First of all, I love this sweet boy more than I ever could have imagined. I mean, you know you are going to love your child, especially if you have had children before. But it still boggles my mind how much love a Mama can instantly have for her baby. And boy, do I have it bad! I'm pretty sure he's the best thing God ever created. And I'm pretty sure this is the third time I've felt this way. Here, take a peak at a few more pictures of the beautiful babe, just in case you haven't seen enough already.
And now, a few details about how God brought this precious little guy into the world. I was scheduled to be induced on Saturday, March 1st. However, about a week before that the boys and I came down with colds. Perfect timing. We haven't been sick all winter and then exactly when our baby is supposed to join our home it gets filled with germs. So, my doctor and I decided it would be best to cancel the induction and let this baby wait as long as God wants him to in my tummy. My official due date was February 28, and at about 4:00 in the afternoon on that day I started having contractions. To preface this, I need to point out that I was induced with both Owen and Silas so I don't really know what it feels like to actually go into labor, even though this is my third child. When the contractions started Friday afternoon, they were about 5 minutes apart and fairly intense. Not painful, but I could tell that they were not just plain old Braxton Hicks contractions. The boys and I were at my sister's house for dinner, and C.J. was in town for a men's dinnner at church. I called C.J. to tell him to keep his phone close by as this might be the start of something real, but at this point I was totally uncertain. The contractions kept coming but were not at all regular, which left me confused. I guess I assumed that when I went into labor I would know without a doubt that it was the start of real labor...that the contractions would continue to get closer together and more intense in a somewhat rhythmic manner. Yeah, not at all what happened. For the first few hours they were completely irregular in when they came and duration, but one thing I knew was that they were getting increasingly stronger and more intense. So, about 7:30 I had my sister come over to drive me to the hospital and told C.J. to meet us there. At this point, I was still really uncertain about whether or not this was the real deal, but I WAS certain that I did not want to have my baby at home. And they say with your third things can go pretty quickly. So we arrived at the hospital and I was a little reluctant to go in. After all, in the movies women are always pretty much screaming when they arrive at the hospital in labor and I was nowhere near that point. But, we did eventually check in and under observation the contractions were now between 3 and 4 minutes. So, they had me walk around the labor and delivery floor for an hour and boy-oh-boy was that not fun. During that hour the contractions were every 2 minutes 20 seconds on the dot and they HURT. I've never experienced back labor before and I am certainly glad I won't have to again! Needless to say, they then admitted me and it was clear that we weren't going home without a baby. After this, it gets kinda boring since I just labored all night waiting for when my body was ready to push. Although I do need to point out that the highlight of the night just might have been when I was getting the epidural and my dear sister, who herself has had 3 children, decided it would be a good idea to faint. Not sure if you've even had an epidural, but sitting still during contractions with your back hunched over is no easy task. Add to that the fact that the first attempt at the epidural is very obviously going wrong and Mr. Anesthesiologist is trying his best (and not really succeeding) to act like it's no big deal and then your sister faints and they call in extra nurses for help, and I am pretty proud of myself that I didn't have a full on panic attack. But whatever. I eventually did get the epidural, did not die or get crippled in the process, and then somewhat blissfully enjoyed a couple hours of rest before my baby arrived. At just before 4 AM I could tell it was about time to push, so the nurse called my doctor in and we were ready to go. Doctor (who is the BEST ever!) arrived in the room at 4:00 AM, I started pushing and my sweet baby boy was born at 4:07 AM on Saturday March 1st! Although the whole going into labor process was not at all what I had imagined it to be, I would have to say that the whole thing went really well. I was so thrilled to not have to be induced and am beyond thankful that God brought him into the world in His timing. God has blessed us beyond imagination and I am now thoroughly enjoying becoming a mother once again. Did I mention how much I love this little guy?
