2/9/07

your arrival...

Zane,

Hey there handsome! You are finally here and all your dad and I can keep saying is how precious you are. We had no clue what to expect to feel when we saw you for the first time and let me tell you that I don't know that we'll ever be able to describe it in words other than "instant love."

So here's your story...and I'm sharing it with everyone else too!

You starting to come into this world late Monday night. I started having contractions pretty consistently and then they'd start to spread apart again. We were up all night trying to see if we needed to go to the hospital. Tuesday the contractions kept closer together but we were holding out till I really felt I needed to go to the hospital. While all this was going on the snow started to fall outside and just kept coming! I called your dad and told him to head home so that he got there and wasn't stuck some place! We eventually made our way to your Grandma Debby's house so that we were closer to the hospital because the roads were so bad. We made our way to the hospital which took 30 minutes instead of the normal 5 from your grandparents house.

I was scheduled to start the induction process at 6 but you had already started things so there was no need for that! I was very thankful that those contractions had been doing something all day! We started off at 5 centimeters and continued cruising along. Mom eventually choose to get an epidural because the pain was just too much for your mom to handle. I didn't think I'd have enough energy to push later on. Once I had that I was able to relax and just watch the contraction monitor as the contractions happened. Your family was all around - both grandmas and grandpas, Uncles Spencer and Justin and "Uncle" Marcus too. We cleared the room eventually so Pat and I could get some rest for your grand entrance.

Daddy passed out on a chair and mommy started to get some sleep just when the doctor walked in to see how close you were to coming. He checked me and I was all ready. The doctor and nurse were concerned about your heartbeat so they were monitoring that while the room was getting prepared. They were so focused on watching it that they didn't hear me saying over and over "someone please wake my husband up." Eventually though your Grandma Debby walked into the room and woke him up.

Things seemed to happen so fast from there on out. The doctor was still very concerned about your heartbeat dropping so they monitored you several different ways. They also had to use a suction to get you out faster. The doctor explained to mom that there would be more people in the room than normal just because of your heartbeat. This is the point where I got scared. Up until then I was feeling okay about it but the thought of something being wrong with you made me start to shake thinking about it. Your dad held my hand tight and said a prayer as the doctor started having me push. I pushed for about 20 minutes and you came into this world. I only got to see you briefly before they took you to the other side of the room to have the NICU check you out. They quickly walked over to me to tell me you were just fine! I can't tell you what a relief that was and how happy I was to hear you absolutely wailing as they checked everything out on you!

As the doctor fixed mom up your daddy stayed with you and Grandma Debby took photos of everything they were doing to you and walked back and forth showing me the digital photos. Finally your dad brought you to me and I got to hold you for the first time. AMAZING! Don't even know what else to say about it.

Soon you got to meet the rest of your family as you were passed around. Everyone was so excited and it suddenly didn't matter how late in the night you decided to arrive!

Welcome to this world Zane! Your dad and I are so excited to see what God has planned for you as you continue to grow!