Home From the Hospital

Throughout my entire pregnancy I felt like the timing of Max's birth would work out just the way it should. I was anxious to have him here as my due date drew near, but things worked out just the way they should. Zach was able to get some requirements done that he really wanted to before he was born. My mom had already purchased her plane tickets and she ended up getting here the day after he was born.

Will became interested in Max as soon as we got home.

The boys were both so excited to have their new brother, and mom home.

Joe asked me "can he walk?" when I said he didn't he asked, "can he crawl?" and I told him no again he replied with "I'll go get him a toy!" I'm pretty sure Joe was thinking that we were going to come home with a baby that acted nine months old.

Maxwell Tidwell Taylor

Our sweet Max arrived February 7. He was 9 lbs 4 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.

Now so I remember. This is the whole story. I had been dilated to a 2 for my last 4 appointments. I had an appointment Thursday the 2nd and had the doctor (who wasn't mine because mine was out of town) strip my membranes. I was cautiously optimistic it would work, and quickly because I had them stripped with Will and he came the next day. I had more Braxton Hicks than normal, but no real labor symptoms.

Sunday came and we went over to a friends house. I was having some uncomfortable contraction so when we left I thought, maybe we will be leaving early. But, they went away before we even came home that night.

Monday morning I woke up around 6 with uncomfortable contractions. I thought it was probably just because I needed to empty my bladder and then they would go away. They didn't! So I told Zach I might be in labor. After a couple more visits to the bathroom, and the contractions getting more intense I knew it was the real deal. So Zach took the boys to our friends the Anderson's while we got ready to go to the hospital. Going into labor in the morning was great, and so was getting a full night sleep! That was a first for me.

We got to the hospital around 9 a.m. When they checked me around 9:30am I was dilated to a 4 or 5. My original plan was to go without the epidural, like when I had Will. I was feeling pretty nauseated, which I hate. I sort of have a phobia of throw up. The nurses called the doctor on call (since mine was out of town) and she wanted to break my waters. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but the resident came in a while later and told me that was the plan, and instead of telling her I wasn't sure that was what I wanted to do, I just didn't say anything. So she ruptured my membranes around 10:30 am. She checked me at that time and I was still at a 5. I was still feeling sick and my contractions got more intense. So I decided to get an epidural. I was hoping it would help me relax and calm my stomach. It was around 11:10 a.m. that I got the epidural. It did help curb some of the pain of the contractions. I could still feel tons of pressure. And, after I got the epidural I got the shakes. I could not stop. That did not help the nausea and made me feel out of control. Around 11:35 they checked me again and I was at a 7. Yay for progress! Very shortly after I felt intense pressure and told the nurses I needed to push. They checked me and I was complete. To which I responded "I was hoping you would say that." I really almost starting crying when they told me that. I was so relieved and happy. So in less than eight minutes I went from 7 to 10 cm dilated.

They called the doctor and she got there in only eleven minutes. I pushed for two contractions, plus pushed once between contractions because Max's heart rate was dropping when I pushed. Otherwise I think they would have had me take a little more time to push him out. He was born at 11:54 am. I held him right away and then Zach cut the cord. His chubby hands were the first giveaway that he was a little chunk. I had told Zach during the pregnancy I thought he was going to be a big baby and he was.

I have to admit it was by far my hardest labor. I'm not sure if I just wasn't mentally prepared, or if it was because he was big, or if it was for another reason entirely, but it was hard. In retrospect I would have done two things differently; let my waters break on their own, and not had the epidural. That being said I can't say I regret any of it because it all resulted in the safe arrival of our healthy baby, and we love him so much!

Will's Birthday

Since we didn't know when exactly Mr. Baby was going to make his debut, we kept Will's birthday celebrating pretty simple. I'm pretty sure he didn't mind.

We a couple people over and ate Elmo cupcakes. Will's only seen Elmo on the T.V. a handful of times, but he has a book with Elmo in it that he loves.

My plan was to make all the cupcakes look like Elmo, but that was just not happening, so I made sure there were enough for each kid to get one that looked like Elmo, and the rest were plain.

Will is growing up so much! He has definitely loved being the baby of the family. He is talking more and playing with Joe more every day.

Dear Will

Dear Little Will,

I cannot believe you are two years old! You are growing up so fast. You are still a mama's boy, which I love, and you have loved being the baby of the family. I know though that you will be such a great big brother, and even though you aren't going to be the baby of the family anymore, you don't have to grow up too fast.

You love trucks, tractors and trains. Whenever we hear the garbage truck, or even the maintenance truck working, you run to the window as fast as you can. The garbage man always gives you a wave when he sees you. I wonder if he knows how much you love that. It makes your day.

You are using more words everyday. You don't usually tell us "yes" when we've repeated something you've said to us correctly. Instead, you flash us this huge grin that melts me every time. It's like you are so happy and relieved that we understand what you want.

You are such a sensitive boy. Whenever you hear someone crying (even if it's from a distance) you are immediately concerned for their well-being. You like it best when everyone is happy.

You adore your big brother Joe. He will chase you up and down the hall and vice versa, and you boys just can't get enough. You let him barricade you in corners with toys, tackle and tickle you and still love to play with him. I hope you continue to be great friends with him and that you will always treasure that friendship.

I am so blessed to be your mom. Thanks for being mine. I love you.

Love Always,

Mom

Nap Time

Joe must have been having a rough day. I can't even remember the exact events surrounding this occurence, but he rarely falls asleep now in the afternoon (about once a week) and when he does it's only when Zach or I will lay down with him until he falls asleep.

Christmas Day!

We spent Christmas Day as just our little family. It was a lot of fun. The boys were so excited to come down the stairs to this:

Joe and Will helped me make cookies on Christmas Eve to leave out for Santa. I wish we had a picture of Joe's face Christmas morning when he saw they were all eaten up. I think that was one of the most exciting things for him.

In Zach's family the kids always had to line up on the stairs or in the hallway from youngest to oldest before seeing the room with all the Christmas goodies.

Two groggy, but happy little boys. Even though we missed our families, it was a lot of fun to have a Christmas with just us.