Happy (Very Belated) Birthday!

That's right, happy belated birthday to the newest member of our family, Liam! I have been very neglectful of blogging our birth story or any details of the first few weeks of life for little man, but it's because it's been a WILD few weeks!

Liam Thomas was born on Saturday, January 12. He was evicted actually... we were sent to the hospital directly from my 40 week doc appointment for an induction! I promise to share a more in-depth birth story soon, but the short of it was that my amniotic fluid level was dangerously low - too low to be considered safe for Liam - so it was time for him to enter the world! We were very caught off guard to say the least, so much in fact that I started crying in the doctors office (and on/off for the next few hours) because I was so scared. It was really happening! All total my labor & delivery were right around 24 hours, with about 19 of those hours being very uncomfortable and what you think of when you think of being in labor. Not fun!

Our stay in the hospital was a bit longer than expected because Liam was almost immediately admitted to the NICU. He stayed for 6 long days while he was treated for something called Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (or PPNN). It was truly the worst 6 days of my life, but we were lucky to be at an amazing hospital (St. Joseph Mercy) with amazing staff. The day that I was to be discharged, we found out that Liam would need to stay on for a few more days. The last thing I was about to do was leave the hospital WITHOUT my kid, so we were introduced to a social worker who arranged for us to stay on in a spare room for as long as we needed to. 100% paid for by the hospital. We were "off the grid" in terms of medical care, but they continued to feed us 3x/day. God bless those Catholics! You bet I'm making a nice donation there this year.

We were finally able to come home on Friday, January 19, with a sweet little boy who had a clean bill of health. Since then, life has been a blur in the best possible way. We don't really sleep anymore, we nap. There's a big difference! And let me tell you, everything is harder on no sleep. I don't know how T gets up and goes to work every day!

Here are a few pics of the last few weeks:

Hanging with the moms, made possible by the glorious epidural

Ready to go!

One of the first shots!

Dad, checkin out the goods

The first time we locked eyes :)

Meeting Oma & G'pa Mark

Meeting G'ma & G'pa Drennen

The command station

Leaving the NICU, finally!

happy to be home!

Napping with G'ma Kim

Snuggling with G'pa Paul

Relaxing in the Boppy lounger. Every baby needs one!

Uncle Dan makes me sleepy...

This Spartan game is boooring...

As of last Monday, Liam was up to 7lb 15oz and has grown .5in! We have had all the grandparents here for a visit, one set of great grandparents, and 2 out of three uncles (and Aunt Jenny!). He's a pretty chill kid and luckily doesn't seem to mind being passed around for all to snuggle with.

Friends have asked me how motherhood is and if/how it's changed me. I can honestly say that even being just 3 weeks in, I can feel a big difference. I have ZERO desire to do much of anything besides staying inside and being with Liam. (The cold snowy weather probably helps this!) I thought that it would be good for me to venture out solo the other night, so I went to the grocery store. All afternoon I was looking forward to strolling the aisles and having a few moments of "me" time, but 30 minutes in and I couldn't wait to get home. The Mama Bear in me had come out and I needed to be with my baby NOW! It dawned on me that I hadn't been away from him for the past 10 months!

Another unexpected part of this new life is how much closer I feel to Tom. Besides the fact that he has seen more of me (literally) than he probably ever thought he would, seeing him become a father and gaining confidence each day is incredible. He's patient at 4am when Liam has been up for hours and he's inventive in the songs he sings and the ways he plays with Liam. He's eager to come home after working all day and finds the energy to take care of both of us! He takes on the gross tasks like cleaning the umbilical cord and taking the first rectal temperature. And that doesn't even scratch the surface :) What a lucky girl I am!

The whole experience so far has been incredible. As painful and exhausting as labor was, in the end it was a beautiful thing and we feel lucky and beyond blessed to have been fortunate enough to go through it. But in case you're wondering (because lots have already asked), we're in NO rush to do it again quite yet! ;)