James Louis Higgins - December 10th, 2016 - 6 lb 14 oz - 18 in
Wow!! So I can hardly believe that my little baby is here and that he's been here now for over a week. The days have been so sweet with him here and everyone, including myself and Haddie, are adjusting even smoother than I thought. All of these pictures below are just from IPhone but I thought it would be fun to share the day's journey of my labor, how we are adjusting, and also how Louie got his name. Thats the best part about blogging; remembering all your memories and having them all in one place! Hope you enjoy!!
So first off- I knew I was going to be inducing on December 10th, my due date. I had been dilated to a 4 (you start pushing at a 10) for over 2 weeks so my Doctor and I both thought I was going to have him early! I also was ready to have this baby and it was wonderful to plan to induce knowing if he didn't come early, I could have my mom and in-laws plan to be there to help with Haddie and myself! So- this was my last belly picture at 4:30am Saturday morning! We had to be at the hospital at 4:45 am to start my IV of pitocin.
Haddie and my mama showed up to the hospital around 8:30am to hang out with us. I was still only having small contractions about 4 minutes apart at this point.
Girly stealing all my ice!
Also- eating Cheetos in front of me! We have been on a big Cheeto kick lately as you have probably noticed! Not good portion control either when you let your child eat from the bag, but hey, it was a big day for her! lol
So come to find out-- I ask to use the restroom around 10:30, while my contractions are still not getting much closer together. The nurse is a little curious since she had upped the dosage and my Dr. is about to come in soon to break my water to also speed up the process. When she is helping me get out of the bed to use the restroom, she notices that my IV of pitocin had the cap still on it and I had not been receiving ANY OF IT.... since 5am this morning!!! OH MY WORD. Praise the Lord I seriously was so calm and told her it was fine, I was feeling fine and there was nothing we could do about it now. She felt SO bad because it was the morning nurse who had given me the IV but this new nurse hadn't checked to make sure it was working properly.
So anyway... after I FINALLY started getting the pitocin (almost 5 hours later!) and my Dr. broke my water, I started feeling heavier contractions within like 15-20 minutes. These came much quicker than with Haddie after my water broke. I had asked for my epidural (PRAISE GOD FOR THESE :)) right after my Dr. broke my water so the anesthesiologist was walking into the room as contractions were getting stronger. She gave me the epidural but still after about 30 minutes I could still feel every contraction, as they were picking up. That made me nervous because with Haddie I didn't feel ANYTHING! The anesthesiologist came in again and gave me a stronger dosage then and after another 15 minutes I felt so much calmer because it had kicked in. WHEW.
It was probably less than an hour then when I had fully dilated to a 10, my Dr. came in and then I pushed for around 20 minutes. I had my football coach next to me the whole time encouraging me and loving on me! Louie came at 1:52 pm and was PERFECT. I just couldn't believe it when she laid him on my chest! You forget how SMALL, precious, and fragile babies are! What a miracle he is and how good is our God to allow us to bring children into the world like we can! It's so amazing!
Within the first few minutes of him coming out! He's so sweet and perfect! I can't get over him!
Most handsome and proudest Daddy!
Melt my heart!!
My mom and my in-laws getting to hold Louie! I was so thankful they were all there! Haddie did not take a nap the WHOLE DAY, which is like the first time in her whole life but she did amazing. She played with her "Gia" and her "Pops & Sugs" and was so good at being patient in the hospital all day.
Snuggling in the hospital bed, as we can't believe we have "KIDS" now! lol
Haddie kept changing her mind about wanting to be close to brother. "Haddie do you want to hold baby brother!?" Haddie would shake her head yes and hold out her arms. We would bring brother over. Haddie would say, "No." lol She has done so good around him though and has not been too fazed by him being here. She is carrying on as normal with the extra attention from my mama and her daddy!
(so this is my pink blankie I still use every night! The burn mark on it is actually from my first week when I had Haddie. The lamp next to my bed was SO bright when I would turn it on to feed her and so one time I threw my blanket over the lamp to dim the room and it burned my blankie in multiple spots! I'm lucky I didn't start a fire!!)
