The Bracken Blog

As most blogs do at this point in one's life, this will turn into the Bracken Blog. Eventually we will find some creative ways to mix it up, but for now it will be a steady dose of Bracken pictures, stories, and perhaps even a video or two.

One of Dy's coworkers is expanding her photography portfolio to include baby pictures. Here are some examples of what she did for us. If you want to check out more of her stuff, go to her blog at www.kimeskelsonphotography.blogspot.com.

We love the pictures...thanks, Kim!

Bracken By The Week (4 weeks)

As requested, here is a week by week picture update of Bracken. Yes, we already missed one. Anyway, it will be fun to look back over several months as he continues to grow. We placed him next to one of Brett's gloves to help give some perspective of his size.

0 Weeks


1 Week


2 Weeks


4 Weeks

The Story of Bracken's Arrival

We are back. Still don't have internet, but we are making due with the resources available...thanks momma and pappa Valdez. We figured you are all interested in some updates about our little addition to the family. Well, we have each wrote about the birth of Bracken for everyone to enjoy. It really is quite the story; long, but worth it.








As told by his mother:

Well my friends it’s been an eventful and joyous week. Here are the details that led to us welcoming Bracken Carl Valdez to our family.Friday I went to my cousins wedding and towards the end of the night started to feel what I thought were contractions. They were slightly stronger than normal. At the wedding I helped serve some refreshments and clean up afterward and thought I probably just over did it a little bit. Everyone kept telling me I looked ready to have the baby…in other words they are saying that you look like crap.I was planning to go back to my car that was parked at Nettie's work with her, but I decided to leave earlier with my parents so I could get home. My mom was pretty confident I was starting to go into labor and wanted to drive me home. I insisted, however, that I was fine and made the trek alone. While driving home on I-80 I had some contractions and actually put the car on cruise control to help get through them. When I got home, I told Brett I felt very uncomfortable but probably had just over done myself at the wedding. I attempted to watch the end of the Red Sox game with Brett, but opted for a hot bath and bed instead.Around midnight, I woke up in a lot of pain. Brett asked if I was in labor. I doubted I was since my doctor told me just two days earlier "it would be a miracle if you delivered by the 16th." Unsure, I called my mom to see what labor felt like. We timed the contractions being every 8-12 minutes apart and finally decided to take off to the hospital. We arrived around 1:30 a.m. where they got all of our information and eventually admitted me.By this time I was so uncomfortable and wanted something to relive the excruciating pain. Before giving me any pain medicine, they had to check me only to tell me I was barely dilated to a 1. For the next hour they hooked me up to the computer to monitor the contractions to see if I progressed. After 90 long miserable minutes of intensifying labor, annoying vomiting and being extremely uncomfortable, the nurse came in to check me again. I was positive after the tears and squeezing Brett's hand for what seemed to be an eternity, I would have progressed to more than a one. I was pretty bummed to find nothing changed! The nurse said it appeared the contractions were the beginning of labor, but she said she had seen mothers like this take up to 36 hours to deliver...or longer. I told Brett I couldn't do this anymore. Well, I should of thought about this labor thing nine months ago. They gave me a shot of morphine and sent us out the door. By the time we arrived home at 4:30, I was feeling pretty loopy and out of reality. I slept pretty well for about two hours only to be awakened once again with strong contractions. For the next five hours I laid in bed next to my sweet husband who coached me through every contraction. In between each one I was mentally trying to relax myself. By 11:30 am we decided to log the contractions once again. In the middle of one of them, I felt a little pop and a small amount of fluid excreted. I turned to Brett and told him I think my water just broke. His response, "I think I just heard it!" At that time I doubted it was my water and thought I probably just peed my pants. But Brett insisted we head back in, so we got in the car and started driving. As we were leaving Tooele, I felt like I just had to push. In my mind I wanted to tell Brett to just go to the Tooele hospital, but after doing the math (the ride is 40 minutes and each contraction is around 7 minutes apart), I figured I could handle around eight more contractions before getting some meds.As we got to the airport I finally confessed to Brett I felt like I had to push. At that point we suddenly went from speedy 85 mph to an intense 100 mph. The whole way Brett was trying to help me breathe through each contraction. By now we had reached I-15 and I turned to Brett while I was in between contractions and notice he was doing the deep breathing himself. I asked him if he was okay and I thought I heard "I am faint," not "I am fine." He told me his stomach and neck were tingling and his fingers were getting stiff. Now I was worried he was going to pass out on me and we weren't even going to make it to the hospital. From that point on I tried to downplay my contractions. For those who don't know, Brett doesn't handle blood and guts so well.We eventually pulled up to the hospital doors where Brett ran in to get a wheel chair and get me inside. They started asking all the same questions again from earlier this morning when I finally persisted that I needed to push and wanted my epidural. The receptionist finally realized I was serious and said "this one doesn't look too comfortable. Let's take her back to room one." They wheeled me back and got onto the bed with assistance from the nurse and Brett. He then went out to sign the permission and consent documents. By the time he returned three minutes later, there were 15 people in the room. Now I was pleading with the nurse for my meds. After ignoring my repeated requests, she looked at me and said "I see the baby’s head. It is time to put you legs up and start pushing.” I finally conceded the fact I was not going to get an epidural and better just make the best of this. After just a few minutes, Brett turned to me and said, "He is almost here. I can see his head." Referring back to the comment earlier, Brett is not good with blood and I was surprised he would actually watch our child be born and stay awake to tell me about it.
Sixteen minutes after being admitted, Bracken Carl Valdez entered this world. What an amazing moment to think he’s so recently departed from heaven. Weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz. and 21 inches long, I was grateful Bracken didn't take after the Martin side being a ten-pound baby. I did tear a bit and had to have an episiotomy, but the recovery has been pretty easy. So far he only wakes up once around 3:00 each night after we put him down so I even sleep better than I did prior to his arrival. I feel great and I love being a mom. I truly was blessed with a little angel.


