4 Months!

Ok so I realize I've been quite the slacker with blogging but to be honest I'm just trying to enjoy the summer with the babe before I start throwing school into the mix! We've been keeping busy with going to the fair (twice), family events, and being with friends! I don't have pics for this post but I'm going to include some in the next which I promise will not take nearly as long to post :) As of August 20th Berick turned 4 months old! He's getting so big and I love him more and more everyday!

Stats:
-Weight: 13.5 lbs
-Length: 24 inches
-Head Size: I don't remember the exact measurement but he's now in the 36th percentile for his head :)

He is learning so much these days! He giggles now and it completely melts me! He's a little stinker though because from day to day the things that make him giggle change but I guess that just makes each time he does it more special :) He's still hanging out in 3 month clothes but that's just fine with me! He really likes to cuddle with this fuzzy, green blanket that we have and he really loves to go swimming! He just floats around with me holding him and takes it all in! Each month that passes I can't believe how much he's grown. I just keep thanking Heavenly Father for the blessing that he's given me. I love Berick more than I have ever loved anything in my life. Don't get me wrong I love Kenyon and my family but the love for your child is just amazing!

Well in closing just wanted to say thanks to the people who read my blog! I think I might be switching to a different blogging website though of something because for some reason blogger is acting so bizzarre on my computer! We'll see if I can figure it out! Stay tuned for the next post with pics!

3 Months

Our litte man is growing so fast! We've been keeping him busy this summer! I didn't post all of my pics because blogger drives me nuts with uploading but if you want to see them all just go to my facebook page :) We've been so busy with traveling, seeing family, and just enjoying the summer! Berick is learning and growing and doing new things and SMILING all the time! I just love it and I love him! Here are a few of my favorite pics! I'll post more next month when I have some stats on him. He is however getting quite long! Love him to pieces and thoroughly enjoy seeing his personality come out! I try to thank Heavenly Father everyday for the great blessing he's given Kenyon and I.

2 Months :)

June 20th Berick turned 2 months old! He's getting so big! I posted a bunch of pics on facebook and will put 1 on here but if you want to see the rest just go to facebook :) At any rate, Berick is learning and doing something new every week it seems! He's finally on a schedule and is sleeping pretty much through the night! He smiles ALL the time now and I LOVE IT! I'm very biased but I think he's got the cutest smile in the world! Every time he smiles at me it validates the reasons I became a parent :) At 2 months Berick weighs a little over 10 lbs and is 22.5 inches long! He's skinny everywhere except for his THUNDER THIGHS! I love 'em! He loves smiling, eating, being cool (temp. wise) and having a good poop! He dislikes super cold things, not getting fed when he wants it, being bored, and having his diaper changed! I'm still very much in love with him and can't wait to see what the next months hold for him :)

1 Month of Love

Our little Bean is officially 1 month old! Well he turned one month on the 20th but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of pics to post! This past month I won't say has been easy but its been rewarding and Kenyon and I are very much in love with this little man! Here are some stats for Berick at 1 month:

• Weight: 9lbs 2oz


• Height/Length: 20.5 inches


• We don't know the exact measurement but his head size is in the 10th percentile! Although he has a tiny head, he doesn't have a tiny brain!

Here are pics from the last month of our little Bear!

I could kiss these cheeks all day!...and I do!

A little smile for Grandma Nina

These next few are of him sleeping which isn't all that interesting but I think his hands are hilarious! He never really relaxes them!

For this one he's actually grabbing on to the blanket!

These next ones are of him nakey 'cause I think he's so dang cute when he's naked! I'm going to embarass the crap out of him when he's older and tell girls how cute his bum was!

It still seems surreal to me that this little man is mine but I'm so grateful that he's here! He's starting to smile more which I LOVE! I get about 1-2 good smiles a day! They melt my heart! His likes and dislikes are about the same as previously posted. We've figured out the formula situation for the most part. I think we've come to the conclusion that our little guy has a milk allergy so we've got him on a formula that is milk free! I can't believe a whole month has gone by since we had him! He's a sweet boy when the gas isn't bothering him and even then, he's cute! I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for giving Kenyon and I this blessing and for giving us the patience through the frustrating times. I'm also grateful for Kenyon. He can see when I'm at a breaking point and takes over and is constantly telling me I look good even though I certainly don't feel it yet. I'm excited to see what kind of personality Berick ends up with but if now is any indication, we're going to have a fiesty one on our hands!

Due Date

Well today (May 10th 2011) was my estimated due date for the babe seen below! It'll have been 3 weeks tomorrow that he's been in our lives! I can't believe that Heavenly Father has trusted Kenyon and I to raise this precious little guy and teach him the gospel. Someone asked me if I felt a lot of responsibility and if I was nervous and I said no. I mean there is a lot of responsibility but as long as Kenyon and I are living the gospel then it'll be easy to teach him! In lew of today being Berick's intended birthday I'll highlight some things about him!I like this picture 'cause I think Berick has the cutest little head! He just looks like a little bean to me!

At 3 Weeks Berick Likes:

• Eating


• Being Warm


• Pooping: how can I tell you ask? Well everytime he's done grunting he just has this relaxed look on his face :)


• His binky


• Fluffy warm blankets


• From time to time he enjoys cuddling and sleeping on mine or Kenyon's chest :)

At 3 Weeks Berick Dislikes:

• Being cold: this includes coming out of the bath, wipes, and being naked


• Being burped


• Hiccups


• Not getting food as soon as he wants it


• Painful gas

I won't lie and say parenthood has been a breeze and I've totally gotten the hang of it. I will say that there are moments in the middle of the night when I'm frustrated and tired and he's being fussy when he will all of a sudden calm down and smile at me. It brings everything into perspective. Its only been 3 weeks but I couldn't imagine our lives without this little guy. I love him so much and hope he can feel that love! In closing I'm posting a video of Berick doing some tummy time! Some may think its boring but I think its cute!

