MEMORY #4...

Baby boy number 2.

About a year after Kazz was born Brian had some problems and had to see a doctor. He was informed that he would probably not be able to have children. Brian informed the doctor that he already had a son. The doctor was surprised and Brian was glad to know that he had dodged that bullet. Thank God Kazz looks exactly like Brian or we may have had some question and answer session after that meeting. LOL At any rate, we tried to have another child. One false alarm and nearly 4 years later, I went to have my regular yearly female checkup. I asked about fertility options and how we could start the ball rolling to become pregnant with another child. They were more than happy to talk with me about that. The immediate issue at hand was to try to regulate my cycles. They, of course, had to take a pregnancy test to start the ball rolling as well as take blood and the usual yearly stuff too. About 15 minutes after the nurse left the doctor came in, stopped and looked at me. "Have you had any headaches lately?" No, I said. "Do you have breast tenderness or feel tired?" All the time, I said. I think I eat too much chocolate and caffeine and it irritates my fibrous cyctic disease. "hmmm..." the doctor said. "I think you may have another problem too. One of your tests came back." At that point I was a little concerned and wondered what else was wrong. He immediatly pulled a pregnancy test out from behind his back and showed it to me. At first I didn't know what it was...just for one moment because I was still wondering what was wrong with me. THEN all of the sudden my brow went from furrowed to elated! "I'm Pregnant!" "That's Mine?!" He smiled, the nurse was so excited you would have thought we were related and I was in shock. The doctor then said, "Well that was fun. There are other patients ahead of you but I wanted to have some fun first. " then he turned and walked out the door. LOL That was the funniest thing. The nurst and I did a little more paperwork turning the yearly exam into a prenatal exam and that began our journey with Brise.

Here's the thing. I cannot wait to tell Brian anything. I mean I litterally cannot wait. I feel like if he doesn't know everything that I know the instant that I know it I am somehow cheating my best friend and myself out of sharing every moment of our lives together. Yes I'm totally co-dependent. Now you know. I could not wait to get home. We didn't have cell phones back then or I would have called from the doctor's office. I got home, went straight to the phone, dialed Brian up at work and said, "We're pregnant!" He said, "Noooo" in a low, unbelieving voice. I said, "Yes" in an excited, yes voice. I could hear his smile as we talked! THAT was fun!

When I was pregnant with Kazz I loved it, except for morning sickness. I had an easy pregnancy and easy delivery and was just a little basketball in the front of my tummy. When I was pregnant with Brise I was miserable. I had heart palpitations, fainting spells, "anxiety" attacks and felt like I was dying at times. We now know that my heart arrhythmia was to blame for all for all of this but at the time I was a mess and scared. I wanted him out and in my arms. I wanted to deliver at the 34th week just as I did with Kazz. No such luck. He was born 3 weeks early. Really I think the doctor got tired of me coming in to the hospital every weekend. He finally just induced me and Brian convinced me to get a tubal ligation lest I die with the next baby. So, we did all of the above.

When the induction first began the pitocin was at low levels and I was talking just as I had with Kazz. Kazz, remember was easy, easy all the way to through the birth. This delivery was, well...not so much.

The doctor induced in the early morning and when I wasn't progressing to his liking he doubled the pitocin and then doubled again. Had I known then what I know now I would have protested. Now I know that my uterus could have hemorrhaged from this...or so my nurse mother in law said to me. She also informed me that he was trying to get me delivered before his time to go home from the office. Ah the sweet voice of love and security. But I digress... I don't know for sure what the cause was but I do know that the epidural didn't work and my pubic bone was breaking. I was given Demerol, which I am allergic to, so I would sleep between contractions and then be awakened out of a drug induced sleep by a breaking bone. I would scream and then sleep, scream and then sleep. The nurse wouldn't let me push because the doctor wasn't on his way yet. Good Grief! So I had to scream and not push. Well to heck with that I began pushing and the doctor got out of his office at that point and managed to run into the room as Brisan's head was about to come out. I remember looking at Brise and thinking that he was really big. Compared to Kazz he WAS big. Brian was over the moon saying "Hi buddy, Hi there buddy" My parents and Kazz made it to the hospital from Kentucky just after the birth. Thank God. I wouldn't have wanted them to see me in that kind of pain.

When the nurse weighed Brise I could see Brian's mom through the glass telling me to tell the nurse to weigh him again. She thought that the blanket was under the scale stopping it from getting his full weight. I couldn't understand and kept waving. LOL Anyway, His weight was 7 pounds 14 ounces at 3 weeks early. His 2 week checkup was 8 pounds and some odd ounces so I am going to agree with Brian's mom on that one because usually kids lose a few ounces at 2 weeks and then gain.

I knew Brise was our last one so I babied him like crazy. I carried him even when he could walk. The kid was 3 and I was carrying him everywhere. Our pediatrician would say to me, "Can't he walk?" I would say, "Yep." We would just smirk at each other.

Brisan Rhett-Jericho was almost Daxx. We couldn't figure his name out for a long time. I remember asking mom to pull out a Bible so I could hear her read different names from it. When she got to Jericho I stopped her and didn't need to hear anymore.

Brisan is "BRIAN" with an "s" in the middle, sort of like Brian's Son - Brison - Brisan...

Rhett was my grandmother's middle name. Her name was Dorothy Rhetta Butler. Yes like gone with the wind. I think she was named before the movie. She is the strongest woman I've ever known. She gave birth to 15 children. Raised 14, cooked from scratch 3 meals a day, ran a restaurant and never spanked. She is my hero. Her firstborn son died at the age of 14. He was riding a tractor and it tipped over on him. One little girl was stillborn and one daughter had severe Lupus as a teenager and became developmentally disabled. Her life was hard and she was so very sweet and caring and loving.

Jericho is the lowest point on earth and in the middle of a desert. There is a spring that flows right out of the ground in that city and you can still see where the walls came tumbling down. It inspires hope and the knowledge that even in the deepest of valleys and the driest of places God still lives.

That is how he got his name. That's your story Brise. I hope you like it. :-)