July 2014 = BABY!!

July 3, 2014:

Due Date!!

Well, here we are, at Baby's due date with no indication whatsoever that he will be coming out any time soon!  We thought we'd try a some spicy food to see if it would induce labor (and also because I craved Indian food my whole pregnancy and this was just another chance to enjoy it!).

However, it didn't do it's magic to bring Baby around to life on the outside.

Here's my 40 week belly bump picture!

4th of July, 2014:

It was a Friday and Brandon had the holiday off work.  After getting some yard work done, he lovingly gave my sore feet a massage....

....then grilled burgers and we ate on the deck.  The weather was really nice in the shade.

Oh my!  Looking back at this picture, it doesn't even look real!  I can't believe my belly was that BIG with that much undercarriage!!  I was carrying Baby very low, so when I sat down, he took up every bit of my short-waist space! 

That evening, we joined some friends for ice cream and then watched fireworks in their neighborhood.  We found a parking spot along one of the main roads that overlooked the lake in the neighborhood.  We had a bit of a wait before the show started, so we walked up and down the street (slowly, cause seriously, you saw that belly above, right?).  I got so many smiles and knowing looks as I waddle back and forth.  And the look on people's faces when they asked what my due date was and found out that it had already passed was priceless.

July 6, 2014:

One Last Hurrah!
Three days post due date and still no sign of Baby, so we took in a movie matinee to see "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." I texted my mom as we were going into the movie.  She texted back that she went to see a movie when she was pregnant with my brother and the next day she went into labor!

July 7, 2014:
I was awoken around 4am with some contractions.  I got excited and scared all at the same time. We decided Brandon should go on into work to tie up any loose ends and I'd let him know when to come back home.  Around 9:00am, they stopped (save for some random, short contractions the rest of the day).  Needless to say, Brandon worked all day.  We wouldn't end up with a 7-7-14 Baby Boy, but at least now we knew he was finally making some movements toward coming out in the near future.

July 8, 2014:

After about 3 hours of sleep, I was awoken for the second night in a row with contractions (at about 2:30am).  Around 5:30am, I had some bright red bleeding (which could signal an issue).  So, we called the after-hours line for my doctor's office and we were instructed to head to the hospital to get checked out and make sure all was well.  After checking Baby, we were assured that everything was okay, but they wanted to admit me just the same for monitoring, even though I was only 2cm and wasn't in active labor yet.

So, at 6:15am, I was admitted, gowned, and ready to roll!

My partner in crime and in labor was there beside me.  We were all studied and practiced up on our natural labor techniques and now it was game time!

Sometime around 10:00am both sets of our parents arrived.  My parents and Brandon's mom each came back to visit us in the labor room one-by-one.  Otherwise, they were excitedly hanging out in the waiting room......

.....waiting......

.............and waiting...............




July 9, 2014:

............................and waiting..............................

........................................and waiting..........................................

..................................................and waiting....................................................


July 10, 2014:
...............................................................and waiting................................................................

.....until 51 hours later, when our Bouncing Baby Boy *finally* entered the world
on July 10 at 5:17am!  

I intend to chronicle Will's full birth story at a later date.  It's just too much to include in this particular post.  When I do, I'll link it from here though.

WJJ (who I refer to as "Jedi" on the blog) was born via cesarean section.  His cry was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard!

Our first family photo

While I got wheeled to the recovery room, Jedi and Brandon headed to the nursery.

Proud Daddy

Cheeks and Hair!!

Jedi's first bath

Finally, I got to hold me sweet little guy. 

I love, love, LOVE this picture.  Makes me cry every time I look at it.  It wasn't until this moment, holding my baby for the first time, that I realized the depth of my mom's love for me and I saw her in a whole new light. 

Nana & Jedi

Mammaw & Jedi

Pappaw & Jedi

PawPaw & Jedi

That evening, we had a few visitors.

Mike & Shannon (and Baby D still in her belly).

Cousin Jamie and his wife, Heather

My first meal after Will was born was Jimmy John's!  I was so excited to eat this.  It had been 9 long months since I'd eaten lunch meat!

July 11, 2014:

The previous evening, I experienced several symptoms that the next morning a test confirmed was a Clostridium Difficile infection (it's similar to a staph infection, as in, this is a bacteria that everyone has in their bodies, but can cause issues when it overtakes the other bacteria in your body).  So, now this meant I was quarantined  in my hospital room and anyone who entered (visitors, nurses, etc...) had to put on a gown and gloves when they entered.  And then put into a special "infectious disease" trash can before they left.  Oh joy!  Now I was Typhoid Mary!.

Here's my Granny in her new outfit holding Jedi for the first time.  My Granpda avoided coming into the room for health reasons.

July 12, 2014:

After a long labor and a quarantined hospital stay, I begged my Midwife to release me to go home a day early.  Thankfully, she obliged. 

Home at last! 

Our original plan was to have the first week home by ourselves and then have our moms each take a week staying with us after that.  We quickly realized that our plan of being home by ourselves for the first week wasn't going to fly since we were so beyond exhausted and mentally spent. 

Brandon's parents stayed first night with us while my parents went home and my mom would gather her things and come back for our first week at home.

Week of July 13-19, 2014:

 My mom is a Baby Nurse and a Lactation Consultant, so having her with us that first week was crucial and a God-send.  And you know, she's my mom, so that makes everything better -- who doesn't want their mom when they are not feeling well (recovering from surgery), but also because she is the most empathetic and caring person I know.  And when it comes to all things medical (and the scariness of keeping this newborn you were just handed alive), she is amazingly calming and reassuring.

July 13, 2014:

July 15, 2014:

First doctor visit:

Weight check:  Jedi was

"Auntie" Anne

July 18:

Newborn Photos

July 19:
PawPaw came to pick up Nana (and see Jedi again)

July 20:
My cousin, Jennifer, ad her family came for a visit

July 20-26, 2014:
Now it was Brandon's mom's turn to stay the week with us.  Jimmy brought her and got to see Jedi again too.Brandon went back to work this week as well.

July 23, 2014:
My brother's family came for a visit

July 24:
Great Aunt Sue

4 Generations

July 26:
Brandon's sister, Kim

Brother-in-law, Billy

July 27:
Friends Heather & Brian and Little A (who did not enjoy sharing her Momma)

July 28:

Momma's 2 Week postpartum check-up

Even though my awesome midwife didn't end up delivering Jedi, she still enjoyed cuddling him

Such little arms and legs!  But oh so cute in Daddy's hand.

July 29, 2014:

My world became very dark. 

After 2 weeks of live-in, constant help from our moms, I was on my own with Jedi for the first time.  I survived my first day by myself okay, but the morning of the second day....I can't even hardly explain what happened.  Fear....panic....the overwhelming feeling that I couldn't do this.  I had a major panic attack and begged Brandon to stay home from work.  What followed in the next few days/weeks/months was the worst mental darkness I've ever known. Postpartum depression descended upon me quickly, acutely, and harshly.  (Like Will's birth story, there's too much to write about in this post.  I will write about this part of my life as a new mom in a later post).  However, I can say that, I have an amazing husband, parents, in-laws, family, and friends who saw me through this struggle.  And the Lord healed my body & mind through His grace and earthly medicine.

Thankfully, Brandon's mom is retired and she immediately came back into town to stay with us indefinitely.  Beverley was my & Jedi's caretaker and angel when I just couldn't.

This sweet, sweet boy rocked my world in the best way possible.  And even though my hormones had taken a nose-dive, he took everything like a champ & loved me anyway.