Brixon is here!!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to publish this post...I have been busy changing diapers, feeding a hungry, hungry hippo and not sleeping! But it has been the best two and a half weeks ever! Brixon Nicholas was born on January 12, 2009 at 7:09 am. He weighed 7 pounds, 7.8 ounces and was 20 inches long! I was initially supposed to be induced at 5am on January 12, but due to an overwhelming amount of scheduled c-sections, the doctor called me on Sunday, January 11th at 2pm to see if I could come in that night and be induced at 7pm. Nick and I were at Kohl's when she called, and immediately rushed home...to sit on the couch and stare aimlessly at the clock. That was a long 5 hours!!! We went to the hospital, where Dr. Islam broke my water at 8:30pm. Contractions started almost immediately, but didn't really start hurting until I was given Pitocin around 9:20pm. Ouch! I tried every flavor popsicle they had, listening to my ipod, watching TV, having Nick brush my hair, and deep breathing...it still hurt. The anesthesiologist came in around 11:4o pm and gave me my epidural...whew! Not sure I'm a big fan of being completely numb from the chest down, but it sure was welcome relief from the contractions! Everything was relatively quiet until around 5:30am, when the nurse came in to check on me, and noticed that his head was visible! We started pushing a little after 6:30am, and he came out at 7:09am with a full head of hair and a perfect apgar score!!! Labor and delivery was the most amazing, positive experience...and I caved and let the Grandma's and Tara stay in the room!

When I first saw him, I was hysterical! I could not believe that 9 months had gone by so quickly, and now I had this beautiful baby boy! Dad was so excited!!! Here are some photos...

Three days!!!

I see that I haven't written in a couple of weeks. There is a perfectly valid explanation for that...I have been extremely busy completely freaking out that I will be a mom in three days! Yes, three days...see? It even says so on that little ticker to your right. I have never had such a strange, excited, anxious, overwhelming feeling in my whole life! All of these long days spent on the couch watching reruns of "Unsolved Mysteries" have really given me time to absorb the fact that my life is about to change forever!!! Before, I was so busy working and teaching that my thoughts about parenthood were very surface...I knew it was coming, but didn't really get to think much about it. Maybe it is because I know the exact day that I will be induced (Monday, January 12th at the pleasurable hour of 5am) that is really making it sink in. I am terrified of labor and delivery, but cannot imagine the moment that I actually meet Brixon! I cannot wait to see his sweet little face, and I cannot wait to see Nick's face when he meets his son for the first time! I am so glad that I started this blog, because I know a few months down the road, I'm going to forget how I felt throughout the course of this pregnancy. I now have a journal that I can look at a few years from now, and someday Brixon (or his wife...he probably won't be interested :P) can look at and enjoy. This will be my last post as a "preggo..." The next time we talk, I'll be wearing my old skinny jeans (hehe), and carrying around the best gift I could ever receive...

New Year's Day 2009...36 1/2 weeks pregnant

Oh, the sheer size of my belly wasn't clear enough in the first photo??! Here, have some of THAT!