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.