As told by his father:

What an incredible experience it has been to welcome little Bracken Carl to our family. It was a pretty good story of him getting here, too.
October has always been a special month, especially in 2004 and 2007. Now I get to add 2009 as probably the best of them all. Since Dy was away at her cousin’s wedding, I decided to skip out on the Friday night Elder’s Quorum activity to get ready for game 2 of the division series. While I was depressingly watching the Sox let game 2 slip away, Dy returned home from the full day of wedding activities. After a few minutes of watching the tragedy unfold on the television, she said she was feeling pretty worn out from the day and needed to take a hot bath. I too was feeling pretty bummed, but for obviously different reasons. By the time Lowell flied out, I thought I had better follow Dy upstairs to see how she was doing.

Since it was already 11:00, she was unsurprisingly wrapped up in bed and trying to go to sleep. The next hour was pretty miserable for her. She explained she thought she was having contractions, but honestly didn’t know what the real ones should feel like. With the doctor’s dismal outlook just two days ago where she said it would take a miracle to get this baby here before October 16, we were skeptical Dy was in labor. Since it was approaching midnight, we didn’t want to wake up our parents if it was nothing. Eventually we decided to call her mom to get some motherly advice. Carol’s motherly instincts were in full force as she was basically anticipating the call. She told Dy she thought it was the beginning of labor and advised us to start timing the contractions. At this point they were anywhere from 12 to 16 minutes apart. While Dy was reviewing the situation with her mom, I finally decided to get our backs packed. We had a couple things set aside, but we really thought we were at least a week away and I had to throw some things together. As the contractions continued to creep down towards eight minutes and the pain was intensifying, we finally decided to make the 40-mile trek to Intermountain Medical Center…Dy’s second home.

