Carolina Hurricanes

For those of you who don’t know, Brayden is obsessed with hockey.

He plays it every chance he gets and talks about it all the time too. Brett plays with him on weekends and has worked really hard with him to the point that Brett said to me the other day “I think he is going to grow up to be a professional hockey player! No, I am serious, I really do!" So the chance to meet a real hockey player and see some hockey played in person was a dream come true to him.

We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. We were over at Heather’s house for our regular get togethers and her neighbor happened to drop by right when I was getting ready to go home and told us that some of the Carolina Hurricane players were coming to play street hockey with her kids and the other kids in the neighborhood. She and her husband had won this event in an auction and she invited us down to watch.

WELL! I was not going to miss this! I was so excited for Brayden that I called Brett and told him he had to come and see it too. Luckily Brett was working from home that afternoon and was able to come down for a bit and watch.

Brayden was so happy and wanted to play so badly. He kept asking me to get in the rink while the other kids were playing. It was so cute to watch his eyes light up and cheer every time one of the kids would get a goal. I was such a proud mother too when he had a chance to meet one of the players and he asked him to show him his swing and Brayden gladly showed off his skills. It was so cute!!!

Brett and I have talked about taking him to a real game, but as much as he likes hockey, he does not like loud events and always ends up getting freaked out at them. So until then it is hockey in the front yard with Daddy and watching it on TV.

* He would do this all day if I let him!

* Watching the "big kids" play...he wouldn't let the stick go for a second

* He kept saying "Brayden go in there?" He wanted to play so bad!

* Meeting Ryan Bayda or "a really hockey player" as Brayden said

Snow Day!

Here are some cute pictures of the snowy day we had a few weeks ago. I was so happy Brett was able to be home because Miss doesn’t last very long out in the cold and Brayden LOVES being out there as long as he can.

Getting Out and About

One of the first outings Brayden, Barrett and I took was to a play date at Heather’s (a.k.a Ha Ha) house. She was nice enough to get everyone together to play with Brayden and meet Barrett for the first time.

This too was during a time when Brayden was not into Barrett at all and was having a really hard time. He was so happy to be reunited with his buddies, but still not thrilled that people were more interested in her than him. It was so fun to be around our friends again and to have everyone be really excited about Barrett. All the boys could have cared less about her and when asked if they wanted to see or hold her, they would always say firmly, “NO!” HA! We would soon learn that this is totally a boy/girl thing, because all of Brayden’s girlfriends were totally into seeing and being around the baby. Boys!!

The next outing I dared to do was story time at our local mall. Brayden and I attend this quite often when there is not much to do around the house and we need to get out. This was funny because it was my first time out with the two of them and it took everything out of me!

I came home and was so exhausted from not being used to lugging two kids around that I literally passed out. Good thing my mom was still here to help me because my stamina was not back to normal and the outing made me feel like a bus had hit me!

Needless to say I am feeling much more like myself these days and we regularly get out of the house, but looking back at the first time makes me laugh because it was so new and strange to me.

- Sue -

* Auntie Robin

* Auntie Heather

* Not interested in B at all, more interested in feeding Brady's horse

* Little Miss B

* He loves to go to storytime and read with his Nana

* Cheese!

* Barrett enjoying storytime as well

Cousin Ben Visits!

My sister and my nephew were able to come and visit over Valentine’s Day weekend and Brayden was SO happy to see his awesome cousin! This was during a time when he was not at all happy about having a new member of the family and having someone come and visit just to play with him was exactly what he needed.

It was so cute to see Ben holding Barrett and it makes me so happy that the boys can see each other more often than not these days. We had a great time; played games, played outside, watch movies and just enjoyed having family in town.

- Sue -

* The two goof balls together at last!

* Miss B enjoying herself

* Miss B getting to know her cousin Ben and Auntie Gretchen

* He was so good with her and very gentle

Bringing Barrett Home

Hi everyone!

