Wyatt - 3 weeks old

I've got a new appreciation for people that have kids (plural). Man, oh man is it more difficult having two than just one! They say it gets easier...lets hope. Even leaving the house and going into town is a big mission. Our car is way too small. We can't even go to the grocery store with both boys because there's no room to put the groceries anywhere. Unfortunatly there's no new car in our budget anytime soon. We'll be driving our blue toyota till that thing dies. It's far from flash but does the job.
Wyatt now weights 9lb 4oz. When the midwife visited last week she was quite pleased with his weight gain. No kidding...if he wasn't gaining weight I'd be suprised because I seriously feed this little boy about every two-three hours. Exhausting...he's sucking the goodness out of me, and I'm left feeling really tired and drained every day. Iron tablets are suppose to help. Besides the lack of sleep, the permanent tiredness, and stress of new house stuff and school, life is good. No seriously, it really is. I've got two gorgeous little boys, and one gorgeous husband, and a fantastic house...Oh, and the sun is shining...it's summer :-)

These are pictures that my friend Toni Larsen took - aren't they gorgeous? I just love the soft downy hair on Wyatt's shoulders and back (I'll actually cry when I realize that in a few weeks it will all dissappear), his cute dimple (everyone in our family has a dimple!), and his little button nose. He's the spitting image of Luca.

My mom is over in NZ visiting for a few weeks, and has been a huge help with the boys and around the house. So far we've hosted an Open House Sip n See for Baby Wyatt, hiked the trails around our house, installed a few curtains in the house, toured the local playgrounds and swimming pools, travelled to Wellington, got lost in the Corn Maze, attended a free concert in the Square, had an adventure on our local bus system, had NZ driver lessons (she can now drive by herself in NZ!) and hung out around the house. Next week I'll be in school all week so Grandma Cassie becomes the babysitter for the week. If I could find my download cable I'd post some pictures of our adventures...it's lost somewhere in the house.

Growing Bump

My very talented friend, Toni of Toni Larsen Photography took this series of photos for me, and it reminds me about just how amazing the pregnant body is. Perhaps its the overdose of hormones I'm expierencing from giving birth that is making me all sappy, but I really feel that growing a child from love and protecting it for 9 months in the womb is what the female body is made to do. And although I don't think we'll be having any more children anytime soon, I can see why some people want to have more. The whole expierence is pretty amazing. It's wierd. Now that Wyatt is out, I kind of miss feeling him inside me. That gentle nudge or kick to remind me that for 9 months I had two heartbeats inside me.

It's been my first day at home with Wyatt. Last night was spent frantically putting together the cot and going through boxes to find all the baby supplies (I told you we weren't really moved in yet, right?) It's a bit nostalgic pulling out items that had been packed away and forgotten from when Luca was a baby. Things like the Boppy, and the cute newborn onesies...it almost feels like xmas all over again.

But at the same time it's also a bit sad. Sad that I think this might be the last time we will ever have a newborn, and this time around I know just exactly how fast those days go by. So believe me, I'll be taking full advantage of every cuddle, every smile, and every baby moment of every day b/c we all know they don't stay babies forever.

If we had a endless supply of income, and maybe a nanny I think I'd want to have a few more kids. But for now, two is just perfect.

Wyatt James Deegan

Luca seemed to find baby Wyatt quite interesting. He wasn't sure what to think at first - but then as he became more comfortable around him he became quite posessive. "My baby, My baby" and "Me hold." It's quite cute how Luca kisses his head, and tries to gently pat his head.

Luca even got a present from Baby Wyatt - a Dr's kit. Luca entertained himself by playing Dr. with us and Wyatt. Luca's attention span is about 15 mins, so we tried to keep his visits to the hospital short. Usually a visit in the morning and another one in the evening before he went to the beach with Oma and Pop. After Luca, Baby Wyatt's first visitors were Oma and Pop.

Wyatt's first bath - he looks exactly like Luca did when he was born.

Although both boys look similar, the one difference I've noticed is that Wyatt seems a lot more fragile. Perhaps this is because he was born at 38 weeks and Luca was born at 40+. Wyatt probably wasn't ready to make his enterance just yet. It took about 5 hours for him to open his eyes, and several days later to actually look alert and wide eyed. He weighs less than Luca, and his head seems more wobbily, but it gets stronger each day.

