John Cade at home

John and I were discharged from the hospital on Friday May 27th. It was Memorial Day weekend so everyone was going to have a full 3 day weekend to spend with Baby John! Daddy drove us home very carefully to Oma, Opa and Uncle Rascal who were waiting oh so patiently. John was a little fussy when we put him in his car seat for the 1st time but calmed down quickly and slept the whole way home. Grandpa had the video camera ready and rolling when we pulled in to catch all the action as it unfolded, "action" should be taken lightly as John was still sleeping. We gave John the tour of his house and let him try out his cradle Opa had made for Mommy when she was born. He liked it! Grandma Gail and Grandpa Steve came over a little later when Oma and Opa went to set up the camper.

John has is now 1 day shy of being 6 weeks old and good golly has it gone by fast. John is a wonderful baby. The first couple weeks he slept all the time, loud or quiet, dark or bright, it didn't matter. Now as he's getting bigger he's eating more, staying awake longer and more frequently and still sleeping through anything if he wants to. Sleeping at night hasn't evened out yet. Most nights Mommy is able to get a 3 or 4 hour chunk of sleep, feed, then another 4 hour chunk of sleep which she is very grateful for. But as I'm writing this I have to note that not all nights are this nice, such as last night. John slept through his 1st 4th of July fireworks celebration, both the city of Windsor's and Daddy's but as soon as we put him in his cradle he was awake and wanted to eat, so at 10:15pm I fed the little man. At midnight I was finally brave enough to try putting him down again in his cradle, up until this point he wanted absolutely nothing to do with going to sleep. Then at 2:30am he decided it was time to eat again, so again I fed him and began the getting him back to sleep process. (It usually takes no more than 40 minutes any more to get him fed and back to sleep.) Only this morning, he was again no where near ready to go back to sleep, I rocked him, walked him, snuggled him, changed him, and at 5am I was finally able to get myself back to sleep. I was so excited thinking I'd be able to sleep for a while because all that fussing had to make him super tired right?! no, he was back up at 6:30am wanting more.

John has done a lot of fun things already in his short little 6 week life. Here's a quick run through then I'll be back later to fill in the details. John got to meet his Aunt Caitlyn face to face on Wednesday June 15th and continued to get spoiled by her through Monday June 20th. He was baptized at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church on Sunday June 19th. This day was extra special for us for a couple reasons, it was Daddy Brad's 1st father's day, and his Aunt Denise's birthday. We figured what a great way to celebrate family. John was babysat for the 1st time on Friday June 24th by Grandma and Grandpa Budner so Mommy and Daddy could go see Kung Fu Panda 2. Then on Saturday June 25th Mommy, Daddy and John went up to Red Feather Lakes to meet Oma and Opa. John went camping for the 1st time and he did it in style, Oma and Opa's 5th wheel. Mommy and Daddy went to a friend's wedding while John entertained Oma and Opa. Sunday July 3rd John went to his 1st birthday party, Wyatt Bisceglia's 2nd birthday and slept through the whole thing. And Sunday evening went to Cousin Breanna and Scott's 4th of July bash east of Kersey, CO still sleeping until about 7:30pm. Then on Monday July 4th he "watched" the city of Windsor's and Daddy's fireworks through his eyelids. Busy little life for a handsome little dude.

Baby John Bean

First of all, sorry it's taken almost 6 weeks to post an update.

This new chapter of our story begins at 3am on Wednesday May 25th, 2011.

At 3am I was rudely awakened by my water breaking. I rolled over to tell Brad to hurry up and get me a towel. I had to tell him 3 times that my water had broken before he was conscious enough to understand. Then of course, Diablo, our eldest cat, decided that her being comfortable was more important than Brad getting up to get me a towel so she was thrown off the bed. I got after receiving a towel from my loving husband and called the doctor, he said he'd call the hospital to let them know I was on my way. Brad and I took our time getting ready to leave, I wasn't having any contractions. We called my parents since they were going to have to drive up from Denver, typically about 1:15 to 1:30. We left the house at 4am and headed for Greeley and called Brad's parents on the way. We were both kind of sad that neither set of parents seemed terribly enthusiastic, but I guess it was 4am and they had been sleeping soundly. I asked Brad if he was going to drive like a maniac, he asked if I needed him to, I said no since contractions were just barely starting but that he could because it was probably one of the only times he'd have an excuse. He didn't rush figuring we'd be at the hospital long enough, no need to rush if we didn't have to

