Getting to Know You

These past two weeks have been divine as we've been getting to know Aaron.   I can't even tell you what a joy he is.   He is a perfect baby and such a calming influence to our family.   He seldom cries and when he does he is so easy to calm down.  He hasn't spit up, has no sign of colic, but boy can he poop.  He went through 50 diapers in less than a week.   It's also hilarious how he furrows his brow just like Bart.  

As I've mentioned before I was really nervous going from 2 to 3 kids but so far it's been a breeze compared to going from 1 to 2.   Maybe it's the spacing or how easy Aaron is.    My girls adore him and can't help but stop and touch rub his head as they walk by.   I can't get enough of how much he loves to cuddle and will snuggle right up to my neck and calmly look up at me while I rock.  Bart loves to come home from work, take him from me and snuggle him too.  

We've enjoyed Allyson, William and my parents coming to stay.  Allyson got it in her head to do a photo shoot from ideas she saw on pinterest and did an amazing job with a my mom's new portrait lens.   Here's a cute one with all of them. 

At the end we were all laughing at this attempt of a pose with all the kids. 

  My girls always love having their Grandma Becky around and she treated me to my favorite comfort food, homemade rice pudding.  Of course everyone enjoyed giving Aaron hugs and he enjoyed it too. 

To me he doth not stink..

After a few days of being home I started to notice this horrible smell when I held Aaron.  At first I thought he had a soiled diaper.  I then discovered that the remnants of the epilical cord was the culprit.  It got so bad that my sister Allyson took him and only held him for a moment because the smell was so awful. 

Later that night Bart was holding Aaron and I commented about how bad he smelled.  Bart replied that he couldn't smell anything.    It reminded me of the a passage in the Book of Mormon when King Lamoni was overcome with the spirit and fall into a trance after listening to Ammon.    When his wife found Ammon her reply was everyone thinks he is dead but to me he doth not stink.    

What love Bart has for this perfect baby that to him he doth not stink....

His name

Even before Bart and I were married we both agreed that our first girl would be named Emily and our first boy would be named Ryan.     I thought of it as a done deal.    About a week before we found out that we were expecting a boy,  I was driving to an Elementary with an Notice of a meeting for an IEP that I was going to of a student that I had been working with.  I glanced at the paper and noticed someone named Aaron was invited to the meeting.    I had this quick conversation in my head that went like this

Aaron I like that name.   Oh well we have already decided on Ryan.  Besides I already know what my dad would call him Big A, little a, R-O-N.  (Growing up their was a high school basketball star that my dad referred to by that name.) 

I didn't think about that name again or mention it to anyone.  A week or so later Bart and I were talking at the dinner table the day we found out this baby was a boy.  I simply said "So this little guy is still going to be name Ryan?"  I was shocked when Bart said I don't know I can't get this name Aaron out of my head.   I told Bart how I had come across that name and really liked it as well.   In classic Bart style he said "Well we don't have to decide today do we?"

So for the next few months I kept that name in the back of my mind but I still thought Ryan when I thought of a boy.   Soon we were in the heat of the summer dealing with selling our house and looking to buy another one and thoughts about what to name our baby was absent. 

Then one day Bart and I went to the temple to get direction about the decision to buy the house we are now living in.  I sat in the temple not feeling strong inclinations one way or another about the house but suddenly an overwhelming feeling of love and being close to this baby in my stomach and I got this distinct impression that his name is Aaron.  At the moment the decision was made and now I can't imagine my sweet baby named anything other than that. 

Stay at the Hospital

Aaron's birth story luckily is very boring.   As soon as the pitocin started working things went really fast.   I probably waited too long to ask for my epidural  but once the meds started working they really worked.  In fact they made me a little loopy but loopy is better than feeling those contractions.    Around 5:00 pm the nurse checked me and I was completed dilated and ready to push.  A call to the doctor was made.    Once she arrived they got me ready to push.  I remember feeling  a little out of it that I was nervous I wasn't with it enough to push.  With Bart at my side I started pushing and moments later Aaron was born.   The first feeling I felt was instant relief like taking off a very heavy backpack.  I'm sure my body was so happy to lose the 10 pounds of baby and all the fluid.   With this delivery I was overwhelmed with the miracle of birth and so grateful when they placed this beautiful baby on my stomach.

Aaron had a hard time warming up so he was put under heat lamps for a while and they delayed giving him a bath until the next morning.  This time I was able to watch Bart give him a bath.  It was such a precious moment for me.

We enjoyed all the visitors we had in the hospital.  Jane and Emily were so excited to finally meet their brother.  For months they would always give me two hugs.  One for me and one for baby Aaron.   Now they enjoy giving Aaron his own hugs!

  I'm very grateful for the time Aaron and I were taken care in the hospital but it was also such a relief to leave and start our new adventure with Aaron at home.