By Amy
Friends! I am happy and relieved to tell you that our little baber is finally here! After going back and forth about what to name him for MONTHS, we finally decided on Miles William Graham. (We heard the name Miles in a movie a few months ago and loved it, and William is for my dad and grandpa and two great great grandpas, and my brother too! There's a great family heritage to that name.)
Miles looks like the sweetest little mumpy old man! And he's got a wild mohawk that I am obsessed with. Isn't it awesome how babies look so rough and beat up from delivery, all puffy, with no chin, and people still gush, "Oh he's gorgeous!" :) I'm like, "Well, that's a bit of a stretch, but thanks!" :)
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| My sweet little mohawk dude! |
His delivery had some scary moments--my blood pressure dropped and I passed out, which caused his heartbeat to dip way down, then afterwards, for hours while they waited for me to dilate enough, I felt pretty awful. Then later on, he freaked me out pretty bad (and Patrick too) when his heartbeat kept plummeting again and alarms were going off and suddenly there were like 8 nurses and docs in the room! (I was praying so hard over and over, "Please let him be ok! Please let him be ok!") I had on an oxygen mask and they were changing my position over and over with not much improvement--we knew we had to get this baby out as quickly as possible. My doctor was still 4 minutes away, but by the time he walked in everything was ready for me to push. With the help of a vacuum and, I'm sure Heavenly Father, he miraculously popped out in about a minute! (...compared to the hour and half of pushing I did with my first baby!) After a few agonizing moments while the nurses rubbed my purplish baby's little chest, he finally started wailing! What a relief. Of course I was bawling too. :)
It's so good to have him here safely. :) And, my recovery has been amazing, cause I didn't rip or tear or have an episiotomy like I did with Hayden. So, no stitches and sitting on ice packs, just a little soreness. :)
Friends, I have several
amazing guest posts coming that I am super excited to share with you, but it may take me a little time. Right now I am trying to figure out the new rhythm to life. Cause when I have any time where both the boys are asleep, I just want to conk out too....oy, sleep deprivation. And, this may sound really selfish, but I've been wondering, when can I fit MY stuff in when I have a toddler who misses/needs more of my time, and an infant who is pretty chill so far, but a challenge to feed? (Oh nursing, why can't I seem to succeed with you?) I find so much joy in blogging and doing creative things, but I have to remind myself that my family and I will adapt and find our new norm, and I will get to do those things again, it will just take a little time to figure out. Until then, please be patient with me especially if the posts are slow to trickle in, cause I love all of you and this happy little blog ...I won't give up on you so don't give up on me, ok?
Here are some extremely fancy, high-quality (ha) phone pics from the entrance of baby Miles...enjoy! Love to you all!
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| A few days before Miles was born...Hayden is practicing holding a baby gently! Ha, do you like the swaddled Kermit? |
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| Day before baby came! Last belly shot! |
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| He's here!! 6 pounds 7 ounces, 20 inches. |
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| Proud dad! Patrick was amazing through it all...I love him. |
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| Oh, my sweet boys!!! |
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| Haha, we tried to see if he'd fit these adorable preemie pjs...he's skinny enough, but he can't straighten out his legs! Ha! |
PS. For those mommas who have more than one kiddio, I'd love to hear how you helped your older child get used and like having a new baby. Hayden loves baby Miles, but he's struggling with the changes in his life and routine.
PSS. Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts about finding your groove after having a baby or having another baby. Did you struggle with this too?
Congratulations you guys!! What you said about the way newborns look reminded me of a story about my grandpa--he had never seen a brand-new baby before his first son was born--when he took his first look at his son he was rather dismayed at how red and wrinkly and funny-looking he was, he thought there must be something wrong with him, but didn't want to say anything to my grandma because he didn't want her to worry. He just didn't know that's what babies look like at first--it takes them a little while to get all plump and dimple-y but newborns are precious!! Have fun with him!
ReplyDeleteHaha...yeah, they can look pretty shocking! That's sweet that your grandpa didn't say anything for your grandma's sake. :) Thanks Rachel!
DeleteCongrats Amy, Miles is beautiful! :) Thank the Lord too that everything worked out - I can't imagine passing out during labor though, yikes! Take it easy and don't worry about trying to get everything done cause it's a lot to adjust to! I remember my son loving his baby sister for the first 2-3 weeks, then starting to act up after that cause he realized she wasn't going anywhere! But what helped was just including him in as much as possible with helping with the baby, spending time reading with him while I nursed and trying to stay positive with him (I found I said "no" to him all the time, but had to switch to saying what he could do, not what he shouldn't be doing - like "you can be loud in the other room" instead of "stop shouting, you'll wake the baby"). I think he started enjoying his sister more when she was closer to age one and they could interact more (of course that's when the fighting starts, but with guidance from the parents, can become pretty good friends!). As for finding time for yourself, sigh - it will take time, but you'll get your groove back eventually! It'll be short spurts of free time in the beginning, but as the kiddos grow up, you'll regain your freedom. Just enjoy the season of life you're in!
ReplyDeleteMy doctor told me this and it truly has been some if the most helpful advice. She said that if both kids need me at once choose the older child, they have lasting memories and it helps them to still feel wanted. Also ask them to be a helper for some reason toddlers like the idea of helping so maybe help give a bath or help cook meals. Just special time with mommy.
ReplyDeleteLOVE HIS HAIR!! That last picture of him is SO dang cute! Want to squeeze his little body! In a good way.... not too tight... :) Definitely make time to be with just Hayden and whatever you do with Miles, find a way to have Hayden help or be a part of. I used to ask Livi to get some books to look at with me while I nursed Caleb. Don't "blame" the baby for not being able to do something with Hayden. Instead of saying "I can't play cars with you because I need to feed the baby" - toddler translation: it's the baby's fault mom can't play with me. Instead you could say "I'm tired and need to sit on the couch (to feed the baby). Can you play cars next to me and I'll watch?" - toddler translation: mom wants to watch me play! Try to limit the use of "don'ts" and encourage the do's. Ex. Not "don't hit the baby" instead "We love the baby, and pet his head so soft" etc. I know you're good that those anyway, so keep it up! Sometimes kids react in very unexpected ways - suddenly get very stubborn, don't want to eat, etc. Seem unrelated to having a baby in the house, but can be caused by it. Give extra love and be patient as everyone (you too!) adjusts. So excited to meet that little sweetness!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! He's adorable and his hair is awesome. :) I'd say to be patient with getting in a routine. Give yourself permission to not accomplish very much for awhile and take advantage of ALL offers of help while they last. And sleep, as much as possible! :)
ReplyDeleteMy first was 4 when we had our second. Which reminds me I need to find the charger so I can charge the camera before we go to the hospital in two weeks for our third. Anywho. So my oldest now tells me he was scared (pictures of him meeting his brother for the first time agree with him being scared). He didn't know what to do. He was having a hard time warming up to the new baby so I gave him a camera so he could take whatever pictures he wanted and so he could look through them any time. He seemed to like the pictures since he didn't have to hold or really touch the baby. (Everything is on his terms) I plan to do the same with the coming baby as well.
ReplyDeleteGuys, I love, love, love your comments and ideas!!! I really have used many of them and Hayden seems to be doing pretty well with adjusting. :) Thank you!!!
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