10 Things I Didn't Expect Postpartum

10)  Night Sweats
Holy cow.  I remember that first night in the hospital after Jack was born waking up absolutely drenched in sweat.  Gross dude.  It has tapered off a bit and definitely not so bad but yeah...it was a rough...wet...first couple of weeks of "sleep".  Sleep?  ha!  HAHAHAHA!  :)

9) B.O.
Body odor.  Maybe this is just me.  Seriously though folks...my pits stink.  And not like my normal stink.  This is a whole new level...and I don't even DO anything every day.  Can you imagine if I went on a run.  I'd drop you to the floor...I'm telling you.  :)

8) Water
Good grief I cannot drink enough water.  I drink and drink and drink and DRINK and yet...I still feel dehydrated.  My little monster really likes to nurse so I think the frequency is kinda sucking the life out of me...no pun intended.  :)

7) My body
So, this is a positive one.  I totally expected to feel really uncomfortable in my skin after I had Jack.  I thought that the flabby skin and extra "cushion" acquired from pregnancy would make me feel uncomfortable and very unattractive.  In reality though...it hasn't bothered me.  And that's been nice...and surprising.  I mean...I was hecka thin before my pregnancy.  Anyways, I'm losing the weight but feel no crazy hurry to do so.  It will happen when it happens and in the mean time I'm content.  I mean...I brought a LIFE into this world.  :)  That's totally worth getting flabby and soft for right?

6) Breastfeeding
This is a mixed basket.  I am totally in awe over the fact that I possess within my body something that sustains our little one...and it's FREE!  I mean, it's really quite amazing when you think about it.  I enjoy breastfeeding and definitely feel like it's a sweet time of bonding between Jack and I.  At the same time though I wasn't planning on birthing a baby with a short frenulum and having to use a nipple shield.  The nipple shield is necessary but seriously...it's sort of a pain...and it's messy.  I WISH I didn't have to use it...but I'm glad there exists an option for us.  One that doesn't cause me pain and makes it easier for little Jack to get his white gold.   :)

5) Appetite
I've had a weird thing with food for most of my pregnancy.  I had no appetite for almost my whole pregnancy...except maybe 2 months in the middle.  I thought that it would come back fully once Jack was born.  Honestly, I'm just now sorta getting my appetite back, one month later.  The worst part is that I just want carbs.  Cookies, chips, pasta, etc.  Lovely.  It's a good thing I'm okay with my baby weight right?   haha.  Cause it ain't coming off anytime soon at THIS rate.  :)

4) Sleep
Nobody prepared me for this.  I mean, they tried to but I think I was in denial.  It seriously seems unfair to make you go through childbirth...one of the most physically exhausting things ever and then take away your sleep for the next 3 months or so afterwards.  Oye vay.  You should see me at those 2am and 5am feedings.  I look like a bobble head trying to keep awake.  I actually totally fell asleep once and woke up to Jack also asleep on my lap.  Yikes.  It's brutal.  I kinda feel like a basket case.  Things that are not logical run through my mind.  And my reaction time...a bit slow.  Jack fully peed all over the wall for like 10 seconds while I was changing his diaper before I figured out what was happening and  I threw a diaper over him...of course he had already emptied his bladder at that point...ON THE WALL...and on his wind-up giraffe...and on a few other things.  I think I thought I'd have the infant who sleeps through the night at 3 weeks old.  Ha!  Um no.  Kid loves his milk a little too much.  He's like clock work.  Every 3 hours.  And it doesn't look like he's going to change that any time soon.  I mean, don't get me wrong...he's worth it.  :)  But it'll be nice when he starts to sleep a little longer.

3) Going Pee
Okay, this is a little TMI but nobody told me that you might not be able to pee after giving birth.  Seriously, it's weird.  They almost put the catheter back in less then 12 hours before we were supposed to be discharged from the hospital.  I had to practically beg them not to do it...to give me the chance to do it alone.  When I could go I had zero control over it.  I needed a bathroom and I needed it yesterday.  Honestly, the bladder is just now feeling normal.

