Braden lost his umbillical cord on Monday 2-25. He got his first real bath on Tuesday 2-26. We had done sponge baths before, and he wasn't very fond of them. Imagine how well it went submersing him in water in a baby bath tub. His furious little face pretty much says it all. I also took a pic of his hair afterwards. It is standing on end, and its a little hard to see but enjoy none the less!

I'm posting a few more pictures of just random things in this post. One of these pics is my favorite. Braden and I were taking a nap and you can see that he loves to put his hands on his face when he sleeps. I think this might be the most adoreable picture of him. Of course I am partial, he is my son after all!

Alyssa Comes to Visit!

Braden received many visitors his first week home, but one group in particular was very special. His cousin Alyssa, her mommy cousin Lauren and Aunt Diane came all the way up from Jeffersonville, Indiana to see him. Alyssa is now 2 months old, and much bigger than the last time we saw her. I gave her the nickname of peanut because she was such a tiny thing when she was born. Even though she is no peanut anymore, I'm keeping the nickname because it's cute (no matter what her mother thinks :) Diane and Lauren and Alyssa spent the night with us on a Saturday. We went out to eat with my mom and dad who drove down from Springfield. Braden slept the entire time. His much more active cousin Alyssa had other ideas. She did enjoy the live band that was playing after we finished eating. They should have played much sooner so her mother could eat her dinner! I took plenty of pictures of the two babies. My son diligently tried to eat his cousins hand when he was placed next to her. Alyssa, being older and wiser, thoughtfully moved her hands every time Braden went in for the kill. Neither was very impressed with the other, I guess we will have to wait til they are older and can enjoy playing together!

It has been quite awhile since I have written, but I have plenty of pictures to put up and plenty has happened so bear with me! Braden lost quite a bit of weight after he was born. He went from 9lbs 6oz down to 7lbs 11oz at his first doctors visit. He was such a big baby that he wasn't getting enough to eat, and my milk was a little slow coming in. We put him on formula to supplement him until my milk came in. Luckily, the supplementing worked and at his last doctors appointment he weighed 9lbs even. I still give him formula occasionally when I feel like he is still hungry even after a feeding, and he seems satisfied with both. Because he is getting more to eat, he is sleeping more regularly thank goodness! I have only had a few nights where he just refuses to settle down. Thankfully, he has a great daddy who steps in and feeds him or soothes him so I can get some rest. I have to say I can be a little grumpy after a few days with no sleep. I'm sure no one is surprised by that though! Check out a few pictures from those early days after we brought him home!

Braden Ray Dirheimer

He has finally arrived! I went to the doctor yesterday and I was 5cm dilated, so they sent me to the hospital. We made very fast progress and were ready to push by 9:30pm. Braden had other plans, and though he was headdown, he was faceup. This makes it harder for him to get through the birth canal. 2-yes 2-very long hours later, he still wasn't ready to come out without help. A pair of foreceps and 5 more minutes, and Braden Ray Dirheimer came into the world at 11:57pm. He barely made it being born on his Great Aunt Francie's birthday. 3 more minutes and he would have been born on his Papa's birthday. He weighed a whopping 9lbs and 6oz and was 22.5 inches long. He doesn't look fat, he is just so long I think he weight is distributed evenly. Both Braden and I are doing fine, and his dad Brad couldn't be more proud. Check out the pictures to see how big he is and look at all that hair!

I am now officially on maternity leave, as my due date approaches tomorrow (Feb 12th). The last doctor's visit I had, I had dilated to 2.5 cm. Unfortunately, my most recent appointment was canceled because someone else decided to give birth that day. I kid, I kid! I do go back to the doctor today to see what the plan will be if I haven't dilated any more, though I am having some pretty noticeable contractions this morning. They just aren't very regular. I am hoping to avoid a valentine's baby, though Brad and my mother seem to think that works out best for their schedules. They are both off on Monday the 18th, and would really appreciate me allowing them to take off this Friday for a 4 day weekend. You know, working for the government and financial institutions is very challenging, so they have to give you off as many pointless holidays as possible!