Welcome to the World, Winston

Our baby BOY is here! Can you believe it?! Yes, we are officially an ALL-BOY crew and Winston James is our newest member! We welcomed him to the world on Wednesday, June 20th, weighing in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19.75 inches long. How easy it is to forget how tiny they are at first, especially with two big brothers who are off the growth chart for their age! And hair! He has a head full of dark hair…more than his biggest brother, but less than the middle one. He fits perfectly in my arms and has loved sleeping on his dad’s chest since day one.

We feel so incredibly blessed to have had such wonderful doctors and staff bring him into the world safely and effortlessly via scheduled c-section and truly feel that the nurses and caretakers of new moms and babies are pure saints. They are the ones who make the difficult and painful moments a little bit more manageable and of course, a few visits from the big boys and our parents helped, too. But in reality, all I have to do is look down at him and all of the rest fades away. He [and the other boys] are simply what makes this life worth it.

Image credit: Bella Baby Photography

Image credit: Bella Baby Photography

Image credit: Bella Baby Photography

After a 3 night stay in the hospital, we brought him home and have been recovering and adjusting to our new normal ever since. He is 3 weeks old today [which is technically my due date] and still sleeping more than I could have ever dreamed! I guess being born at 37 weeks, he’s getting some extra snooze time in since having to come out a little early 😉 But we know one day his little eyelids will stay open for more than a few seconds at a time and we will be greeted with big, bold, presumably blue or green eyes like the rest of us! 

Real life is actually just getting started. My parents stayed at our house with the boys while we were in the hospital and the day after we got home with him, they whisked the big boys away to Iowa for 6 nights. They returned home on a Saturday and then 2 days later, they headed to my in-laws to spend the week of 4th of July. We’ve only been doing this whole three-kid-thing for 4 or 5 days now. If anyone is unsure about sending their older kids away after having a baby, let me tell you. It was amazing. At first I was worried I would be so hormonal and emotional that I would miss them too much, but it was truly the best thing that could’ve happened. We had time to bond with Winston and the boys had a ball spending time with their grandparents and cousins. Family is everything and we surely appreciate all of the help we’ve received from ours. You know, the whole ‘It takes a village…” thing. Well, it couldn’t be more true!

Image credit: Photography by Robin Joy, LLC

The big boys absolutely adore him. I literally can’t even when they walk into the room and go to him before me. It is a moment of instant heart melt and it happens more times in a day than I can even count! They want to hug him, hold him, kiss him and sing to him. This is when I reach for my camera to snap a pic or hit record on a video. Well, let’s be honest…I haven’t stopped snapping pics since he was born, but the sound of their little 4 and 5 year old voices talking ‘baby talk’ or singing to Winston is too much!! I know these days are short-lived as I’m sure he’ll be right in the mix with the two of them far before I’m ready for it to happen. Why do our babies have to grow up?!

Image credit: Photography by Robin Joy, LLC

Certainly the days are getting easier as I heal and get stronger, but sometimes I want to rewind back to those few days in the hospital when all I had to do was take care of the baby. There were no dishes, no laundry, no toys to clean up and certainly not a care in the world about the extra skin and weight on my body. As physically painful as those early days were, they sure were bittersweet. But life must go on and getting into a groove around the house with schedules, routine and sanity is certainly going to take time.

Image credit: Photography by Robin Joy, LLC

For now, we are soaking in the Summer sun and learning about life with three littles day-by-day. People always assumed we were having a third to “try for that girl” and no we didn’t get our girl, but we got our strong, healthy and beautiful third baby boy. We waited to find out the gender because we wanted that magical, in-the-moment surprise. And you better bet it was a surprise like no other. I have 4 of them in the house now. So much testosterone that I’m not going to know what to do with myself, but as they say, “I’ll forever be surrounded by handsome men!” So yep, my #boymom title is safe!!

Image credit: Photography by Robin Joy, LLC

Image credit: Photography by Robin Joy, LLC

I know this life is going to be filled with dirt and messes and broken bones. There will never be a dull moment around here. I can already hear the laughs and the screams and the fighting and the loud pitter patter of dirty feet on the ground, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

And in case you’re wondering his Nursery letterboard saying is still sporting the same quote as it was in the Nursery Reveal and it holds true. He has absolutely changed our world and we have without a doubt changed a lot of itty bitty diapers already!

Want to see more of our journey to Winston? Check out the posts below!:

Our Big Announcement
Nursery Progress Week 1
Nursery Progress Week 2
Nursery Progress Week 3
Nursery Progress Week 4
Nursery Progress Week 5
Nursery Progress Week 6 – The Reveal
Maternity Photoshoot
28 Week Bumpdate
33 Week Bumpdate
36 Week Bumpdate
Welcome to the World