DAYS OF GRACE: Happy Birthday, Anthony Joseph!

As scheduled, Anthony made his grand entrance into the world last Thursday afternoon, June 30^th. He was born at 4:41pm and weighed 9 lbs., 3 oz. and was 21 inches long!

David and I were able to rest well Wednesday night, and most of our anxiety was more excitement than nervousness. I woke up early Thursday morning to eat one last time…I couldn’t have anything after 7:00am that morning. We spent the rest of the morning getting everything together and packing for the hospital and left around lunch time and headed that way. Again, we were excitedly anxious, but really not nervous or scared. I kept asking David on the way down if it was weird that I wasn’t any more nervous than I was. Honestly, I could definitely sense that so many people were praying for us, and we both really felt at peace that this was the day and time God had ordained for his birth and everything was going to be fine so there was no need to worry.

Once we got to the hospital, everything seemed to happen so fast! They got us to our room and immediately began prepping me for the surgery. Everything was right on schedule, and the c-section went well. David was such an encouragement to me and supportive throughout it, as well as while we were in recovery immediately after. I can’t even begin to explain the range of feelings and emotions we both had, but as soon as they pulled him out and we heard him cry, we were so relieved and overwhelmed…the most beautiful sound in the world!

The nurses began cleaning him up and examining him, and David was able to walk over and see him for the first time while they were doing so. Once they finished, he carried him over and held him next to me until they took us to the recovery room. We were only there for about an hour and were back to our room by early evening, and all of the family who were there waiting were able to come in and see him for the first time then.

We were only in the hospital for a couple of days, and since Anthony and I were both doing extremely well, we came home late Saturday afternoon. This last week has gone well as we’ve been adjusting. Saying that Anthony is a good baby is a huge understatement…he has been phenomenal when it comes to eating and sleeping, and he rarely cries. Even when he’s been upset, he’s only whimpered a little. He’s already established himself on a pretty good schedule, which amazes me. He’s also very strong and a lot more alert than we anticipated. We took him to his first appointment with the pediatrician on Tuesday, and he’s in perfect health and had already grown a quarter inch and gained back some of the weight he had lost.

We’re continuing to get settled in and adjusted, but things are going so well. We had tried to prepare ourselves for the worst case scenarios when it came to eating, sleeping, crying, etc., but we just can’t get over how wonderful these first few days have been. David has already proven himself to be an amazing father and done so much to take care of both me and Anthony. We also owe a lot to family who have been a tremendous help and deserve a lot of credit for how well things have been going. It’s just been hard for me to ask for their help since I’m limited as to what I can do, but I’m really making the effort to not overdo it and focus on my recovery as well. Things are getting easier though, and I find myself feeling much better with each day that goes by.

Thanks once again for all of the prayers that have been offered up on our behalf and once again for your support through all of this. We are so blessed and love being Mommy and Daddy to little Anthony. Hope you enjoy the pictures below from the day he was born, as well as our stay in the hospital!