HUNTER IS HERE!

September 2nd, 2009. 11:52 am. 8 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long, grey eyes so far and brown hair. He is absolutely perfect and healthy and everything that we have been praying for. He is such a good baby, only cries when he's hungry. We are so lucky and feel so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for what we have been blessed with. The first week he was home we were visited by lots of family, friends and neighbors, all bringing Hunter gifts and filling our fridge with goodies. Thank you to all of you who came by and shared your love. We truly appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. Please come by anytime, we love the company and we want Hunter to bond with all the special people that will be in his life. Also, if you have any good pictures, could you please email them to us? We didnt take nearly enough at the hospital or his first few days home. Here are a few of what we do have....







and the happy grandparents...








LABOR AND DELIVERY...

I had been having mild irregular contractions for over a week and getting more anxious and uncomfortable every day. Tuesday, September 1st around 5:30 pm they started getting stronger and more painful so I started timing them. They were about every 7-9 minutes, but by 9:00 pm they were 3-5 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital. When we got there, they hooked me up to some machines to track the contractions and Hunter's heartbeat. But when they checked me, I hadnt changed since the doctor's appointment the day before and so they wouldn't admit me. I was in so much pain, they gave me a shot of something to help me relax and decided to hold me overnight and see if I would make any progress or if the contractions would fade away. After an extremely long and painful night with no sleep, they checked me at 6:30 am and I had made it to a 5. They broke my water and ordered my epidural which came soon after. By 10:00 I was fully dilated and pushing. Unfortunately, the epidural guy gave me a button to push when I felt any pain so I used it. I used it so much that I felt no urge to push and they had to tell me when it was time. Poor Hunter got stuck under my pelvis and they had to use a vacuum to help him out. 11:52 he was born and an hour later, they were done stitching me up. All of the grandparents were there waiting for his arrival and his uncle Andrew and great grandma Converse. We were at the hospital until Friday evening and now adjusting to our new wonderful life at home.

I am recovering slowly but surely, moving around a lot better now and thanks to Hunter we are actually getting plenty of sleep. I had some trouble breastfeeding in the beginning, but things are much better now and Hunter is getting breast milk from a bottle which I am thrilled about. Chase is back to work now but calls to check in on his "little buddy" throughout the day. He is such a wonderful father and is blowing everyone away with his gentleness and eagerness to change diapers. :) I feel so lucky to be married to such a wonderful man and am so glad that my son has him as a father. Does life get any better than this? I am soaking in every minute and loving every movement and face Hunter makes because I know how fast it will go. I will remember and cherish these days for the rest of my life.

( oh, by the way, how creepily accurate was that horoscope? wierd.)