2) Hip pain
So, I dealt with this at the end of my pregnancy.  I was looking forward to this going away once I gave birth.  HA!  The first couple of weeks after birth gave me hip pain like no other.  Way WAY worse then anything I experienced while pregnant.  Seriously, I was limping around the house, barely able to lift my right leg off the floor.  I just sorta dragged (drug?  why does that look weird?) my leg behind me.  Lovely.  Fortunately they feel pretty good now.  So, it wasn't permanent :)

1) Alone time and conversation with friends = Necessary
So, I kinda thought I'd be a super mom.  You know, I'd live and breath my baby and I'd do it whole heartedly and never need a break and yeah...cause I'm awesome like that.  Um yeah.  I was shocked to find myself wanting to run an errand by myself only 2 weeks after Jack was born.  At first I felt guilty.  Then I realized...it's okay.  It's not like I'm running away.  I just want to go grab a cup of coffee and a few groceries on my own for an hour.  No big deal.  It helped that Jason was pushing me out of the house...encouraging me to take some time by myself.  It was amazing what an hour did for me.  I felt like a new person.  It made me miss my baby.  Which is a good thing.  Also, meeting with friends...even with baby in tow has been great.  So refreshing.  It reminds you that you are still YOU.

And THAT is what I've learned about postpartum life.  :)

A Blog Post that does NOT Involve Baby Jack

Shocking eh?
I feel like all I think about/talk about/take pictures of is our new little man...which is understandable.  Right?  At least I tell myself this.  :)

So, I've got a really weird/random/gross story for you.  Ready?

I've been going on daily walks as of late.  Jason needed some cash at work and I decided to load Mr. Jack up in the stroller and meet Jason to deliver him some mullah.  Well, first let me say...we've been experiencing a week long heat wave here in the Bay area, as in the triple digits...well I think in California in general.  Anyways, just keep that in your mind for me.  HEAT!  Lots of heat.

So, Jack and I leave the house and are walking up the street.  We make it a couple of blocks and I'm just looking around...enjoying the fresh air and the warmth.  Suddenly something catches my eye on the sidewalk in front of me.  Something covered in a white sheet.  Something on a stretcher.  Something oddly "body shaped".  I sorta just stare and wrap my mind around the fact that yes, yes, there is a dead body on the sidewalk...right in front of me.  Um, what???  Then I look up to see that there is a coroner van and a police car parked in the street in front of the house...and they are standing rather far away from this body.  At the moment, I didn't find this odd.  I DID find it odd that they just left the body there chillin' on the sidewalk??!!??  What the heck.  It was obvious that the person was old because the shape was some what small and frail.  One of the coroners was walking out of the house with a bag of prescription meds.  Guessing they just died of natural causes.  One of the police officers steps in front of me and says, "Are you okay?  Do you need to cross the street?"  Um yeah, at this point...I'm about 6 feet from said body.  Any mental/emotional trauma that could happen is already done so no, I can handle walking by it.  Oh man, was I WRONG!

So there was a reason why the body was, let's say, "getting some air".  There was a reason why the police were not getting close to it.  I walked by it and when I was about 3 feet passed it...it hit me.  IT being...the smell.  OH.MY.GOSH.  Yeah, that heat wave we are having?  Gag me.  I don't know how long that poor person had been gone but their death was most definitely not all that recent.  Ugh.  I seriously felt like I was going to vomit.  Weirdest thing I think I've experienced in a very long time.

Anyways, so there's my story.  Bizarre....and sad.  I was imagining this elderly person who had nobody that came to visit him/her.  Sadness. 

Gross right?  Maybe I should stick to writing about Jack.  Yeah?  Sounds like a good idea.  :)

My Faves

Well, the daddy is snuggling with the baby which leaves the mommy free to do whatever she pleases.  So I'll blog.  Because...well...there isn't much else that I CAN do.  I've been feeling better...a lot more healed and yet by the end of the day I just ache.  It's like the weight from standing and moving catches up to me and I have to just sit.  I've been completely off the pain meds which is nice...but I sure get tempted to pop one in my mouth come 6:00 in the evening.  :)

Anyways, being that I am SO an experienced mother now...you know...it's been about 3 weeks ha!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite baby products so far.  You all were so good to share with me the things you thought were must haves as mothers.  So here we go!

1) Summer Infant by your side Sleeper
This is what we are using as our "bassinet".  This ended up being a great option for us.  We have a Cal-King bed which pretty much takes up our whole room.  There wasn't much space to put a baby bassinet anywhere in our room.  The one thing that I don't like is that it separates Jason and I.  I thought about putting Jack on the outside but I'm too afraid I'd push him off!  Yikes!  Obviously this only works for people who have large beds.  It's also very cheap and folds up easily so we can take it when we go down south to see our family...until he gets bigger at least.  :)








2). BOB Stroller Revolution SE

I LOVE my stroller.  We are using a Chicco car seat with the adapter as he's way too small to use the stroller as is.  I can steer this sucker one handed...easily.  We also have a lot of Muni/trolley tracks in the roads around us that would be really bumpy if it weren't for the awesome shocks on this puppy.  It's a little big but overall I've been very pleased.  As of late I've forced myself to go on a walk a day...for my sanity and I'm convinced it's helping me heal despite the pain haha.  :)  Jack loves movement too so he enjoys his stroller also!  Once we aren't using the car seat I can lock the front and take it hiking on trails and running.  Can't wait!

