Well folks, this sweet little baby of mine turned ONE a couple days ago!
Look how big he looks!???! I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. Sigh.
I made a birthday cake for him and brought it up to my parent’s house on Sunday. Everyone sang to him and he didn’t quite know what to think.
We gave him his own small piece of cake and let him have at it!
He LOVED it and actually stayed relatively clean. He had a whole group of paparazzi (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents) watching him and taking pictures. It was cute.
He is the LAST grandchild on both sides of the family (there are 34 grandchildren on my side and 46 on Kev’s!) FYI, there are a few step-grandkids on Kev’s side….just thought I’d mention that. 😉 Anyway, because he’s the last little baby….he is very much LOVED, smothered and coddled by everyone. It’s really fun.
On the night of his birthday, we took the kids to Target to help pick out the baby’s birthday presents. Everyone had a fun time “testing” all the toys and watching his reaction to all of them. We finally settled on a “winner” based on this reaction…
He LOVED that teddy bear so much! It was darling. I decided he “needed” some cute blocks and a toy cell phone too. BTW, my daughter is his second mom. It’s sweet.
It was a fun birthday and we all enjoyed celebrating it with our special little guy!
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With my baby reaching the “one year old” milestone, I’ve been feeling extra nostalgic. I have absolutely loved having and raising these sweet little babies and it’s so hard for me to realize that the “baby stage” in my life is starting to close. 🙁
Side note: I want to make sure I paint a realistic picture of my life and don’t make out my motherhood experience to be completely blissful and free of issues and stress (insert huge belly laugh here!), so I will just mention that we have so many struggles and trials ALL THE TIME! Life is tough…soooo tough…and raising kids is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done! We still have a LOT of “raising kids years” ahead of us too!
Pray for me. Ha ha.
Anyway, this past year has been so fun and we have all enjoyed watching this sweet little baby of ours grow up! It’s been such a joy to watch the older kids with their baby brother. They all love him so much and he loves them so much too! It’s precious.
Although this past year has been a fun one, it’s also been a tough one too! Never in my life have I ever felt so MAXED! I’ve definitely had to pick my priorities and lower my expectations for many things. There are so many projects that have been left undone, I’m just doing the bare minimum with the house and cleaning, my sleep has definitely suffered and there are so many things I’d love to do, but just don’t have the time!
I know this time in my life is fleeting though, so I keep reminding myself to be patient and not “wish away” this precious time.
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Anyway, I thought I’d take a minute and share some pics of this sweet baby of mine. It’s absolutely amazing to me how much they grow and change in just ONE year!
This is one of my very favorite pictures too! The baby was only a few days old and his big brothers LOVED holding him. It melted my heart when I heard them singing to him. Love them!
I also thought I’d take a minute and share a little bit of his birth story! Yes, it’s a year late; I intended to write all about it shortly after he was born, but I just never did!
I’m writing about his birth story partially for my own records and remembrance, so I’m sorry to those of you would would rather hear about health and fitness! Check back in with me in a few days and I’ll be talking all about health and fitness again!!!
Anyway, I was induced a day early. I was induced with two of my other children and I really didn’t want to get induced with this one. I really thought he would end up coming a bit early because he was my sixth baby and I was busier than I’d ever been! But, he didn’t want to come early, I was very tired of being pregnant and school was getting ready to start for my older kids; so when my doc asked if I wanted to be induced….well, let’s just say she didn’t have to ask me twice! Ha.
Kev and I headed to the hospital very early on a Sunday morning. BTW, our kids all went to church on their own that day and I was so proud of them! They all did great! Anyway, when we got to the hospital, we were told to follow the pink and blue footprints to Labor and Delivery…
We got all checked in and Kev took a final pregnancy picture of me!
I changed out of my clothes, put on a cute hospital gown and got hooked up to some antibiotics because I’m Group B Strep positive. Kev and I waited for a while in the delivery room while I got the antibiotics and I even wrote up a short blog post from my phone. Hee hee.
It was really fun to see the empty baby bed in the room knowing that shortly our sweet little baby would be here! It really was surreal.
Although I was very nervous to have a baby (I always am!!), I really tried to soak up the moment. Childbirth is such a miracle and I actually kind of like the whole “giving birth” part of it all. It freaks me out every time and I worry about all the things that can go wrong, but there’s nothing that compares to meeting your child for the first time. It’s like opening the very best Christmas present ever!
Anyway, after I got the recommended amount of antibiotics in my body, my doctor started me on a very low dose of Pitocin. My doctor stayed close by because I’d had a C-Section with my first baby (he was breech, FYI) and I have a higher chance of uterine rupture and freaky things happening. Thankfully, I was fine.
Kev took this “beautiful” picture of me while we were waiting for things to start moving…
Folks, pregnancy is just not cute on me! I think my face blows up more than my belly does! It’s frightening.
I started to feel subtle contractions kicking in. It just felt like cramps, but it freaked me out a bit knowing that things were starting to “work!” The nurses kept checking on me and as soon as things started to hurt, I asked for the anesthesiologist to come “help me.”
