Okay, let me start off by saying that I know I have been gone for a long time.  Because I’ve been gone so long, I have a lot to blog about and I don’t want to do a 10 page blog, so I’ll be writing a couple different blogs over the next week to cover whats been going on.  Today I’m going to cover the most important subject- the one we’ve all been waiting for!!!

Monday Tim, Mom, and I all went in to the doctor’s office.  Unfortunately, some one forgot to call us to let us know plans had changed again.  I had an exam- no dilation still and the doctor told me to come in to the hospital at 10 PM to be induced.  So, having nothing to do, we all went back to the apartment and napped, ate, and watched TV for the rest of the day.  Then we checked into the hospital.

What we didn’t know at that point, is that I was NATURALLY going into labor (I thought it was just Braxton Hicks).  Not knowing that, they induced me at midnight.  About 12:30 AM on May 4th, I started going into crazy hard and unusual labor.  My contractions would shoot up to 127, go back down to 60 and shoot up to 120 again with no more than a 10 second break in between.  Once every 10 contractions or so, the contractions would drop down to a 40 for 30 seconds.  The nurse told us that my labor was so unusually hard because I was going into natural labor before I was induced.  Tim and Mom held my hands and Mom helped me breathe.  I DID NOT GO CRAZY (as I think Tim expected me to).  Thankfully, I was so concentrated on breathing through the contractions, that I didn’t say much.  I just squeezed their hands a lot.  I did 8 hours and thirty minutes of this miserably hard labor (I had one shot of Stadol that put me out for about 40 minutes) and I was only dilated to a ONE.  At this point I gave in to the epidural.  I felt like I was giving in and that I was weak for doing so at first, but after the epidural began to take effect, I realized I was pretty strong for the eight hours I endured hard labor!  Getting the epidural was hard for me because my muscles were so stressed I was shaking and my scoliosis made it a little harder on the anesthesiologist.   However, things went fine once it was over.

At 11:30 my water broke.  I remember saying to my Mom, “I think Levi just kicked something out of me- I felt a little pop.”  The nurse told me at that time I was about dilated to a 4.  She brought in more antibiotics (I was given several doses through out labor and some of them hurt my arm badly).  When she hooked up the antibiotics to the IV, my arm began to burn- the antibiotics were coming through very fast.  Seconds later I threw up some grape juice and jello.  If you were wondering, it tasted like sour grape candy.  Ew, right?  Around 2:30-3:00 PM, I was dilated to a 5.  The epidural was still working very well and so I continued resting.  Tim and Mom had been napping on and off since they’d given me the epidural, too.  About 4:00 PM, I still couldn’t feel my contractions at all but I started to feel like I was being stretched.  I woke Mom up and told her that I thought Levi was trying to push his head through.  We called the nurse, who doubted that I dilated that fast, being just a 5 an hour or so before.  However, she checked me and I was at a 10!  She went to call the doctor while Mom, Tim, and I prepared ourselves for the pushing.

The doctor came in quickly and we started pushing.  Thankfully, I could feel enough of myself to tell where I should concentrate my pushing efforts.  However, the doctor was making jokes, and I had to try not to laugh while I was pushing.  I only pushed for about 20 minutes and he was here!!!  Tim, who like me wanted to see little of the birth part, ending up watching everything and cutting the cord!  He got so excited and Mom got emotional from being so over joyed!  Tim put on the first diaper, too. :)   The doctor told me I had a very healthy placenta- mom said it was HUGE.  I did not want to see it, though.  He scored a 9.9 on his APGAR and is in perfect health!  He is amazingly strong for a newborn as well!  He came out 7 lbs and 10 oz, 21 1/2 inches long!  So the birth went very well.  I remember seeing his head and thinking, “Wow, it didn’t feel that big coming through!”  But don’t worry, I felt the pain later.

There were so many emotions and feelings going through me as they put my baby boy on my chest.  Overwhelmed is the best way to describe it.  My body was drugged, my muscles were stressed and making me shake, my body and mind were tired, and I had just looked my son in the face for the very first time.  I don’t remember everything I thought at once at that point, but my strongest thought was, “This cheesy blue thing is mine?!?!?”  I stared at him, trying to see myself some where in that face, but immediately following birth, he looked a little different.  I do know this, though:  He was then, and still is, absolutely perfect.  I can find no imperfection or wrong in his handsome little face and body.  I’m not sure if I ever did before, but I certainly do now believe in love at first sight.

Several people came to visit us during the time we were there, and a lot of them were in the room about 20 minutes after I delivered (I looked pretty bad).  Levi just stared at everyone for the first three hours he was out!  He didn’t even cry to be fed.  Everyone noted that he is unusually alert for a newborn and that status hasn’t changed.  My Mom and Dad came back the next day with pink tulips and a card, my Father-in-law brought a tool kit for him when he gets older (knowing full well that Tim and I could use those tools right now :) ), A family friend brought her son by (that I used to babysit) and they brought a little teddy bear, and another friend brought me a “NEW MOM 2010″ shirt- which fits great now that I’m shrinking! :)   Levi behaved for most of our visitors and just maintained the “cute baby” stance.  He is surprisingly patient. :)   I am SOOO BLESSED!

The nurses had to take him out of the room a couple times for shots and tests and such, and I would count the minutes he was away.  At one point I buzzed the front desk and asked if they were bringing my baby back. :)   Seeing him, you can’t blame me for my impatience. <3  His hospital bassinet was pretty handy and the label on the head of it said “BAD boy” because they first three letters of our last name is BAD.  :)   The nurses had fun with that one.

I will continue, in my next blog, with the first night home and such.  For now, I just want to say THANK YOU GOD FOR MY HEALTHY SON and THANK YOU MOM AND TIM FOR BEING THERE WITH ME!!! LOVE YOU ALL! <3  Also a BIG THANKS to everyone who was praying for us!

PS- I will put up a picture of Levi on this post soon!

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