3.) Medela Nipple Shield

Ok, this is a weird one...and a little personal, haha.  But we're talking about products I love and seriously....I think this is my fave so far!  So, in the hospital I figured out very quickly that nursing was TORTURE.  I seriously winced in pain every time he nursed.  He latched no problem but something was obviously wrong...as evidenced by my poor, absolutely destroyed nipples.  I figured that this was normal...you know, you have to "break them in".  Well, apparently not haha.  It turns out that Jack has a short frenulum.  That string thing underneath your tongue.  It's attached more towards the tip of his tongue rather then the middle which means he has a shallow suck...which means agony for me.  The lactation consultant (who I LOVED and seriously wanted to take home with me) figured all of this out and went and got me a nipple shield.  Oh, what a difference!  One day he may need to have his frenulum cut but we will wait and see if it causes any real problems before we do that.  He has no trouble latching which is evidence that it's not a problem for him (if it was more severe he wouldn't be able to suck and hold on to it continually).  In the end then...the shield is more for me and my comfort.  And I'm very thankful for it...let me tell you!  :)


 4) Nursing Tank Tops

I think I thought that I would use these more on a regular everyday basis...which I did at first.  I loved them in the hospital but it turns out they are a huge staple for the night.  They are my new pj shirt of choice.  Super easy to use when you are groggy for those 2:00am feedings...and uber comfy too.  I have a couple of different ones from Target.  Having trouble pulling a picture but here is a link.  :)

5)Moby Wrap

Overall I'd say that Jack is a mostly easy baby.  I wouldn't complain too much if he slept a little longer at night buuuut...he's like 3 weeks old so I'm delusional if I think he's going to bust out an 8 hour stretch right now.  He doesn't cry very often...except when he's hungry...man that kid has lungs and wants food NOW.  When he's awake though he likes to be held.  He doesn't sit on his own and "entertain" himself...whatever that means for a 3 week old.  The Moby is a great solution because he looooooves it.  The unfortunate thing is that I can't wear him very long.  My recovery isn't really complete and it puts a lot of pressure and makes me achy.  The little bit of time I CAN wear him though is nice and I look forward to doing it much more in the future when all is healed and dandy.







6.) Summer SwaddleMe Blankets
 


So Jack can escape from the best wrapped swaddle...but not these.  He LIKES to be swaddled...and yet tries to get out of it every time.  These things are easy to use and he cant pull his arms out.  They are also a fairly light weight fabric so they are appropriate for summer.  We are a fan.  :)
 
And here are some things that I THOUGHT would be amazing and that we would use a lot but haven't yet or have tried to use but aren't working as well as we thought...
-Binky.  He takes it but doesn't want it unless he's hungry...and when he's hungry he figures out very quickly that it's not producing milk, spits it out, and screams louder.  haha.  It holds him over...sorta...until I can feed him though.
-Swaddle blankets (those expensive ones from Target).  So we use them...but like I said...the kid breaks his arms out inevitably.  Seriously, I have watched many YouTube videos on how to be the expert swaddler...but he still pulls it off no matter how tight I do it.  Bah. 
-Cloth diapers.  So, we haven't TOUCHED them yet.  Mostly because we are working through our stash of disposables that was gifted to us.  I'm feeling better and have been doing laundry but it's been nice to have the disposables to use.

Here and There

Well, this will not be a word heavy post.  Considering the last one was a novel...time to keep it light.  I am also fighting mastitis for the SECOND time.  Yeah.  Awesome.  I'm trying to kick it once again without the use of antibiotics...but the fever is a little more intense this time.  So you can pray for that.  :)

Anyways...here are some pictures! Just a little Jack Jack for your Monday morning.
Enjoy!

Doesn't he just look like a little beetle?!?  I just love him.  :)

I look like death. haha.  Jason has actually been a little worried about my paleness.  I feel ok...labor just took it out of me I guess.

