It's All In The Name

How did this basketball...

Mike Krzyzweski...

and Cameron Indoor Stadium...

play a part in naming our new little boy?

As many of you know, Brandon is a HUGE Duke basketball fan. During basketball season, we work our schedule around when Duke is playing on TV. He's obsessed...there's nothing more that I can say! Anyhoo, what does this have with naming our 4th child??? When we found out we were expecting, we threw around some baby names. Our girl name (which I love!) was easy to agree on...Emerson Grace (too bad we won't be able to use it...so anyone out there in blog world who likes that name...go for it!) Boy names are ridiculous. We couldn't agree on anything. So Brandon threw out the name Durham...he knew I wouldn't go for Duke (that's what you name a dog!) and Mike (1st name) Kryzweski (middle name) would be a bit too much. So one day he threw out the name Durham (as in Durham, NC where Duke is located...by the way, we visited there last summer and it is a beautiful town/campus). I shot him down right away...heavens no...who would name their kid after a sports team?? Well, I guess after all, that's us! After a month or so, when we still were having no luck coming up with a boy's name, we revisited Durham. Yep, it grew on me. Yep, I really love it now. Nope, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Brandon converted Camden into a little Duke fan from day 1. Camden can now tell you who the Duke coach is (a mouthful for a 2 year old!) and who all the players are. His favorite players are G & Kyle. We'll see how Durham takes to being a Cameron Crazy.

Ummmm...it's not looking too promising.

Has It Been 3 Weeks Already??

Well, I really can't believe Durham has been with us for 3 weeks now. It has gone by so fast. We are feeling hopeful that he is figuring out that nighttime is for sleeping, as he is having longer stretches of awake time during the day and sleeps for 4-5 hour stretches at night. Unfortunately, he thinks we like to party from about midnight to 2 a.m.!

He continues to be laid back, for the most part. When he wants to eat though, watch out!! He does have a set of lungs and he's not afraid to use them.

Brandon put Durham on the floor on his tummy last night. I'll be darned, the little guy rolled over on his back. I'm hoping it was just a fluke because I'm already having issues with how fast he is growing and changing...I just don't want him to grow up so fast!

Jordyn has been so good with him. Pretty soon she'll be changing diapers for me!!

Camden is so gentle with Durham. He always wants to "pet" him or hold him. When Durham cries, Camden says, "It's okay Baby Durham."

Kye's been going through Durham withdrawals. He's had a nasty cold this week and I have not allowed him anywhere near the baby. He gets so honked off at me, but he'll get over it!

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

*It has not been me who has spent the majority of this past week walking around with 2 big ole' wet marks on her shirt from leaky boobs because the nursing pads are quite irritating and the girls need to breathe. No way! That wasn't me...I have way more class than that!

*It wasn't me, who tried to put the dust buster in the freezer, rather than the closet! I don't know who it was, but I PROMISE...it wasn't me!

*It wasn't me, who got laughing so hard last night I almost peed my pants. I'm not sure who has poor bladder control, but I promise that after having 4 kids...my bladder is an iron tank! It can withstand sneezes & laughs...no problem. Wasn't me! I feel sorry for that person...poor thing!

*It wasn't me, who dragged the husband and the 2 little ones out to Wal Mart at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday night to "grocery" shop...which then turned into "clothes" shopping because nothing I have fits quite right! Right in the middle of the shopping trip, one particular 2 year old boy started screaming while his mama was in the dressing room trying on clothes. Nope, I'm not sure what wife would do that to a husband but it wasn't me!

Happy 12th Birthday, Birthday Girl

Has it really been 12 years since you were born?? Hope your birthday was everything you had hoped for and more!

2 Week Update

This past Wednesday, Brandon and I took Durham to the doctor's for a checkup. He has gained back almost all of the weight he lost after birth. Everything else checked out okay. The doctor did notice that he still appeared yellow and wanted him to get his bilirubin levels rechecked. Poor thing had to be pricked twice...one in each foot...to get enough blood drawn for the test. They then had to "milk" his feet for well over 10 minutes to get enough blood. He was a trooper! Hardly cried at all. Me on the other hand...I about passed out! I was okay until a lab worker started to explain the procedure in great detail to a lab student. It didn't help that I really didn't eat or drink anything before we headed out to the hospital! Yikes!

Here are some little tidbits about Durham...

