Baby, Surprise Visit, and a Marathon

Sometimes Munchkin stares off into some empty corner of the room or blank wall space and I can't help but wonder what he sees. He does this less and less lately as he can now focus on near faces and objects, but still I question if he can see angels or the spirits of loved ones who have passed on (like his Grandma V who so graciously left to hand-pick our little boy for us). He is so close to heaven . . . who knows, I could very well be wrong, but at least I can pretend for now and then find out the truth when I die.

Some of his favorite sleeping positions include the following:

And yet, he still manages to look super adorable while sleeping . . .

Ok, and while he's awake too! Mr. and I love guessing what his eye color will be - what do you think?

Bath time is always super fun too - though Munchkin repeatedly tells me that it is too cold to take baths now!

J & G came over for a visit and we both thoroughly enjoyed it!

3 months and 2 weeks (respectively)

Munchkin also has this super adorable squeak he does - we had to catch it on camera before he stops doing it!

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On another note, we had a surprise visit from a good friend in Arkansas. He also came bearing gifts . . .

Cute hooded towels for bath time! Baby couldn't be more excited :)

Local paraphernalia from Grandma Diane :)

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So through all this adventure baby and I have at home (cuddle time, nap time, etc), Mr.'s running a marathon it seems. No, not the 26.3-mile one you do in a weekend morning (I wish it were that quick), but a semester-long academic and work marathon of sorts. His 1 1/2 part-time jobs as well as full-time student coursework keep him incredibly busy. However, he does a really great job at managing his time and making sure to make the time to come home to be with his family. We sure do love him lots and are grateful for all his hard work!

A magnificent husband and a wonderful father :)

Thanks for checking in on us! Happy Monday!

Our Little Man :)

We officially have a new addition to the family - and we couldn't be more ecstatic! . . . can't you see his enthusiasm? :)

This handsome boy was born the evening of October 1 (5 days before his official "due date"). He was definitely excited to come into the world and was even ready before my body was. With no contractions I noticed, but previously dilated to 2 cm and 75% effaced, I found myself running to the bathroom every 25-40 minutes. I thought he must keep head-butting my bladder since I had to go to the bathroom so frequently.

By 9:00 am though, I knew something had to be up - no woman, pregnant or not, should have to go to the bathroom over 8 times within a 3 1/2 hour period (way to go Kegels though)! So, I sent Mr. off to class and then called the doctor to set up a quick appointment to see if my water was leaking. The appointment was for 10:20 am, and Mr.'s class wasn't supposed to end until after that point - so originally I was going to let him to go class, then take a test, and I would go to the appointment and let him know what the doctor said. However, as I got to thinking about it, I didn't want to go alone because I had no idea what they would do at the doctor's office (i.e. if my water was leaking, but no contractions were coming, would they strip my membranes?) - no way did I trust myself to drive if that should happen! 

So I called Mr. home and then left shortly after for the doctor's office. Once we got in, we found some unexpected news - my membranes had completely ruptured (my water broke) - we had to assume it occurred around 5:30 am when the bathroom marathon began. - Still, no contractions. We calmly drove home, sent an email to Mr.'s professors, grabbed our hospital bag, and went to Labor and Delivery. A very odd, calm-like manner (not at all like the movies or like what we expected). 

Admitted around 11:30 am - still no contractions I could feel, yet somehow dilated to a 3 and about 90% effaced. So abnormal! The nurses decided to induce me since baby had to be out within 24-hours of the water breaking and my body didn't seem to be going fast enough. Man, if I can help it, never again! The contractions came so irregularly with exponentially growing intensity. I could handle it at first (yoga ball = my best friend), but as they came harder and harder with little to no breaks between them, I had a very difficult time breathing and relaxing enough to let my body progress. I had been hoping to do an all-natural birth, but with the seemingly endless pain, I knew my body was tensing and fighting what needed to happen (it had been a few hours and I had only dilated to 5 cm) . . . so I called for an epidural. 

Such a weird feeling honestly - my left leg felt as fat as an elephant! We still had slow progress, however - by sometime around 4 or 5 pm, I was still only to 5.5 cm. New methods were necessary for progress - so I practiced my visualization and breathing techniques to imagine that area relaxing and enlarging. Within about an hour I was all the way dilated to a 10! 

Finally, after waiting for the doctor for an hour, and then pushing for 2 1/2 hours (on a VERY hungry stomach), Munchkin graced us with his presence!

8 lbs. 9 oz. - 19 1/2 inches long (sorry Caleen - no head circumference)

Our adorable little blessing coming home :)

No idea how that is comfortable - but he seems to love it :)

We are a happy family! :)