Going home! Here we go!! Life with two!! Obviously Haddie is very attentive to brother. lol
My dad was dying that he couldn't be here!! I wanted to get a picture of the three of them together :)
A family of four. I have "kids." lol How crazy life changes in an instant. I had been mentally preparing for this baby since my Dr. had told me I was dilated to a 4 so honestly by the time my due date was here I was ready. I couldn't wait to hold him and start our next stage of our life.
So I'll update you on each person, starting with Louie:
Louie has been such a good baby so far! He has been sleeping, eating, and more sleeping! He loves being held, being snuggled in blankets, and laying on pillows. The first night in our house Louie was a stinker and I was seriously up all night but since then he has gotten into a little bit more of a sync and is eating every 3-4 hours and sleeping in between at night. I have been so blessed this first week, as he also has caught onto breast feeding and has been eating well as my milk has come in. Let's pray this all continues!
Haddie is doing phenomenal! I thought she would be pretty jealous when I held him and would need to go feed him but she has honestly been just about the same. My mother was here the first week and that also has helped so much to give her extra attention when I needed to tend more to Louie. She does run up to Louie if he starts to wine or cry and tell me he needs his passie, or she will try to give it to him herself. And also, she brings Seth and I his diapers and wipes when we lay him down to change him. She loves being helpful (and she actually really is!) and I'm trying to include her in everything I can! I'm so proud of her.
My sweet hubby is finally on Christmas break and I don't know how much of a break he is going to get! lol He's such a trooper and seriously just jumps in to help all the time with anything - diapers, baths, dishes, Haddie. I'm so thankful his Christmas break is beginning now so I will have him around for the next 2 weeks! It is perfect timing. I'm so thankful for him and the way he loves me and our babies. He's the best dad.
Me. I'm doing great. Honestly. I'm tired but I'm joyful. I've been so excited for him to get here that I'm just so happy to finally be doing everything with all four of us. Louie is going to change a lot of things initially, like our schedule and sleep, and limit us to where we can just get in the car and go places but with Christmas and my hubby here, it just feels relaxed and normal, as crazy as that sounds. After I had Haddie, around day 2 or 3, I had a serious emotional breakdown and just couldn't stop crying. I loved her so much but I was so overwhelmed that I had a new life to take care of! So far, with Louie I haven't hit that wall yet but I'm sure I will let down here soon when I'm on my own with both of them! I've had so much help so far and I'm so thankful for family.
Lastly, LOUIE'S NAME!
Seth and I have known what we were naming our first boy since we first found out we were pregnant with Haddie. (You can find out where we got Haddie's name from this post!) James Louis Higgins is his full name, but I'm going to be calling him Louie. James is my husbands first name (James Seth Higgins) and also his father's and grandfathers first name. My real daddy passed away in 2001 when I was 11 years old of kidney cancer. His name was Louis but most people called him Louie. Ever since I found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to name my first boy after my daddy and I'm so thankful that now I have him here! Little Lou, little louis, louie, louis, JL, J Lou, whatever you wanna call him, but I"m calling him Louie. I think my daddy would be really proud to know I named him after him. I wish he could be here to hold him. I pray Louie grows up to know Jesus and follow him like his Grandpa in heaven did.
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Thank you Lord Jesus for the best Christmas present anyone could ever ask for; a perfect, healthy baby boy and a time that I am surrounded by my loved ones! Thank you for blessing our family and giving me two children to love and nurture. Guide Seth and I to know how to parent them with love, strength, discipline, and understanding, always leading them to truth. I pray that both of them grow up to love you Jesus and want to follow you more than anything in this world.
xo, ash
Throwing it back to a few months ago when Chandler came and took some photos of our house as I love seeing the changes we made in the year we have lived in our home! I'm continuing the next room BEFORE/AFTER post with the living room/office area…