Side note: Ya know, I think it would be quite cool to deliver a baby naturally and I was tempted for a nanosecond to try it, but then I remembered that I’m a huge wuss. I’m very grateful for modern medicine and I’m very grateful I didn’t live 100 years ago. I told the anesthesiologist he was my hero.
I really don’t love getting an epidural; in fact, it really freaks me out. The whole huge needle and weird electrical chill that runs down my back gives me the heebie jeebies. But, I think it’s better than the alternative!
Another side note: I loved my epidural with my 2nd and 3rd babies; it worked out perfectly and I felt great! However, the epidurals with my 4th and 5th babies were weird. I had issues with getting completely numb with one of them and both of them made my blood pressure drop significantly. I felt like I was going to pass out while I was laying down. I also felt quite nauseous. I hated it. Thankfully, the nurses were able to “fix me” and help me feel better though.
Soooo, when the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural this time, I told him about all of my issues. They decided to pump me full of a bunch of fluids and it seemed to help quite a bit. I never got the “want to pass out” feeling, but I did feel nauseous and just very, very tired. I didn’t like it. The nurse brought me a grape slushie and that seemed to help me quite a bit. I started to feel like my normal-ish self.
My epidural was just perfect as far as pain relief goes. I could still feel all of my contractions and all the pressure, but it didn’t hurt! It was actually pretty cool. I knew exactly when I’d reached 10 centimeters dilated; I felt so much pressure and felt like the baby was going to fall right out of me!
My doctor and nurse got everything ready for delivery and helped me get ready to push. Ya know, that whole “pushing position” is just not a flattering position to be in. Ha ha! It was exciting though knowing that our baby would be here soon! I thought it would be quite easy to push him out, but I think he was my hardest one! Isn’t that weird??!
It was a very cool experience though because I could feel everything! With my other babies, I really couldn’t feel very much at all. I could feel a lot of pressure, but that was about it. With this baby, I was aware of the bones in my body giving and allowing this little baby to somehow fit. I could feel him moving through my body and pushing out. It was very cool, but also freaky! I really wondered how in the world this little baby would ever get out. He felt huge!
It probably took me about 20 minutes to push him out, which isn’t too bad, but it was a lot longer than my other babies. I don’t really know why!? I was grateful to get him out of my body and it was so amazing to hear those first precious cries. My heart melted.
I really wish I could relive those first few moments after a baby is born over and over again. They are some of the coolest moments of my life.
I was immediately able to hold my baby after he was born and I instantly fell in love. He looked just like all of our other babies; he was definitely “our mold!” It was so much fun to see his cute face and hold him in my arms. Kev was able to cut the cord and then the nurse took him away from me for just a few moments to clean him off and attend to him. I couldn’t wait to hold him again. I felt an overwhelming sense of love for him and just wanted to HOLD him; my arms literally ached to hold him. He was only away from me for a short time and he was still in the room with me the entire time.
I didn’t feel that strong and instant connection with my other babies, I don’t know why this one felt so strong; but it was very neat.
I took this pic of Kev holding the baby when he was just a few moments old.
Kev took this pic of me and baby…
Guys, my face is extra gigantic because they’d pumped me full of so much fluid!!! But, I was very thrilled to have my new baby in my arms.
After my epidural wore off completely, they transferred me to a regular room. They pushed me in a wheelchair across a skybridge to another part of the hospital. As soon as I entered the skybridge, Brahms’ Lullaby started playing throughout the entire hospital. My nurse told me they play that song whenever a new baby is born! It was so sweet. I’ve since heard that song play a few times when I’ve been visiting the hospital and it always makes me smile.
At this point, Kev ran home to get the other kids, who were very excited to meet their baby brother. I spent some quiet time alone in my room with my sweet baby just soaking up his sweetness.
When Kev and the kids got back, I was so happy to see them.
Funny story; the last few days and weeks of pregnancy were so hard for me! I could barely move and seemed to just lay around all the time. I’m sure I complained all the time too! Anyway, my (then) 6 year old told me, “Mom, I just don’t think it’s going to be worth it!” I laughed out loud. He couldn’t comprehend why I would sacrifice and suffer so much.
Anyway, as soon as my 6 year old entered my hospital room, he just melted. He said, “Oh, I didn’t know it would feel like this!” As soon as he saw his baby brother, he said something like, “I just love him so much….I would give my life for him!” It was very sweet. Throughout this past year, I’ve reminded this child of mine that he “just didn’t think it was going to be worth it!” Ha ha.
The kids all took turns holding the baby and never wanted to let him go!
Kev left around 9:00 PM with all the kids. My two oldest kids begged to sleep overnight with me in the room, but we decided it would be best if they slept at home (I could only have one person with me overnight anyway.)
That night, I kept the baby in my room. He slept a little, but kept waking up on and off until about 2:00 AM. He then slept from 2:00ish until 6:00 or 7:00 and I was so grateful! The nurses still had to come in and check me and the baby a few times in the night, but he pretty much stayed asleep.
