Joseph Maverick Munion

         I had been having contractions for weeks but nothing regular enough to call labor. So I elected to have an induction. The hospital starts calling inductions in at five thirty and I was wide awake by four thirty, excited and hoping they didn't have a sudden influx of natural labors so that they would call me asap. The call came at 5:45. I alerted Mom and Dad (who arrived from VA on Thursday) to watch Riley and Dave and I left as soon as they arrived. By 7:30 I was on Pitocin and feeling contractions about 2.5 minutes apart. I got the epidural as soon as the doctor broke my water because contractions suck. A word on the epidural: it was administered by a man in smiley face suspenders who "was doing this long before [I was] born." He was quite a character but had that needle in in three minutes easy and ahh sweet relief - I took a nap. By this time Mom had arrived, passing off Riley to Don so she could be with me for the birth and Dad could go to Idaho for my sister, Emily's graduation. Dave and Mom kept me supplied with ice chips (conveniently, the only thing they allow you to have before you deliver as well as the only craving I have had with both my pregnancies) and kept me from boredom the whole whopping 6 hours it took to deliver.
    Around eleven came the only complication of the day - baby's heart rate started to drop during contractions. "He probably just has the cord wrapped around his neck a little bit," said the nurse. Wha??? Sounds bad, but the staff didn't seem too concerned - apparently it happens a lot and isn't dangerous up to a point. They stopped the pit for about an hour to give him a break and then gave me a small dose to get me the last few centimeters dilated and it was time to push. Know what? THREE contractions, and he was out! It was so easy it was ridiculous. Less than five minutes of pushing, and at 1:02, Joseph Maverick Munion - all 19 inches, 7 lbs of him - made his debut. 

     They put his slimy, purple self on my chest and it was love at first sight.
 We cuddled and then they took him across the room and cleaned him up a bit before returning him to our arms where he made the funniest, sweetest cooing noises you ever heard and had us laughing and kissing like it was New Years Eve. I'm trying to think of a happier moment and drawing a blank. I'm also trying to put the feeling into words and its difficult. You might say its how you would feel if you had been waiting for someone you love more than life for twenty-something years and you've prepared and planned all those years and then they, he, finally arrives. And you feel like you specifically were meant to be a family, same as I felt when I married Dave and when Riley was born. God is good.

      Eventually they and took him down to Recovery to bathe him, get his prints, etc, accompanied by Dave. I hung around so they could remove my epidural and regain the use of my legs (last time they let the epidural subside at the end so I could feel the contractions and when to push, but this time I had it full strength up to the end and they just told me when to push). We met up in the recovery room we would occupy for the next two days. Riley came with Suzette and Jakob and she was hyped up on the excitement and could spare only a few moments to pat Joseph on the head before she was off, swinging on the bed rail or twirling in the curtains. I was content to let everyone else hold the newest member so I could order food. I wasn't famished - it'd only been 9 hours since I'd eaten at this point - but I'd been looking forward to hospital catering which seriously is amazing.

curtains vs baby brother

     That night Dave stayed on the pull-out in the room with me and Mom stayed with Riley (that girl is going to be sooo bored when it is just us at home again). Joseph slept most of the time, and the nurses took care of his diaper so all we had to do was relax and enjoy cuddles or feed him when he was hungry.
   Saturday had one sad moment: circumcision. Da-du-duuuu... It was quick and he did great (so I heard - I did not witness the actual event), but then - and tune out now if you are easily nauseated - Dave was changing his diaper a few hours later and Joe kicked the still healing wound in just the wrong way and it started bleeding. A lot. It was awful and totally unexpected. I called for the nurse and she helped us get it under control and diaper him back up, and she took him to the nursery to put thrombin on the cut to help it clot quicker. Since then there have been no issues, I'm happy to say. I  included this little vomit-tale in case any of you are going to have your son circumcised - something to be aware of, though I'm told it doesn't happen a lot.  I've never seen Dave get pale over anything, and he's been injured and bloody lots of times, but...well, the above-right picture was taken just after the crisis passed.

     Picture#1: Taking Riley home from the hospital. 

Picture #2:Taking two babies home from the hospital, 13 months later. I think its wearing on Dave :)

Sunday we checked out of the hospital and got home around 11. Mom and Dad made dinner and watched babies. Dave went to church and taught Sunday school. I was supposed to nap or something but I think my nesting instinct finally kicked in because I wanted to vacuum and clean stuff instead, which is what I did. Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Em and Chris came for dinner and we went for a walk after and everything was incredibly peaceful and oh-so-normal like. That night, stuff got real, know what I mean? Baby boy was fussy and awake a lot and managed to pee and spit up on both of us and Riley woke up a couple times. But we survived, and in fact it wasn't as bad as it was the first time we had a newborn - everything has seemed a lot easier this time around. Half the labor time, faster recovery, and its not the unknown anymore - we've done all this before.

Joe has dark blue eyes with brown around the pupils - we are thinking they will be all brown eventually. And he has his dads long limbs, fingers and toes.





      Its been fantastic to have lots of family and friend visits over the past few days and people have been so considerate in offers to babysit or bring meals and delivered thoughtful gifts. I have felt quite spoiled! Dave has paternity leave till Monday and another week when he wants to take it and spending time together as a family of four has been priceless. And how lucky am I that Dave and Riley will go for walks and come back with presents - flowers for me or a sock monkey for Joe's crib, for example.

        Riley keeps a close eye on her baby brother - when he is awake and flailing his arms around she will run over to give him a high-five, and when he wakes up in his bassinet she is usually the first one there, standing on tippy toes, trying to peek in and making concerned noises in our direction.

       There are a few things I'd forgotten that I want to remember, and then this novel will end:
1)Newborn smell - I don't know of anything like it and I take deep inhales of it ten times a day because I don't know how long it will last. It is divine.
2)Newborns, or at least mine, really are that tiny, so be sure and bring a going home outfit that looks impossibly small - the 0-3month size swamped our lil' Joe.
3)There is technique to breastfeeding - request a lactation consultant while you are in the hospital, even if its not your first kid - babies are all different anyway. We are good now, but it took a couple days to remember what the consultant told me to do with Riley and get everything running smoothly.
4)When baby is fussy in the middle of the night and you are sleep-deprived, it is more effective to pray to know what to do to help him than to pray for him to please konk out now. Its a good life lesson, and kind of a silly way to learn it, but applies in all our trials - we are meant to learn something and usually its not that by simply by asking our trials will be removed.