Well, we have some big news to share over here on the homefront, in the blink of an eye, 13 days early our January Baby decided to make HIS grand entrance on December 26th at 5:01 PM.

Meet Lot Thomas Shearer

For the second time I had a due date that was uncomfortably close to Christmas. If you know me, you know I'm kind of a date freak. Like, I have absolute feelings about certain numbers and birthdays and always swore my kids would have pretty dates. With my first pregnancy I was due on December 22nd and Croix arrived 5 days late on December 27th. This time, my due date was January 7th, a full 2 weeks after Christmas so all I wanted was #1 for the baby not to be born on Christmas, #2 for the baby not to be born on Croix's Birthday and #3 for the baby to be born in January so he/she could have their own birthday month.  Well, 2 out of 3 wishes isn't bad, right? I swear, I plan and God laughs.

Just like I did with Croix's birth I want to recount the day, because I love reading other peoples birth stories and I like the idea of documenting all the details while they are fresh in my mind so I can look back on them one day. No blood and guts, promise, just big picture details..

This pregnancy was very much like my first, I was nauseous (when I didn't eat) for the first 12 weeks and then felt it was pretty easy, and other than getting bigger and bigger I chugged along like normal. I will say I was more sore this time around. Like my body actually ached, my hips, my feet, I basically felt like a 100 year old at the end. One stroll around Target would have me dead on my feet for the rest of the day. My doctor said it was typical to feel more aches and pains with the second baby but that the labor/delivery would be faster and easier so I held on to that little fun fact.

Fast forward to the last month of pregnancy. I was busy. We had several projects going on at home (Pool...Croix's Big Boy Room/Closet...Guest Bath Remodel) + work was crazy busy with tons of projects to button up and a photo shoot to knock out before the baby came. All of that on top of an always busy December with tons of gatherings, Christmas decorating, gift buying, etc. At the end of every day I was beat and I had this weird feeling early on in the month that if I didn't start trying to slow down the baby would come early. But then I was like, nah - I (like baby Courtney) + my sister was 2 weeks late and Croix was 5 days late, so fear not, I would not be early, nay it would likely be in the double digits of January before he/she graced us with their presence. I worked all the way up to December 21st, the Friday before Christmas. It was a slow day at the office as a lot of people had already taken off and my CAD Designer - Wanda and I worked ALL DAY. We sent out so many drawings and quotes, we didn't even eat lunch, we just powered through and I'm so glad we did because this would be my last day of work....until late February.

The days leading up to Christmas were busy, but fun. My parents came into town on December 22nd and we did some shopping, some food prep, went to church, watched Christmas movies and just got all ready for the big day. For the third year in a row we hosted Christmas dinner at our house. We extended our dining room table to hold 21 of us and it was so fun.

We ate tons of food, played a game, opened presents...it was a great day, but an exhausting one. By 9 o'clock Brent and I were both beat. We actually excused ourselves, leaving guests in the den and food still out on the counters/tables to go to bed. I put Croix to bed and when I got back to our master bedroom, Brent's only comment to me was "you better not go into labor tonight or I will be of no use to you."Ha! Well, my body listened because I did not go into labor that night. Nope, I waited until the next morning...

I woke up feeling somewhat rested but a little off. Brent was having issues with his sinuses so I decided to head out to Publix to grab some medicine and a coffee for me and my Mom. When I got to the Publix parking lot I felt kind of crampy and actually waited in the car for a few minutes, hoping for it to go away. Well, it did and that's when it occurred to me... wait a minute...was that a contraction?! NO! It couldn't be....I got the medicine and the coffee and the cramps/contractions continued, but I was NOT HAVING IT. No this was not happening. I got home and realized it was garbage pick up day so I rolled the cans to the street,  pausing to let another contraction pass and then headed inside. I think I honestly felt like if I just pretended like it wasn't happening, my body would get it's life together and stop this craziness. Nope....as soon as I filled Brent in on what was going on, he lept into action mode. Go take a shower, let's pack a bag, I'm going to go tell your parents. WHOA WHOA WHOA, what part of this isn't happening today was he not getting? Ha - I feel like I was the same kind of obstinate last time around. But it grew increasingly obvious that it was in fact  happening so I slowly started getting my stuff together.

We left for the hospital around 9:30am and by 10:52 am I was in a room and the nurse confirmed I was in labor and already 4cm. Around noon I got my epidural (hallelujah), around 2pm I was 7cm so the doctor broke my water and at 5:01 Lot was born.

He weighed 8lb 0oz and was 20" long. 

Labor and delivery is no joyride but I felt a lot calmer this time around and the whole thing seemed to go faster and more seamlessly. For the first hour it was just me, Brent and Lot in what they call the Golden Hour. After that family was able to come in and meet our newest addition and while everyone was happy to meet Lot, Croix's reaction and genuine excitement took the cake.

He was and still is SO excited to have a baby brother. 

Croix turned 3 the day after Lot was born and could not of been more excited to come to the hospital and just hang out. We are pretty sure he thinks the baby is his ultimate birthday present :)

Thanks to a pretty straightforward delivery my physical recovery has been a lot easier this time. My mental state has also been a lot better. I had struggled with some postpartum depression after Croix, but luckily there has been none of that this time around. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I had done this whole thing before and knew what to expect. I knew/know that while there may be moments of frustration, discomfort, exhaustion, etc...it's all very short-lived and will be over in the blink of an eye. It's probably my personality, but the knowing has made such a big difference and I'm so thankful for that.

We spent two nights in the hospital and then got to go home where we have been settling into our "new normal." The good news is we are now 1 month in and Croix is still just as excited to see Lot as he was the day he met him. Like open mouth kisses excited. We have to watch him like a hawk so he doesn't love on baby Lot too hard, but it really is so sweet to see. Life is good and once Lot decides to start sleeping through the night all will be right in the world again. :)

All photos are my own.