Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Best Big Brother and Sister Ever!

Jimmy and Susie have been amazing older siblings. They are both so excited to see Gabe every morning, and they want to be a part of everything he does. Whether it is helping with his bath, finding a pacifier or wiping some drool from his chin, they want to be involved. Jimmy goes beyond helping with the everyday tasks, and he seems to have bonded with Gabe. One day I let Gabe nap on the middle of my bed while I showered. When I was done, I came out and saw Jimmy laying next to him, talking to him in a soothing voice, telling him all about his toys and giving him advice on life. Susie is great at giving me up-to-the-minute updates on Gabe: "Gabey's eyes is open", "Gabey's eyes is closed". She has also renamed all of her baby dolls "Gabe"... She differentiates them from her brother as "My Gabe" vs "Gabe" or "Gabey". Susie also makes sure that "Gabey" is never without his lovey, at least not unless she is playing with it. :)

Jimmy talking to Gabe
Susie kissing Gabe's feet

They are both wonderful helpers and very loving with their baby brother, and Sam and I are blessed to have such incredible kids.

Grandparents and Grandkids

Now that we live closer to our families, both sets of Grandparents were able to come and visit when Gabe was born. Gramma Paula arrived a few days before and relieved my fear of having two kids under 5 in the delivery room with me (Thank you, Paula!). Pop (Tom) decided after Gabe was born that he would rather drive to Bozeman and meet his new grandson than hang out in Rocky Ford alone all weekend, so he arrived on Friday. Abuelo (Ray) and Nana (Juanita) drove out on Saturday as planned and arrived in time for dinner.
Here are some pictures from their visits.


Gramma and Gabe in the hospital

Pop and Gabe, One day old
Gramma and Gabe at home
Pop, Sam, Jimmy and Gabe - the Brubaker Boys
Abuelo and Gabe
Nana and Gabe
Abuelo, Nana and the Brubaker Grandkids

Abuelo and his little rascals

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Introducing Gabriel Thomas Brubaker!

On Thursday, January 29th 2009 we welcomed our newest addition to the family. That morning I was contracting and went to the hospital where the doctor decided to go ahead and break my water to move labor along. So at 8:40 my water was broken, a few hours later I started experiencing the loveliness of back labor, and at 3:08 PM beautiful Gabriel Thomas was born. When he came out he was as purple as can be, which was the only thing to lower his APGAR scores, but his color rebounded quickly and he was very alert. He weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz, which is WAY bigger than I ever expected. Big brother Jimmy was 7 lbs flat and Big sister Susie was 7 lbs 11 oz, so I never expected a baby who was over a pound bigger than the last. But we'll keep him. :) He was 21 inches long and while it took a little longer for labor to progress than with the other kids (6 hours from water break 'till pushing, while the other two were 5 hours), the nurses and doctor said his birth was fast, and that it contributed to some slight bruising on his head (which I never could see, but they are the professionals, so I believe them).
Gramma Paula was watching the older kids at home, so she brought them to the hospital once we were out of the delivery room. Sam had gone with Gabe to the nursery to get his immunization and first bath, and I was waiting in the room to see my kiddos. They were so excited to meet the baby, and Jimmy was impressed that my belly wasn't "SO BIG" anymore (thanks kid, I was so afraid you would ask why I still looked like I had a baby in my belly).
When daddy got back with Gabe the kids and Gramma took turns holding him, and then they had to go eat dinner and go to bed while Mom enjoyed the peace of a night in the hospital (not so much).
I had planned on milking the delivery for all it was worth, and staying the full 48 hrs allowed by insurance in the hospital, but after that first night I changed my mind. It was so hard to sleep with nurses coming in and out all night, and I really missed my bed, my refrigerator and my satellite tv. So as soon as all of the tests were done on the baby, we got packed up and went home. Paula made us dinner that night and I got to tuck my little, um... big kids into bed. All in all a pretty good couple of days!