January Pictures

Here is a link to my January 2009 album:

Click Here!

SMILES!!

The first time I saw a real smile from Patrick, my heart melted. I tried to get as many pictures as possible, but he fell over on my leg and so I ended up getting my arm in the way and getting a motion smile, ha ha.



So glad he ended up with Aaron's smirk!

There's Something Interesting Out There!

Every morning, I have to pull the shades up after Patrick's bottle so he can sit in his Boppy and stare out the window. He'll sit there for an hour or two, just looking out there and talking to whatever he sees.

Patrick and His Boppy

Thought these were too cute not to share!

Avett, the Protector

As soon as we brought Patrick home, Avett took over her role as his protector. She loves giving him kisses and she follows us around wherever we carry him. Anytime he cries, she comes running into the room to see what's going on. One day I was switching Patrick's position when I was feeding him and his arm got caught behind him. He let out a little scream and cried and Avett ran into the living room and immediately popped her head up next to him to make sure he was ok. We were so glad she adjusted so well to having him here. You can tell she gets jealous if one of us is holding him because she'll grab Squeaker or another toy and put it in your lap so you'll play with her instead. If that's the only thing we have to worry about, then I think we have it pretty easy. Now let's just hope our next dogs are as welcoming to our subsequent children...

Aaron Leaves Again

We weren't lucky enough to have Aaron's flight delayed yet another day, but we were fortunate to have these last three whole weeks together. The drive to the airport wasn't nearly as bad as it was on Monday, but it was still tough when he found out his flight hadn't been overbooked today and that he really would be leaving. Things are better this time around because we bought Aaron a laptop the other day. We both downloaded a program called Skype, that allows us to call each other through the computer and we can talk for free, and even chat on webcam. I'm excited! Plus, he can actually save all the pictures of Patrick that I email him, instead of just looking at them during his 20 minutes of computer time a day. I can't believe it's already been 2 months into this deployment. It's flown by and I'm so glad. These next 7 months will be quick and painless since I can talk to Aaron almost every day and Patrick will keep me super busy.

Snow? In NC? Who'da Thunk It?

Well, Aaron got delayed a day yesterday because his flight was overbooked. Imagine our surprise when we woke up to 6 inches of snow this morning! The weatherman had predicted it and we had hoped for it. And just for an extra dose of good luck, we dressed Patrick in his "Let it Snow" fleece sleeper. We think the latter was the real reason it snowed.

Anyway, we went out and took a few pictures before the sun went down (we were SUPER lazy for one more day before Aaron had to leave). My friend Brooke had given me a little snowsuit for Patrick before he was born so I figured it was a good day to put it on him. I'd also ordered some little plush polar bear pants from babyGap so I wanted him to wear that too. So, what is a Mommy to do? Take pictures with one outfit, then change him and take another picture with the other outfit, of course! So here they are:

Patrick's First Bath

Aaron was supposed to leave on January 19, so we woke up early that morning to spend a little time together and then drive down to the Fayetteville Airport. It was quite emotional, as expected, but we got through it. I was about 20 minutes from home when he called me and told me to turn around. He said that his flight had been overbooked and that he was delayed until the next day!

Since we got an extra day together, we decided to give Patrick a bath since his umbilical stump had fallen off that morning and he could now have a real bath instead of a bird bath. He did fairly well, I just don't think he liked being naked. Oh well, he smelled nice afterwards!

And how lucky were we that it snowed the next day, and Aaron got to stay another day?? Because he waited to be born until Aaron could come home and the fact that Aaron got to stay two extra days, Patrick has been our little luck charm so far :o)

Wasn't quite sure what to make of this bath thing.

Daddy seemed to have the magic touch though!

Patrick's Many Funny Faces

Aaron and I were hanging out in the bedroom today watching TV the weekend before he left. I had Patrick in his Boppy on the floor and was mesmerized by the many faces he was making. Of course, I was snapping picture after picture. These two were the funniest so I had to post them here.

Patrick as a Monster

Patrick as a Pirate

Aaron's Family Comes to Visit!

We were lucky enough to have Aaron's parents Mike and Ann, his younger brother Adam (along with his wife Nicole and daughter Alyssa) and his youngest brother Michael come to visit the weekend after Patrick was born. I stayed in the hospital until the 8th and they came in on Friday, the 9th. I was so glad that they were able to come. Not only to see Patrick, but to visit with Aaron while he was here. We hadn't seen any of Aaron's family since Christmas of '07 so we were ecstatic when they all said they'd be able to come down for the weekend. It was great to have both of our families together and to really spend time together. They'd all met the day before the wedding, but with all the chaos of the wedding itself, no one actually got to talk to each other.

Aaron and I popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate Patrick's arrival and we even thawed our wedding cake topper to eat the ceremonial piece to celebrate our 1st anniversary. Ok, so it was about 3 months late, but we were in Colorado and the cake was in North Carolina, so we had to wait to eat it. The cake wasn't too bad, but I think we should have let it thaw a little more. We only took a bite or two, but I think it still counted.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad that Grandma and Grandpa Brunner, Uncle Adam, Aunt Nicole, Cousin Alyssa and Uncle Michael could all meet Patrick early on! For those family members who didn't get to come down, don't fret. I'm planning a trip up to Pittsburgh in the spring so Patrick can meet the rest of you. Maybe I'll try to come up Easter weekend, to make sure the Hunt family will all be together and of course, a visit to Grandma Elaine as well!


