Homeward Bound

It was another long night taking care of Jack... but an even longer morning waiting for the hospital to discharge us. Actually, it was both the hospital and Jack that we had to wait on! Jei was feeling good and was given the doctor's blessing to go home early that morning, but the hospital was dragging their feet... and we couldn't leave until they did Jack's hearing test, which Jack needed to be sound asleep for. 

As you can see, Jack refused to fall asleep and was in no mood to get dressed... much less to do some silly hearing test!

Fortunately, we got him dressed and calmed him down enough for the them to take him in for the test anyway... which meant we were just about homeward bound.

Jei double-checked Jack, his fastened seat harness, as well as the latched carrier itself... for it had been a while since we last used it to secure a brand new family member in our car!

A very warm and calm little baby...

about to go home for the very first time.

The crew back at home were anxiously awaiting our arrival that afternoon... and made sure little brother Jack felt welcomed.

Jei and I were super tired and incredibly hungry by the time we finally got home, but there wasn't much that could keep us from smiling ear to ear and feeling completely overwhelmed with joy as we stepped inside and introduced Jack to his new home.  

Of course Moe-Joe practically knocked us both over and snatched Jack right out of my hands to be the first one to say hello as we walked in.

And Dad-Oh wasn't too far behind.

The little guy had one heck of a busy morning... so we put Jack down for a little nap that afternoon as Jei stares in complete amazement and joy... while Allen stares thinking about all the ways he can annoy his little brother!

With the little one asleep, Moe-Joe had plenty of time

to hangout and play with Allen outside.

Moe-Joe wasn't the only one

to get some quality play-time in with Allen. 

Dad-Oh took Allen to the park...

to see which one was faster, Dad-Oh's car or Allen's horse!? 

Back at home, Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh turn their attention back to Jack, who after a long busy day, just couldn't find the strength to wake up.

Talk about some spoiled-rotten Grandparents! Hamp & Sam get old and a little too big to snuggle with... so they order up another pair of little boys for their snuggling enjoyment!

Where there's a relaxing Moe-Joe... there's an iPad. And where there's a relaxing Moe-Joe and an iPad... there's a cute little boy eager to play games!

And when the iPad gets turned off, the TV gets turned on... and the only way Allen's snuggling up next to Momma when Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh are in town, is when she has a giant bowl of popcorn in her lap!

Something tells me Dad-Oh enjoyed his nightly routine

of taking Allen upstairs to bathe and put on his pj's!

Momma and her two sweet boys.

Two very happy and proud parents...

glad to be home with our boys!

Dad-Oh and Allen spent most nights trying to figure out

how to put together some of Allen's favorite puzzles.

"Well don't look at me Dad-Oh! You're the so-called 'Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech and a Helluva Engineer'... I figured this would be easy for you!?!"

Needless to say...

Moe-Joe was called in to lend a hand.

With Dad-Oh having to leave to go back home a lot earlier than I'm sure any of us wanted him to (to include himself), he got as much time in with Jack as he could... or as Moe-Joe would allow!

Sweet Baby Jack...
getting used to (and liking) all of the attention!

 

Family of Four

After what ended up being a long night of hardly any sleep, and going through multiple bags of IV's and just about an entire bag of Pitocin... we were beginning to wonder if this kid was ever going to come out! Jei was definitely a trooper, and although she wasn't feeling any pain at all, she was very patient and calm, but at the same time super anxious to get that baby out! 

Our doctor finally made an appearance early that morning and asked how everything was going... but more importantly, asked if Jei wanted an epidural. During her pregnancy with Allen, Jei found out just how painful giving birth really is, and experiencing that pain for a second time was clearly not an option. Needless to say, she vehemently agreed to the epidural and hoped, prayed, knocked on wood and crossed her fingers that it would work this time.     

Not long after our doctor left the room, the epidural doctor showed up to make sure none of that pain nonsense was going to interfere with all the fun. As it was during the delivery of Allen, we were once again extraordinarily blessed with really friendly and funny doctors and nurses! I'm sure Jei could've done without all the humor as she was getting poked & prodded and ready to give birth... but I'd like to think it helped just a little in getting her mind off the impending pain & uncomfortableness.   