On the way in there, we hit EVERY traffic light green, even the ridiculously long ones that are supposed to make you wait a minimum of 5 minutes. I mentioned to Dy it really must be time with this unheard of good fortune. During the ride, the contractions seemed to come down to around 5 minutes apart and for the first time I TRULY thought Bracken was on his way. I could tell Dy was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable and needed some sort of relief from the pain. At 1:30 we arrived to the hospital and I helped my amazing wife inside leaving the X-Terra at the front doors…I always wanted to do that. I sat her on the mother’s wheel chair and we went through all of the admittance paperwork with the receptionist, which felt like it took an hour.

By time we got back in room number two, Dy’s pain had become excruciating. Therefore we were both pretty frustrated to learn she was still only dilated to a one! Before they would give her any meds, they had to get the computer readings of her contractions and the baby’s heartbeat to verify the intensity and frequency of her contractions. The next 90 minutes were full of squeezing my hand, vomiting into the garbage can, and constant readjustment to find any level of comfort. We did use this time to develop the Brett Breathing Technique (also known as the BBT found in recent medical journals) to get through the contractions. Since we planned on taking an epidural, Doctor Brown agreed we didn’t need to take the birthing and breathing classes. Though it probably was far from perfect, together we figured out a way to get through the contractions and try to relax in between. When the nurse finally came back in, the update was just as disappointing as before…still dilated to just a one. Dyana finally qualified for the shot of morphine that she gladly accepted. The nurse said we may be in the beginning stages of labor, but that even if we are we should get prepared for a long day as she has seen this go on for 36 hours…or longer. Because Dy wasn’t “progressing” she said we should head back home and return if the pain intensified or when her water breaks. This was a little much for Dy to take. After all, she was already to the unbearable pain threshold. I never felt as helpless when Dy turned to me during one of the contractions to say “Brett, I just can’t do this anymore!” I wish I could take some of her pain…I think. How much more did she have to take? Was she just not able to handle the real pain? Of course not, she is a Martin.

On the ride home, she could slowly feel the drugs kick in and the contractions become less painful. By the time we got back home at 4:30, she was pretty loopy and out of it. That at least gave her a couple more hours of rest before going at it again. By 6:30 she woke back up with the pain slowly returning. The BBT had been somewhat successful as she had now learned to breathe through each contraction and relax in between to make them a little easier, but they still really hurt. Once again, I felt helpless. I knew she was in pain so I tried to fight my urge to sleep. I just gave her my hand and let her squeeze away. By about 8:00 I was fully awake and began calling our parents with some updates. To find some comfort Dy again tried a warm bath, then the recliner, and different positions on the bed. At 11:30 we decided to again log the contractions. Since leaving the hospital when they were 3-5 minutes apart, they had gone back to about 7-8 minutes apart. During the second contraction at 11:39 am, I heard a faint popping sound coming from Dy’s general direction. It sounded like one of those bulb seaweeds that you can step on and they pop. I looked at Dy and she said “I think my water just broke,” to which I responded, “I think I just heard it!” Since there really wasn’t much liquid associated with it, she started second guessing herself that she just “piddled her pants.” This again goes back to the fact that the doctor said Dy wasn’t close and they just sent us home from the hospital still at a one. However, I was positive it was her water and insisted we head back in there. Once we gathered everything up again, loaded back into the X-Terra, and made the phone calls to the parents, off we went.

For the second time in a row, we got out of town…and eventually to the hospital…without stopping at a single light! I should probably call Guinness. This time I was a little more frantic since there was clearly more traffic at noon than in the middle of the night. I could tell Dy was getting more and more uncomfortable. I was cautiously weaving around the cars in my way. Each time I passed one I tried to make it obvious that I had a pregnant lady next to me by exaggerating the breathing and rubbing her legs as she reclined in the seat. With the tinted windows and elevated SUV, I am sure no one could appreciate my critically-acclaimed performance, though it sure made me feel better. By the time we hit I-80, I was carefully hovering around 85 mph, give or take a few. I was continuing my attempts to help Dy breathe and relax. As we passed Saltair, she turns to me and says, “I feel like I just need to push!” Horrified by the vision of me trying to deliver little Bracken in the car, I lovingly, yet sternly told her “DON’T PUSH!” At that point the needle seemed to be stuck near 100 mph. By now I was actually hoping to see a cop who could then escort us to the hospital, to no avail.

