Clay and I had such a good time giving Clayton a bath yesterday, and these pictures ought to give you some idea why. Look at those SMILES! He is smiling at us more and more these days, and we just can't get enough.
Look at my big tummy...
This is what Clay and I like to call the "stink eye"
Clay put together this video (below) of the day of Clayton's arrival. That day, August 22nd, was both one of the hardest and yet happiest days of my life. Clay and I arrived at Labor and Delivery around 7:00 a.m. to start the induction. The first eleven hours of labor were not bad-- visiting with our family and friends was enjoyable, the anticipation was exciting, the epidural was effective... It was only the last two hours of pushing that were so difficult. I was already exhausted from lack of sleep and food when the pushing began, and I was fearful about what lay ahead. The pushing during each contraction required every ounce of physical and emotional strength I had within me; the breaks between contractions were hardly long enough to catch my breath. With each push, Clayton would make slight progress down the birth canal, but with each break from pushing, he seemed to sneak back toward my womb. He must have really liked it in there; he did not seem very interested in coming out just yet. After pushing for almost two hours, I had this feeling that we were close to a C-Section, but I hoped that would not happen, and thanks to the support and encouragement of Clay, Julie, and Erin, and the patience of Dr. Ross, (and the strong arm of the nurse pushing down on my uterus) I was finally able to push him out completely! What a moment; what emotion, what exhaustion, what relief... I couldn't help but cry when I saw his perfect, sweet face. He was, and is, beautiful. He is a gift from the Lord. He is our son. As difficult as those hours were, I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I wouldn't change a thing.
I love the lyrics to this song about the artist's (Eliot Morris) son being born. Here are the lyrics, written from the perspective of the newborn:
My world was closing in so i thought id take things outside The walls had gotten thin the time was feeling just right Darkness, dangers, cold the air that kissed my skin Slowly, strangers turned to friends
And welcomed me to this colorful world All things anew in this colorful world Grey yields to blue in this colorful world There's so much to do in this colorful world
The light let go my eyes I measured all the earth known I cant remember why I felt like I had found home Earthquakes, noises stole the peace i tried to keep Slowly voices brought me sleep
And sleep leads to dreams of this colorful world Dreams build machines in this colorful world Grey yields to green in this colorful world There's so much unseen in this colorful world
Wake me up and wipe the the clouds from my ears Speak my name because i finally can hear clearly
This colorful world All things are new in this colorful world Grey yields to blue in this colorful world Theres so much to do in this colorful world
Before you know it, Clayton will admire his Dad as the biggest, strongest, smartest man he knows. He will surely follow in Clay's footsteps. I can't wait to watch both of them when that happens.
Although what follows this yawn is mostly fussing and crying, I can't help but love it. We're both sleepy these days. I haven't slept more than 4 1/2 hours in over one month now, but he is worth every sleepless night and exhausting day.
Clayton has several times during the day in which he is "alert", contentedly looking at the new world around him. One of those times is in the morning just after Clay leaves for work, and Clayton and I hang out for a couple of hours. These are pictures from our time together yesterday morning.
It is amazing how much time you can spend simply looking at your newborn child. Clayton seems to make one hundred faces every minute. These are a few of my favorite.
Clay and I love how he wrinkles his forehead
Content
Can't wait until he smiles in response to us
Oh no
And we love his lips
Really, I love everything about this little boy-- his hundreds of faces, his lips, his hands, his feet, his hair, the way he lifts his knees when we pick him up, the way he sleeps with his hands by his head, the way his upper lip curls when he eats...
