Alex arrived a week ago today on February 17th at 2:23 in the afternoon. I managed to have him 100% naturally (absolutely no medication), and I'm proud of myself for reaching that goal. Now that I have reached it, I can feel free to get an epidural next time. I cannot even begin to describe the pain. The delivery and recovery were/have been so much worse this time around than with Robert. But we are so blessed to have Alex with us now. He has been an absolutely perfect baby. He rarely cries and he only wakes at night to eat. He seems to be perfectly healthy, and we give God all the praise and glory for seeing us through another birth of a beautiful baby boy. It's just amazing how much Alex looks like Robert when Robert was first born. Alex changes every day and I think he'll end up looking more like me and Robert more like Christopher.
I am beginning to understand the middle child syndrome thing. Alex is constantly taking a backseat to Robert. He is such an easy-going baby that I can just put a pacifier in his mouth and he's good for another hour whereas Robert is a very demanding and active toddler who gets into everything and is constantly having to be disciplined over some issue or another. He is a delight, though. Both boys are.
Betsy was a tremendous help to me while I was in hospital and through the first few days of recovery. She did a great job with Robert and completely took over his care so that I could concentrate on Alex. I don't know what I would have done without her. She had to go home on Sunday and Monday was my first day with the boys. It went fairly well until I was getting ready for bed. I heard Robert crying so I went to check on him, and as soon as I got him out of his crib, he threw up everywhere. So for the next two hours, Christopher and I were busy cleaning up puke and comforting Robert while Alex was left on our bed with his pacifier. When I finally got Robert settled, I took a shower to wash the puke out of my hair (gag), and then I was finally able to feed Alex and get to bed. It has been crazy, but God has sustained us, and I really am happy. I get frustrated and overwhelmed, but I love my husband and my babies and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing than taking care of them all.
I was given strict orders from my doctor on Tuesday to go home and do absolutely nothing until after Sunday as he will be out of town the rest of the week. I feel like Alex could come at any time and I am so ready to meet this little guy and have my body back but at the same time I trust my doctor completely and want no one else to deliver Alex. So I'm just trusting that God has everything under control and Alex will come when God has ordained his time. I am so exhausted but I know that won't really get any better after Alex is born, but at least I will be able to get comfortable in my bed more easily. This pregnancy has definitely been tougher on me than my pregnancy with Robert but I have enjoyed this little miracle growing inside of me and I cannot wait to meet him face to face.
Yesterday morning our circuit box fried, so after church we spent the day at a friend's house and then went to a hotel. Robert never got a nap, I never got a nap, and we were all exhausted. It took Robert two hours to fall asleep in the strange place and I never slept very well due to pain and discomfort from a large baby in my belly. I had to get up at 6:00 this morning to take Robert to his cardiologist appointment, so I'm guessing I really only slept for three or four hours total. The exhaustion and bad hotel breakfast food came together while at Robert's appointment and I got so sick I had to call Christopher out of class to come get us. I've spent the day sleeping and just taking it easy in hopes that after a good night's sleep I'll be back to normal for my 37 week appointment tomorrow. Please, God, no more crazy adventures. Here's hoping for a normal day tomorrow!