Yes I am alive and I am so sorry for being the worst person to call people back. I swear I will get better at it!!!

These past few days have been a blurr and I can't believe Brett and I now have 2 children to raise in this crazy mixed up world.

Here are some cute moments from our time in the hospital and our first time at home!

-Sue-

* Brayden keeping Mommy company in the hospital
* Barrett in her billi-bed

* Comfy and cozy in Mommy's arms

* Getting some Daddy love

* Proud parents are ready to head home

* Relaxing with Nana

* Brayden slowly getting to know Barrett

* Big Brother Brayden! Not happy about it yet, but we are working on it.

* Proud Daddy with his 2 kids!

Barrett Day 2

Today was a great day all around: all three of us managed to get some sleep last night, Sue was taken off of the IV, given solid foods, and was up and walking around for the first time since the operation.  

Unfortunately Barrett starting showing signs of jaundice; so we began light treatments in the afternoon, as well as supplementing breast feeding with formula to encourage BMs.  This is a routine we are familiar with as Brayden went through the same thing after birth, so we're not all that fazed by it.

The first light treatment equipment they brought in was a bit different than what we were accustomed to.  It was consisted of a small, light emitting pad that was placed underneath Barrett, and a VERY BRIGHT lamp that shone down on her.  A recipe for disaster quite frankly because:

1. The baby's skin must be exposed, so we weren't able to swaddle her or cover her up at all. 

2. The lamp is so bright the baby's eyes must be protected.  Their solution is a foam sunglasses that wrap around her head, but never stay in place and just made her scream.

Bright light, foam sunglasses, uncovered baby...not so good

Luckily, due to our previous experience with Brayden we were aware of another option.  I described to the nurse the light bed that Brayden used and asked her to bring that to our room instead...Barrett has been sleeping comfortably all evening. 

Tron baby...much better!  

The good news is that Barrett has really taken to breast-feeding; a complete 180 from Brayden.  We are very encouraged thus far!!

Brayden and Nana stopped by again today to say hi, and brought Dad a nice non-hospital breakfast too.  Brayden was slightly more interested in Barrett today...we actually coaxed him to give his little sister a kiss, a moment unfortunately not captured by the cameras.

Hopefully tomorrow will be our last full day here...I imagine Barrett's response to treatment will really be the determining factor in when we can go home.

Brayden at the hospital today, displaying his patented "CHEESE" face

Barrett's nose = Brayden's nose

Barrett Celestyne Robinson

Sorry for the delay in getting pictures and info out to everyone, the last 24 hours have been a bit hectic.

Well, we went into this weekend knowing Sue had a C-section scheduled for this Wednesday 2/4. Betsy has been out here for a couple of weeks helping us get the house in order for the new baby. This last weekend was spent tying up a lot of loose ends in the house: finalizing the baby's room, getting our room ready for Sue's recovery from surgery, cleaning out our cars and installing the new baby seat.

Good thing we finished just about everything Sunday afternoon...with 45 seconds left in the Super Bowl, our little bundle of joy decided she could wait no longer. Sue's water broke, and we were off to the hospital. After a long night, Sue gave birth to a 8lb 8oz baby girl at 4:23AM early this morning.

Barrett Celestyne and Mom are both resting right now in bed and doing great! Barrett has been doing what the doctors are referring to as "grunting", basically still trying to flush out some amniotic fluid from her lungs that was swallowed during the delivery. For this reason, she spent the majority of the morning in the nursery under observation while Sue and I rested in her room. The grunting has pretty much stopped by now, and she has been with us all afternoon.

Nana brought Brayden by today to meet his baby sister. Unfortunately the encounter was not the life-altering event we were hoping for; he was more interested in the hospital and all the machines in our room than the baby.

Enjoy some pics of little Barrett! Not suprising she looks exactly like Brayden, only with hair. We are expecting to remain in the hospital through Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Hopefully we can catch some z's tonight we haven't gotten any sleep yet...