Once the epidural was in and flowing, our doctor came in again at around 8 in the morning to manually break Jei's water. He then left, thinking he would have plenty of time before it was go-time with Jei, to go take care of a scheduled C-section down the hall. But much to everyone's surprise, the C-section was the one that had to wait and the doctor was called right back in. At 8:22, after two good pushes... and then one really hard push, an 8 pound - 7.3 ounce little baby boy named Jack Jefferson made his grand entrance!  

As compared to the delivery of Allen... Jack's was just about the polar opposite. It started so quickly and happened so fast with so much excitement that I didn't take any video and hardly had a chance to take any pictures (thank God for Momma Soch being there)! Whereas Allen needed to be vacuumed-out... Jack came out nice and easy. And while Jei writhed in agony and pain with Allen... after one tough uncomfortable push, it was all over with Jack!   

Sure, it was a long night and a long wait... but it was definitely worth it! The delivery could not have gone any better, and Jack could not have been any calmer than he was when he finally was able to get a good stretch in. 

A very happy & proud Daddy! Definitely not as emotional as I was with Allen... but I'm guessing that was because Jei wasn't screaming in pain and about to punch me, and the fact that Jack came out so darn fast!

Reunited at last! Still boggles my mind though that just 10 minutes prior, that little guy was crammed inside Jei's belly.

A truly magical moment...

welcoming our new family member!

It didn't take long for Jei to recover, relax,

and want some serious momma-time with her new son.

Of course Wela waited very patiently while Jei & I got to meet and say hello to Jack, but eventually, it was time to say goodbye and hand the little guy over!

"Well hello there Mr. Jack! My name is 'Spoiled-Rotten'... because I have 10 other grandchildren who are just as cute and precious as you are!"

Jack's little feet certainly look bigger here on paper...

cause when they're in your hands, they are super tiny.

After his monumental entrance, the big meet & greet, and then a nice sponge bath, poor little Jack was all tuckered out and needed some shut-eye. 

Not to worry...

there's a fifth little finger in there somewhere!

Momma... enjoying her sweet sleeping little angel.

Gotta love technology... cause between Skype, FaceTime, Instagram, Text Messages, and Facebook, the big news definitely wasn't kept a secret! Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh, at home taking care of Allen, were certainly included in the loop... and when it was finally time for the three of them to come visit that morning, I went downstairs, took Allen's hand, and brought him upstairs to meet his little brother for the first time.

It took a while for Allen to understand what was going on and of course to warm up to Jack... but there was definitely no need for any warming-up time for Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh when they got their chance to meet their fourth grandson.

Unfortunately, Jack was sound asleep by the time Moe-Joe got her hands on him... but something tells me she could not have cared any less!

I'm sure it was torture for Moe-Joe to sit at home, 10 minutes from the hospital, knowing that her new grandson had just been born... 

But she took full advantage of her allotted time with her new sleeping baby boy and held him until we literally had to pry him from her arms!

Okay, so we really didn't want a December baby... but now that he's here and we just have to live with it now, I have to say... it worked out pretty darn well if you ask me. We got to spend Christmas with Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh, and they got to meet their new grandson on his birthday! We were so happy they could be there with us to enjoy such a magnificent day. 

Jei & Allen getting a big kick watching

Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh hold and love on baby Jack.

We somehow got Moe-Joe to lay Jack down to nap some more... while Jei got in a good hot meal, and Allen told us how much fun he had playing with Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh at home the previous night.

She just couldn't resist!

Of course there was no way any of us could blame her.

I could've sworn I heard him say something about promising to clean out his garage back home... which makes sense, because the next thing I knew Dad-Oh was holding Jack for the first time.

But that of course didn't last very long...

for I think Moe-Joe traded him a big Bubba for a small one! 

With all the grandparents and his big brother out of his face and all at home for the evening, Jack finally had some time with just the two of us... and was able to get some good sleep, much to our delight.

With just the three of us spending the night in the hospital that night, waking up to feed, change, and walk Jack around the empty halls at night, it sure did give us a bit of deja vu and bring back some fond memories of when we did the exact same thing with Allen a little over two years ago. 

It was a long and tiring 24-plus hours... but with all the excitement, happiness and amazing joy that comes with bringing in a new life into our world, we only realized it when everyone was gone and it was just the three of us in our little room. And if a long, sleep deprived, exhausting day was the only way we were going to make our family of three turn into a family of four... then we'll happily accept!