Easter, The Masters, and Adjusting

Our little man will be a week old tomorrow, and what a wonderful week it's been. Unfortunately, big sister would say otherwise. Poor girl's world has been rocked. She is really pretty sweet to him, pats him gently on the cheek (most of the time) and gives lots of kisses, but she'll randomly lay on the ground and flail around in aggravation. I'm hoping this week is a little better for her, and I'm really going to focus on making our one-on-one time special. Pray that my creative juices are flowing!

I had completely forgotten what it's like to get up every 3 hours during the night and nurse a baby while fighting to stay awake... you know, that embarrassing head bobbing that wakes you up as it's snapping back down... I'm so thankful that I've had that first-week adrenaline high. Jax has been a great sleeper & eater... he also burps & toots like a grown man. But should I really be surprised? Jason would say he gets it from his momma. :)

Today was a rainy Easter day, and we actually were planning on getting out to church this morning, but when the rain just wouldn't stop, we decided not to get little man out in it. I'm glad we didn't go... I made pancakes instead, and Emerson slept in until close to 10:00. It was a fabulous morning, perfect for our last morning together before Daddy goes back to work tomorrow. I panicked a little bit tonight just thinking about it, but he talked me back down and reassurred me that I could do it. Today for Easter dinner, Jason's parents, brother, grandma, great aunt, and my parents all came over bearing fabulous Italian food, and we watched the Masters and celebrated Jason's dad's birthday. I didn't have to lift a food-prep finger, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think pushing out a 9-pounder gets one a little extra sympathy. :)

Jax's First 48 Hours

Monday morning just before my water is broken

4/6/09, 5:14 p.m., 9 pounds, 5 ounces, 21.5 inches

Emerson meeting her little brother for the first time

First family photo... Emerson didn't like me being in the hospital bed

Pa-Pa and Grandma C Van Valkenburg

Grandpa & Grammy Turnbull

Uncle Travis Van Valkenburg

Momma and Jax

Daddy and his chubby boy

3 generations of Van Valkenburgs

Sweet Kisses

Daddy's boy

I'm hungry... where's Momma?

Leaving the hospital today

All cheeks... and proud of it!

Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls, visits, and love! Can't wait for you to meet him!

Jax is here - pics coming soon!

Jax Michael Van Valkenburg entered the world on Monday, April 6th at 5:14 p.m. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long! I gave birth to a linebacker!

Jason and I arrived at the hospital around 7 on Monday morning, and around 8:30 my midwife Kim checked me and said I was dilated to almost 4 cm. She broke my water, and my contractions starting progressing from there, although nothing too painful or too close together. Jason and I walked the halls of the maternity floor (along with my brother-in-law Travis... thank you, Trav, for being a much-needed distraction from labor), and in the early afternoon I was making good progress. I decided to use the breast pump to see if I could speed things up even more, and lawsie mercy, did it ever work! Within an hour or so, I was having really strong contractions coming about every 2-3 minutes. Finally, Kim said I could push through my contractions if I wanted to (I was smack dab in the middle of transition at that point and really starting to panic), and he came out within 15 minutes!

This labor was so different than my labor with Emerson. For one thing, because he was so much farther along than she was, I didn't have to have Pitocin this time. I'm telling you, I truly and honestly believe that Pitocin is manufactured straight from the pits of hell... with Emerson, it took over my body and give me ridiculously painful contractions that came every 1-2 minutes for 7 hours straight (with no epidural, mind you). With this labor, my body was really able to manage the pain, and it was so amazing to be able to use breathing techniques, a birthing ball, walking, etc., to allow things to progress naturally. I also have to give credit to my hubby for being the best birthing coach I could ask for. There is absolutely no way I could've done it without him.

So, that is my birth story in a nutshell... exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, but every bit worth it when they put my little boy on my chest and I held and kissed him for a good five minutes before Jason cut the cord. It was an instant bond and such a powerful experience to have participated in bringing him into this world. I'm so proud to be his Momma!

SO WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!? I, being the expert suitcase packer that I am, forgot to bring along my USB cable to upload my pictures with. So, I promise I will do that later this afternoon after we get home. Check back for pics and maybe a few videos, too!

Lazy Saturday

This morning I awoke to Emerson's fussing in the monitor. She either slept a half-hour later than normal or I slept through a half-hour of her normal morning talk. Either way, when I went in her room, she was laying on her back looking at the door, and she immediately said, "Hiiiii!" This was followed by the sign for milk, and she was squeezing those little fingers to her palm just as fast as she could! Poor baby was hungry. We decided Daddy needed to sleep in a little longer, so I made pancakes for the two of us (after her much-anticipated milk, of course).

After lunch Daddy did the inaugural spring lawn mow, and I felt so bad for him. Today we had near-30-mph wind gusts, so watching him stop after one strip of mowing and bag the grass was pretty terrible. He came in covered from head to toe with grass clippings, trying to rub the grass out of his eyes. What a trooper... and quite sexy all dirtied up. Too bad I'm two days from giving birth... :)

Speaking of birth, I haven't had any regular contractions today, but I'm glad because my midwife wasn't available to deliver today. So tomorrow morning I'm going to start walking, using the breast pump, drinking my organic pregnancy tea, and praying that it all gets something going! If not, she's planning on breaking my water first thing on Monday morning, so I'm counting on that working. Hopefully my little man will be here during the day on Monday. I'm getting so antsy to see his sweet face and hold him in my arms!

Happy 31st, Baby!

Today my sweet hubby turned 31. Yesterday Emerson and I surprised him at work, and his agents brought lots of food and a cake, too. Last night I made him one of his favorite meals in the world: chicken tetrazzini, stuffed mushrooms, and garlic cheese biscuits. I love cooking for my boy, and he's always so appreciative of it! Especially when I'm big, fat & pregnant! Tonight we celebrated at his parents' house with his brother, grandma, and great-aunt. It was a nice relaxing night complete with Pa-Pa's famous ribs.

One thought I kept having over and over today was how thankful I am that he picked me to spend his life with. My hottie had his pick of pretty much anyone, and somehow I came out the winner! I feel so blessed to spend each day with such an incredible man of integrity and character, and he's a wonderful Daddy to boot. (He's also a fantastic labor coach... Monday here we come!)

I also want to give a shout out to my little sis, Miley, who celebrated her 28th birthday yesterday and is pregnant with a sweet baby girl, Avery Lynn! I love & miss you!!!

Getting Closer

This morning at my check-up, I was 3 cm dilated & 80% effaced. I've been having a few more contractions today as well. I'm going to start drinking my organic pregnancy tea which has raspberry leaf in it, and making Jason's early b-day dinner tonight will have me on my feet for quite a while. I've been waddling so badly the last few weeks... I used to always think pregnant women who waddled were so silly. Little did I know it would happen to me and that it's the result of feeling like your pelvis is literally ripping apart. Ahhh, good times...