21, which would have been 6 days early. My parents had limited time when they could get off of work and come to visit so I had to make sure I had the baby before they came. Well the whole week before the induction date I was feeling pretty sick and out of it. I kept getting hit by waves of nausea and dizziness. When I went to the doctor on Friday the 17th, my blood pressure was elevated for me and there was a trace amount of protein in my urine. My doctor wanted me to really watch over the weekend for other signs of preeclampsia. Well Sunday morning I felt horrible and I started seeing black spots and my doctor said that if that happened I needed to come in. Just to be sure I also went to grocery store to check my blood pressure and it had skyrocketed to 157 over 105. When my blood pressure got that high with Netta they induced me, so I called the on call doctor and she said it was time to come into the hospital to get checked out. 

So at about 12:15pm my friend Richelle came to watch the kids for us and we headed to the hospital. When we got there they had to do a bunch of tests to see if I actually had preeclampsia. In the end it turned out that I didn't, but the gestational hypertension was bad enough to warrant an induction. You never want to be sick, but I can't lie I was very ready and willing to be induced. At this point I was already 4 cm and 90% effaced, so the doctor decided to get things going by first just breaking my water. That was at 2:30pm. After 45 minutes my contractions hadn't really gotten started so they started me on the lowest dose of pitocin. Well after about 30 minutes of that, so around 3:45pm, the contractions were extremely strong and I requested my old pal the epidural. Luckily, there was pretty much no one else in labor and delivery so the anesthesiologist arrived very quickly. By 4:30pm the epidural was up and running and all I could think was how grateful I am to have the option of this kind of pain management. The nurse checked me again and I was 6cm, which was awesome to hear. She said she would come back in an hour to check on me again. Well 20 minutes later she was in the room and I told her that my butt bones were hurting. I thought it was just the affects of the epidural, but she decided to check me anyway to see if anything was going on. She had me turn onto my back and as soon as I did she said "I know why your butt hurts. It's because your baby is crowning!" I couldn't believe it. John was over in the corner doing his own thing and I said "Did you hear that?" and he hadn't so I told him the baby is coming and as soon as he walked over I could see the surprise on his face cause he could see what I meant. The nurse quickly told me to close my legs so she could call the doctor. The doctor took 5 minutes and almost missed the birth. Basically the contractions were pushing him out and even though I wasn't pushing there was no stopping him. You could see the surprise on the doctor's face as well when she walked in and she quickly ran over and told me just to give one gentle push and viola Conrad was born at 4:59pm just 2 1/2 hours after they broke my water. I teared up a little but mainly I was laughing because I just couldn't get over the shock of how quickly he had come. I am glad I had a great nurse who took my butt hurting comment seriously and didn't just write it off like I am sure some people would have. 

So here are some pics from the hospital stay. First me getting checked in to the triage room. Words cannot express how good it feels not to be pregnant anymore. Conrad was so low at the end that it was basically impossible to be comfortable ever. 

Me and my baby boy. I was grateful that I got to take a shower before going into the hospital and that my time on the pitocin was very short so I wasn't swollen like a balloon from the iv. 

We thought the babysitter would have to be at our house through dinner and then put the kids to bed, but things happened so quickly that John was able to bring dinner to the kids and then bring them to the hospital before bed time. Of course the kids were so excited to meet the baby and just as excited to get to play in the hospital room. There was some serious fighting over the remote. 

King really showed no interest in Conrad. In fact he didn't acknowledge the baby during my hospital stay at all. Instead he preferred to fight over the remote and play in the closet. 

Netta joined in on the closet action and John took what is one of my favorite pictures ever of the two of them. 

I wanted a picture of me and all the kids, but like I said, if the baby was involved King refused to cooperate so I could only get a picture with EZ and Netta. Of course as soon as I put down Conrad, King was all over me and wanted to sit directly on my stomach. 

Here he is Conrad Jeremiah Brown. He was 8 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches. Not my biggest baby, but still pretty good sized. The doctor was impressed that I popped out a baby this size so quickly. 

The next morning John came back with the kids again. I loved having them there, but unfortunately they could never really stay more than an hour because King would get too antsy. Netta was beyond excited to get to hold the baby. 

EZ loves him too and just keeps saying how cute he is. 

And of course here is my handsome hubby with Conrad. It took us quite a while to come up with the name. In fact we had 3 names in mind when we went to the hospital and it wasn't until the second day when the birth certificate lady kind of gave us a deadline that we were able to finally choose. 

