1 week old today (Kind of Long, But Good)

1 week ago today Tucker Mosby Mize blessed mine and David's life beyond measure. At 10:04 a.m. I heard the most beautiful noise in the world... Tucker's first cry. Oh, I joined him immediately with tears of joy and appreciation. I felt immediate joy that this beautiful little boy has come into my life, and immediate appreciation for a Father in Heaven who found me worthy enough to send this little boy into the world, and specificall our family, for David and I to care for. What an amazing gift.

At his 1 week check-up today he had gained 10.5 oz. since we've been home. So he's now up to 9 lbs. 5 oz. H'es been doing pretty well, except last night he didn't want to go to sleep until 3:00 in the morning. However, yesterday he had is circumcision so he slept most of the day. Let me just say that was the most traumatic experience for me. I wasn't even in the room so I can imagine how Tucker felt. The Dr. gives him a clean bill of health and is impressed with what a big baby he is. I love that he is big, it makes so much more to love! :)

So today I am grateful for my son. I realized that I haven't shared much of our amazing experience, so today I would like to share it with you all. I broke it up into sections, so you can pick and choose. Don't worry, I don't get too graphic. :)
PRE-OP
On Wednesday, the 19th, David and I headed to the hospital at 5:00 a.m. Yes, incredibly early! But you do what the Dr. says. As I was getting my I.V. for my c-section I got really faint and nauseas. I had a lot of nerves going on and I never do well with needles. After I was all prepped, Dr. Bowen came in and said it needed to be postponed for about 45 minutes because the anesthesiologist had to do an epidural on short notice. I figured that the epidural was worth waiting for. :) It wound up being about a little more than an hour before they were ready. I didn't mind though, it gave us a chance to nap. At one point I flat out admitted to David that I was scared and nervous. He sat on my bed with me and held my hand. We didn't say much, but it was just reassuring that he was there. It's amazing how he can do that.
THE O.R.
I walked into the O.R. and left David in the room. I had to get all prepped before they would bring David in. The O.R. was FREEZING! Seriously, I thought I was going to die from frostbite. As I was getting my spinal injection one of my Angle Nurses brought me a warm blanket and it made ALL the difference in the world. Considering I was supposed to stay very still for my spinal injection and I couldn't help but shiver, it was nice to have the warm blanket. As soon as the anasthesiologist was done, they laid me down to hook me up to every monitor under the sun. They numbness started to set in and it was the weirdest feeling in the world. I started to get faint and nauseas again and my BP dropped really low, so I started throwing up. My Angel nurse appeared again with another warm blanket and a bowl for me to throw up in. I call her my Angel nurse because she was ALWAYS there when I needed her with exactly what I needed. I could feel the Dr. start doing his thing and David wasn't there yet, so I kept asking for David, and every time I was reassured he was coming, I would ask again. David finally came into the room and held my hand. I wasn't completely numb so I could feel a lot more than the Anasthesiologist wanted me to, but I kept telling her I'll just deal with it because I didn't want them to have to stop and wait. My anasthesiologist was amazing as well. She would give me a play by play of what was happening. After what felt like I had been sliced in half, tugged from here to kingdom come, and had a Dr. standing on my chest to try and squeeze the baby out, I heard the most amazing sound in the world; Tuckers first cry. Oh it was so precious. The Dr.'s first comment was, "Look at that head. There is NO way you could have delivered this." Everyone laughed, including David and I.
THE ARRIVAL
At first Tuckers cry was very faint, and then he let us know he was here and he meant business. They wiped him a little and then wrapped him and gave him to David. As soon as David appeared around the curtain, the first thing I said was, "You look just like your Daddy." It was the cutest thing in the world to see David with our Son. Even though David had a scrub hat on and a mask, I could see that his face was just glowing with the pride of his baby boy. David came and let me kiss Tucker and touch his sweet face. It was such a special moment to be there with my little family. So amazing. I was grateful that the nurses let me have my arms lose instead of strapped because I was able to enjoy that moment even more. The nurses let us love on him for as long as we wanted, it was great. After about 10 minutes David and I were SO curious of his stats so we let the nurses do their thing.
THE STATS
As soon as the nurses weighed him, one of them hollered into the room, "9 lbs. 14 oz.!" Even the Dr.'s were shocked. And then I heard them talking about the placenta and how huge it was. They all seemed really shocked at how big it was. But, with a big baby comes a big placenta. Later David told me that Tuckers official stats are:
9 lbs. 14 oz.
20 1/2 inches long
15 inches head diameter
Born at 10:04 a.m.
THE RECOVERY ROOM
Once all was said and done in the O.R. I was wheeled into the recovery and there I was able to hold Tucker for the first time. It was so amazing. I loved being able to look at him and know that he is mine. It was such a special time again for David and I. I loved being able to lie there holidng Tucker in my arms with one of David's hands on Tucker and the other one on my leg. It was such a feeling of completeness. Not that we are a fully complete family, we still have little ones that will join our family, but for the moment, we are complete. The nurses were shocked that just after we got into recover I could start moving my right leg. It normally takes at least an hour, but since I wasn't completely numb, it didn't take me as long. All I wanted to do in the recovery room was leave and go up to my mother/baby room so I could spend time with David and Tucker and, honestly, so I could order some food. I hadn't eaten since 11:00 the night before.

HOSPITAL STAY

The rest of my hospital stay was awesome. We were blessed with the most amazing nurses and hospital staff. As I would walk by other patients in the hall on my nightly walks, we would share stories of labor and delivery and show off our babies to each other. It was so fun to share with everyone. David and I had so many visitors and we loved it. Aside from both sets of Tuckers grandparents Tucker got to meet Brittany and Randy Springer and their little boy Randy, Shaira Powell and her baby Owen, Melody Rogerson and her baby Bella, Kim and Chris Blevins, and Emily Montgomery. We loved our visits from everyone and appreciate you all. :)

The recovery wasn't the easiest thing in the world. The first time I had to get out of the bed I thought I was going to DIE! Then I had to go and try to go to the bathroom. You know, the toilet is a LOT lower than one would think. But, each time I got up after that it got easier and easier. The food in the hospital... AMAZING! Seriously, it was SO Good! David and I were able to spend some great time together with Tucker and we loved that. David didn't stay the night with me in the hospital because we both felt he was more effective after getting a good nights sleep at home. So he would come as soon as he woke up, and then he would stay all day until it was time for bed again, around 10:00 or 11:00. He was so good to me, and still is here at home.

We love having Tucker in our family. David and I will lay in bed at night and look at Tucker while he is sleeping in his cradle and we'll say to each other, "Isn't he so perfect? I just love him so much." It's so fun! We just love being parents and can't wait to watch Tucker learn and grow every day!