Fletcher's Birth Story

First off, my mom made it safe and sound and actually a little bit early the night before Fletcher was born. SO thankful that she was able to make all of her connecting flights and that all of her luggage made it safely.

So we picked up my mom tuesday night from the airport and took her to the place that she will be staying for the time that she is here. She originally was going to stay in one of the apartments by us, but the construction hasn't finished yet so she is staying with the senior missionary couple in our branch. we love them and are so grateful for them. After we dropped her off Brandon and I went home and tried to get some sleep. Well I tried to get some sleep while Brandon tried to distract himself by watching Pawn Stars until very early in the morning. I wasn't feeling too nervous though and was able to get a couple of winks in.

We woke up around 5:30 the next morning grabbed all of the bags that I packed and headed for the hospital. This was it. Today was the day. I was feeling excited, but calm at the same time. Brandon had given me a Priesthood blessing, so I really had no worries. I'm not sure though if I was more excited to finally hold my baby in my arms or to not be pregnant anymore!

Walking into the hospital.
I made a goal I would wear high heels right up to the day I delivered.
 Check.

We checked in and the nurse took me away and left Brandon in the hall. First thing the nurse told me to do was to get completed naked. uh okay... she stayed there with me until I finished undressing told me to get into the hospital bed and hooked me up to a heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff. Then she helped me put a disposable gown on and a cute hair net thing and then left me there for what seemed like forever. A little bit later another nurse came and put an IV in my hand. OUCH. That dumb IV was the worst part of it all. It hurt like crazy getting it in and then it kept bugging me.

Not a fan.

Not really a fan of the automatic blood pressure cuff that went off every 15 minutes either. It wasn't so bad though.

Right before they wheeled me into the OR

Finally they let Brandon in and he stayed with me until the OR was ready. I guess they have really strict rules and he wasn't supposed to be there, but one of the Dutch nurses snuck him in. He wore a pair of scrubs he borrowed from his classmate, so he fit right in and didn't get caught. 

After a while they told us it was time and they took Brandon away and wheeled me the 20 feet to the OR. It was freezing in there!! and because it was so cold and because I was a little nervous I started shaking. Not good when you have to get a needle stuck into your spine! I was able to stop shaking and actually getting the spinal block was super easy. Definitely hurt less than my IV! It took effect immediately and I could feel my feet going numb. They laid me down and got me ready and then let Brandon in. 

Getting my spinal block. 

not sure who took this picture, one of the nurses I think.
Good to go I guess.

Last picture of us pre-parenthood.

I still was pretty cold so they put these heat pads over my arms, but didn't tie them down so that I could hold my baby with my arms instead of just cheek to cheek. I was really grateful for that. 

So Brandon comes and sits by my head and they tell him that he needs to be supporting me, so he informs me that he is supporting me and then starts asking the anesthesiologist some questions about spinal blocks and stuff like that and next thing we know we hear, "its a boy!" and then we look up and see this tiny, little, perfect baby! I had felt some pressure on my stomach, but I had no idea that they had already cut me open and neither did Brandon, so it surprised us both. I still can't believe how fast it all happened. 

Born. 8:31am

Dr. Iding and Fletcher seconds after he was born.

After they showed him to us they went and cleaned him off and took Brandon over to cut (trim) the umbilical cord and then Brandon brought him over to me. 

They told us that he was healthy and perfect and weighed 3260grams or about 7lbs 3oz. Not bad for being 11 days early!

Our first family photo!

Wow. It is really hard to describe what it feels like to meet the tiny human that you made from scratch for the first time. Surreal, I guess you could say. And finally holding in my arms what I had carried around inside of me for 9 months was miraculous and amazing and sort of liberating.

Too soon they took Fletcher and Brandon away to get better cleaned up and checked out while they stitched me up. I felt like I was in sci-fi movie getting probed by aliens while they stitched me up because they were all speaking in Dutch and I was by myself on a table with bright lights shining in my eye with my body wide open! as I was thinking about this one of the surgeons, Dr. Smith, popped his head over the curtain and said, "you have beautiful ovaries. you can definitely reuse these." Ha! gee, thanks doc! good to know. They got finished with me pretty fast, which was really nice. They had a lot of cleaning up to do because I lost a lot of blood, just over a liter I think, and they weren't ready for that so it spilled everywhere over everyone's shoes! it was so weird watching them clean me up because they were moving my legs, but not be able to feel them do it or have any control over them. No me gusta.

