Noah's Arrival and First Week

So I have been a bit MIA, but it was for a good reason! Noah decided to grace us with his presence on Sunday December 18 at 1:45PM, 5 days past his due date, weighing in at 9 lbs and 21 inches long.We have spent over a week with him now and fall more in love with him every day. He is laid back and very docile, not minding being passed around like a hot potato. He makes hilarious faces and a lot of different noises, I especially love his smile. He is a wiggly ball of cuteness and I love him more than anything.

Noah's Birth
On Sunday, I began having timeable contractions around lunch time and we decided to head to the hospital around 10PM. Things weren't progressing quickly but I was in quite a bit of pain and had a fever so they admitted me anyway and got right to the epidural. The epidural didn't work at first but after an adjustment I felt MUCH better and got a little bit of sleep during the night. By morning, things were moving. Unfortunately, the epidural was starting to fade and the new anesthesiologist was less than cooperative. By 9AM was feeling contractions as if I had no epidural at all. While the anesthesiologist struggled to figure out how to fix it, while not listening to me at all, I progressed to fully dilated by 11AM and started pushing.

Pushing helped the pain a little bit but it was pretty terrible. Having the epidural was the only thing I was counting on for labor and I never thought of the possibility of not having it. 3 hours later, Noah seemed a little bit stuck so the Dr. suggested using the vacuum to help him along. 3 contractions and pulls with the vacuum later, Noah was born! Jake and my mom were there for the birth and he was perfect from the start. He had no troubles and got high APGAR scores of 8 and 9 out of 10. Jake kept a close eye on him while I was stitched and cleaned up.

It seemed like forever but about 10 minutes after he was born they put him on my chest. It was an amazing moment. He immediately stopped crying and watched me very closely. Having my husband next to me and my son my chest was the best moment I have experienced in my life.

Brandy New!

Meeting Mommy!

First picture with Daddy!

Making Faces

Noah Comes Home
We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and Noah did great. We got to bring him home on December 20, just in time for the first night of Hanukkah! Already celebrating the holidays at 2 days old. The kitties are suspicious of him but they get more used to him everyday.

Getting Ready to Go Home!

In the Car with Mommy!

Noah's First Hanukkah!

Christmas and Meeting Family
We traveled quite a bit for Christmas and Noah met SO many family members. He spent time with: 4 grandparents, 3 great grandparents, 2 uncles, 1 aunt, 6 great uncles, 5 great aunts and 11 second cousins! He did great with the car travel and with meeting all the new people. He is very comfy being held by anyone and rarely cries.

Baby's First Christmas Picture

Christmas Sweater

Family Pic

4 generations

Noah Meets a Very Large Dog

Stay tuned, more to come!