Life With Marek

Part of me feels as though the first two weeks of Marek's life have gone by so fast, but at the same time I can't seem to remember living without him. It sort of feels as though life before him was a dream. On October 6th, 2012, God blessed me with what I imagine was a fairly easy labour and delivery. Don't get me wrong, it was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I was able to labour almost entirely at home so when I finally got to the hospital 15 hours after the first contraction I was only there for about 4 hours before Adam caught and held our baby for the first time and (after having his cord unwrapped THREE times) he was placed on my chest for his first mommy snuggles. Since that moment he has been thriving. God answered all three of my biggest prayers in regards to the beginning of my baby's life. The first was that he would be healthy and safe, the second was that I would be able to deliver him naturally without induction or the use of an epidural and the third was that he would nurse well. Now, at just over two weeks old he has gained almost a pound on his birth weight and even our midwives say they have never seem a baby that is doing as well as he at his age. 

I have to say that in spite of the sleep deprivation and adjusting to having another person in our lives who is completely dependent on us we are loving every second with our baby. As far as babies go he is an angel and his funny faces and tiny noises are cause for continuous giggles from both of us. I cannot count how many times Adam and I have looked at each other and exclaimed "He is just so cute! How can anything be this adorable!" and no matter how many times I look at him it strikes me again just the same.  Listening to Adam changing diapers is also pretty hilarious. Because Marek is not a fan of diaper changes Adam's coping mechanism is to keep up a constant stream of dialogue that ranges from his and Marek's shared distress over the NHL lockout (he knows they share it because of the crying) to a detailed explanation of the diaper changing procedure as I am sure he believes a thorough understanding of the steps will help his baby cope with the unpleasantness of cold wipes on a warm bottom. Whether or not this is true it makes me smile to myself every time.

It amazes me how many things you can learn from such a tiny person in such a short amount of time. Patience, bathing techniques, hasty communication, and how to function on no sleep to name a few! All three of our lives changed drastically since the moment Marek came into the world and even though this journey hasn't been easy it has been so worth every ache, every pain, and every meltdown. We are so excited for all this little man will bring into our lives and the lives of those around him. He his such a blessing and we can't wait to get to know him better. While I am trying to soak up every second of his time as my little baby, I am also eager for the days when he can share his own ideas and thoughts with us and we can learn more about his heart and soul. 

When I look at my son its hard not to see the profound and breathtaking grace of God. As I watch him screw up his tiny little face or hold his perfectly formed hand I can't help but wonder why he was given to us to care for. After all of our mistakes and failures, after everything we have done to dishonour God, somehow he saw fit to, in return, honour us with the most precious gift. There is no getting around the fact that we, in no way, deserve this little boy that has been entrusted to us and yet here we are. So now it is my goal to try to live a life worthy of his. To try to be the example that I should be and to endeavor to become a person that he can be proud of and that God would want me to be for him. 

To sum it all up, I am one very blessed mama :)