Those looooooooooong toes are so from his mama.  :)

New Mama Confessions

I've had a few people ask how the transition has been?  How are we holding up?  You know, going from just Jason and I to the 3 of us.  I usually say, "oh good, we're getting used to it" or something along those lines.  It's an easy answer and seems to satisfy most everyone.  :)

I thought though that maybe I would take the time to be a little more "real".  So to be honest...it hasn't been all fluffy, happy, ooey gooey warm and fuzzy.  We are in LOVE with our sweet little boy but there were some other emotions and feelings that reared their ugly head during the 1st week or so.

The first week post birth was...well, hard.  I cried about 2x's a day while in the hospital.  I was tired, hormonal, and I was tired of being bugged and having them bug Jack.  I didn't like to hear him cry and it just made me cry also.  Then we got home and unfortunately it didn't get better.  Because of the damage sustained during delivery I was pretty much stuck.  I couldn't go anywhere and finding a comfortable position was impossible.  I felt sad, incredibly weepy and just...not myself.  I remember just crying to Jason saying, "I feel like I don't know who I am anymore!?!"  I mean...I'm a MOM!  I've never filled this role before.  I was afraid of it.  I didn't know if I could handle a human being fully and completely dependent on me for life...especially when it felt like I could barely take care of myself.  The schedule of feeding, changing diapers, rocking to sleep, and repeat was wearing on me.  I was EXHAUSTED and sleep deprived and this all contributed to my being so emotionally fragile.

I tried not to but I couldn't help but think back to my pre-baby days and realize that those days of freedom were gone.  Honestly, it made me sad.  What made me even MORE sad was realizing that it's not just Jason and me anymore.  He's my best friend and my favorite person ever.  I began having fears of "What if we grow distant?  What if I begin to prioritize Jack over him?"  Honestly, because I was feeling so down I wanted to just be with Jason, to snuggle up next to him in bed but because of Jack's sleep schedule...ie. being a newborn :) I couldn't do that.  Which made me feel sad all the more.

I must say though that despite all these feelings there was never a sense of disdain or lack of want toward Jack.  Jack was always wanted...and is wanted.  I would look down at his sweet little face and be in awe of what God had made...and given to us.  There was certainly guilt for feeling all the feelings above.  I felt like I didn't deserve such a gift.  That there are people out there who would love to have a sweet baby boy and here I am feeling sorry for myself.

I think in the end it's a matter of identity.  I never realized how much I let my surroundings and routine shape who I view myself as.  "I'm a hard worker.  I'm a coffee drinker.  I'm a person who enjoys getting out and about...running errands.  I love exercise.  I love going out to eat and enjoying my husband."  These are things that make me feel like me.  And then there's the routine.  Routines are crazy things.  I never realized how dependent I was on my routine...and how that routine makes me feel whole.  All of these things were thrown out the window when Jack came.  My routine was replaced with a completely different routine (who are we kidding, there's no routine with a newborn, haha)  The things I like to do and the labels I inadvertently placed on myself were stripped away and a new label was given, "MOM".  A new, very permanent label.  The permanency of this label scared me a bit at first.  It made me feel foreign to myself.  It made me want to have my family and people who know me around because even though I've changed...they haven't.  They are still constant and maybe it will feel like I really exist still...instead of feeling like I'm in this weird out of body state of mind.

But, fortunately, God does not abandon us.  I'll be honest, I'm still adjusting to my new role.  I knew that I wanted to be a mom but I never pined for it like some that I know.  I never felt like I would be made "complete" by becoming a mom.  I've never been baby crazy.  I know some women who have felt like, "Ah yes, this is what God created me to be" upon having children.  I never expected to be that person...to have that feeling.  What I didn't expect though was how deep the love is that we have for baby Jack.  He is half Jason, half me.  The truest expression of our love and God's grace.  And this is beautiful.  I feel a sweet connection with him...like he just "belongs" with us.  And there will be days where I will still look back on the "good ole days"  but there will be so many more good days in the future.

Two weeks into this adventure I'm starting to come around to my new "identity" of mom.  I'm taking on a new, but loose, routine...and it involves baby Jack.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's crazy, tiring, and unlike anything I've ever experienced...but it's turning out to be one of the best things I've ever experienced.  I thank God for Jack...and for Jason...our new little family.

Jack Enters the World

Birth Story Time!

Don't you love a good birth story?  Even before I was pregnant I found birth stories totally fascinating...well, you know...as long as they weren't TOO TMI.  :)  So, I will try not to gross you out with the all the gory details.  Are you ready???

