Long time, no sleep

It's long overdue, but here is the post you've been waiting for. I apologize to those who aren't on facebook; I tend to post updates and photos there first, and then forget to update the blog as well, or in this case, don't have time to update both. But to get straight to the point... HE'S HERE!!! Evan Joseph Hemsath entered the world at 9:59pm March 2nd, 2011. 8 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches of yummy perfection. The whole labor and delivery was about five and half hours long. Had an epidural, only had to push twice, and the whole process went pretty smoothly, with quick recoveries for everyone.

There was one small issue with Evan. He made these funny noises when he breathed. they told us it was called Stridor and was no reason to be concerned. After investigating it and taking him to a few more doctors to make sure, we learned he has laryngolmalacia. Laryngo meaning larynx and malacia meaning soft or flimsy. In otherwords, the cartilage of his windpipe wasn't as stong as it should be, and when he breathed, it collapsed slightly for a moment, creating that Stidor. It didn't affect his oxygen levels, it was just noisy. We were told he would grow into it, there was nothing to do to treat it, and that most kids had lost all the Stridor by about 2 years. The first few days were rough because the Stridor at times like a cute chirp or squeak, and at other times like he was gasping for breath. Awake, asleep, didn't matter, he made the noises. I was well aware of the advice, "sleep when they sleep" and tried to take advantage of it. But on the rare occasion both Jason and Evan were napping at the same time, I couldn't nap, because Evan kept making these noises that sounded like he was going to choke at any minute, or his chirps were so loud I couldn't sleep through them. Here's a video I took that captures a little bit of what his noises were like.
Thankfully, at about 1 month, Evan started growing out of his Stridor. Today, his Stridor moments are less frequent and less loud. I forget he has it at all sometimes. What a tender mercy that is, because I really didn't think I could handle it for two whole years. Jason is adjusting as well as he can. He is starving for attention, and acts out sometimes, but he loves his brother and always wants to hold him or give him a binky. Jason's energy is crazy, he's bouncing off the walls most of the time, and we're trying to teach him its not okay to climb all over everyone, especially when they're holding the baby, and that there's a difference between hugging his brother and squeezing him too hard. It's a work in progress. But Jason is a silly, hyper, loving boy and is a good big brother. He is lucky to have not just one baby in his life, but two. My sister Katie had her baby five weeks before Evan, so they are cousins that feel more like twins size-wise. Jason was thrilled to get to hold both babies at a brunch after Evolette's blessing in church. So here is Jason with babies Evan and Evie. Evan is a great baby and we feel so blessed to have such beautiful kids. We are loving having Evan as part of our family and are grateful to be an eternal family, thanks to temple ordinances. I'll post more stories and photos later, but this will hopefully hold you over for now.