He made it!! Finally! :)

    Our sweet baby boy was born on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 (5 days early) weighing in at a hefty 8lbs 6oz! (No wonder I was so uncomfortable!!) He is healthy and chubby (other than his skinny bird legs) and soooooo stinkin cute! I can't stop starting at him or holding him. He is a dream!

    The delivery went great and it was "the fastest labor I've ever seen", according to my doctor. I went in to be induced and when they first checked me I was at a 4+cm, so I was almost halfway there already. Both with Hazel and this one, I dilated so early but never had contractions. So weird! Anyway, I was nervous to do any Pitocin because it increases the chance of the same complications I had before, so I just had my doctor break my water and around 1:30pm my contractions started coming fast and hard. I got the (bless-ed!) epidural around 3:00pm and within about 20mins of that, I was fully dilated and ready to go. I pushed for about 20mins and out came our fully ripe babe right at 4:00pm on the dot. Tom and I were just as in awe this time as the other two times at the miracle of creating a child and bringing it into this world. That moment is like nothing else. You never know, as a mother, how you could ever love anyone as much as your current children, but then this new baby is placed in your arms and, just like that, you would do anything for this child. I can't explain it. The love I already have for this sweet new baby is all-encompassing and I don't know how we ever lived without him. And I am so glad I get to have Tom by my side, that he's who I get to experience all this with. He is the greatest partner a person could ever hope for. 

    Our traumatized little guy would not calm down for about a half an hour after the birth. It's a rough experience getting into this world I imagine. He just screamed his little heart out and wouldn't nurse, but I think he got it all out of his system because he's hardly cried since, and been a perfect nurser since too. I can't even describe my gratitude to be blessed with a third child. I am humbled and amazed at the opportunity to be a mother and the responsibility that has been entrusted upon me. We are all head over heels in love with this beautiful baby boy. Life is good.

  

    It was so sweet when Hazel and Drew met our newest little addition for the first time. Hazel hopped right up on the bed with me and immediately wanted to hold him. She then said, with total shock, "he's sleeping without a binki!", like she had never heard of such a thing. Drew wanted to check out all the cool stuff in the hospital room, but then came and snuggled me and tried his best to understand what was going on. At one point I had all three of my kids surrounding me, my husband by my side and a room full of our loved ones and I thought to myself, this is what it's all about. This is my calling in life, this is what I came here to do: to be the mother of these 3 little angels. Life has never felt so full and happy. So much love.

    I've forgotten over the last almost 3 years how sweet it is to have a newborn around. The calming, sweet spirit they bring into your home, so pure and fresh from heaven. The absolute joy and tenderness that fills my heart. And the unbelievable feeling of sleeping with your baby snuggled up on your chest. What a miracle they are, and I am absolutely loving every second with our new baby. I don't ever want to put him down! Which might be hard to do with 2 toddlers running around, but miracles can happen, right?

    As you can tell, we haven't named him yet. Tom and I have the hardest time with boy names! It's ridiculous. We've narrowed it down to about five, with Luke and Benjamin being the top contenders. Hopefully we figure it out soon! For now, we're all just calling him "the baby".

  Welcome to our family angel boy! We feel like the luckiest parents in the world to have you here.