Speedy Delivery!

As Cora arrived in 3.5 hours, we had anticipated that our son would waste no time making his entrance to the world. Luckily, the week before Sam was born, Brian and I packed bags, made some plans, and called a few people who might be able to help us very quickly when the moment arrived.



I had been uncomfortably waddling around on Valentine's day, but suspected nothing more than sciatic nerve issues which have been my constant friend lately. At around 11:20pm I had a pain that turned into water breaking. Brian was up and in action like a man coming off the racing blocks. We had rehearsed what to do, and he didn't let me down.



After a few phone calls we had our next door neighbor over with her pillow, and me in the car. Time from water break to being checked in at the hospital-- 25 minutes. This time we told everyone we talked to that we needed immediate attention because the baby was coming quickly. Brian was doing a great job of encouraging me, reminding me the baby was bound to be smaller since he was coming 3 weeks early.






As I had recently begun to dread the labor, delivery and recovery based on my first experience I had decided to consider the whole epidural thing. It didn't take me long after getting to the hospital to decide I was definitely giving it a try. At one point as I was writhing during a contraction, the anesthesiologist was explaining the different options and then just kind of said, based on the pain you are obviously in, we will go for the stronger epidural option. Words were beyond me at that point, but I said a silent "thanks, let's get on with it!" Fear of paralyzing myself kept me still during the procedure and I was amazed at how great I felt after getting my drugs. After that we chatted our way through another 20 minutes, and then 3 pushes later I was holding Sam. Start to finish we had Sam in 2 hours flat. By my calculations number three (if we are lucky) will arrive in an hour and 15 min. That will be fun... :)




So far he has been an angel, and we have determined that he is gestating outside of the womb since he continues to amaze us with his ability to sleep. His routine is wake up for 5 minutes, begin rooting for food, fall asleep while eating, and repeat the process 1-4 hours later.

Cora has been amazing with her little brother. We came home Tuesday night so that we wouldn't have to be away from her too long, and she couldn't wait to hold baby Sam. Some mornings the kiss count has been Sam-5 Mommy - 0. I know the usual concern is about the child being jealous, but I definitely had a moment of "Hey, where are my Mommy kisses!". I think I can keep my jealousy in check, but my girl definitely has a new love. The contrast of interest between Cora & Ellie vs. Elijah, my 2 year old nephew, was amazing. Cora and Ellie were both constantly begging to hold Sam, and could hardly stand to take turns when one of them was holding him. I think Sam got one sidelong glance from Eli before he was off to play again.