And Then There Were 3

Zach and I went for his 2 week appointment last Monday.  Normally, the doctor says they just expect babies at this age to gain back their birthweight, especially for breastfed babies, because they usually don’t gain as much weight.  But, Zach gained back his birthweight plus a whole pound!!  He weighed 7lbs 8oz last Monday, which the doctor said is a very rare weight gain for breastfed babies!  So, he is doing fantastic!  Everything else checked out great as well.  They had to prick his heel to take more blood for testing, and he really didn’t like that.  But, the rest of the appointment went very good.

Zach is still a great baby!  He has some fussy moments, like most babies, but overall, he does great.  And he stilll doesn’t cry a whole lot (except when you change his diaper.  He really doesn’t like this!).  And lately he has started smiling a little bit!  I’ve noticed he will do it when he is really tired.  I’m not sure if he is dreaming or what.  But, you will be looking at him, and all of a sudden, his mouth will curl up into a smile for about a second or two.  It is so cute!  Because it happens so spontaneously, I haven’t been able to catch it on camera yet.  Babies are supposed to be able to social smile by 2 months, which means that you can get them to smile in response to what you are doing.  So far, he just smiles for the fun of it, and not really in response to anything.

He is also very strong!  One of my favorite moments with him is when I lie back at a 45 degree angle, and have him on his tummy against my chest.  I love to feel his tiny little body against mine, and I love to smell his sweet head, and give him lots of kisses.  It’s times like this I wish he could stay little forever. 

He loves to lie against people’s chest, and he loves it even more when you rub his back!  It usually calms him down a lot, and is how I get him to go to sleep most times.  Now, when he is still awake, and lying on my chest, he has started picking up his head.  He will raise it up, and keep it up for a good 5 seconds!!  He really is so strong.

Will says that he is already spoiled because he fusses a lot sometimes until people hold him.  He loves to go to sleep in your arms.  Of course, who held him the most this weekend?  Yep, that was Will.  I don’t think he put him down much at all, despite him being “spoiled”.  He is such a good daddy, and loves him son so much!  I kept asking if Will wanted me to take him, and he kept saying No, that he wanted to hold him.  They are so cute together!  Besides, I don’t think you can spoil them at this age anyway. 

Zachary William Madsen has finally arrived!  He was born on Labor Day, September 3, 2007 at 5:29 pm.  He weighed 6lbs 8.9 oz, and was 19 1/4 inches long.  He is absolutely perfect!!  I think it is funny that he decided to come on his original due date!  I guess the doctor shouldn’t have changed it after all. 

I woke up on Labor Day at 6:21am with a very strong contraction.  That was still one of the stronger ones that I had, for some reason.  My contractions started at around 12 minutes apart.  My doctor had said that I could wait until they were 5 minutes apart to go to the hospital since this was my first baby.  I kept timing my contractions and around noon they got to 5 min apart, so I called my doctor, and we finally made it to the hospital around 2pm.  I was 3cm dilated at that time, and the contractions were starting to come much stronger and faster.  So, they gave me an epidural right away, and I started progressing pretty quickly.

The nurse checked me the last time, and I was at 9cm, and she said I was almost there.  Within a minute of her leaving the room, I had a very strong contraction that just would not go away.  It was starting to make Zach’s heartrate drop a whole lot.  So, the next thing I know, the doctor and several nurses are rushing into the room telling me they are going to have to get him out very soon.  I will spare everyone the details, but I was able to push him out in about 5-10 minutes, with the help of the doctor.  That was very fast for a first time mommy, but it had to be because Zach just did not like being inside me one minute longer!  He was very purple when he first came out, and it took them a minute to get him breathing.  But, as soon as he did, he was perfect!!  If anyone is interested, his apgar scores were 8/9, which is just about as close to perfect that you can get for a newborn!

We got to come home the following Wednesday.  I am recovering well, better than I expected.  And Zach is doing great!  He is such a happy baby.  He doesn’t cry much at all.  But, his facial expressions are so cute when he does cry.  His face all scruntches up, and he looks so pitiful.  He has gone 4 1/2 hours between feedings on one night!  LOL, not sure if that will continue or not.  He is just so content all the time, he loves to be awake and look around at his new surroundings, and he sleeps very well.  His daddy and I love him so much!

It is very true what they say that you can’t imagine loving something this much until they are here.  Sometimes when we are alone, I just look at him, and tears come to my eyes because of the overwhelming love that I feel for him.  I have already cried about when I will have to go back to work and leave him in the care of someone else.  Thankfully, I have a little over 6 more weeks with him at home!  And his daddy and him are so cute together.  He has definitely made our lives more complete and whole!  He truely is a blessing from God.

Ok, now here some pictures!  I have also added a bunch more to my Flicker account.  There is a link to that in the margin on the right hand side.  Email me if you want any originals!