The next day, my parents came to visit me….
My sister and a bunch of her kids came too!
It was fun to see them all and nice to have some company!
My doctor told me I could go home that night if I wanted to and I was thrilled. I’d stayed in the hospital 2 nights with all my other kids (4 nights with the C-section), so this was the first time I’d only stayed one night in the hospital.
I really don’t love staying in the hospital; I just don’t feel at home (obviously) and don’t sleep well. I couldn’t wait to get home to my own bed, my own bathroom and my own house. Kev and I dressed the baby up in a cute “going home” outfit and were so excited to bring him home!
When we got home, the kids had made us a Welcome Home banner!
One of our sweet friends had also dropped off some diapers, wipes and cupcakes too. I love my friends!
And the rest is history……
I also took a picture of myself at One Year Postpartum and compared it side-by-side with my 9 months pregnant picture!
I’m so grateful to not be pregnant anymore, but am glad I took so many pictures throughout the pregnancy! Oh, I also officially hit my pre-pregnancy weight the day before my baby’s birthday! Isn’t that weird?
It always takes me about a full year to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m hormonal and nursing or if it’s just because losing weight is freaking hard! Regardless, it always takes me about a year. Now, I will say that my pre-pregnancy weight fluctuated up and down about 5 pounds, and this is the upper end of those 5 pounds, but I’m happy nonetheless.
Well, that’s all I have to say today! I’m so happy to have recorded some of my memories and thoughts about the birth of this precious baby of mine! Thanks for listening! Love you all!!!
What a wonderful story. You have a wonderful family and I love seeing the pictures of all your kids together. How wonderful. I have 2 and it is more than enough ! Happy birthday to your son. Hope you have a wonderful day !
Thanks so much Karen! You’re so sweet. I’m so grateful for all my kids, but MAN, there are plenty of days when I ask myself, “What in the world was I thinking having six kids!??!” Ha ha.
Happy birthday to your sweet baby. I have to say, you don’t really look as big in those pregnancy photos as you probably felt. Glad to hear you hit your pre-pregnancy weight, you’ve been working hard.
Thank you so much Beth! I’m a weird pregnant lady; my belly doesn’t get very big, but the rest of me just blows right up! I’m so grateful to be getting my body back to normal now. Ha ha.
Happy birthday to your handsome baby boy! Time flies doesn’t it? i loved reading your birth story.
Thanks so much Ros Emely! I really can’t believe how fast time flies. I say that all the time, but it seems like it keeps going faster and faster!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful birth story, Mel. And a big birthday hug to Carson! Love the photo of him squeezing his teddy. I can see the love.
Thanks so much Charlotte! He loved that teddy so much and it was so fun to celebrate his birthday!
I can’t tell you how excited I am when I see you post something about your family. It’s so refreshing to hear real stories and real feelings about raising your family. I can relate to all that you are saying! Best wishes to all of you, we just celebrated my daughters birthday yesterday and she is our 4th out of 5 and with every birthday I too get nostalgic. I go through the events of that particular day with each one and sometimes I just want those days back because they are so fleeting but then I look at what they’ve become and I just am so grateful for every moment.
Thanks for sharing. Oh and by the way, you looked amazing on the day you delivered as you do today! ️️Mom of 6, UNBELIEVABLE! Mary-Louise from Connecticut
Oh you are so sweet Mary-Louise! I so appreciate your sweet comments. I totally relate to what you said about feeling nostalgic, but then also being so grateful for every moment. Motherhood is such an amazing journey! My little sis lives in Connecticut and our little family lived in New Hampshire and Rhode Island while Kev was going to school. New England is so so beautiful! I love it and miss it!!!
Happy birthday handsome boy!
Thanks so much Abby!
Oh my word, I wish I looked as great as you do full term! My belly was massive!! I felt like a whale. Lol
I loved reading your birth story! I had a c section, but I agree the first moments meeting your baby are very surreal. The first cries were what I remember thinking “holy cow…I really had a baby in my belly!”
Your little boy is so adorable, I bet he is so doted on. Happy birthday little man!
Thanks so much Christy! Even though my belly doesn’t get too big, I seriously just feel so GIANT everywhere. I feel like my body has been blown up by an air hose. It’s frightening. Ha ha. It’s so worth it though, as you know! These little babies are so precious.
My goodness where does the time go!? You look WAY too good before and after giving birth!! You also look GREAT now, yay pre preggo weight.
I know, the older I get, the faster time goes. It’s insane. I’m so so happy to be at my pre preggo weight….can’t weight to make some additional progress!!!
Happy birthday to your little guy. By the way, you look great and so happy!
Have a fantastic Monday Mel!
Thanks so much Jill!!!
You always look so amazing! This post makes me want to cry because even though we are still three months away from Cooper’s birthday, I can’t believe how much of a little boy he is already and not a baby. It’s so sad but also great. I want him to stay little forever!!!!