Judah - 1 month

Oh my goodness, Judah, you are 1 month old already! When your sister was born, the first month seemed to crawl by in a haze of no sleep, feeling overwhelmed, and walking a fussy baby. Your first month, however, has gone by so quickly!

Weight: Not exactly sure - probably about 8 lbs. You weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz at about 2 and 1/2 weeks. At your 1 week appointment, they told us that you were already back up to 7 lbs, 2 oz, but we think this was a mistake because at 2 weeks, you were exactly the same weight. I knew you were eating well, and sleeping well, so they asked us to come back in 4 days. You were over your birth weight by 1 oz so we were all happy!

Height: 20 inches (according to our at-home measurements)

Sizes: You are wearing Newborn sizes in everything - both diapers and clothes. You are finally starting to fill them out, though, so it won't be long until we move up!

Comparison pictures:

What you're up to:

- We had snow in your first month! Unbelievably, it snowed on May 3....this has never happened on record in the state of Arkansas.

First snow

- You eat every 3 hours, and have since you were born. You are very good at burping - unlike your sister - so you rarely spit up.

- You are a GREAT sleeper. When we first brought you home, you would sleep in 3-4 hour increments when someone was holding you. This was so nice during the night. Now, you pretty much wake up to eat exactly every 3 hours, whether you're being held or are in your bassinet, but I can see that soon you will be stretching that time a little longer.

- You are rarely fussy. During your first week, you had some gassy spells that made you cry, but even those were nothing too bad. After that first week, you seemed to get some of those digestive issues worked out, and now you are only fussy when you are hungry or getting a diaper change or bath.

Getting love from Uncle Dan and Aunt Janna

- You don't like your bath. You pretty much like to be warm and snuggly all the time, and bath time is not your friend. I have to get the bathroom nice and warm with the heater or you cry the whole time.

- You smiled for the first time last week, on the 23rd. It was just a small smile, but I could tell that it was not just gas. Then, the next day, you grinned such a big grin for ReeRee when she came over. Now you like to give small smiles to anyone who talks to you, but especially your sister. You've also started cooing a little - I adore those baby noises.

- You love Elysen, and she LOVES you. She loves to give you kisses and hugs and pats. She loves to show us your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, feet, etc. She is just so proud of you. She only gets a little jealous when she wants to be playing with someone and they can't play because they are holding you. She calls you "Bubby" or "Brother" or "Judah" and calls herself "Big sister" all the time.

- You hold your head up pretty well and love to look around. You have become very alert in the last week - watching, observing, and taking in your world. Again, you're just so calm and sweet!

My first Mother's Day with 2 babies!

- You have the skinniest legs and hips - they are so cute. Elysen was starting to get chunkier at this age, and you are still looking pretty slim.

- You really like your room. If you do have a bout of fussiness, we can take you in there and walk around or rock (in Elysen's old rocking chair) and you usually settle down within minutes.

- We aren't really sure who you look like. You aren't your daddy's twin like Elysen was at this stage, and you look much more like my baby pictures, but there's definitely a little of both of us in you. I know that you are going to be such a handsome man!

On the way to town for a visit to Chick-fil-A

Oh, my sweet son, you are an AMAZING baby. Everyone who is around you says how calm and sweet you are, and how little you cry. Your Daddy and I can't wait to see your personality develop. Your sister came into this world full of drama and excitement, and she was so fussy for the first few months. You could not be more different - you are cool, collected, and relaxed. I imagine that you're going to be a very laid-back and happy person.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about having a boy - I just didn't know what I'd do without hair bows and dresses. But I was so silly to have been afraid. I felt the most precious bond with you from your first minute of life and I knew that I was going to love being a mom to a boy just as much as I love being a mom to a girl. We are having so much fun with you around. Our family feels so much more complete now that you are here.

I thank God for you each and every day and for the blessing that you are to our family. We love you!

Judah's arrival

Well, here we are - 1 week and 3 days after welcoming our precious Judah into this world. I never knew that my heart still had so much room to love another person. He is the sweetest, most accommodating baby I've ever seen (especially compared to his sister at this age).

