Announcing...

I finally had my baby!!! And had blogger been working last night, I would have posted this then.. I have been meaning to post for quite some time, but as things go with a new baby, I have been pretty busy. This post will probably be quite long to compensate.

So, Sunday morning I went into labor... for real. I was having some contractions that weren't exactly comfortable.. I took a nap and around 4:00, I woke up to one that was really uncomfortable.. By 6:00 or so, they were 5 minutes apart. I called my midwife, and she said I sounded too "perky" to come in.. Which was fine.. I was having some back labor so I got into the shower and smashed my back into the shower wall while I leaned on the other one.. And that helped so well that at one point, I stopped smashing, thinking the contraction was over, and quickly realized it wasn't. I called back when they were 3 minutes apart, and the midwife was supposed to call me back... Well, she didn't for an hour.. At that point I started to panic a bit.. So I called back again, and she called me back while I was on hold with them... So... She told me to come in.. I was 7 cm dilated when I got there, so I didn't have much longer to go!! My water broke shortly after I got there, and that was exciting.. I was able to have a nearly entirely natural labor! I did fine until my SECOND water broke.. (yes, I had two!) then I the contractions got out of control. I had a shot of fentanol, and was good, well my mom said I got really funny at that point.. But I was fine. I started pushing at 3:00 and at 5:24 my little man arrived!!! He was 9 lb 10 oz and 21 3/4 inches long.. YES he was a BIG BIG Baby!! So many moms want to tell their pregnancy/delivery horror stories, but mine was picture perfect! My mom and sister were there, Kelly taped and my mom coached me and rubbed my back. I also had my midwife there from the beginning (one of the wonderful things about having a midwife rather than a doctor). Besides that there was the nurse I had, and a student. It was literally one of the most empowering, spiritual and wonderful experiences of my life... It is amazing how much our bodies can go through and how quickly they can recover... It also made me wonder how anyone who has given birth can question the existance of God... I used prayer a lot during childbirth, and I have to tell you it worked.. Every time the contractions got too intense, I would pray, and I would get a little break... When it came time to pushing and I got tired, I would pray for a longer break between, and it came... I could talk about it forever. =o)
We came home on Halloween, they let me bring him home early, becasue I hated being in the hospital. The only condition was that he had to go get weighed at the Pediatrician's office the next day. When we got there we were told he was losing weight too fast.. (babies lose weight if they are breastfed because milk doesn't come in right away).. They had us start supplementing with formula. And that has been the beginning of a huge mess.. After being told he was going to be put in the hospital if he didn't start gaining weight, I freaked out.. So formula came first, and I came second.. My milk came in finally, but now he is having trouble latching on because of the formula stuff.. He is getting breastmilk in a bottle, and I have a meeting with a lactation consultant tomorrow to see what we can do... He just SCREAMS bloody murder nearly every time he sees one of my "girls" and pushes it away.. Now, I know he is only a few days old, but it is still a little traumatic for me.. We'll get through it though, I just have to keep the positive attitude I've had the whole time.
All in all, though he is my perfect little man.. He IS a man.. Demanding and hungry. I feel like all I do is pump and feed him.. but that's okay.. If you could meet him you would understand why I don't mind. Daddy is super excited to meet him and is greedy for pictures! He wants more pictures all the time.. I think I have already sent him close to 40, but that just isn't enough.. =o) But who can blame you when he is this darn cute???