Days of wonder...

Ok, I'm a new mommy now, so you're going to be seeing a lot of pictures on this blog for awhile. =) I realized that I hadn't posted a good picture of the little guy's face, so here he is! I think he looks a lot like his daddy's baby pictures. He has his daddy's strong nose =), and he has his daddy's big eyes. This was taken during alert time. At the moment, he's an amazingly good baby. He sleeps a lot, and I do mean a lot. We have to tickle, poke, prod, and change his diapers to keep him awake and eating, but he does eat well. After he eats, he has a period of nice alertness where he just looks around at us for about 20 minutes, and then it's off to dreamland again. We have to wake him up to feed him every three hours. He sleeps in his cradle without fussing much at all, and if we give him a passy for a few minutes, he then spits it out and goes to sleep without it. I hear this is all normal newborn behavior, but I don't think it works this way for every newborn. I'm crossing my fingers and toes and wondering how long this will last, but at the moment, I'm really enjoying it. He is eating really well, after having a tough time learning to breastfeed in the hospital. We finally started getting the hang of it, and now that my milk has come in, things are getting much easier. Breastfeeding is a lot harder than it looks, but I may post more on that later. We got home from the hospital on Monday afternoon, and we were really ready to leave. Everyone was great there, but we had no time to rest with all the poking and prodding that they did on both me and Seth. It was so good to get back to our own place and introduce him to our home. And David has and will be with me all week, changing lots and lots of diapers, keeping a chart on the computer for feedings and diapers, and basically being the best and most involved daddy that I could ever imagine.

So, how am I doing with it all, you ask? Am I exhausted and cranky and sore and feeling overwhelmed? I can't believe it, but...no. I feel kind of guilty for saying this, because I know that a lot of new mothers don't have an easy time of it, and I don't want to make them feel bad at all. But I have to tell you, these have been some of the best days of my life. I wake up to feed him excited because I know that I'll get to hold him again. I could stare at his little face for hours without getting bored. Who knew that I could do that? Every tiny little first thing is such a big deal to me. I got excited about getting ready to take him to our first doctor's appointment. I loved putting him into his baby carrier for the very first time. I love dressing him in one new little outfit after another. I am giddy with happiness, basically. I was expecting to be tired, and I am, but I was not expecting to feel a rush of happiness and joy like this. I have fallen in love once before, so I recognize the symptoms. I'm riding high because I'm falling in love with a new man in my life, one that I've been waiting to meet for a long time. And now he's here, and I just can't get enough of him. There is nothing like putting him in bed with me before we get ready to feed and stroking his little head. I am amazed that God created him from me and David and put such a little miracle in my arms. His tiny perfection is something that I marvel over, from his amazingly perfect little fingernails to his perfect little rosebud mouth.

It was a long wait, but it was worth it. Some of you may be waiting, impatiently waiting to meet the child that God has for you. You may feel like the days are passing so slowly, and you don't know if you'll make it through. I know how you feel. But one day, it will be over. You'll have that perfect child that God planned for your family. He may come from your body, or he may grow in your heart, but he's coming. Don't lose heart. The journey is long, but the destination is beautiful.