Picture Perfect...

Caution: This blog entry is candid. If you think there is a chance you might get "TMI" then don't read it. I won't have hurt feelings!

A few things aren't talked about when a new baby comes into the picture. They are sort of paralyzing to a person (well, at least this person!). First, it is the reformation of your entire body. You know, there is a really good reason why they take pregnancy pictures - and then go right to taking pictures of the baby. Mommy's after-birth body isn't so hot. I bet if they did take some after shots and passed them around in health class, we might have better results with the whole abstinence scene!

Next up is nursing! We all know that breastfeeding is best and of course, it is natural! In this case, natural is not the word that is working for us. Natural is the opposite of what is in Mitchell's mind. Bottles, on the other hand, are natural for him. I have to say this has been the biggest derailer of my train. Jack was so good at this and Mitch is completely opposite. I was not prepared for nursing not to work.

I know I am not the only woman in the world with two kids. But here it is - the end of day three out of the hospital - and I am positive that if I did not have Jeremy every step of the way I would be completely out of my mind. We are fortunate to be able to tag team and each take one of the kids. How is it that other people make this look so simple and easy??

Sleep? What is that? Enough said.

Maybe my memories of baby Jack were sugar coated, or maybe he was the perfect baby...I am going to error on the side of sugar coated - and perhaps when you mix that with a little percoset things always look rosey. The reality of this situation is that we are working out the kinks. For now that is hard. We are finding balance and relying fully on God's grace to get us through it. Day three was certainly better than day two. We can count on things to get easier as the days roll on.

I am not sure why I always feel like things have to be so picture perfect in my life. Probably my undiagnosed OCD kicking in. Anyhow, we are on a little hiatus until we get it figured out - or at least until we can gain a little routine. I won't be checking email, facebook, or updating the blog as often for a few weeks. Thanks for understanding!

So what is picture perfect? Having these three wonderful men in my life!! They make each and every one of these struggles worth it. I am a blessed woman.

And I praise God for each one of them.

And the story goes something like this....

As Mitch happens to be sleeping well, I will take some time to let you know the details of his birthday.

It began on Sunday. We actually had contractions! Weird, huh? Especially coming from the girl who thought she would never have to endure them. Well - the good news for me is that the ones I was feeling were really NOTHING compared to what I have heard they can be like. Beginning at 9am I started having them. Consistently. I called the baby hotline and they said I needed to come in to be checked...just in case. This did not go with our plans. Jeremy and I are very scheduled people. We hoped they would just check us, give us something to stop labor and send us on our way.

We arrived at the hospital, got hooked up to the machine that measures contractions - and yes, indeed we were having contractions every 3-7 minutes or so. We thought our plans had changed and were adapting to this change. We were ready. Unfortunately, even though I was in the beginning stages of labor - my progress was not enough to warrant an emergency c-section instead of the one I had scheduled for the next day - so we were sent home. We spent the night taking care of last minute details and snuggling our Jack.

The next morning we took it nice and slow. My mom arrived to take care of Jack, we took one last "belly" shot, and off we were to the hospital to be prepped for surgery.

Can you believe how big my belly is?? And the funny part of this is that this is not nearly as big as I was with Jack!!!

Off to the O.R.

Jeremy is ready for surgery in his fancy space suit!

God blessed us tremendously on this day. Not only were we blessed with a new son, but we have been taken care of so well. We love my doctor. He did such a great job. We have also had the best nurses and assistants caring for us too. Oh, side note on that - From the moment we arrived until the middle of the night last night - most of our nurses and their assistants have looked very similarly to someone in our lives. Our first OB nurse looked just like my grandmother Angie; one of the O.R. nurses looked just like my good friend Amanda who is in China; the nursing assistant who helped me later in the day looked like my cousin's wife Erica; and finally, my overnight nurse the past two nights looks just like my friend from church, Tanya. Neat, huh?

Surgery went really well too. Here are a few peeks:

Our Baby On His Way Out - He cried right away! Good lungs!

It's A Boy!

Clean Up Time

As soon as Mitch was all cleaned up our nurse took him and Jeremy back down to the Maternity Care Center for weighing, bath time and shots. Unfortunately, I had to finish up with surgery and have recovery away from my boys. This was the only rough part of the day. I actually didn't get pain medication until my spinal block began to wear off (which is why I felt like a truck ran me over on Monday!)

I was glad to finally be reunited with my boys and thankful for the nurses who were on top of helping me feel better.

So, How is Jack doing??

As I mentioned before, we are so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family who is willing to help us out as much as we have needed. Jack has been cared for by his meima, nana, aunties, grandpas, and even his good friends. He has been loved a great deal through all of this.

Here is our first official new family portrait:

Jack held his baby brother Mitch for a little bit, but then he declared, "Mama, I all done holding Mitch!" It was so adorable! I love it. He is honest, and we are glad that he is able to express his needs to us. Anyhow, who would want to hold a baby when there are so many other things to do like blow bubbles, play with toy cars, go on walks through the hospital with daddy, and even get special juice boxes from the hospital!

Just for fun: Can you believe Jack actually fit in one of these just two short years ago??

Welcome Mitchell James!

We are delighted to be the parents of two sweet boys!

We welcomed Mitchell James Dyer to our family at 1:41pm yesterday. He weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21 1/4 inches long. It is funny to say this, but he is such a little peanut compared to Jack (who was 10 lbs 12 oz).

Mitch is doing very well. We are pleased to let you know that he even slept most of the night last night. :) YEA FOR BIG BABIES! He is a good eater, and is so handsome.

Jack received his little brother very well. We are so thankful to our family and friends who are giving his such great care during this time of transition for our family.

Jeremy, like usual, is amazing! He is a natural daddy and is so great to take care of all of my needs.

I have had a harder time with recovery of the c-section - At least that is how it felt yesterday. I am feeling a lot better this morning though. Yesterday I was so tired and really did feel like a truck ran me over. I am glad that things are moving in a good direction today.

Spring - "Forced"

In Minnesota we will probably be looking at 3 more snow storms before spring actually arrives. I figure it is finally safe to call it spring by the end of May.

The dilema I face each year is that after Valentine's Day, I really really want it to feel like spring. I take down all of my winter decorations and all of those fancy Valentine hearts.

What do I do next? I force spring to arrive in our home.

With a little help from Bachmann's and Martha Stewart...I plant some spring bulbs inside and watch them grow (this is called "forcing bulbs"). It is so nice to see that spring green bloom right before your eyes.

It always amazes me that these bulbs, which look like they are ready for the trash, have life inside of them. They are just waiting for a little drink of water, and off they shoot! It reminds me that we should never sell someone short. Who knows what God has in store for their life.