So far the transition from 2 to 3 has been easy. Our parents have been an awesome help taking the older kids for a few hours so I can hang with just Judah. Besides, I'm still healing so the rest and not picking the kids up is helping (although I miss holding them... the lap just isn't the same). Judah is an amazing sleeper/napper. We learned after having Josiah that holding our baby during his naps was not a good idea because it makes for a much more difficult transition later. So as much as I want to hold him when he's sleeping, I put him in his own crib in his own room. He falls asleep immediately, and if he doesn't, he is great at just staring at the mobile. He only cries if his diaper is dirty. I have to wake him up every 3 hours to feed him. If I didn't, who knows how long he would nap. He already has a 5 hour stretch at night, so that is a huge blessing. Breastfeeding is going great. The easiest one so far! I'm so grateful for that. I love breastfeeding my babies, it's such a special time for me.
Josiah and Layla are doing really well with him. They want to hold him and touch him all the time. Josiah is affectionate to begin with, but most people, understandably, don't like it when his hands are all over their child's face. I, however, don't care that he puts his hands all over Judah, so Josiah is in heaven. If Judah does cry, Layla immediately runs back to his room to give him his paci (even though he doesn't really take one). It's super cute.
My delivery was fairly easy. The Friday before I had Judah my doc informed me that he wasn't growing so she wanted to induce me on Tuesday (37 weeks and 4 days along). So at 7:30am Chris and I arrived at the hospital to get all hooked up. However, I was already in early active labor, so they didn't have to give me pitocin, the doc just broke my water. My mother, sister, and Aunt Judi arrived at the hospital at 9:30. I asked them to be in the room and watch the birth and they all said yes! I was so excited to share that experience with them. I wound up not getting an epidural because my labor progressed pretty quickly, unlike my first 2. By 2:15 I was ready to push, but we had to wait for the doctor to get to the hospital, so I had to hold in the baby for 15 minutes. Now that was painful! Finally I couldn't hold him in any longer so I started to push without the doctor there. One push with the 2 nurses, then I heard Dr. Hsu's voice and saw her run to deliver Judah. One more push and he was out! We all cried. It was awesome. I was so happy to have him in my arms. Mindy, Judi and my mom got to watch him get all cleaned up and took a ton of pictures. Judah had to stay in the nursery for 24 hours and be seen by the NICU doctor because the fluid wasn't draining from his lungs. I was a hot mess during those 24 hours. I missed him like crazy even though I only spent 2 hours with him. Chris kept reassuring me he would be okay, and I knew he would, but I had so many hormones running through me that I was completely irrational. The next day we got him back and he hasn't left my sight since then. I am so in love with my family. I love every aspect of having a newborn and expanding our family. I love watching my sweet husband take care of Judah and then play with the older kids because I really can't yet. I fall more in love with Chris every day, but watching him with my children is something I can't describe. It's the absolute best. Thank you friends and family for all that you are doing for us in helping us get adjusted to life with 3 kids 4 and under. It takes a village!
Really he mostly sleeps, so there are very few pictures with his eyes open.
