Our cute little bug

We sure love our little guy. My mom was here for the birth, of course, and she stayed for a week and a half. She is my lifesaver. My heart goes out to any woman who has to go through labor and the recovery on their own. I wouldn't say that my experience has been horrible and recovery has been slow, but if not for my mom and Dave I would be curled up in the corner, crying, trying to nurse a baby. They cooked, cleaned, my mom taught me to nurse, held the baby to let me eat and shower and use the bathroom, and helped me recover. I have recovered as much as I have because of them and I am forever grateful for that. I had a couple of days of crying about everything but it was so good for me to release some emotions of what I had been feeling about the huge change that just came into my life and the huge event that I had just experienced. Other than that I think my recover has gone fairly well. Sleep, however, is another story. We discovered the other night that our little Luke loves to be close to us. Go figure. There were a few nights of Luke waking up for me to nurse him and then as soon as I would lay him down after an hour of feeding him, he would wake up 45 minutes later. All night long. That really took a lot out of me. Then the next night Dave thought that maybe we should sleep with him. And that night Luke let me sleep for 2 hours at a time. That is much better. But he is still eating like a little mad man. I call him the hungry hungry hippo because all he does is eat! But I heard that is how it's supposed to be so I can't complain :)

He is most alert in the late morning and has started to look at us longer and will just lay and look around at his surroundings. Dave can't wait until he can run around and play with him. But that won't be for a while. I am trying hard to enjoy every day with him because he won't be under 8 pounds for long. It's pretty scary to have someone be so completely dependent on me for his very life. But it is also very humbling to know that Heavenly Father has put so much trust in me to take care of one of His children. Quite a responsibility but quite an amazing thing at the same time.

He is 18 days old today. He has gained about 1 pound since we left the hospital, bringing him to 7 pounds 11 ounces. He was born at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches. He has grown one inch as well. It's good to know that the many hours of nursing is helping him to grow and be healthy. Everyone that takes a look at him says that he looks like Dave and my mom said that "he is all Shumway". But his little toe is a little hunchback looking like mine, so I guess that is what I will claim. He was circumcised a few days ago and I hated it. No nurses or doctors are allowed to touch him ever again. Only his mommy and daddy. During the procedure he was holding my fingers so tight that I just wanted to take him out of there and hold him forever. It's amazing how much love I have for this little guy, but I guess that is how Heavenly Father planned for things to be.

This is pretty much what my life is all about. I am finishing my last class for graduation and I get so much done at 4 in the morning. I am taking the midterm this coming week and have 6 more lessons to do before April 3rd. I can do it. I can. I just have to keep doing it. Dave is doing great. He has continued to help me tons and will take him for a couple of hours in the morning to let me get a little bit more sleep. He is great at burping (for himself as well as patting Luke on the back) and he probably never imagined that he would have to change so many diapers. It's good for him though. He's a great daddy and Luke will love playing sports with him.

I sure love my boys.

Love you all,
Brienne