Saturday, April 21, 2012

We are all doing great.
We were able to enjoy some nice visits from family the
week our little boy was born.
Daddy's parents and grandpa came for a quick overnight visit,
and my parents came by for Easter weekend.



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

It Happened One Night

We've welcomed home our new addition, and he's got quite the story to tell.  My doctor was telling me for four weeks that our baby would be born any day, and he was always surprised when I would show up for my next appointment.  I kept trying to get him to understand that my kids are late, and I wished that he would quit getting my hopes up that my time was more limited than it really was.  Our son proved it to be true (that my kids are born late) -- he just missed his due date by a day.

In the middle of the night/early early Monday morning, I woke up and felt a contraction.  It wasn't anything new, since I had already felt a couple here and there in the preceding weeks.  But they seemed to have some regularity to them, so I checked the clock.  After having three that were ten minutes apart, I went in to the bathroom and realized that my water broke.  So I woke up Daddy and called the hospital.   It was now 430 am.  He jumped in the shower while I tried to convince a nurse that my water had in fact broken.  I don't know if she didn't believe me or what, but she told me to lay down for half an hour and then check to make sure that I still felt it was broken (?!).  So I told her I would.  I called the first person on our babysitting list, and she said to bring the kids on over.

Then the contractions became stronger and when Daddy had some clothes on, he told me to get in the car.  He ran around getting the kids out of bed and ready to go and gathered our stuff.  I was able to make it to the car on my own, but as we were leaving, the contractions were super strong and I started yelling with each one.  We tried for about 2 minutes to figure out where the babysitter lived, but the contractions were 2 minutes apart, so I called her and told her that we were just heading to the hospital and would she please meet us there.

I yelled and yelled and yelled as Daddy drove us down the road, and we hit almost every red light.  And let me tell you something about our town on that particular road.  There are a LOT of red lights.  He was, I'll admit, speeding a little.  We were passed by a cop whose lights were flashing, and almost hit another car as we were trying to get into the turn lane.  In between contractions and yelling, I tried to assure the girls that everything was okay.  I'm not sure if they were convinced or not, but they don't seem to be too traumatized by the whole ordeal.

Daddy didn't know where the hospital was, so I was giving him directions.  He thought it was a mile or two farther than it was, and it's a good thing I was able to tell him where to turn.  He pulled up to the ER entrance and ran into the foyer for a wheelchair.  I had been bracing myself with an arm on the door and an arm on the visor, trying my best not to push.  He asked if I could get in the wheelchair and when I said no, he ran inside for some help.  My contractions subsided and I was able to get down and sat, ready to be whisked away.

A guy came out and took me inside.  I was yelling as loud as ever through the pain.  Daddy went and parked the car and brought the kids inside while I was taken into trauma room 3.  I didn't look at the people in the waiting area, but I'm sure they couldn't help looking at me as I went by.   

The babysitter wasn't there yet, and the doctor and nurses were trying to decide whether or not to move me to the labor and delivery or not.  The doctor did an exam while the nurse was getting ready to do an IV, and then he said to forget it, because the baby was crowning.  Daddy was told he could come in the room, and a hospital security guard stood outside the door with the girls.  And as shy as they can be, I was told that they were pretty talkative with him.

The small ER room was full of people - several nurses, two doctors, and a few other people in scrubs that I'm not sure what they were or why they all stayed.  Maybe it was a slow night in the ER.  The ER doctor seemed a little disappointed that the labor & delivery doctor was able to make it - he probably doesn't get to deliver too many babies in the ER. 

Our little boy was born 5-10 minutes after arriving at the hospital.  It was a PAINFUL ordeal, but it didn't last very long.  I had been considering forgoing any medication, and the fast delivery ensured that I couldn't change my mind. 

The babysitter showed up and took the girls home.  We were transferred to a recovery room and got to settle in a little.  Start to finish, from the time the contractions woke me up as a nuisance until this boy was born was just over 2 hours. 

Here's some pics of the little guy:




I think he looks just like his daddy.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Boy, Oh Boy!

We were (happily) surprised to discover that our little bundle of joy born yesterday was a boy.  We had been thinking for a few weeks that it was going to be a girl (after following our tradition of not finding out).  He looks just like his daddy, and we were thrilled to welcome him home today.  Pictures and the great story will be coming soon.  For now, all you get is the announcement and I'm going to rest.