He came out a Graham

Graham Stefan Kirby

Born May 24, 2011 @ 5:45pm

8 lbs and 20 in long

My phone rang as I sat in the hospital bed, It was Greta. She was on her way to come meet her new baby brother but she had a question for me first...."Did he come out a Graham?" she asked with a level of excitement I had never heard in her voice. I replied "YES!" Naming the new member of Team Kirby proved to be one of our biggest challenges to date. Stefan had his name, Henry. I had my name, Graham. Neither of us were certain that the others name would do. So we made a deal. If he came out with blond hair, Stefan would name him; if he came out with dark hair I would name him; and if he come out bald or red haired he'd be named after our granddad's, Charlie. This little man did not come out willingly. After entering my 10th month of pregnancy, our doctor advised us that it was time to give the little guy some help in entering this world. My fluid was getting low, his weight was on the large side and my tolerance of being huge and pregnant was waining.

I really did not want an induction, but a c-sections was not my idea of birthing fun either. So we gave him 5 days past my due date to make up his mind...either come out on his own or we're coming in. Of course he waited for us to give him a bit of encouragement! He would not be a true Denham-Kirby otherwise. After having my water broken by the doctor, gallons of oxytocin dripped into my veins, 9 hours later of labor and one strong push our baby boy revealed a big head full of dark hair. The deal was settled, he would indeed "come out a Graham."

But thanks to Graham's stubbornness, Nana got to be here for the birth! She stay 10 wonderful days with us! I am so lucky to have my mom. She swooped in, cleaned house, did laundry, made us meals, laughed with us, loved on her grandkids and then would disappear at just the right time to allow our new family to have our special moments. Thanks again Mom!

Gmom and Popa were the next round of visitors. It was great to have them here. They made it was very special for Greta, letting her go "camping" in their trailer for a night. Stefan and I really enjoyed this time to spend one-on-one with Graham. We know that there will be very few of these moments to spend with #2, so we were very grateful!

Greta is being such a great BIG Sister! She likes to help get diapers and blankets for her baby brother. She's been reading him stories and telling him all about the world around him. She's had her moments of jealousy but in general she has been fantastic with the changes in her world. It is still stunning to me how she instantly "grew-up" when we returned from the hospital, infant in arms. She will always be my baby but now she's my little girl!

Graham is now 3 weeks old. He's been sleeping good at night, a super eater and is masting his facial expressions. This week he started cooing, it's soooo cute, and he's keeping his eyes open more and more everyday. We've managed add a little normalcy back into our lives, getting in a few hikes, walks and even a tailgate at snowbird over the weekend while mommy,daddy and Greta took turns skiing.

Stefan had to return to work this week, leaving me to figure out how to care of a baby solo again. It's not exactly an "old hat" routine but I think I am getting it. I am off work until September and will cherish every day I have with my guy until "real life" takes me away from him as it did with Greta.