Riley deLeeuw

Today we went to babysit for the deLeeuw family. This is their oldest son Riley.

I'm This Big

Self explanitory.

BBQ

Here is Jeremy getting ready for a Sunday afternoon BBQ. He's very proud of his fire! After we ate we took Lucas for a walk down at the fairgrounds/river. He really enjoyed it for the most part, right up until the end when he started to scream, so Jeremy picked him up. At that point we thought he was trying to nurse on Jeremy's shirt, but he really had a mouth full of his own fingers. The Fire.Happy so far. Tasty fingers.

So Tiny

Lucas just looks so miniature on that big couch!

A Visit from the Edwards

A family that I babysit for and absolutly adore dearly is moving away. So sad. Katey, the mom, came to visit me in the hospital the night after Lucas was born. But her two girls, Claire and Lily, and her husband Jeremy hadn't seen Lucas yet. So they came by to say hi. I'm still getting used to this whole taking pictures thing, so I don't have one of Jeremy and Lucas, but here he is with Claire. Too cute. We're sure going to miss them.

Bye Grandpa

I'm so mad I could kick myself. My dad was here for less than a week to visit with us, and I don't have one single picture of him with Lucas. It's his FIRST grandchild. I can't believe I did that. This is the best I could come up with. This is right after I said goodbye curbside at the airport. Lucas screamed the entire way to the airport. I can't stand it when he cries, I always want to cry with him. So I felt rushed saying goodbye. We were running a little behind so I didn't even have time to get Lucas out to get a picture there.

After we left I was supposed to stop by Crest Honda to drop off a check and pick up a second key to my car. But because I was crying so much I couldn't see to drive, Lucas neeed to nurse and I still don't know my way around Nashville so I needed to get ahold of Jeremy to get directions. I pulled over in the waiting area in the entrance of the airport to feed Lucas and wait for Jeremy to call me back. This is one of the faces Lucas was making. At least there is some sunshine in my day!

Lucas & Jeremy

I absolutly love these pictures. Even though I really don't like letting anyone hold Lucas, Jeremy included, I have to admit that these pictures really hold a special place in my heart. I love how content Lucas is with Jeremy when he gets home. And how comfortable Jeremy is holding such a tiny baby. It's charming that even though he's just come home from a very long day at work, he just wants to sit on the couch and do nothing but hold his new son.

Co-Sleeping (A whole new meaning)

Tonight I put Lucas to bed in the Pack 'n Play. Later when I went to go to bed I discovered that Lucas had company. Yikes, my worst fear...cats in the bed with the baby. Fortunetly she wasn't sleeping on him, nor was she in the crib. She still received the boot though. I don't want any bad habits forming. If you click to enlarge the picture and look closely, it almost looks as if she's keeping a watchful eye over him.

Rash

Yesterday while everyone was still here Lucas began to develope this strange rash on his foot. So today I took him to the doctors. Turns out it's just an allergic reaction, most likely to someones detergent or something.

Blessing

What a day! My dad is here from California, my mom, Colin and Sam are here from Georgia, Brian, Amy and Ethan drove down from Portland all to see Lucas receive a name and blessing. We of course arrived very late to church. We walked in practically as they were announcing the blessing. So instead of it being in front of the congregation, we did a private blessing in the cultural hall. Just our closest friends were there along with a few priesthood leaders that Jeremy serves with in the Young Men's presidency. It was such a beautiful blessing. I tried to record it but I wasn't close enough. I wish that I could have that in writing for Lucas when he gets older. I'm so thankful that he will be raised in God's true church. It brings so much comfort to me knowing that he'll never have to seek for the truth as long as I do a good job as a mother to teach him what is right. Unfortunetly we never took a family picture in our Sunday clothes. This is the best I have as far as Lucas' adorable little blessing outfit. Mimi and LucasJeremy and LucasUncle Colin Holding Lucas

Surprise

He's really yawning, but he looks surprised. Too cute!

Cute Little Bum

I took this picture specifically to remember how tiny this little bum is. It fits in the palm of my hand.

First Bottle

After his first bath came his first bottle. He actually drank it. I of course nursed him right after in fear he would like the bottle and give up nursing.

First Bath

I can't believe we waited this long to give Lucas a bath, but we did. Partly because for some reason I have become extremely scared of bathing such a tiny creature and partly because I wanted Jeremy home to share the expirience.

Where it all began.

I can't believe it's been FOUR months since I wrote last. All of those amazing pregnancy milestones that I failed to keep track of. As I lay here next to my 10 day old son I'm amazed by how much love one heart can hold. When I look at him, I mean really look at him, it's obvious that this IS the baby boy from my dreams of so many months. Sometimes our eyes meet and he'll give me a smile as if to let me know that he remembers me too.

From the beginning I've been saying that I thought he would be born on May 1st. I had my 37 week check up on the 1st. My doctor, Dr. Anderson, was at Gateway delivering a baby. After an hour or so of waiting, I finally saw Dr. McIntosh, he's Laura's doctor. I had been to the hospital Sunday night with false labor. At that point I was dialated to 2 centimeters. On Tuesday I was dilated to 3 centimeters. Dr. McIntosh told me that if I wanted to have the baby that night then I should go for a walk and get my contractions going really strong. Then I could go to the hospital, he would be on call. If I made any progress he would break my water for me. So I went home, redid my makeup and straightened my hair and headed off to the mall for a walk. I went to Relief Society where I was having stong contractions, I told everyone there that I would be having the baby that night. After I left I went to Walmart, then home. I took a bath so I'd be nice and clean then headed off to the hospital. We arrived around 10:30 PM. I had the same nurse from the previous Sunday. When she checked me she said I was still at a 2. Two hours later she said I was at a 3. Dr. Mc said if I made any progress...so we were desperatly hoping that he would admit me. And he did!! We couldn't believe it, we were finally about to have our baby.

