Saturday, November 23, 2013

Visitors

We've had lots of visitors. It's been so nice this time around, because Brooklyn gets excited to see people too. Everyone has been so eager to meet Stockton, and I've loved showing him off. :) I love my family so much! Again, we had some people come when I didn't have the camera out. 

Great-Aunt Nancy.

Grandma Davis

Boston

Emily

Kade

Ashley

 Grandpa Hanks

Brielle, Marissa, and Tanner

Josh

Great-Grandma Hanks

Another sweet one with Brooklyn


 Me and the Kiddos

 And here we are with my mom. She was my saving grace with this baby. She came up for two weeks to help me. I couldn't have done this without her, and I am so grateful for this thoughtful, caring, amazing lady. She took care of both kids so wonderfully, and did countless activities with Brooklyn. She got up early so I could sleep in after being up in the night. She stayed up late so I could get some sleep. My mom is the best. I was able to sleep, and she gave me much needed support, as this newborn stage has been harder than my previous. :) I don't know what I will do without her now. Love you, Mom!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fantasy Football Champ

Craig is the fantasy football champion. He's been champion for the whole year, but the trophy was just made, so we are enjoying it as it graces our mantle. :) He is awesome! 


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Stock's First Bath

He definitely loves getting a bath! He was so good, and so happy. Every time the towel got close to his face, he tried to eat it. Hopefully this means he is a water baby! We are loving every minute of this kid.






Monday, November 11, 2013

Zoo for the Big Sister

Well, lucky Brooklyn got to go to the zoo with Grandma Davis and Angela! With all the new excitement with the baby, it was nice for her to have something fun to do, where she was the center of attention. :) She's done so well with Stockton, and doesn't seem to be suffering any neglect, but this was really exciting for her. She had a great time! We are lucky to have such awesome family. :)










Saturday, November 9, 2013

Hospital/Coming Home

We've decided on Stockton. It was too hard of a decision between Stockton and Collin, so we flipped a coin. :) He got to meet some of his family, a few with which we got some pictures. Others came too, but I may have been sleeping... Here he is with Aunt Melanie.


Aunt Kristin.

 Grandma Davis.

Aunt Angela.

Grandma and Grandpa Hanks.

Grandma and Grandpa Davis.

He didn't so much like his first bath... Loved the head rinsing though. 




Because of his fever and irregular breathing, he had to have an IV in his head. They say it's not as painful as it looks. :( He was not breastfeeding well, and his oxygen was low, so they gave him a chest x-ray. Turns out his clavicle was fractured, and that's why he'd been crying so much. There's nothing we can really do, except try to be gentle. No wonder he screamed every time I tried to feed him. Now that I know, I feel so bad for him. :( Poor little guy.

Time to go home! He is a whole pound bigger than Brooklyn, and you can tell. He is bigger in his carseat. We are so excited to take this little champ home and love him! 




Thursday, November 7, 2013

Welcome, Baby!

HE'S FINALLY HERE! My sweet Baby No-Name.

On Tuesday evening, a friend of mine came over to show me some pressure points that should put you into labor. It's worked for her every time. I was already past my due date (shocker), so I thought I'd give it a try. On Tuesday morning at about 2:30 (if you can even call that morning), I woke up with contractions. We waited until about 4 before going to the hospital, and Craig's sweet mom came over to watch the kids. I was so excited to be in pain, because it meant he was coming on his own. When we got to the hospital, they said I was only dilated to a 2. WHAT?!?!

I walked some laps for a few hours, leaning my head against the wall each time a contraction came, and when Dr. Larsen came at 7:30, I was STILL only at a 2! You've got to be kidding me... My womb must be quite the vacation home. Anyway, they gave me some morphine (shot in the butt... yessss) and told me to go home. Ugh! I couldn't believe it. Besides that, my cervix likes to play hide-and-seek, so I was in agony after being checked so many times. They waited about a half hour for the morphine to keep in and to watch me, and when they came back, I was at a 4. Hallelujah! The nurses left to call Dr. Larsen, and came back and said, "Let's have a baby!"



Things were pretty normal after that. I got my epidural, got my water broken, got some pitocin to help along my ridiculously slow labor, and pushed for about 45 minutes. (15 hour labor... seems long for the 2nd kid, but Brooklyn was 20!) My beautiful, slimy, squirmy little screaming monster was born at 5:10 pm, 21 inches long and 7lbs 13 oz. As the nurses handed him to me, I thought, "Ah!! It's Brooklyn again!" He looks just like her when she was born. It's an indescribable feeling to hold your brand new baby in your arms. My heart overflowed with love, and I thought it might burst. Then I threw up.




He was healthy and beautiful, and I was made a mother again. What a blessing it is to be a mother. To go through childbirth, rejoicing at your pain because of how grateful you are to be able to bring a child into this world. To be willing to suffer anything as long as your baby is healthy and happy. To have your heart break to see your child hurting. It is the greatest blessing in the world. I am so grateful to be this boy's mother.

He had a fever, and so has to stay in the nursery. He cries a lot more than Brooklyn did. :)

Brooklyn was so excited to meet her new brother! It warms my heart to see her interact with him, and talk to him in such a sweet, motherly voice. This girl is so compassionate and loving, and he is lucky to have her. I can guarantee she will baby him and play with him and love him so much. She is my little angel.


And here is the proud papa. What a trooper this man is. He is by my side for everything, and I am stronger because of him. He is an amazing father, and I am loving seeing our family grow!

You may have noticed I haven't said Baby Boy's name.... He doesn't have one yet. :) Sure, we've been calling him Stockton for months, but I'm not sure yet.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Why do they even give me a due date?

Oh, hey there, due date. Good to see you. Nothing new here, just... you know. Still pregnant. Thanks. At least I got Brooklyn to take care of me.