A glimpse into my newly non-pregnant mind...

I'm writing this as I await Baby's arrival. Last night, after our Super Bowl guests left for home, I worked my way through my bedtime routine completely exhausted, crawled into bed... and stared at the ceiling. My brain wasn't about to shut down anytime soon, so I read until my eyes felt gritty enough to stick shut :) ...probably around 12:30-1:00 am.

I woke up at 4:30, forget the snooze. There's no way I'm going back to sleep. About halfway through my shower, I realize that I never did figure out how to preregister at the hospital. I ran to the stack of papers my OB gave me at the beginning of my pregnancy (after I got out of the shower, of course). There, at the front of the stack was a prepaid envelope and a form that said, "Fill out and mail this form by month 6 of your pregnancy to ensure speedier admission." Whoops... Once we got to the LDR unit, they didn't care about the paperwork. Apparently it happens all the time :) We placenta-brains seem to have issues remembering basic things like that.

Both my mom and Jason's mom were present for Lucas' delivery. They gave me all their advice, assured me that various aspects of the experience were normal, and were all around just a great support. This time, it was just Jason and me. There weren't quite as many staff running around. It was quiet and peaceful. We didn't feel like we had to entertain anyone, yet at the same time, it was kind of nerve wracking. Our moms weren't here. Was it ok that we were? Are we really having a baby today? Did we need to ask permission to be here by ourselves? (irrational thought, I know). The whole situation was surreal.

Well, we showed up at the hospital at at 6:30. Of course, I would be a hard stick, so it took 3 different tries to get an IV started. My OB came in and broke my water around 7:30, about the same time the pitocin was started. I I started off at about 4 cm, 50% effaced. At about 9:30, the contractions finally started picking up, and I got an epidural running by 10. At that time, I was 6cm, 90% effaced. I'm thinking that it must be several more hours of waiting before Baby came, but at 10:45 the nurse came back in, saying that his heart rate had changed, indicating that I'd progressed quite a bit. Sure enough, in that 45 minutes, I was 10 cm ("complete"). She told me to make sure I didn't push until my doctor got there (of course that's when my contractions picked up enough to feel them over the epidural and I felt like I had to push... But wait I did. My OB showed up 20 minutes later, and after 12 minutes of pushing, my second son entered this world!

At my first delivery, I touched Lucas briefly before he was whisked off to the warmer for an assessment. This time, Jack was laid on my chest immediately. It was the most beautiful feeling in the world!

15 minutes after he was born, Jack was breastfeeding like a champ! Most babies sleep quite a bit the first 24 hours of life, and aren't that hungry. The nurse told me he's probably an exception to the rule, as he has greedily nursed every 2-3 hours already (with no issues). I am so excited since I wasn't able to breastfeed the first time.

This whole experience has been unbelievably easy. 4 hours of labor, minimal pain, 12 minutes of pushing, and easy breastfeeding... Surely I'm missing something? :) Oh, and now I'm extremely afraid of having another child without an induction. There's no way I'd make it to the hospital :)

Lucas has amazed me with how much he already loves his new brother. I was worried that he would be jealous that I was "hanging out" with another little boy, but he came in that first night and just took control of the situation. "I wanna hold my baby brudder! Can I hold my baby brudder?" I set him up on the bed with my Boppy pillow and placed a crying baby on it. Lucas shushed him a few times, and Jack fell asleep right away. I cried! My "baby" was comforting my other baby! When did he grow up? Lucas kept telling me, "That's my baby. He's my baby brudder. His name's Jackson." He sang Jesus Loves Me and the Doxology to him. I cried some more! Any time someone else holds Jack, Lucas tells them they're all done and it's his turn again :).

I've been worrying needlessly these last few weeks. God has blessed me with two of the most beautiful little boys, and my love has only grown exponentially to cover them both. My sons have already bonded so well. I'm breastfeeding--We haven't had a single issue with it yet! My husband has been amazing in his supportiveness with the breastfeeding, and in his ability to coordinate Lucas-arrangements and visitors so smoothly. Thank you God for my beautiful little family!