First Days Home

I'm writing this months after the fact, so the first days home after Oliver was born seem like a blur. I was, of course, exhausted. Not sleeping really messes you up. I also get the craziest hormonal changes during and after pregnancy. It takes me several weeks to feel completely normal again. After this pregnancy, I felt better physically but maybe a bit crazier emotionally. I don't get sad; I get angry. It's funny in hindsight, but it's miserable at the time... for me and everyone around me. Every little thing drives me bonkers. My blood boils and I just want to scream and swear up a storm. Funny, right? And then one day, I wake up and feel like myself again. Night and day. 

Oliver was born Saturday and they kept me in the hospital for an additional night to make sure my blood pressure was normal., so we got home Monday afternoon. The first night home, Lori made a roast beef meal with mashed potatoes, salad, homemade rolls... and then topped it off with German chocolate cake. My chiropractor sent me flowers, and my visiting teachers dropped by a gift. Sandra, Julie, and Zach left the next day. Oliver had his first appointment Friday and was healthy. I had made dinner for a friend after she'd given birth, so she returned the favor and brought dinner by. I spent most of that first week feeding Oliver while in pajamas, sitting on a boppy in the rocking chair in our bedroom. Lori bought me a chair cushion for the rocking chair as a baby gift. 

My mom and dad came into town Sunday after Lori left. It was more of the same... eating, feeding, healing. Nate's paternity leave started Monday, so he was able to spend time with all of us. We went down to Provo to BYU one day, and while I felt pretty good, I did get to a point where I must have pushed myself too far because I had to sit down for a bit. Mark and Sandy came by to take Mom and Dad to dinner one night and gave us a little outfit for the baby. Dad left after a couple of days, and Mom stayed through the week. My birthday was the 21st, so Mom, Nate, the boys, and I went to Braza Grill for lunch where they made me put on a foam hat while they sang to me. I'm 31! Mom and I went to a movie that afternoon. It was a nice day. 

That Sunday marked two weeks, so I felt comfortable enough taking Oliver out to church. After Sacrament meeting, we were chatting in back with Sam when Oliver, who was in his car seat on a folding chair, toppled to the ground. The car seat landed upside down with a thud. I yelled a manly "Aaahh!" followed by a loud "Holy shiz!" to which my mom yelled, "Emilie!" The twenty or so people who were still in the chapel all turned to see the commotion. In my zombie-like state, I felt everything moving in slow motion. It was quite the out-of-body experience. I pictured Oliver's head smashed in and blood everywhere, so I was afraid to turn the car seat over...but everyone else just stood there looking at me, so I reached down and... Oliver was totally fine; he wasn't even crying. The handle had broken the fall. I immediately felt embarrassed at the situation and that my mom had unintentionally announced that it was me who screamed and half-profaned in a church, so I started laughing hysterically. Awesome. There's nothing like delirium.

Max was sweet with Oliver from the beginning. He would want to feed him and help with retrieving whatever the baby needed - blankets, diapers, wipes. He knew to be gentle and liked giving him kisses.

Oliver's profile looked elf-like to me... so cute.

Because I was preoccupied with the baby, Max started getting into things he shouldn't...

I think this is the first picture of me with both of my boys. We were saying goodbye to Nate as he left for work.

After everyone left and while it was still warm, we took the boys on their first outing to the park. We walked the loop by the dogs and chickens, and Max helped me push Oliver in the stroller. And he was excited to have Nate help him get a drink from the fountain.