Just Before Jack

Really this post should come before the last one but whatev...

Ryan's father's day gift was a new coffee pot--fitting for the soon-to-be father of a newborn, don't you think? So, that morning before church I gave Molly some cash and she picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts to go with it:

She loves her daddy...can you tell?:

Those last few days before Jack there were lots of errands to run and things to catch up on.  They went by quickly but we made a point to savor that time as a family of 3.  A trip to the zoo, some special picnic suppers, a few trips to the pool, some baking and art projects, and this little moment I caught here:

Eating a popsicle outside with Daddy after dinner.  

All these things will be just as special now that Jack's here, but somehow just days before an impending delivery they carry a different weight ;).  A good thing since it causes us to pause and enjoy these moments more.

Both sets of our parents came in on Wednesday, the day before Jack's birth.  We all went out to Mimi's Cafe for dinner--the same place we shared breakfast just before Molly was born.  This time we had one more in our party though:)!

Because of our early wake-up time the next morning we decided that Molly would spend the night at Aunt Karma's.  We didn't want her to hear us get up at 4-something and then not be able to fall  back to sleep and then be super tired to meet her new brother.  We did her nighttime routine at home before driving her over for bed.

And then paused for a quick last family-of-3 photo:

It was a bittersweet ride to Karma's that night...anxious excitement over the anticipation of meeting our son and knowing, as she talked incessantly in the back seat, that Molly would seem impossibly bigger in just a few short hours.

Birth Day

So I'm painfully (really, painfully is not the right word but keeping it anyway) aware that it's been 12 days since the birth of our son and I've done nothing to announce him from here.  I actually went back to Molly's birth date and it seems I never wrote an entry about her birth at all!  I think it must be something to do with the aftermath of having a new baby...it's crazy up in here!  I finally sat down to weed through pictures and there are so many that I thought I'd break up this major event by sharing about it's parts.  So without further ado...

Here we are in the waiting room at 6 a.m.  Ryan took my last picture in civilian clothes to share via instagram before we were called back to get ready:

We were the ONLY scheduled section that day which was really lovely.  Molly's section was the last one of the day and so we had the place all to ourselves.  When Jack was scheduled for the first slot we feared we'd be the first of many in a busy prep and recovery area but we had everything to ourselves once again.  Visions of Molly's baby book danced through our heads as we began to restage the same pictures for Jack:

Jack, meet your fearless father:

Almost "go" time:

So, FYI, from prep to discharge Ryan and I were blessed to be served by the sweetest, most competent and caring staff at Kennestone.  I know they're not all like that it's just that God really orchestrated the exact line-up we needed.

Last time I had a bad experience with anesthesia--it took the guy forever to get it right and it was painful and scary because they wouldn't tell me what was going on or what was wrong and of course Ryan wasn't allowed in there so I felt very alone and out of control.  It then wore off before I was all put back together and no one knew because I couldn't speak and they all thought the tears I cried were those of joy.  This time we got the only anesthesiologist that would actually allow Ryan to stay in the OR while I got my spinal.  He was spot on and just made me feel confident and comforted.

Everyone in the OR was so friendly and happy and professional and I had a blast.  I was super chatty (drugs?) and they chatted back and answered my questions and we even found a few people who knew people that we knew.  It was comfortable.  And I think they may have thought I was crazy as I hollered out things like "I love you all!  Thank you for everything!  I'm so grateful and happy!" as they rolled me to recovery.

Under the knife...almost time for baby!:

Ryan was busy, camera in hand, watching every move, every cut.  He gave me a play-by-play until we got to the moment we'd been waiting for...8:08 a.m.!:

And there he was!  The little man who'd been bumping and rolling and kicking me for the past few months.  His cry and his face immediately brought back the same experience with Molly--he looked and sounded like her right off.  With the spinal properly working, the wonderfully staffed OR and my Cesarean inferiority complex behind me, this go round I was able to enjoy being in the moment so much more.  And the moment was wonderful.

Now, Ryan gets down and dirty with the pictures so if you ever want to see a picture of my uterus or ovaries or even my fallopian tubes (there was a student in the OR so Dr. Huffman gave her a quick anatomy lesson before putting me back together again...fascinating really!)...we've got 'em!  I'll spare you for now though.

The cord-cutting:

Here he is!  A bit wiped off, mad, and looking like a boy.  You can see his light colored hair here:):

And the official weigh in:

10 pounds and 5 ounces!  One ounce less than Molly but one week earlier than her too.  Funny, now, nearly two weeks later, he looks so much tinier than that!  And I guess he is as he hasn't quite gained up to his birth weight just yet.  Fresh babies are crazy-swollen (well, ours are).

We didn't get a picture of the actual first time I saw him but here's the first time I saw him wrapped up in a blanket:

And our first parent/son picture (well, I can't call it a family picture now can I?):

And my wonderful doctor, Kimberly Huffman:

Welcome, sweet boy!  We love you!

Jack Oliver Lucas

Born June 21, 2012 at 8:08 a.m.

10 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long

Zoo Day

We got a free family pass from the library to visit Zoo Atlanta and chose to do so yesterday.  It was a beautiful and breezy day--perfect for Molly's first time at a real zoo!  The bulk of my time right now is being spent on all the things I want to get done around the house before Jack gets here THIS WEEK, so while this post is heavy on pics it's light on narration...the only way I could crank it out...

First stop...the flamingos!

Next we ran into some zookeepers wielding a snake and Molly was fascinated.  She asked to touch it but they weren't allowing that.

We got a great view of the elephant.  She was in her "farm" (Molly called the elephant barn a farm)

She was quite fond of the toucan and enjoyed watching it eat grapes.

So many of our zoo pictures are of the back of Molly's head but this one I told her to show me how happy she was to see the giraffes:

Molly's most anticipated animal was the zebra.  In the end it did not end up being her favorite:

Here we're supposed to be looking at the gorillas but there was a plane flying over with a banner so it won;)

Molly thought the baby gorilla was "so cute":

I think she's "so cute":

The orangutans:

Intently watching...something:

The red panda:

Um, this thing is found in Georgia...

Molly thought the reptiles were totally awesome...eww...and loved looking for each snake in its tank.  This one could totally eat her!:

Checking out the turtles:

The greatest part about the zoo was the free parking and the freedom to bring in your own food.  Coupled with our free tickets it was a FREE day of fun!  We ran into the picnic tables just in time for a nice long walking break for Mommy and a lovely lunch for all.  (My nose gets bigger every day I stay pregnant!):

Re-fueling:

Checking out the map after a potty break.  She was very intent on figuring out where she wanted to go next:)

Concentrating:

Again, I realize this is the back of her head but it represents our fun time watching the panda bat around his ball.  One of the highlights:):

Look at that sweet Joey!:

LOVE this!:

My favorite two marsupials:

Looking at the kangaroos:

Brushing the sheep:

She did not want to touch the goats, just this sheep:

Waiting to ride the carousel:

Totally uninterested in riding on one of the animals...sigh.  She just wanted to sit on the benches.  Oh well:

Pretty as a peacock:

We got home just in time to take a long family nap.  What a wonderful way to spend our last weekend pre-Jack!