Happy Birthday Parker Brian!

My nurse came in around 8:30 and started me on the Pitocin to get my contractions started. She hooked me up to the IV and we were off. I hung out all morning having some pretty uncomfortable contractions. Around 11:30 I was squeezing Brian's hand pretty hard and was starting to be in a good amount of pain. My midwife came to check on me and found I was dilated to 4 centimeters, so she went ahead and ordered my epidural. Thankfully, the anesthesiologist showed up pretty quickly. Now don't get me wrong, getting an epidural is no fun, but the relief after you are done - shew... Well worth it! Brian stayed with me and I think this time I just about squeezed his hand right off his arm!

I hung out for the rest of the afternoon, numb as can be - it was absolutely lovely. Around 3:45 I started feeling contractions again really low and some pressure, so the nurse called my midwife in to check on me. I was so surprised when she said I was 9 1/2 centimeters! It was showtime baby!

Now you need to understand that my labor and delivery with Peyton was a nightmare - complete with 27 hours of labor, 4 solid hours of pushing and a post-partum hemorrhage. I was also stuck at 4 centimeters dilated for about 8-10 hours before I started to progress again with him. This could not have been more different!

My midwife came in and told me we were going to shoot for 20 minutes of pushing max, and that we were not going to have any of this four-hour stuff, which was fine by me. Well... it took two pushes and we were done - he was here! Now that's the way a delivery should be! He was beautiful, just perfect, and looks just like his Daddy! I couldn't believe how much hair he has - brown with what looks like blonde highlights all through it, just the way his Dad's hair looks at the end of summer. The shape of his hairline is the same as his Dad's as well - complete with the same cowlicks. Genetics are so fascinating.

Parker was born at 4:15 p.m., weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs, 11 ozs., and was 18 1/2inches long. I was so surprised he was that small given the misery he had caused me the past couple of months, and I expected him to be much longer given the fact that his Dad is so tall.

In a matter of minutes everyone was in the room, and Parker got to meet his Big Brother, Uncle, Aunt and Grammy. I couldn't have asked for a better labor and delivery. We are so blessed and so happy he's finally here!