Niko, day 12

Lucky I caught him awake!! Worth the wait.

Being Mommy, round 2

After months of anticipation, Niko is finally here! Once again, our lives have changed irrevocably. I had become accustomed to a life of working all day in the operating room getting patients safely off to sleep then returning home to enjoy my family and get Zach safely off to sleep. Suddenly, I've been thrust into full-time mommy-dom: breastfeed, change diaper, soothe baby, try to put baby down and grab some sleep, resoothe baby, breastfeed, change diaper, put baby down and spend some time with Zach, breastfeed, etc, etc. Time passes strangely. The only difference between day and night is Zach's exuberant presence. I'm not going to lie and say that I love every minute of being a mom. It's exhausting both physically and emotionally. But I wouldn't give up this time I have at home with Andrew, Zach, and Niko for anything in the world. It reminds me that my priorities are here with this amazingly beautiful family Andrew and I have made. It has shown me that I have more love in my heart than I thought possible. Watching Zach welcome his brother into our home with a 2 year-old's curiosity but a much older child's sense of love and tenderness has only made me love him more. Niko has opened a new part of my heart to love I didn't know was there. And my love for Andrew continues to grow every day as he shows me what an incredible father, husband, and man he is. I am the luckiest mommy in the world.

Like two peas in a pod

Zach & Niko together on the playmat...

Zach vs Niko

Despite all our concerns about adjusting to life with a baby brother, Zach has been amazingly sweet with Niko. He has been (for the most part) gentle and doesn't seem threatened. In fact, he always seems to want to know where his brother is, and what he is doing. He loves patting him and giving him kisses. And he said the funniest thing when the Min grandparents were over the other day. Haddabeuji was holding Niko, and then Halmoni said it was time to go. Haddabeuji turned around to look for his coat and Zach yelled very firmly, "PUT HIM DOWN!!!" ROFLing...

It's the bouncing baby boys!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Andrew happily bouncing his two sons on the big green ball we use to soothe babies.

From Drop Box

Grandparent photos

Niko is now 5 days old, and he got to meet his Halmoni and Haddabeuji, as well as his Aunt Christine and Uncle Alex this weekend!!


Don't mistake the snoozing for a lack of excitement... :-)

A new addition!!!

Welcome to Niko Wheeler Min, born Tuesday 2/7/12 at 7:26pm! He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, was 20 inches long, with a head circumference of 35 cm. The timing of the delivery was about as optimal as we could have hoped, as Meals started maternity leave on Friday and Andrew started paternity leave on Monday morning. We did our best to kickstart the labor process by eating an anchovy pizza from Gioia's on Monday night, but it seemed to have a delayed effect. It wasn't until the next morning that Meals crawled out of bed, claiming, "I think my water just broke. Or I wet myself." The whole labor process was eerily similar to Zach's. We actually had a suitcase packed this time, so we took Zach straight to daycare and then moseyed on over to the hospital. Spent most of the day walking around the hospital, staring at each other and asking if we were really ready for this (the consensus was not really). Got some pitocin on board to help with the labor process, got an epidural in place, got checked around 4pm and told we were at 4cm. Watched some mindless TV, got checked again, and whoa!! Meals was complete!! Pushed with four contractions (3 times each), baby was out in less than 10 minutes. That initial baby cry has to be the most beautiful sound to a pediatrician-father's ears :-).

Pictures are below. We are now day of life 3, made it home from the hospital earlier today. We are of course sleep-deprived and in survival mode again. Thanks to everyone for all the well-wishes!! We hope to be able to re-establish contact with the rest of the world in a few days (or weeks, or maybe months). We will do our best to keep posting.

Love, Meals, Zach, Andrew, and Niko!!

 

Zach vs Lake Temescal

The calm before the storm! Zach enjoyed a peaceful day with his grandparents at Lake Temescal.

Zach with his grandparents at Lake Temescal 1=31=2012