He is Here!

Our beautiful baby boy has arrived and we are beyond thrilled! It was love at first sight just as I knew it would be and now it's as if we've had this little miracle with us from the beginning. If anyone is interested here is our birth story, if not there are some pictures along the way as well :)
Thursday started off like any other typical day; I was frustrated with my overdue pregnant status and wanted to keep myself occupied so had scheduled a play date with Kara and the boys. We took a walk down to the park by their house then had a lunch of corn dogs to celebrate National Food-on-a-Stick Day...yum! Johanna and I headed home and each went down for a nap.

 Around 3:00 o'clock I was awoken from my nap from a sharp contraction. I'd been having irregular braxton hicks contractions for several weeks but this one felt a little different; more like a really strong menstrual cramp. For the next hour I was getting these cramps on and off enough that I thought maybe I should start paying attention to them. I texted Jeff at work to let him know I was counting contractions (though I wasn't even sure that's what they were at the time) but to not worry and there was no way it was early labor. Jeff decided to leave work a little early to beat rush hour traffic just in case.

Jeff arrived back home around 5:00 so we decided to take a walk down to the park with Johanna to keep things moving and focus on something else. My cramps were continuing about every 8 to 10 minutes but were nothing to make me stop in my tracks so I tried not to get too excited. After feeding Johanna dinner we decided to go for a drive for something to do to pass time.

 We drove to Parker about twenty minutes away to stop at Sonic for a milkshake. I noticed the cramps were getting stronger and were about 7 minutes apart. We decided to keep driving around since it seemed to be helping. When we were about ten minutes from home they were strong enough that I didn't think I could be in the car for much longer. I called my parents to let them know we may be going to the hospital that night!

 We got back home around 9:00 and put Johanna to bed. Around 11:00 we decided to call my Doctor; my contractions were 5 minutes apart about a minute long each for an hour. He agreed it was probably best for us to head into the hospital just to be safe. We called Grandma Lori and she came right over to watch Johanna, thank goodness for family being so close!

 The contractions were enough to make me catch my breath and stop moving, but absolutely nothing compared to contractions I felt with being induced my first labor. I was convinced when we got to hospital they would turn us away. We debated between driving around a little longer but as we got into the car I noticed they were getting closer and stronger and figured it be best to head over then. We arrived around midnight and had to go in through the emergency room. When a labor and delivery nurse met us to walk us to the ward I thought, I'm sounding too cheerful they'll never believe me that I'm in labor! I was having doubts myself.

 Our nurse was named Vickie and she was very nice. She brought us to our room and checked me for dilation. I was at 7cm! She encouraged us to walk around and come back at 2:00, an hour later. Kara and Russ had met us at the hospital and were there to walk around with us in the hallways. It was so nice to have them there to talk to and laugh with! We had to stop and rest with each contraction, I breathed through them while Jeff rubbed my back. Kara was timing each one and they were now 3 minutes apart!

 When we headed back to the room my Doctor was there so we had Kara and Russ step outside while he checked me for progress. I was now at 8cm. He asked if I wanted him to break my water and I hesitantly said yes. I knew my contractions were much easier with my water being intact and was afraid for the hard stuff to begin. But I also knew it was the fastest way to get baby JJ out. As soon as he broke my water I had a huge contraction and had to catch my breath, now we were on!

 After about half hour of productive contractions I felt the urge to push. My doctor said I was at 9 1/2 and asked if I was ready... I couldn't believe we were there already! Deep down I was most nervous for this part; with Johanna I had to push for two hours and I was so worried this would happen again. In fact my mantra for the entire night was "I'm so scared!" and "Am I doing this right?!" Luckily my husband, doctor and nurse were very supportive and continuously told me I had nothing to be scared of and that I was doing a great job. Apparently they weren't convincing enough because I continued to say it until the baby arrived. (The bad thing about not being medicated, at least in my case is that I tend to say and do very embarrassing things in the heat of the moment and then regretfully commit every detail and second to memory.) Jeff and my doctor held my hand as I continued to push. After 30 minutes in I asked how much longer do I have, and the nurse said with every push I'm that much closer. I said but I need a time! She said if I had to guess, you will have him within ten minutes.

 This motivated so much that with the next contraction I pushed as hard as I could. With the third push of that contraction he was almost out. And then I ran out of breath... I took a quick breath, screamed a lot and pushed as hard as I could. Ten minutes from when I asked how much longer Johnathan was placed on my belly. Apparently the umbilical cord was extremely short and instead of delaying the cord clamping my Doctor handed Jeff the scissors and had him cut it. I had no idea that was going on because I was so mesmerized and in love with my little baby boy! (When Jeff told me that had happened I could barely believe it, my Jeff cutting the cord?!)

Johnathan Jeffrey Overman was born at 3:16AM on Thursday morning. He weighed 8lbs 9.8oz and was 20 inches long. The first thing I noticed were his big kissable cheeks and blond peach fuzzed skin- he was perfect!

 Thank you JJ for choosing your birthday before my induction date. I can't believe the different experience I had this time! Laboring at home, being able to walk around with out an IV and breaks in between each contraction made the whole experience significantly easier. With no tearing or stitches I was able to walk around after with out problems and we were able to be discharged 24 hours later. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thank you so much to Lori for watching Johanna, Kara and Russ for being there for us during labor and after to welcome JJ, GiGi for driving early in the morning to come see us, and all of our friends who stopped by to see us as well. We love you all!

Now we are all home snug as bugs as a new family of four :)