New Year's Day

It's funny how quickly your plan for the day can change.

New Year's Day started out like any weekday holiday.  Mom had gone for her morning run, quickly followed by a few hours at the gym.  Faye woke up at the crack of dawn, so she and I started our morning routine.  Alan and Reed were both sleeping in. 

Then things changed. 

Faye and I had just finished cleaning up for the day when I realized, (sorry for the details), I was gushing fluid.  I tried not to panic or jump to conclusions.  I cleaned up, again, and decided to wait to see if it happened again.  (Secretly, I'm always paranoid of crying 'wolf' in medical situations.)  Well, after an hour or so, it DID happen again.  I poked Alan awake enough to let him know what was happening, tried to contact my mom, who was still working out, and then decided to call the Labor and Delivery unit just to be safe.  They suggested doing just what I had done, (hooray), and decided to check with the OB who was on call that morning.  With his return call we were instructed to go to Labor and Delivery to see if it was Amniotic Fluid that was leaking. 

The rest of the morning was a whirlwind after that.  Alan took a quick shower while I got a hospital bag packed, just in case.  I woke Reed up, told him what was happening and asked him to watch Faye until our mom got home, kissed my sweet Faye good-bye, then we were off to the hospital. 

As a side note, traffic was great!  If your doctor is stationed down town, I highly suggest driving to the hospital on holiday mornings when all other drivers are sleeping or otherwise occupied. 

We made it to the hospital and were shown a room by 10:30 AM.  After filling in all the blanks on medical history and such, the nurse started running her tests.  I had made up my mind that this was another scare and the nurses would send us home.  We had just finished a call updating my mom on everything when the nurse walked back in and announced, "Well, the test found amniotic fluid in the sample.  Congratulations, you're having a baby today."  Turns out it was just a slow leak, but any leak at this point was enough to justify being hooked up to the Oxytocin.  

It took the nurses 3 tries again to successfully stick an IV, but by 2:00 I had an IV running with the Oxytocin and the waiting game began.  Alan was camped out in the corner with his laptop playing Minecraft, I tried to read until the contractions became too intense to focus.  The nurses had been notified of my asthma and were quick to get the anesthesiologist in.  The epidural was just as nerve-racking as with Faye, but I was grateful we got it in before a full on asthma attack hit - especially since it was already a poor breathing day for me. 

The day wore on, I was excited to get phone calls or text messages since daytime television had nothing to offer.  While on the phone with my mom, who was driving to the hospital, my water completely broke.  Both Sharon and my mom arrived at the hospital around 7:00. 

It was fun to chat and have company.  At 8:15 the on-call doctor arrived and was ready to deliver our little guy.  Mom and Sharon waited in the hallway, but they didn't have to wait long.  Twenty minutes later our sweet little boy was born. He didn't cry until the nurses started rubbing him down.  And once the rubbing stopped, so did the crying. 

A new system in the delivery room let me hold my baby for a full hour before he was taken to be weighed and measured.  Mom and Sharon came back in the room once I was all cleaned up.  

 Little Sam weighed 7 pounds 15.7 ounces, which, for some reason, was not rounded up to 8 pounds, and was 20 inches long. 

Alan's first moment holding Sam.  Volunteers donated little stocking caps for the newborns.  The nurse was adorable and fussed over which one was most manly for our little guy.  

Meeting Grandma Lisa.

Meeting Grandma Sharon.

Mom brought her camera back the next day when she came to visit.  I'm amazed at how many cute shots she got of little Sammy in a 10 minute time span. 

So in love with our little man.  He has the most masculine face and the most mellow and gentle personality so far.  He seems to only cry when he's cold or hungry, and even then his cry sounds more like a whimper.  We are so blessed to have him our family, each step in getting him here seemed like a trial in one way or another.  He's just as wonderful as I always dreamed my little Sam would be, and I am eternally grateful to the Lord for granting us with this sweet soul.