Sweet moment

I peaked in on Tam after bed tonight around 8:30pm...
My little man man this pint size dent in his big boy bed. Head sweetly on his pillow as he laid on his side, curled up around the bunny I sewed him for Easter.
Awww...
I just wanted to smother him with kisses :-)

I just wanted to hug the sales lady...

The girls needed new constraints befitting their new larger - milk-induced size. My maternity bra from last time around was a bit stretched and didn't fit too well anymore. Now, most of the time I order this necessary undergarment from a store in Europe via the internet. However, with a quick internet search for Grand Rapids maternity stores, I found that there is a place locally that claimed to carry maternity bras in sizes up to "L." Eureka! Brian and I bundles up the boys and headed out into the world with this minor mission.

The store is Baby Beloved and it was a wonderful experience. Yes, their boasting of the size range was correct! I got fitted with an excellent support garment for nursing AND even got a tank shirt that fit the girls comfortably. I just wanted to hug the sales girl so much for helping me with this endeavor and having it be successful. Of course, baby Jude got many coos of delight from other shoppers and the help. Plus, the shop had toys (including cars) to entertain Tam :-)

Stupid hormones

Having a kid wrecks havoc on the body...I have to keep reminding myself that only a week ago Jude was inside instead of outside of me. My body seems to still be adjusting to this change as well. I felt a ton more of the side effects this time around than last time...then again, I don't really remember to much of the first month of Tam's life (it's mostly a fatigued blur).

So what's going on inside?

Finally, my after-pains have subsided and I don't feel the need to pop pain medicine at least once a day. My milk came in with a huge rush. Good golly were the melons large and in the way for at least 48 hours. This has also gone down as Jude has been eating only what he needs. Along the same line, I can feel when the milk refills the girls after Jude's eaten. It feels like prickles all over. The baby blues hit about two days ago and was a rough 24hours, but I found that the chocolate particles and naps helped immensely.

However, the oddest one was full-blown chills that hit me last night about 4am. I got up and realized that I was freezing, to the point that my entire body was shaking and my teeth were chattering. The episode eventually subsided with the help of warmth from Brian and an extra blanket. No, I wasn't running a fever or anything else indicating the flu / infection...just a bout of the shakes. (It did freak Brian out a bit).

Yep, all hormones be-bopping up and down right now.

Worldless Wednesday - Family shots

I was extremely grateful that Brian's folks were able to visit us for a long weekend...

The great sunny weather let us take some family shots all together with our new little Jude.

Hello, Baby! - Birth Story part 2

Yes, the epidural was great and allowed me and my body to relax between the contractions. I rolled over to my side, remembering that with Tam this helped me dilate quickly. Likewise with this wee one, because by 4pm I was at 8cm and ready to get this show on the road. The nurses dove into uber mode and called my doctor, got the mirror ready, set up the room to prepare for pushing, and got all the gear out for post-catching the baby needs. I don't recall much of the details of what was going on around us. I do recall that it was bright and sunny outside, and I could watch the puffs of clouds move across the sky through my window. Plus it was fairly quiet in the room with just me, Brian, and a single nurse prepping to bring the baby into our arms.

By nearly 5pm, I was feeling pressure and the definite need to start pushing this baby out! I was a bit amazed at how fast things were rolling and it seemed that it was only moments earlier that my water was broken. Thankfully my OB arrived, suited up, and pretty much said let's get this party started. Pushing this time around was much easier than previously with Tamlin. I had no problems with the epidural and felt little pain, but still felt the edge of the contractions and the pressure. I had Brian by my side counting to 10 for each breath and contraction. I swear it was but a few great pushes, a couple of moments of sharp pain during the "ring of fire" and twenty minutes later, Jude was out in our world. I saw much of the birth in the mirror; yeah, I'm not grossed out by that. However, right at the last push I had my eyes closed in concentration. Brian and the doctor informed me afterwards that Jude got the cord wrapped on his neck at the last minute. The doc had quickly placed her fingers under it and flipped it off, so no worries.

Once in our world, Jude was immediately placed up on my chest for cuddles and exclamations of joy. He was a gooey mess, as was I, but I loved him immediately. I loved counting his little fingers and his little toes and waiting for him to open his big blue eyes at me. Eventually, I let loose of him for administration of vital checks and statistics and clean up. I felt so much relief and happiness (and no shakes this time). Brian just couldn't stop grinning and reaching out to touch a hand or a foot or a forehead.

Here is our new son, oh, what a wonder he is.

...

And how did Tamlin do?
According to our friends, Tam slept with their three-year old son and they both slept splendidly through the night. All day Tuesday, all the kids played really well with each other and had a blast running around outside burning off energy. It seemed that Tam only started to get restless when it got near bed-time on the second day. Apparently, he kept saying he wanted to read books at "home." :-)

Jude's first Doctor appointment

We saw our pediatrician today for Jude's 6 day appointment.

Overall, our wee one is doing great and healthy. In fact, he's even gained back his birth weight already! I'm in no doubt of this because he is an eating machine, especially the past couple of day as my milk has come in. Plus, no more inklings of jaundice...most likely because all of us have been outside this weekend. No more shots yet just a clean bill of health and a schedule for our next appointment in 2 weeks.

Jude's statistics:
9 pounds and 9 ounces
21.5 inches long...though the doctor thought he might have stretched him out a bit more than the nurses did at birth to give him the extra nudge of length.