Brad dropped me off at the emergency room and went to park, thinking I'd have to fill out at least a little paperwork to say who I was. The put me in a wheelchair immediately and we had to wait for Brad before we headed up to the birthing unit. We had to go to triage for about 15 minutes before we were moved to a labor and delivery room. The nurses got me hooked up the the monitors and we got to hear our precious Bean's heartbeat, always a fantastic sound. I was only 2cm dilated so we settled in for the long haul and called Auntie Caitlyn. She took about a minute of grogginess to get out an excited "yeah!" and Brad and I immediately thanked her for her effort to be excited even though she was sleeping. Once I was settled Brad went out to move the car out of the ER lot and to get all of our stuff. While he was wandering outside trying to get to the car (he couldn't get back to the ER inside the hospital, he was lost) he found my parents pulling in. They'd made it quickly since there isn't a whole lot of traffic at 4am. They helped carry in our stuff and settled in themselves. Gail and Steve, Brad's parents, showed up a little later. My contractions were getting closer but I was still able to talk through them so Brad and his parents and my dad went up to the cafeteria for breakfast while my mom and I stayed to work. My mom got her work out rather quickly as my contractions started getting stronger pretty quickly after everyone else left. She had to prop her elbow on her knee to get enough pressure on my back. At 8:51 I told Mom I needed Brad too, she texted Dad, not knowing if she had Brad's number or not. Brad ran from the cafeteria and Mom stepped out while they checked me; she didn't get to come back in because it was time to start pushing. The baby's heart rate had been low for longer than they liked so they opted to use the vacuum to help the baby come down a little faster. Dr. Abbot used the vacuum on 3 pushes and the baby's heart rate came back up so we were able to put that bugger to the side. John Cade Budner was born at 9:44am and without any pain medication! Daddy Brad cut the cord and was wonderful through the whole thing, even with the bruise I gave him on his side from squeezing him. :) Brad and I took as much in as we could just the 3 of us then I sent him out to tell the grandparents who were anxiously awaiting news. Daddy shared that our new little boy was 7lbs 4 ozs and 20 1/4 inches long! When the grandparents were able to come in they all fought over who would get to hold him first, Oma (Grandma Sharon) said she did because she was the oldest. But even Oma had to wait until we could Skype Auntie Caitlyn so she could meet her nephew even though she was in Rhode Island.

Baby Budner Update

It's been too long since I've updated this, I apologize.

We do have a few bump pictures to share too.

Brad and I have been very busy the last few months. We both had 2 door vehicles so we needed to upgrade those a little. About a month ago we went to Denver to look into what Denver dealerships had to offer and we found Brad's new car. We were at a used car sale at Invesco with over 100 cars easily, every GO dealership in Denver had all their used cars at this sale. When we first got there we got assigned to a salesman, we were not excited about that at all, we really had all intentions of just wandering around. We were "assigned" to Greg, a young guy who was nice to a young lady in a delicate condition; he got us a golf cart to wander around in. He showed us quite a few vehicles and was very easy going. There was a few times Brad and I would show a little more interest in and he would remind us or point out that the vehicle we were looking at was over our budget. We kept wandering until we stumbled upon an 2006 Chevy Trailblazer. We opened up the doors, it had a number of bells and whistles we were hoping for but didn't think we'd actually find within our budget. It has leather seats, butt warmers, power seats, windows, cruise control, keyless entry. But what caught my attention almost immediately was the DVD player. For those of you who don't know, the TV/VCR in the van growing up saved my parents a lot of heartache on long road trips; it lessened the number of fights between my sister and I. Anyway, I immediately said "look honey, the bean will love it!" Greg took a minute then said "I'm sorry, I gotta ask, what's the bean?" I pointed at my burgeoning bump and said "this is the bean, it has been since our first ultrasound." He laughed and went on pointing out different things to us on the vehicle. Later, during our test drive he finally piped up and said "you know, I was almost insulted earlier, I thought you were referring to me as the bean. I know I look Hispanic but I'm really Spanish." This became a joke between us for the rest of the afternoon. When we went to trade in Brad's truck the following Tuesday the first thing Greg asked was "is the bean enjoying the Blazer?" Brad and I laughed and said it was. Now, a month later, Brad got the emissions test from Greg and in with the form was a little pocket notebook paper saying "PS How's the bean?" Brad and I both thought that was just hilarious. How many people has this guy worked with in the last month and he still remembers our little bean?

So we got back up to Windsor, posted my cute little Cobalt on Craigslist, and started looking for Mommy's 4 door. We sold my car but weren't having the best luck finding a new car. My parents, Oma and Opa, were kind enough to loan us their little Cavalier while we shopped. We had horrible luck the 1st weekend we were really shopping. Our favorite needed to be jumped to start, had a nice layer of soot inside, power locks only worked to unlock the doors and when Brad tried to open the glovebox it fell out! So the hunt continued. Easter weekend Brad and I went out looking again, test drove a few different cars and found the winner, a 2006 Ford Taurus. It has an enormous truck and looks like it was well cared for by the previous owners. We ran a CarFax on it and everything checked out. We even got a great deal on it! So we returned the Cavalier to Oma and Opa and headed north again.

