Labor and Delivery Story

I have a quick second and thought I would write about my labor and delivery experience. I have to say it was not what I expected. Thursday morning, about 1:15am, I thought my water broke. It wasn't a lot of water so I thought maybe I just needed to go to the bathroom. Then once I laid back in bed more water came out. I definitely knew my water broke. Of course I kinda started to freak out beause I expected the contractions to start coming really strong. But I wasn't having any contractions. So I woke up Jeremy, hopped in the shower and called labor and delivery. Once we got to the hospital as soon as I got out of the car my water started coming out really fast! Yuck. So they check me in and confirm that my water broke, but they check me and I'm only dialated to a 2. Bummer. So they hook an IV up to me and tell me and Jeremy to walk around the hospital for an hour. About 7am they re-check me and I am still only at a 2! What the heck! My water broke way before my actual labor ever started. The Dr. decided to give me petocin at about 7:30 am to help start labor. I ended up getting my epidural a couple hours later. Once I had the epidural I was so relaxed. I slept most of the time and ate ice chips. I actually felt guilty for just laying there but there was nothing else I could do. At about 4:30 pm I was ready to push. I was so excited and wanted to have this baby. After pushing for 2 hrs and being exhausted I was having little progress. The Dr. decided to turn off my epidural so I could really feel the contractions. That was not fun. But after another hour and 15 minutes of pushing our baby girl was born. The Dr had to do an episiotomy and I also tore, so that was not fun (class 3). But I don't know how else I was going to get that 9 lb baby out of me! Once she was born I was so relieved and happy.

I have to say that each day it does get easier and I start to feel a little better. Kylee had jaundice the first week but it is getting better. We were able to keep her home with us. My episiotomy tore open and I had to go back to the Dr. But she said it would heal on it's on with in 4-6 weeks. So as of right now I just try to get as much rest as I can. Jeremy and my parents have been such a big help to me.

She's Here!!!

Welcome to the world Kylee Murdock

Born 5-21-09 at 7:46 pm

9 lbs, 21 1/2 in

Daddy holding Kylee right after she was born.

Mommy with Kylee at one day old. 3 hrs of pushing and I was exhausted!

Coming home from the hospital.

Enjoying the car ride home. What a sweet angel. More pics and labor story to come. Thanks for all the warm wishes.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day!!! I was able to spend Mother's Day at home with my mom. She has been so wonderful about taking care of me while Jeremy has been gone. Jeremy comes home this Friday night and I'm so excited!!! I have to say that the past 7 weeks have gone by pretty fast. He even sent me some roses for Mother's Day. He is so sweet and I love him so much.

I have been feeling good. I have to say the last couple of days have been pretty uncomfortable. At my last Dr appt (38 wks) I was 1.5 cm dialated and 80% effaced. I go in again this Friday and am excited to see how things have been progressing. Just as long as she does not come before Friday we are ok. I will keep everyone posted!!!! 9 days and counting!!

A few thoughts......

Jacob Javitz Center NYC

Ok so I overdid it the last post....sorry, it must have been the fact that I am a big time loner here outside of work! A few thoughts on the latest in the Lehigh Valley........
-I have had the best Thai food in the world out here....I could go there daily if I could afford it!

-If you're ever in Bethlehem PA, find The Olive Branch, its a tiny family owned middle eastern diner that is fantastic, and the ambiance is as my coworker says "is almost like you're actually in Syria"
-After work hours, the things that help me keep my sanity by myself are:
1)talking via the webcam with the wife and fam
2)some good books
3)after work jogs where I actually see wild animals! deer, a few beavers, and a ton of squirrels
4)ESPN, ESPN 2, NBA playoffs, discovery channel, history channel, cmt, and I admit I love watching HGTV

-Work is going good, I work with a lot of very smart, very friendly people
- The weather has definitely improved the past few weeks, everything here has turned green and the leaves are back which makes this the greenest place I have ever lived besides Paraguay. -I can honestly say that I have seen more roadkill the last 4 weeks than I have seen in my entire life!
-Fact:Skunks still smell horrible weeks after being run over
-The worst part about moving out of state is having to change over car insurance, license/registration etc.
-The second worst part is having to mentally map out a new grocery store to know where everything is which ofcourse is a totally different setup and much larger than good ol Stater Bros in Brea

-people here in PA have a thing for "pulling through" when they park in any parking lot....its an obsession, everybody does it, everywhere...I guess they don't like to use reverse much

-most people at work who ask me about my wife are stunned to learn that she will not be going back to full-time work anytime soon and that we will actually live on just 1 income?!

This upcoming week will feature my first trip to the Big Apple NYC as I will be traveling with a group from work for our biggest industry tradeshow called Lightfair at the Jacob Javitz Center in Manhattan........people here can't believe I have never been to NY

AFTER NYC, I will be going to the Washington DC temple on Saturday with our wards youth. They need to be at the temple at 8AM, so we leave at 4 AM! Which means I have to leave my house at 3:30 AM to meet up with them at 4! I dont know what I got myself into, but I am sure it will be a great trip well worth it! Stay tuned next week for pictures of the trip/s and the latest from PA as the time to make my return to the OC is only 2 weeks away!!!!

76ers Report Card

My first weekend on my own here in PA was a very busy one, but one that was filled with some great stuff.

Philadelphia 76ER-Cavs basketball game-Friday night
I had Friday off from work for Good Friday, so I had purchased 1 ticket to the Philadelphia 76ER vs Cleveland Cav basketball game Friday night......I wanted to see Philadelphias new Wachovia Center and more importantly, see Lebron James play in person. I will give out my unbiased grades on my visit to the game below, as well as some pictures below.

