Grant's first day on earth!

Grant's first picture ever! I feel so honored that it was with me. Can you tell he is nice and strong and healthy? Look at that strong hand. The only thing a little off was his purple color. That corrected pretty quickly though.

This picture upsets me a great deal. It makes me think, "Holy Cow! This was a rough ride for the little guy! So much changed so suddenly for him. I was safely inside of my mom and now I'm here and away from her. What is going on?"

Our little guy in the scale. 8.0 lbs 7.9 oz. Not too shabby.

First close- up! Pretty cute already, eh? Grant in comparison to Danny's finger. Isn't it amazing that he started out so small as a fertilized egg and has grown to this. It is also incredible that he has so much more potential for growth. And that's just physically speaking! Lots of divine attributes too. If you ever hear Danny call Grant, "Little cheesy bottom," you'll know why! Lots of vernix on this little buddy.

The nurse wrapped Grant up and let us have a little bonding time before he went to the baby nursery for some tests.

I had my chance to hold him first. It was so great to be able to hold him and see him and talk to him!

Danny was pretty happy to meet his little boy too. We talked about how amazing it is to love another baby just as easily as we first loved Victoria and Christian.

Then, it was time to try nursing, one of my favorite things to do. Grant wasn't quite up for it, so we didn't press the issue too much. Despite the fact that I posted my belly pics, I won't post the breastfeeding pics. Although I do love them.

Then after about an hour of special bonding time he was off to the new baby nursery.

We called the Grandmas and told them the good news. We asked them to call our brothers and grandparents etc. We asked my mom to bring the kids in about an hour or 2 because that was how long we expected Grant to be in the nursery.

First my dad came. Then my mom and Victoria and Christian came. They were happy to see Danny and I, but couldn't wait to meet their grandson and brother! However, baby Grant needed some extra tests and a chest X-ray and two hours turned into 3 hours into 4 hours. So, we told them to go ahead and take the kids to dinner. Then Bob and Susan came. They had to wait too. My parents and the kids came back, but we were told that it would be another hour. After that hour, the nurses still wouldn't let him out. Danny asked twice explaining that our other kids were here and could we just let them meet briefly. I was an irate mom when they said no. Danny and my mom felt like it was best to be sure that Grant was healthy. I did too of course, but I felt strongly that he was healthy and fine. So, sadly, Victoria and Christian had to go home without meeting their brother. They were so heartbroken and really cried. Luckily they had their dad and two sets of grandparents to help them understand better and feel even more excited about their special day tomorrow!

So, I cried too, but didn't until they were gone. It just wasn't what I was hoping for and I felt disappointed. Plus, I felt sad for the kids and my parents.

However, I know that we had soooooo much to be thankful for during the day. The labor that Danny and I had been so nervous about went so smoothly. Almost perfectly really! Not that it was easy, but it was so healthy. Honestly, we considered it a true miracle that my heart went from a resting heart rate of 110-120 with crazy bouts of tachycardia and arrhythmia's during the last few months of pregnancy to a perfectly healthy heart rate of 70-80 during labor! We feel like it was a direct answer to lots of prayers. Even the nurse and doctor couldn't really explain it. They just said that sometimes bodies do amazing things in labor and problems often self-correct to help things go smoothly. They said that often newborns with weird heart rates will suddenly correct themselves in labor too. It is so counterintuative, but such a great blessing!

Anyway, here is a pic of the great big brother and big sister with the welcome presents that they brought for Grant.

Here are the sweet tired kids, looking through the glass at their baby brother. The nurse agreed to come close to the glass with Grant before they left. They thought he was so cute and couldn't believe how chubby he was! They loved just looking at him!

So, it seems that this beautiful entry took a tiny bit of a sad turn... but thankfully everything was just great again just a bit later when we got our healthy baby back!

I'll post about Meeting the family next! That will ALL be happy- promise!