Winston Lowe Turner

Our little fella is finally here!! He was born at 3:25am on June 20th, weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and is 21.5 inches long. Long story short, he came fast. I felt the first painful contraction at about 10:40pm and started timing contractions at 11pm. By 11:30 I was ready to go already, so we packed up a few things and left for the hospital around midnite. I got checked in at 12:30am and at 3:25am he was here!

Things to note about the delivery/recovery:

• I may have accidentally locked the car keys in the car when Tyler was dropping me off at the emergency room, leaving him stranded in the emergency drop-off lane for 30 minutes while he waited for Triple A, and while I got checked in and got an IV. Keep in mind I was mid-contraction when the incident happened, so it's not really my fault :)
• The most intense pain I have ever felt and the hardest thing I have ever had to do was sit still through several hard contractions while the epidural was administered. Up until that point I was handling the contractions okay as long as I could move through them (i.e. walk, sway, massage my lower back, etc.), but for about 10 minutes I had to sit as still as possible and getting through the contractions became a mental game. The nurse gave me oxygen to prevent me from passing out (I warned her early that I faint easily) and then it was all about breathing slowly and squeezing Tyler's hand as hard as I could. I'm still pretty impressed with myself for getting through it, and I only started to cry once for a split second before I held back because I knew it wouldn't help.
• The actual pushing and delivery were much less dramatic than I anticipated. It may have been because I had the epidural, but I pushed for less than 20 minutes and though it was tiring, the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed.

  

  New daddy

• Every time the doctor told me to push, Tyler tightened all his muscles and squeezed my leg and foot as hard as he could! Haha, I didn't notice, but he said he kept catching himself doing that and reminding himself to just breath and relax :) He's just so supportive!!
• Holding your baby for the first time is incredibly surreal. I was overcome with emotion when they first put him on my chest, but it was still hard to believe that he was ours. Every time I look at him or hold him I feel more like his mother and I love him sooooo much!!!
• Second most painful thing of the nite? Having the epidural tape stripped from my back. My back stung for a whole day and I never even noticed the epidural being there or being removed.
• I knew certain parts of me would be sore, but I didn't realize how sore my chest would be and that my arms would also be sore (from the IV and vaccinations mama gets) and that my back would be sore (mostly from the tape removal).
• I sometimes can't decide if I like holding Winston more, or if I like seeing his dad hold him more. When I'm holding him I'm in love with him, but I feel a little selfish so I pass him off to his dad, but then I'm so jealous of their cuteness and I'm even more in love with Tyler that it is all just so hard!!

Things we LOVE about Winston:

• He's perfect! I cannot believe how much I love him!
• He never cries! He squeaks a little bit when he's uncomfortable and he makes the sweetest little humming sound when he's looking for food, but I only heard him cry when the nurse smacked him right after he came out. He didn't even cry during the circumcision or when his frenulum (tissue under the tongue) was clipped.

  

  New mama

• When he's awake, he's awake. He has big dark eyes and he likes to just look around at everything. 
• His squishy, soft, wrinkly skin. (Mama's fav)
• His shnuggles- I don't even need to train him :)
• His puppy dreams- he makes lots of little faces and squeaks when he sleeps. (Daddy's fav)
• His dark hair and pink complexion.
• When he stretches and yawns really big. (Daddy's fav)
• His smiles.
• Looking down at him while he nurses. This is a view reserved only for mama and it is the best! I just can't stop staring at him cause he is just so cute and perfect and I have a hard time putting him down to sleep afterwards cause I just want to keep him there forever. (Mama's fav)
• Everything! Like I said, he is just so perfect!!