Nathaniel has arrived at last!

Well we have had quite a week! 50+ hours after my water breaking Nathaniel arrived. I seriously thought we weren't going to get him out. I have a huge appreciation for those who have given birth (especially those who have done it more than once!) Backing up to Tuesday last week... the contractions finally started to pick up in the evening and by 2am on Wednesday morning they were about 5 min apart with a few as close as 3 min apart. So we raced off to the hospital, only to have the contractions slow down significantly. Since my water had already broken and we were at risk of infection they kept us there in the hospital. In the morning the Dr. came by to visit and gave us a few things to do that would encourage the labor contractions to pick up. We were the only couple that was making laps around the hospital corridor. Walking did increase the contraction rates but not enough so we tried breast pumping. They had to have me hooked up to monitors for this because the contractions could become to intense. Some of them were 3 full minutes! Uggh. Around mid afternoon we talked to the Dr. who suggested Pitocin to speed things up. She had checked and I was only dialated at 4-5cm. I was really discouraged to hear this because our goal has been to have a natural unmedicated birth. From what I've heard about Pitocin it would probably intefere with that plan as the unnatural contractions are a lot more intense. Anyway, Ken was very supportive and helped me see the benefits of this decision. They also assured me we could slowly use the Pitocin to see if a small amount could give us the results we were looking for. Contractions began to pick up and intensify and we were on our way. At about midnight I was only dialated to 8cm. We still have a ways to go :-( Soon I was starting to feel a strong urge to push, but the Dr said I needed to wait since I wasn't fully dialated and could cause more harm than good. So I tried to breathe through each contraction and wait for full dialation. Ken held my hand and helped me thorough them. We labored for another few hours before I finally got the green light to push. Most stories I've heard of included a few pushes at the end and out comes the baby. Well 3 hours later I was still pushing!!! Why did I decide to go the umedicated birth route? The Dr. kept saying you are almost there.... She said I can see his head it looks like he has dark hair! 20 minutes later, I see his head looks like he has brown hair! 30 minutes later.... well maybe he has red hair. Okay, I'm not a genius but I think they are just saying they can see the head to try and encourage me and we are really no where near seeing the baby. After each contraction/push I would say I'm trying, really I am. Ken just kept giving me a supportive smile, we will see Nathaniel soon. I was so exhausted and felt like I had nothing left to give. I told the Dr. I was going to sit one contraction out to get some rest so I could push really hard on the next one. She said that would be fine... fully knowing that I wouldn't be able to "sit one out". My body started contracting and I had to push. I said nevermind I'm pushing after all. Finally around 5:15 the Dr. put on some scrubs outfit and said we are really close now! and 10 minutes later we saw our precious little guy for the first time. He was so beautiful (and slimey). Oh man, I was tired. I gave birth to the placenta and then the Dr. had to stich me up from a little tearing. Nathaniel was a healthy 8 pounds 6 ounces, 19 inches long.

The last few days have been spent in the hospital recovering and then at home trying to survive "parenting boot camp". We are still totally in love with this little guy regardless of the amount of sleep we have lost. He's just so precious. He makes these cute little noises and funny faces. He looks like his daddy. We have been so grateful to family and friends for their support during this time. We can't wait to tell you more about our new little addition in the coming days... now to catch a nap.