Cousin Alyssa LOVED holding Patrick!

With Grandpa Brunner

The champagne and semi-thawed cake

Toasting our new baby boy!

The Brunners

The Pennys

He held his bottle up on his own that Sunday night after the family left!

Daddy and baby during the Steelers game

Ladies and Gentlemen.... Mr. Patrick Michael Brunner!

My apologies for taking so long to update, but I'm sure you'll all understand that I've been a little busy lately. Anyway, he's finally arrived!! Aaron got back here on Friday, January 2 and my induction was scheduled for Monday, January 5 at 6:30 am. Needless to say, Sunday night Aaron and I were like two kids waiting for Santa Claus and really didn't get that much sleep.

I was admitted into the hospital and luckily my nurse was a girl I went to school with from elementary school through high school. Everything started out well, I seemed to be reacting to the dilation pill, but I didn't get a new dose except for every 5 hours. I got my first dose at 8:00 am, then my next at 1:00 pm and at 6:00 pm we were hoping that my body had taken over and my cervix had dilated a lot. Nope, I was still at 2 cm at 6:00 pm. However, my contractions had started to go from nonexistent pain to uncomfortable to slightly painful to REALLY painful. Around 8:00, I was given some kind of pain killer in my IV and it made me feel so much better. It basically made me really light-headed and I just felt like sleeping.

The rest is all blurry to me because I was basically in and out the whole time, but the contractions got bigger and more uncomfortable and the only position I could get comfortable in was my side. I ended up sleeping most of the night with Aaron passed out in the chair next to me. At some point in the night, I was given an oxygen mask because, as I was told, the baby's heart rate was dropping because of the pain medication. If I hadn't been on my second dose of pain meds, I would have probably been more freaked out than I was.

Aaron finally decided to take a shower sometime around 3:30 am since it had been almost 24 hours since he'd had one, and of course the doctor came in while he was in the shower. After 20 hours of labor, the doctor said we needed to do a c-section, RIGHT AWAY. I was scared because I knew that couldn't mean good news. I panicked and thought they were taking me right then and asked pitifully if they could at least wait until my husband got out of the shower. But of course, they had plenty of things to do before I could go down to surgery so Aaron didn't miss it. As far as I remember, they upped my epidural and rolled me downstairs. I'd had a birth plan all prepared before I got to the hospital and in case of a c-section, I wanted to be awake and I wanted my hands to be free so I could hold my baby after he was born. However, apparently that wasn't best for my situation because I was constantly falling asleep because of the pain killer and my arms were strapped to boards coming out from the operating table. The sheet was hung directly in front of my face so I couldn't see anything at all. I slept through the entire c-section and only woke up when the doctor was pulling the baby out of my stomach. It felt like someone was pushing on my belly. I knew the baby was ok because he immediately started screaming and crying as soon as they pulled him out. Aaron was seated behind me to the left and was holding my shoulder throughout the whole procedure. The nurses showed Aaron the baby for only a second but he didn't get to hold him. I strained my neck to try to get a glimpse of him but I couldn't see anything. I was getting upset because I just wanted to see him and make sure he was ok. Aaron told me later that the baby was still pretty blue when they pulled him out and I guess they wanted to warm him up before anyone could hold him. After Aaron left the operating room and they were closing my incision, I thought I heard the doctors talking about the cord being wrapped around the baby's neck, but I was so out of it, I couldn't be 100% sure. We found out later that the cord actually was wrapped around his neck and that's why the doctor had to do the c-section. I guess they didn't tell us before so we wouldn't panic.

Next I was wheeled to some recovery area that just felt like a hallway to me. I was shaking uncontrollably because the anesthesia was wearing off and my mouth was completely dry. All I wanted to do was have a sip of water and to go to my postpartum room and see my baby. I think I stayed down there for about an hour and a half and still couldn't stop shaking. The nurses kept putting warm blankets on me but I wasn't cold. That was the most helpless I've ever felt. Lying on a gurney, completely numb from the waist down, cotton mouth and shaking so badly that I could barely speak.

Finally I got to come up to my hospital room and see Aaron and my family. The baby was still in the nursery and I hadn't seen him yet. Aaron went to the nursery to take pictures and we opened them on my laptop. Those were the first images I had of my baby. I almost started crying because I just wanted to hold him and see him in person. Can you believe I didn't get to see him until over 2 hours after my surgery? Once I held him, everything was so much better.

All in all, Aaron and I stayed in the hospital until January 8 and we were so glad to get out of there! The staff was incredibly sweet and helpful, but we were just ready to get home and be a little family until Aaron had to leave. Luckily we did leave with a few new little inside jokes and lots of good memories. For instance, when I was on my morphine drip the day after the c-section, Aaron asked how I was feeling... and I replied, "I feel like a dirty pencil." Yes, morphine is a powerful drug, folks. And I'm not sure what that pain medication was that they gave me before the epidural but it was so good that I told the anesthesiologist that he was the Magic Man.

We appreciated everyone who came to visit, sent congratulatory text messages and phone calls and all the well wishers. I want to especially thank my Dad, Mary Alice and Morrie for being there the entire time and for checking in on us as much as you did. I know I was out of it most of the time, but I do remember every time you came into the delivery room to see how we were doing. I love you all and Aaron and I couldn't have done this without you.

We are so happy that Patrick is finally here and we get to share him with all of you!