the big day.

(excuse this rather long post. this documentation is mostly for my personal record keeping.)

the decision

6.18: final doctor visit. decided to induce considering my doctor was leaving for hawaii & i am rather fearful of labor/delivery. i wanted to be in the care of someone i know & trust. 6.20 was the only available day so we snagged a spot. (interesting fact, my starting weight was different with each of my 3 boys but every time i ended up delivering at 148 pounds. i think my body has an aversion to ever reaching 150.)

labor & delivery

 6:30am: arrive at the hospital.

8:30am: petocin starts.

12:00pm: not much has happened. very few minor contractions. i'm worried my body isn't ready. doctor checks on me. he is mad at the nurses. apparently, they had me on a very low dose of petocin. he pumps up the petocin & breaks my water.

12:15pm: things are getting serious. real contractions start. i'm in a lot of pain. 

2:00pm: my epidural arrives. i nearly pass out. again. anesthesia always lowers my blood pressure but within 20 minues i'm good. i'm numbed other than a rather large patch on my left side. i can still feel all the contractions there. i'm grateful it's not everywhere. the pain steadily increases. it's the worst pain i've ever felt. 

3:45: it's time to push.

4:09: myles james enters the world. 

meeting mylo

instantly, i forget the pain. i forget everything. all i can see is him & all i can feel is joy. he is perfect. todd can't stop smiling. i know i'm the same way. i hear the doctors & nurses talk about how big he is, especially his head (14 inches). they say he had a true knot in his cord & they are relieved that there were no complications. his face is bruised but he is still so beautiful. he has thick dark hair. more than my other boys & his eyes are dark blue. he resembles both of his brothers but he definitely has his own handsom look. my world is complete. i've never felt so whole.

grandma & papa brought cooper & t.j. to visit later that evening. cooper was ecstatic to meet his little brother. he ran straight to him & smothered mylo in hugs & kisses. t.j. was more hesitant. he didn't want anything to do with the baby or whoever was holding mylo. they brought mylo gifts & mylo brought them hospital hang out bags (filled with activities, toys, & snacks). t.j. was mostly excited by the food. when they came back the next morning t.j.'s skepticism had passed he wanted to hold mylo & love on him. i have a sneaking suspicion that these 3 are going to be good friends.

welcome home

 we were discharged from the hospital in the evening on 6.21. i'm not a fan of staying in the hospital & since we were both recovering quickly they let us go. when we got home i put mylo in a basket & rang the door bell. my parents had the boys open the door. they were beyond excited when they discovered their special delivery. cooper couldn't contain himself. t.j. was smitten. he held mylo for 10 minutes straight & cried when mommy finally made them part. the next morning i was overwhelmed with joy when i had all 4 of my boys snuggling in my bed. i've spent every waking moment since then obsessed with my 3 sons & basking in their presence. (i only sneak in blog time when they are sleeping & by some miracle i am not.) and miraculously enough, this is by far my easiest recovery. i feel fabulous! nearly back to normal & it's only been 4 days. i am blessed.