Welcome Alex!

There is new baby smell at our house, fresh soft baby skin, little baby whimpers and sneezes, big stretches and deep cuddles, milk drunk smiles and wild eyes, spit ups and diaper explosions. And we are loving every second of it.  A week into it, I'd say being parents of 2 kids is a blast! It has made our family feel even more like a FAMILY now and all of our hearts have grown and expanded this week.  We love this new special spirit in our home and feel so blessed with this opportunity to raise him. 

Alex Benjamin Garrison

6 lbs 12 oz

19.5 inches long

Born at 11:29am on 

September 10th, 2012

The story:

Because of all of this going on with my pregnancy, the docs wouldn't let me go any further than September 10th.  So September 10th at 9 am it was!  It was weird to know the date. It was nice of course, but also totally nerve wracking to KNOW what was coming.  I hated everything about my c-section last time and was dreading all the things that were to come with this one.  Plus a few additional worries about his health and my placenta/bleeding.  I received a wonderful blessing, my family had a fast for us, and a day or two before going in, I finally felt at peace.  I knew everything would be alright and could finally let excitement take the front seat of my emotions. 

We went to Park City the weekend before to relax and have a little fun with Claire before the big day.  I had a fun girls night, Ben went fishing, we swam with Claire and had some fun with Ben's mom, Kraig, and Nan and Pa.  On Sunday afternoon, we left Claire with Ben's mom as we headed home to prepare a few last minute things. 

Monday morning bright at early we arrived at the hospital.  They got us all situated in our room, had me change, hooked me up to all the stuff, got an IV in me (which bled profusely all over my new gown and the bed), and we waited. They said we were set for 9am and then at about 8:55 they came to tell us a couple of emergencies were before us (thankful we weren't one of them).  Waiting some more.  I kept telling myself that this waiting was better than 40 hours like last time (and being in labor) and not to get impatient.  It was rough, especially since we pretty much just sat there because I kept thinking it would be any minute.   

(Thank you to Brittany Cascio for taking our birth pictures (some are Ben, some are me, some are Brittany))

FINALLY 2 hours later, at 11am they told us it was time. It was suddenly real and happening so quickly. Ben got dressed and they wheeled us into the OR.  

Here Dr. Patel is behind me, approaching me with the look of death and the needle of ultimate pain. Holy crap that hurt.

I hate c-sections. Wow, they are awful.  The before was so much worse than last time. It must have been because last time, after enduring 40 hours of labor, when they wheeled me into surgery I wasn't with it because I don't remember ANY of the same stuff happening last time.  I was terrified this time and fought the whole time to remain under control.  If Ben hadn't have been there, rubbing my arm, talking to me and getting me to talk about other things, they would have had to put me out. It was so hard.  Can't even describe it. 

Here he is! 

 The feeling of them pulling the baby out is always so strange. I can feel everything, lots of pressure and movement, just no pain. He started crying right away and so did we:) 

Ben stayed by my side for a while, watched to make sure the placenta came out and told me it did over and over.  And then he went over to be with Alex.  I felt so relieved and so at peace.  I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep a few times as they finished the surgery. 

When they said "6 pounds, 12 ounces" I couldn't believe it!! We were hoping for a 6 pounder, but he was so big for being 3 weeks early! We were so happy. 

I lost a lot of blood (and they happened to have the large hose carrying it out of me going RIGHT by my right cheek).  It was like a hose that was turned on full blast and it was flopping around like crazy.  That part I could have done without. 

When they finished and wheeled me back to the room, I passed my mom in the hall and was so happy to see her.  I kept crying and was just so happy to be done and to have had everything go so perfectly!! 

Texting the news out to the world:

Bringing him in:

The next few hours were wonderful.  My pain was under control and I felt 100x better than I did last time and I just couldn't believe it.  I kept saying, "I can't believe how good I feel!" And I was just so happy everything went so well. 

I did feel very light headed at times because of the loss of blood and they immediately started me on iron pills that I am on for the next 4 weeks.  I can tell I don't have as much blood as I need, even going up the stairs as slow as I can makes my heart race and I have to take a couple breaks.  

Resting through the painful contractions:

Around one o'clock, Claire came to meet baby boy.  I had the baby away from me so that when Claire came in, she came up and sat by me and we looked at a new puzzle together to get her warmed up.  After a few minutes we brought him over to her and she was so happy to see him! She did so well. She didn't want to hold him but she loved rubbing his head and calling him, "baby boy."

I can't believe we are a family of FOUR now!

He is so perfect. 

Just for kicks, here they both are at 3 days old in the hospital:

A lot alike, but I see a few big differences. He's much skinnier (almost 2 pounds), his hair is lighter, and his eyes are Ben's to a T. They do have the same nose though so far. 

We were able to go home a day early because of how well I was doing.  The nurses said a few times how they wished every c-section patient was like me. 

Getting ready to go home!

It was fun to have him in our home.  We had one more night without Claire and then she came Thursday afternoon.  I was a little worried how it would be to have her here with us full-time and overnight, but it has gone so well. 

Claire acts like he's been here all along and is such a sweet big sister. She is always wanting to help me (and actually does) and loves to hold him.   Since her nickname is "Boo boo," and because she can't say 'Alex,' we decided to call him "Bubba boy" and she loves calling him that.  Bubba and Booboo.

It's crazy how different babies look with all the different faces they make:

First sponge bath:

And first attempt at a sibling photo shoot.  It went alright... 

I LOVE this one. Looks like he's smiling up at her. 

Wink! 

I get emotional multiple times a day when I look at this little miracle.  I think about how blessed we are. How sweet he is. How amazing life is. And how much I love Ben and my two children. 

I was exhausted after getting just these pictures, and there are so many more I'd love to have:) One day at a time.  

And here is the last of my pregnancy journal:

He is such a good baby so far.  He is so sweet and rarely cries. Maybe once or twice a day he cries.  The poor thing just has some kind of milk reflux and he vomits a thicker mucus a couple times a day. It's not a lot at all, sometimes barely any, but when it's a bad one, it takes him a while of discomfort to recover.  I hate when he's in pain... we'll get it figured out and I'm hoping it will calm down when my milk stabilizes (they overfloweth) and his eating habits develop more. 

 Thank you to everyone who has helped us this past week and continues to do so. The meals are amazing and we are so grateful to you!