...and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I was definitely more emotional than I expected! Lying in bed the night before his birthday I relived all the excitement and emotion of his "birth" day. I reminisced about the dinner Ryan and I had the night before, which neither of us really ate, the trip to the hospital, the epidural that I feared for the entire pregnancy, then the amazing feeling of his actual birth (I know I didn't really "feel" it, but you could feel the energy of what was actually happening). I can remember telling Ryan that it was the strangest thing I have ever experienced....and then there he was, and he was...insert expletive here...huge! Or at least that was how Ryan announced it! I remember not getting to hold him much because he was so "quiet" or at least that is what they called it. They kept taking him from Ryan and putting him under the lights. Who would have thought that this would just be his disposition! Its funny though, the things you remember, I will never forget that for the first hour I texted. Yep I was texting...in between throwing up...of course it was to share in the good news and tell everyone how perfect he was, but seriously I spent the first hours of his life attached to my cell phone!!! Sign of the time I guess, because within a minute of his birth the news was sent out over the airwaves and the well wishes began to roll in! As the hours passed, the more nauseous I got, which resulted in more medication, ultimately leading to me being completely comatose. I have vague memories of family streaming in to meet him, and nurses coming to check vitals, and to get him to eat. The next lucid memory I have is the Doctor coming to tell me he was in the NICU for low blood sugar. I guess I didn't really comprehend it until the morning when we woke in a hospital room and he was not with us and I couldn't just take him from the nursery...even if I wanted to I was unable to get up with out swaying and falling back down. It was then that I really began to feel the reality of the situation...we were parents and our baby was in a special nursery without us. It was here that Ryan really became a dad...he called the nursery and spoke with the nurse....a seemingly easy enough task....but to hear him say "I'm looking for information on my son" really brought it all home for me. We were no longer a couple, we were a family of 3.
The rest of the year is blurry with excitement of night time feedings then sleeping through the night, sleeping all day to a 2 hour if I'm lucky nap, baby food to grilled cheese and pizza, bottles to sippy cups, stationary to mobile, and crawling to just about walking! We hear mama, dada, uncle, and hot dog (random I know!) He recognizes his family and favorite characters, shows, and music. He hugs and kisses and throws himself to the ground when he's angry....in a year he has gone from completely dependent to independent...and I'm unexpectedly emotional. There is so much more to this amazing year but I will leave you with the excitement of his birthday weekend. We celebrated Mickey style and really had a great time. We enjoyed lunch with friends on Saturday, and then spent Sunday with family dancing to the "hot dog" song and chowing down on pulled pork (haha Wes LOVES it!), mac and cheese, cupcakes, and cake pops (super cute, yet way more work than worth!). It was fun to see all Wes's cousins together, singing happy birthday and helping him blow out his #1 candle! I can't wait to add one more cousin to the crew next year...Auntie Nikki has finally given me the go ahead to write it on the blog, she is expecting baby #3 in June! Lots of pics from the weekend below!
xoxo
Erin
First present of the day!!!! Seriously Mommy its toooo early for this!
Round 1!!!
Cake Pops!!!
Round 2!
My wonderful family of 3!
Seriously Mom, this wooden stick is so much more fun than opening presents!
