Our baby boy Carson

It has now been 8 days since I gave birth to this precious little bundle of joy. Being a mother is so amazing. There aren't words to describe exactly how I have felt, and continue to feel. I am more happy, tired, and feel more blessed then I have ever in my life. To have such a healthy, strong baby is such a blessing, and I thank God for it every night. I love this little man with all my heart, and just can't believe he is mine. Amazing that Scott and I made him. Wow. That truly is mind blowing.

So labor and delivery was such a new experience, something you cannot fully understand until you are actually in it. I went into labor at about 6:30 pm on Thursday May 20th. Scott and I went out to eat to Pizza Pie Cafe as a last date together before baby came. (Little did we know how TRUE that really was!!) While eating, I was feeling contractions, but didn't allow myself to get excited because I have had several contractions that taper off and don't amount to any real labor. But on the way home, they were coming faster and stronger. By the time we made it home, I was almost certain this was the real thing, so we went for a walk to try and keep the contractions going. It worked! About 11 pm, the contractions were 10 minutes apart, so we decided to go to my parents house and drop Sydney off and wait till my contractions were 5 minutes apart to leave for the hospital. So we packed our bags and made it there. That is when labor started getting really uncomfortable. At about 1 pm, I decided it was time to go. The pain was increasing and the contractions were 5-7 minutes apart. When we got there, my contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes. I was 100% effaced, but not real progress in dialation, only at a 2, even though my contractions were fast and intense. Luckily, they decided to keep me. They gave me the epidural first (which I have heard is unusual, but very grateful for)then started me on petosin to get me dialated. Well that sure worked, and worked fast! I went from a 2 to a 3 in 1 hour, and then a 3 to a 6 in one hour, and a 6 to a 9 in a half hour, and just like that I was at a 10 and ready to push at 11 am. Carson's heart rate was becoming a concern. It kept dropping, and at one point it went down to 50, and we almost had an emergency c section. I received a blessing from Scott and his Dad, and immediately his heart rate went up. It didn't stay up the whole time, but it never went that low again. I was able to start pushing. The doctor didn't come till his head was already crowning. Thank goodness my nurses were amazing and that Dr. Parker did show up in time. I got to see the birth with a mirror. It was so surreal. Couldn't believe that was my body. Couldn't believe that was my baby's head. Couldn't believe I was doing it! Carson was born at 11:48 am after only 40 minutes of pushing. He was born blue everywhere, due to his cord being prolapsed, which explains the drop in his heart rate. But they were able to get him crying and his color quickly came back. He was 6 pounds 14 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long. So small. So precious. He had to have some extra testing done to make sure he was ok, but everything turned out fine. In fact, he has maintained his weight, which I heard from the Pediatrician is really good, since most babies lose weight that first week. Again, we are so blessed. One weird thing that happened is my epidural did not wear off completely for 24 hours. I could not get up and walk. So although I was grateful to have the epidural during delivery, that was very strange to not be able to move for that long. But that hasn't detered me from getting it again! No way. The labor I experienced was enough for me! So after 48 hours, we took Carson home, and it has been wonderful, tiresome, strange, beautiful, and exciting ever since. Can't believe it. My life will never ever be the same, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!! Pictures will have to come in a later post, since they aren't uploading on here for some reason! But there is my story. Hope you enjoyed it :)