He Made It! All 18.5 inches, 6.4 lbs of Him!

Ready to go...post epidural!Welcome to the world!

All cleaned up...

And ready for dad!

Grandpa Tom & Grandma Iris

Headphones so early? Nope, just his hearing test!

Cuddle time!

Home at last!

We truly could not have imagined the love, joy and excitement that we would feel when Chase arrived. While we thought we were prepared for the emotions that we would feel, we were so wrong...having Chase here is the most undescribable feeling in the world. Not only are we now responsible for another little creature, but he is our little creature and he has already consumed our hearts. Every move and noise he makes totally enchants us and just like every parent has told us we would do, we simply cannot stop staring at him. He is an amazing little guy and we are overwhelmed with pride.

OK...Long Version of Birth (minus the gory details) Below....

Bringing Chase into the world a little early was an experience that I hope to remember forever. Monday's weekly doctor's appointment was pretty uneventful. Doctor Spoon let us know that Chase was at the point where inducement would be a safe option. Our excitement to meet him led us to at first schedule an inducement, but then later decide to cancel as there was not a real reason to induce. We figured it would be better to meet Chase on his own time. Well, little did we know, his own time would be coming sooner than we thought! That evening at around 7:30 I started to have feelings that I hadn't had before. I texted my friend Angie (a life saver for the night!) and described what I was going through. I sort of thought they could be labor pains, but was hesitant to really think that they were. Well, Angie confirmed that they were indeed labor pains and that I should get ready to meet Chase! After a quick walk around the block to confirm that the pains didn't go away (as they will with false labor), I called Dr. Spoon. He honestly sounded like he didn't believe me (I swear I haven't cried wolf before!) and told me to go to the hospital whent he contractions were five minutes apart. Well, seeings how I wasn't even sure how to tell if the contractions were real, I was having a hard time with the timing aspect! I went downstairs to watch tv and take my mind off of what was coming and strangely the contractions STOPPED! At about 12:30am I figured I should go to bed and get some rest and that my labor was indeed false.

Once upstairs I got to sleep pretty quickly but then at 1:30am, my "false labor" was back...with a vengeance. Now, I could not only tell that the contractions were indeed very, very real, but I could time them as well. The magic number of five had hit - time to go to the hospital!!!!! I hopped in the shower, brushed my teeth and was ready to hit the road. Mike was ready too, and was really suprisingly calm and collected. He didn't even speed! In the car, the contractions really started to hit hard...and fast. By the time we got to the hospital, I was having them every 3-4 minutes and they HURT! While they didn't feel at all like I thought they would, they were definitely the most uncomfortable pain I have ever felt. In admitting, I started to feel like I was about to go postal on someone so I decided the best way to handle the situation was to stop talking. Let Mike figure out how to tell everyone that I was in labor and needed my epidural...fast...and I will just lay down in pain. However, the nurses had decided that they had a few questions for me (do you have allergies, when did you eat....come on lady, I am in LABOR, WHO CARES WHEN I ATE!). After what felt like a very loonnnggg time, they confirmed that I was indeed in labor (no kidding) and that I was dilated to a six - wholly molly, a six???? I thought I was supposed to have the epidural at four...get that thing in me! Next up was getting me into the delivery room and setting up my IV so I could finally get the epidural. It seriously felt like an eternity!!!!! However, let me be the first to say, that epidurals are a girls best friend. I finally got it when I was dilated to a 7-8 and I was in heaven.

It was at about 4:30am that the family started to show up and we had an hour and a half of baby free conversation before the nurse pushed everyone out to check dilation. After checking, she looked up and cooly said, "OK, time to push." What, wait, time to push??? NOW?? OH MY GOD!!!!

I had wanted Mike to stay up top and not have to see the details below, but our nurse Emma had a different approach. She waited for a contraction, looked at Mike, and shouted "grab a leg!" They really don't tell you what to expect in labor at those silly classes and I think Mike was as shocked as I was when he learned that he had a new role in labor...official leg holder!

Much to my surprise, pushing was not that hard (I know, I know, I shouldn't say that), but really, it was not a bad experience. Now, without the epidural, I am sure my story would be a whole different one! I only had to push for about an hour and 15 minutes when they called in Dr. Spoon and told me to relax for a bit before delivery. Dr. Spoon got in just in the nick of time however, and was impressed that the nurses didn't fool him - he really was just there for the catch! The rest of the story is a little much for a blog, but just know that it was a beautiful experience and a fun one too!

Chase came in at 18.6 inches and 6.4 lbs... a little low on the weight but very alert and active from the start. The nurses were all impressed with how fast he breathed on his own (didn't need stimulation) and congratulated us on our beautiful, healthy boy....WOW.

After a whirlwind stay at the hospital (with many supportive friends and family coming by to meet him), we brought Chase home to meet Rigley and see his new home. He has already been to meet the pediatrician, who was a little concerned with how much weight he lost after birth (they usually lose 7%, he had lost 10%) and put him on a little supplemental formula to get us through to when my milk came in (which it did last night). He has now put on about 5 ounces in weight and is looking plump and healthy. Speaking of which, he is hungry now so I have a job to do!

XOXO to all!