facetime the family

Due to coronavirus, Colin's first introduction to the family was mostly virtual! The hospital did not permit any visitors, and we were recommended to have any family isolate for 2 weeks prior to visiting. While our first week at home wasn't exactly peaceful even without visitors, it was nice to start building our new routine. Mom took this family photo for us when Colin was 9 days old, the day she went back home after taking care of us for over two weeks.

I put on makeup and real clothes just for this occasion! The photo is a bit deceptive, though. We look all nice and put together, but we are actually surrounded by the typical chaos of the playroom! Here's Mae, hamming it up for the tripod.

While Mae was the first one to meet and hold Colin when we got home, Grandma also got plenty of baby snuggles in that first week. Fortunately, he's still a pretty cuddly kid and loves being held. (But not in that "I'll scream if I'm not held constantly" way. More in a "I will gaze adoringly into your eyes for hours while you cradle me" way.)

Colin's had several FaceTime calls with Dan's side of the family! I think he snoozed through the first few with GranE, Batman, and Colleen. I forgot to take a screenshot of group FaceTime that included Tim and David! (I think he slept through that one, too.)

Dad and Kelsey actually got to see some eyeballs. They must have called during a rare hour of alertness! (They were able to visit along with Kevin when Colin was about 2 weeks old, so I'll have to share those pictures later!)

While it's been unfortunate that Colin hasn't been able to meet all our friends and family in person yet, he does spend more time awake and engaged every day! That'll make future visits even more fun for everyone!

big sister

Mom kept Mae entertained during the week leading up to my due date. They filled the days with picnics, puzzles, and trips to the park while Dan and I were still working from home. We've been letting Mae go to playgrounds, as long as they aren't crowded and she sanitizes/washes her hands right afterwards. Mae was so happy to have some undivided attention from Grandma after weeks of being trapped at home with two working parents!

Mae and I compared our baby bumps. Shortly after this was taken, Mae birthed a small balloon. I think this is the last photo of my bump before I went into labor!

On the day Colin was born, Mae got to celebrate becoming a big sister! We gave her a doll carrier for her Bitty Baby and a very cute "Big Sister" shirt made by Stacey (check out her etsy shop here). She also helped Grandma make some chocolate cupcakes and a big poster to welcome us home!

We missed her SO MUCH while we were in the hospital. We were so happy to come home to her big smile, and she immediately declared Colin "soo cute!" She already loves reading to him, especially her "I'm a Big Sister" book!

he's here!

Colin Matthew was born at 1:11 pm on his due date, Friday, June 26th! (He’s the first person in our family to arrive on time for anything.) He weighed 8 lbs and measured 20 inches long.

My labor started around 1 am Friday morning. I woke Dan at 3 am and we left for the hospital. Fortunately, my mom has been staying with us since the previous Friday (after a 2 week quarantine at home), so we didn’t have to wake Mae or call neighbors before leaving for the hospital. I was 6 cm dilated upon arrival to the hospital and in a decent amount of pain, so they quickly hooked up my IV and prepped me for an epidural. I had more anxiety about the epidural procedure than any other part of labor since my last experience was so traumatic. I sobbed through the whole thing, but it was uneventful and, more importantly, it worked!

Overnight, I rested while watching “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and had my COVID test. They warned me it would be “uncomfortable” but I was expecting it to be more “swabby” and not nearly so “poky.” It felt like they were jabbing a coffee stir stick into my brain. Not fun. At least it was negative so I didn’t end up in isolation.

The doctor broke my water around 8:30 am. I felt so lucky that the doctor on call all weekend was the same doctor who had held my hand through the very stressful beginning of this pregnancy. While this is my second live birth, it’s my fifth pregnancy and was preceded by two back-to-back miscarriages. This doctor was so reassuring and helpful throughout the whole pregnancy, birth, and hospital stay.

I only pushed for about 10 minutes and thankfully avoided an “operative” delivery with forceps like last time. Colin was born healthy and screaming like a champ!

We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and took full advantage of the nursery to get some sleep overnight. We came home to a VERY excited big sister. Mae was hyper-ventillating with excitement to meet her baby brother (and to show us how well she had cleaned up the playroom.) Adjusting to life with a newborn and a toddler has been a lot easier with my mom helping out, but we are slowly working into a routine!

P.S. I'm going to need to work a little harder to come up with blog title puns for the name Colin than I did for Mae!

P.P.S. If I can birth an 8 lb baby while wearing a mask, you can wear one to the grocery store.