evaleigh at home

We are trying to do a few posts at a time of catch up from the past year (below the "thief" post)....  BUT, I thought I would add an update of life at the moment a few at a time as well.  Then maybe we can avoid getting SOOO far behind and we can share the JOY of Evaleigh (like Emily, but with a v) with those who aren't close enough to observe her for themselves.

 I love Ty's gorgeous eyes.  Especially when they look content like this...Coleson's eyes are pretty expressive too :)

These are all pictures of our first week with this TINY bundle at home.  The girls were still in school and Tyler was able to have the week off (thank goodness!).  Our recovery this time around, emotionally, mentally, and physically has definitely been much harder.  Some of the kids were wary of getting attached to Evaleigh in fear of being hurt again if she was taken away.  Makinzie was the most nervous about holding or touching her.  Coleson will come check every morning and comment about the fact that she is still here!  Addellyn is the most vocal about missing Beckett and compares Evaleigh often to Mr B (she's much louder and wiggly...not as good at snuggling, etc), perhaps in an attempt to show that Evaleigh is good and sweet but will never replace her love for Beckett. 
But, at the same time, it seems that once you know so much pain and despair, the moments that you feel joy and hope seem so much more intense and fulfilling...Evaleigh has definitely brought intense feelings of joy and hope into our home.  She is a light.  We are grateful for this precious heavenly gift.

Not the most pleasant pictures, but these are 2 of the reasons our physical recovery this time around has been much harder.  We came home from the hospital with a string on Evaleigh's belly-button rather than the typical plastic clamp (which began to rot and stink horribly and then caused her cord to fall off prematurely and made her belly tender...ridiculous!), an inch and a half long chunk of catheter stuck in my epidural space, and a horribly swollen back from the surgery they did to attempt to find said piece of catheter....all in our attempt to make this birth more peaceful than the last few by getting an epidural, knowing that it was already going to be a bigger emotional struggle for us this time around...LIFE!  It's so aggravating sometimes. And now recently we have been receiving the $30,000+ in medical bills from the hospital asking us to pay for their horrible mistakes... NEVER going back to that hospital!  This is how I spent the first week:

(And Ty took several lovely pictures, like this one, to prove it ) I was hardly able to move, in a lot of pain, half asleep all the time, and slightly yellow...I needed help to lift the baby, help in and out of chairs, a donut pillow behind me so that my swollen back didn't touch anything, help, help and more help...It was WONDERFUL to have this precious lump to keep me company ALL the time.  I love this little, sweet smelling, squawking, open mouth sleeper, soft and warm angel!