James has arrived!

Has it really been 3 weeks since the last blog post? Oh my goodness, how time flies! The past 16 days have been a whirlwind of love, happiness, and sleep deprivation. Oh, and lots of poop.

James Eric Maclauchlan was born on Tuesday, May 7, at 0855. He weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 21 inches long. My c-section was textbook and James got a 5 minute apgar score of 9-nice and healthy!

They took me back around 7:00 am, and took my vitals, checked James' vitals, and had a few doctors and nurses come in to make me sign a bunch of paperwork and drink a really gross antiacid thing that tasted like rotten tequila (that's how I envision it, anyway). They wheeled me back to the OR and gave me a spinal, got me situated on the bed, then brought Matt back. After he was born and they did the apgar scores, Matt laid him next to my head so I could nuzzle and kiss him. He was very alert! He only cried when they stretched his legs out to measure his length. He looked exactly like his dad and Matt's dad. He started peeing before he was completely out of me. They had to make my incision longer than normal because of his position. Silly baby!

I'm really glad they had a narcotic in the IV I was hooked up to because having my arms strapped down was a little intense. I wasn't able to hold James until about two and a half hours after he was born because I was in recovery and he was in the observation nursery. It took a bit longer for the anesthesia to wear off than usual, and they gave me Benadryl because the narcotic in the IV made me very itchy.

Once I was out of recovery and he was out of the observation nursery, we were able to have some skin-to-skin bonding time. Holding him for the first time was just...beyond incredible. The love a parent has for their child is just beyond compare. The other day I went to a doctor's appointment by myself and I cried because I missed James so much. He's my little man! Seeing my incredible husband and perfect little son together is just heaven.

<3

Matt posted this on facebook and said: "I thought seeing my wife walk down the aisle on our wedding day was the most beautiful sight I would ever see. Boy, was I wrong..." :) (Needless to say, that made me cry. So sweet.)

I have had some complications from my c-section but am able to manage without any pain medicines, and it's finally starting to heal. Yay! I'm very lucky that James is a great eater. He still doesn't understand the difference between night and day, but we're working on that. :)

Here are some more pictures of our handsome little man:

Some daddy and baby tummy time!

Little hand. <3

Grandma!

James' going home outfit. Cute-a-saures Rex. :)

High five!

That's grandpa's pinky he's holding. 

Uncle Keith time!

More Uncle Keith time. 

One of my favorite pictures. My man in uniform and my precious little boy. So much love!

Grandpa and Nonnie in the hospital. :)

Our first family walk together.

Aunt Dee visited us in the hospital!

Uncle Brian and Aunt Kitty! <3 

Danielle and James in the hospital. :)

Silly faces!

Hopefully I'll be able to update the blog a bit more regularly once we get into a routine. Until then, much love!

38 Weeks, 1 Day

This will probably be the last blog post until James is born-only six days to go! Six. Days. Oh my goodness. Matt and I are so excited! We haven't been sleeping very well...but that isn't going to change anytime soon! It's so amazing to think that in less than a week we'll be holding our son, our precious little baby boy, our greatest blessing...in our arms. EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! It's also May 1 today-the month that he will be born!

James is nice and healthy and moving like crazy tonight. He is moving like I had loads of caffeine and sugar, but all I had was pizza and water. Hmmm. We've had a couple of appointments this week. I had a pre-op appointment with an OB (not my regular OB) who went over the c-section surgery and answered the list of questions I had, then I met with a nurse to go over paperwork, then I had an OB appointment, then I met with an anesthesiologist regarding the c-section. Goodness gracious! I also had another nonstress test yesterday. My OB appointment went well. James's heart rate was in the 140's and 150's (normal for him, and in the normal range), my blood pressure was good, and for the first time this pregnancy, I went over my pre-pregnant weight. Eeek! I gained 6 pounds in 11 days. I have been very hungry, but haven't eaten *that* much! Good thing I won't be pregnant for very much longer at that rate. James is still in the strange breech position (no surprise there).

I feel much more emotionally and mentally prepared for the c-section now that I've been able to talk with the OB's about the procedure and what to expect. I am lucky to have time to process my emotions now, unlike some women that need a c-section after laboring for days, or that need an emergency c-section.

Baby websites James is around 6.8 pounds this week. Nah. But he probably is around their estimate of 19.5 inches or so.

He weighs about the same as a pumpkin:

This is especially appropriate because Matt loves anything pumpkin (pie, cupcakes, coffee creamer, candles....) and it's his birthday week! His birthday is on May 4. Happy birthday, sweetheart! You're the best husband and dad a gal could ask for. :) 

James is as long as a leek:

At 39 weeks (next Tuesday), James will be about the size of a watermelon:

This is what he feels like right now. Huge and heavy. But not green.

It's getting cramped in there.

He is ready for life outside the womb! All of his organs are developed. At this point, he's just hanging out and waiting. His skin is creating new layers and he is losing some of the vernix coating and the downy hairs that kept him warm a few weeks ago. 

I have one nonstress test and blood work to do on Friday morning, am getting a growth scan/ultrasound done Monday, and we're having a baby Tuesday! It will be interesting to see how big they estimate James's weight to be and how much he actually weighs the following day. I estimate his weight to be around 28 pounds, based on how my pelvis and belly feel, but I think I might be going over just a tad.

My mom is flying in Sunday and that also marks Matt's last day at work before his baby daddy leave starts. Yay!

Baby pictures to come soon. :) But for now, here's Sirius putting his paw on my belly (right where James's head is). James did not like it, but it was still adorable.