We went to my 39 week drs appointment on April 18th and I told Dr. Birch that I wasn't ready to induce yet. I was 2 cm dilated and about 60% effaced. I just KNEW he would be coming along any day now. She told me that we would probably see her in just a few days....

A few days turned into a week. I had contractions on and off - some strong, some not. I was feeling frustrated at the wait - I was just ready to see his sweet face! Mom and Dad decided to come stay with us on the 20th so they could be here when I went into labor. We had a feeling the delivery would be fast, so they wanted to be here.

Well....each day passed and we said "I'm sure it will be tomorrow"....but it never was. At my 40 week appointment on the 25th I told Dr. Birch we were ready to induce. So we made plans to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. Our last night as a family of 3 was spent surrounded by our whole family. We went to Red Lobster to eat (I was having major contractions the whole time...but never regular) with David's family and my parents. David and I spent the evening packing and loading the car, checking the car seat, etc. We were READY!!

The afternoon before our induction!

We left the house at 5:30 a.m. on the 26th. It was rainy and cool outside. We drove to the hospital ER entrance and were promptly wheeled up to labor and delivery. After getting checked in, changing into a gown and getting hooked up to an IV, it was about 7 a.m. The nurses started my pitocin drip as soon as they could (I think it was probably around 8) and we made progress towards getting my epidural. It was around 10 or 11 when everything was hooked up, plugged in, and ready to go. I was feeling great - very calm and rested. I ate some ice and popsicles and visited with David and Brittany.

Around noon, the nurses asked me to start turning on my side to move him around a little. The first time I shifted to my right side, I noticed that my right leg started losing some of the "deadness" associated with the epidural, but I didn't think much of it. But soon, I knew that the epidural had shifted or somehow changed positions because slowly, but surely, I began to be able to feel my contractions more strongly. The nurses were so sweet and called the anesthesiologist back into the room. She gave me several extra kicks of medicine, but none of them really seemed to help. Dr. Birch kept coming in to check on me - and she told us that I was getting very close to being ready to push.

At this point, I was hurting a LOT. I still felt the numbness in my legs, but I felt each contraction - and they were getting stronger and closer together. The poor anesthesiologist tried to help, but I finally just told her not to worry about it - we were almost to the finish line. (I think it was at this point that she kindly patted my ankle and told me, "You're a good patient". Ha!)

After just 20 minutes of pushing (this felt like NOTHING compared to an hr with Elysen), my Judah Burke was here! He was born at 1:34 p.m. weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz. He was 19.5 inches long. He barely cried, but just started looking around at everything.

Holding this precious boy for the first time

Our family of 4!

Elysen was amazed when she saw him. She loved looking at him through the nursery glass (except when he was crying), and she loved seeing him for the first time in my hospital room. I think it made her nervous to see me in the hospital bed since we had just been at the hospital a few weeks prior for ReeRee's broken hip. I think she probably thought I was hurt. But she did a great job and played in all of the cabinets of the hospital room.

Judah's big sister gift for Elysen - A Rapunzel doll, an Ariel doll, a Dr. Seuss book, and a coloring book

Our first night went smoothly, except for Judah's eating habits. He did a great job nursing the very first time and then he fell asleep for the next 12 hours. I could get him to eat a little, but not much - even the nurses couldn't get him to wake up! He finally awakened the next morning so he ate and we started getting ready to go home! I have never been so ready to be home in my life (I HATE being in a hospital bed). I did everything I could to feel normal - took a shower, washed and dried my hair, put on makeup, got dressed - and still felt so ready to be home.

SO sweet!!

Allison, JB, and Ashley made it to Fayetteville late Friday night so they came up on Saturday morning to see the new addition. We left the hospital early Saturday afternoon and made it home safe and sound.

In the week since, I have been so blessed to see what it means to love a second baby just as much as I love the first. It's amazing. God has given us so much capacity for love and I can't wait to continue to get to know this little guy!

Another baby with a full head of hair.

My heart could burst when I see this sweetness.