**Note: having a newborn in the house is proving to not allow for a lot of blogging time. So one week later, I'm barely finishing this entry. My goal going forward is a Saturday update each week as Xander continues to grow**
Michael Alexander ("Xander") was born at 7:22pm on Oct 24th after only 14 hours of labor. 7lb 6.6oz and 20.5inches long. Lots of dark brown hair (side burns included), not sure on the eyes, long fingers and toes, a dimple in his chin like daddy and momma's pout. A true heartbreaker. :)
I woke up at 5:30 am Saturday morning a bit uncomfortable and didn't realize I was having contractions for about 30 minutes or so. At that point I started timing them (mild cramps) and they were 15 minutes apart. I just referenced it in passing to Mike as he walked out the door to reserve duty a little before 7am. By 8am, they were 5-8 minutes apart. At 9:30am, my mom and I decided to walk to the cafe near our house (2 miles round trip) for breakfast and on the way I called Mike to let him know they were 3-5 minutes apart but really just felt like mild menstrual cramps. When he got home around 10am they were still just mild but definitely 3-5 minutes apart. He and I decided to walk around the block. We also called the hospital just to give them a heads up. Our favorite midwife, Patrice, was on call at the hospital and told me to come in when they were much more painful so I couldn't talk or walk and was just a bit "pissed off". Around 12:30pm, we decided to watch a movie and just wait them out. They actually petered out to about 5-8 minutes apart again, so I thought perhaps they were going away (and stupidly ate 3 pieces of leftover pizza). And then...wham! 1:30pm they were back at 3 minutes apart and much stronger. And by 2:30 I couldn't talk/walk through them and they were 2 minutes apart. Ouch. We called Patrice and headed to the hospital.
When we got there around 3pm, I was checked and was unhappy to hear I was only 2-3 cm. I had been 2 cm at my appt on Friday afternoon. Really!?! Patrice admitted me anyway because they were so close together and she told me later she "just had a feeling" even though others were questioning her. I spent 3:30-6pm laboring by walking the halls and then spending 20 minutes of each hour on my side being monitored. I have to admit -- I welcomed these 20 min periods of "rest". Mike was a great coach getting me to breath and sway, etc as I went through each contraction. At 6pm, Patrice checked me again and I was 5cm. My water broke during the internal -- not on purpose. They got ridiculously painful, ridiculously quick. At this point, Mike (and Patrice) were so wonderful coaching me through each contraction and using various pressure points and massages to ease the pain. She was also a bit concerned about the level of blood loss, so she had the nurse put in an IV line (not attached to anything) just in case. She had just finished telling me that she was sorry she was not going to be able to deliver the babe because she was off at 7pm, (but Liz - her replacement was great), it's usually 1cm per hour so we'd be having him later in the evening, etc etc, when things got really crazy. She decided to check again just before 7pm and I was between 9-10cm. Yep, 5 cm in 1 hour. We were having a baby and Patrice was delivering him. She (and the nurse) decided to stay. Yay! Then it got scary ...
At some point Xander wasn't doing well and Patrice began to realize there was a partial abrubtion of my placenta. They actually think this is one of the reasons that I dialated the remaining 5cm so quickly (or so they mentioned after the fact). It became an emergency to get him out. Thank goodness the IV line was in because I was hooked up with fluids. The room was now packed with 2 midwives, several nurses, the doctor (Dr. Cunningham), a neonatologist and a pediatrician. I don't have a clear memory of it but had several wonderful people coaching me through the pushing. The nurse (Yvonne) was ex-Army and basically had to yell at me at one point to open my eyes, focus, "shut up" (apparently I was yelling) and bear down and breathe. In retrospect, God bless her! I was able to push Xander out in 22 minutes with the help of Mike, the 2 nurses, Patrice, Dr. Cunningham and a vacuum. They had to force the cervix the last little bit (ouch!) and the idea of not using a vacuum was not even an option. They used it only once briefly. I pushed Xander out at 7:22pm. What a wonderful feeling and a deep sense of relief. Almost immediately the pain was gone.
Recovery is going surprisingly well with very little discomfort. We were home by 1pm on Monday (26th) afternoon.
Below are just a few pics from his birth and the day and 1/2 that we spent in the hospital.
Just a few minutes old.
Still in L&D. 
1st morning with Daddy
With momma in Recovery
Family Photo - leaving hospital
First car ride -- going home!
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