The Blur of November

The two weeks following Colson’s birth, I was flooded with love and kindness. While Jason was away at work, not a single day went by that I did not have someone come to help me. My mom came day-after-day to give me a hand and to let me rest. Nancy came a couple of days before heading to Colorado to be with Amy when her baby was born. She was so nice and helpful, even cleaning my bathrooms! My Aunt Erin came several times to help and to keep us company. It was so great! Then on top of that, I was visited by friends who brought meals, gifts, and words of encouragement. I was so appreciative of everyone who came to help! I definitely felt overwhelmed and in-over-my-head trying to recover, care for a newborn, and take care of a toddler. I was happy, but my mind was a blur as my tired mind and sore body was coping with the stress. I don’t know how I would have gotten anything done without the help of so many friends and family.

Desi and Will

Amy

The talented Amy was nice enough to come over and take newborn and family pictures of us. Charlie was especially wiggly and difficult! The easy photo days are gone! But Amy was still able to capture some awesome shots! I will post Colson's pictures with his monthly update, but here are our family pictures:

Amy, you nailed it yet again!!! Thank you!

After two weeks of constant help, it was time to put myself to the test. My first day alone with the boys. I was nervous, but it went just fine. We survived! After that first day under my belt, I gained more and more confidence that I could do it. We just kept it real simple, staying inside from the cold. It took weeks before I gained the courage to venture out with the boys on my own.

On November 15th, Charlie and I got to go out together. We went to a birthday party for his friend from Pleasant Grove. Kenzlie was turning three. I believe that was my first outing since Colson was born. It felt really good to get out and to breath in the fresh air.

Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving weekend! Family events with a newborn always make me nervous. The stress of a newborn alone is enough to make me nervous, but then add the potential illnesses of the winter months to the mix and it makes you wonder if you should just skip the whole thing. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, because that was never really an option for me. Of course we were going to be with the family for Thanksgiving! Every time we attend a family event, however, I am always surprised how well the babies do in big family gatherings. They love the action and the noise. They always seem to do better in those settings. It also helps when you have lots of hands who want to hold the baby.

We headed to Draper Wednesday night for the annual Pie Night. It was delicious! We definitely filled ourselves, as we always do. On Thursday, we headed to my Grandma and Grandpa Arbon’s for Thanksgiving dinner and games. On Friday, my dad took us to see the new Hunger Games movie, The Mockingjay Part I. My mom was super nice and stayed home with Charlie and Colson so I could go. We had a second Thanksgiving meal that evening made by mom. Needless to say, we ate really well that weekend. On Saturday, my mom took the boys and then took the girls shopping to get some ideas for Christmas. Another fun Thanksgiving holiday!

Pie Night

Thanksgiving Day:

Our second Thanksgiving meal:

Our 3rd Thanksgiving meal (leftovers):

Colson finally makes a photo appearance over the Thanksgiving holiday

Speaking of the talented Amy, she came over for a quick photo shoot of my family for my parent's Christmas card:

Finally, a smile from Charlie! He was such a pill!

I love this because it shows my parents trying to get Charlie to smile, but he isn't having it

Our precious little family

And last but not least, an update on our November project - Jason actually finished the cabinets under the TV the morning I went into labor! It was such lucky timing...if they hadn't been done that morning, who knows how much longer it would have been before we got around to tackling it.

Wednesday morning (Nov 5th) - 

Jason totally made these on his own with only YouTube videos as his guide! They turned out so awesome! I am so impressed! I love them!

Later in the month, after adding a few more shelves and starting to fill them in.

(Notice the lights on the top shelves...Jason figured those out, too! He is quite the handyman!)

My mom came one day and helped me plant tulips

Colson David Gruber

Colson David Gruber

November 6, 2014

1:40 AM

6 lbs 8 oz

18 inches

From the moment Colson was put in my arms, I couldn’t believe he was ours! It just seemed so unreal that this baby boy was now a part of our family. He was so perfect! In my “motherly opinion” he was so handsome. I loved his soft, long, dark brown hair. I loved his tiny features and the dimple in his chin. To me, he looked so different from Charlie that it was hard to believe that he was my baby.

