Lazy Saturday

Grandma Martha and Grandpa Bernie came over to visit and spend some time with Joshua today. David and I took the opportunity to go vote early and brought lunch back just in time to watch the Carolina football game. I'm writing this at half-time, and we're looking good so far--GO HEELS!

Here's little man with Grandma Martha: Here he is just a little bit earlier after eating his breakfast (he's going to grow up and be a tummy sleeper like his mommy)

My Aunt Sydney came for a visit on Thursday. I think it is safe to say that she loved getting some cuddle time with our little one!

Bathtime is getting a little more enjoyable every time. Daddy uses a washcloth to keep Joshua warm with water while Mommy uses another to get him clean. Look at that belly!

We love going on walks in the neighborhood when Daddy gets home in the evening from work. Joshua seems to really enjoy the motion and all the different things to listen to and look at. Here he is all bundled up and ready to go!

3 1/2 weeks old already--and it is hard to remember life before him or imagine life without him. We love our little guy so much!

Visitors and time with Mommy

David and I are surely a little biased, but we think this little guy is about as cute as they come:

Since Joshua is not quite 3 weeks old yet, he spends lots of time sleeping... Joshua loves to spend time cheek to cheek with Daddy, and loves giving Daddy kisses!
My mom and dad came up to visit on Sunday to get some snuggle time with Joshua. I think our little man has a new favorite napping place--Grandpa's lap! Grandpa loved holding Joshua, who spent part of the time alert and checking out his visitors, and the rest of the time knocked out in Grandpa's arms!
Daddy went back to work today, so it was just Mommy and Joshua. We had lots of snuggle time, and Mommy got some cute pictures post-diaper change.

Daddy's home with us this week!

Daddy's home this week with us--we love Daddy's job with CBH and are so grateful for paid paternity leave! This is a picture of Joshua after Mommy and Daddy gave him a bath: Joshua loves to spend time with Daddy--David's chest is apparently his favorite place to nap!
Mommy had to grab the camera to catch some funny faces Joshua was making this afternoon:


Mommy had her 2 week post-delivery check-up this afternoon--my incision site looks good and is healing up really well. Joshua fell asleep in his car seat on the way to the appointment and slept through the whole thing!

David's dad brought over an old family rocker-recliner for us to use in the living room and it has been wonderful! We've also had great friends from church bringing over dinner for us in the evenings--we almost have more food than we can possibly eat at this point! We feel so blessed for all the love and support that we have received from so many family members and friends...Joshua is one lucky and loved little guy :)

Grandma's gone

Well, it is Sunday afternoon and that means my mom is gone after being here for a week. We had such a great time together and I don't know what I would have done without her. Her companionship, advice, and conversation meant the world to me...I considered not letting my dad have her back! She'll be up again at the end of the month for a few days, so Joshua and I will be looking forward to that.

David's week of paternity leave begins tomorrow, so it will be the three of us together for the week. After that, it will just be the little man and mommy. We've been so fortunate to have so much support since we've come home--David's parents have provided a number of meals for us, and some families from our ward will be bringing meals this week. Our neighborhood has already volunteered to provide some dinners for next week, so we don't have to think about cooking much for the next couple of weeks, which is wonderful!

Joshua is just as adorable and loved as ever! Grandma loves when he wrinkles up his forehead when people are talking to him, the next few pictures show him cuddling with Grandma, and the last one had us all cracking up--when Joshua falls asleep, there is no waking him and his whole little body just goes limp. He is the light of our lives!

Enjoying being home

We checked into the hospital on 6:30pm on Tuesday evening...and finally were released at noon on Saturday. I have never been inside for so long in my life! The beautiful fall weather made Saturday seem even more wonderful!

David's mom, Martha, met us at the house and stayed with us until lunch on Sunday--it was so nice to have so much experience and help there for us our first day home. Having 8 kids makes you an expert in my book! My mom got here at noon on Sunday and will be with us for a week. She is loving time with her first grandchild, and has been such a huge help. She's cleaned just about everything in the house and taken care of lots of little thing so that I can focus on taking care of Joshua.

We had his first doctor's appointment yesterday. The doctor said he looks great and is gaining weight right on track. He was such a good boy during the exam--he only got fussy when the doctor checked his ears :)

Most of our day is filled with feedings and sleeping, but we are loving our time with our special little guy!

He's finally here!

Our little guy has finally arrived! Joshua Brent Isgett was born at 9:01am this morning, October 1st--he weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 21.5 inches long. He is beautiful and healthy and we couldn't be happier!

I had an ultrasound appointment yesterday (Tuesday) at 4:15pm to check on the baby and see how he was doing since he was almost a week past his due date. David met me at the doctor's office and we finally got back to the exam room around 5:15pm. As the doctor was taking measurements, saying that everything was looking good...until he tried to locate amniotic fluid. He couldn't find any! He said there are a number of reasons this might be, and we had no idea how long he had gone without any...so he called my OBGYN's office and talked to the doctor on call. She asked me to go straight to Rex and get checked in--for baby's well-being, it was time to come on out!

David and I got to the hospital at 6:30pm and checked in--we were led to the labor room and met our incredible nurse Jayme. I cannot say enough about how fantastic she was through everything! Since I was not having any contractions on my own (at least not ones I could feel--the monitors showed that I was having small ones), they decided to induce me using pitocin. This was not what I wanted, as our goal was to have a natural child birth, but more importantly, our top priority was our baby and how to get him safely here.

The doctor came a couple of hours later (a new doctor was on shift now from my OB's office) and tried to break my water--only to discover that, just as the ultrasound doc had said, there wasn't any in there! They decided to ramp up the pitocin and start an epidural (again something I didn't want, but Joshua was way above my birth plan on the importance scale!) I went from 3 cm when I checked in to 9 cm really quickly--the nurse checked me, expecting to find me at 4-5cm, so she was really surprised!

Once I was fully dilated and effaced, it was time to push! This was around 5:00am (and just for further info, I had only gotten about 4-5 hours of sleep the night before, so I was exhausted!) David was FANTASTIC--helping count as I pushed, encouraging me, and aiding the nurse in any way he could.

By almost 7:30am, there was no progress downward for little Joshua. The doctor thought this was probably a combination of no amniotic fluid and the fact that our little guy's head was face up instead of face down, making it hard for his head to fit through my pelvis. The doctor was concerned enough to "strongly suggest" a cesarean birth, saying that Joshua was still doing amazingly well, despite the lack of amniotic fluid, but that this was not going to remain the case forever. He had a strong heart beat and was still active, and this was a good condition to be in, instead of waiting until things changed and having to rush into an emergency situation. As much as David and I both REALLY wanted a regular delivery, we wanted a healthy and safe baby even more.

I was sent to the OR at 8:45am and David and I met our little guy at 9:01am--and immediately fell in love! The whole OR staff was wonderful, and even though it was not how we imagined bringing our little man into the world, when we saw him and heard him and could tell how great he had done, we knew we had made the right decision.

Joshua has been a champion sleeper today (I wish I could say the same for me!) He definitely knows his mommy and his daddy and seems most at home in our arms. For the longest time, it felt like he'd never get here...and now that he's finally here, I can't imagine life without him! Love at first sight...