Back to the fun part... Labor! I was so proud to be progressing in labor all on my own with no pitocin needed for this labor. My body was doing all the right things and so far, my birth plan was going perfectly! We came to a point where my dr and resident decided to break my water so labor would continue to progress. My nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and said that now would be a good time to get it. She warned that if I had planned to get one, it would be easier to sit through now as opposed to after my water was broken. Most likely my contractions would intensify and become even more frequent. I didn't think I really needed an epidural at the time but figured I'd really be feeling the contractions soon so I made the decision to get my epidural. I'm SO thankful that I decided to do so! About 2 hours later, it was baby time! After laboring all night the previous night, it only took about 2 hours after my water broke before it was go time. I did a couple practice pushes with the resident and she decided that it was time to call my dr. I could have had him right then and there if I wanted but instead we waited about half an hour for my dr to show up. That is another reason I'm thankful for my epidural! Otherwise I would have had to wait for my dr while writhing in pain, or had baby before my dr arrived. Neither of those sound appealing to me. When my dr arrived, she told me I couldn't have planned this any better! She had just finished at the clinic and came to the hospital and later had a surgery scheduled for around 2. I fit right into her schedule! That's just what I had prayed for! I really didn't want to pull her away from her family (even though she reassured me not to worry about that!) After everyone and their friend showed up for "the big show" it was time to push! Poor Brian was parked in a corner but I think he was perfectly okay with this. I'll spare the lovely details, but 4 contractions worth of pushing and out popped our HUGE butterball turkey! Allan was 10 pounds 10 ounces, 21 inches long. I fell in love with him immediately and didn't want to let go of him. He cried a couple minutes but calmed right down when he realized he was on my chest. Nurses offered the scissors to Brian to cut the cord, which he politely declined and directed them towards me. I cut Evan's cord also, so why not continue the tradition? I clipped his cord and continued to snuggle my chunky monkey while Brian snapped pics of it all. I was on cloud 9. This was the first delivery that went exactly as planned and had no major setbacks. Last time, Evan was whisked away to his own room and I was left disappointed and alone, not to mention upset that my baby wasn't completely healthy. This time was totally different. Brian and I couldn't stop smiling and cooing over this sweet little guy.
The rest of the hospital stay was a whirlwind of people in and out of the room, making sure we were healthy and still doing great. Day one was labor and delivery, day two consisted of lots of nurse visits, pediatrician visit, my dr visit, pictures, lactation consultant, billing, pharmacy, newborn pictures, birth certificate info, hearing specialists, and discharge procedures. His second day of life was busy! Luckily, we got everything done and were out of there just in time for dinner. I was so ready to go home and see my other baby. I had never been away from Evan so long and I was so missing him. We arrived home to a clean house, hot meal, decorations, and a happy baby. This was all thanks to our wonderful mothers. Thank God for grandmas! We were able to have an easy transition with our new addition because they took care of our other precious boy. We all had a delicious meal and most importantly just relaxed.
My heart is overflowing with love for both my boys. Of course my heart always will long for our sweet baby girl, but yet again God has helped heal my heart just a little more. When I catch a glimpse of Allan sleeping, I can see Lillian's face. He may be 6 pounds more than she was, but he has her lips and chin. It brought tears to my eyes the first time I noticed it. Having him in our life has already blessed us immensely. I cannot wait to watch him grow up and become his own person. For now, I will snuggle him close and whisper to him how much I love him. He fits so perfectly into our family of five.
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