I am a mother of three...

but for the past 13 days I have had the luxury of being alone with our newest and youngest. (We had Alex and Claire shipped off for "summer camp" with the grandparents in good ol' Arizona. And although having to endure the desert heat for 13 days sounds like torture for me, they were both thrilled to go and they have had a fabulous time. Thanks again, Marmie & Bapa and Papa & Nana!!) But tonight they come home and the peace and tranquility that Baby Bradley and I have enjoyed is about to come to an end. Now real life as a mother of three is about to begin. But I am well rested (thanks to a daily regimen of 2 naps), I am recovered (I have kicked the Percocet habit I was about to form), and Bradley and I have figured out each others' rhythms. His: eat, poop, sleep, poop, cry, poop. And mine: feed him, pump, change him, pump, stuff some peanut M&Ms in my mouth, pump, and repeat. It's a nice system we have going and things will definitely be rearranged when the 2 older siblings return.

Thanks again, Marmie, for taking 2 kids, 2 carseats, and too much responsibility on a 2 hour airplane trip. It was the most daring of tasks for even the most seasoned of mothers. You win the award!!

Happy Birth Day!

I had remembered the afflictions that accompany childbirth. I anticipated the pain and the agony, my uncontrollable shaking on the operating table, the vomiting, the tenderness of my incision and the inability to laugh, cough, or sit up without the ache in my abdomen. I was ready for the challenges that a newborn brings -- the tears and the screams, the sleepless nights, and the knowledge that I know nothing. But I wasn't ready for the joys. In all my preparations for this birth day I had somehow forgotten the gladness that comes with the griefs. Hearing my little boy's cry for the first time that brought tears to my own eyes, the sweet, sweet face that seemed to automatically accept and trust me so willingly, the smell of his skin that smells oh so baby-ish even before his first bath or his first douse of baby lotion. I have experienced a gamut of emotions in these last 3 days. But the most prevalent of which is pure joy and gratitude for the new little angel that has come to our family. Welcome to the world, Baby Boy!

Bradley Charles Wiltbank

June 10, 2009

8:10 am

7 lbs 13 oz

19.69 inches