He's Here!

Noah Joshua Dickinson was born on 4/1/11 at 12:41 pm weighing in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 19 3/4 inches in length. Phew! I never thought I had 8 lbs. plus of baby in me. :) He is healthy and strong and has one of the sweetest spirits. He is sleeping for 2-4 hours at a time, hallelujah! And he eats like a champ. We feel so blessed! My mom was here for a bout a week and a half helping us transition to having 2 kiddos. I miss her terribly and was so glad she was able to share this experience with me.

Sophie has adjusted to being a big sister beautifully. She is so sweet with him and always gets very concerned when he cries. She shares her blankets with him, although promptly removes them and says, "Mine!", we're working on that one, and is always rubbing his head or being sweet with him in some way. She has been craving more attention, but since she was not cuddly in the least before, I am loving it.

Labor, delivery, post-partum stuff has all gone so much smoother this time around. I don't know if he's just that good of a baby, or if it's Josh and I's confidence this time around, but it seems a lot easier. I keep waiting for everything to go to pieces, but so far so good. I know that day will come when Josh will come home and I'll just break down in tears because it's been one of "those days," but so far I love having two kids. I know what people mean now when they say their family is complete. We've been waiting so long for him to join our family, and now he's finally here. Yay!

I'll share my labor story later, nothing too exciting, although it was only like 4 hours, holy cow! And can I just say that I love epidurals. :) I so admire those women who do it naturally, but for now I am content with my pain meds.

My mom with the babes. (Love this picture!)

Here's me right before going in to get induced. Looking at this, I could believe there was an 8 pound baby in me. Whoa mamma was I big! Thank goodness I've gone down way quicker this time around, another pleasant surprise to being a second-time mom. Although those after labor contractions were quite the nasty little things. And yes, I surrendered and gave in to the temptation of Pitocin. And on April Fools, nonetheless, poor kid. I was already dilated to a 4, was 100% effaced, but was having 0 contractions and had been like that for about a week. I was dying. Or at least I thought I was. It literally felt like he was going to fall out when I walked, sat, breathed. It was probably a good thing I had him when I did otherwise I might have had to deliver a 9 pound baby. Then I probably would have died, for reals.

Here's my two awesome children loving on each other. How lucky am I?

Anywho, we're all doing great. I'm dealing with the baby blues a little, sometimes I just start crying and get incredibly sad for no apparent reason. But it's so much better than last time. Maybe it's having my own apartment this time around and not having to experience first-time motherhood in a house full of boys and other people, maybe it was having my mom here with me and not just visiting during the day, maybe it's my experience as a second-time mom, but whatever it is, I have immediate joy from this little man. He is a gentle soul and I know he was sent to our family, to me, for a reason. Let's just hope we do right by him. Lucky little devil. :)