Life lately...

Oh my goodness!!!  Where to begin!?!  Life has been crazy (good!) hectic lately... and I've so much to share with all of you... so please forgive me if this post comes across as though a sleep deprived, post holiday exhausted mother of 2.5 (Sneebie definitely counts as at least .5 of a child) :).

William James Van Court

Choosing a name for our little guy was incredibly difficult... but we chose it after his Maternal Great Grandfathers Willis Meyer, an incredibly intelligent, hard-working, loving and funny man and James Urso, one of the greatest men I'll every know, loving me as though I was his own... both men, gone too soon to meet our Will, who we hope one day grows up in a way that will be honoring to them.  There were many men in the family we wanted to honor... but we chose this as a tribute to my late grandfathers.

Perhaps I should also add, the full name of William was also influenced my crush on Prince William of Wales :) (at one point I had desperately wanted to marry him... but instead settled on Prince Phillip... Prince of the Grain Elevators) and was the only name Phillip and I could both settle on.

First and foremost... most everyone reading this post already is aware of our huge news... William James.  Our little Will arrived in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 16th, 2013 at 12:28 am.  I had started laboring at 4:15 am that Friday morning... but waited until about 10 am to break the news to everyone (including Phillip!  He was loading a train in Salina!) that it would be that day.  So after a long labor, me spiking a fever, and an unsuccessful epidural... into the world came our not-so-little Will at 8 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches tall.  In the delivery room, supporting me, were Phillip, my mother, my Gremom Cornelson, Stefanie (my sister Pup)... and, by mis-hap... Alex (my baby sister Boo).  Throughout most of the labor, my wonderful doctor Kauffman was present as well as my phenomenal friend and nurse 

Jeannine, that came in on her day off and worked something like a 15 hour shift.  

Because of my fever and suspected uterine infection... a nurse practitioner from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was present for Will's birth, followed by a visit from our Wichita Pediatrician who admitted Will to a Special Care nursery for observation, blood tests and antibiotics (though the staff was incredibly kind, allowing me to remain by Will's side the entire time).

The most odd thing about my whole labor and delivery experience is that it was nearly identical to Callie's birth story (aside from a very well working epidural).  The infection and everything.  We've concluded that perhaps that's simply how my body labors and delivers a baby.

Also different this time was a rare antibody found in my blood... that could make future pregnancies quite complicated, including having to routinely visit a Pregnancy Specialist doctor in Wichita weekly starting in my second trimester.  Because of this... Phillip and I have wondered if Will will be our last baby/pregnancy.  While numerous physicians have told me that it would be ok to get pregnant again (though my mother says I simply should NOT)... there's certainly a part of me that is wondering if this is God's way of telling me that our family is complete.  It's something I've really been struggling with since Will's birth (I'm blessed to have no post-partum depression... but this has certainly given me some blues).  So in attempts to ward off my sad thoughts... I have been trying to soak up every moment I can with, what may be, my last newborn baby.  Will and I often stay up until midnight... after everyone else has gone to sleep... just so I can lay on the couch, smell that sweet baby smell on his head, and feel his tiny breath on my chest as he just snuggles with me.  

So any extra prayers you may have... please lift them up so that I may find peace in knowing God's plan for my family.  In the meantime... I will just enjoy what He has already blessed me with.

Now that's enough of that story... so I'll share photos!

 I was actually driven to the hospital, contracting, by my mother... and Phillip met us at the hospital shortly after we arrived... he was exactly who I wanted to see... and who I needed to have hold my hand when I was hurting...

Even if he didn't know quite what to do when I was hurting...

My fabulous nurse applying the monitors to my giant belly...

My labor pain consisted mostly of back labor... so here is Phillip... holding the monitors on my belly... while holding a heating pad on my back... (mind you... the heating pad was my mothers from 1978 -- give or take a year or two-- we were worried it would catch the hospital on fire!)... also, Will was delivered in the same hospital room as Callie was!  LDR 19

Of course having my sisters in the room for delivery helped keep me looking my best... who wants a shiny face with all of those photos that will be taken right when he's born?!

Unfortunately... immediately after his birth... I got quite sick... so Daddy actually got to hold the little man before mommy even did!

My amazing team that made it all possible... I'm so grateful to have had these two!  They are both incredibly brilliant and talented individuals!

And here is the Tank of a boy himself... William James... I was shocked how big he was when he was born!  Weighing nearly an entire pound more than his big sister did at birth!

 and my little man... in finally in my arms for the first time...

Little Will talking to Grammie and Grandfather Van Court for the first time...

We did not have Callie come up to meet Will until later that day... I see no reason in keeping a toddler up into the wee hours of the morning!  She will never know the difference! (She was mostly unimpressed anyways...)

Life has been a total whirlwind since then... but we're trying to love every minute...

I do apologize for the tardiness of thank you notes... I'm slowly working on them... but finding free time is proving to be difficult in between feeding, sleeping, cleaning and, of course, playing.

Love, kisses and licks from all of us Van Courts!