Adjusting and Visiting!

We have spent the last couple weeks adjusting to our new routine and enjoying visits. Jadyn has been a good baby. He’s a good sleeper, but has only repeated his sleeping through the night a couple more times. He lost his umbilical cord on Monday and has healed nicely from his circumcision. He is now starting to have more alert times in the morning and in the evening, but continues to eat, sleep and poop his way through the day. He has also started to look at us more intensely and follow us with his eyes more often. I have to admit that you forget what it is like to be a parent to an infant. They do so little in the beginning. It is nice, but it really is just what I said, the “beginning.” It will change, Bruce and I have decided to enjoy it while it lasts!



Uncle Alan visited from Florida to not only spoil his niece, but to meet his new nephew.

He spent the week reading books, working on puzzles and learning the joys of noisy toys and toddler tantrums.

He even made it though an afternoon with an additional two toddlers when Ethan and Kyle came over to meet their new cousin.

Ethan and Kyle took a liking to him.

He actually left with his hair attached, but we may have added a grey or two.

Not a bad deal because you see what kids did to Bruce’s hair
Cousin Devin even spent a morning with us and seemed some what confused with the whole baby thing.

Samantha is adjusting nicely to being a big sister. For the most part, she seems to understand that Jadyn requires more help than she does and has taken to caring for her dolls in a new way. She still loves to hold him and especially likes it when Jadyn comes in her room tuck her into bed at night. She likes to remind us that she gets to do things differently than Jadyn because she is a big girl and he is just a baby. Bruce and I have been working on trying to keep some kind of schedule with Samantha so she continues to go to school three times a week and enjoy her big girl time (riding her bike, going on errands with Dad and her favorite Happy Meal treat). For the most part, the routine has worked and has made the adjustment more manageable.

Here are a few pics of the happy siblings!

Jadyn and I had a chance to go visit friends from Mommy’s work for the first time while Samantha and Daddy made ta dah (AKA sushi) one of Samantha’s favorite treats. It was no surprise that everyone loved him and couldn’t believe how small he was.

Jadyn took a great liking to Miss Susan as she had the best treat of all, a bottle!

Here is Jadyn with Miss Beth and Miss Barbara.

All in all, we continue to adjust and will begin preparing for the Holidays and a big day in the Berman household, Samantha’s 5th Birthday! Stay tuned for more fun!

Welcome Jadyn Thomas Berman!

The Berman Family was blessed with the early and healthy arrival of Jadyn Thomas Berman. He arrived in our hearts and in our lives on Wednesday, October 29th at 12:29 p.m. As any parent would say, he is absolutely perfect. Coming into the world a healthy 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 19 ¼ inches long. If the numbers sound familiar, they are. He was the exact same weight as Samantha and just ½ inch shorter.

The story of his arrival started on Tuesday. Bruce and I both had the day off so Bruce could have the remainder of his root canal and crown fitting. After Bruce finished at the dentist, I made a quick run to the polls to early vote (thank god) then we spent the afternoon at the pumpkin farm with Samantha. It was a windy and sunny afternoon at Kuipers Pumpkin Farm, but we managed to pet the animals, play and walk around for awhile before picking out the perfect pumpkins to carve (unfortunately, we never did carve them). That evening, Bruce headed off to Bowling while Samantha and I enjoyed a relaxing evening at home. Throughout the day, I was experiencing the same discomforts I had been experiencing for the past couple weeks. A little heartburn, a sore back, but felt pretty good as long as I was walking around and somewhat mobile. As the day wore on, I started to feel a little different and realized that I had lost my mucous plug, but I continued to not be alarmed because this sign basically meant I was having a baby in the next couple weeks (which of course I already knew). Needless to say, I still wasn’t alarmed.

I woke up Wednesday morning after finally getting a decent nights sleep. I felt good, but still a little different than I had in the days past; however, I still felt good enough to continue my daily routine. After a couple extra trips to the bathroom that morning, I woke Bruce to say goodbye and tell him about how I was feeling. I took some extra precaution then headed off to work. About half way through my drive, I had a weird feeling followed by an unexpected gush…I thought my water might have broken or was going to. After making a quick stop on my way to work, I headed directly into the bathroom where my feeling was confirmed, my water had broken.

