Sawyer Rafe Larson

Well the big day has come and gone...and it all went perfectly! We went in for our induction as planned at 3 am on Wednesday the 29th. After lying in bed for about 3 hrs trying to fall asleep, and maybe one successful our of sleep, I was pretty anxious to get the show on the road. For those of you out there who enjoy hearing the details of a labor & delivery story (I know I do), I'll give a brief recap. At 3:15 am we placed a prostaglandin gel to help ripen the cervix. At that time I was still only dilated about 1.5-2 cm. I knew this going in so I was planning on a fairly long day--hoping to deliver sometime in the evening on night shift with all the girls I work with. With the gels you spend an hour walking around and 3 hrs after the insertion you reevaluate and either place another gel or move on with pitocin. I had already told my doctor that if nothing happened with the gels I would rather go home than push it by breaking my water and committing myself before my body was ready. So pretty much within 15 min of putting the gel in I starting contracting every 1-2 minutes...and I'm not gonna lie...they were pretty intense. That hour I spent walking up and down the hallway seemed like an eternity. I had planned on waiting to get my epidural until after my water was broken so that I could really "experience labor" a little bit. Well by the time the nurse checked me again after my 3 hours and told me I was 3 cm I was like...that's good enough! Let's commit and let's get me an epidural! Haha! Wow...what I learned that morning is that my patients aren't lying--labor really does hurt! And that was just the beginning! I guess I'm not as tough as I thought I was. But I'm over it. That epidural was the best thing ever! I finally got to feel all the warm and tingly sensations and the feeling of relief that my patients always rave about! And I whole-heartedly agree! I can't describe how good I felt after I got that epidural and how nice it was to finally be able to rest for a bit. And I totally lucked out and my favorite anesthesiologist was on call that morning. He did a fantastic job placing it and even explained the whole procedure to Nathan while he worked (which Nate loved). Anywho...an hour later my doctor came and broke my water and said I was 3-3.5 cm. I then flew from a 4-8 cm in another hour (which I realize is totally common with second and third babies but pretty fast for a first...not trying to brag or anything :P ). And from 8-10 in the next hour. It was 11 am then and I knew that my doctor (who was not on call that day but who was so nice to come in special for me) was hoping to come deliver on his lunch break. The baby's head was low enough to start pushing but I was super comfortable with my epidural and totally fine with waiting for Dr. Walter to finish up at the office first (...actually this is done with pretty much anyone's first baby once they hit 10 cm...let the uterus continue to push the baby down for an hour or two so that you don't have to push as long). So he showed up shortly after 12 and we started pushing. 4-5 contractions later we had a baby! I seriously could not have been more pleased with the experience. I didn't quite make it to night shift (about 6 hrs too early, actually)...but it was so nice for it to go so quickly and smoothly. I don't know what I did to deserve such an amazing pregnancy and delivery but I am very grateful. Nathan loved the experience as well. And my mom and Kristie were able to watch from the side lines during the delivery (on I-chat!). Definitely a first for my doctor, he said...delivering on the world wide web! I was so glad they were able to be part of it in a way.

So our baby boy was born at 12:13 on April 29th. :D He weighed a whopping 7lb 15oz (small for my family but a pretty good size for a week early and bigger than we thought he would be). He's 21 inches long and has his daddy's big feet and hands and his mommy's blonde hair. We finally named the poor thing two days later. Sawyer Rafe Larson. In case anyone is wondering...Rafe is the British variation of the name Ralph. This little boy is, therefore, named after his Grandpa Schindler. We figured he had a better chance of being cool with a name like Rafe than with the name Ralph (don't worry...my dad agrees). We love him so much and are so grateful he is here with us. Nothing can describe the feeling that comes when you bring a child into the world. Even Nathan said to me the other day how surprised he was at how instantly he loved this baby. It is so true. I am so grateful to be a mommy. I love him more each day and am so excited to continue getting to know him.

Ok so that was not so brief but hey...now I've at least got it written down somewhere cause it'll be forever before I actually journal it. Recovery has been ok. I will say that for me, the recovery has been the worst part of the experience. I would much rather be pregnant for another week than recovering from childbirth. Nothing that I won't survive (I'll spare you the details) but let's just say I'll be glad when it's over. We came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon and we've been getting settled here. Sawyer has been such a great baby so far. He eats like a champ and pretty much only cries when he's got a messy diaper or he's hungry. I know this first week is not at all indicative of his future temprement but it sure is nice for now. My mom comes in town tomorrow and I can't wait! When I told her I was being induced on Wednesday she asked if I would be ok without her until Sunday. At the time I was like, 'of course! I'll be totally fine...we'll only have like a day and a half alone at home before you come...no problem'. I'll be the first to admit that my ego has been shaken and my mindset is changed--Hurry up mom! I need you! :) This mommy stuff is harder than I expected. Nothing like your own mom to teach you the way. I'm looking forward to her getting here.

Here are a few pictures...just the start of our new lives with Sawyer. It's a whole new set of adventures from here on out...Hearing Test--Nathan likes to call this picture "The force is strong with this one"