Its been how long???

I was catching up on some the blogs I frequent; I realized it has been MONTHS since I have posted. Since my last post our world has COMPLETELY changed.

Our little Spark has made it: growing by leaps and bounds, had our first bout with strep throat, went on vacation, and I have went back to work.

I will try over the next few days to catch up on all of the above topics and include some current stuff! But first things first lets get booger here:

B and I had done something very odd for this day in age...we didn't find out the sex prior to delivery. I had a feeling it was a girl and B wouldn't even guess (he hates to be wrong so he played the safe bet). So rather than blow it right this minute for you I will make you wait as long as we did :-)

Sunday, March 21: The entire weekend I had been feeling fantastic, it was particularly sunny and warm so I sat outside on the back patio a lot just absorbing all the sunshine. I was relaxed and well rested. It was the best I had felt for about a month. Purdue was playing in the tournament, of course, we were tuned in! Around 4:30 (tip off being at 5:30) I noticed a backpain that kept coming and going every 10 mins. It wasn't strong at the time so I didn't even mention it to B right away. However, by 5:30, mind you he had just set down for the game, I mentioned the pains. He jokingly said, "Maybe you're in labor," he did follow up a few minutes later with, "tell me when you have one." So for the next hour, every 8-10mins, "There's another one!" Of course he was trying to watch the game but I don't know that he paid to much attention to the game because he was very excited at the thought that I could be in labor. Around 8:30, I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor. The doctors had told us the "every 5 mins for an hour" rule and my contractions were still ranging 6-8 mins. Around 10:30pm they dropped down to every 5 mins. We timed them perfectly for an hour then called the doctor. She told B to bring me in! We arrived at the hospital at 12:15am, Monday, March 22.

Monday, March 22: After checking in, I was whisked away to the Women's center and given my own little suite. I was hooked up to all the monitors that did indeed confirm I was in labor. The nurse had told us that she had called Dr. Richardson and she was planning on starting pitocin at 7 am depending on the progress I made on my own overnight.

The contractions continued and around 3:15am I rolled over to tell B I needed to use the restroom when I felt a slight trickle of fluid. I said, "well I guess I waited to long, I either peed or my water broke, but either way I need the nurse." He pushed the button and asked her to come in. She tested the liquid and said "Yep, your water just broke!" I was 4cm dialated at the time. I had planned on trying to have the baby with out an epidural but after the first couple of contractions, post losing my water, I requested the epidural! I was given the epidural around 5:30am. At this time my parents had made it to the hospital.

Just received the epidural...much happier!

By 9:00am I was 6cm dialated and they said probably in the next couple of hours I would be pushing. At 11:00am, the nurse checked me and told us I was 10 cm and it was time to start pushing!! I pushed for about an hour and they began to believe the baby's head was turned. Dr. Richardson checked and said the baby was looking sideways, she helped the baby out a little bit but convincing it to turn face down. Another hour passed, 1pm, and I hadn't made any more progress. Dr. Richardson suggested we opt for suction, which essentially is a tiny plunger, B and I had a very short conversation and agreeded it was time for something! Dr. Richardson used the suction one time helping the baby just the smallest bit and I pushed. At 1:15pm, Monday, March 22, I heard the words I had been waiting (so inpatiently) to hear, "It's a BOY, a really BIG boy!" Coen Micheal was here!

He came out crying. They plopped him on my belly and I realized at that point how big he actually was! Dr. Richardson said, "I bet he is 8lbs 12oz." First lets revert back 1 week prior when she had said, "this baby will be about 6.5lbs to 7lbs at birth, no bigger, because your belly is measuring for a small baby." Fast forward 7 days and she is in awe over his size. He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 21inches long.

Coen was absolutely perfect. All 10 fingers were long and all 10 toes were short and chubby. He had little baby rolls and the most perfect cheeks for pinching. His eyelashes were definitely his daddy's and his nose and lips were his mama's. He had every little boy's dream a natural mohawk that wouldn't lay down for anything. Our love for him was instant...he had wrapped from the first squal. I couldn't imagine anything else being more perfect. God definitely blessed us!

I will do my best to catch everyone up on the days in the hospital next and our homecoming :-)