The beginning of our beautiful ride...

Well...it's official. We are parents.
Wow.
What a ride it has been so far!
The ride started bumpy...with a 21 hour labor, then after pushing for 1 1/2 hours with no success, producing an 8 pound baby with a C-section.
We saw the Lord's hand in this, though, as we were told soon that if we had not had a C-section, it might have been a bad situation, because the cord had been wrapped around our baby's neck.
His first cry was the most wonderful sound I have EVER heard. Of course we cried tears of joy when the doctors brought him to my side. What an amazing sight!
Eight pounds of beauty.
I was wheeled into the recovery room while friends and family waited outside to greet our precious gift, and then out after a while, to spend time with our new delight.
He was everything I had imagined, and more!
He had his daddies big feet, and big hands! He had my eyes, and daddies chin and mouth...and we are really not sure where that nose came from!
His hair was dark, but there wasn't much of it!
We loved on him for a bit, and I tried nursing, then the nurses took him.
And that...was the beginning of our long, beautiful ride. :)

The next day we were greeted by tons of sweet family and friends, who loved on our bundle and ooed and awed.
"What big hands and feet he has!" was a lot of their exclamations!
We couldn't have beamed prouder as they passed him around and smiled, and a sweet friend, Maria, took photos of him.
The next few days were kind of a blur really...as we enjoyed him, and I learned to breastfeed, which...is still in the works. It's getting easier, but it's still a bit of a challenge.
Then, the last day, the day we thought we'd probably make it home, we were informed that our little bundle had jaundice!
So...the nurses informed us we'd probably have to stay another day as outpatients, while our son stayed as a patient.
We actually were kind of thankful, because we were able to hang around and receive more expert advice from the nursing staff, which were awesome, and we are now friends with forever.
Kaleb's biliruben level was at 17 at one point, which our doctor did not like, so he got to hang out under the bili light all day, which he didn't actually mind. He seemed to actually enjoy it - like the light was comforting and warm! The best part was that we still occupied the same room we'd had, and were able to still bond with him thanks to the high tech equipment they have in the hospital we stayed at. They even still provided meals for me.
The next day, when they checked his levels, he was at 13.5, which the doctor was pleased with, but still not completely satisfied with, so he recommended us stay one more day, then leave at 6 that night. So we did....and by the end of that night, his levels were good enough to go home and just have to come back on Friday to check his levels again. Until then we are instructed to keep him in the morning light.

Last night was our first night at home.
Justin's mom and my grandma stayed over for a while, and we were brought dinner by some sweet church friends.
It was actually a pretty peaceful night, as after our family left, Justin took diaper duty while I took breastfeeding duty.
:)
I am loving having a hubby who has stepped up above and beyond the call of duty to help me. He volunteered last night to keep Kaleb in the living room with him to sedate him while he cooed and made sounds, and I stayed in the bedroom to get some much needed sleep. During my hospital stay, I didn't really have much...pretty much averaging about 2 hours a night.

But...
It's been a wonderful ride so far.
And it's just the beginning.
We are so excited about all the Lord has in store, and cannot wait to see how our little one grows and learns.
He is really a very sedate baby - doesn't really cry all that much!
We are wondering if this is the calm before the storm, the honeymoon period...or what!
But....we are looking forward to the ride.
It may have started a little bumpy, but hey, not all great rides are smooth, right? :)
SO excited to see how wonderful this ride is!
Thanks for all the prayers, and beautiful gifts we have received. :) We have wonderful family and friends, and are sooo happy to share Kaleb with you.
Let the FUN begin! :)