Well the past week or so has been a bit of a surprise for us here at Aratari At HOME.  We welcomed Dominic Anthony into our lives on September 20, 2017 at 5:05am!!  

He is named after both of our grandfathers. Dominic is John Paul's grandfather & Anthony is my grandfather.  We later found out that John Paul's grandfather's full name was Dominic Anthony Aratari, which is just SO cool! 

WELCOME HOME DOMINIC ANTHONY!

I thought I would just complete my bumpdate series with the birth story of our sweet bundle of joy.  I was 36 weeks on Monday 9/18 & was feeling great.  We were heading into a week of really high temps so I was not looking forward to that considering it had been a pretty mild summer for us.  I guess Dominic knew that his Momma was not going to be very comfortable so he decided it was time to come into the world!

On Tuesday, 9/19, it was business as usual & I was feeling perfectly normal. I had a doctor's appointment early in the morning & all was good. My doctor was leaving for Peru on vacation on 9/20 & wanted to make sure she saw me before she left. She had no concerns & as I was leaving said don't have this baby before I get back on 10/2, but if you do, you will be great! HA!

Well, fast forward until the evening & my water had broken! I had no idea if it was actually broken or what was going on considering this is my first baby, so we called the doctor & she said go to the hospital so that they could check me out.

I got to the hospital around 7pm & sure enough, they confirmed that my water had in fact broken. I was admitted & immediately given pitocin to start contractions. I was feeling great until I was about 4/5 cm when I asked for the epidural which immediately calmed me down & made labor go very smoothly.

I was fully dilated around 1am (the timing is all a bit of a blur now). They wanted me to start pushing which I was so nervous about. This is when I started to get very uncomfortable.

Since I had, had the epidural, I could not always feel when I was having a contraction to push so my doctor decided to lower my epidural a bit so that I could feel when a contraction was coming.

I pushed for about 2 hours before my body & mind could not handle the pain any longer. I was also exhausted at this point so my doctor, John Paul, & I all decided a c section would be the best thing for me.

I really did not want a c section, but I knew I would not be able to push this baby out & wanted to do what was best for my baby & myself. This was a tough decision to make so early in the AM when my mind was racing with all sorts of emotions, but I am so thankful I had John Paul to be my pillar of support to tell me that everything was going to be OK.

Well, things were more than OK, they prepped the OR quickly & got started at 4:49am.  At 5:05am, we heard the most beautiful sound, our little Dominic Anthony's first cries!  It was such an incredible moment that I will remember forever.  

They held him over the curtain for us to see & quickly moved him away to check him out.  Since he was considered late preterm being born before 37 weeks, they had to take extra precautions.  

They called John Paul over & he took so many photos.  He weighed 5lbs 13 oz & was 19.5" long. He was PERFECTION!  They brought him over to me so I could see him & snuggle him before they took him to get checked out a bit more. John Paul was able to go with them as they finished up the surgery on me.  

All I remember at this point is passing out & waking up in the recovery room with my little boy laying on my chest.  It was amazing!  Such a sweet, sweet morning for us all!  

John Paul had called our family & friends to let them know of Dominic's arrival.  He was as healthy as could be & was a little slice of heaven laying in my arms.

The next few days in the hospital were all a learning experience for us.  We learned his cries, his coos, his favorite sleeping positions, the way that he loves to play with his hands all the time, the way that he smells.  We learned all the baby basics like swaddling, changing a diaper, feeding, & sleeping when he sleeps.  We learned that the nurses & doctors will come into your room at any given hour to check on you & the baby.  

Our family came to visit him & all fell in love instantly. We face timed with family & friends far away.  

By Friday, I was ready to go home!  I had had enough of being in the hospital & sleeping in their uncomfortable bed.  I wanted our home & our space & to see Dominic grow & flourish in the loving home we had created.  They finally discharged us on Friday afternoon & we came home full of love & ready to take on this new chapter of our lives.

Luckily, my parents stayed the weekend with us to help around the house.  It was a huge help having them here as we adjusted to a new normal.  Dominic loved having his Grammy & Papa here to give extra snuggles & cuddles too!

John Paul & I are ready to take on this first week at home with our new little boy & journey into this whole realm of parenthood.  I love seeing John Paul holding & playing with Dominic, it melts my heart.

In case you're wondering, Freddy had to adjust too.  The first day we were home, he was not too sure of Dominic.  He would bark every time Dominic would cry, but we have taught him (or tried to teach him) that he cannot do that.  We have let him smell Dominic's feet so that he can get used to him being around.  He has definitely come around & I know it will get easier with time.  The good thing is, Dominic is not affected by Freddy's barking at all.  He sleeps right through the noise!

Dominic is doing great! He sleeps almost all the time & only cries when he's hungry. His little cry sounds like a lamb. We keep saying we should've been calling him Baby Lamb this whole time, not Baby Bear LOL!

He loves snuggling with everyone. He loves wearing hats to keep him nice & toasty warm. He has a head full of dark hair that is so soft. His skin smells so sweet & he has a beautiful complexion.

He doesn't open his eyes too often, but they are a dark blue color right now. He already likes to suck his thumb & have his hands near his face.

He doesn't really like getting his diaper changed, but what baby really likes that part?

He is pretty laid back & just wants to sleep & enjoy time with us. We seriously could not have asked for a more perfect little baby!

So here I am, a crying mess reminiscing on this extraordinary day & wanting to thank everyone who has reached out to give us their blessings & love these past few days.

I know this is not a typical post here, but I wanted to be able to come back to this & remember the small details that may fade with time.

We are soaking in all these special moments & look forward to each new thing that Dominic does.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today!

XO
-LA