This Weeks Firsts: Car ride, bath, visit to pre-school, dr's appointment, pictures, just about everything
Best Moment: Simon being born...hearing him cry.
Cutest Moment: When he was sleeping and gave me a HUGE grin
How He's Sleeping: Pretty good at night. We've had 3 nights in a row of a 5 hour stretch
What He's Eating: Momma's milk
What Surprised Us: How well he already holds up his head. And losing his umbilical stump already.
I promise to post his birth story soon. I almost have it all written down to share. It truly was the labor and delivery I had been praying for since we decided to try for a VBAC. I am so incredibly grateful.
This past week has gone by way too quickly. There are times when it feels like he just arrived, and yet there are others when I can barely remember what it was like without Simon here. He fits in so perfectly here at home. He goes with the flow pretty well, and is genuinely a pretty quiet baby. I always thought he would be more of a touchy baby by the way he acted when I was pregnant, but he really isn't.
We came home from the hospital on Friday morning. I would have loved to come home on Thursday, but they made us stay due to my being GBS+. We did well in the hospital, though I am sure I am sleeping better now that we are home. The nurses didn't bother us too much, and Simon never once left my side.
Coming home was great. Both boys were still in school, so we had a chance to chill out some and unwind. Colton and Ethan were both ecstatic when they came home and found baby Simon to be in my arms. Both older boys are doing very well with him. Colton continues to pretty much do his own thing while Ethan jumps at every little sound Simon makes. He is embracing being a big brother.
Snickers has been wonderful! He has calmed down so much since bringing Simon home. He also drops what he is doing to check on Simon when he makes so much as a squeak. He is really gentle around him and super protective.
I have been pretty weepy the past couple of days. It has coincided with my milk coming in. I know the emotions have to do a lot with hormone levels and stuff. But I also know that some of it comes from the drop in emotional stress also. Simon is here. He is alive, healthy, and here. And although I still worry about him, it's not at the level I did while I was pregnant with him. And when I hold him, nurse him, snuggle with him, there are times when I think about how it would have been with two newborn babies. Those are some hard moments. They are fleeting, but the emotional weight hangs around for awhile. I am grateful for how wonderful things are with Simon, but it's hard knowing they are everything I wanted for Lucas and Caleb, but we didn't get them.
Simon has also started spitting up in the past couple of days. The first round is right after he nurses and is most likely due to the flap in his esophagus not being fully developed yet. And the crazy amount of milk I'm producing. The second round seems to be related to my intake of dairy products. I am still having a tough time with dairy, also. It seems that when I am cramping up, he is spitting up. Since my taking Lactaid isn't going to help him, I am giving up the heavy dairy items such as milk, ice cream, cheese cake, and the like. If that doesn't do it, then we'll give up everything dairy.
Here are a few pictures from the week. We took his newborn pictures today and hope to share them soon. They were soooo much better than the ones from the hospital. That experience was excruciating and the prices outrageous. Today was much better, and he was much happier.
Coming home from the hospital.
First nap at home.
Napping in the pack-n-play downstairs. He loves to have his hands by his face, and often holds the binkie in his mouth.
After his first bath. I have a very similar picture of Colton's first bath.
Getting ready to watch his first RAMS game!
Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts, and support these past several months. It's amazing to see this little boy and know that there were so many praying for him. He is an answered prayer.
Love all these pictures and reading about the past week. I particularly love that he holds his binkie in his mouth and his expression after his first bath. Was he crying? I have a similar pictures of Emily, but she was clearly screaming. Still isn't a fan.
ReplyDeleteI am so, so happy that Simon is home. What a dream come true.
I hope that your emotions are evening out now. It is tough being so incredibly emotional.