Monday, June 28, 2010

One Week


It's amazing what a difference one week, one day, or even one second can make. Adam and I have definitely found that to be true this past week. Exactly a week ago, we were checking into the hospital after being in labor since 3:30 that morning. Though we were pregnant and knew our little guy was on our way here, we were still essentially a family of two. Our lives, schedules, and sleep patterns were our own. But, at 7:10 PM, all of that changed when this little guy emerged.


Everett Mann Buhler is named after two of his great-grandfathers and already we can sense what an amazing spirit is inside this little body. Adam and I both felt such an overwhelming feeling of love, joy, awe, and desire to protect our son from the moment we heard, saw, and held him. Adam, who had never held a baby before and was self-admittedly scared to death of infants, instantly became a father as he held his son in his arms. Over the past week he has been my constant support as we have all transitioned home from the hospital and into our new life together. I fall in love with both of them each time I come into the room and see Everett sleeping on Adam's chest or hear Adam soothing Everett in the middle of the night. I am so grateful to know that my little family will be together for all eternity....I can't picture my life any other way!


Labor and delivery was such a special and unique experience. For the first six hours of it, I wasn't sure if it was actually happening, so I kept telling myself it wasn't, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. We went about our day as normal, including a morning ultrasound and doctor's visit. I think they were a little surprised when I told them I was having contractions every 5-7 minutes. Knowing that we wanted to labor as naturally as possible, our doctor had us go home for a few more hours. We finally went to the hospital when contractions were about 2 1/2 minutes apart, though I was feeling much better than I had expected. Adam and I stayed in our own little world and groove throughout labor and when it got really intense, I just zoned everyone else out. It really was more of a mental struggle for me than a physical and I definitely learned a lot about myself through that experience! After three hours of transition, I finally got to push (I kept telling the nurse I REALLY wanted to push!) and after an hour, our little man was born! Despite the eight nurses and doctors running around the room, Adam and I were in our own little world with our new family and we enjoyed the next hour or so we had together before our immediate family came to see our new addition.


Coming home, our lives have definitely changed. Our priorities have already changed, as well as how we use our time. So much of our day (and night) is spent in caring for this little person that so many other ways to use our time seem pointless now. We are SO grateful for our family and friends who have already done so much for us. Both of our parents have brought by dinners and leftovers and Adam's mom has done countless loads of laundry for us. It's been great to see friends and family and appreciate the meals that have already been brought by. It truly is a lifesaver!

So, for now, we are enjoying being home all day as a family (minus the three hours Adam is at class) and waking up together at night. This is perfection.


14 comments:

Julie P said...

He is adorable :) Congrats

Ashley said...

LOVE those before and after pictures!

Congratulations, guys! This post is bringing back some really wonderful (albeit sleep-deprived) memories--this part doesn't last long, enjoy it while it lasts!

Erin said...

Adam & Karen - He is adorable. Congratulations

Me said...

Congratulations!!!

Mary P.

Bryson Bunch said...

Simply perfect! So happy for all of you and that it all went just the way it was supposed to. Much love to all of you! Can't wait to meet the little man!!!

from mel said...

how PERFECT. he is so beautiful. well done, karen! well done to you both!

guess what? though they were a few months apart i was in labor for nearly the EXACT amount of time. i started around 3:30am and he was born at 8:30. Isn't that insane? (i'd rather not relive that long of a labor next time, but if i do...so it goes ;)

congratulations to you both! we hope to meet him someday! he is absolutely and incredibly precious. savor those moments. they go so quickly.

ATnell said...

Beautiful post. You guys are such a beautiful family!

The Vander Voorts said...

Congratulations you three! Everett is definitely one of the cutest babies I've seen!

It's nice you guys have help so don't take that for granted. The first weeks were tough for us, but we wouldn't have changed it for anything. You'll be amazed how much your baby boy grows everyday.

Thanks for the post! Adorable pictures :)

AdrianneJayne said...

He is so perfect! Congratulations you two, this is so exciting! Thanks for sharing

mk said...

He is beautiful! Good job :)

Joel said...

Awesome, guys. You make cute babies. We can't wait to meet him.

Reagan said...

Congratulations! He's a about 11 months younger than Brighton. :) I'm really glad you shared some about the birth. I can't believe you were in transition FOR 3 HOURS?! I was only in that stage for 30 minutes and wanted to start pushing. You go girl! I loved that first experience of snuggling my boy...just remember everything else can wait except cuddling your baby. :)

Kris said...

Congrats! He's beautiful.

Alisa said...

Congrats on going natural! Sounds like you did great!