A few more pictures of the early days

 Levi spent a lot of time laying in the sun in our room. He was only slightly jaundice, so I mostly did it because he liked it, I wanted him to get plenty of Vitamin D, and I wanted him to know it was day time! I loved watching him lay there.  He was so calm and observant.

 Kaye came over the next week to meet Levi. We sat and talked about our favorite things. Natural childbirth(I told her everything and showed her ALL the videos), mommyhood, etc...and of course we did it all while eating some delicious healthful(as a cookie can be),chocolate chip cookies she brought! Kaye came over several times during Levi's first months of life and left me talk it all out! She was so encouraging and made me feel totally normal. She also brought delicious meals and treats everytime...and once she even cleaned our bathrooms, did the dishes and I think even swept and mopped and vacuumed!  It was amazing! She is amazing! Love you sister!

Katie even got to meet Levi shortly after he was born because she was travelling back from Thanksgiving in Dallas.  It was such a wonderful and unexpected surprise because I thought Levi wouldn't get to meet her till Christmas break!    

 Levi's first time to leave the house! We went to target to get me some nursing sleep bras! Levi did great in his car seat and loved walking around the store with daddy while mommy tried on bras! This was on the 29th and I remember being pretty sore from all the walking and standing when we got home. For the most part I tried to take it really easy and follow my midwifes advice. She mentioned to me that if I noticed I was bleeding more to slow down. If the bleeding wasn't slowly getting less, I was doing to much...it was a good gauge for me.  I remember using LOTS of ice packs to help with the swelling and not sitting on my bottom much at all. After 11 hours of pushing ..I had a lot of swelling. But fortunately only a few small nicks/tears..and I didn't get any stitches. 

 Beautiful sweet boy!

 Levi and my mom! I think my mom ended up staying with us 2 weeks and my dad was with us about a week.  It was wonderful to have my mom with us.  She just cooked and cleaned and worked and worked.... and did her thing so Tristan and I could just focus on our boy! It was wonderful and she was a work horse as usual. Tristan and I wish she could come live with us really..but not because she is the most servant hearted person I know but because she is my best friend!  I remember sitting with her one time and crying and saying, "I can't believe you loved(and love) me this much." I'm pretty sure I apologized a million times too about any grief I may have caused her. It was a sweet moment that made me even more thankful for my mother.  Thank you daddy for sharing her with me so much..your the best!

Bethany and John Ryan finally got to meet Levi the 1st of December.  They had come up here for the birth but because it was taking SOOOO long they ended up having to leave to get back for some important commitments in Corpus.  In hindsight I could care less that I had a super long labor...EXCEPT for the fact that it meant these 2 couldn't be there.  Tristan and I want to share every(ok maybe not every..but...most every anyway) moment in life with them so it was like a huge moment of completeness when they got to meet our son. It was a beautiful moment and I could feel the love!