E and P- BFFs

So many people have asked how the dogs are adjusting to their new life.  Honestly, bringing home a new baby is similar to bringing home a blob of clay.  It doesn't do anything in the eyes of a dog so really there isn't that much adjusting.  Ralphie, as expected, acts like there isn't a new human in the house  He has licked Porter's head once and other than that, acts as if he isn't alive.  Eazy, on the other hand, is in training for the award of man's best friend--or baby's best friend, in this case.

The highlight of his day, aside from breakfast and dinner, is when we aren't looking and he can lay a slobbery, wet kiss on Porter's face (sorry all you germ people).  We don't condone this but he does manage to sneak a few in each day.  He also follows this baby everywhere.  As you can tell in the pictures, Porter is hardly left alone during "play" time.   We always knew Eazy would love this baby and I know he can hardly wait for his blob of clay to start playing with him.  In the meantime, he'll have to continue taking naps near and sneaking kisses to his favorite little friend.  

Who do I look like??

The question we hear over and over again is who does Porter look like?  Some babies pop out and look just like one parent or another...not this kid.  He has some of my features (sorry Daddy) but we can both say that he doesn't look really like either of us.

Initially we heard that he resembled his Uncle Lex...haha...

  

We also think he may look like his cousin, Ian...here are their two pictures back-to-back (Porter on the left).

...but the more time that goes by we keep seeing/hearing that he resembles me. He definitely has my chin and Daniel thinks he has my same eye shape. 

My favorite part about his precious little face?  He has a small dimple on his left cheek that you can only make out when he smiles.  It only makes me want to see him smile more just so I can see it again! 

It's hard to get a "dimple" photo, here's the best I could do for now!

Things are going great. Baby Porter is officially five weeks old and there are some noticeable changes in him.  He is much more alert and will stay awake for larger chunks during the day.  He's also definitely figured out his days and his nights.  During the day he is on a fairly regular 3 hour schedule and during the night he's stretching into 4+ hours.  Last night he slept for 6 whole hours straight--a dream come true for Mama!

Not only is Porter figuring things out but I am too!  I have gotten out of the house many days on all by myself, nursed successfully in public (under a cover, no hippy boobs for me!),met friends for lunch, ran errands while carting around the ridiculously heavy car seat, walked with a stroller AND the two dogs at the same time, mastered washing his cloth diapers so that we don't run out the next day, showered every morning, and have even attempted some easy work outs via Youtube!  I also spend hours a day staring into the eyes of this precious little gift and take about 1 million pictures of him a day.  A few of my favorites...

Isn't he just the cutest piece of pie you've ever seen!

Yeah, he does!

The Big Day

Wow, finding the time to sit down and work on a blog is proving to be much more difficult than I ever imagined.  Between countless visitors (which we are loving!), taking naps, and trying to get out of the house once a day, I'm finding that getting one project done a day is so hard!  I have successfully managed to complete the first pages of Porter's baby book, finish writing all my thank you cards, order a few odds and ends from Amazon, finish my report cards for school, start this post about 100 times, read 21 pages of the sleep training book and get in some Face Time/Skype time with friends and family who are anxious to see this little man in person.  So, for the 101st, 102nd, time, I'll try to finish this post...

Eazy's last night with his baby bump pillow!

The morning of December 17, 2013 we pulled into the hospital at 8:30am and began the 2 hour long process of checking in, getting hooked up to monitors, answering a billion questions and waiting to bring our little man into the world.  By 10:30 we were prepped and ready to go.  The grandparents had all been with us and we as excited as we were! At 10:30 they kicked everyone out and had us walk back to the OR. 

Last preggo picture! 39 weeks and 1 day

Pops, Grandpa, Grandma and GRAMMY!

The surgery wasn't as bad as I had thought.  They numbed me up, pulled a drape over my line of vision and within 30 minutes Baby Boy Porter was out!  The best news was that the fibroid was actually behind his little head, allowing the doctors to pluck him right out and avoid any other incisions- I had a "normal" c-section. Poor Porter's head got the best of the fibroid and it's a little lopsided from sitting against it for all these months--nothing that time can't fix though. The doctors say it should "round" itself out within 3-4 months. 

My favorite part of the surgery was the reaction Daniel had when they finally pulled him out.  You couldn't see his mouth but could tell he had a huge smile on his face, "He's definitely a boy and he has a head full of hair!" I started crying immediately, of course, and managed to peek around the drape to see Daniel cut the cord and watch them swaddle him up. Daddy brought Porter over to me and we sat cheek to cheek while they sewed me back together. 

First family photo

Sweet baby

Porter David

8lb 4oz

20 inches

11:43 am

Proud Daddy

I had some reaction to the anesthesia wearing off and had to be draped in warm towels and had a heating blanket covering me while they worked to get my temperature and heart rate elevated.

We also asked our Doula, Carla, to be with us in the hospital. She couldn't be with us in the operating room so we left her with the grandparents for the surgery.  They all loved each other and we were so glad that she could still be part of our special day. <3

The next few days were a wonderful blur...we toasted my first drink with pineapple champagne that we brought home from Maui, learned how to change tar-poop diapers, Daniel became the master swaddler, we didn't sleep a wink, had a handful of wonderful visitors, took a million pictures, allowed the grandparents plenty of baby time, learned so  much from all our amazing nurses, took walks up and down the halls, cried at the miracle we had made, tried to nap during quiet hours, sat skin-to-skin, watched Porter sleep, took phone calls and sent pictures to friends all over the map, and spent the next four days enjoying our new family of three.  

This is my favorite way to look at him--sleeping like a baby.  I could bury my head in his face and smell him forever, he smells so delicious! 

I have to say, having a baby is the most amazing and most difficult thing I could ever imagine. The joy far outweighs the exhaustion every time I look into his perfect little face.  I know I won't be tired forever and I am trying to remember and enjoy every single second of him being so small.  I have been blessed with a very easy baby- he put himself on a 3 hour eating/sleeping schedule and I feel so lucky.  He hardly ever cries and is now starting to be alert for an hour at a time.  He can look into our eyes and we swear sometimes we can get him to smile back at us. :)

Daniel officially goes back to work on Tuesday and I'm bracing myself for that. We will miss him being home with us and are looking forward to meeting him for lunch at NREL and meeting all his friends in Golden. Change is scary and I am nervous about facing the "real world" by myself.  I know it will just take practice and before long going to Target alone will be a drop in the bucket! Until then, we have one more weekend to get in as much family time as possible.  I'm going to soak in every single second of it. <3

~Mama Jess

Porter David Hillman

Welcome to the world, Porter!  

December 17, 2013

11:43 am

8 lbs 4 oz, 20 inches

You are perfect and we love you so much!

You are named for some very important people in your life.

Porter- Porter is the last name of your great-great-great grandfather.  We heard his name this summer in Florida and added it to the list of names we liked. It was the only name we ever discussed.

David- David is the name of your grandfather, Pops (aka Papa Poo Poo Head) as well as the name of your great-great grandfather David Augenblick.  It is also the middle names of your great-great Grandad Grojean and your favorite Uncle Lex.  Picking your name was one of the easiest things we have ever done.  We love your name but you'll always be our little Bubba.