Wyatt is quite a content little baby. We barely heard him cry until about day 3 when he finally found his lungs. Even then, his cries are short and not very often. It's amusing being in the maternity ward and hearing babies SCREAM at the top of their lungs all day day and night (and then if you keep listening you'll hear..."bing, bing" which is the nurses alert button that someone needs help). Luca was a screamer. So far, Wyatt hasn't been (or maybe it's just now that Mommy actually knows what she's doing...ha ha)

It's definitly easier the 2nd time around. I'm a lot more confident, knowing that there is no 'correct' way to do anything. Although it's only been 2 years, I had seemed to forgotten a lot! The nurses and midwives were very helpful in answering any questions I had, and the breastfeeding support is much appreciated too. In NZ, breastfeeding is a BIG deal here. All the midwives are trained, and there are specialized lactation consultants that come around and give you assistance.

I've obviously never had a baby in the States, but I can honestly say that the Public health care system for having a baby in NZ in top notch. My midwife was excellent and the care I recieved pre and post baby has been fantastic. All funded by our taxes :-)

Wyatt is so gorgeous. I could cuddle him for hours on end. I probably didn't need to stay in the hospital as long as I did, but it was nice to relax and just focus on healing and spending time bonding with Wyatt. Those 6 days in the hospital are days that I will never get back - so precious are those first few days with a newborn. The way I can hold his little butt and his curled up legs in one hand and hold him close to my chest, and the way that he smells, and turns his head to my voice...it's not like any other feeling in the world.

We left the hospital on Sunday morning armed with plants, flowers, a new baby, a new big brother, gifts, and plenty of pain medicine. It was quite a big day for us as it was also our first night in the new house. New house, new baby. Talk about overload!

Feb 2, 2010

Suprisingly I had the best sleep out of many many nights, and woke up early to prepare for the big day. We arrived to Palmerston North Hospital bright and early at 7am for our surgery. We had to wait several hours and watched everyone else get called in for surgeries until we were the last people left in the waiting room. After talking to lots of different medical staff, getting changed into our surgery gowns and more waiting.....it was finally our turn.

Self photo pre surgery.

Even though I had a c-section before, it was still quite scary. This time it was a whole different type of operation. Not as rushed, and everyone was calm. I had a spinal instead of a epidural, and the spinal takes effect immediatly. It's such a surreal feeling. They inject you (which feels like 5 bees stinging you all at once!) and then instantly your feet get warm, then your legs, then your butt, then your stomach...

My midwife, Megan, and James were such comforting support people to have with me during the surgery. I won't gross you out with all the details of the surgery (b/c believe me it is gross!) but all worth it for the final product...

This is kind of a crazy photo...Wyatt's first gasps of air. He probably is wandering what the heck is happening to him.

Wyatt James Deegan

Born Feb 2, 2010 at 1:35pm

7lbs 11oz

After he was delivered, and to my relief I heard the comfortinig sounds of crying, he was cleaned up and James got to cut the cord. Our suspicions were confirmed when the Dr announced that it was a boy.

My first look at my new son

First family photo

Wow...words can't even describe the emotional roller coaster of giving birth. It is just so incredibly amazing. The most beautiful thing in the whole world.

James got to hold Wyatt while they sewed me back together, and then James and the midwife and Wyatt all left to get a coffee (nice for some!)

I was reunited with them in the recovery room where skin to skin contact and breastfeeding was iniated with the help of our midwife. As usual the baby instinct took over and Wyatt knew exactly what to do. Soon after I was whisked away to the maternity ward, where I would spend the next 6 days recovering.

Last Days

The few days leading up to the birth of Wyatt were hectic, to say the least. We had to move out of our house and into the garage of our new house (the house wasn't finished yet). The start of my maternity leave was anything but relaxing. Luckily Jo and Bruce let us stay with them for a few days out at the beach. We have had some gorgeous hot weather, and the evenings at the beach were wonderful. The night before the surgery I took some "last days as a single child photos."

The only thing that would have made the birth of Wyatt complete was if my family had been around. I know, that I'll see them soon (a matter of weeks or months), but it's times like this that living so sooo very far apart is hard. Whether we end up living in NZ or the USA one of us will always be away from our families. That's just the unfortunate thing about falling in love with a foreigner.

Thank goodness for the wonderful loving support of James' family. It was so nice of them to take us in prior to the birth - we most appreciated the yummy meals (Jo always has good food at her house!), and the extra set of hands to look after Luca during the week of my recovery in the hospital. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH. I would've completly lost my mind if you guys weren't around to help out.