After everything was all done they wheeled me back into the recovery room and I waited for a little more than an hour for Brandon and Fletcher to show up. The only thing I was focused on for that whole time was trying to get my legs and toes to move. It was a strange experience getting the feeling back and watching my legs and feet twitch as the numbness wore off.

Less than an hour old.

I was so excited when my two boys finally walked through the doors! they gave Fletch right to me and I immediately started nursing him. He was a hungry little boy! but since there wasn't much coming out on my end, one of the nurses gave me a bottle to give to him and then left. He took the bottle quickly and hurriedly gulped it down. They nurse came back a little while later and looked at the bottle and was shocked. He drank 40mls when he was only supposed to drink 10! whoops. Needless to say he fell into a food comma and we couldn't wake him up for almost 5 hours.

After Fletch ate Brandon got to really hold him for the first time.

Love my handsome boys!

After a little while, they brought us some food! well, they brought us soup which tasted great. They actually were only supposed to feed me, but that super nice Dutch nurse snuck an extra bowl for Brandon. Again, she told us not to tell anyone. After I ate is when I started feeling like I just had major surgery. Ouch. They gave me some oral pain pills, so I wasn't in very much pain, but man did I feel sore, especially if I made any type of movements.

A few hours later they brought me some lunch, which wasn't too bad and while I was eating informed me that because I had lost so much blood that I would have to stay in intensive care over night. I was bummed because earlier they told me that I could be moved to the recovery room where I could be by myself instead of sharing a big room with people that were on their death beds--> there were two other really old people that really were on their death beds next to me in intensive care. Luckily though they had kind of a side room that was still connected to intensive care, but sort of not that they moved me over to so that I could have a little more privacy.

After they moved me the super cool Dutch nurse said that they had an extra lunch and wondered if 

Brandon wanted it--Yes, please-- and let my mom in even though it wasn't visiting hours.

Fletcher meeting his Granna!

They let Brandon and my mom and a few other visitors come in and visit for the rest of the afternoon/evening, which was awesome. They originally told us that visiting hours were 11:30-1pm and 6:30-8pm, but they made some exceptions for us. 

Fletcher finally woke up from his food comma and was wide awake!

is there anything cuter than a newborn grin?

We didn't get a picture of it, but Brandon was the first one of us to change his diaper!! ha!

Bonding after the diaper change.

They eventually made everyone leave and finally let me get up and walk around! I wanted to walk around hours earlier, but they wouldn't let me. They had put me in that bed in sort of an uncomfortable position for my rear end and it was numb and tingly and felt like I had been on it for 15 hours (oh wait...) getting up was a challenge and walking around wasn't that fun and we didn't go that far, but all of it was worth it to get some relief for my butt!

After my walk they put me back in bed, turned down the lights, and basically left me there until morning. I had a call button if I needed anything, but it turns out that it didn't work. I pushed it tons of times, but no one ever came. (I was okay, I just wanted the internet password) So it was just me and Fletch all night. It wasn't that bad. I have been blessed with a super angel baby. He ate, he slept, I slept and we cuddled. 

The next morning after breakfast and a shower (which they made me take by myself with no help. it doesn't sound that hard, but you try washing yourself after major abdominal surgery while holding your catheter in one hand. its tricky, believe me) they moved me to my new room!! Yay!! it was nice to get a change of scenery. Over the next couple of days Fletch and I got to know each other a little better and every night they left Fletch with me and never really came to check up on us. (they might of while we were sleeping, but who really knows. it is Bonaire) We also had TONS of visitors. 

Faith and Yvette

Melling Family

Josepha

Steph

Kenisha

Gertrudis

Monica

Yomely

We also had a lot more visitors, but for some reason didn't take their pictures. Almost everyone in our branch came to visit us including the Branch President and his wife, who just had a baby boy 20 days before Fletcher was born. I can't wait for the Bonairian Brothers to meet!
We had so many people come and show their love and support for us and our new little family.
So blessed.

It was nice to have my own room and the freedom to walk around, go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and stuff like that. They gave me pain pills every 5 or 6 hours, but it seriously felt like every minute I was getting a little bit better and that it was a little bit easier to get up or to lay back down. It is amazing how fast the body can heal.

