home at last!

Graham turned six weeks old over the weekend!!!

Six weeks!

I just can't quite believe it.

However, when I look back at these pictures, they seem like forever ago!

It's been a crazy six weeks, but we wouldn't change it for the world. Graham is such a sweet boy and we are all obsessed.

...

When we arrived home we were excitedly greeted by Max and Avery & Danny's parents. It was hard for them to understand why I couldn't pick them up, but they've got it down now. While Danny carried all three kids in, I hobbled inside (I'm still not totally recovered, but my how far I've come!!)

I think since I wasn't prepared for a c-section at all (it was the furthest thing from my mind!) it made recovery that much harder. I'm just barely getting to the point where my incision (and the surrounding area) doesn't hurt like crazy & I'm starting to feel a little less numb. Hallelujah!

// Max LOVES Graham. They have a very special brother bond going on. And I love it! //

// Avery is also a very big fan! We've realized that since bringing Graham home, Penny (her absolute favorite doll) has been put on the back-burner a bit :) //

 

// Max & Avery are such great helpers! They are (almost) always willing to grab a diaper, the wipes, a binky, etc... for me when I need it. //

// Our first family walk together! //

// According to Danny, having three kids has just about done him in :) I suppose these pictures sum up our energy level the last few weeks... //

// Danny was able to take a week off of work (Thank goodness!!! We were so happy to have him home with us!) and he was able to accompany Graham & I to a doctor's appointment. That doesn't happen every day! //

// I caught the kids being quiet! Without getting into any trouble! It was nothing short of a miracle :) //

// I love this picture with Avery's chubby hands taking a picture of Graham on the iPod //

// My sweet Mom & sister Cami stayed with us for a few days once Danny went back to work. They were here for St. Patrick's day, and brought the party with them! The kids loved it! //

// There are at least 50 other pictures almost identical to this one :) //

// Max loves snuggles with Graham! //

We are incredibly grateful to all those who stayed with us, brought meals, and sent encouraging texts & calls during these first few weeks. We appreciated them all!!

mountain view hospital

Once I had finished nursing & admiring our brand new baby for a while (aren't newborn babies the BEST?!?) our first visitors arrived. Of course, everyone was instantly in love.

I love this little guy!!!

(Not sure why I have those square sticky things on my chest! I had no idea they were even there until a little while later a nurse came in and took them off.)

Graham meeting Grandma Shaunna for the first time.

Aunt Cami working her magic!

Graham loves Grandpa Jim!

After my family had been there for fifteen minutes or so, Danny's parents arrived with our other two children!! (It's still so crazy to me that we have THREE kids!) It was probably a really dumb idea to have them make the long drive down to Payson that night because it was super late (the kids had both fallen asleep in the car on the way down) and because of that, they were slightly grumpy. #understatementofthecentury 

Neither one of them wanted to have anything to do with me or Graham...but they finally kind of warmed up. When it was time to go, both kids had MAJOR melt-downs and DID NOT want to leave. They probably screamed the entire maternity floor awake (it was late by this point) but our nice nurses brought them each a little bag of goodies (coloring book, crayons, etc...) and that definitely helped ease the pain. Since both kids were having such a hard time, Danny took Avery down to the car first which meant Max & I had some one-on-one time. It was much needed and I'm glad I got those few moments with two of my boys. I'm such a lucky lady!

Graham meeting Grandma Debbie for the first time.

Graham loves Grandpa Frank!

Ave finally warmed up and came to sit by me on the bed. She loves Graham & the phrase she has said the most since Graham was born is "He's so cute!!!"

Me and my boys.

xoxo

Our first night in the hospital was loooong. I was starving!!!!! (I hadn't eaten a thing since the baptism treats at 11 am) and they told me I couldn't officially eat anything until the next morning! Thankfully, the nurses working the night shift were angels and were so good to me. They even snuck me a few crackers :) Biggest complaints of recovery (before my pain meds wore off) were those silly leg compressors they made me wear to prevent blood clots. I got incredibly itchy and boy those things were annoying to have on! Even though it was a huge task to use the bathroom, I was so grateful to get up so I could take them off & itch my legs!

Overall, our stay at the hospital was amazing. I had no complaints about any of my nurses (until our very last day...they definitely could have been a little bit kinder...) and the food was great! Once they finally gave me the go-ahead to eat, I don't think I stopped! Haha!

So brand new!

Grandma & Grandpa came again on Sunday. We loved having visitors!

Uncle Bri came this time!

Love this picture. 

I married the man of my dreams!!

On Monday our friends Garrett & Karli came with their sweet little Sarah. Their baby was six weeks old at the time; crazy how much they grow in just a few short weeks!

Danny & I totally loved the hospital stay and tried our best to soak up every minute. It's so nice having people bring food right to your bed & waiting on you at the push of a button! Danny was great to get me up out of bed to do my "exercises" and we aimed for doing laps around the halls four times a day. Those were painful walks, but the doctors kept telling me that walking would make recovery better...so I took their word for it and fought the urge to stay in bed all day long :)

Our last night I was feeling extra adventurous and we played a game of Ticket to Ride! Don't let the picture fool you...I totally won!

The following three pictures were taken just minutes apart from each other. I love how quickly his expressions can change!

Even though I was ready to be reunited with our kiddos (we hadn't seen them since that first night) I was not ready to go home. I could barely get out of bed on my own (and even then it hurt incredibly bad!) but I guess it was good that I really didn't click with my nurses that last day because I couldn't get away from them fast enough! 

All buckled up & ready to face the outside world for the first time!

The wheelchair ride down to our car was much, much different than my wheelchair ride INTO the hospital four days earlier (I was feeling pretty defeated that I couldn't walk myself down to the car!) but whenever I felt the urge to cry about how things had turned out (which happened quite frequently...) I'd take one look at our perfect little boy & my frustrated feelings would disappear. (For a little while at least!) Thank goodness for modern medicine & skilled doctors who know what they are doing; without them, my story would have been much different.