Surviving Parenthood

Let me just start out by saying that I have never been so tired in my life. I don't know how people have tons of kids because one so far is definitely a lot of work! My life revolves around feeding, changing, burping, bouncing, rocking, etc. our little guy. I haven't showered in two days or changed my outfit. I have managed to brush my teeth every day though, so at least bad breath isn't an issue. I've got to give Brannon a lot of credit too. He's really stepped up his game with the arrival of our baby. He's been doing laundry, dishes, keeping the house tidy, and taking his fair share of turns with the baby at night. I can see that Brannon has two loves in his life now. I'm so glad that I've got a husband who loves kids because I'm always ready for a break when he gets home from work and Brannon will take over baby duty for practically the rest of the night. He's the man:) We've now experienced what I call "The blowout diaper" twice now. The first time Brannon was changing him and the blowout began with the diaper off....so yeah, big mess. I've never laughed so hard in my life when I watched Brannon gagging as he tried to catch the poo in a diaper and yelp when Taj started peeing all over the place. I wasn't that big of a help on that one. Breastfeeding has been an adventure too, and not a fun one. Taj will not latch on for the life of me and thus I am married to the pump right now. This pump is high-tech too. It's hospital standard and it's got two suction cups, so I get double the pumping capacity at the same time. I'll say this...the pump has saved me from mastitis, but I feel like I can't go anywhere too far away from it or I'll die. I feel like a Jersey milk cow. I'm pretty sure I can relate to milk cows now and no, it is not fun being milked:( So I'm hoping that with more practice and a lot of patience that Taj and I can master the art of breastfeeding. It has been so frustating because I totally expected him to just latch on and Wahlah!, breastfeeding made easy. I've been to three lactation specialists, tried many techniques, and have endured several painful failed breastfeeding sessions with these specialists. So if anyone has any tips for me, please do share because I'm willing to try anything at this point. Parenthood is a tough adjustment and I think I took the time I could go anywhere and do anything on my own time for granted. I never realized how much it takes to raise a baby. I think the toughest part is feeling like I'm not just me anymore. I'm a mom now too and it truly is a selfless calling in life because a lot of things take the back seat when it comes to raising a child. So right now I am just trying to get through this adjustment and take one day at a time. I know that things will get better with time:) Right now I am just enjoying our baby and the precious little time I have each day to spend with my husband.

The Little Guy Has Arrived!

Hey Everyone!

I know that a lot of you have been long awaiting this blog. Our little guy has arrived at last! I had him Saturday at 5:57 p.m. at St. Mark's hospital. He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and he is 19 1/2 inches long (the half inch includes the cone head I think:)). I went into labor at about 3:30 in the morning the night before and was redeemed by an epidural at 10:30 that morning, so yes I did go through at least 6 hours of contractions and I totally wasn't against making them disappear (disappear in my mind at least). It was great, but it did slow down the contractions for awhile and we worried that I might be headed for a C-section, but lo and behold I finally dilated to where I needed to be by about 4:30 that afternoon. Even though I had an epidural, it was a lot of work pushing the baby out! He was turned sideways in the birth canal, so that made it a bit more difficult, but thanks to my cheerleaders (mom, sisters, husband (nearly passed out in the corner), and a wonderful nurse and doctor) we were able to get him out in about an hour and a half. Cone head and all, we are absolutely in love with our little man. He has a cute little button nose and tons of dark hair that sticks out everywhere! A lot of people have commented that it looks like he has a mullet, but I don't see it, at least I don't want to think of my baby as having a mullet:( Anyway, we feel so blessed to have this special little guy in our family and I love being a Mom already. I wouldn't want to be anything else right now. I will post more as I get more time! I'm finding out real quick how fast life can change, but I love this change.

p.s. Sorry about the sideways pic. I couldn't figure out how to delete it from the post and I really didn't want to right the whole thing over again to switch it out, but I'm sure everyone can still get a good look at him:)