Stone's Birthday!

For starters, this pregnancy was as great as my first.  Albeit, I was a little bigger in the belly department by the end which resulted in a little bit more uncomfortableness, but overall, really an easy, fun pregnancy.  I figured since everything was so similar, delivery would be too.  True and not so true.

On Friday, February 14th (happy day of love!) I went in for my 39 week appointment.  I was supposed to have this appointment on Wednesday, but due to some bizarre weather this month, ice/snow caused us to reschedule.  Anyway, at the appointment I was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced and his head was fully engaged.  The doctor said she'd be surprised if she didn't see us back by the end of the weekend.  I tried not to let this comment get the best of me, but once she said it I was ready...ready to meet our little man! :)  I'd been dilated since 36 weeks, so I tried to play it cool and not set any expectations.  One thing is for sure, the second time around you treasure every last night you get to sleep!

I woke Saturday morning with some contractions but nothing regular or worth timing.  Slade, Lily and I headed for a walk that morning hoping to bring on something more consistent, however, by early afternoon nothing had really changed.  My brother and his girlfriend were visiting for the day (or so they thought!) so we joined them and the Lichters for lunch and then headed to the park to let the kids play.  At this point the contractions were still really random and not too painful...more or less just annoying.  Mom headed over from Birmingham and met us all for some Italian dinner with hopes little man would come sooner than later.  During dinner the contractions picked up a good bit and were considerably stronger.  They were very similar to what I experienced with Lily, so Slade and I decided to head to the hospital after dinner.  If you remember, I had to walk the hospital halls with Lily to make sure I was in active labor, well the same thing happened once we got to triage-- turns out I had not progressed since my appointment the day before.  After an hour of walking with Slade by my side, the nurses checked me and no progress....enter some almost tears, disappointment and a little embarrassment because I mean this is my second pregnancy, I should know what I'm doing by now!  We headed home sad.  Maybe I was pushing it, too eager.  Either way, I told Slade that he'd probably have to deliver this baby at home because I was not "crying wolf" again and we wouldn't be coming back to the hospital until I was dying.  Once we got home, I took a look on the bright side-- at least we would get one more night of solid sleep, so I took a Tylenol PM and went to bed.

Sunday morning came.  I woke up feeling rested and good.  Surprised I had not woken with contractions during the night.  We took it easy in the morning.  Mom and I decided to get some recipes together and do some cooking, so we'd have plenty of food once the little man decided to show up.  Once we got home with groceries galore to prep and cook, I started having some consistent contractions but nothing too strong.  I brushed them off and started cooking with Mom and Neeley.  A couple hours passed and I could tell something was different than the day before...I had a feeling it was happening, but once again, didn't want to "cry wolf," so I was cautious to say anything to anyone.  Along the way, Mom and Neeley could tell I was starting to really hurt.  They fired me from the kitchen and sent me to shower...you know, just in case!  Following the shower, I decided it was time to lay down and time my contractions.  I had planned to time them for one hour, but after 20 minutes I knew it was time to head to the hospital.  I was in so much pain!  Slade was at the office, so once he was in route home, I started putting my make-up on and curling my hair in between contractions.  Call me crazy, but I was not going to the hospital looking scary :)  By the time Slade arrived to the house, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and so strong I had to breathe and close my eyes with each one....it was go time!

We arrived to the hospital around 6:45 PM and were immediately rushed into a triage room.  The nurses checked me and I was at 6 cm!!!  Woohoo!  No "crying wolf" this time :)  

We were escorted back to our delivery room, filled out some paper work (well, Slade filled it out - I could barely see straight!) and got ready to have a baby.  I requested my epidural as soon as we got to our room... modern day medicine at its best :)  Once the epidural took, I was able to relax and visit with family.  The doctor came in and broke my water around 8 PM and told us I was at 8 cm and we should expect a baby in the next hour... crazy!  Things were moving SO much faster this time around.

We took the next hour to visit with all our family that was able to come to the hospital to be with us and celebrate Stone's birthday.  We even had a few surprise visitors show up - Cody, Allie, Riki, Bryce and the 3 G's all drove several hours to surprise us... it meant so much to have them make a trip to be with us during this special time.

Around 9 PM the doctor came back in and told us it was time to have a baby!  Slade, my mom, and my sister were in the room again this go around, and all assumed the same positions as last time... professionals maybe?!?!  It took several minutes to get everything set up to go, but once everyone was ready, I started pushing.  After THREE pushes (all of about 5 minutes), Stone Osborne Sellers made his way into the world at 9:12 PM weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 18 1/2 inches long.

It was love at first sight!  It was also music to our ears to hear he was a healthy little man with ten fingers and ten toes :)  Perfection!

We could not have asked for a more smooth, relaxed, safe and quick delivery.  We are truly blessed with this sweet guy and excited to start life as a family of four.  

Thanks to all of our family and friends for the prayers, texts and love... your support means the world to us.