Happy Birthday Bryant!

March 23, Easter Sunday was Bryant's 5th birthday! I can hardly believe I've been a mom for 5 whole years! On Saturday he told me he didn't want me to write a long thing about him on his birthday...I asked why and he said he didn't want to wait. Apparently I took a long time writing Jonas' tribute. Well, he is now busy playing with our neighbor and won't have to wait for his mom to entertain him...so sorry its a couple days late, but here it is.

Bryant was due March 23, 2003. At my doctor's appointment just prior to this date I was barely dilated, if at all. Dr. Smithing was going to Brazil to pick up his son from a mission, so he planned an induction. I was to go in around 6:00 pm the night of the 22nd to begin cytotech (to soften the cervix). I would be getting doses of it all throughout the night, after they monitored me the first hour or so. Well, that monitoring indicated that I was contracting very frequently-however when checked the contractions weren't really doing anything (such is the way its been with each one since). They gave me the first dose of cytotech (about 8:00 pm) and it seemed to be the trick. I started into labor. Ethan and I had planned on a long night and we had rented movies and brought games and music. I even had a birthing plan...I was ready! We watched Life or Something Like It with Angelina Jolie. I remember really liking it, but I don't remember any of the details. Since I was not having an epidural I was able to move around and I enjoyed walking, trying different positions I'd learned doing yoga, and I tried out the jacuzzi tub I was so excited about. Unfortunately, the only position I could be in the tub was terrible for contractions so I got out of there pretty quickly. I had a dose of some narcotic to help me relax and it was FABULOUS! I was SO tired and this helped me to sleep in between contractions.

I'm not sure when we called people to let them know we were ready, but by the time I was pushing (about 8:00 am) my mom, Jane (Ethan's mom), Ali (Ethan's sister), Heather (my sis-in-law), and Grandma Call were all in the room with me. I know what you're all thinking...CRAZY! Well, I agree. I didn't want anyone in there. I had a plan that Jane would be Ethan's relief when he needed a break during my labor. Heather was going to be there to film right after the birth. However, all my sisters-in-law on my side have had my mom and all the sisters and some friends in with them and I gave into the pressure I felt. I do not regret this decision, I'm really glad that Grandma Call got to be there especially. She had never witnessed a birth, having been put under with all 5 of her births. I still feel like she and Bryant have special bond that probably started that day (of course, living in her basement added to that).

I pushed and I pushed and I pushed I remember telling my doctor to cut me open I just couldn't push any longer I was just so exhausted. I felt like the nurse was being mean to me telling me I was pushing wrong and I snapped at her. Then at one point I screamed while giving a good push. The doctor told me that was my best push yet and to it every time, so I did. My poor dad out in the waiting room must have been going crazy. I also scared Heather from ever experiencing a non-epidural birth. Though, I told her it wasn't for pain that I screamed it was because I was trying to get that dang baby out! Finally the doctor pulled out the vacuum and he instructed Ethan on how to use it. That was hands down the most painful experience of the birth. But, it gave Ethan a great line, "She pushed and I pulled to get him out." After 3 big pushes with the vacuum and we had a little boy!

I remember vaguely hearing that it was a boy, but I had to ask if I'd heard correctly. I was excited and relieved, but mostly I was just tired. I didn't really want to hold him, I didn't want to entertain all the people that were waiting. Those that were in the room were really quiet while I was pushing and it was like they weren't even there. They were all so supportive, saying I'd done a great job (except when Heather swore she would never go without an epidural after witnessing that). When the men came in to see the baby Scott (Ethan's dad) made a comment that still stings when I watch the recording. (Don't worry Scott, I'm pretty much over it-it used to just make me angry...now it just stings a bit). I was in such a state of exhaustion that I was on edge and sensitive to all these things being said around me. I just wanted to sleep. So, sorry if I was rude to any of you during that time, I hope you know how much I love you! He was a big boy too! 8 lbs 6 oz. and 21 inches. The nurses all said, "You better hope they don't keep getting bigger! That's a big start." We had a family friend that had her baby the same day and she was only 5 lbs 6 oz or something like that. He looked like a giant compared to here! Because he was such a big boy and I had such a hard time getting him out I had an episiotomy, but tore quite a bit (4th degree). The worst part of my hospital experience was the last day...I am rH negative so they have to test my blood and the baby's...well, I had fetal hemoglobins in my blood so I had to have like 6 doses of rHogam. They weren't really sure of how to deal with me, so it took until 8:00 pm to get it all worked out and we could finally go home. We also had to decide on a name...we talked about one right after he was born, then later that night we walked around and tried out another one. We prayed over it and didn't feel right about it, so the next morning we decided on Bryant. I did get teased for that one as it is the name of a boy that I'd had a crush on earlier in life. But really I was so boy crazy there are probably few names that that couldn't be said of.

Bryant was a really easy going baby. He had a hard time at first, like all babies, figuring out night and day. He mostly went to bed around 2:00 am the first few weeks. I remember nursing was really hard too. I cried every day at least once the first 6 weeks. He would latch on fine, but then come off and it really hurt! When I went to my 6 week check-up my doctor said that if I'd made it this far I could do it. The first 6 weeks is always the hardest. I learned to really enjoy nursing. After a couple weeks of poor sleep we discovered the swing worked miracles. I could put him in it, with some white noise and he would sleep. I would sleep on the couch until he woke up, then feed him and then finally be able to get the rest of my night's sleep in bed. At 2 months I asked his doctor if it would be OK to let him cry himself to sleep, she said yes, so that night we went through an entire routine of bath, massage, song, prayer, and sleep. He cried a while that first night, a little longer the next night and then from then on it only got better. We felt so free that first night. Even though he was crying Ethan and I were alone! It was great!

