Wow! I can't believe how quick time is flying already. Our little guy surprised us and arrived 10 days early! On Thursday December 4th I was having contractions on and off randomly all day, that night around 10:30 they were so bad I could hardly get through them without crying! But, they weren't very consistent. Some would be 2 minutes apart, and others 10-15 minutes apart. We finally decided around midnight to head into labor and delivery. They got me settled in a room and said they would monitor me for an hour to see if I progressed. When we checked in I was at a 2. Well, a long hour later (with horrible contractions every 2 minutes) they checked me again and I hadn't progressed. I was devestated! They said that my contractions were so bad because I was likely dehydrated. They gave me an ambien and Lotatab and sent us home. After being home for about 20 minutes... My water broke! So we jumped back in the car and headed back to the hospital. They got us in a room immediately, and they checked me again. I was then at a 6+! Crazy! My contractions were truly horrible and I couldn't wait for my epidural. He came as quickly as he could, and then I was finally able to relax. Every 40 minutes-1 hour they would check me and everytime I would be further.. 7, 8+, 9, and finally a 10. They called Dr. T and I knew we were in business! The nurse coached me on how to push and we did a few practice rounds. Right before Dr. T walked in, my mom walked in! She had driven through the night and made it just in time. After about 5 sets of pushes, our sweet little guy entered the world! He was born at 7:56 am. He weighed 6 lbs 2 oz, and was 20.5 inches long. Right when he came out, he was wide eyed and starring right at his daddy! They quickly placed him on my chest, tears rolled down my face. I looked up at Blair and he was also crying. It was the most beautiful moment! I'll never forget the love I felt immediately for our son. He was perfect in every way. He was just crying softly and grunting a little bit as I kissed his head and held him tight. I kept telling him that he was ok, and that I was so honored to be his mommy. They then took him to be weighed and measured and cleaned up, and then Blair got to hold him for a minute before we did skin to skin. It was so amazing watching Blair become a daddy. The love in his eyes was so immediate and they connected quicker than I could have ever imagined! They then brought him over I me and we did skin to skin. I never want to forget the way he smelt as I held him so close. Straight from heaven! I remember looking into his tiny little eyes and adoring his petite little features. He is such a beautiful boy, with the perfect amount of dark hair! We then tried breastfeeding for a few minutes when they needed to check his blood sugar and a few other things. Sadly, after running his blood sugar levels, they found that his were really low. They told us they would need to take him to the NICU for a little bit until they could get his levels up. Blair and Bo headed to the NICU while they took me up to Mother/Baby to get situated in our room. I was very emotional and sad to not be with my baby boy! Down in the NICU they got him all hooked up to an IV and started him on sugar water to get his levels up. That is when they informed us that he would be in the NICU for at least 24 hours. We spent the next 24 hours hanging out in the NICU, going down every 3 hours to feed him, and taking visitors in shifts to meet him. During the night the nurses would call our room and wake me up when he was ready to eat, and I would limp down the halls to the elevator SO excited to go hold and feed my sweet baby. Those are tender moments that I'll never forget! It was hard to see him hooked up to machine, monitors, and with a big IV in his hand... But oh how sweet he was! Such a tough little guy. That night we gave him a blessing that he would be okay. That is when we decided on his name. Blair just felt like he was Bo, and so that's what we went with. I love it!! The next day, after a few good feedings that night, they tested his blood sugar levels and he passed! We would be able to graduate the NICU and come up to our room!!! We were thrilled! Our nurse was Emily George and she was amazing. She took such great care of Bo. We will be eternally grateful for the things she helped us with and the things she taught me as a new mom. We spent that day and evening having visitors in and out, and just enjoying our sweet baby Bo. One moment I never want to forget was in a quiet time, with no visitors, we all climbed into my hospital bed and cuddled up as a family. Just the three of us. Heaven on earth! That night as we were settling in for bed, we got a phone call from Dr. T saying that some of his blood work had a growth on it, but that he thought it was just a contaminate but that they were going to have to do more blood work to make sure that he didn't need to go back into the NICU to be treated with antibiotics for 7-10 days. What an emotional roller coaster!!! We had experienced some very high highs, and a handful of lows over the previous 36 hours. Both Bo and I received blessings that night. Sunday afternoon Dr. T came to the hospital to discharge us. We were anxious to leave, but still nervous that after arriving home we would be called back to the hospital because of bad blood work results. We prayed and prayed and hoped for the best. Leaving the hospital was a rush. We packed up or bags, strapped our little guy in his car seat, and off we went. Arriving home was a surreal and very special moment for us. Blair ran in through the garage, and told me to wait out front so Bo and I could come in through the front door. He opened the door and with tears in his eyes said, "Welcome home buddy." We walked through the door and Blair and I cried. We kept telling Bo that his was his home, and that his mommy and daddy were so excited to have him here safe and sound. We had dreamed about this day for a long long time. The love in our home multiplied by infinity that day!
