Today is Sunday June 10, and it's the first time I've had to post since Baby Nathaniel came into our lives. Here is the story of his first few days.

On Friday, Daddy and I went to the hospital around 11:30. We got here and immediately went into a pre-op room, where we waited for quite a while. My OB was there and trying to rush things along, but the hospital was all backed up and we had to go to the main OR instead of the maternity OR. It took a lot longer than usual to get things going. But I had a spinal tube in by around 2:15, the procedure started around 2:30, and little Nate was out at 2:42 PM. He weighed a whopping 8 pounds 4 ounces, and measured in at 22 inches. He has lots of dark hair and steel blue eyes.

We didn't get to see him for a few hours after the surgery, but he rejoined us once I made it upstairs to the maternity wing after recuperating in the main recovery room for almost an hour. We were reunited around 4:30. He is so cute!! A few minutes after he arrived in my room, the girls, Grandma Sandy, Grandma Dina, Grandpa Ron and Imogene came in the room and they all got to meet him and FINALLY hear his name, a secret that the four of us had been keeping for quite a while!

Here are the girls with their new brother. And you can see the OTHER birthday person's hand in the photo – Grandma Sandy's birthday is also on Friday!

Everyone stayed for a while and then went out to dinner. Then Grampy, Nana and Emily came to visit too and got to meet Nathaniel and hold him. Then after a while, the girls and Ron and Dina came back to say goodnight. It was so hard to say goodbye to them!

Nate has been great in the hospital. He really only cries when he is hungry, when he's getting a diaper change, and when he is getting his temperature taken. He's pretty alert and likes to look around at everything. We're working on the breastfeeding, which is hard because my milk hasn't come in yet and he's not getting much from me.

Yesterday, Grandma Sandy came to visit around 11:00, and the girls and Grandpa Ron and Grandma Dina came around 11:30. M had a baseball game at 2, which Grandma and Grandpa took her to (and which Grampy cheered her on at). A stayed in the hospital room wtih us until 6:30! She just wanted to hang out with us and her new brother. We loved having her here and were happy when M came back in the late afternoon. Andrea K. and Aidan also stopped by for a visit.

Everyone left around 6:30, and Grampy came over for a quiet visit around 8. He hung out here with Nate on his chest for about 45 minutes – so cute.

The last few nights haven't been that restful but hopefully tonight will be easier. All of my tubes are out and I am feeling better, but haven't had much sleep and my belly is pretty sore.

Today Daddy and I had a quiet morning here and then Grandma Sandy came around 12:30. The girls had a swim play date at Alida's and came here afterwards with Grandma and Grandpa. They were here til 6 and everyone had fun holding Nate. Grampy and Emily came at 3 for a quick visit, with Emily proving how comfortable she is with babies.

Tonight Nate and I are just hanging out in the room waiting for Daddy to come back – he took the girls home for a bath and got them all set up at home. Grandma Dina and Grandpa Ron are staying with us til tomorrow – they've been incredibly helpful.

Nate is very sweet and mellow and extremely cute. Hopefully once the milk comes in we will have an easier time of feeding. I will see my OB tomorrow and we'll decide if I will go home tomorrow or Tuesday. As much as I miss the girls and want to be with them, it may be beneficial to have another night here as I am still in a lot of discomfort.

We are very grateful for all of the well-wishes and visits we've had. We've had a lot of sweet notes on Facebook and on email. And of course, we have a zillion photos. I will upload them once I have a chance. Here are a few that Grandma took:

Many, many, many more to come.