Sweet, isn't he? He is such a blessing, another very easy baby so far. It has been quite an experience adjusting to being a family of four and remembering what it takes to care for a new born while trying to keep your two-year old's schedule. Speaking of our two-year old...
He sure loves his little brother. He is such a good big brother. He just beams when he does things he thinks helps. He likes to turn the vibrator on on the baby chair and push Parker in the baby swing. He does well after a couple times of having to be reprimanded for being a little bit over-enthusiastic. He also loves to hold his brother and likes to stand by him and talk to him. It is just really very sweet.
On the other side of the sweetness though is a whole new adjustment...Bennett is still very unsure of having to share mom and dad and we have been fighting wining and crying and tantrums, things that as of now, I had experienced very little of from our oldest boy. My patience is definitely being tested and I have to remember to have grace on top of being firm and to be loving on top of punishing when necessary. I also am being tested in keeping my anger in check. He is so frustrating sometimes, it's hard to remember that he is only two and he just doesn't quite understand everything going on and is dealing with it in his own little way.
Look at that proud daddy! I could not have asked for a better man for myself. He was so wonderful through the whole labor/birth/delivery/recovery. He is absolutely amazing and I am so thankful for him!
So the story? Well, we had friends over on Saturday (I was hoping playing games and laughing would put me into labor if I wasn't already there) to play games and just have some company. I had been experiencing contractions all day long but they were very inconsistent. They weren't like any contractions that I had experienced before though, they were very crampy and painful but not intense-you-can't-talk-through-them type. We played outside and threw the ball back and forth and chased Bennett around the yard some (it was almost 70 degrees out). So evening comes, Andrew came home a little early from work since he was concerned and I planned on just heading in around 7 pm since baby number 2 is so unpredictable.
6:30 pm came and I just really didn't want to go in yet so I waited it out a little longer, we played a game or two then decided to watch a movie to see if I could fall asleep and maybe everything would stop. It got to be close to 10 pm and I finally said, "if these get any worse, I can't do a 30 minute car ride to Amery" so we decided to head in, made arrangements for the dog, called my mom to alert her and off we went.
We got there at almost an 8 (again) and after that it was all hard work. Parker was much harder to push with than Bennett was. Mom took notes as to times when everything happened, I may share that another time. He still only took about an hour and a half of pushing time, everything else was just dealing with the painful contractions. I pushed a little in the tub but the positions just weren't working for me and my Dr was getting a little bit concerned so she moved me to the bed to push. It was horrifying for me not to birth in the tub, but it was what was working so I had to.
With Bennett, I was very hands off, let me do this myself kind and with Parker, I HAD to have Andrew touch me somehow. He was brave enough and self-less enough to get in the tub with me and what seemed the most comforting was laying my head on his shoulder while I tried to push. I held his hand for a while in one position, but that one didn't last long. When she moved me to the bed, the best thing was holding his hand and having it touch my face. There is something so comforting to me to have my husband's hands on my face.
He finally started coming out, and once part of his head made it out he started turning it back and forth. I cannot describe the pain that caused. On one hand it was such a relief to know that as he was coming out, there was so much life in the tiny baby that he was moving already, and at the same time, it felt as if the last hour and a half or so was in vain because it felt as though he was sucking back inside...at last, he came all the way out and my first question was "is he still a boy?" Haha! Just wanted to make sure! He sure was, healthy little Parker Norman!
I told Andrew as the ladies took him to get him breathing and cleaned out and all, "Let's not do this again" and he was REALLY taken aback. He replied with, "What, really?" We're done?" I chuckled and said, "No, we have to have more!" Such a special time, the birth of a child.
Our sons are such blessings, and I am so thankful for both of them and for their wonderful daddy!
No comments:
Post a Comment