Well.  First of all.  I had the goal of having a natural birth...as in no pain meds.  Did that happen?!?
Oh heeeeeeeeeeeck no.  I also had the plan of going into labor naturally...which did not happen either.

I will say though that I went into birth with a slightly open mind...I told Jason that if it looks like labor is going to be some crazy 24 hour ordeal...well, I may reconsider the epidural.  For me it was either...no meds or the epidural.  I wasn't going to play around with the in between drugs.  So, there's a little background on what I was thinking going into birth.

******

So, Monday morning I thought that something wasn't quite right.  I felt like MAYBE my water was leaking.  It seemed like I was overly "wet" on occasion and I woke up with damp underwear.  I called a couple of friends but in the end decided that in fact I couldn't be leaking.  I was thrown off because I would go long bouts of time and be totally dry...then suddenly a little water would come...then nothing.  Never much though.

Tuesday night I wore a pantyliner to bed.  Wednesday morning I woke up and it was pretty full.  Put a new one on, half way filled it, put a new one on and decided to call my OBGYN to see if it's even possible to have that slow of a leak.  I seriously was totally convinced that my water was not broken.  I actually felt dumb going in there and taking up their time...for them to just tell me that I'm probably peeing myself.  What made it worse was that the new pantyliner I put on after the initial 2...completely dry.  They wanted me to come in of course anyways.  Funny thing was that while I was calling my obgyn my friend Autumn was on her way to have coffee with me.  I texted her and asked her if she minded that we make a small detour to my doctor's office.  You know, no big deal.  Just to double check.  She of course obliged.

I walked into the office, apologized before hand when the doctor walked in...said, I'm sorry, it's probably nothing blah blah blah.  Got up on the table, feet in stirrups...and then I felt a decent flow leave my body (still not fully broken though).  To which the doctor says, "Whoa there...I think you are right my dear.  That looks like your water is broken to me."  She tested it with a litmus strip just in case and then said, "Congratulations, you are going to be meeting your baby soon."  Talk about a crazy whirl wind.  At this point it was about 11:00am.  I was having a big fat 0 on contractions.  Nothing at all.  So, she set it up for me to come back that afternoon at 4:30 to be induced...since you know...it had been probably well over 24 hours since I started leaking.  Ooops.  Side note:  Jason mentioned to his coworkers that I was going in to make sure my water hadn't broke...to which they replied, "Oh no, she would know."  I am living proof that it is possible to NOT know that your water is broken.  You can have a small leak that only reveals itself when you move certain ways.  End side note. :)

All the nurses congratulated me as I left the office and I got to tell Autumn that our trip was not in vain.  So...we continued on and got our coffee (of course) and I called Jason and let him in on the news.  I went home, packed a bag for Jason, and finished getting mine together while Jason made final preparations for his sub who was taking over his classes.  I picked Jason up from work, we kinda freaked out together, and off we went to the hospital.

Let me tell you how weird it is to walk in and say, "Hi, I have a 4:30 appointment to have my baby."  Strange for sure.  Anyways, we got in, they hooked me up to the Pitocin and we just waited.  And waited.  And waited.  I was apparently having contractions but I didn't really feel them.  Going in I was about 2 cm dilated and 50 % effaced.  She upped the dosage of Pitocin a few times and still not much happened.  Finally I felt a weird "kick" from the baby...or that's what I thought it was.  It was actually my water breaking completely.  That got things going finally.  I started more active labor and kept at it for about 4 hours...at this point it was midnight.  The pain was ALL in my back.  Jason did a phenomenal job of supporting me and talking me through my contractions.  Incredibly painful...let me tell you.  The nurse decided to check me at after all that...3 cm and 75% effaced.  Lame.  Then she said, "It looks like you will probably have this baby around noon tomorrow."  NOON????  Are you kidding me.  The pain was excruciating...there's no doubt about that.  But I was just plain exhausted at that point.  As was Jason.  The thought of laboring another 10 hours and having to then push the baby out?  Yeah.  Wasn't looking promising.

I kept at it with nothing for a few more contractions and then just gave in.  I was unbelievably tired...and Jason was tired.  I could see it in his face.  Finally, I told him, let's do it.  I want the epidural.  I need sleep so bad.  You could see the relief in his eyes haha.  I think he hated seeing me suffer.  Relief came so fast.  The epidural dude was in my room in 10 minutes.  He administered it and I had a brutal contraction right when he was inserting it into my back.  It took every ounce I had to hold still and suck it up.  Then the tingling in my legs came and then...relief.  Sweet relief.  So weird to be laboring and not feel it.  I told Jason that it just seemed wrong.  That I felt like I was cheating or something.  Jason went to bed and I tried to get some sleep too.  They have to constantly monitor pretty much everything with the epidural...the most annoying being your blood pressure.  Right about the time I would doze off the automatic blood pressure thing would go off...jolting me awake.  Whatever though.  It was better then laboring with no rest at all.

