Bringing Home a Baby

We stayed 2 nights in the hospital because he was born at 10pm on the first night . We loved our RN that was with us for the birth of the baby. She was young and new (aka by the book), a Christian (so we all praised God when the prayers for Levi's heart rate to stay up were answered),  and not too chatty but came over to push on my back when contractions happened. I appreciated that. Our doctor who delivered Levi was the on-call doctor, Dr Kapnadak. She was also young but straight to the point. She was comforting and kept checking on us which I appreciated. And she ran when she was paged that I was ready to push. I appreciated that too. 

Pictures of getting little man dressed for ride home. First time putting on clothes! 

where's Levi?

 He is home! 

And we have a several little helpers who were waiting for him

 Tiny yawns...

The girls were well taken care of over the first several days. You can see they are getting spoiled with face painting at the zoo. I appreciated them entertaining the girls so much. It gave Wes and I both a chance to enjoy Levi's newness and keep the girls preoccupied. The girls are physically not as demanding as Levi but mentally they are hard. I want to still give them attention and they still want it.  We are all adjusting to what it feels like to be a family of 5. 

 I wonder how long they will keep wanting to hold him before the newness wears off? Leighton loves to steal kisses off his head all day long. 

 I have tried to be somewhat normal each day by getting out of house for a bit either with a walk or going to have quiet/bible study time alone. I did not make that a priority with girls but I am glad Wes is holding me accountable this time.

Sweet siblings

 I still can't believe he is ours. I know the days are long now but the years are short. We are physically tired and drained but love snuggling our son. I am so thankful for him. I think being at the hospital this time longer before birth, in addition to having a scare with his heart rater and extra monitoring, made me even more grateful for his entrance into the world. 

He has been nursing good and my milk supply came in so we introduced the passy. I hope he will continue to take it. I desperately need him to be different than Sadie and sleep without being held or nursed to sleep. I will also let you know how I like the woombie swaddle. I could never seem to keep any of my kids from busting out of the velcro ones and felt bad for trapping their hands down to their side. This one allows the arms to move. We will see if he bust out....

Having a newborn is such a humbling experience. It is exciting but it is also a time were I am more aware that I need Jesus every hour. I need him for patience and endurance.  I need confidence in the truth that His grace can cover my faults and fears. (faults like trust, control, and idols and fears like the anxiety Im scared will occur with sleep deprivation, hormone changes, and being overwhelmed) Wes cried when he was born just like he did with the girls. In the moment of getting pain relief by pushing out a baby and knowing the contractions will stop, I have never cried at any of their births. Bad mom? I don't know. But I am tearing up now as I type and look at his sweet pictures. After 5 days of little sleep and time to reflect = emotions. Then I made the mistake of reading this article and now the tears are really flowing! 

READ IT (if you want to cry): Huffington Post: The Last One

Thank you in advance for praying for our family.