Introducing Braxton Robert Matthews!

Our precious boy, Braxton Robert Matthews, made his entrance into the world on Monday, May 2 at 3:21 am! My water broke at 10:30pm on May 1, and he was born not even 5 hours later. He was 2 weeks early, but was a whopping 7 pounds and 15 ounces, and 21 inches long. It makes perfect sense as to why I was so miserable near the end of my pregnancy! His sweet face is completely worth every second of discomfort that I went through during the last 9 months.

Brax is the perfect addition to our family. He is such a good baby, and is absolutely adored by all of us…especially his big sister! My biggest worry was that Kinsie wouldn’t adjust well to having a new baby in the house, and, knock on wood, but so far she has been awesome as a big sister. She is constantly wanting to hug, kiss and hold him. She wants to share all her toys with him and she gets stressed out when he cries and reassures him, “It’s ok, baby…mama will feed you soon!” She is the sweetest sister to him, and I just pray that it continues.

What we know about Brax so far:

He may not be completely aware yet that he is out of the womb. You can tell that he didn’t have much space in there, because even now he is always scrunched into a ball. We try to get him to stretch out, but he always ends up back in a ball!
He grunts and squeals often in his sleep.
He doesn’t look like Kinsie did as a newborn, but more like his cousins, Briggs.
He has quite an appetite. He eats about every 2 hours, sometimes more often than that. Sometimes, nursing is the only way he can be comforted. I’m flattered, but exhausted!
He has some impressive leg strength…but I learned that early on in my pregnancy!
He loves to snuggle!

How I’m feeling:

I honestly have felt great the last 2 weeks. Even the day after I gave birth, I felt like I could have walked circles around the hospital. I felt so much relief after carrying an almost 8 pounder in my short little torso. The biggest issue I’ve had is with my carpal tunnel syndrome. I was hoping that it would get better after delivery, but it only got worse. It’s been so bad, I haven’t even been able to change my own baby’s diapers or burp him without being in horrible pain. Luckily, Ryan was given a whole week off from his rotation when the baby was born, so he was very hands-on with both Kinsie and Brax during that first week, which was a huge help…but I hated not being able to take care of my kids the way I needed to. I went to a Sports Medicine doctor the other day and got cortisone injections in both wrists, and now I’m slowly starting to feel some relief (which is why it has taken 2 weeks to post this)! Of course I’m also exhausted as every new mom is. Having a toddler who doesn’t nap is really throwing me for a loop when I’m not getting adequate sleep at night, but luckily I’ve had a lot of help between Ryan and our family to watch Kinsie for a couple hours here and there so I can get a little nap in during the day. Ryan says he can always tell by my mood in the evenings if I took a nap that day…just like our toddler!

This little boy has been in this world for less than 2 weeks, and already I don’t remember what my world was like without him. I feel like I’ve had a Braxton-sized hole in my heart my whole life and it has finally been filled. God knew that we needed him, and that he belonged to our family. He is already teaching me to be more patient and enjoy him and his sister while they are still so little. My favorite time with him is after I’ve nursed him when he snuggles right up to me in his milk coma…and while sometimes that snuggle session doesn’t last as long as I want it to because Kinsie needs me or something else needs done, I still catch myself staring at him just admiring this beautiful little creation that God has blessed me with. My heart is more full than I ever thought possible. My grandma (who is the mother of 7 children) always said, “Love multiplies, it doesn’t divide,” and she is absolutely right. My love has only grown, not only for Brax, but for Kinsie and Ryan too. I love them more and in different ways now that Brax is born. It’s been 2.5 years since I’ve seen Ryan hold a newborn baby, and I have fallen in love with him all over again watching him hold and love on our baby boy. I have seen more kindness and compassion in Kinsie in the last 2 weeks than I ever knew she had, and it makes me even more proud of the little girl that she is becoming. God has blessed me beyond what I could ever deserve, and I just pray that I can keep raising my kids to know and love the Lord, who is so good to us!