I was still working on my acting skills as I weaved around other motorists, but have to admit by now I found it had some practical uses to help me settle down, too. As we had now reached I-15, I found it kind of amusing that my neck and upper stomach were starting to tingle with my fingers becoming a stiff. Not thinking about how this would add to Dy’s level of stress, I mentioned to her my funny discovery. She looked over while in between contractions to notice me still using the now popular Brett’s Breathing Technique. I later came to find out this only made Dy try to downplay her pain so I didn’t pass out while driving. In the end, we both made it.

Just 32 minutes after leaving the house, we pulled back into the hospital where I once again was able to leave the X-Terra at the front doors. I literally ran into the lobby and grabbed a wheel chair to take Dy in. The receptionist again started asking the same questions we had gone through just a few hours earlier. Eventually she realized my wife was serious when she said she needed to push and wanted her epidural now. Along with a nurse I helped Dy into her room and on the bed. Once situated, I ran back to the receptionist to finish the consent forms. It took no more than three minutes and by the time I returned there were literally at least 12 people in the room getting everything prepped for delivery. Due to the quick arrival, not even the on-call doctor was able to get there in time to deliver so the resident got things going. At this point Dy was vainly pleading for the epidural. Though they never said no, it was clear my incredible wife was going to do this naturally.

It was once again time for the BBT, though we did receive some tips from some of the nurses and other medical staff there to help us out. Beside the miracle of birth, there was one more miracle I am sure Dyana will declare happened this day. While I was holding her head during the contractions, and no longer choking her in between, I was also needed to help hold Dy’s legs as her hands were getting tired. That perspective allowed me to watch our beautiful little boy enter this world and take his first breath of life…and yes, without any fainting. I did, however, pass on cutting the cord. A mere 16 minutes after being admitted into the hospital, our little family was joined by Bracken Carl Valdez. Though we were pretty sure that was his name, I still double checked with mom to confirm. Because of a little meconium ingestion into the lungs, they had the NICU respiratory team there to make sure everything was fine. It was a pretty special moment to be able to hand our little Bracken into his mother’s arms.

The rest of the details from that weekend all kind of a blend together. It was great watching the grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends hold our little boy. It was really special to see the pride from grandma and grandpa Bracken as they took their turn. We kept reflecting back to the thought that we are now parents and helped create this little miracle. Not that our priorities were too offline before, but Bracken’s birth helps put things into an eternal perspective of what really is important. So even after Paps blew the two-run, ninth inning lead on Sunday, it was much easier to handle holding Bracken in my arms.

Pictures

By popular request and a few threats, we finally have some pictures of Bracken Carl Valdez, our little BC.

Bracken Carl Valdez - 6 lbs 9 oz and 21 inces long

Peacefully sleeping...which he has been pretty good at...so far.

As Nettie so nicely put it, a Bracken Sandwhich!

Drying off from his first bath...oh to be clean.

Gearing up for a Baby

Only 8 weeks away and our little B.C. will arrive. (The first name is undetermined, but is between Brady and Bracken with Carl as a middle name) In the past few weeks we have decided to start getting things ready. The crib is up awaiting the arrival of the bedding. The stroller and car seat are assembled. Who knew a little guy could cost so much prior to his arrival....but its all worth it.

Recently Dyana feels as if the little guy has little to no room to move inside. The constant kicking at the ribs makes her feel like a punching bag, but on the other hand, when he isn't moving she wants him to kick her. It amazes us who much we can love a person whom we have yet to meet. We can only imagine the love we'll have once he enters into our arms.

The house projects continue. We have raked rocks till we have had enough. They seem to magically proliferate before your eyes. Thanks to the help of both families we are getting close. The plan is to have a sprinkling system installed with lawn before October 1st.

