Boston Edward Brawley...inquiring minds want to know why?

When everyone was gathered, Grandpa P. asked us what we were going to name this beautiful boy, so we told him your middle name first. It would be Edward, since that is the middle name of many of the strong and honorable men in my family: starting with Great-grandpa Paulhus, Great-grandpa Meynier, Uncle Mike and Grandpa Paulhus. And we finally spilled the beans that you would be called Boston. We went through so many names, looking for something meaningful, one of a kind and something that flowed well with our last name. We decided that since your older brother is named after Daddy’s side of the family, your name would represent something special from the Paulhus side. Grandpa P. was born and raised in Rhode Island and has been a Boston Red Sox fan since he can remember. Uncle Mike and Uncle Brandon (your godfather) both graduated from Boston College. We also wanted a name that started with a “B.” So when we came up with this name, we thought about it and made sure it was perfect before committing to it.

Some of the runner up names were: Brayden, Bienville, Bentley, Blakely, Berkeley, and Brennan. Once we put it all together, Boston Edward Brawley, we knew it was perfect. We wanted you to have a name that will set you apart; people will remember when they meet you because they will probably never meet another Boston again. [Although as a side note, the second night we were in the hospital, the nurse mentioned as she was returning you from the nursery that there was another Boston in the nursery at the same time!] It sounds so strong and stately and how cool will it be to wear a Red Sox jersey with your name on the front! By the way, the Red Sox came from behind on your birth day to win the game! And coincidentally, the city of Portland was almost named Boston too! Everyone seemed to like it; I’m sure it through a few people off (like your Great Grandma Paulhus later asked me why we chose Boston, since it was such an unusual name), but we think it fits you to a tee!

Please help us welcome our new baby boy to the family!

We loaded up all of our baggage and then headed with both cars to the hospital. Ironically, on the way to the hospital, the song “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis came on the radio. The lyrics say: “You cut me open and I keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding…” That wasn’t exactly the most calming of songs to hear right before having a c-section!!

We arrived at Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital around 11am and checked in at the front desk. My parents stayed in the waiting room for the next few hours. Matt and I were led back to a triage room where I changed into a gown and got an IV put into my arm. Matt had to don a face mask, hair net, a full white pantsuit and these huge blue space booties. Finally it was time for me to be wheeled into the operating room. Matt was kept in a holding room until the entire surgery room was set up. In the meantime, they administered my spinal and luckily there was not that horrific electric shock sensation this time around. My legs started going numb almost immediately so they helped me to lie down and then put a wedge under my right side. The catheter went in and the partition went up and they rubbed my belly down with iodine and my doctor came in all scrubbed up. They brought Matt in at the very last moment and the surgery immediately began.

Dr. Slayton-Milam reassured me during the process that everything looked OK and before we knew it, at 1:22pm, we heard a beautiful cry echoing throughout the room. Dr. Slayton-Milam mentioned how much hair you had and how long your fingers were before we even saw you. Finally I got to lay eyes on my beautiful baby boy! You were adorable and were crying vigorously as the baby nurse assessed you. Your apgar scores were an 8 and then a 9 mainly just for a little blue color in your hands and feet. Daddy and I couldn’t believe how dark and long your hair was! As you were lying on the warming table, you decided to shower everyone with your first pee! We were all anxious to see how much you’d weigh in at and everyone made their guesses and we officially found out you weighed 8 pounds and 14 ounces and you were 20 ½ inches in length. I noticed how long and skinny your little feet were, just like Daddy’s! Your profile looked just like your big brother, Benz, when he was a newborn!

Daddy took lots of pictures of you and was the first one to hold you after they put on your blue striped hat, eye ointment, took your footprints for your birth certificate and then swaddled you in a tight bundle. They finished stitching me up and moved me onto my recovery bed. Finally I was able to hold my little angel boy. It was almost surreal to hold you in my arms after all we had been through and it felt so right. I knew you were meant to be a part of our family from the moment I held you close to me. They put me in the recovery area where I stayed for the next 90 minutes or so. Finally they rolled us into my postpartum room where we would spend the rest of our hospital stay. Gma & Gpa P. and Babe were in the room waiting as I was wheeled in with you all snug in my arms. Everyone took their turn at holding you for the first time and kept saying how gorgeous and precious you are.

Around 4pm, Grandma and Grandpa B. brought your big brother, Benz, to room 403 to see you for the very first time. He was so happy to see you and came over to kiss you on your head. He was a little shy at first but warmed up pretty quickly, especially after I gave him your present to him. He loved the “My heart belongs to Boston” t-shirt and a Sesame Street game collection. He began smiling from ear to ear and he announced he was ready to hold you. He sat so calm and gently in the rocking chair and put the Boppy pillow on his lap. He held his arms in a cradle position and we placed you all snug in his arms. He had such a proud look in his eyes, like he had been waiting forever for that moment to arrive. Gma & Gpa Brawley were tickled to death to hold you too. She mentioned that on the way to the hospital, Benz told her that he “missed his baby brugger” before even meeting you! I had the nurse wait until Benz had arrived so he could help give you your first bath. He stood on a stool next to you and helped the nurse wash you and get all of the vernix cleaned off and put on your very first diaper. You were screaming a bit and didn’t seem to love the idea of splishing and splashing!

The big day is finally here...what will it have in store for us??

