Levi is here!!!

Well, here's the biggest news in our family: little Levi was born on June 4th at 12:20 am! He weighed in at 7 lb. 4 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long (Devin was almost a full pound heavier but the same length). We were happy to see that he was decent-sized and healthy since he was 2 1/2 weeks early. He lost some weight in the hospital (nothing to be concerned about--just normal newborn weight loss) but he's already PAST his birthweight now at 9 days old--he's 7 lb. 9 oz.! He's built just like his daddy--long and super-skinny! His feet are about as long as his entire forearm; it's so funny! :) He has some brown hair, blue eyes, and storkbites on his forehead, left eyelid, and the back of his head and neck. The only actual birthmark we can find is on his lower back--just some little red spots that look identical to the ones Tye has on his lower back!
I started having contractions on Sunday evening and they were 6-7 minutes apart but not too overly painful. However, the doctor had told me to call when they got to 6-7 minutes apart so I did. We went to the hospital, they monitored my contractions and checked to see if I was progressing, and after 5 hours they told me to go home and take Tylenol because I wasn't progressing. I was so upset and felt silly because I truly felt like it was "the real thing!" By Monday night, though, I was feeling them every 5 minutes and they were getting pretty bad...I would fall asleep only to be awoken by the feeling of my belly being ripped out! Tye kept asking if I wanted to go to the hospital but I didn't want to go back and have them tell me that it was false labor again, so I said no. Tuesday at my doctor's appointment I was only dilated to 1 cm but the contractions were still getting worse. Nevertheless, I was again told to take Tylenol because this wasn't real labor. So, I proceeded to go about with my normal life (except for the fact I was contracting every 3-4 minutes and even crying through some of them) for the rest of the day. We took Devin to his 9-month appointment (all is well! He is weighing in at 23 lbs. and is 28 1/2 inches long...he's quite the stout little guy!), picked up a few things at Wal-Mart, and about 10 minutes after we got home my water broke. It was 7:30 and Tye put Devin to bed and said he was DEFINITELY taking me to the hospital whether I wanted to go or not! His brother Brandon came up to stay the night with Devin, we grabbed my hospital bag, and headed off to (hopefully) have a baby.

I love how he's smiling in his sleep in this picture! He was laying in the sunlight to help clear up his mild jaundice.

By the time we got to the hospital I was dilated to 5 (when just 8 hours earlier I had only been 1 cm and was told it wasn't the real thing!) and by the time the anesthesiologist got there to do my epidural I was almost to 8 cm. The first epidural came out (?!?!) so he had to redo it and I was dilated to 9 cm...then within just an hour or two Levi joined the world! All in all, despite the fact I had been contracting for 3 days, it was a pretty easy labor and delivery. Everything went smoothly, Levi was safe and healthy, and there were no complications--which are things I had been praying for! Oh, and not to mention that Tye was a pretty darned good coach--he might have a few broken bones in his hand from me squeezing it but he didn't complain once! He also went above and beyond in the hospital to help me out as much as possible--refilling my water, getting me things I could't reach, changing poopy diapers, etc. At home he's been a great help by doing a lot of the "Devin duties" that I can't do because of my ridiculous weight restriction of 10 lbs. (and like I mentioned, our son just so happens to weigh 23 lbs!), like carry him up to bed (Tye does his whole bedtime routine, which both he and Devin really enjoy together!), feeding him while I feed Levi, giving him baths and showers, etc.



Devin didn't quite know what to think of Levi when they first met at the hospital. He was pretty interested in checking him out until Levi started crying...at which point Devin started crying, too! He wasn't too interested in him after that, until we brought him home on Friday the 6th. He wanted to look at him up close and personal (which is totally Devin's style) but within that first day Levi pretty much became old news! He will come over to him every once in a while to poke him, look at him, or try to uncover him, and we work with him on using gentle, easy touches, but that's a difficult thing for a 10-month old to understand! :) For the most part Levi has blended in with Devin's world without any problems. Devin has already learned, however, that when Mommy is nursing Levi she can't get up to take things away from him or stop him from getting into things (at least not quickly). He takes full advantage of those opportunities to do things he shouldn't...like dump his snacks all over the floor or scatter the folded laundry all over the living room (the trend here is that he loves to make things messy!!). Levi usually nurses every hour or couple of hours during the day (except the one day he wanted to eat every half-hour!) so Devin knows there are some guaranteed "get-into-trouble times"! I try to read to him or play with him while I nurse Levi, but those are hard to do with only one free arm!

In other Devin news, his 6th tooth popped through this week and he's really pretty much done with baby food. For the most part he eats what we eat, just sometimes modified a little. This week he's had pot roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans with sausage and potatoes, jambalaya, pizza, lasagna, spaghetti, and even a tiny bit of cherry pie! That boy doesn't turn anything down, even things that aren't edible! We joke that our son is a goat because he eats ANYTHING he finds on the floor, coffee table, etc. He's started chewing on his clothes during naptime (I guess that's how he chooses to pass the time after I put him down for his nap and before he goes to sleep), picking at his diaper until he makes little fuzz balls he can pick off and eat, and I even caught him chewing on his toes the other day! Sometimes I wonder if he has some kind of nutritional deficiency or something, but he takes his formula, liquid vitamins with fluouride, and eats a well-balanced diet of solids so I assume he's just a normal "almost-toddler"!

We're taking Devin swimming at Tye's mom's house today and we are all looking forward to it. Levi obviously won't be swimming but he can sit outside with us in the shade...he seems to love being outside as much as Devin does! I'm looking forward to just getting out of the house and relaxing...although getting everyone ready and actually TO our destination is not a relaxing or easy feat!

I just had to add this picture from the hospital (even though Levi's face is all squished up!)--Levi had just finished eating (it was the middle of the night) and I noticed that I could get a picture of Tye and him sleeping in the same shot. The only thing that would have made it better was if Devin had been in the picture sleeping, too! :)