Back to the Real World. Luke Meets Life Burgess-Style.

Here are some pictures from Luke's first week at home.  Everyone did a good job getting adjusted to having him home.  From the start Luke was a great eater, which made everything go pretty smoothly during week 1.  The kids were incredibly excited to have him home, which was very sweet at times and a lot to handle at other times.  Mikey had to be really tired, helping me with Luke - running food and drinks to us upstairs, plus chasing after Tommy and Ellie.  We also had a ton of help from family and friends, which we were grateful for.

Sweet girl cuddling with her brother on his first night home.

Tommy was so excited to hold him too.

Full bed.  Don't forget Mo in back.

Picture from the next morning...we made it through night one.  Well kind of...both Ellie and Tommy came to our room in the middle of the night, plus we were up for Luke's feedings.  No rest for the weary is becoming a common saying in our house.

Happy her brother is home.

Burgess boys and 3 out of 4 kids.

Ellie "introduced" Izzy to Luke.  Ellie was also blissfully unaware that Uncle John and Aunt Amber had brought Izzy to the hospital to meet Luke.  We will tell her in a few years.  :)

Morning light and a sweet baby.  Love his outstretched hand here.

Naked sleeping baby.

Super sleepy on my side.

Snoozing with Mo.

I adore this picture of my two boys.  Great smile on Tommy, and he just looks so big here.  Tommy truly adores seeing Luke.  He comes in our room every morning with one question "Is baby brother awake or asleep?"  If I say awake, question 2 goes "Can I hold him now?" True love.

Luke Matthew Burgess is Here!

After months of waiting, and several uncomfortable weeks at the end (for everyone in the family I think), Luke Matthew Burgess arrived to join our family at 10:49 am on Friday, June 21st.  He arrived in dramatic fashion, giving Mom the signal with contractions starting in the middle of the night around midnight.  This created a rush to the hospital in the early hours of the morning, followed by about 10 hours of waiting for him to appear later that morning.

I had not been feeling the best for the few weeks leading up to that, and in fact had told my doctor quite seriously on the day before he came that I felt like I was going to have a 9 pound baby.  I was proved almost right after Luke was measured...8 pound, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  He didn't have a lot of hair when he was born, but what he did have was very, very light, almost white. He had long fingers and big feet, also part of what I believe was hurting me at the end.

It was a long day that Friday.  Mikey worked hard...helping get me to the hospital quickly, feeding me ice chips and helping with cold cloths when my epidural gave me some trouble, and getting me some great food after Luke was born.

Here are some pictures of our first few days with Luke.  We are incredibly, incredibly blessed to have welcomed him into our family.  He is a sweet soul already, and seeing him with Ellie and Tommy makes us so grateful to have him in our family.

Here is Luke right after he was born.  A little swollen, but sweet nonetheless.

Cuddling with Mom

This was taken Friday afternoon, right before his sister and brother came to meet him.  Its why he still looks peaceful  :)

Tommy meeting and holding Luke.  Love his sweet smile.  I will never, ever forget how excited Tommy was to meet his brother.  He hadn't said much when we talked to him about the baby before the big day.  Tommy came in, so excited, so happy and literally never stopped talking.  He asked all about his brother, wanted to touch him, hold him, know everything about him, see every part of him, and generally, he never stopped talking and smiling.  It was so cute.

Our big girl with her brother.  Ellie was so excited about the baby from day 1...well except for that tiny detail of Luke being a boy.  She told everyone who would listen about her disappointment that she was having another brother.  That disappointment seemed to melt away the minute she met him.  She held him like a pro of course, and just sat and examined him from head to foot.  About 30 minutes after she got there, she leaned over to me and whispered ever so quietly "Mom, I guess I am glad he is a boy".  I will never forget that either.

Dad getting in some cuddle time.  Dad was also happy for a couch during this hospital stay.  For our other two kids, he was stuck in a recliner.

What do you do if you are awale in a hospital at 3 am with your brand new baby?  Do a photo shoot of course.  These are some pictures of Luke the night he was born, without a flash so I wouldn't wake Mikey up.  He is so teeny, little and alert in these.

Even his hat was big.  

He was my buddy from the start.

Big snuggles.

Sweet boy.

Another photo shoot.  This was in the morning light the day after he was born.  You can see his hair better, his little lips.

LOOK AT THOSE FEET!!!  Soooo that was what was making me so miserable.

Perfect.

Last Zoo Trip as a Family of Two Kids

Two weeks before the baby came, Ellie, Tommy and I headed to the KC Zoo.  I only got a few pictures, but one is special to me because if you look hard enough, you can see a pretty big belly in the reflection of one of the pictures...our soon to be baby boy.

Here's the belly pic.  Look above Tommy's shoulder for a green and white striped tank top.  That's a very warm Mom taking a pic of these two looking for river otters.

Always have to jump on the polar bear statue.

Elephant sighting!!

A Visit to the Loose Park Rose Garden

I loved this afternoon with Tommy and Ellie.  Perfect weather, so we packed up and headed to Loose Park. On a whim, we headed over to the Rose Garden, which was full on beautiful blooms.  I had luck on my side as I actually got these two to pose for me.