Daddy + Mommy + Julia = A Happy Family... FINALLY!

Dear Family and Friends,

It is 10AM on Tuesday, November 27, 2007. I just returned from the third best shower of my life (the best being the first one I had AFTER Julia was born… and the second being the one I had yesterday...). I have about an hour to eat breakfast, take my vitamins, and catch up on ‘life’ before Julia and I go through temperature taking, diaper changing, and feeding… and let me tell you, I am loving it!

Thank you to my darling husband for updating you all on what has been going on the last few days. As you might know, our dear little Julia Morgan entered the world via C-section on Saturday, November 24, 2007, at 6:34 AM. She (with daddy in tow) was whisked away to the nursery, where she spent the day on oxygen. Later Saturday night, she was taken by ambulance to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, where she has been since, and will be until at least Saturday. I thank God constantly that she is recovering from her pneumonia quickly, is taken off monitors and things daily, and is eating (and pooping) and sleeping well. She is truly our little angel!

I spent Saturday through Monday recuperating from my natural childbirth turned C-section at the Pella Regional Hospital, where I alternated between happy times and very sad times, missing my little girl and my darling husband. You might not have known, but I never had a chance to hold her before she was taken to Blank… I saw her for about 30 seconds when she was delivered (and gave her precious kisses as Adam held her near my head) and then for an hour as I sat in a wheelchair by her little warmer bed in the Pella nursery. So… you can guess, I was chomping at the bit to get out of the hospital and to be here with her.

Yesterday I was released from the hospital around 12:45 PM, and my dear friend Alecia took work off to pick me up and take me home to repack and grab other essentials so that I could come to Des Moines, as Adam had been staying in Des Moines with Julia since she was moved here. Around 3:15 PM yesterday, we rolled into the parking lot and tears of joy flowed from Adam, Alecia, and I as I saw and held my little girl for the first time since she was born… what SWEET SWEET joy it was!



Even though I am learning now what Adam went through the first 24 hours with her – being on a ‘schedule’ and wanting to be part of EVERYTHING that is happening with her… which means little sleep – I know I am where I am SUPPOSED to be… where I NEED to be. We were meant to be together. She is a part of us, of me and Adam, and I have never been so satisfied or content in my entire life as I am right now. The beeps, monitors, shunts, C-section scar, bruises, needle holes, and dull hospital room all fade away every time I look at her, touch her, feed her, smell her, or otherwise take her in any part of her.

I have to say a BIG thank you to God for making this possible for me and Adam… for bringing such a joy and sweetness into our lives.

I also want to say THANK YOU to my WONDERFUL husband… he was an EXCELLENT coach during labor (THAT is a whole OTHER story), an EXCELLENT support through the C-section, and he has proven to be the world’s BEST daddy to his little girl. I could not have done this without him; he is my strength.



Thank you also to friends and family… those of you who have called, emailed (sorry, I haven’t read them all yet and it’ll be a while…!), visited… and otherwise. I know that many of you are ready to visit Julia here in Des Moines with us, and I THANK YOU for your patience…! I really needed to be here with her and experience her and take her completely in without other people being around, and I truly thank you for understanding that. Now that we have had some time to acclimate ourselves to each other, we will gladly accept visitors. We would appreciate you calling us first so we know you are coming… our lives are ‘ruled’ right now on a three-hour clock that involves trying to breastfeed, pumping breast milk, eating from a bottle, changing a diaper, taking a temperature, and anything else that can be done for our little one… oh, and maybe catching a few ZZZ’s here and there… as Adam said to me, the time sure flies by quickly and you don’t even realize it. So thank you… and we are looking forward to seeing you all!

Also... a thank you to the doctors, nurses, and staff at both Pella Regional and Blank Children's Hospitals... they are all truly angels in my eyes... they have all been such a blessing. Especially, I want to thank Dr. Carlstone for being such a wonderful doctor throughout my pregnancy and delivery and afterwards... I am so thankful he is Julia's doctor. I could list names and go on and on and on... wow! And... even though I saw our lives are 'ruled' by the three-hour routine here, they really are not... the nurses here are more than willing to give families a reprieve so that we can sleep, eat, and otherwise... which is also a blessing! (Nurse Rhonda was SO nice to let me sleep through the 5 AM feeding... I woke up, smiled at her, and went right back to sleep... LOL... apparently my body isn't recovering from this C-section as fast as I want it too).

I will keep you updated via the blog this week… it is the best that I can offer at this point. I will try to read and answer emails as I can, and I will take phone calls and talk as I can… please know that I am not trying to shut you out of our lives! Just know that I’ve never been a mom before and WOW, what a new experience this is!!! (One that I wouldn’t trade for ANYTHING!)

Daddy, Mommy, and Julia, together at last:


Hugs and love to you all! I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Erin

Ps. Julia’s ‘stats’…
Born on: November 24, 2007
Time: 6:34 AM
Weight: 7 lbs, 3.7 oz (or 3.5, depending on what piece of paper you look at)
Height: 20 inches