He's Here!

I finally have a few free minutes to update everyone on Braden's arrival. Now I apologize in advance for the story I am going to tell. My doctor has already warned me that many first time moms will be a little jealous of how quickly everything went. I can honestly say I was totally surprised and so thankful that everything worked out the way it did.

It all started Sunday afternoon when Rusty and I did our weekly grocery shopping. While shopping I noticed that I was having some mild cramping. Nothing terribly alarming just uncomfortable. By the time we got home and made dinner they were getting a bit stronger. I ate a small dinner and decided I would go upstairs and relax a bit to see if that would help. Of course things didn't end up calming down and the cramps which were really contractions were coming just about every 4 minutes. My doctor had advised that I call when they were regular and coming every 5-6 minutes but I felt silly calling seeing as they didn't really hurt all that bad.

I finally picked up the phone and spoke with the on call doctor around 8. She told me that because I could speak and breathe through the contractions I was probably just in early labor. She recommended that I stay at home as long as I felt comfortable but that I could come in at anytime to be evaluated. I figured that I would stick it out a little longer...and took the time to put on my makeup and finish packing our bag. By 9 the contractions were significantly stronger and I told Rusty is was time to head to the hospital!

We made it to the hospital and got checked in for evaluation around 10. I was honestly terrified that with my contractions coming so quickly and now much stronger that I still wouldn't be very progressed. Luckily I was very wrong. The resident informed us that I was already 6cm and 100% effaced. Considering the fact that I wanted an epidural they moved me pretty quickly into a delivery room. Once we were in the room my fabulous L&D nurse started my IV. Unfortunately while she was working on the IV, Braden started having issues with his heart rate. The contractions were too strong and too quick and he was not a happy camper. After a little medication and a fancy fetal monitor, things were back under control. Once we were both stable the anesthesiologist was able to get the epidural going...and it was AMAZING!

By this time it was about 11:30. Our nurse gave a us a few minutes to relax and take our last picture as a twosome.
Around 12 I was already at 9cm and it was time to get to work. After about an hour of pushing we welcomed our precious little boy!

He weighed in at 6lbs and 8oz and measured 19 inches.

Rusty was one very happy father, here with our nurse Winnie.

Here we are in our first family photo.

Our fist few nights in the hospital were a tad long but we certainly enjoyed our time as a new family. They gave us the green light to head home Wednesday and begin our lives!

So far Braden has been an absolute joy! He is eating well and even sleeping pretty well. As of now he is sleeping in about 4 hour blocks during the night. We certainly can't complain. Now we are looking forward to having a little bit more wake time with him. Considering he is only 10 days old we can't really get him to stay awake for too long. We know it will come with time but we are really excited about more interaction with our little guy.

As I am able to get some free time I will try to keep the blog updated with pictures and stories but here are a few we have taken over the past week.