Baby Owen's Birth Story

Baby Owen has arrived! My little firecracker was born on the 4th of July.

8 lbs. 4oz

21 inches

10:59am

Perfect in every way!

On the 3rd I began noticing regular contractions that began about 5pm. They were only mildly irritating and were coming every 10 minutes. We headed to a firework show around 7pm and I annouced that I thought I was in labor. Pete's cousin Jana and her husband Nii were with us. Nothing really changed during the firework show and we all had a good time. Noah really liked the fireworks after he got used to them. When we got home I began preparing to go to the hospital: showered (had to shave my legs, of course!), made sure all the bags were ready, made pete get his bag ready, and made sure we had a plan for Noah. Then I attempted to go to sleep. However, by this time (11pm), my contractions started getting more painful so I could only doze for a few minutes and then would be started awake by a contraction. During the night, I wondered from the bed, to the couch, played on the internet, watched TV, and breathed through the contractions that were growing more painful and closer together. When they were about 6 minutes apart (5am) I decided I was ready to go to the hospital. I let Jana know that we were leaving and they agreed to take care of Noah until other arrangements could be made. They were to head back to Austin on the 4th.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am. When we got to the labor and delivery unit the nurse asked me, "Can I help you?" I thought that this would be obvious due to my large belly and contractions that were taking my breath away every 4 minutes. Anyways, we were taken to a room where I showed to be dilated to a 4. I then labored for about 2 hours. I was dilated to a 7 when I was able to get my epidural. Not a moment too soon! It was starting to get intense for me! Things didn't really slow down after the epidural, thankfully. This epidural was not near as strong as the one I got when I had Noah, so I was able to feel a lot more. I noticed a strong urge to 'go to the bathroom.' Then it hit me that this feeling is a sign that Owen was getting close. We called the nurse in and she checked me out. Sure enough, his head was right there ready to come out. She called the doctor, prepped the room and told me it was time to push. Pete, the great husband that he is, was very comforting and encouraging! My parent's arrived right in the nick of time. I said hi to dad and he went to the waiting room while Pete and mom stayed with me. I pushed through one contraction and began the second when she told me to stop. We had to wait for the doctor. At this point, I could feel enough to know that I was very ready to push! The doctor came in about 5 minutes later and quickly got ready to catch. I pushed through 2 contractions and out came sweet little Owen already giving his lungs a workout. Pete cut the umbilical cord and then Owen was laid on my lap. I cried and kissed him. At that moment my heart must have gotten bigger because I suddenly realized I could love 2 little boys equally, and more than I ever could have imagined.

Our hospital stay was uneventful. We are happy to say that Owen's heart sounded great and there were no health concerns at all!! We were there 24 hours and then were released to go home. Noah loves his little brother and gives him tons of kisses. Owen has been an excellent sleeper the last 2 nights, only getting up to eat and then goes right back to sleep. Grammy has been staying with us and has made sure I've gotten plenty of naps, lots of good food, and has spoiled Noah and Owen. Pete has gone back to work and plans to take his paternity leave next week so his time off with overlap with his parent's visit. Papa Rock and Mimi will be here the 17th and we are so excited!