He's Here!

Hello fellow internets! Our baby has arrived! Yes, the guesses most of you made because of my absence were correct. Here is the story (with the vital information towards the bottom, if you want to skip the story, which is totally fine with me):

On Wednesday, Mr. Universe's car broke down. He couldn't start the darn thing, finally found someone to give him a boost, and he made it home. He turned off the car, then went to turn it on again, but nothing happened. He took the van, bought a new battery, and replaced the battery. The car was fine. Thursday morning, Mr. Universe took his own car (with the new battery, of course!), but when he was to come home that afternoon, the car wouldn't start again. Nothing was working. So I piled the kids in the van and drove the 45 minutes to his school, we tried to jump start the car, but all we got were sparks and smoke. We left Mr. Universe's car at work with the plan that we would figure it out the next day. HOWEVER...

I was having some contractions on the way home, but didn't think much about it. I've been having contractions all along, really. By the time we got home, they were starting to feel more intense, and getting a bit more regular. About 7 pm, they were less than 10 minutes apart, so I decided to start making plans in case we went to the hospital. I packed a bag for me and a bag for the boys. We made some phone calls and Mr. Universe and the boys ate some dinner (even though I was starving, I knew that if I really was in labor I would be having a c-section and they wouldn't want me to have eaten anything. The last time I ate was on the way home from the school, around 5 pm, and I only had a few yogurt-covered pretzels). We dropped the boys off at my visiting teacher's house about 9 pm, and my contractions had suddenly moved up to about 3 to 5 minutes apart, getting more and more intense.

We checked in to the hospital right at 9:30 pm. They checked me out, and talked to me about my options. The doctor was willing to let me try for a vaginal delivery, but he wanted me monitered for an hour to see how I progressed. After and hour, the nurse called the doctor, and he wasn't happy with how little progress I had made, but wanted me monitered for another hour. By the end of that hour, the contractions felt like they were killing me! I mean, I knew they could get worse, but they were pretty bad. I still hadn't progressed well, and since it seemed like I was following the same path as when I was in labor with Aiden, we(Mr. Universe, the doctor, and I) decided a c-section would be best. I was hoping for a vaginal delivery, but knew that a c-section would most likely happen. I was surprised when I even got a choice! Mentally, I was prepared.

We got more paperwork filled out, blood drawn, scrubs on Ches, and all the fun stuff that takes forever before you even enter the surgical room. It was after 1 am, and my surgery scheduled for 1:30. I was brought into the room (and Ches had to wait outside, of course), and given my spinal. Everything was going fine, and then I started having a bit of a panic attack. This happened with both of my previous c-sections, and I thought I'd be able to keep myself calm, but it didn't work. I was hyperventilating and just trying to breathe. I kept asking when they could bring Ches in. I just wanted him there to hold my hand and keep me calm! No one is as good as my husband! Finally, I calmed down enough, I was numb enough, they had the sheet up, and they brought in Mr. Universe.

Ches was able to sit right there and talk to me and I really did feel more calm with him there.

At 1:54 am, out came a beautiful little boy! They cleaned him up a little bit, then brought him to me and actually let me hold him for a couple of minutes. That was a first. Then Mr. Universe and the newest little star in the family went away while they finished cleaning me and sewing me back together. No staples this time!! Yay!

I was taken into the recovery room, and Ches was brought in right away. We were able to talk and joke around a bit as we waited for our new baby to come in (they were giving him a bath, they said). Then the moved me to my room. No, we still hadn't decided on a name.

I finally got to see the baby again about 3 am. We did try nursing, and he latched on right away!! That was a first. He is a great little eater (when he's awake enough to actually eat!). Ches went home about 5 to get a couple hours of sleep before he got the boys in the morning.

No, we had not picked a name yet. Ches and I could NOT decide on a name! We had this great list of names, and we wanted a family name in there (Aiden and Dallin have family names for their middle name), bt nothing seemed right. Finally, about lunch time, we came up with a name that we both liked and just felt right. So...

Parker Benjamin was born on Friday, September 8th, 2006 at 1:54 am. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. He has lots of fuzzy black hair, and really dark, blue eyes. He is absolutely perfect!

If you would like to see a picture of him from the day he was born, go to www.chandlerregional.com
Click on the maternity link, then the virtual nursery.

I will post pictures of him soon. He already looks a bit different, I think. Parker and I came home Sunday afternoon, and we are slowly but surely getting into the swing of things. Oh, and no one came up with the correct date, but Proud Mum was closest (guessing the 9th), so she get the prize of (drumroll, please)... cyber brownies! All you can eat! Literally no calories!! Enjoy, PM.

Talk to you all soon!!