After being stitched up and wheeled to the recovery room, it was time to start nursing. Colson did pretty well, as far as newborns go. However, we did find that he was tongue-tied. We were told that once we got that clipped, his nursing would really improve. He got it clipped Friday morning (Day 2). I didn’t really notice a difference in his nursing, but he did just fine. We figured it out together (after weeks of intense pain).

After that first nursing and instruction from the nurse, we finally got some rest. Later that day we were visited by family. My mom came, and then later that evening my mom came again with the rest of the family. George and Nancy brought Charlie. It was really exciting to have him meet his little brother. I was a little nervous with how it would play out. Every baby I had held up to this point had made him jealous and would make him cry. When he walked through the door, he came over to me, looked at Colson for a second, and practically spent the rest of the time exploring the hospital room. It was nearly impossible to get a good picture of the four of us, but I just loved having that moment with us all together as a family. I can’t wait for my two boys to become best buds! Karl also came to visit. That night, April and Max came to visit. They were so sweet and brought us some soda and smoothies! On Friday, my aunt Erin came to visit.

Celebrating Colson's real birthday with my family

It is amazing how much better I felt recovering from the VBAC compared to the C-Section. Sure, I had my nauseous moments and I didn’t have that much of an appetite (probably the meds more than anything), but I was up moving around by that first night and I was never totally out of commission...like requiring Jason to finger feed the baby. Even with my stitches, I was feeling pretty good and just stayed on top of the meds. I was definitely tired, but I was so much more alert and had more energy than last time around. It is crazy to think we were in the hospital for four days last time...and this time, I was ready to go by Friday afternoon (even though we were allowed to stay until Saturday morning). The nurses were great, and we took advantage of the nursery during the night and anytime we needed a nap. It was fabulous. I am always so fond of my hospital stays. This time, I was not nearly as nervous to leave. I felt ready and excited. I’m sure it helped knowing I had my own house to go home to, and the fact that “this wasn’t my first rodeo.”

After being discharged we headed home. Charlie was staying at my parents (after staying with Grandma and Grandpa Gruber), so we got to spend the night in our new house, just the three of us. It was nice to have a little time to get used to the whole newborn thing again.

Leaving the hospital:

Charlie's stay with the Grubers:

loves his screen time

My mom had invited us to stay with them again for a few days while I recovered. The plan was to get there Saturday morning, but while we were packing...that is when my spinal headaches started. They were so intense! Jason had taken Colson to the hospital lab since he had some jaundice and he needed to be checked. While he was gone, all I could do was lay there on the ground. Anytime I tried sitting up or standing up, an intense throbbing instantly came to my head. Once I laid down, it practically disappeared. Because of that, I knew it was the spinal headache kicking in. I rested a bit and took the pain killers. That seemed to help so we headed to Draper that afternoon.

I continued having the headaches on and off that night and I was getting REALLY worried. My options were either go to the ER and have them do a procedure to get rid of them or I would just have to tough them out. They could last for days, or could even last up to six weeks. There was no way to know. I was freaked out! There was no way I would be able to function and take care of two kids in that kind of condition. I didn’t want to pay for the ER, but that was looking like the only realistic option. I decided to give it another day or two before making that call. Luckily, by the next day they seemed to be gone and I didn’t have anymore since! Such a blessing!

We continued to take Colson to the lab every morning for about five or six days until his bilirubin was finally at a good level. On Sunday we were given a bili blanket for him to wear, but he did well and was off it by the next day.

Waiting at the lab

On the bili-blanket:

Jaundice-free:

I think he looks a whole lot like me as a baby

It was so nice to be able to stay at my parents! They let us stay in the master bedroom again. It was really nice to have people to entertain Charlie while we took care of and admired Colson. We stayed there Saturday night through Tuesday evening. I really appreciated the extra help, especially since Jason was back to work that Monday.

It’s amazing how life just kind of stops those few days after you have a baby. Nothing else seems to matter. It's just you and the baby, and praying that everything is healthy and well. Those days are so precious and sweet to think back on. Even though it is exhausting and the recovery is kind of rough, I would go back in a heart beat.

Tuesday night: arriving home to a delicious meal made by a good friend in the new ward.