Weston Newborn Photoshoot Attempt

So I've seen all these newborn photos and the thought went through my head, "that doesn't look so tough." SO this time around I didn't hire a professional.
Aaaaand here are the results.

Of course the tongue.

Taking a break from the pigskin to snuggle with grandma.

This was before I called Stacy to ask about the camera settings. See the last photo for an improvement.

"I don't like you very much right now, Mom."

Okay, so here are the lessons I've learned:
- I should try editing these sometime. I hear Photoshop works wonders.  Or I should just email them to Stacy and ask her nicely to edit them.
- My children do not get milk drunk enough to do whatever crazy pose I find on Pinterest.
- My kids are born large and do not look like dainty newborns. Nor do they behave as dainty newborns. They raise their heads, kick their legs in the air, and have already formed an opinion of what they are going to do with their lives. These were taken of Weston between day 5 and 10 of his life. Supposedly the ideal time to take newborn photos.
- I really wanted a picture of him sleeping on a football (obviously). Some things just don't happen, no matter how many times you try. We tried several times over a few days to get that football picture.  I wanted to hang one in his room. I still might use the one of him crying.

And here is the ONE photo I got to work out without editing. And he's adorable. And I'm happy with it. And I will hire a professional for the next (?) baby.

Weston Foster Hochstein

He is here! Weston Foster Hochstein was born on Monday, Sept 16, 2013 in North Suburban Medical Center in Thornton, Adams County, Colorado. He was born at 2:43 pm, weighing 8lb. 11 oz., 22 inches long.

We were scheduled for an induction that morning, but we took a little trip to the ER the night before because I was having contractions due to dehydration. We picked my mom up from the airport, dropped her off at the house, and went on to the hospital. But I was fine after a big glass of water. So we went back home to get ready for the next morning.

Everything went pretty smoothly. They broke my water at 12:25pm. They gave me an epidural (and a mistaken visitor came in my room right in the middle of the administration of it. She got a nice view of things I'm sure she'd rather not see.) They gave me a very low dose since my blood pressure plummeted every time they administered it. It took about two hours to go from 3cm to 7cm. My doctor came and asked what I thought about her going to a few appointments at her office just on the other side of the parking lot, and I told her to go. I figured it had taken me two hours to dilate 4cm, we should have at least an hour, right? Wrong.

My epidural stopped working at this point. I felt everything from 7cm on to the grand finale, which didn't take too long, luckily. The baby was fully effaced within twenty minutes of my doctor leaving and my body wanted nothing more than to help him come in to this world. But my doctor was no longer in the hospital. The most difficult part of the entire labor and delivery was having to just breathe through those contractions when my body was screaming for me to push while we waited for the doctor to get back into my room. I'd never experience that discomfort with my other deliveries because my epidural had worked so well.

Finally, Dr. Brandstetter arrived, and about four pushes later, Weston was nuzzled on my chest. I had a very tender moment with him. Of course he cried when he was first delivered, but the moment his head touched my chest, he stopped crying and just sort of whimpered, as if he knew that he was with his mommy and it was going to be okay. He whimpered for a few seconds about how terrible that experience was and then he was calm.

We finally meet!

This was the moment.

I love being a mother. Justin was a great support through the whole thing. He knows how to give just the right amount of love and contact during labor without driving me crazy. I'm a lucky lady.

Weston passed all his tests with flying colors. The hospital was super nice, making sure I was comfortable, even though there were several deliveries happening at the same time. I stayed the whole three days. My recovery shouldn't be too bad, he was nice to me, but I knew I would get much more rest there than at home, even with the nurses and staff coming in every few minutes to talk to me and check my vitals.

And yes, we decided on the name Weston Foster Hochstein. Justin picked it all out. We had a nice list of names we kept on our dry erase board in the kitchen, and we looked at those names for about four months, tweaking it here and there. Weston was the winner. The only names I'd picked were Axel and Stirling. Justin suggested Foster as the middle name (my Grandmother's maiden name and my brother's middle name), and of course I loved that idea.

The final list

He's been a good baby. A cute little quirk is his little tongue; he's like a cute little lizard sticking it out all the time I love it!  He has no problem lying in a crib, he's nursing great (after he stopped trying to lick his milk up with his lizard tongue), and my heart is overflowing with love for this little angel. 

And his weight puts him right between Mason and Donovan for weight. He's the longest, though, at 22 in.

The tongue

Meet your Daddy

Love him.

Dr. Greta Brandstetter. She was so great!

Weston's first family photo. It was the best we could do. I love my boys!

D couldn't get enough of his little brother!

Mason ASKED to hold his new baby brother!

Time to go home!

 And a little video of the first time Mason and Donovan met their brother (I held the camera sideways, hence the funny framing):

 And life with three children begins!

Countdown: Two Days till #3

Here is the belly two days before Weston's birth. Outside there are floods taking over Colorado. Our prayer is that we will be able to pick my mom up from the airport and then drive to a hospital. We aren't even picky about which hospital at this point.

I tried to get Donovan to also pose for this picture, but it wasn't such a fun idea for him.

Misc Aug and Sept

I couldn't go on a blogging spree without creating a miscellany post!
There is no rhyme or reason to these. Enjoy.

D can reach the light switches. Our house will never be the same.

Jiggler Lips

D getting excited about his groggy brother finally getting up and coming downstairs.

Hat

Workin Away

He snuck downstairs and fell asleep during quiet time.

Checking out our new piano! They love it.

They find so many ways to entertain each other.

Daddy's workout.

Seeing his face in the camera always makes his happy.

This is an apology. They are very good at saying I'm sorry.

Sick times.

Same sickness, different day. Everyone is healthy now.

I love that Justin lets Mason help. I'm not the only one who loves it.

Don't Break the Ice! The boys still love pulling out these games for entertainment.