The Story of Us . . .: 2012

Good grief! No wonder I was so anxious to have this baby. Look at the size of that belly! I maintain that I really wasn't ever that bad - the hospital gown put on an extra 10 lbs at least :-)

Here is the full spiel on baby Andrew's journey here. If labor stories aren't your thing, just skip to the photos :-)

After a few false alarm contractions in the week prior, I was very anxious for this baby to finally decide to get on his way. My OB kept telling me he would come early, so I was counting on him coming before my due date July 1st. I had my parents come down in advance so they would be there to help with James. They arrived Friday evening, so every day after that was a waiting game. Friday afternoon I ripped into the housework - cleaning bathrooms and everything else I could see to try to get the labor moving since my parents were on their way. When they got here we walked the mall, walked the parks, tackled a huge ant problem in the kitchen - taking everything out of the cupboards and trying at least 3 different remedies for ant attacks. Still no baby.

Sunday at church I was fairly certain that I was having way more Braxton hicks, closer together and more intense than I had any other day. But Sunday evening came and went, still no baby. I was discouraged again. I didn't want my parents to have to go back home before the baby came, so I went to bed figuring I would call my OB to induce me so my parents could be here.

At 1:30 a.m. Sunday night, I woke up with something painful. Then it happened again. Could this be it?! I got up and started timing the contractions. Every 6 minutes, yay! I didn't wake anyone, thinking they could all use their sleep. I put in my contacts, got a few things together, ate some cereal, and waited for the contractions to get closer together. The 6 minute apart contractions only lasted about an hour and a half, then to my dismay they died off to only once every 10 to 20 minutes. All night long, I sat in my recliner chair with my stopwatch. I would just start to nod off to sleep, and I would get a contraction. I'd just start to fall asleep again, and another one would come . . . effectively keeping me awake the entire night.

On went Monday morning and afternoon just like this. Every 10 to 15 minutes a contraction. I just kept waiting and waiting and WAITING for them to get 4 minutes apart so I could have this baby! By 3:00 p.m. (13 hours of contractions) I was getting pretty discouraged and wondering if this was really labor or just a long round of false alarms. I decided to call my OB office to see if I could get checked. They told me if I was having 4 contractions per hour that I should go to the hospital, but I really didn't want to drive 25 min. to the hospital just to be sent home. After I persisted, they said to come on over and be checked. When my OB came in to check me she said "You are at a 5 my dear! Get to the hospital!! You are making me nervous. You are making my staff nervous!! We don't want to have to deliver this baby in the clinic!"

Though I was a bit apprehensive about going so soon, with my contractions still far apart, I followed her advice and went. After I had arrived and gotten all settled, I still felt like it was a bit of a joke for me to be all hooked up to an IV because I really didn't feel like I was in labor. By the time they checked me I was at an 8. My last pregnancy I was about to lose my mind by the time I got to an 8 and I wanted that epidural! This time I was pretty tempted just to try a natural birth on a whim because I was so far dilated and the contractions weren't that bad. But . . . I wasn't quite determined enough to take such a leap into the unknown, so I got the epidural. My water broke after that and 30 minutes later I was pushing.

Chad told my OB he wanted to deliver the baby, so she said she'd be happy to coach him along. I wish we would have gotten a picture of him in his scrubs! He was happy to play such a big role in the birth . . . maybe he should have been an OB :-) My mom got to be there for the delivery which was a first for her. My OB was like a cheerleader chanting "Go baby, it's your birthday, go baby!" and "Go Jamie, Go, Go, Go, GOOOOO!" With all of that encouragement, it only took 3 rounds of pushes for the baby to come. A total of 15 minutes. A vast difference than the 2 hours of pushing I did with James. It felt more like a party than a chore. It was so easy I feel like I cheated!

My first thought when they put baby Andrew up on me was, "I want another one!! I'd do that labor 100 times over . . . but the pregnancy???? Not so much." It was the 9 months that was the labor of love, not the delivery. I am so excited to have such a tiny new baby to love!

Dr. Chad and the new addition to our family!

Proud daddy of two boys!

Grandma is already on duty.

James was happy to see his dad after a long day with grandma and grandpa. He is still in his swimming attire from when they took him to a splash park.

One happy family! James was in awe of the baby. He loved him and was so gentle and soft.

Big brother on duty!

Hanging out at the hospital.

Just the boys :-)

This is the new fire truck grandpa bought James at Target while I was delivering Andrew. It was a big hit! Grandpa took James to IHOP after target and the fire truck went too :-) It also came to the hospital.