Our little guy has arrived. He was born on September 25 at 3:20 AM. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.7 inches long. He had a perfectly round head and was just beautiful (you know how some babies can look when they first come out - he wasn't squished or bruised or anything - just perfect). I had a doctor appointment on September 24. My doctor checked me - I was only at a 2 or so. He told me that if I wanted to he would send me right over to the hospital and he could induce me right then. Believe me, I really considered it, but I decided to hold out. He scheduled an induction for a week away (in case I hadn't gone into labor yet). He asked me if I wanted him to strip my membranes. I had this done twice with Caelan and once with Ben and it never did anything (except really hurt while they were doing it), so I wasn't sure I really wanted him to do it if it wasn't going to help anything along. He said to me, "Well, you've never had me strip your membranes. I have a very good success rate." And the nurse nodded her head in approval. So I agreed. Later that night I started having contractions at home (at about 6:30 PM the night) - actually it was during the presidents speech to the nation about the economic bailout - I guess that just put me over the edge...HE HE HE). They weren't too hard, but they were getting pretty consistent, so we went into the hospital at 11:30 PM. We called our Home Teacher's daughter, Ashley Haws, to come and stay the night with the other kids. I was only dialated to a 3 (which was a little ridiculous), but I told the nurses there about my situation earlier that day and that my doctor had stripped my membranes. When I said it was Dr. Taylor, they said, "Oh, well then we'll definitely monitor you and see how you progress," and I progressed to a 5 within an hour. They admitted me and gave me some IV pain medication, which took the edge off for a little while. I had never had any sort of pain medication (other than an epidural) with any of my other deliveries, so this was new to me, but it definitely did help while it was working. It made me pretty drowsy - I never fell asleep, but I felt tired and heavy. After an hour or so, it seemed to wear off, but I was too close to delivering for them to give me anything else (believe me, I asked), so I just did the rest on my own. YIKES! I had Megan naturally (not medication), but this delivery was much different. I felt like I had less control - like the contractions were so hard and so often that I never had time to regain myself. The nurses called my doctor, Dr. Taylor (who is actually in our ward), and he came and scrubbed up. When he got in the room he checked me, but said it didn't seem like I was quite ready to push. So he and Sean chatted about house building and such while I was busy doing my thing. After about 15 minutes he told me that if I felt the urge to push to go ahead and start...so I did. I'm not sure it's because I felt the urge or just because I was so TIRED of the pain that I wanted to get this baby out. Once I started pushing it took a total of 2 pushed and little Nathan was out. He cried and looked perfect. The nurses cleaned him off and weighed him and then he ate for almost a full hour - I was shocked, but he just kept on eating. At one point I took him off because I thought maybe he'll just keep eating (even if he's full). oh no, that kid wanted more (his mouth was searching for something to grab onto) and when I put him back on he latched right on. He was a hungry, hungry boy. It was special to be able to have that kind of bonding time for so long right from the get go. Overall, the whole delivery went just fine, and I was/am so happy to not be pregnant anymore. And I thought it was very thoughtful of him to come a day early. So nice! My only baby so far to come before his due date. The great thing about natural deliveries is that the recovery is so quick and easy. I felt great the next day (except that I was a little tired from being up all night). And my overall recovery has been the best so far. He is a good little baby. He really only cries when he needs something, and then he is pretty content. The kids just LOVE him to pieces. Grandma Dick drove in to town later that day. Sean went home the next morning to relieve the babysitter before his mom got there. He brought the kids in to see their new little brother and it was love at first site (except with Megan who at first was happy to have him on her lap, but after a moment wasn't so sure about it anymore). Since then Caelan and Ben are always wanting to hold him and kiss him. It's very cute.
