Sunday, November 29, 2009

Giving Thanks


This past Thanksgiving our family had so much to be thankful for. First and foremost, David and I were thankful for being blessed with our beautiful son, Harrison. We were also blessed with David's family visiting us. David's mom came into town last Friday and stayed with us for a week. She was an immense help to us. I did not have to prepare one single meal, although I did help with the preparation for Thanksgiving. She gave me the opportunity to get out and about several times to do some errands, and gave David and me the chance to go spend some time together. What a wonderful gift that was. We just went to Barnes and Noble, but to sit and enjoy a hot cocoa and pick out some books was just what I needed. David even got the chance to read some comics :).
The rest of the Bunge family came in later in the week. Mike (David's dad) and Kevin (brother) arrived early Wednesday evening, and David's sister, Katie, drove down early Thursday morning. We had a great Thanksgiving meal and just relaxed most of the day. The weather was nice enough to enjoy a walk with Harrison and David's siblings. I even convinced David to watch a Christmas movie - Elf- on television.
Friday we were crazy enough to do some shopping. Since I had to be up early to feed Harrison anyway, we went ahead and took advantage of the sales. It honestly wasn't that bad anywhere. That's the advantage of living in a smaller town like Wake Forest, I guess. We were able to take care of some of our Christmas shopping and didn't stay out too long. Good thing Harrison will be too young for awhile for us to need to worry about the "it" toys. I think we can depend on grandparents and cardboard boxes for a few years.
It was such a nice week, and to have family here for Thanksgiving meant a lot. It's just the 4 of us for a few weeks until my brother, Scott, visits, and then we head home for Christmas. The holidays can be such a whirlwind sometimes. I hope that our family is able to take some time and slow down and enjoy each other and not be stressed by everything that comes along with this time of year. With that said, I'm off to stare at my beautiful, sleeping baby boy.
So that happened...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Baby Love

By now, you probably know that Harrison David Bunge was born on November 9 at 5:35 pm, and I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. Okay, maybe just slightly since pushing isn't exactly fun. However, the outcome was unbelievable and words truly cannot express how great my partner/husband, David, was. I thought I would want music or pictures from Harrison's 24 week ultrasound to focus me during contractions, but as it turned out, nothing helped me through them more than looking into David's eyes. He would count my contraction out for me and just look at me and smile. He didn't even have to say anything because his eyes let me know that he believed I was strong and could make it through. (But, honey, next time maybe you could not emphasize "15" so much when you're counting.) I was so blessed to be in labor for just 4 hours, but I know that David would've helped me through a longer labor. He kept telling me how amazing I was and how well I was doing getting us closer to meeting our son. I never felt more in love with him than during that time.
I couldn't have asked for a better support team, either. My nurse, Suzie, was awesome, and the nursing student from UNC worked so hard to make me comfortable. I can't thank her enough for helping me push and keeping me cool. It gets pretty warm with all that pushing. And I couldn't have been happier with my doctor. Dr. Chancellor insisted on delivering Harrison, and she coached me through the hardest contractions. When I didn't think I had more in me, she somehow helped me muster up the strength to push just a little harder and longer. Everyone in that room had great faith in me and helped me believe in myself. They are truly the reason I was able to go naturally. And believe me, there were a few times I wanted to ask for an epidural, but they all helped me through it.
I cannot explain my gratitude to everyone for helping David and me bring our birth plan to fruition. Our wishes were respected every step of the way and there wasn't one time when I didn't know what was going on. It was truly a beautiful day. So, that happened...