I have a few minutes so I want to try and capture some of the thoughts and feelings regarding the past few days.  Some may not find this very interesting but I'm hoping it will provide me a way to recall what has occurred when I go to scrap some of the memories in the days to come.

Labor

The actual labor itself went much quicker and easier than I was expecting it to be and for that I'm extremely grateful.  I had orginally hoped to do it without medication but hit a point where I knew that was not going to be happening and am glad I made the choice I did.

The Hospital Stay

Meeting Gideon was a joy.  It was so fun to see him and interact with him for the first time.  Our first feeding went more smoothly than I had expected which helped me feel better about things.  Other parts of the day unfortunately weren't as great.  The first time that I tried to get out of bed I passed out and caused quite a stir when four nurses were needed to help me.  This was the start of over twenty four hours of not being able to get out of bed on my own.  Which for anyone who knows me well was hard as I don't like being confined but would rather be active and on my own.  Thankfully I was the one with complications rather than Gideon who was a very healthly happy baby.  I was very grateful that Adam was around and that he agreed to stay at the hospital even though it wouldn't be the most comfortable place as he proved to be a huge asset through the first couple of nights in the hospital when I didn't have the strength or ability to get up to tend to Gideon.  He would help me get Gideon positioned and helped calm him down and change him when needed.  I was so glad that I had such a wonderful husband helping out.  My Saturday unfortunately wasn't much better as I still wasn't being able to get out of bed so it was decided after talking with the doctor and results of two tests of my hemoglobin levels that a blood transfusion was probably the best course of action.  So I spent several hours on Saturday hooked up to an IV getting blood which made holding and feeding Gideon a challenge.  Gideon himself had a harder Saturday with his circumcision and the pain afterwards.  Overall we were a little worn down.  The blood transfusion was the right choice though as by seven in the evening I was doing much better and even managed to take a shower which made me feel much better.

Going Home

We were allowed to come home on Sunday which I was very grateful to be able to go back to somewhere comfortable.  It was hard to sit around and wait for the doctor and pediatrician to let us go.  I was just ready to be home.  It was right about noon when we left the hospital and headed for home where my parents were waiting and mom had a meal for us.  The rest of Sunday was spent just relaxing.

First Full Day at Home

Monday was the first full day at home.  Adam went to work as my parents are in town to help so he is working until they go home and then will take a week off to be at home helping out.  At home we got a little bit of a slow start to the day as I was still tired and adjusting to the different things that need to be done when it comes to caring for little Gideon.  After some breakfast, feeding Gideon and a shower we started making a list of things we needed to try and get at the store and decided we would go later in the evening after Adam got home.  After lunch and feeding Gideon we went to get some clothes for me and take Gideon to the doctor for a check up.  After dinner we went to the store to get some items but that turned out to be more than I probably should have done making me much more worn out than was probably good.  I just need to learn to take it more slowly.

A Good Night

Last night was a really good night with Gideon.  He slept really well awaking only three times.  Having mom around to help with the nighttime routine has been a huge blessing as for one of those three times she just took care of it so I was able to return to bed rather quickly which allowed for a fairly good nights sleep which was definitely needed after overdoing it yesterday.

Babies First Bath

Today we gave Gideon his first bath.  He did super well as he didn't cry much at all which really surprised me.  I had figured that he would be much more unhappy with being washed than he was.  He surprises me again and again with his cheerful disposition.  It seems like not much gets him upset.  Yes he cries as babies do but so far not too much which has been great.  Well it looks like Gideon is starting to wake up so I'm going to need to be going.  I'm going to try and add a couple quick pictures from the past few days.

Ready to Go Home

First Car Ride

What's happening to me? (Hiccups)

I'll have to get the pictures from my dad before I can post babies first bath pictures.

Till later

- Heather