One week ago...

It's a few minutes past noon, which means that at this time last week, we had about one hour to go until we held William.

I can't believe how fast the week has gone - and how great he already is! We have been sleeping at least 5-6 hours a night; I can't believe it. He's been eating every 2 hours during the day, and every 3 at night.

Today Daddy had to go back to work, which was very sad for all of us, but Nanna is here (Grandma Grim!) and is saving us!

The first few days at home with just Esch, William, and I were surreal - especially the very first afternoon when we walked through the door with the baby. It was really strange to see our things where we had left them - like nothing had changed in the past 2 days... but it certainly had! The book I tried to read while timing contractions in the middle of the night was still on the coffee table, and other little everyday things left out and about just seemed so odd.

I felt like a new person walking into our home after having been cooped up in the hospital room for 48 hours. Esch carried William around the house and showed him his room, introduced him to his doggie sister, etc. It was all just perfect and quiet and peaceful. I think that both of our adrenaline was still keeping us going, so we felt pretty good.

The next few days flew by - feeding, changing, holding, sleeping. William honestly is so good - I don't know what we did to deserve such a good baby! Of course I am partial, but he is just beautiful, too. :) We have taken so many pictures; I hope I am not posting and sending too many!

Nanna arrived on Saturday night, and it was so fun to see her face when she walked through the door and saw her grandson for the first time. We are so lucky that she is here, and of course William just loves her! We can't wait for Grandpa Grim (coming Friday) and Grandma and Grandpa McCombie & Aunt Erika to meet him in the next days/weeks. Everyone will be here together for Thanksgiving, but we'll miss Uncle David and Uncle Andrew! They will get to meet him a few weeks later at Christmas, when everyone is coming back again!

Yesterday (Sunday), Naomi, a newborn photographer, came to the house for a family and baby shoot - she was here for more than 4 hours! We had to take breaks to feed and change William - and had several little incidents during nude pictures with pees and poops! It was fun, and I cannot wait to see the pictures of our little muffin.

He's finally here... Part 1

... And he's perfect. No more waiting for William!

We have been so happy to receive everyone's calls, texts, emails, etc... we are still getting adjusted and don't have time to respond quite yet, but wanted to thank you all so much for thinking about us and our new bundle!

Wanted to tell the basic (let's face it, you don't want to know ALL of the details!) story of the most exciting day of our lives. I don't have much time to sit down to write, so for now I'll just do the "birthday!"

This past weekend we were both busy - I think even Esch was "nesting" - we both painted some furniture, I made brownies and lasagne (which turned out to be very lucky, it was waiting in the fridge when we got home from the hospital!), we did laundry, cleaned, and bought some last minute baby items.

Little did we know that Sunday night/Monday morning something big was going to begin! I was still planning to work an entire week, and was SURE that we would go past the due date.

Sunday evening I had contractions that were 20 minutes apart, and not yet painful, just a little uncomfy. Went to bed, and thought nothing of it, just that they were "practice" as many people have.

Woke up at 2 a.m. to a contraction that hurt a bit... looked at the clock, and had three or four more every 17 minutes. The fact that they were regular should have signaled to me that this could actually be "it," but it didn't! I grabbed a book, went downstairs to the living room, and slept/read/timed contractions. They were definitely becoming closer together and more intense. Somehow I made it until after 5 a.m. and decided that maybe (just maybe) something was really happening. Oddly, I was trying to occupy myself and checked/responded to my work email for awhile, as well as straightened my hair.

Finally went upstairs and woke up Esch. I told him (not believing the words myself) that I thought it was time to go to the hospital. Understandably at 5 something a.m., he was both groggy and a bit unsure. He (very nicely) said, "I know you're anxious, but are you sure? It's still early." I believe I responded by bending over to lean on the dresser. I was having trouble talking through the contractions. (Another sign that our classes and OB had told us meant to get yourselves to the hospital!)

We barely talked on the way there, and I breathed through the contractions. Luckily the hospital is 5 minutes from the house, so the drive wasn't horrible. I very clearly remember the ride up in the elevator with our bags and pillows, and checking in at the Labor & Delivery desk.

We were sent to a triage room, and a nurse checked me. I was already 3 cm dilated. A mixture of "Told you so!" and "Oh. My. God. It's real." went through my head, and Esch and I both smiled. William was going to be born today!

I was admitted, put into a wheelchair and taken to a delivery room, where before getting into the bed, I promptly threw up. Things started to happen really fast, and my contractions were soon only 45 seconds apart. Esch was wonderful and watched the monitor, told me when another one was coming, and offered to help with all of the techniques we learned in class.