He has FINALLY figured out that he can stay awake for a bit. Unfortunately, it's in the middle of the night when he thinks the party should begin! Brandon says he's living the rock star life...sleep all day, party all night!

He doesn't like to be naked.

His skin is shedding like a snake! The doctor said this was normal and should subside in a week or so.

He loves his swing. Thank goodness...sometimes it's the only time of the day I can get some things done.

He loves to snuggle and still curls himself up in a ball when you hold him. (My favorite part of the day!!)

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

The Saga of Family Pictures...

This afternoon we went to my parents to celebrate Mother's Day. I really wanted to get a picture of all 4 kids together since they all cleaned up real nice today! I'm not sure who created the most trouble in getting "the picture"...I'll let you decide!

Hmmmm...Jordyn looks thrilled, doesn't she? Camden's done with this whole picture taking business and we haven''t even started!

Is Jordyn really laughing? Too bad her hand is covering her face...Ugh!

Oh no...the nose picking started!

We kept telling Jordyn to smile...this was the best she could (would!) do!

Ahhhh...going back for another!

Finally, this is the picture I was okay with. Not perfect, but what do I expect...right?? Nobody was picking their nose in this one and Jordyn didn't look completely miserable!

First Week Summed Up in Pictures

So sleepy...all of us!

Hanging out!

Lots of snuggles & naps!!

A Recollection of Durham's Birthday

I'm a sucker for listening to others' birth stories, so thought I'd share ours. This is a family-friendly website so it won't be too graphic!

The day started EARLY...3:30 a.m. Of course, I overslept so we were really rushing around trying to get out of here. At this point, Brandon and I were running on about 3 hours of sleep...FIRST MISTAKE! We finally got out of the house about 4:20 and headed to the hospital. We did (barely) make it to the hospital for our 5:00 a.m. check in (sounds like we checked into a hotel, right!?) We were greeted at the hospital doors by a very apparent homeless man (sad!). He wished us good luck and off we went.

When we got up to labor and deliver, I put on my fashionable gown and for the next 2 hours, we hung out. Things were quite busy on the L&D floor that morning and then we had to contend with the nurses' changing shifts. Brandon for some reason went out in the hall (probably to get some coffee) and saw the BEST (and I mean it) nurse ever. She was my nurse when I had Camden. Brandon casually mentioned to our night nurse, "Oh I see Steph's working today." She said "yep" and "I'll see if she'll be taking care of you." What do you know...she is our nurse for the morning! Awesome!

Nurse Steph came in a tad before 7:00 and started my IV with a very small dose of Pitocin. Of course I had to tell her (and everyone else that would listen) that I did not want to feel a thing and that I REALLY wanted an epidural. She assured me that I would get one and that she wouldn't crank the Pitocin until the epidural was in and working. Dr. Weaver came around 7:00 and broke my water. Around 7:30, I could have jumped for joy. The epidural guy came and delivered the goods. I was a little worried because the epidural pump kept malfunctioning. The ended up switching pumps and it was all good! Soon after the Pitocin was increased. I could feel contractions on my right side so to encourage the epidural to work, I had to keep switching sides to even out the numbing. About 8:00, the nurse came in and started setting up the room for delivery. Normally, they wait to do this, but they knew I have babies quickly so they did this so they weren't scrambling at the end. As I watched the nurse put all these metal, sharp objects on the table, I started to feel queasy. Between that and low blood pressure, I was feeling very nauseous. They give me some antinausea medicine in my IV and I was good to go.

At 9:30 or so, I had the strangest feeling to push. While I was freaking out, Brandon headed out to find my nurse. She checked me and yep, I was ready to rock n' roll. They called Dr. Weaver and she was there within a matter of minutes. It was at this point, I decided I really wasn't interested in finishing the birthing process and yes, I let everyone know. However, I overcame that fear and 3 pushes later (it would have been 2, but on push 2 I didn't take a big enough breath in and ran out of steam mid push)...Durham arrived. Cute as could be, covered with goo and a head full of hair. Brandon cut the cord and he was officially ours!

Introducing...

Durham Jukes Fenton

May 1st, 2009

7 lbs. 10 oz.

19"

Arrived at 9:45 a.m.

Everything went really well. He came out with a head full of hair...I think he gets the award for the most & longest hair of all his siblings. He seems, for the most part, pretty laid back. We didn't get much rest in the hospital, so are hoping our first night home is pretty uneventful.

Will post more soon...