Olive Juice: Our visit from the stork

Our precious angel is finally here and in our arms. Monday April 15, 2013 at 5:22 pm, Lincoln Jay LaCoss arrived, checking in at a birth weight of 8 lb 10 oz. My labor was mostly uneventful except for the fact that I pushed for 2.5 hours. No one can ever, ever prepare you for the birthing experience. I have been present for all of my sister's deliveries and never could have been prepared to endure my own. It's scary, exciting and painful and unless you have gone through it before it is a completely new experience that you could never begin to understand until it is happening. Scott was there by my side, speaking encouraging words the entire time, and my yoga breathing practices definitely came in to play. It is a surreal experience to say the least- that moment when they placed him on my chest, and he reached up and touched my face, my heart was his.

Our first several days we have faced a few challenges, aside from the normal adjusting to little sleep and the many feedings that our days and nights have come to revolve around. Lincoln had jaundice and we had to take him to get blood work done on Friday and Saturday the first week he was home. Luckily enough we were able to get it under control and bring his bilirubin numbers down by supplementing his feedings with formula and we were able to avoid the hospital lights. Lincoln went back to the doctors this week because of some congestion. Nothing serious, but he sounds pitiful breathing though his stuffy nose. It's enough to break your heart! Otherwise, Lincoln is a pretty content baby and Scott and I find ourselves just staring at him and caressing his soft skin. It's pretty amazing to think that we created him and that he is ours forever and ever.

Lincoln loves to move his arms and has already found his thumb a few times and also uses the back of his hand to hold his pacifier in his mouth. He has passed his birth weight, checking in at 9 lb at his most recent Dr. appointment. He is already a fan of Scott's silly, made-up songs and loves to listen to us talk.

I do not miss my belly at all like I thought I might. In place of feeling his little hiccups in my belly, I get to hear them, and cuddle him until they pass. Instead of feeling his hand work its way across my stomach, I get to touch each one of his tiny toes and tiny fingers. One amazing thing has been replaced by another even more amazing thing. As much as I was looking forward to sleeping on my stomach, no one informed me that this would not be happening; that my boobs would grow so much, that they would be sore and that I would have no desire to sleep on my stomach, placing pressure on my new body and possibly forcing milk to leak out onto my clothes and sheets. The fun things that no one tells you about!

Every day we learn a little bit more and every moment Lincoln gives us the opportunity to realize that we are his parents and that this is a learning game for everyone; that every diaper change will get a little quicker and with every cry we are one step closer to decipher one cry from another and what they all mean. Sometimes I get nervous because I feel as though I have no clue what I am doing. Then I find myself being able to soothe him and every little voice in my mind, making me question myself, goes away.

Here are just a few of the many, many photos from Lincoln's first several days with us :)