2 months already?

Wow! Where does the time go? Julianne Avery Berridge joined our sweet family 2 months ago! Thursday, February 25, 2010, 8:01 am. She weigh 7 lbs. 6 oz and was 20 inches long. Her entrance into the world was smooth and easy. Dr. Burkholder was great in the OR. I didn't even know he had started the surgery! Our first observation about her was the large amount of dark hair she had. The next thing Brett said was, "She looks just like Jarrett!" Our stay in the hospital was wonderful and my recovery was so easy. This was the best delivery and recovery of the 3! The boys came up to the hospital after school that day. Jefferson immediately wanted to hold her and love on her. Jarrett was a bit more reluctant, but quickly warmed up! My mom and dad and Brett's parents were there. We also had 2 sweet friends there bright and early to celebrate her Birth-day! We were so glad that Melissa and Aron came!

We came home Saturday around noon just in time to welcome the rest of the Berridge clan from Odessa. Uncle Jason, Aunt Erin, Grant, Hagan, Evyn, Uncle Todd, Aunt Jessica and Luke all came to spend the day with us! Cousin Natalie had play rehearsal and couldn't come. The kids were so sweet with her. Aunt Erin took some wonderful pictures of Julianne for her birth announcement. We're so lucky to have Aunt Erin!

The next 2 weeks my mom stayed with us. This was a huge reason my recovery was so quick! I sat on the couch and fed Julianne. My mom did EVERYTHING else! She cooked, cleaned, bathed the boys, did the laundry, took the boys to school, EVERYTHING! She also helped in the middle of the night when the little princess couldn't get her tummy to settle down.

The next week was Spring Break and Brett was home the whole week. Again, I was able to sit and rest while Brett took care of everything else. Brett's mom came the next week to help. She also cleaned, cooked, took the boys to school and helped in the night. We were so grateful for all the help.

I think we've now settled in to our new normal. Julianne eats every 2 1/2 - 3 hours and sleeps from 10:30-6:00 most nights. She's still has more gas then any child I know! While I was pregnant I prayed that I would be able to nurse her for a year without having to supplement formula! So far, we've been successful! We go to the doctor tomorrow for her official 2 month check-up, but I think she's around 11 pounds! God is so good!

Julianne is such a precious gift! I'm so glad I get to be her mommy! We love her so much and thank God daily for her.

T-minus 12 Hours and Counting...

In less than 12 hours, we should be holding our new little girl! Here is a brief chronology of Beth's pregnancy ending with the last picture of our family as a family of four. Exciting days lie ahead for the Berridges!

Big Things Lately

I figured this was a good time to get back on the blog. It's been awhile, so please forgive me!

As most (if not all) of you already know, we have a little girl on the way. We are scheduled for a C-Section next Thursday at 7:30.

Obviously, we will be posting pics, commentary about no sleep, and general observations about our new bundle of joy........ but for now, we are just happy to have functional plumbing!

Anyone who has ever spent any length of time at our house can appreciate the water pressure (or lack thereof) in our house since we moved in almost 3 years ago. That problem has since been alleviated, in addition to our various forms of other plumbing difficulties this week! After the replacement of our water line and sewer line, we ran a tub of water, washed clothes, and washed dishes... ALL AT THE SAME TIME... just because we could!!!!

Yes, I know that it is so very lame that I'm excited about having water pressure... but after having all of the problems we have had to deal with, it's going to be nice not to have to worry about these things anymore.

Jack in the Box

By the title of the post, you may be thinking something that involves a famous fast-food chain. Unfortunately, we Lubbockites do not have a Jack in the Box to call our own. So, sadly, you would have been mistaken.

Oh the creativity of little kids and our leftover empty boxes...

First Pictures

I apologize for this taking so long, but Baby Berridge's first pictures were taken this past Monday. As many of you know, early ultrasound pictures look like nothing more than a little alien. This ultrasound is so early that it hardly even looks like that!

There are a couple of pretty grainy pictures, and there is a 3 second video of his/her heart beating and you can see a little bit of movement in the extremities. The video is quick, so if possible, it's best to loop it.

Enjoy!

Good Friends

As you know by now, I have had the recent misfortune to have bulged a disc (again) in my back last week. Though my recovery is progressing well, I am obviously limited in my movement.

As a result, two of my friends offered to finish hanging the doors on my shed for me. I was moved by their generous gesture, and I jumped at the offer!

Many thanks to Ryan Highley and David Dees for their fantastic work on the doors! I really couldn't have done it without you!

THANK YOU!!!

Show Stopper

I mentioned in my last post that the shed wasn't completely finished yet. All that is left is putting the doors on the front. Initially, I was waiting to get a second set of hands to help me get the doors hung. However, my back had different plans.

For those of you who have known me for at least 4 years know that I have had a bulging disc in my back. To use an analogy - to have this affliction is a bit like being an alcoholic: you will forever be an alcoholic and can never be "cured," though you can control your symptoms by continuing the 12 steps... likewise, I will always have a bulging disc, and I always stand the risk of re-injury, but I can keep it under control by continuing my physical therapy exercises.

Friday afternoon it became VERY painfully obvious that I had not been keeping up with my exercises like I should have been. I was in my new shed sweeping... that's right, sweeping... when I bent over to pick up the dust pan and felt a pop in my lower back that stopped me in my tracks.

If you have ever had severe back pain, then you know that there is no way to adequately explain the amount of pain I was feeling. Not to mention the fact that your back is so integral in every other movement your body makes. I passed out in the backyard due to the extreme pain, and couldn't even get upright (whether on my knees or my feet) for almost an hour because I would begin feeling faint each time.

With a lot of help from my wife, I finally made it to the doctor's office. When asked what the problem was, I told her that I had a bulging disc, and she very flatly told me there was no way I could know that diagnosis if I hadn't had an MRI to tell me so. I wasn't so much a fan of her. She wanted an x-ray and since I couldn't even walk across the doctor's office to their x-ray machine, they ended up calling 911 to have an ambulance take me to the ER.

I spent the next 8 hours in the ER trying to explain that I had a bulging disc to anyone who asked what the problem was... but no one believed me there either since I hadn't ever had an MRI to diagnose it in the first place four years ago.

I finally got my MRI around 8:30, and guess what it said? I HAVE A BULGING DISC!!! I was very frustrated, but at least now I have confirmation that it really is a bulging disc... more specifically the disc between L5 and S1.

I have since been spending most of my time laid up on my back while trying to help out (although I'm hardly helping at all) with the kids, dishes, etc.... When you have restrictions from sitting or bending from the waist, that limits you more than you would think. I feel even worse since I'm only able to give limited help my pregnant wife!

The only solace I get from this is that it happened during the summer... I don't have anywhere that I need to be on a daily basis, and thankfully neither does Beth. Although the obvious downside is that it has now made the remainder of the summer a wash, but I don't have to miss any work for it. I am ready to be back on my feet, but if this goes anything like 2005, then it won't be until it's almost time for school to start when I'll be all better.