We are adjusting nicely to having a new baby at home. Eden is the sweetest little thing. She looks exactly like Zoë when she was a baby. (I will be definitely be posting side by side photos soon.) She may look just like her big sister, but there is a night and day difference. Eden sleeps most of the day, hardly ever cries, and is content to just sit and watch the world around her. I've got to say, I wouldn't trade Zoë for the world, but it is certainly a nice change. :) We are still struggling to master nursing, but I am not giving up. That is pretty much what takes up most of my day and nights.
A week ago our journey began (admittedly not as cool as "In a Galaxy Far Far Away" but I do what I can.) I copied Jenn's idea and got my hair cut/styled the day before Eden arrived. Excellent idea, Jenn. I went to my usual stylist. She does a great job with my hair. However, I think next time I need to be a teensy bit more specific in the description I give her. I told her that I would like a bit more shape to my hair, that she could shorten it a bit if she'd like, but that I had to be able to tuck it behind my ear. As much as I try to fight it, I am an ear tucker. She styled my hair and it looked amazing...from the front. Then she spun me around to see the back. I have almost no hair the back!!! My hair has never been this short in my entire life. I didn't freak out or anything, just thanked her and went on my way. Honestly, I think I was in a bit of shock. It doesn't look terrible, and yes it has been amazingly easy to keep up, but I will definitely be letting the back grow out. It's only hair after all, right? And 90% of pictures are taken from the front so I am not too worried.
Kelly took the afternoon off of work and we spent our last afternoon together as a family of three. Then it was home to check off the last few items of our to do list. Kel and I were up until midnight and had to be up at 4am. (You know how I find all sorts of things that must be done before I go anywhere.)
We checked into the hospital at 5:30am and they put us in a pre-op room to get me ready for surgery, but also because all of the rooms were full. Apparently last week was crazy busy. The hospital actually had a record number of births the previous Saturday, 21. Why? Now is when all the Christmas & New Year's babies are being born. LOL! I was hooked up to the monitors and prepared for surgery then we waited. And waited. There was a woman in labor who's baby was breach so my c-section was bumped by about an hour. We didn't really mind, her situation was much more urgent than ours.
When the O.R. opened up they walked Kelly and I down for the c-section. Now that was strange...walking calmly down the hall to go have a baby. As soon as we got to the doorway I started shaking. I wasn't scared at all, but I my hand was shaking uncontrollably. The anesthesiologist said it was adrenaline and I am inclined to believe him. I laid down on the table and he gave me a spinal block (Kelly tells me that the needle was much smaller than the epidural needle.) I laid there for a few minutes while I slowly felt everything go numb. Then, a few minutes later we had a baby. Crazy.
I was wheeled back to the pre-op room to "recover" and to wait for an actual room to open up. Kelly called all the grandparents and our brothers. And (being the nerds that we are) took a picture with his phone and emailed/text messaged friends.
We were in the room for about an hour and the nurse came to announce that we had a visitor. Huh? Zoë and Marie weren't going to arrive at the hospital until after noon. In walks my mother. (Who lives five hours away in Spokane) who decided to drive over and surprise us. We were definitely surprised. She wasn't supposed to be here until Sunday.
As much as I was enjoying my time with my sweet baby, I could hardly wait to see Zoë's reaction to her little sister. She certainly didn't disappoint. She ran into the room, "Eden! Awwww, she's soooo CUTE!" She absolutely loves her little sister. She wanted to hold her immediately and we happily obliged. (Thankfully the novelty still hasn't worn off and she thinks "Baby Burb" is pretty awesome.)
Kelly, bless his heart, made his best attempt to not work. Unfortunately it appears that his entire company grinds to a screeching halt when he is gone. Eden had just been born and he was already getting 911 calls from his business partner and operations manager because of crisis in the office. I wasn't angry with Kelly at all, he was just as frustrated as I was, if not more. Seriously, they couldn't leave him alone for even six flipping hours? Here he is multi-tasking, holding Eden just after he got off the phone.
I don't know what we would have done without Marie. She was so helpful and supportive the entire time we were at the hospital. She stayed at our house with Zoë and took her to school each day. She kept me company in the hospital. She picked up the hospital room and brought me ice. And she took pictures for me. Oh did she take pictures. I love that girl. I couldn't get out of the bed until Thursday since I was hooked up to all sorts of things, and Marie captured every special moment for us. Here are some of my favorites. Thank you Marie! We love you!
We had lots of visitors which was nice. My Aunt Mary and cousin Brett came by on Wednesday. That ended up working out well. My Aunt Mary was scheduled to fly back to Spokane that evening and instead drove back with my Mom. (Yep, she drove over for four hours.) Our friends came by the next day. It was a nice flow of visitors, just enough that we weren't overwhelmed or bored.
There you have it. Now we are home and adjusting nicely. Friday, Kelly's Dad arrived a few hours after we got home. He is so helpful. He finished all sorts of projects around the house with Kelly. (Including picking up our new bedroom furniture. Yay!) Sunday, Kelly's Dad left and my Mom came. I think my BIL and SIL are coming for a visit at the end of the month for Kel's birthday. We are certainly utilizing our guest bedroom. We have had more visitors in the last week then we have in a year. LOL! I suppose that comes with the territory though. :)
My sister-in-law Janice recommended this carrier to me. She has tried all of them, literally, and told me that this one was the one to buy. I tend to believe her. She works at a baby boutique and finds all of the coolest gadgets and gizmos. If you need a product review, she is your girl. I tried out the Ergo Baby the other day and Janice was not wrong. It is super comfortable to wear and Eden likes being in it. You can carry babies from newborn to FOUR years old in it! Seriously! It converts from a side sling carrier to a front carrier to a backpack carrier. How cool is that?
Admittedly, the name is cheesy, but this is a fantastic product. They had them at the doctor's office when we went in for Eden's well baby check last week. The nurse had me use it when she was checking Eden's latch. It is soooo comfortable. Unlike a Boppy, it wraps around your entire body and helps support your back while you are nursing. I also like that it is flat on top which makes it easier (I think) to position the baby. Don't get me wrong, I would never give up my Boppy, it is great for propping up the baby, BUT this pillow is much much better for feeding Eden. It has saved my back. I was always getting hunched over with the Boppy.
We received this amazing diaper bag as a baby gift. Boy am I glad that didn't take the tags off of the one that I bought before Eden was born. This bag, besides being cute, is surprisingly spacious and functional. I absolutely love it AND it coordinates with the BeQuick that Janice bought for me a few months back (remember I told you she finds the coolest things.) These will definitely be on my baby gift list from now on. I am very impressed with this company, and it doesn't hurt that their products are gorgeous.