I got asked so many times in the hospital whether or not we are going to have anymore kids. When people would ask me at the end of the pregnancy my initial reaction would be "no" because I was uncomfortable and cranky, but after such an easy delivery and while holding such a precious beautiful boy, I don't know for sure but I can't rule it out completely just yet. 

Keeping Busy in July

OK so John hacked into my account and posted that lovely picture of the crazy baby. We really did have the baby, but I have to crank this post out first to make sure it gets done and then the actually baby pics and details to follow. 

Once Ellie left and John and the kids got back from California, the month of July was pretty much spent running allover town for different summer camps and swim lessons. The first week back EZ had cooking camp. The YMCA has great summer camps and we told EZ he could pick anyone he wanted and cooking it was. He really loved it. They learned some recipes, but also learned about nutrition and table manners. The last day they kids made a special lunch for the parents. EZ was so excited and he kept telling me how the teacher made better food than me. Well that is not hard to do. Here he is showing off his special apron and his oh so beautiful place mat. 

I don't have any pictures of it but the next week was spent taking EZ to Spanish camp. His kindergarten teacher held a Spanish language arts camp at the home of one of the other students. EZ was really excited about it until he got there and he was the only boy. In the end he still had a good time, but he was a little disappointed that none of his favorite friends were there. We are really proud of how well EZ is doing in the program. His teacher was also offering sessions for the students the grade above them and she said that EZ is doing so well in his reading that he could attend with the older kids if he wanted. We ended up passing on it, because of the money and I was just sick of driving all over, but we were still excited to know he could hack it with the older kids. 

Of course we had to do swim lessons this year. EZ put up a bit of a fight saying he already knows how to swim, but yeah that's not true so swim lessons commenced. Unfortunately, things got off to a rocky start. EZ was placed in a level a little high for him, but I figured it was better they push him. Well, the first day he freaked out because they were in the big pool and the kids in his class were older and way bigger than him. So we spent 30 minutes on the side of the pool with me trying anything and everything to get him to change his mind and him screaming like a maniac and refusing to swim. Not my proudest moment as a parent. Finally, after the lessons were over the teacher informs me that there is an opening in the next level down and he could join that class. Uh that would have been nice to know 20 minutes earlier, but at least we worked something out and he was good to go for the rest of the time. He was so good in fact that his new teacher said that half way through he had already passed and was ready for the level that he chickened out of. Oh EZ. Anyway, here is Netta being a star fish.

And here is Netta looking like she is drowning. 

And now EZ doing back stroke looking like he is drowning. 

New Baby Boy!

Our baby boy!

Introducing the newest addition to our family! We aren't sure of the name yet, but he looks just like his dad. :)

Ellie is in the House

After our Pittsburgh trip, my niece Ellie flew back to Austin with us. I don't know how I would have survived the flight home without her. King no longer qualifies as a lap child and has to have his own seat, so I can't even sit in a row with all my kids. I realized that this was the first time in 6 years that I had traveled without a lap child, not counting the one in my belly of course. Once our kids turn 2 and have their own seats we usually don't bring a car seat on the plane for them, because they are such a pain to lug around and I am usually traveling with the kids by myself. However, King is my little trouble maker and I knew he would try and escape the whole time, so we brought one and it was the best decision we have ever made. We will definitely be bringing one with us for him from here on out. 

Anyway, the kids were in heaven with Ellie staying with us. She is such a great cousin and helper. She kind of rotated between staying with us and staying with my sister Sarah and the kids were always eager to have her back at our house. She stayed for 2 weeks, but after the first week John took off with EZ and Netta to attend his family reunion in California. The reunion was supposed to be at the end of the July, when I wouldn't be able to travel, so we only got tickets for those 3. Then they moved it to the beginning of the month, when technically I would have been able to travel, but it was just too expensive to buy more tickets at that point. It worked out well though with Ellie here to hang out with King and I. John left the camera with me, so we don't really have any picks of their trip, but it involved a lot of games and swimming and EZ and Netta loved it and keep asking with they are going to get to see their cousins again. While they were gone we decided to brave the heat and go to SeaWorld. We wanted to do something special with Ellie and I wanted to go when I had less children to deal with and plus King is still free. And of course I only managed to get pictures of Ellie while we were there. Here we are waiting to watch our first show. We sat in the splash zone and got way wetter then I was expecting. King was not a fan so for the rest of the day Sarah braved the splash zones with Ellie and King and I sat further back. 

