He's here!!

It's hard to believe, but a week ago today was the day I went to the hospital to be induced! And one day later, on Thursday, June 21, Reed came into this world at a whopping 10 pounds 3oz and 21 inches long!

**For those of you who love a birth story, mine probably won't satisfy as I don't want to give tons of detail, but here's a synopsis of how it went down. **

I went in Wednesday night to get started on Cervidil and then they were going to start the Pitocin the next morning at 7am. The plan was to deliver naturally and with no major drugs (aka no epidural but iv pain meds were ok). Well, I went in and they gave me the Cervidil. You have to lay in bed for 2 hours once they give you the medicine and within 20 minutes of me starting on it my back started really hurting. The nurse and Andy tried to make me comfortable by wedging pillows all over and helping me  roll from side to side trying to get comfy. Finally the 2 hours were up and I could go use the bathroom, walk around the room, etc. I felt so much better when I was standing so I did that for a while. Unfortunately, the Cervidil wound up having to be redone after about 45 minutes of me walking and standing - so back to bed for another 2 hours.

My back continued to hurt, but they nurses didn't think it was back labor because my contractions didn't seem too bad on the monitor. So we used heat packs and I started taking morphine through the IV. ZERO RELIEF! Finally, my 2 hours were once again up so I could stand up - only this time there was no relief then either. They decided to start me on Pitocin, which took me from 2 cm to 4cm in a couple of hours. Things were still going slow so they broke my water hoping to get things going, especially since I was in pain. Turns out there was merconium in the water, so that meant there was a chance Reed was in distress even though the monitor looked fine. Finally, they realized my back labor was only getting worse and they offered me an epidural. I said yes. It worked to numb me somewhat, but my back pain was still off the charts (as was my contractions!!)After about 2-3 more hours of contractions, I was still at 4cm. The doctor came in and said they needed to do a csection. Andy and I literally high-fived each other!!! Finally! I'd get some relief!

The csection was way better than I thought. I was able to be alert and carry on conversations with the nurses and Andy which was cool. Finally, at 3:17pm my baby boy was born! The first thing I saw was his sweet face and his mouth covered in spit bubbles :) I'm in love!!

He's perfect with chubby cheeks, tiny feet, a perfect smile, and eyes that look like giant blueberries! He's wonderfully laid-back, loves people, and is already sleeping through the night (for now at least). It's hard to believe that just a few years ago I didn't want children, and now I can't imagine life without Reed. It's even harder to believe that less than a week ago I had never changed a diaper and thought it was disgusting, and now I've changed bunches of them - and its not so bad when its your kid! Reed has turned my life upside down and I couldn't be happier!

And I'd be remiss if I failed to say that Andy has been the champion through it all! From giving me a back rub every single night of my pregnancy (he missed only 5 days in 280!!), to calming my fears of being a good enough mom, to coaching me through the back pain, to getting up to feed Reed, and more - he makes me so happy and I couldn't be prouder to be his wife! He's already the best Dad in the world!