He's Here!

Alex is here! He is our little miracle, and already love him so much.

For those interested, here is his birth story. Sunday night I was extremely uncomfortable. My back, arm, and chest were really hurting. Tylenol wasn't working, and it was painful enough that I was not sleeping. at 4 am I was laying in bed hoping to sleep when my water broke. I woke up Stephen, called the hospital, got our things together and headed to the hospital. We got there at 5. They checked me, and I was still a 1. At 6 they started me on Pitocin to get my contractions started.

Weeks earlier I had decided that I wanted to go natural with the delivery, but the Sunday before when I went to the hospital with labor I changed my mind. I didn't want to be a hero, so I would get an epidural. Around 10 when the contractions were getting more painful I asked for the epidural. As the anesthesiologist was about to come into the room the nurse returned and told me I couldn't get it because my blood platelets were low, and my liver enzymes were high (more info on this later). I thought that it is a good thing that I was okay with going natural, because I didn't have a choice.

Time passed, and the contractions got closer and more painful, but not that bad. At about 1 they checked me and I had progressed to a six. At 2 I was a ten, and I started pushing at 2:15. This was the most painful part. Luckily, I only had to push for twenty minutes. He was born at 2:43 pm, weighing 5 lbs 13 oz, and 18 inches long. He is our little peanut.

When the doctors first handed him to me I got a little emotional. It was hard to believe that this little guy was my son. That this was who I was feeling within me the past few months. This is Stephen and mine.

On Tuesday the doctor gave me more information an what was going on with my blood and liver. I has HELLP syndrome which is a type of pre-eclampsia. Most women that have it have really high blood pressure, swelling in the feet and face, and chest pains. I had none of those tell tale signs. What it is, is the blood platelets are really low. They are what cause the blood to clot. Also the liver enzymes are sky high, this can cause seizures. My doctor didn't until I went into labor because I didn't have the signs. It can be very dangerous, and the doctors and nurses said I was lucky that I went into labor when I did. After delivery they gave me magnesium sulfate to lower the liver enzymes, and to reduce the risk of seizure. Every pregnancy they will need to watch out for it.

We went home on Wednesday, and are so happy to have him home with us,

We love our little peanut.