The new addition + birth story :P

Disclaimer: This turned out to be kind of a novel, so if you just want the pics and no story feel free to scroll down.

So two weeks ago yesterday I was 'inspired' to take my pregnant pictures just hours before going into labor with little squeaker (we are still working on a blog name for him, and feeling kind of uninspired as our creative juices are all being drained out by lack of sleep :)).

Wednesday I had a regular OB check. They said they don't usually check for dilation yet this week but since I had been having pretty good contractions for about a week my doctor decided to go ahead and check me. She said I was dilated to nearly a three and 75% effaced. So that was pretty good news since I was officially 37 weeks and one day. So Thursday I get up planning to keep myself busy with final preparations on one of what may be only a few more days left till this little guy decided to show up. After taking the glorious prego pics and updating my blog I decided to call my sister. With my mom and my best friend out of town I wanted to make sure my sister was prepared to come help if necessary. So we're on the phone talking about what she might do if she needs to come help out. Then we start just chatting about whatever. I was in my room organizing baby things when I decided to check on Taz and Princess who were playing quietly in the living room. Just as I walked into the room my water broke. My dear sister Shmobby was in the midst of a story I will never be able to recall when I started yelling that my water broke. I don't remember exactly how many times I said it before she realized what I was saying and we both started trying to figure out exactly what to do. I told her to call me back as soon as she figured out what she was doing. I had some other phone calls to make.

First I called Mithrandir who works about 45 mins away and told him to get on the road ASAP cause my water broke and who knows how long we've got. Then I called my dear friends mom. She had kindly volunteered her mother in her place should I need help before she got back from her trip. That was a fun call.
"Hello dear friend's mother. Are you busy right now? I hope not cause my water just broke and I kind of need you to watch my kids and possibly drive me to the hospital. Thanks so much, see you in a few :)" Good times!

So this very wonderful woman who is playing the part of both friend and mother for me at this moment shows up in about ten minutes. Luckily the contractions hadn't started yet. I was putting last minute things in my hospital bag and trying to call Dir to see how far away he was, but he wasn't answering his phone. Really! Seriously? Not answering the phone? Now, of all times?! Yeah that was filling my heart with peace. The contractions started so we decided to leave for the hospital.

About the time we where getting off the last freeway exit on the 15 minute drive to the hospital Dir calls to say he had just made it to the apartment and noticed the truck was gone, then he noticed he had missed like 15 calls from me ;), yep 15! Apparently his phone wasn't ringing on the drive for some reason. So he hopped back on the road to meet me at the hospital which was good cause at this point the contractions are really picking up and I'm just hoping he makes it on time. As it turned out we had plenty of time.

So my dear mother/friend drops me off at the hospital and heads back to my place to await WG who will be arriving home from school in about twenty minutes. I head straight to labor and delivery, which I found easily after just having been in on Monday for our preregistration :). Now those of you who know me well know a couple of things about me that are rather important at this moment. First of all I'm very cool during stressful crazy situations even if it involves intense pain for me (which I was in at the moment cause the contractions were really amping up), second I do NOT like being second guessed or treated like I'm stupid. Unfortunately the nurse who was waiting at the check in desk did not know either of these things.

I walk up to the Labor and delivery check in desk and tell this nurse that my water broke, I'm a patient of Dr. M and I'm a VBAC so I need to be started on an epidural right away. She looks at me cross eyed and says, Dr. M can't preform a VBAC you must mean her associate Dr. W.

I'll just confess right here (for those of you who don't know that I have NO tolerance for the slightest hint of second guessing in these moments) that comment earned this woman some serious stink eye. And after the stink eye comes the Don't-you-dare-treat-me-like-I'm-stupid-voice. In which lovely dulcet tones I informed hed Dr. M could preform a VBAC as long as Dr. W was available to do the cesarean if necessary, which had already been arranged. She looked at me crossed eyed again as she called my doctors office and said, "your patient is here for Dr. W and she THINKS her water broke." - thinks, causw you know I'm talking and not hoping up and down in agony unable to speak coherant sentences.

Yep, that was the last straw.

"Excuse me, but my water DID break, and I'm Dr. M's patient NOT Dr. W's."
After that delightful little display she called a different nurse to show me to a room, who did so very stoically. Luckily right after that Dir called to say he was on his way in and just needed my room number.

A new nurse came to check my vitals, order the epidural, and confirm that my water had in fact broken. After the epidural things really slowed down. It was so strong I couldn't feel a thing. It was pretty bizzar. Also my contractions slowed down with the epidural so we were just hanging out. After an hour I hadn't progressed much so we figured we were in for a long haul. After another hour my doctor (who had been calling in to get reports) came to check on me. Dir had just decided to head down to the cafeteria for dinner before it closed right before the doctor walked in. She checked me and told me we were ready to have a baby. I was shocked! Dir walked back in and we were on our way.

Everything went pretty smoothly from there. After a couple of pushes, and one cord loop around his neck our dear baby boy was born with his eyes wide open and checking out the world. He was perfectly healthy and perfectly beautiful and we were all grateful and shocked to be celebrating his arrival so soon.

Once we were both ready for visitors it was too late to have the kids come up so the three of us settled down for your typical disrupted night sleep in the hospital.
By this time my sister had arrived to relieve my friend/mother from babysitting duty and everyone was settled for the night. Although I have received some pretty entertaining reports of the Princess' antics from that night, including her not going to sleep till around 10pm!

So here we are: Arriving at 6:35pm weighing in at 6lbs 3oz 18 1/2" is our little squeaker

first moments check up
first bath

toweled off

The next day the kids came and hung out for a couple of hours. It was really good to see them, but we were relieved when they were ready to head home :), they were just a little exhausting for everyone.

Squeaker was very alert and attentive until the kids got there. Once the crazy maniacs arrived he didn't open his eyes till they left. Which brings me to my new theory on later children. Everyone always says they learn to sleep through everything. I think they choose too, cause the other option is to be overwhelmed by the chaos.






these were the only eyes we saw while the kids were there.

Just as I was getting ready to order dinner and get ready for bed the nurse came in and told us we had been given discharge papers, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ready to go home

We called my sister and told her but didn't tell the kids we were coming. They were surprised and excited to see us home. And we were all tired.

It was a fun and crazy adventure but we are so glad to have our new little baby to brighten our lives.