The first few days home consisted of a lot of doctors appointments to check his bilirubin, blood work, etc. We experienced a lot of highs and lows as we worried about the well being of our little guy. After a roller coaster of emotions, we were told we were finally in the clear! Bo's blood work came back normal. Our prayers had been answered! We had a healthy, happy baby. We were SO relived!
My mom stayed with us for a week! She cooked, cleaned, helped with Bo.. But more than anything she helped me! It was nice to have her there to help me transition into being a mom. She kept reminding me that the only thing I needed to worry about or focus on was being Bo's mom. I'm grateful for those reminders and for everything she taught me during the week she stayed with us. I cried like a baby when she left!
We've had a lot of firsts! First night at home (yikes!), first bath, first walk, first outing, etc. I cried the day his belly button fell off! I don't want him to grow up!
He was circumsized at his two weeks appointment! He weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz.! We were thrilled that he had passed his birth weight. He measured at 21.5 inches long. He was growing and healthy. He cried when Dr. T numbed his little wiener, but during the actual circumcision he was so good! He held Blair's hands and was very calm. Such a brave boy!
Bo had his first road trip! We went up to Kaysville for Christmas. We made a stop in Beaver to feed him. It was quite comical! We figured bottle feeding him would be the quickest way.. So Blair would feed him while I pumped. We plugged in my pump to the side of the gas station haha! Ridiculous. We shortly learned that the pump takes batteries! Lesson learned. Lol!
He was quite the hit at Christmas! He got lots of love from all of his cousins, aunts and uncles, and of course his Mimi and Papa. He made us nervous when he developed his first little cough! Aside from me getting mastitis, it was a fabulous Christmas break! We loved spending time with our whole family and having everyone meet Bo.
A few tidbits of info about the first month of Bo's life:
-He is a cuddle bug. He loves to be held, close to your face! He loves having his hands held. When he is crying, if I hold him close and put my lips on his forehead he calms right down.
-He had a clogged tear duct from weeks 2-3 but it's all cleared up now!
-He eats every 3 hours during the day, and has been eating every 4 hours during the night. We have a good bedtime routine and he usually goes right back to sleep after he eats.
-He likes to be swaddled when he sleeps.
-He's learning to like the solly wrap and his swing.
-He is very alert! Sometimes he will stay awake the whole time inbetween feedings.
-He got cradle cap at 3 weeks, and we had to scrub his head. In return, he lost a lot of his hair and has a nice bald head at the moment.
-I've tried a few different types of binki but he prefers the green "soothie" brand.
-He hates the bath and diaper changes.
-He was so tiny when he was born that we had to buy premie clothes for him. They are getting a little snug and he's filling out his newborn clothes better now.
-He wore premie diapers for the first 2 weeks and then we switched him to newborns.
-I pump one time a day and we bottle feed him so that he can learn to eat from a bottle.
-He makes lots of crazy noises when he sleeps!
-He has the cutest concerned expression where he scrunches his eye brows.
-He has a dark complexion. Dark hair and eyebrows! We love how his brows and sideburns touch. He even has little brown fuzzy shoulders!
-He always tucks his bottom lip up under his top lip.
-He makes the sweetest face when he is "milk drunk." I kiss his little nose and face off every time.
-He has several nicknames already.. Bo Man, Bo Flex, Buster, Nugget, little love, Buddy, etc.
-He likes to be bounced and cuddled for a few minutes before he goes to sleep.
-We weighed him the other day and we think he's around 8 lbs. Getting so big!!!
He really is the sweetest baby! He is rarely fussy and just loves to hang out and cuddle with mom and dad. I always try to sing him lullabies but I cry every time I do. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He made me a mommy! I get so emotional thinking about my love for him. It's truly indescribable. I will never take this opportunity of being his mom for granted. Blair and I feel very blessed to have such a perfect little boy in our lives. It has been the fastest, most wonderful month of our lives!
Dear Bo,
Oh sweet boy! I am so lucky to be your momma. Every day I just stare at you and can't believe you are mine. I'll never forget that moment they placed you on my chest for the first time and I felt our connection and love for each other immediately. You have already taught me and your dad so many things! You are a cuddle bug, and we can't get enough of your sweet loves! I give you hundreds of kisses, all day long. Your little cheeks are so soft, I just can't kiss them enough. Everyone who meets you loves you and says what a handsome baby you are. I think you look just like your daddy! You definitely have his long skinny limbs, and big hands and feet. Your dark complexion and concerned little eyebrows kill me. Your eyes are still a grayish color, and we can't wait to see if you will have brown eyes or blue. We love holding your little hands! You have the tightest grip and hold onto us so tight. Me and your dad try our hardest every single day to make you feel safe, loved, and adored! We pray that you will know that we love you. You are our prized possession! Thank you for being the sweetest baby we could have ever dreamed of. Thank you for choosing us to be your mom and dad! We are the luckiest parents in the world. I love you like crazy little Bo. Thank you for making my life infinitely more beautiful!
I love you more than you will ever know.
Xoxo
Love,
Your Mom
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