Fletch is such a great baby. especially a great sleeper. His second night he slept for almost 6 hours straight. I tried to wake him up twice, but he wouldn't have it. He even slept through diaper changes and rectal temperature checks. This little guy loves his sleep. just like me.

Saturday morning they finally let me go. It was great to get out of that hospital room and I was anxious to get home. After his last bath there Brandon and I were able to put Fletcher in his new super awesome car seat and take him HOME!

Leaving the hospital as a family

one last one...

-->you might be wondering why they never measured Fletch's length. The reason is because babies that are breech have a higher chance of hip displacement disorder because of the way that their legs were in the womb and so they didn't want to stretch out his legs. In fact we have to be careful with his legs and take him in for an ultrasound when he is three months to make sure that his hips are forming properly.

he made it!

Little Fletcher is here!!

He was born at the St. Francisco Hospital in Kralendijk, Bonaire N.A. on January 30, 2013 at 8:31am via C Section. Whew! We are both doing great!

I still have an IV in my hand so it makes it hard to type, but his birth story with lots of pictures will be coming soon!

our naughty little boy...

Major. Update.

first of all, No More Work!! I officially started my pregnancy leave (4 weeks before my due date) on January 11th. It has been so nice to be home, get things ready for Fletcher and of course take a nap and go to the beach everyday. My favorite thing though is that I have been able to eat lunch with Brandon at school almost everyday. It's nice to spend a little bit more time with him, especially since this semester is so busy.

We got to play softball with the branch a couple of saturdays ago and it was so much fun. they even let me pitch and bat. It was pretty exciting. I got hit in the leg with the softball, one of the Elders nearly missed one to the head, the senior missionary have two diving catches, and Brandon and I both got scouted to be on one of the league teams. All in all we had a great time. 

We also have been making some time for the beach and using the super awesome beach umbrella I got Brandon for Christmas. Yes I am the best wife ever.

Okay, now the news you have all been waiting for... 

baby Fletcher

Well i finally made it 37 weeks on January 18th.

We celebrated by having a mexican night with a bunch of our friends. we had flautas, homemade pico de gallo, fajitas, arroz moro, bean dip and chips, ice cream cake, pintrest smore cookies, fruit salad, and I don't even remember what else.... it was delicious. sorry, side tracked. ANYway the following tuesday I had an appointment with my midwife and after pushing on my belly a couple of times she told me that my baby was breech and that i was going to have to get a c section. I was in shock, because exactly one week before on my appointment she told me that he was head down and told me for the last 7 weeks that he was head down. I didn't feel any major movements from baby fletch, so I think that he has been breech this whole time and maybe his bum and head just feel a lot alike from the outside?? I dunno, I wish that I could have found out earlier so i could do more to try to help him flip before he got so huge, but what's done is done and for whatever reason the best way for him to come into this world is not the normal, regular way. So after my midwife told me the news she said that I had to get an ultrasound to confirm and then I need to schedule my c section. So I had an ultrasound the next day and it was confirmed. His little noggin is firmly placed under my ribs and he has no plans of moving. he gave have slim to none chances that he would turn on his own already being 37 and a half weeks pregnant. After the ultrasound the doctor gave me two options: c section or spontaneous breech delivery. yikes. those are my choices? ouch. he said that if we chose c section it would either be the following wednesday (jan 30) or the one after that (feb 6). He said he would give us a few days to think about it, so we did and we prayed about it too and we decided that a c section was our best option. we also decided that january 30th would be the day because my mom is flying in on jan 29th and we wanted to maximize the time she was here. we also wanted to reduce our chances of me going into labor and having to have an emergency c section and we thought that feb 6th was too close to my actual due date. so we went back and told the doctor our decision and after another ultrasound confirming fletch still hadn't moved we officially scheduled the c section for Jan 30. yay! 

we are actually both really excited and only a little bit nervous for me to have major abdominal surgery in a foreign country. thank goodness I have insurance!!

we also really like the doctor and feel really comfortable with him. He is just here on Bonaire for 6 months and is leaving the week after Fletcher's arrival, so we are having him just in time. 

My last Sunday being pregnant with Baby Fletcher!

Oh yeah, we also got a TON of Christmas cards from our friends and family! they all came on the same day... gotta love the mail here. 

everybody loves Fletcher

Fletcher got three super awesome presents this week from three super awesome people. 

The first was from our good friend Abbey. She gave Fletch the book Love You Forever. One of mine and Brandon's favorites. Seriously cannot wait to read it to him. Auntie Abbey is the best.

