To .... the Greatest of Graces & Baby Max -

The name Max means the greatest.

I think he might be one of the greatest gifts of grace I never knew I wanted .... or needed.
Here's a bit of his story ....

- - -

This was back in April on the day we bought a pregnancy test ... even though we already 'knew'.
Rex called it .... totally called it.

But we still took the test.
We were still totally shocked.
He was super excited .... really I kinda was too.

My quick math said January .... December 22 was even more of a surprise.
Merry Christmas to us.

- - -

Here's my random go at belly pictures.
Mostly they were group texts to Amie & Lis .... with lines like 'what do you think' 'does this work' 'yes? no?'

  9 weeks -

 11 weeks -

  16 weeks -

24 weeks -

 25 weeks -

6 months, officially -

  27 weeks - my spoof on my 13 year old's bathroom selfie :)

30 weeks -

38 weeks -

- - -

I spent too much time laying awake at night overthinking every detail of labor & having a baby.
Way too much time in my own head.
Thinking of the pain & wondering when & how it'd probably be 2 weeks late & what was Christmas going be & more pain & those first minutes of brand new baby.

My water broke around 6:30am on the 20th.
The 20th!
Two whole days before Dec. 22nd. what?!

We ran errands & bought mostly little girl things & a little gray hat.
I let the massage lady at the mall talk me into a 13 minute back rub.
Rex got Chipotle.
Amie flew in from Ohio - the kids were jazzed.

We finished our Christmas shopping.
We showed up at the hospital around 6:30 that night.
Rex asked on the way if we were ok with a boy .... you know, if it was a boy.

Yeah.
I was.

I asked for drugs ... to start labor.
I didn't want to walk the halls all night to start labor.
For whatever funky reason, this was the second time my water broke with zero contractions.

It was about 9pm by the time the lab sent pitocin.
Rex is good at watching the monitors & sleeping on hospital couches.
Nothing really started happening till about 11.

The nurse waited to write the 20th or the 21st.
It took less than an hour to go from 5cm to hello baby.
The doctor didn't have time to put gloves on.

I cried .07 seconds afterwards.
And then really cried when we saw he was a he.

And then he was perfect .....
And in waves the grace of him being here hit.
Over & over.
The greatest of graces.

- - -

Sailor came with Mom & Amie around 2:30 in the morning to meet Max.

They left .... and the next few hours were all sorts of hellish.
Hemorrhaging was a new experience & every part of it I don't necessarily want to remember.
Other than it's over & there is still sweet grace.

My eyes only hurt for most of the day from tears.
I only cried when I held Max.
.... and when the kids came.
.... and when my dad came.
.... and when they drew my blood for the 87th time.
.... and every other time Rex kissed me.

Hello, hot mess :)
gosh .....

- - -

Meeting Max.
Molly was crazy excited .... and to date has done the best with holding & taking care of him.
She liked the idea of a little brother & that he has the same first letter of his name as she does.

Regs is enamored .... she holds & flops him in every way a little 7 year old knows how.
What she lacks in skill, she makes up for in high pitched conversations of love.

Chady brought Woofy to meet Max .... and since Max wasn't in his little bed much, it worked for Woofy instead :)

.... 7 kids.
gee & wow.

- - -

Home ....

- - -

We left the hospital on his due date.
I can't even ....
The more the grace of that gift was hit .... the more I cried.

4 days before Christmas.
It was holiday bliss.

Chad shared his super hero Christmas capes with 'baby Max'

I could hold him & stare at him for days.

- - -

He's been to Grandma's & Auntie April's.
Truth: he's been to the nail salon & multiple trips through the drive-thru at Starbucks.
He's been to Mimi's & the wedding his daddy did.
He's been held nearly 24/7.
He's had a bath & been for walks.
He's spent days at home without going outside once.
Christmas parties & weigh-in's at the doctor & to Rex's office.
At 15 days, he was an ounce past is 8 lb 5 oz birth weight.
He slept right through New Years.

He completely dominated the whole best of twenty16 instagram .....

This was New Years Eve ....

- - -

A couple 'real' pictures -

- - -

He's sleeping on my shoulder now ... pretty much snoring, really.
Little bitty newborn snoring.

I love everything about him.
I love that seven kids in I'm finally catching on to the sweet gift of each day of the brand newness of newborn babies.

I love how his little arms still flail out wide & how tiny his legs still are.
I love how he can't hold his head & his eyes still go cross-eyed.
I love that he still wears the newborn diapers & onesies.

I can't totally wrap my brain around God giving him to us .....

Praise the Almighty .... He has done great things for us.