We've had our baby shower this past weekend and I had a great time. We have a lot of support all around us, family, friends, and even a sister skyping in from Greenland to be with us. When we got the gifts home Brad and I started organizing. Now Brad is so excited he keeps telling the bean to come on out whenever it's ready, he's ready to be a daddy. Sunday we went and got some of the final things we felt we really needed to be ready for the bean. Crib mattress, cradle sheets, diaper changing pad, etc. and got all the laundry done. Tonight we cleaned out the closet so we could organize the baby stuff and had the fire station install the car seat bases. Getting things done one day at a time.

I talked with my principal today, and some other co-workers. I really just don't think I'm going to be able to make it until my due date (May 22nd). I'm not contracting at all but there is just a funny feeling saying I'm not going to make it. My principal and the kindergarten team all agree, they don't think I'll make it either. So we'll see.

Now for the pictures!

22 weeks

24 weeks

28 weeks (sorry it's fuzzy)

32 weeks

36 weeks

New Pictures!

We had our ultrasound Friday afternoon! It was wonderful! The heartbeat is still strong. Every measurement the technician took was within the normal range. All 10 fingers and 10 toes were accounted for, as far as the bean would let us see. It was very active the whole 20+ minutes. The technician kept telling it to hold still for just a second so she could get a better measurement, or a better picture. It never held still. It had the hiccups the whole time, but I still can't feel those. As you can see in a couple pictures the bean's hands were up in front of it's face. The bean was also kicking it's legs out straight right above it's head.

The bean is kicking away every day. I feel it throughout the day but it's not kicking quite hard enough for Daddy Brad to feel. :( I love feeling those little kick, punches and flips.

According to measurements from the ultrasound my due date should be around May 31st. I'm liking this because I thought I was due May 29th where the doctor thinks it's May 22nd. Looks like I'm closer! Either way, it will be at the end of May as long as the bean follows the rules. :)

The Bump

This is a quick post but here ya go!

I've been feeling the bean kick for a while now. I'm pretty sure the bean kicked on the drive to North Dakota the week before Christmas. I know for sure I felt 3 good solid kicks on Christmas Eve. This weekend the bean was quite active but as soon as I told Brad to feel the bean went to sleep. So Daddy hasn't been able to feel anything yet.

These pictures are 22 weeks. Our ultrasound is this Friday so we'll have new pictures to post then! No still not finding out the sex :)

Pregnancy- The First Trimester

My first trimester was a fun one. Nausea was my new best friend, every morning! I ended up having to eat 2 tablespoons of peanut butter before I could get ready for the day. I was exhausted every afternoon and came home after work as soon as I could to nap. Brad was wonderful and made dinner almost every night while I was still sleeping. I'd wake to find a delicious meal waiting for me. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

During the 12th week I had some cramping that I was worried about, we went to the doctor and had a fetal heart check, it was still strong at over 160 beats per minute. I'm just the nervous first time mommy I guess.

Then, in the last week of my lovely first trimester, the week of Thanksgiving, I woke up on my first morning of break with a sinus infection. Let me tell you being sick while pregnant isn't fun, the list of medicines you can take is very limited.

My pants are getting tighter and tighter every day. The other day I went to put on my jeans and got them on but I couldn't put by belt on. Brad and I went to a consignment store and I got to buy my first 2 pairs of maternity pants. Things are changing and it has been a lot of fun to experience the little changes. I can't wait to feel our little bean kick or have the hick ups for the first time.

Friends of ours, Sarah and Jay, just had a baby a month ago and it's been fun seeing them with their new bundle of joy. And getting their advise on the first 6 weeks. It's great when Jay tells Brad not to say "Dude, whatever you do, don't tell her you're tired too and you don't even have to go to work. Watch out." Good advise! Sarah has said I can call her any time too.

Our ultrasound is scheduled for January 21st. We are officially waiting until we have the baby to find out whether it's a boy or girl.

We're Pregnant!

Brad and I are pregnant! We found out September 22nd when the doctor confirmed it. We are about 7 weeks along which puts the baby at being about the size of a 1/2 inch blueberry. The due date is May 29th, which is 5 days after school gets out, we couldn't have planned it better! We had our first ultrasound today and we got to hear our blueberry's heart beat, a strong 156 beats per minute! It was so much fun and so exciting to hear and see the baby, I never thought it would be such a sweet sound!

As of right now, we're not planning on finding out the sex of the baby. I definitely want it to be a surprise and Brad hasn't fully made up his mind yet.

We'll be updating our blog as we know more so check back in!