He's Here!!

Our new addition has arrived and yes, it is a BOY!! Although many people had been praying that he would not arrive until his dad was done with finals, he made his mom a little anxious by waiting still another couple days. Funny how at that point a few days can seem like FOREVER. So here is the story of his arrival (I warn you now so you can just skip to the end with the pictures).
Friday was my due date and the last day of Jason's finals and also my last regular appointment with the midwives. I had never made it to my due date before and really didn't want to go to that appointment, but I was still pregnant. Of course, everything was just fine with both me and the baby. On Sunday, I got a lot of flack from ladies in the ward for not letting them strip my membranes and I seemed to get 10 calls a day from very nice people just calling to see what was going on (really not cool, just another reminder that I was still pregnant). So, on Monday I called and made an appointment for Tuesday morning to have my membranes stripped. I had been very uncomfortable and not feeling well every night and Monday night I was exhausted. I went to bed rather early and was awoken at 2:30 with a pretty strong contraction, but this had happened the last two nights also and then they just went away. So I laid there waiting, and every time I thought they were gone another would come. During this point Addie came in saying that her covers had come untucked. So I walked her to her room and tucked her back in, during which I had another, stronger contraction. After a couple more I decided to get in the shower, and they just kept coming although not very close together. When I got out of the shower I woke Jason up so that he would at least know what was going on and we timed a few contractions and they were about 5 minutes apart. So we had my mom come upstairs and we headed to the hospital, arriving at about 5am. My midwife arrived and checked me and I was at a 5-6 and so they put us in a room. They got me all hooked up an IV started (hospital policy since I was doing a VBAC) and Jason rubbed my back through the contractions. I tried the birthing ball, which I really liked this time (hated it last time when I tried it) and stayed there with Jason rubbing my back, for a couple hours while the contractions were very strong but still 5 minutes apart. When they started to get longer and closer together I had to get up and walk around and a couple of them I just rocked back and forth while Jason continued to rub my back. The somewhat annoying nurse then suggested that I try the chair so I sat down and my water broke at 7:53am. The nurse was all concerned about getting me cleaned up, but I was done and felt like pushing. I told her so and she had me get on the bed and called the midwife in. As I laid down I had the most intense and overpowering contraction ever and I don't really know what I was doing to Jason, but he was there and I was breathing and trying everything to not scream. As soon as it was over my midwife checked and said I could push. "Hallelujah!" I remember saying this and really if she had said anything else . . .well, I'm not sure what I would have done. Anyway, with one push the head was right there and they had me feel it. They said I could probably get the rest out with one more push, so that's what I was going for. But as soon as the head was out, they made me stop because the cord was wrapped very tightly around the neck. Once that was taked care of, they told me to push again and the shoulders got a bit stuck. But just a few seconds later, at 8:11, out came what was very clearly a boy! They had a whole peds team there because of all the scares he gave us, but after just a few minutes they realized he was fine. I was so relieved and grateful that he was finally here and that we knew who he was: Dexter.

Here is a very proud and happy big sister, holding her brother for the first time. Funny thing, Addie had been claiming all along quite adamently that it was going to be a girl. That suddenly changed just a few days before he was born. Not that she wanted it to be a boy, but she would say it like she was disappointed "Yeah, it's a boy". As a matter of fact, on Monday night she was talking about the baby (I think it was after Grandpa Dexter called to say that it was a full moon) and I asked her to ask the baby when they were going to come. So she leaned down to my tummy and said "Baby, what kind of baby are you?". Then she listened to my belly and declared "It's a boy." Then she asked "When are you coming?", and she told all of us that he's coming right now.

Andres was not so sure of things when he got to the hospital. He was fine and excited about the baby, but would not acknowledge my presence and when they left he would not even give me a hug!

Dexter all ready to come home:

Addie had a brilliant idea to have a surprise party for Dexter and me when we got home. There were flowers and balloons and donuts, just as she had told both Grandmas that it had to be. I have the most wonderful kids and I am so blessed (I can say this now only because I actually got a bit of sleep last night, I might say something different tomorrow)!