He's here!

We are so happy to finally announce the arrival of our sweet baby boy! Wyatt Joseph Packer joined our family on Sunday May 24th 2009 at 4:52 am. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 11 oz and measured 22 inches long! He is happy and healthy and we love him so much!

My experience with everything leading up to Wyatt's delivery was quite different than that with Brittney's. With Brittney, I was 4 days overdue and was scheduled to be induced. I was already having some contractions when I was induced, so she came quickly and easily. I got an epidural with her at 3 or 4 cm, and a few hours later she was here. On the Thursday before Wyatt was born I could definitely tell I was having some contractions. They were pretty far apart and irregular and not painful at all. By Friday morning I could feel them a little and thought they were getting closer together, but nothing I could count. All night Friday night I was very uncomfortable with some contractions that were hurting, but again, nothing I could time. Then Saturday came, which may have been the l o n g e s t day of my whole life! I was having some pretty strong contractions at first, the kind that make you stop what you are doing to focus on breathing. As the day progressed they gradually got worse and worse until I was literally moaning in pain and crying because they hurt so bad. I was totally scaring Brit. Poor girl kept asking me if I was OK with a very concerned look on her face :( The most frustrating part of all this was the contractions were VERY inconsistent. Everything you hear or read about labor says to wait until the contractions are like 5 to 7 minutes apart before going to the hospital. Mine were all over the board. I had Jason timing them for me and they were anywhere from an hour down to 10 minutes apart, with varying intervals between each one. I was just sitting around wishing my water would break so I would have a reason to go in, still thinking my contractions were too far apart to go to the hospital. I even called the Dr. on call to explain what was happening. He said I could go to the hospital if I wanted, but he thought for sure they would send me home. Finally Saturday evening we decided it was time to go in because I didn't think I could handle much more. We dropped Brit off at my parents and headed for the hospital. We did all the paperwork and I was sent to triage to be checked. I was absolutely shocked beyond belief when the nurse told me I was at a SEVEN!!!!! I was so surprised with myself and my body. I had no idea I had come that far, and yet the pain was bad enough that it made sense. I guess next time I will know that 5 to 7 minutes isn't true for everyone!

I was admitted and got all hooked up to things and asked for an epidural ASAP. Unfortunately it took 2 tries to get the epidural in. At one point, after promises that I wouldn't feel anything else, I laid in bed for another 2 contractions wondering why the pain wouldn't go away. I told my nurse, and she called the anesthesiologist in, who was pretty mystified as to why I was still hurting. I was just worried that there wouldn't be enough time to get my drugs! Finally he got it right and I was feeling good! I had to have some antibiotics, and thankfully there was enough time to get it in before delivery. Although it was the middle of the night, it was hard to sleep, so Jason, my mom and I just sat around talking. Around 4 am I was feeling a lot of pressure so I asked the nurse to check me. She said we were getting really close and called my doctor. I was happy and so grateful that my doctor came in to deliver Wyatt even though he wasn't on call and it was so early in the morning. When it was time, I pushed through just 3 contractions and Wyatt's head was out. I will never forget the look of awe on Jason's face as he watched and told me what was happening. There is no description for the priceless look on his face as he watched our son enter this world. It was definitely one of the most tender moments I have experienced.

The day we came home...

Things were great with the rest of the hospital stay. I was discharged 2 days later and went to stay at my parent's house for a week since the house wasn't ready and the apartment was a mess. Jason was busy trying to get us moved, so it was great being at my parent's where I had a lot of help around the clock. Fast forward to 1 month later...I can't say we are settled because there is still a lot of unpacking to be done, but we are in our house and doing great. Wyatt is a good sleeper. He has already had a few 6,7 and 8 hour nights! Most mornings he will eat and go back to sleep for a few hours. Can't complain about that! He is growing so fast and changing so much. He is a momma's boy :) and LOVES to be held. Brit sure is sweet with him, although I'm still trying to convince her that she doesn't need to be 1 inch away from his face all the time! I feel so blessed to be a mom of 2 precious, beautiful children, raising them along side my best friend. What more could anyone ask for?