Bros Before Bows

These days I get asked the same questions asked over and over:

How are YOU doing?
Unavoidably tired but all healed up and feeling great, thanks.  So much easier and faster round 2.

Isn't he cuuuuuuuuttttteeee?!?!
Yes.  Yes he most certainly is.

How's the baby sleeping?
Top marks, man.  Goes to bed at 11 and wakes up around 4 and then 8 to eat.

What's it like with TWO little boys?
Well.  Let me tell you...

Eli LOVES Porter.  Fiercely.  HARD.  Like, I-love-you-so-much-I-can't-even-stand-it-so-I must-eat-you, shaking and trembling hard.  Luckily for us he's past the face-smushing phase so he settles for endless sloppy and prolonged kisses.  (Hugs have been temporarily banned due to an impressive display of Porter's projectile power after a particularly affectionate squeeze.)

It was a huge relief to me that Eli didn't resent Porter for upending his little world, because upended it was.  Suddenly Mom is nursing what feels like 50 times a day (Eli is very curious about the milk.  Yes son, your Mom IS like a cow) and changing as many diapers ("He pooped!  Again!  Can I see it?") and singing songs to someone else ("That's MY Twinkle Twinkle!).  But Eli loves his brother. He's still not sleeping as well or predictably, has inexplicable needs or pains whenever Porter starts to cry, and occasionally throws a fit when I can't carry him somewhere (Dude. You're HEAVY.) but he's two and we deal with it.

 I am so grateful for all the people that have come and helped, babysat, made food, sent food, called, texted, and most importantly PRAYED for us.  There have been times during Zach's ridiculously long shift of 12+ hour days that I was certain I would lose it.  But just before the tears would have started (mine, at least) some outside source would supply the patience, love, endurance or alertness that I needed to pull me through.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I love these two little brothers.

Porter Dan has Arrived

With Carson one week before my due date

The Birth Story
(If you're into reading that kind of thing.  If not, know that we had a baby in the usual manner and just look at the pictures)

I was promised by my all-knowing and extremely experienced doctor that I would not be having my baby on my due date.  And I didn't.  [Oh Bumpers, as Eli would say] He swore up and down that I would need to be induced.  But I didn't.  [Boo yeah! as Zach would say]

Two nights before my scheduled induction I was up late watching a show [Blue Bloods, anyone?] when it came to my attention that those "practice contractions" were starting to get kinda intense.  Half an hour later I yelled over to Zach, who was in the video game zone, that we had hit 3 minute intervals.

It was then that I knew Zach truly loved me, because he quit MID GAME to hover over me.  He was all for heading to the hospital right away, but I had to shower first.  Birth is just one of those times were all of your personal dignity goes out the window and so I needed to gather what humanity I could by making sure that I went into that hospital with shaved legs.  By the time I was done the contractions had reached the "Hoo Nelly!" stage.

We arrived [after a few wrong turns- apparently pre-birth jitters made my chauffeur (Zach) forget where the hospital was] at the hospital at 1:00 AM and by 1:30 I was in my delivery room, relieved to have been admitted, dilated to a 4 and waiting for the poor anesthesiologist to be summoned from his bed for my epidural.  By 3:00 the juice was doing its magic and I was asleep.  Have I mentioned I love epidurals?  For the next three hours Zach and I slept as my contractions got bigger and closer and the baby descended.  By the time the doctor came to break my water at 6:00 AM I was at an 8.

At 7:45 I really needed to push.  This time unfortunately coincided with a meeting my doctor needed to be in and he looked skeptical when I told him that it had taken an hour and a half of pushing to get Eli out.  He let me do a "trial push" and as I did his eyes widened and he said, "Wait!  Stop!  Don't push for a minute.  Let me get gowned up!"  We were in business.

It was pretty quick after that.  One push and the head popped out.  The body didn't follow right away, so the doctor had nurses taking turns pushing my stomach down like their very lives depended on resuscitating my belly button.  By the time the baby's shoulders were free the pressure had built up to such a level that, uh, baby fluids came shooting out of every gap and went spraying across the room.  One contraction later and the rest of his body came, riding a huge tidal wave that hit the doctor with impressive force.  That brave man didn't even flinch.

Porter Daniel entered the world at a whopping 9 lbs 9 oz and 21.5 inches long.  And with this cute squishy-faced newborn, we began our life as a family of four.

 

Our stay in the hospital was the opposite experience of the one we had with Eli.  We had ONE nurse at a time, NO students, a big beautiful room and a calm baby with no complications.  Here's looking at you, Orem Community Women's Center.  Your strawberry cheesecake is delicious.

Thanks for all the visitors that came and special thanks to all the grandparents who made one sleep-deprived crazy toddler feel loved through the whole experience.  We'll talk more about that later.

Welcome welcome little man!