Citizens Bank Park (Phillies play here) Dowtown Philly from my parking spot





















Traffic into the game was a mess.......PA believes that 2 lanes on each side of the road constitutes a "freeway" but ofcourse, there is nothing free about it=pure congestion all through the metro area which is why it took me almost 2 hours to go 59 miles! It also costs $1.90 each way to Philly because of the PA Turnpike (main vein into Philly) is a toll road ofcourse. So Philly decided to build all of their new stadiums in one location they call "The Sports Complex" which entails the Eagles football stadium, Phillies stadium, the old 76er/Flyer arena and the new one.....sounds nice and convenient....its also a drag if theres more than one team/event going on there because it makes parking and access to the game even worse! Anyways, for Traffic/Access to the game I give it a C-

FOOD-I expected the new stadium to have good variety of choices and some sweet eats....alas, I was dissapointed. They do have some Philly favorites, Chickie's and Petes and Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ but these venues were too few and FAR in-between which made the lines crazy long....so I ventured to the standard stadium food line.....quite short, and then I saw why-the menu...... The menu was so short, a 5th grader could have it memorized by just walking by the menu while looking at it, chewing gum, and talking to their friend at the same time........so I got the basic jumbo hot dog (no other option but that one!), a drink and a cookie (I didnt want messy nachos). Spent $11.40 for the food and went to my seat....and ate.....I give the food of the place a another C- for lack of variety, long lines for good food, and a terrible tasting standard hot dog.

In-Game Entertainment-This area was done well by the sixers, from DJs playing music inside the main halls of the stadium to family friendly games going on in and outside before the game. Contests and games played during breaks and halftime were also fun to watch and one guy hit a layup, freethrow, and 3 pointer in 40 seconds to win the whole crowd 50% discounts at all Sixer retail stores at the stadium which others (not me...I dont want an Igoudala jersey) were excited about. I give the In-Game Entertainment an A

On-Court Product- Lets just say the Sixers are no Lakers, in fact, they might be just a tad worse to watch than the Phoenix Suns.....anyways, the team isnt that good, but that doesn't bother me so I will give the Sixers an "N/A" Not Applicable due to the fact that I do not care how good or bad they are, I am a Lakers fan living in PA.

Fan Experience-This area is concerned with the fan environment in the stadium......I thought I was in a movie when the chubby guy next to me began yelling "sit down ya bum!" at Lebron James everytime Lebron would walk on or off the floor......classic......that and the new jersey accent of the guy on my right yelling everytime the Sixers messed up made my experience very memorable. Fan Experience I give it a B because its definetely not as laid back as a Laker game but it was a good atmosphere overall.

Restrooms-Again, a new facility, high expectations, and again, I was dissapointed. I knew the restrooms were close as I began to smell a horrific odor about 15 yards away from the entrance, YES 15 YARDS! It was b-a-d. They had ample soap and hot water but goodness gracious I had to hold my breathe most of the time! I give it an F for an extremely odorous experience.

FINAL GRADE: I give the overall experience a C+. I probably would not go to another Sixer game unless they played the Lakers on a Saturday and or I went with someone who drove AND gave me free tickets! I will have to get seats for Brieann and I for a Phillie game though, because that stadium looked beeeautiful and woujld be interesting to see a big NL matchup there.



















Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) and inside the Wachovia Center (I sat at the same level, but right on the center court line, so the seat for $52 was well worth the $)

Overworked and Underpaid!

Greetings everyone from Bethlehem Pennsylvania! Its Jeremy, I will be posting now and then some stories/pictures for Brieann, the Fam, and anyone else interested to see. Remember the blog is going private very soon, so if you have not sent Brieann your email, please do so.

So my Dad accompanied me to Bethlehem 2 weeks ago to help me get my apartment set up with some new furniture and to provide on-site moral/mental support in general. It was a TON of work, really we didn't get to do much outside of Priesthood conference session, going out to eat, and running to the store a million times. However we did have a lot of fun and he helped Brie and I out sooo much so THANKS DAD for your help! Thanks Mom for letting us borrow Dad for a week! Below is a picture of my overworked and underpaid Dad as we were assembling the dresser....

Here's a creek that runs along a park near our house....

Aforementioned park

It has been very chilly here so far, Spring is sort of here according to most here, but its still in the 50s during the day and 30s/40s at night.......and it rains here.......frequently! The phrase April showers brings May flowers is certainly true in this part of the country. It did snow once while at work, but it didn't stay on the ground for long....

I am getting adjusted to work and to my new role in the marketing communications group. I will work on the commercial side of the business, which mostly deals with marketing programs geared towards all kinds of businesses from healthcare facilities to schools/colleges to small and large corporate office complexes. I work with a good group of professionals, I am definetely the youngest and greenest of them all but the projects I will be starting soon will get me up to speed very fast. I LOVE my commute, probably the most beautiful commute I will ever have in my life (unless I ever work from home*). I'm about 10-15 minutes from work, all on side streets that take me right past farm fields, barns, beautiful new homes, and beautiful wooded areas. My first day was ofcourse memorable, with my suit/tie getting soaked as a sudden downpour caught me off guard and without umbrella running through the parking lot! Went to the ward today for the first time and met many nice people and I think Brieann and I will be very comfortable there, that is unless the boundaries change and we get sent to a different building which I have been told might happen this year*. All in all things are good here in PA, that is as good as they can be when your beautiful and pregnant wife is far away! I am counting down the days until I return!

Going Private...

We have decided to go private. Please leave your email address. You can also email me at brieannp@hotmail.com. Thanks!