It was 1:30 AM by the time they got me into my labor and delivery room. I had a stack of paperwork to sign. Then I had to have my blood drawn and type tested so that in case of an emergency they could give me the right blood. Dr. Mc came in to break my water while my blood was being drawn, so naturally I was a little tense about the idea of having a needle in my arm and a stick breaking my water at the same time. So he said he would be back later.

After that I remember the pain started to get really intense. They had upped my patosen at that point. So my nurse, Lena, gave me some pain medication through my I.V. line. She said it would make me feel drunk. But because I've never been drunk I didn't know what to expect. Within 10 minutes I felt so strange. I don't even know how to describe what horrible that expirience was. I remember I was telling Jeremy how much I didn't like it, then I started to cry then I passed out. For a few hours I was in a comatose state. I was completely aware of everything going on around me but I couldn't talk or wake up. I felt like I was in my own hell. I could feel my contractions, but they were no longer hurting me. When I finally woke up it was around 7 AM. Dr Mc came in to break my water. This time it wasn't so painful because I could still feel the effects of the pain meds. Feeling my water break was soooo weird. Immediately after they increased my patosen again and I was instantly in excrusiating pain. I didn't want to scream so I would grab on to the bed and hold my breath. Tears were pouring down my face. My nurse told them that I was ready for my epidural. It took 30 minutes for the lady, Judy, to get to my room. They make you sign that if you die it's not their fault. How scary! By the time she started to put it in, I was in so much pain that I was almost hysterical. The blood pressure cuff was cutting off the circulation in my arm, so I tried to rip it off. Judy got mad at me. Opps! Amy, my new nurse, readjusted it for me. I was sitting on the edge of the side of the bed. My arms were laying in front of me on the table and I had to keep my back still and keep my head down. Not easy to do when you're in pain. Wow. By 8:30 I had the epidural in. Slowly I started to go num. First my toes, then my feet and then it started to slowly move up my legs then to my tummy until eventually I was numb from the waist down. All except for a spot about the size of my hand on the right side. Right about where my ovary would be. It was SO painful. I was having contractions about every 5 minutes at that point. Amy kept telling me that I should feel pressure no pain. I was feeling pressure no pain everywhere except that spot. This went on for about an hour and a half. Meanwhile Jeremy went to Chick Fil A to get some food. Poor guy was starving. About 10 AM I started pushing. I must have had the best epidural because I could feel everything without pain, which made pushing a breeze. With every contraction I would push three times. Push for ten seconds, take a breath, repeat, repeat.

When his head began to crown Jeremy and Etta both looked. I told Jeremy to take a picture so that I could see. But instead they went and got me a mirror so that I could watch. It was so amazing to see my sweet little boy entering the world. Then I started to gush blood. I asked Amy why I was bleeding so bad. She told me that maybe my cervix tore, no big deal. But she went to get Dr. McIntosh. As soon as he came into the room I only pushed two or three more times. On the final push I only pushed once instead of three times because as soon as his head came out the rest of his body just kind of slid out.

...I'm too tired to finish. I'll write again later.

Sweet Pea

Sweet baby boy.

1 week

One week old today. Amazing how time flies. I decided to take Lucas to have his pictures made at Olan Mills today. He was so alert, I can't wait to get them back. But before we left I took some snap shots at home for his birth announcements. This is the picture that we'll be using when we send them out in a few days. This little knit outfit is two shades of blue and comes with the most adorable hat, but the hat is way too big!

The NEW Car!

And here is mom's new car. A 2005 Honda Accord. I had to give up my luxuries like heated leather seats and things of that sort, but that's the price you pay for safety and reliability, right?

Fairwell to the Jeep

Jeremy finally convinced me that it was time to part with my "dream car" I was so set in my ways about keeping my car until I started having engine trouble, cooling system trouble, and transmission trouble... with a 5 day old baby at home. On a whim I let go of my love for SUV's and told him that I'd sell my car on one condition, I was allowed to have a Honda Accord. The very next day I had a new car. Jeremy was Thrilled to say the least. And with gas prices the way they are, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Funny... I don't even miss the Jeep at all.

Meeting for the First Time

Well here they are meeting for the first time since Heaven. Lucas and Ethan spent the last several months getting to know each other through the walls of their mommies bellies. At last they both finally here. They're just over 5 weeks apart in age, just as planned. When Amy went into Labor 3 weeks early, all I could think was how much longer it made the arrival of my little boy seem. Then Lucas came early too!

Finally Home

Well we finally made it home from the hospital and now we're left to tend to this tiny little life we've created. First things first... introduce Lucas to the cats. Check. Second, let Lucas try out his crib that has been waiting for him for 4 months. Check. Third, take a nap with Lucas on the couch because he HATES his crib. I should have known from day one that this meant trouble.

He looks sooo tiny in that big bed and next to his bunny and pillow.

Toes

These are the sweet little toes that I felt for so long kicking me from the inside. I felt him kick me for the first time when I was just 14 weeks pregnant. Once it started it never stopped. I loved every kick though, it meant my son was active and healthy. It's nice to finally be able to hold them though.

They are almost exact duplicates of Jeremy's feet. Ha!

First Time Holding my Son

Because of some minor complications during delivery, I wasn't allowed to hold Lucas right away. He's almost an hour old here, and I was allowed to have him for just a few minutes before they took me off to the operating room. This is me saying my first hellos to my brand new baby that I've waiting so long for.

Offically in Labor

Here I am just before they broke my water. I don't think I was able to smile after that, because the pain was too intense. This was about 3am or so, and Jeremy went out to buy me some beautiful flowers. Notice there are baby clothes rolled up in the bouquet.