As part of the surgery prep, Mommy needed to fast 8 hours before surgery. I happened to wake up this morning around 4:45am and decided to eat a banana, protein bar and a glass of milk, my last good meal for a few days. Too bad I was not able to fall back asleep, but my nerves are starting to build. I'm not sure what is better: with Benz we found out the night before we'd be going in for a c-section since he was breech. We had a little time to prepare by reading books and talking to a few people who had recently been through it though the fear of the unknown can be killer. But I really had no idea what I was getting myself into and sometimes ignorance is bliss. This time around, I know pretty much exactly what to expect but that might not be the best thing afterall...I have a long road ahead of me. I am fearful of the anesthesia, the pain following surgery and the horrific recovery, especially since I have to now look after a baby and his big brother. But my doctor did ask me what my worst case birth scenario would be and I knew that if I labored for 20+ hours and then had to go in for another c-section that that would be much worse than having it scheduled. So at least I am avoiding that situation today, having my wonderful OB perform the surgery, and I can be much more calm and rested. And for those of you that know me well enough, this really is right down my alley. I am the ULTIMATE planner and to be able to mark the births of both of my children on a calendar in advance plays right into my need to be in control of everything and we all know how much I hate surprises!

I have so many different feelings as I contemplate today, which is probably the last day of my life that I will spend pregnant. For the most part, this has been such a smooth, uncomplicated pregnancy for which I feel so blessed. I am saddened to stop feeling my little one kick and hiccup inside of me and I will miss Benz rubbing my belly, singing songs to baby in utero and wishing baby brudder a good night with kisses. In a way, I will miss all of the pity looks random women have been giving me over the last month or so, as if to say with their eyes "hang in there, I feel for you 'cause I've been in your shoes, but it's going to be OK." But I am ready to move on to the next step of being a mother of two and welcoming this little one into our loving family. I am so excited to see who he will look like, how much he will weigh, how his personality will develop and most of all, the interactions between my two boys. I am a bit nervous to see how Benz will handle sharing my attention, as he's been the center of the universe for the past 4 1/2 years; I am praying for a smooth transition for everyone's sake. And I'm a bit worried that I may not remember the basics of baby care, but I think it will all come back naturally to me. This little guy's arrival has been a long road coming and it's hard to believe that I will be finally holding him in less than seven hours! So I spent the rest of this morning trying to cherish those last sweet kicks from inside my belly.

As the pregnancy chapter closes, a new one opens...

So as you can imagine, the last few weeks have been a bit crazy. My nesting instincts really kicked in about two weeks ago, in the anticipation of the arrival of my parents from New Orleans. I started cleaning the house from top to bottom and finally attacked those little projects we all put off (like dusting the door frames and baseboards). I must admit that I was pretty darn anxious about having everything perfect before the baby arrives, as I know life will be chaos once he joins the family (at least at first!). So I spent this past week scrubbing, grocery shopping, organizing and everything else in between. My parents arrived late Fri night (6/20) and we have been spending quality time together ever since. They will stay with us for a little over 2 1/2 weeks which is such a huge help and Matt has taken this week off from work.

Baby update: it seems like this little guy is way too comfortable in my tummy and has no plans of coming out anytime soon....so when I went to the doctor's for my last appointment this past Thursday, we made a plan. Even though I had been feeling some pressure, not much progress on the contraction forefront had been made. So we decided to schedule the c-section date for today (Tues. 6/24) but we were all secretly hoping I would go into labor before then. Well no such luck; so I went to the hospital yesterday morning for my pre-admission bloodwork and even came home wearing my hospital tag in preparation for the big day! My mom & I went shopping this morning since I knew it'd be a while before I'd get out of the house. When we told my Grandma Meynier the details of the day, she couldn't believe I was out and about less than 24 hours before the little man was due! She said: "Melanie better watch out or that poor baby is going to be born on the sidewalk!" And incidentally, my Grandma Paulhus told my Dad that she "can't wait for it to be over." We tried to spend the remainder of yesterday resting and tying up any lose ends. For dinner we took my parents out to eat at Le Bistro Montage, a yummy Cajun restaurant in Portland. We were celebrating Benz's last day as an only child. And it also just happened to be his half birthday, making him 4 1/2 years old as of yesterday.

Ahoy! It's a Boy... A Baby Shower for the Brawley Fam

This past Saturday, 6/1/08, turned out to be a wonderful & memorable day for our family! First, Benz was able to spend the day with his Grandpa Brawley. They went to OMSI (OR Museuum of Science & Industry) and also took in an IMAX movie. Meanwhile, Matt & I were busy attending the best baby shower EVER, and it just happened to be thrown for us! My best gal pal, Traci, has been planning this event for months now and it all came together so perfectly...the theme was sailboats or nautical, just like baby's nursery. So she was able to host it at the Dolphin yacht club in Camas, WA. It was on the Columbia River overlooking a marina and there were sailboats everywhere; what perfect scenery! When you walked up the deck, she had bubbles blowing and wave music playing and even seashells lining the sidewalk! The room was decorated so cute, with sea creatures, sailboats, nets and seashells everywhere. I had a personalized sailor hat and Matt wore his "World's Greatest Dad" pin. My mother-in-law helped out with the food and setting up and my other gal pal, Julia helped bring all of the final touches together.

The food & cake was delicious; Traci had the event planned out to a tee. We played some games, there was a station where people could paint toy sailboats and take them home and we opened some lovely (& practical gifts)! Some of my favorites were Julia's homemade "diaper cake," a sailboat sweater & hat from Aunt Louise, and a linen sailor suit and hat from Heather. We had a little less than 20 family & friends attend and a great time was had by all! The favors were adorable too...salt water taffy in little white sand pails! I can't thank Traci enough for all of her work and I know we will remember this party, in honor of Baby Brawley, for many years to come!