The Big Day (and really big blog post documenting it)

April 15 was a big day for our family. We welcomed our newest addition, Baby Will, as he is affectionately called. My due date was actually April 22, but at my last few dr. appts., it was appearing that little Will might not be so little. At my 38-week appt., I had an ultrasound that measured him at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Supposedly those can be off by an entire pound either way. So my dr. and I discussed the different options, and it was decided to go ahead and induce me at 39 weeks to hopefully prevent him from getting too big. That proved to be a good decision.

There was a brief period of time when I didn’t know if I’d “make the cut” onto the hospital induction list for that day, but by 11:00 a.m. on the 14^th I got the call that we were set to go for Will to be born on the 15th (let's hope he doesn't want to be a tax accountant when he grows up as that would not make for fun birthdays). That day was surreal as I ran a few last minute errands with just Tate in the car.

And later that evening, Wade & I dropped him off at my parent’s house. I still tear up thinking about it. But after we said our goodbyes and took a quick picture, I had to leave fast so he wouldn’t see that I was a crying, blubbering wreck. So bittersweet to have the stage of our only child come to an end. Here’s the last picture of just the three of us.

Wade & I headed to dinner together at Uncle Julio’s (maybe spicy food will speed up labor?) and then went home to try to get some sleep before having to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. Here I am at a crazy early hour (very tired) by the final countdown for Baby Will.

As we drove in the dark to the hospital, we started guessing what time he would be born. Surely because this is my second labor, and that I’ve had LOTS of contractions, and made some dilation progress…surely this will go quick. And surely it will go quicker than Tate’s 13 hours of labor. Surely. (ha ha ha…can you guess the outcome?)

Well I can at least say this, because of the progress of technology and the beloved iPhone, the day at least seemed to go faster. The early hours (before the contractions got miserable) were passed with some riveting Words With Friends. Not sure I played some of my best words as I was a little distracted, but it sure nice to have something to try to concentrate on. And it was really different than three years ago with Facebook and texts keeping everyone updated on how the day was going. But then the day started dragging. And I started worrying that it was going to be another 13-hourer.

Another big distraction for the day was how much more intense labor pains are the second time around. Wow…no one gave me a heads up on that! But once my hero the anesthesiologist showed up with the epidural, it definitely provided some relief. Unfortunately it was only a little relief. For some reason, it didn’t seem to take quite as much as I remember it working with Tate.

And then finally by 5:00 p.m., things begin to progress. Fast. In fact, really fast. Just like with my labor with Tate, it took forever most of the day, but when it was time, it was time. Things moved really fast, and I had to call the nurses in quick to get the show on the road. The benefit to that is that the really hard part of labor went really fast. It was still pretty hard, and I definitely felt three years older, but before I knew it, they were placing this wonderful baby in my arms. Born at 5:30 p.m. (10 ½ hours later…but who’s counting?)

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Will arrived perfectly healthy and with the sweetest sounding muffled cries. At the hospital, they’ve started cleaning the babies off and checking vitals while the baby is in the mother’s arms. It’s kind of amazing to watch considering that two seconds before he was in my body.

For some reason in the video, I look very serious. But I was actually full of awe, happiness, and tears. Will also arrived as a big baby. 8 lbs. 8 oz. My doctor was spot on with her prediction of an 8 ½ lb. baby. Who knows how big he would’ve been a week or so later?

My friend Alyssa should get some kind of award for the help she provided that day. I had assumed Will would be born by the time Tate was out of preschool. That didn’t happen, so she took Tate to her house to play (note that he hadn’t had a nap that day), took him to eat dinner, and had to go buy some more Pull-Ups. Woops. I was nervous about how the logistics would all work out, and she helped to make it effortless for us and the grandparents. Thank you Alyssa!

So about an hour or so after Will was born, the big brother and grandparents got to come meet him. I had no idea what to expect from Tate since he had such a long day. But he was so sweet. I won’t ever forget Wade walking in holding Tate and the HUGE smile he had on his face. Wade brought him over to the bed where I was holding Will.

Tate’s words: “Look, it’s Baby Will! Baby Will is looking at me! (Will really did turn his eyes toward Tate) Now can I have my race cars?”

I was happy with that. At least the first two sentences were ones acknowledging and excited about his brother. Tate’s visit was quick, but he was excited about holding Will and kept looking under his hat and saying over and over that “he has a lot of hair.”

And both sets of grandparents (Grandpa, Mimi, Poppy, & MoMere) were there to meet their 4^th grandchild as well.

All in all, the day was one to be extremely thankful. Will arrived wonderful and healthy. I made it through labor with no complications. And Wade didn’t pass out! :)

In later days I started to get very nostalgic and emotional about that day. Although nothing is 100%, we’re thinking we may just be a two-kid family. So I’ve later wondered if I soaked in the moment enough? Could I remember the last time I felt him kick before he was born? Did I spend too much of the pregnancy complaining about being uncomfortable rather than marveling at the miracle that was growing? Did I soak up every last minute with just Tate?

I’m not sure how good my answers are to those questions, but a friend gave me some good advice about focusing on what’s ahead for our family rather than what has passed.

So as we left the hospital and made it home with our new baby, I had quite the boo-hoo (hormones flowing!) session as I said praises and prayers of thankfulness for this amazing gift of life that has been formed and that we’ve been entrusted with.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” ~ James 1:17