The Honeymoon Phase {Hudson's First Few Weeks}

The days following Hudson's birth were truly heavenly. Bringing him home just felt so natural, like he had always been with us. I was just on cloud nine with all of the round-the-clock snuggles, the well wishes from loved ones, and that amazing newborn smell about him. I was so very smitten.

I love the way newborns look all over at the world and respond oh-so-slightly to voices. He already looked to me with so much trust. Hudson loved to eat and eat. He just couldn't get enough, and it was pretty exhausting.

I titled this post, "The Honeymoon Phase," because this is what my mother-in-law calls the first few weeks of a newborn's life when he sleeps a lot. I also think this expression was especially true for us because Emme seemed to be adjusting like a pro. I was also feeling pretty capable. She wore her dress ups and ate whatever, whenever. I just let it all slide and tried to do it with a smile.

Emme was a little bit rough with Hudson, but she didn't seem to resent him at all. In the weeks following, she became more difficult to entertain and more resentful of Hudson taking up so much of my attention. In the first week or so, I thought we might have dodged a bullet with adjusting, but there were still some minor bumps ahead.

This sweet boy. I just sat and looked at him all day, and I still do. I remember the second night we were home, I had this emotional high all of the sudden as I bounce him up and down while I was pacing around our room trying to calm him down. "We have a son! We have a son!" I kept saying. I could see in Shaye's eyes that he shared the same joy. I just couldn't get over how handsome and sweet he was. He looks so much like his daddy and has my family's almond shape eyes. Such a dreamy little guy.

We have the world's best Relief Society President. For real. She also happens to be my good friend. Shantel Pack found out that we were coming home, and the following day was on our doorstep with this meal. I took a photo and sent it to my mom with the words, "My Relief Society President is better than yours." Our ward took exceptionally good care of us in the weeks that followed. The Fishers brought us a delicious beef roast dinner, the Dalleys brought us a BBQ chicken dinner, and Heather Lewis thoughtfully brought us Chicken Noodle soup for dinner a few weeks later. Our good friends Kyle and Liz, and Liz's sister Mal brought us dinner too.

I think because we live in a neighborhood with mostly older kids, our neighbors were exceptionally excited about Hudson's arrival. It seems like every few days for the first month of his life someone showed up with a gift. I received many texts of other moms checking in on me. We are also lucky enough to call Skyler and Jamie neighbors. They live about a 2 minute drive away. Shayden and Landon play so well with Emme and are so tender with Hudsie.

Having him meet Grandma Hirschi was a special moment. We are so blessed to still have her with us. She is the sweetest woman and especially lights up when she sees my kids.

I'll always treasure these photos. Something about seeing them together, snuggled up in our bed just made my heart want to burst.

This photo was taken after a particularly stressful Sunday morning. I sent Emme to church with Shaye thinking that I might get a break from the craziness, but he returned home with her after she pitched a fit about going to nursery and he had to bring her home and wasn't able to teach his gospel principles class. She made up for it by falling asleep in our bed when I snapped this shot. With this sort of attention-seeking behavior, we began to transition out of the honeymoon phase.