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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Welcome to the World Zach!

















It's a boy! Welcome to the newest Schirel: Zachary Samuel! Born on June 29, 2011 at 2.25 p.m., and weighing in at 8lbs, 4oz. and 20.5 inches. He's pretty awesome already!




I ended up getting induced at 39 weeks and 5 days. My doctor was worried about him shifting positions again and about him getting too big, so I was okay with being induced. It was a little surreal going to bed the night before, knowing that I was going to have a baby the next day. Needless to say, Jody and I hardly got any sleep that night...or since for that matter!




All went smoothly with the labor. It was a 9 hour labor, with about 25 minutes of pushing. Really, the first four hours were basically just sitting around waiting for things to progress, so we were playing on Facebook, watching TV and just hanging out for a while. Once my contractions really started coming, things moved really quickly. I was worried that being induced would be a much longer and worse labor, but it was pretty much the same intensity as my labor and delivery with Zoe.




We've been home almost 10 days now and things are going pretty well. We're all trying to adjust to being a family of four. It's hectic and I'm pretty sure our house will never be clean again. Zoe has been having an okay time. She's been sweet as can be to Zach, but she has had her fair share of tantrums and breakdowns. Although we were expecting it, it is still hard to see her struggling, especially with these raging post-partum hormones. Honestly, just trying to make sure Zoe is okay and giving her enough attention and time has been the hardest thing for me. Every day is getting a little easier and once we get into more of a routine, I'm sure things will work themselves out.




Zach has been a really good boy for us. He's way bigger than Zoe was, and he caught on to breastfeeding right away. So that has been a huge relief. He's a good eater and as good a sleeper as any newborn. At first he was going just about 2 hours between feedings at night, which was rough. But in the past few days he's been going 3-4 hours between feedings at night, which has given Jody and I more sleep than we imagined. Of course, we're still totally sleep deprived and will be for a while, but, hey, a 3-hour stretch is better than nothing. The best part about being a secondtime parent is knowing how quickly babies change and knowing that we will get into a routine and we will eventually sleep again. It just may not be for another six months!!




Other things we've learned about Zach so far: he hates getting his diaper changed, like really really hates it; he loves being held at all times; he sleeps best when swaddled; and he totally konks out when being carried in the Baby Bjorn.




Even though it has been challenging, I love having a newborn in the house again. You forget how little they are and how totally new the world is to them. It's awesome seeing Zoe interact with her little brother, and knowing how special it will be for them to have each other to grow up with. Stay tuned for more adventures from our She-Z and He-Z.

1 comment:

Susan said...

Congrats! Glad things are going well! He is so adorable!