Welcome Home, Mom and Bingley!

So those contractions I mentioned the other day. . . they were REAL! I knew it. It was slower and less regular labor than is typical for me, but it still got my little man out into the big bright world! And its a good thing, too, as I was beginning to feel like I'd turned into an elephant whose pregnancy gestation period is 24 months instead of just 9!

"Mr. Bingley," as Savanna has affectionately dubbed him, arrived to a very clean and tidy home yesterday afternoon. We are working on teaching him to nurse, as this is not coming as naturally for him as it has to many of the other children. Last night as I sat with him on the couch at three in the morning, trying to keep both our spirits up about the nursing challenges I said to my new man, "You can do this!" (speaking about the latching and sucking that he's just not getting yet). "And then when you get it, you'll get lots stronger and then it won't seem so hard." I immediately recognized those little words applied to me and our new reality as well.

Mr. Bingley did latch on well for the first time in the night last night and also had a most successful feeding this morning. So we are both working on getting stronger.

Thankfully I have the best mom in the world here with me to help. She got her super strength powers years ago when she raised her six kids (6 kids under 9 years of age with the last two being twins when she was 38 years old! I was the oldest kid then at 9. And I doubt I was as helpful as I like to pretend I was).

Everyone is elated he's here! Everyone except for Sunshine. She would be elated, but she doesn't know he's here yet. Yikes! We're keeping him a secret for his own welfare. Sunshine developed a horrible cold the day we went to the hospital and we now have her on anti-biotics and think she'll be better soon. In the mean time, we have her convinced I gestate like an elephant.