At about 5 am they checked me and I was at 6 cm.  They checked me again at 9am and I was finally fully dilated and ready to start pushing.  Let me just say right now....you can read every book in the world about labor but nothing really prepares you for it.  It is such a surreal, out of body experience.  When they told me I could start pushing Jason's eyes got wide and he started asking me if I could tell he had pit sweat?!?  hahaha.  Um.  Yeah.  Sorry dude.  Apparently he was a little nervous/excited to meet his little boy.  I then started pushing shortly after 9am.  I wasn't feeling contractions the whole time with the epidural but the bearing down pushing contractions...I could feel in my back and at the top of my uterus...which sorta felt like my ribs were breaking.  Lovely.  So I pushed.  And pushed.  My nurse was fantastic, Jason was completely amazing.  They cheered me on and seriously...I felt strong.  Praise the Lord because you know what?  In the end I pushed for just about 3 hours.  Right before baby boy made his appearance the doctor came in and got all ready for the delivery (Am I only one who thought the dr. would be present for the whole pushing process???).  The little dude actually ended up getting a little stuck.  I could sense the tension in their voice regarding him and seriously, those last 5 pushes...I gave it everything I had (which is evidenced by the damage my body sustained).  And by the end I was ex.haus.ted.  I felt him leave my body and the relief of it being over.  They put Jack on me immediately and I was just so overcome with exhaustion and emotion that I just cried.  It makes me teary even now thinking about it.  It was amazing.  He was all slimy and gross and I loved every inch of him.  Jason cut the cord and we drank in our little boy.

The doctor wigged when she pulled him out because she wasn't expecting him to be so big (the doctor who delivered my baby was the doctor on call that night in my obgyn group...not my actual doctor).  She was convinced that the scale would say he was be bigger than 8 lb  7 oz.  He's kinda just a solid little guy.

Eventually they took him for his first bath where he became a comatose little limp noodle.  The nurse was cracking up at how much he loved his bath.  Jason took video footage of it.  So cute.  I chilled on the table for quite a bit while the doctor sewed up all the damage.  She worked down there for a long while and then said, "Ok, now I'm going to repair the more minor rip."  UH?  I was thinking what the heck happened down there?  A 4th degree tear is what happened.  Do me a favor.  Don't Google it.  I almost passed out when I did.  Horrible.  And the healing process...horrible.  And going #2...horrible x 5.  We'll leave it at it being the worst tear you could have.  There.  Moving on.

So, there you have it.  The birth story.  I am in the end so thankful for the epidural.  I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have one.  Especially with the 3 hour pushing process at the end and the damage that was done "down stairs."  I felt like because I had the epidural I was able to take in our little boy and the whole process.  Without it...I think I honestly couldn't have done it.

In the future they don't want me going passed 39 weeks.  Especially if my babies get progressively bigger...which is usually the case (though not always of course).

Hope you enjoyed Jack's story.  And that I didn't gross you out too much.  ;)  If you think of us we would love prayer...just in adapting to this new schedule of sleeplessness.  I'm starting to feel it...not going to lie.  Also in my healing.  It's a long road apparently and I'm pretty bad at laying low and resting.  Jason does have to go back to work too...so you know...this could be interesting.  :)

Alright, I'm off to go cuddle my little monkey... :)

And here are a few more post birth pictures for your enjoyment.  I'm exuding beauty and brightness don't you think?!?  haha.

This is what a 20 hr labor with 3 hours of pushing looks like :)

Grandpa Evangelista meets Jack

Grandma Lyons meets Jack

Home with our little man...don't mind the nursing pad.  :)

Jack Thoren Evangelista

Baby Boy has arrived!!!

Jack Thoren Evangelista
Born: Thursday June 13, 2013, 12:07pm
8 lbs, 7 oz
21 inches long

We are completely and totally in love with this little monkey.  It's amazing what a miracle life is.  We are in awe.  We are totally exhausted and trying to get our bearings but wouldn't have it any other way.

I want to try to type up his birth story while it's still fresh in my mind.  So, hopefully I'll get that down sometime soon.  And of course...more pics are to come.  :)


Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!!!