Welcome to the world!!!

He's here, and he's beautiful beyond words. I'm soooo love! It's amazing how instantly you fall head over heels in love with someone you just laid your eyes on. All week I've been pinching myself, trying to grasp how truly blessed I am....

Since I'm exhausted, here's the quick version of his birth....

Remember that I had my doctor appointment at 11 that morning??? I dropped Caleb off at my mom's house around 10, and then took off for my appointment. I was in so much pain, that I called Matt and told him that he'd have to leave work at noon regardless of what the doctor said. There was just no way I was physically able to take care of Caleb that day.

When I got to the doctor, I was dilated to a 3 and in active labor. Woo-Hoo!! So I called two of my neighbors (Andrea and Danyel) and asked for a couple of favors. My mom was going to drop Caleb off at Andrea's house around 2 and them she'd keep Katherine when the bus dropped her off around 3:30. Danyel was going to take Katherine to gymnastics (which she had NO interest in going to that night). Depending on when the little guy was born, they'd drive my car and bring the kiddos down to the hospital.

Matt met me at home and we took off for the hospital. We arrived downtown around 12:30 and I was admitted into a room (and out of triage) around 1:00. As soon as I got to the room, my L&D nurse started an IV (which was horrible). She missed my vein the first time, and had to "dig" around in my arm trying to hit it. Finally she blew the vein and I still have a lovely bruise to show for it. I about wanted to hit her over the head!! She got the IV set the second time in my other hand, so we were in business!! The doctor came in and broke my water, and within 30 minutes I had my epidural! So life was good!!

I picked up the phone, and chatted it up with tons of different people. Matt got a bite to eat, and we relaxed. I was on the phone with a different neighbor of mine around 5:30, and all of sudden, realized that the little guy was coming and NOW....

Bobbi, my nurse, made a comment on how high the baby still was, and said that she thought he was a big one... Exactly what I didn't want to hear when I was about ready to start pushing! Regardless, I had to ask her how big she thought he was. WRONG move!! She guessed him at 8 pounds 12 ounces. OMG, I nearly had a heart attack. Literally, the fear of God was in me, and I was afraid to push....

I was fully dilated, and only had to push for 10 - 15 minutes. It was a super easy delivery and our little guy was born at 5:56 pm. Here's the details...

Andrew Patrick
7 pounds 6 ounces
19 3/4 inches long

He's absolutely beautiful and I promise to upload pictures soon.

However, since Andrew was a meconium baby, I wasn't able to hold him for the first hour after he was born. He was on oxygen and the neonatal team worked on cleaning out his lungs. It just broke my heart. As you can imagine, I was in tears and when I found out that a resident was taking the lead, I nearly jumped out of my skin. My poor baby was having a very hard time breathing, and someone I didn't feel was qualified was working on him during this fragile time... Let's just say that a few choice words escaped my lips..... Everything turned out fine, and he's strong and healthy.

Danyel and Andrea brought the kids down at 7:30. I am beyond thankful to have such wonderful neighbors and friends. It was such a relief not to have to worry about Katherine and Caleb and trust that they were in good hands!

Danyel told me that Katherine was so excited to meet her little brother and she was absolutely glowing and full of smiles the whole way down there. Oh, how I wish I could have seen her face on the way to the hospital when she was anticipating what it would be like to hold her new little brother.

So far, both Katherine and Caleb have been beyond wonderful with Andrew. They love to hold him, cuddle with him, mother him, and "play" with him. I was worried that Caleb would be jealous, but so far, he's been nothing but loving and protective of his new little brother. He constantly wants to teach him all about cars, trucks, diggers, and the list goes on and on.... Katherine begs to cuddle with and hold Andrew as soon as she gets up in the morning and as soon as she walks in the door at night. She's such a good big sister, and I'm thankful beyond words that neither one of them is jealous!

Breastfeeding.... now I know this is a sensitive subject, and it's not my intention to ignite a firestorm, so please remember that this is my blog and my opinion. Either way, I'm not judging, I just do what I feel is right for me and my kids. With that being said, I do breastfeed my kids. However, I forgot how incredibly painful it was in the beginning and seriously wanted to quit on Sunday. I was miserable... sore, huge, you know... it was horrible. Andrew was having a hard time nursing and I was getting frustrated. So frustrated that I snapped at Katherine over a pair of shoes in the closet. Shameful, I know.... But, I was moody and wanted more than anything for the pain to go away. I was about ready to quit. In fact, I must have thought about quitting enough that I talked to several people about it and told them that it just wasn't working this time. I spent way too much time pumping, crying though the pain, and in sheer disbelief at how hard it was this time. Finally after a few days, things got better, and we're finally in a groove. The pain is, for the most part, gone. Thankfully!

Andrew just started to cry, so I need to run, but promise to post tomorrow and get some pics out here soon!