Yard Work

So this is what our summer consists of, keeping a pregnant lady as comfortable as possible in the summer heat and putting in our yard.

In July, we were able to get our front yard ready for some trenching for our sprinklers. After getting the retaining wall put up, it took another 60 wheel barrows of dirt to finish it off...but we also had to remove about 15 loads of rocks. Our neighborhood has got to be the rockiest soil on earth. We were actually very excited with the way it turned out. We like the character and uniqueness the wall gives our house, plus it helps divert attention away from the AC unit and utility meters on the side of the house.

Now now our goal is to level the back yard, remove the rocks, plan out the rest of the design, create a grid for the sprinklers, and have some nice green lawn before the baby comes which gives us about 12 weeks. Wish us luck!

We need your help!

Less than four months until we will be parents and we need to still buy some baby clothes, furniture, diapers, and a lot more...but we need your help with something more important...a name. Okay, so we still have plenty of time, but we thought we would get some of your opinions on some of the names we are stuck on. Who knows, maybe something completely different will come to us later, but it will be fun. Leave other suggestions with a comment if you have a good name.

Here are some quick thoughts as to why we like each of these names. Brett likes to bring up this subject, but we really haven't put too much time into it. When he is born we may completely change our mind, but we thought this would be fun to blog about.

Bracken: We would name him Bracken Carl using Bracken from Brett's maternal grandparents and Carl from three generations on the Valdez side. He would also copy his dad's nickname in BC. We like that it is unique but not crazy.

Brady: Brady Martin would be named after Dy's paternal grandparents (Brady) and her maiden name. It really is a name we like with the added perk of having family ties.

Carson: This has always been a top choice for the two of us. Carl would be the middle name with this as well.

Ian: This is a little bit of a newer name on our list that we have grown to like.

Jackson: This is one that keeps moving around our top ten or so. Brett really likes the nickname Jack, but Dy prefers the full name. Either way, we like this option as well.

Adventures in Marysvale

Since Brett gets his birthday off for work, we decided to take an extra couple days and make a vacation out of it. Since we happen to know a few people who actually own some bikes and trailers, we headed down to Marysvale, Utah to explore some of the Paiute Trail. It is nice to have some friends and family we can free load off of...thanks Scott, Bri, Chad, & Kristi.

We headed down Thursday morning and came back Monday afternoon. After over 150 miles of ATV riding in three days, we decided to take it easy on the fourth and took a trip into Capitol Reef National Park in a vehicle.

After taking off nearly two weeks of work, Brett now has to save up his leave for a few days when the little one comes. Next up for us is tackling our rock and weed infested yard to replace it with some good soil, trees and grass. The goal is to finish it before the baby is here. You would think that would give us enough time, but we welcome any help we can get.

Here are a few pictures to enjoy from our adventures in Marysvale.

Nearing the end of our 86-mile day trip. Good thing Dy had on her helmet so she didn't have to force a smile when her pregnant body said...ENOUGH.

Apparently a kids body says the same thing, wedgie and all. It is amazing the kids assume this position for hours at a time. It can't be that comfortable.


Here is a picture of Scott, Bri, and fam. There really were some great trails down there that led to some lakes, wildlife, dense forest, and waterfalls like this one at Boullion Falls.

Relaxing at the camp after a day of riding. Notice Brett's beard is begining to actually look like a beard.

Proof that we visited Capitol Reef National Park.

Thanks Brian...and Jill

Dy's brother-in-law rented a house near San Diego (Carlsbad to be exact) and invited the whole Martin clan to come and free load for a week. The agenda was packed full of the typical SoCal attractions; Disneyland, Sea World, the beach, Legoland, and for us it also included a Padres game. Brett's old roommate also lives in San Diego so we spent an evening with Kevin, too.

It was fun to get away for a bit for a pretty relaxing vacation. It didn't hurt that Brian and Jill made it pretty inexpensive for us, too. We are trying to petition for Hawaii or the Caribbean next time. :)

Here are some pictures from the week.

