A Baby Story

As some of you know, I had scheduled to be induced on the 24th because it was my dad's birthday, and it also gave me an excuse to have him a little early (2 days before his due date). I was pretty sure he wasn't going to come any earlier than that, so I was totally planning on being induced.
The 23rd arrived and Bryan had the day off, so we spent most of the day out getting things done, we went to Kmart to look at some things and we were there for about an hour just walking. It was pretty painful to walk so much, but since I knew it was my last day with my big belly I just decided to tough it out. After that we went to Idaho Falls to change the oil in the car, so we had to wait for an hour at Wal mart. I ended up walking a bunch more there too, but I was already pretty worn out.
We did a lot of other things during that day and ended up getting home late. I still had to finish packing my hospital bag, and I wanted to get my nails done. By then I started to have some pretty painful contractions and quite often. I showered, ate, and got ready for bed. I told Bryan I would just go to sleep and if they got bad enough then we would head to the hospital.
I ended up sleeping until about 4:30 (the usual time I would get up to go to the bathroom). However, as soon as I woke up, I got a really strong contraction and couldn't even move. I got a couple more before I was able to get up (I was sleeping on the floor on our air mattress). I got up, went to the bathroom and tried to go back to sleep. Didn't happen! My contractions kept coming and coming and stronger. So I got up and started to get ready. I was scheduled to be at the hospital by 7:30 so I didn't want to wake Bryan up until about 6 which is what we had set our alarm clock to. I ended up waking him up a little before that because I was in serious pain. I just told him to hurry and shower because I was going to call the hospital and see if we could go earlier than scheduled. I talked to the nurse and she said I should probably hurry and go.
The funny thing is that we got there 1/2 hour before the time I was supposed to arrive and we still had to register (last time we registered before). The lady could tell I was in a lot of pain, but still it took FOREVER. She told the nurse to come and get me and they never showed (they probably thought I wasn't in real labor and were just waiting for me to get upstairs. ) This was the longest hour of my life, and they even asked me how I waited that long to go to hospital (well, I've never started labor on my own before so how was I supposed to know?!). As soon as I got there though, I asked for the epidural. The pain was about as bad as I knew I could and wanted to handle and I knew it would still take them a while to give me the epidural. When I got all set in bed, they checked me and I was at 3.5 dilated and 80% effaced. I got the epidural after 8 and oh how I had looked forward to that moment! It was great but not as good as the last time...I think I was in pain for a lot longer so I was too tense and never took my so hoped for nap. I did get some good rest though. By 10 I was dilated to almost 6, by 11 I was at 8 and by 12 I was ready. The nurse told me to start pushing and she would only call the Dr went the baby got to the canal. I pushed for about 1/2 hour and he started to crown. She made me stop pushing until the Dr arrived. That made me mad because I could feel the pressure and I could tell he was almost out. It seemed like the Dr took forever, but once he got there I pushed twice and he came out! Wow...I was so amazed at how easy it was compared to my experience with Tiff. Yes, now I believe that the second time is easier!
They gave him to me right away and I got to hold him the whole time! It was a TOTALLY different experience (I don't know how many times I've said this, but it's true!), because we didn't have any complications, everything was more peaceful and I got to enjoy every minute of it. Also, it was my second time, so I wasn't so freaked out with the fact that I had a tiny baby in my arms. They finally took him to weigh and measure and when they told me he was 8 lbs 9 oz I couldn't believe it! How in the world did I deliver such a big baby? Well, by getting a bunch of stitches, that's how! But it still wasn't nearly as bad. Everyone left the room and Bryan and I got to hang out with our little boy for quite a while...it was such a neat experience. Finally the nurse came in to help me up and give him a bath. We then went into the mom and baby unit where I would stay for a couple of days. After we were settled, I called my mom so her and Tiffany could come over.
Tiffany has loved Adam from the beginning. She is always worried and hates seeing him cry so she will hold his hand and do whatever she can to comfort him. She is also obsessed with his hands, and he doesn't like that so much.
What amazes me the most about this whole experience is that it's been one week since I had him and I feel as good as I did 2 months after I had Tiffany. HUGE difference, right?! I've been pretty much doing everything, even driving. The only thing is the lack of sleep, but today was the first time I took a nap. I have so much going on that I never stop, but when I do I'm worn out.
Adam eats and sleeps really well, he is such a good baby. Everything has been a lot easier than I thought it would be. I still don't have enough hours in the day to keep up, but maybe that will come with time.
Tiffany is adapting well. My mom finds tons of different activities to keep her entertained, and the weather is finally good enough for her to go play outside. The only problem has been her lack of appetite. She wont eat anything but cheerios and some fruit. She refuses everything and won't try anything new. I don't what to do anymore. She's never been like this, but there has been so much change in her life that I can understand.

Well, I wrote way too much, and if you made it all the way through, now you can enjoy some pictures!