At one point we split up so Sarah could take Ellie on the roller coasters. King and I hung out in the little kiddie area. He did not seem to like it as much as Kennywood, but it didn't help that he was hungry and close to nap time. 

He also was not fan of this mascot. I didn't capture the perfect moment, but he was really struggling in Ellie's arms to get away from that thing. 

The one thing he did love was the aquariums. We had to literally tear him away from them.  

Amazingly, we survived the heat without anyone getting sick. We tried to pick the coolest day, but that just meant the high was only 96! Ellie was here for the 4th of July and we were very delighted to discover that we could see the Pflugerville fireworks from the end of our street. We were very happy not to have to fight any crowds or the heat. It was a sad day when Ellie had to leave and we were so grateful to have her come and visit! Now I just need to plan more trips for older cousins to come and entertain my kids. 

Pittsburgh Trip

Once I knew we were doing a family reunion in Virginia Beach, there was no question that I would take the kids up to Pittsburgh after for a visit. If I am already on the east coast it only makes sense to add a trip home since flying with my kiddos is not the cheapest thing. It's hard that John usually can't come with us, but I love getting to spend time with my family and seeing my kids with their cousins. This trip had a little twist when my sister Meghan had to stay in Virginia with her newborn Timothy who was having some breathing problems and we brought her 20 month old Lucy back to Pittsburgh with us. Both my parents work so my sister Katie and I were on babysitting duty. Katie was there with her 5 month old Noah and no husband as well. We were more then happy to do it for Meghan, but it definitely made for some crazy days. We were out numbered for sure and had to call on my nieces a lot to come help keep the kids from burning down the house. 

EZ was very anxious for Timmy to come home. He really wanted to be able to see that little baby and I am hoping he is still that excited when our new one arrives. When we got the call the Meghan was officially on her way home we decided to make a welcome home sign. EZ was very very excited about this. Here he is with the sign. He was on an Olympics kick this week and you can't really see it, but the poster is signed "From U.S.A."

Once Timothy was here EZ had to make sure and get to hold him. I love how he is being so careful with his little head. 

A Pittsburgh trip would not be complete without a day at Kennywood. Luckily for me we found out about an unadvertised cheaper pregnancy rate since I really couldn't ride much. The kids were all in heaven. King and Netta are both as fearless as ever and EZ actually only hesitated once before getting on a ride. Here are the kids on the motorcycles in Kiddieland. 

 All of the kids loved the Whip and rode it multiple times. It was a favorite last year as well and it always makes for the best pictures. You can click to enlarge the pictures and see their awesome expressions. 

 The one ride EZ kind of hesitated on was one that took you up in the air and kind of dropped you and you bounced up and down. King and Netta ran straight on with Grandpa. 

 Of course after they went and EZ saw that they survived, he wanted in on the action. He is so funny, because he was afraid to ride this ride, but then insisted on riding the Jack Rabbit, which is a full blown rollercoaster. He actually rode in a car all by himself and my dad rode behind him next to Netta. For once in my life I was actually willing to pay the ridiculous amount they wanted for a picture of EZ on the rollercoaster, but then his never came up on the screen. Go figure.

 I figured I was safe riding a ride or 2 in Kiddieland, but after just 2 rides I had a pounding headache and I felt like I was going to throw up. I was kind of in shock. I didn't realize how much pregnancy would mess with me. 

The rest of the trip was spent making sure we ate at all the places we wanted to like Eat'n Park, Primanti Brothers and Sheetz. I also got to go to water aerobics with my parents at the Y, which was really nice. Water aerobics tends to attract on older crowd and then on top of it this one was specifically for arthritis, so it's safe to say that I was the youngest person by a long shot, but really it is my favorite way to work out at the end of my pregnancies. Of course we also spent lots of time hanging with our cousins and having sleep overs involving ridiculous amounts of pillows and blankets. 

 I almost forgot, because I failed to get any pictures, but we had a baby shower for Meghan and my grandpa and my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom were able to come down from New York. I am so grateful that they were willing to make the trip down since it was going to be near impossible for me to make the trip up there. Hurray for more family!