Just playing with some starfish at Sea World. For all of the places the Martin's have invaded as a family, surprisingly this was the first time at Sea World.

Just petting a dear at the San Diego Wildlife Park...or something like that.


Probably the funniest part of the park was watching the birds flying all over to drink the nectar out of our hands. Between Dy and Chelsea, we got quite the entertainment.


Doesn't Brian look so happy on the merry-go-round?


We stopped by the San Diego Temple before going to Cameron and Rachel's (Dy's brother) for church on Sunday. It sure is a beautiful building.



Dy was a good sport and went to a Padres game with Brett. That really is one of the nicer parks in the majors. We enjoyed some first row seats in left field and obviously had our ballpark brats for dinner. Good times.


Although overall Legoland was definitely more of a place for kids (as we expected), we really enjoyed "Miniland" that had cities built out of legos. New York City (above), San Fran, Vegas, New Orleans...it was pretty cool.


Dy being Dy.


After waiting for 25 minutes and thoroughly captivated by the log flume, Ethan changed his mind once he got splashed.

It's a boy!

Before we headed out for a little vacation, Dy and Brett stopped by the doctor for the ultrasound to tell us the gender. We are both very excited to have a little boy. We would have been happy either way, but we both realized how much we also want a little girl. Now...picking a name. Any suggestions?

It's Harder Than We Thought!

We sincerely apologize for our lack of posts. Without the internet at home, we are bad at making the time to regularly update the blog. We will have to start doing a better job, though, so we can update everyone on the status of Dy's pregnancy.

That's right, we are expecting! Though not official just yet, the due date is around October 16. Obviously, we are both very excited. Dy has been getting a little more sick the past couple weeks, but it is typically in the evening. Brett is great to help out and Dy is learning to accept his help more willingly.

Anyway, hopefully this will motivate us to find time to blog a little better.

We have pictures!

It only took a month, but we finally have some pictures of the house. It is mostly put together, but there are still a few things left to put up. Enjoy!

Here is the front view of the house.


When you are in from out of town an need a place to crash, this is where you will sleep.


The entry way is one of the things we initially fell in love with.


It is so nice to have a kitchen with enough cupboard space to put all of our stuff...plus some. Dy was able to talk Brett into the cabinet upgrades and we both love the decision.


Our family room could use a little wall decor, but we are still deciding the setup option we prefer.


Family room part two. We imagine this will end up being some sort of additional sitting space, but furniture budget is spent for 2009...and no more window shopping.


After a year in storage, Dy was finally able to display her shelves and couch in the "Church Room."




We are still working on what exactly will go on top of the "Dust Collector Shelf," but we have a decent start. We stole all of the good deals from Pier 1 Imports.



We really love our master bedroom. Plenty of space but not too much. Even though there aren't any pictures of our bare Master Retreat room, when there are a bunch of teens and their friends running around in a few years it will truly become our retreat.


Master bath with the closet in the background. We also have a jetted tub and separate shower off to the right.

All in all, we are so happy to finally be in a home. Now we just need to break it in with a little house warming party. If you want to help us with that, keep Saturday, February 28 open for a little party. Leave a comment if you want to come and we will be sure to send details.

We are in!

Good news, bad news. We are finally in our home. Bad news...no internet. Our updates may be limited, but we will try to do our best. We decided to go with television rather than internet. Who knows how long we will last before going crazy.

Well, we were able to officially move in on December 23. We absolutely love it. There are still a few things the builders are finishing up and/or fixing. Yesterday as the satellite was being installed, we found out they failed to put any insulation in our attic. There are a few more things such as missing light bulb, chipped cement, and our mailbox.

Last night for New Year's we broke in our house with a little party, kids included. it was fun to entertain a little bit with comfortably fitting 15 people where our previous limit was about 4. We will work on getting some pictures taken and get it posted.

Until then...we will start enjoying 2009!