Fletcher also got tons of super cute nike onesies from our friend Amy. They are adorable and fitting for the lifestyle Brandon wants for him. This one was my favorite.

The last present that Fletcher got this week was a homemade super special blanket from Grammie, or I guess Great Grammie to him. It took over a month to get here and accidentally got sent to the wrong address, but we have it and we love it. It is so soft and cuddly--I want it for myself.

In other news---

I finished my last week of work!!! 12. weeks. off. begins. now. BOOM! 

Also, Brandon started classes up again. He has 6 classes this semester (biochemistry, physiology, genetics, neuroanatomy, clinical, and research...whoa) compared to the 4 he had last semester, so he will be VERY busy. They say that the second semester here is the hardest, but I have a feeling that he is going to rock it--even though he is going to become and new dad right in the middle of it. He is super dad after all.

   

Getting ready for Fletcher

With Fletcher's estimated arrival date getting closer and closer, Brandon and I have both been nesting...well Brandon has been nesting while I have been at work. (only one more week of work left!)

First thing we did was sell our little car. When we bought it we had Fletcher in mind, but we came to realize that us, Fletch+car seat, and a stroller could not all fit into the car at the same time. Bummer, because when we bought it, us being naive parents, thought that it would. So we sold our cute little Suzuki and got a four door Mazda truck that has plenty of room for us, Fletch+car seat, stroller, AND anyone that is coming to visit. 

We sold our suzuki for cash money and some very delicious european chocolate. true story.

Brandon has had a very productive break from school and has been building, painting, buying, and organizing things for Fletchers "room." After a lot of measuring, he came up with a plan and now our room is separated into a room for us and a room for Fletch. 

We have a limited amount of space so his goal was to maximize what we had. He did an amazing job.

First, he put up a rod and hung a curtain to separate the two rooms.

Then he built a changing table that hooks on to the crib and some shelves out of cinder blocks and wood from the construction going on at our house. Basically he built a nursery for $10. Super Dad.

He even picked out the paint himself-he chose the color because the name of it was North Shore, but it also just happened to match a changing pad that someone from work made and gave to me. Super awesome. 

This is a picture of a blanket that one of our friends who is also in Brandon's class made for us. Love it.

We are excited for baby Fletcher to get here! 

Happy New Year!!

We had a great New Years--but very different than any we have ever had together. we were in bed and asleep before 11pm. Brandon had bad allergies all day and wasn't feeling very well and I never say no to going to sleep early :)

We did celebrate all day though--Dutch style and Latino style.

For our Dutch New Years Eve celebration we went to the Branch President's house. His wife is from Holland and her parents flew in that day. The Dutch tradition on New Years is to make and eat Ollie Bollen. They're like deep fried dough balls with raisins and apple pieces in them. You put powdered sugar on them afterward. I think Brandon ate 12. They are delicious! (even with the raisins)

After we ate our fill and then some of Ollie Bollen we then went to a Latino family's house that is in our branch and ate a super delicious dinner outside and let off some fireworks. It was super fun to spend time with them chatting and laughing and enjoying the last little bit of 2012!

This New Years marked the fourth anniversary of meeting ALL of Brandon's family-Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins included. I love them all and I miss them so much!

We are excited for 2013 and what it is going to bring!


Also--Randomly the Sunday before New Years some visitors came to church (they were from the cruise ship that stopped in Bonaire and were only here for one day) who just happened to be the parents of some friends in our old ward at BYU-Hawaii. Small world? yes.

Christmas time!

Here is the fishing picture I promised.

We had a very fun and interesting Christmas. It was the first one where it was just the two of us.

I had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so that cut our celebrations a little short

On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner that we made together,

then sat by the tree and read the nativity story and then kept with the Bingham tradition and had our own little testimony meeting and read all the emails of their spiritual experiences for the year from family. It was so nice to focus on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.

The next morning we woke up early and opened presents!!

After presents Brandon and I decided to have breakfast at my work out on the ocean.

delicious and gorgeous.

Where I work has wifi and it was a very slow day, so I was still able to Skype my younger brother who is on a mission in Portugal and everyone else in my family. I love Skype!!

Later that night after work and Skyping we had dinner with the Elders and the Senior Missionaries. We also played dominos, worked on a puzzle and enjoyed each others company.