It was 8:30 a.m. and I needed to get the ball rolling. I immediately called upstairs to talk to Nancy before I called the Doctor. I knew that if I needed to go to the hospital, She’d be willing to help me out. I called the doctors office and they immediately told me to get to the hospital so they could begin monitoring me and get me into surgery. I called Bruce and let him know what was happening and instructed him to bring my things from home. He says he wasn’t nervous, but he told me he’d meet me at “Elmhurst” hospital (not “Edwards”) as soon as he could. By 9:30 I was being admitted to the hospital and on the monitors in the labor and delivery unit. As if experiencing Deja Vu, Nancy spun around in the doctor’s chair while I answered a million questions from the admitting nurse. Bruce finally arrived about 9:45. My contractions were now apparent on the monitor, but felt mild and manageable. After a quick good bye and good luck from Nancy, Dr. Frangella paid a visit and stated that they had one c-section that was in process and that I would be taken into surgery within an hour or two. Things moved very quickly at that point. I was in surgery by 11:30 and after two attempts at a spinal block, Bruce joined me at 12:20 for the arrival of Jadyn Thomas. Everything was very smooth and orchestrated, something very different from the day of Samantha’s arrival. By 3:00, I was settled into my room and resting comfortably with the two most important men in my life.

After spending the day at School, Uncle Glen surprised Samantha by picking her up. Bruce left around 5:00 to bring Samantha to the hospital to meet her new Baby Brother. Bruce said she was very excited and surprised to hear of Jadyn’s arrival. When she came into the hospital room, she lit up with excitement and immediately welcomed Jadyn and said how much she loved him. It was a precious moment.

On Thursday, the photographer visited us in the hospital. Her name was Amy and she was from Bella Baby Photography. After taking the pictures, she was taking down some information about us when we realized that knew each other. She is our neighbor Brian’s sister. Included in this posting are a couple of her pictures and she has offered to take more pictures again for us in the future. An offer we will definitely take her up on.

We had several hospital visitors!




By Friday (Halloween), I was anxious to get home and see Samantha dressed up in her Doctor’s costume. Appropriate costume don’t you think? I was feeling good, but not sleeping because of the traffic flow from the Nursing staff. My night nurse mentioned that my doctor might release me and I was pleasantly surprised when the doctor agreed when he visited me that morning. By noon, Bruce and I were packed and on our way home. Once we arrived at home, Bruce and I spent the afternoon getting the remainder of the house ready for Jadyn (better late than never). For the most part, everything was done, but their were a few little things that needed to be finished to make life a little easier.

Bruce left to surprise Samantha at school with an early pick up and news that Mom and Jadyn had arrived at home. Just as with the hospital, Samantha was extremely excited to see us and even more excited to have us home. The first thing she said was that she missed us and loved us. Within a short time, Cousin Devin and Auntie Amanda arrived to join Bruce and Samantha for Trick or Treating! Devin was an adorable giraffe!

It was apparent that the week’s activities had exhausted us all. The remainder of the weekend was spent settling in. I rested most of time while Bruce waited on me hand and foot and kept Samantha occupied. Samantha has already proven to be a good big sister. She loves to hold Jadyn and wants to help all the time. She seems to be adapting well and recognizes that Jadyn cannot do the same things as she can. On Sunday, she spent time at the park riding her bike with dad. When she got home, she immediately wanted to wake Jadyn up to hold him. She likes giving him kisses and rubbing his head. She even likes to help with diaper changes and loved to help with his first at home bath.

Speaking of the first “at home” bath, Bruce proved that he was a seasoned parent on this one. He set up everything for the bath and explained how the nurse bathed Jadyn following his birth. Compared to Samantha’s first awkward bath, Jadyn was bathed like a king. Bruce took the reigns and showed his smooth moves while I sat back and took pictures. The bath was flawless success. Jadyn was so exhausted that he passed out, and I do mean out. He slept through the night (9:00 until 7:00). Bruce and I almost went into shock. He thought he slept through a feeding or two. I, of course, woke up 4-5 times to check on him and make sure he was breathing.

Monday marked our first outing. After dropping Samantha off at school, Bruce and I headed to the doctor so Jadyn could have his first office visit with Dr. Rusthoven and I could have my first post op visit with the Obstetrician. Like a true champ, Jadyn soaked his clothes just before we left the house, simply to remind us who was really in charge. Dr. Rusthoven was impressed with Jadyn’s progress. He weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces, which is within normal limits for newborns. We head back to the doctor on Friday for a weigh in and to schedule our 1 month visit. So far so good.

During the course of the last 15 years, I have had plenty of opportunities to recognize how amazing Bruce is as a partner and father. I am extremely thankful to have a man like Bruce in my life. This moment in time has been just another one of those moments when I realize how lucky I really am. Bruce has always embraced being a father and the birth of Jadyn has been yet another opportunity for Bruce to show how much his family means to him. He has been a great support to me and can’t do enough to show his love and support to Samantha, Jadyn and myself. He has proven to be the glue that holds us together and I will forever be grateful for his love and support.

A Special thank you to all of our family and friends who have continued to show us us support over the course of the last several months. We couldn’t take this leap in life without your help. Until next posting…