I asked for the epidural and believe I got it around 9:30 or 10. I was proud I'd gone from 2 am until now naturally, but WOW, I decided I had nothing to prove and should certainly accept their offer of pain relief.

Sadly before the anesthesiologist could give me the epidural, a UT med student had to give me an IV. It took honestly 20 minutes. My left arm is now covered in huge green bruises - and eventually the darn IV was put into the RIGHT arm. The poor girl was taking forever and the nurse was teaching how to do it... on me! I was too involved in throwing up and breathing through contractions to say anything, but wow, looking back, the IV was a disaster. Especially because - as you may have already heard - poor Esch passed out!

The nurse and student were fumbling with the IV on the left side of the bed, and Esch was standing on the right, apparently watching too closely, because suddenly he was looking right at me, his eyes rolled around, and he started to fall. I yelled for them to grab him, and the poor guy kind of crumpled. They got him juice and had him lay on the floor for a few minutes. It's funny in hindsight considering he watched the entire delivery but for some reason the IV shenanigans got to him.

Got the epidural (not fun), and was in heaven about 5 minutes later. What a difference! I'm still glad I felt the natural progression of things, but I should have taken this as soon as they offered it! Couldn't feel much from the waist down, just pressure. It was amazing. I was smiling and talking, and for about 2 hours, Esch and I just chatted (and stared in disbelief) as we got closer and closer to William's arrival. In one hour I went from 4-7, then in the next hour 7-10 cm.

We were both floored when the nurse told us that she was going to call Dr. Cutler and that William would be here any time. She actually said that he could have been born at 12:00, but they wanted me to wait until 12:30 to allow Dr. Cutler to get there, and to make sure I had the IV in long enough before delivery. I was shaking (nerves and a side effect of the epidural, I think) and completely in shock that this was finally really going to happen, and that we were about to see and meet and hold our baby.

Dr. Cutler and several more nurses (they actually paged, saying, "We need a baby catcher") were suddenly in the room, and it was time to push.

William was born at 1:02 p.m. and they put him right on my chest. Needless to say there are no words to describe that feeling, so I really won't even try.

He was tiny and crying, and they weighed and measured him right in the room with us. 8 lbs 2 oz (BIG boy for being early!) and 21 inches long.

Esch got to go with him for his first bath and tests in the nursery.

For a few minutes after Dr. Cutler helped and worked on me, everyone left, and I was alone in the delivery room. It was silent, and I just couldn't believe that I'd had my baby. I called both of our parents, and the new great-grandparents. I think the first thing I said to my Mom was "He's here," and I'm sure I cried a bit.

After what seemed like an eternity, Esch came back, and we were moved into our recovery room, where we'd spend the next 48 hours getting to know William.

I will have to finish the story soon. Will update about our going-home day, and William's first few days of life ASAP!

Everyone is doing extremely well - and again, we want to thank you all for your love and thoughts both the past 9 months and now! We are thrilled, and in love with our little one.

2 weeks until due date!

38 weeks! I now know why they call it "expecting."

It is just a waiting game at this point, and it's all I can think about! This is my second-to-last week at work, which is crazy. I can't believe how fast the past few months, especially, have gone. The fact that it's finally November is amazing to me; it seemed like this time would never come.

We kept ourselves busy this weekend with the very last things on our to-do lists. Esch installed the carseat, which seems very surreal. Whenever I get in the car, I look into the back seat and can't believe it. Soon there will be a little guy snuggled inside.

Last Wednesday, Esch's wonderful colleagues had a Baby Shower for us! I could not believe all the food (it was a delicious pot-luck, and honestly, WOW! There are some great cooks and bakers at Progressive!) and generous gifts... including a beautiful hand-made diaper cake. We felt so lucky, and can't say how thankful we are for everyone thinking of us. It was fun to see (and meet some of the people I have heard a lot about, but never met) everyone, and to receive some baby and parenting advice. Thank you, again, to all (and thanks to Lisa for taking & sending us these pictures).

Next appointment is on Friday; dying to see if there will have been any "progress" (there was not at last week's). I have a feeling William will not be coming on time, and so far do not feel like anything is happening. We'll see, though.

In any case, he will be here in less than 3 weeks as the induction date, if we need it, is the 21st. My parents will be here on the 20th, and the McCombies will be here on the 25th! Everyone will celebrate Thanksgiving together at our house. Aboslutely cannot wait to introduce them to their grandson.

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long. He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old.