Virginia Beach

Two years ago we had an Eckerson family reunion at Virginia Beach and we were able to have a repeat again this year. Last time I had just had King and I couldn't get in the water, so this time around I was really excited to just be pregnant and at least be able to get in the pool. Hopefully someday we can go when I am neither pregnant nor postpartum and I can really join in all the fun. The funny thing is my mom keeps getting rear ended and with the settlement money she is able to rent the beach house. I really want these reunions to keep happening, but I am not sure I want it to happen if that means my mom has to keep getting injured. ;)

Traveling with kids is always an adventure. Of course King, who is usually our best sleeper, refused to sleep in the room we had. He was staying up till midnight and waking up at 5 am. Then he just wanted to watch tv all day and that was fine by me, because we had no energy left to deal with him. So here is a pic of what he did most of the time at the beach.

He also got away with having his binky all the time. We are usually really strict and only let him have it for nap and bed time, but again he sucked all the fight out of us and we gave in. Here he is hanging out by the pool with his binky. He refused to get in the pool and spent the whole time just throwing things in. What a stinker. 

It was an exciting week for EZ. He lost his first tooth! When he turned six we told him he may start loosing teeth soon and sure enough within a day or two he had a loose one. He was happy to know that the tooth fairy could visit him in Virginia Beach. We were discussing how much things cost and what he could get with his tooth fairy money and he told us "I wish the tooth fairy gave me a credit card." That's one smart kid. He was full of one liners this trip. We were watching a preview for a movie about a girls high school basketball team and EZ yelled out "Girls don't do that." It was such a proud moment as a mother. Apparently we have not watched enough women's sports. 

I don't have a picture to go with this, but the beach trip got really exciting when my sister Meghan gave birth!! She thought she was 36 weeks along and safe to make the trip down from Pittsburgh, but after just 2 days at the beach she started having contractions. She tried to keep them on the down low, because we were all getting ready to go to the church for my sister Sarah's son's baby blessing. Well they got so bad that her and her husband skipped the blessing and went straight to the hospital. She had been in labor for about 2 1/2 hours when they checked in and she still wasn't 100% convinced that the baby was coming. Well then they checked her and she was already at 9 1/2 cm and her son Timothy was born 30 minutes later! He was 9 lbs 12 oz and they later determined that he was actually 38 weeks along. We thought she was kidding when we got the text saying he was born. Everyone was just in shock. It definitely made for a very unforgettable reunion. 

Just like last time, John was only able to stay for half the week. Of course 2 of those days were rainy. Poor John. One of the rainy days we headed out to the aquarium. The kids loved it. It was really big, which is great, except that I was waddling by the end. Here are the kids at one of the photo-op spots.

We spent a lot of nights out on the deck hanging out playing music and having our own sing along. Here is Netta with her cousins Sarah and Ellie. Netta was in heaven with all these older girls to play with. 

My brother-in-law Robert is awesome at the guitar and he and my dad brought a bunch of instruments and even printed out song books for everyone. 

EZ was really into the sing alongs. He decided that we had our own rock band called the "Rockers" and he had t-shirt ideas and everything. 

Of course I have to include some beach pictures. Going along with him being a stinker, King was not a big fan of the beach. He wasn't really interested in the sand or the water. He seemed content to just sit on my towel and dump water all over it. 

 EZ was timid by the water at first but eventually warmed up to it a bit. However he was allover playing in the sand. One day he became obsessed with digging the deepest hole he could. Once he couldn't reach any further his cousins helped take over and eventually they got the hole so deep that EZ could fit inside of it and barely see out the edge. It was awesome!

Netta loved the water and the sand, which was no surprise to me. The next day the girls had to dig a hole too. It wasn't as deep, but I am sure they had just as much fun. Netta and her cousin Grace were best buds. I don't have a picture but they even put on a dance show one night. It was stinking cute.

My brother Ben lives in Seattle and we don't get to see him very often to it was great that he could come. We actually haven't seen him in 2 years and when I showed Netta a picture of him she asked who he was and when I told her he was her uncle she asked "Did he die?" So it was pretty important we get to spend some time with him. Haha. 

Between the lack of sleep and all the time in the sun, I kept finding my kids passed out around the house. 

We were also really excited that my Grandpa made the trip down from New York. I hate how hard it is to get to see him and the rest of my extended family. We wanted to get a picture of all of us together, but of course King wouldn't cooperate. Please excuse how gross we all look. This was the morning we were leaving and none of us exactly got dressed up for the 9 hour car ride ahead. 

   

Since we were already on the east coast the kids and I headed up to Pittsburgh after the beach. I got a rental car and to my amazement survived being the sole driver for 9 hours. I am not going to lie, it was hard on my body, but thanks to my niece Sarah being willing to read me books, we made it in one piece. Stay tuned for a post about our adventures in Pittsburgh.