Hospital Visit

Well Berick has certainly not been a boring baby! Since Sunday we've been at the hospital with him! It was scary at first and now we're glad to be home. It all started last week when Kenyon had a sore throat. We didn't think much of it at the time...
Sunday during the day the little man was acting a little off so that night we checked his temp. and it was at 101.1 which is high for a newborn and can be very serious. So we went into the emergency room and they proceed to tell us all of the tests they were going to do on him. I proceed to start crying because they were going to have to catheterize him to get a urine sample, do a spinal tap type thing to get spinal fluid and then draw blood. They do all these tests and then send us upstairs to stay the night in the NICU. Poor baby slept hard that night (don't worry he had IV fluids so he didn't really want to eat) and was fussy 'cause he kept getting poked. All of the tests came out well but we had to wait on the results for the viral test. They gave him antibiotics and Tuesday night his viral cultures came back negative for everything but because they were negative, they didn't know exactly what the problem was so they continued the antibiotics. This morning they told us that Berick has a viral sore throat that he most likely got from Kenyon. He's doing fine now that he's home and I think he's a lot more comfortable. We've been blessed to have amazing nurses who cared for us and to have family that is willing to help and lend support. I know a sore throat doesn't sound super serious but when your baby is all hooked up to things and is upset from testing and such, your heart just breaks. Kenyon's brother and brother in law came up the other night to help give Berick a blessing and it was a very spiritual experience. We're grateful for the gospel in our life and that we have the Big Guy Upstairs to watch over us and our family. Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers!

Trying

Well as some may know and others may not know, I never made it to May 10th :) Berick Vern Petersen was born April 20th at 8:40 pm weighing 7lbs 10 oz and 18.5 inches long. This little man has totally changed out lives. My labor and delivery story isn't a long one but here it goes.

On Monday the 18th I went in to the doctor's office for a regular check up. They checked me and I was only at a 1.4 and 60 % effaced but everything looked great! I was due to come in the next week for another check. That night I had some slight contractions but nothing too worrisome until the next morning. I woke up to some bleeding and went in to the hospital to get hooked up to the monitors and checked. I was still only at a 1.5 after a few hours but let's just say I think them "checking" my dialation may have jump started things because that night and into the morning I was having some rough contractions that I just couldn't sleep through. Kenyon stayed home with me that day and that afternoon we decided if I'm going to have contractions like this then we better get things moving so we went for a walk around aggie village and that did the trick!

After our walk we went to the hospital and after I was admitted they checked me yet again and I was at a 3.5 which was music to my ears! After an hour I went to a 4.5 so we got to stay! We informed the masses that we'd be having the baby that night and began to get things together! I had no intentions of going natural with this one (this detail will come in to play later) so I got set up with my epidural! Funny thing is while they were giving it to me something went crazy in my spine and I ended up basically kicking Kenyon in the junk! Luckily it was merely a graze and he made it through!

Another hour goes by and I'm at a 6 and then 2 hours later I'm at a 10! The 2 things that were bothering me were uncontrolable shaking and the fact that my epidural was wearing off! I could feel all the contractions right in my pelvis and let's just say, baby was ready to come out!

I pushed for 40 minutes and he was here! I ended up sort of having a natural birth. It was worth it though because as soon as I saw the little man I burst into tears. I looked up at Kenyon and he had tears in his eyes as well. I felt so blessed to have such an incredible family!

Here's Berick! I have no idea where those cheeks came from but I love kissing them!Here is my AMAZING husband who I also can't believe I've been so blessed to have him in my life. I've never felt so close to someone in my life. He has been so insanely helpful and I love him more than ever. During the delivery he was great support! He kept saying "Yeah keep going babe, I can see the head" and I could just see the excitement in his eyes as I was pushing. Later he told me that watching me push made his love for me intensify because he saw how much pain I was in and how hard I was working to get the baby here. After delivery I was in a lot of pain (as I'm sure all women are after having a baby!) and Kenyon was there by my side through everything. He helped me while I was crying for nothing or when I was hobbling around the room. He made sure I had everything I needed and even changed all the diapers! It came time the next day for me to shower and you better believe he was in there helping me. He cleaned me up and didn't once complain that it was gross or anything. He literally has helped me so much and I hope he knows how much I truly love him.

Here we are ready to go home. It was hard leaving the hospital because the nurses there are so wonderful! I wish here at home I could just push a button and have one of them come in. Now that we are home I feel so grateful to have love and support from my family and friends. I've had some struggles and I'm still trying to work through them. I'm attempting to breast feed but I just don't have enough milk! He's still hungry after I feed him so I've had to supplement with formula. It was a hard decision but we made it and I'm happy with it.

No one prepares you for how hard being a parent is in the beginning. With these crazy hormones I've cried everyday since we've come home. I'm lucky I have a husband like Kenyon because he just holds me and works through things with me. I want to be a good mom to this baby because he's only a week old but I'd give up anything and everything for him. I think of the man he's going to be one day and I just cry because whatever happens in his life I'm going to love him.

To wrap up this post I must mention how much Heavenly Father has influenced my life. I pray to him everyday now that I'm making the right decisions for Berick. I feel his love for me even more now that he's sent this little one for Kenyon and I to care for and teach the gospel to. Yesterday as Berick was having one of his awake periods he was just staring at me so I sang to him so hymns and began crying. It amazes me that Heavenly Father trusts us with these tiny creatures. I know I have a rough road ahead of me but there will be plenty of wonderful moments in store. Thanks for reading and for all your support :)