Bryant ate well, he slept well, he was babysat well, he even traveled well. We took him to Nauvoo when he was 3 months old. He was a great flier! We were so blessed to have such a wonderful, perfect baby! He learned to crawl around 9 months, he started to get his teeth about a year, and was walking quite well at 13 months. When he was 13 months I stopped nursing and he did not like cow's milk. He refused to drink it. He refused to eat cheese or yogurt. It was horrible! I didn't know what to do, my doctor said it was normal that it took time for him to adjust. The people at WIC were horrible and made me feel like the worst mother ever. He stopped growing and was now in the single digits percentile for weight. I felt like I was a failure, but due to all the pressure I felt (especially at WIC) I tricked him any way I could. He learned to like dairy eventually, but still didn't put on weight like he should have.

When he was 18 months old we moved to Oregon. He made the transition like a champ. He was a timid kid who would not dare to go down the slide. But he liked other kids and so we went to the park anyway. He made lots of friends in Oregon and still talks about some of them. People have always been impressed with how smart he is. He used to entertain our friends by telling them all the animal sounds...from lions roar, to giraffe's licking the leaves off the trees. He learned the alphabet quickly and easily and then teaching sounds was a lot easier than I expected. We bought him a map of the US during this time too and he now can tell us about 1/3 of the states locations. He learns very quickly and easily. His brain has always worked very well. Discipline wasn't a real issue with him until he got to about 2 1/2. When he became a big brother he was great, he wasn't overly concerned about the baby one way or the other. It was great! As Jonas got older Bryant loved getting him to laugh and playing with him. He still loves teaching him things...he is terrific older brother.

When Bryant was 3 we finally got him potty trained. It took some encouraging (read: bribing), but he figured it out and we were so glad! When he finally figured out pooping in the potty (it took considerable longer) he got a bike (a trike actually, but he always called it his bike). Also when he was 3 we had some banana bread from a friend and on our way home he started complaining about his teeth hurting. I thought he probably just needed some floss, so we continued walking home without worry. As he continued to complain I noticed his cheeks were getting bigger. I pointed it out to Ethan and he wasn't sure. Once we were home it was definitely noticeable. We called our friends and asked what kind of nuts were in the bread...walnuts. Ethan got on the phone with the doctor after giving him some benadryl. I was freaking out! I don't think I'd ever experienced a panic attack until then, but I'm pretty sure I was then. I was a mess. But he was fine. The next week we went to Utah and on our way home he had a cashew, he didn't even bite into it when he gave it back to me saying that it was hot. Soon after he started to swell and drool like crazy! He couldn't swallow his spit down. We were just outside of Pendleton and we had to pull off and give him benadryl again. After that I made an appointment with the doctor to get him tested. I didn't want to experience that again, I wanted to know what he was allergic to and just avoid it. Well, he was allergic to a ton of stuff. But only mildly allergic to most or it. He was moderately allergic to milk and shrimp (they didn't test for other shell fish, so we still don't know on those). Severely allergic to tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, cashews...but not peanuts or almonds). My doctor suggested we cut out all dairy and then slowly introduce it back into his diet to see if there was a significant reaction to it. Well, we tried it, we even bought the milk free bread (disgusting). As we started to reintroduce foods we noticed that he was coughing a lot when eating dairy. We had been treating him for asthma a couple times a week for a long time and since we've cut it out of his diet he's only been treated a couple times a year. Not only did his asthma improve but during that summer alone he gained like 4 pounds. He has shot up from 5% to 50%. What a blessing to have figured that out!

While he was 4 we had a co-op preschool with a couple girls. Bryant loved it! He loves learning and more than that he loves friends! He likes to make things, but has never really been into coloring...he just barely is to the point where he colors objects with multiple colors, but still no where near the lines. He started to put words together that I would write and he could add numbers up to 10 with counting his fingers. He is now reading easy read books and is so proud of himself. Whenever he reads a new book, he is so stoked to tell his dad about it when Ethan comes home. He is also reading signs on the road and tells us all sorts of things that he reads and asks us what the rest of the sign said because he didn't have time to read it all. Math is coming easier to him as well, he asked me what 4 plus 5 was and I told him to figure it out, thinking he'd use his fingers like usual. He thought for a minute and then said..."I didn't even have to count and I just knew it! Its 9."

While we were on the road from Florida he was delightful! He kept saying, "this is what it would be like to be an only child." He really enjoyed that time with us and especially loved meeting new friends, eating at restaurants, and staying at hotels. He made us laugh a lot, one time in particular he asked Ethan, "how do you say Spanish in Spanish?" Ethan said, "Espanol." Bryant repeated it and said, "I said it and I didn't even use my brain!"

He is such a good boy. He has a lot of energy and riles up his brothers, but he's generally really good with them. He loves to wrestle and is always telling me, "wrestling is exercise." I think he drives his grandparents crazy when he wrestles with his brothers, but usually no one gets hurt. He is such a good helper to me as well. He really enjoys having responsibility and he loves having activity time. He helps me clean a lot and he helps with his brothers a lot. He is a great oldest child, I hope we haven't messed him up too badly. :o) He loves playing games and is always asking if we can play this or that. He also really loves his cousins! I think it will be hardest for him when we move to Texas, though I know he'll do well. I love to watch him play with his cousins, even after he hasn't seen them for months, as if no time had gone by.

He is really looking forward to learning to ride his new 2 wheeler he got for his birthday! He's also really looking forward to kindergarten. He also is thrilled to have a baby sister coming! We are so blessed to have such a spectacular boy! We love him so much and look forward to all the many adventures we'll take together.

Happy Birthday Bryant! Sorry I wrote this and it ended up longer than Jonas' I know you wanted a short one, but you're just so great! I love you!