Logan is finally here!!!!!
He was born Tuesday, January 31st at 7:59 pm. Weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz., 18 1/2 inches long & a 13 3/4 inch head.

Tuesday morning after being in the tub forever, Bill came home & brought me breakfast. I actually ate it in the tub. I just couldn't seem to leave the comfort of the water. When I did (because I was turning into a prune), I would climb into bed & try to sleep (yeah, right). When a contraction hit, I was on all fours on the bed, swaying back & forth. After it ended I tried to lay on my side to rest. I alternated between the bed & the tub until about 12:30 pm. Then it really hit me. While in the tub, I was in so much pain all I could do is moan & that wasn't even helping. Then I got sick. Really sick. So much for breakfast. I called out for Bill, "Let's go now!" I thought I was in transition & might not make it to the hospital in time. He started getting the rest of the bag packed & I got dressed (leaving the house without a jacket) & we were on the road.

We get to the hospital & the labor & delivery parking lot is full. We notice a couple of women just hangin out in their car. Bill honks at them & asks if they are waiting for someone. "No, we're just smoking", says the driver. "Can you move? I'm in labor!" I yelled at her. Parking in a laboring woman's parking spot is worse than parking in the hadicaped place. We get parked & Bill helps me out of the car. I can barely walk. It feels like I've been stabbed with a sword in my side. We get up to the desk to check in & there's no receptionist. I'm leaning over the counter moaning & a nurse walks out & gets a wheel chair for me. We get into the labor room & the same great nurse that saw me the night before came in to check my progression. She asked if I was going to get an epidural. "If I don't have that much farther to go, then I want to try it without". So she checks & tells me that I'm 3 cm. "Shit! You've got to be kidding me! With all of that work at home?!" Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. So I readily agreed to the epidural.

The anesthesiologist comes in to get me set up. The contractions were right on top of the other & I wasn't getting much of a break. He gave me the local (which was really painful) & then got everything started. Just as he had finished, my water broke. All I can say is THANK GOD for modern medicine. If I didn't have the epidural, contractions after the waters are broken get more difficult. The timing was perfect. The medicine kicked in & it was like heaven. I could relax & breath & everything seemed more controlled. A couple of hours later I got checked again & was now at 5 cm. Bill & I took a nap & when we woke up & got checked again, I was at 10 cm. "You can start pushing whenever you want", said the Doctor surprizingly. I could feel Logan moving farther & farther down with each contraction (that I didn't feel). I decided to let him move down on his own & let things stretch out a bit. So we did "passive decent" for about 30-45 minutes until I felt like he was right there. I never really had the urge to push, but I did feel like he was "slipping" out.

I got checked again & everyone was surprised that he was right there. I pushed for 30-45 minutes. The pushing went well even though I couldn't really feel the muscles that I was supposed to use. The next thing I know, they have all of the room set up & out he comes, just like that. They put him on my stomach & clean him up. Bill is in tears, I'm just shocked & extatic. It was the most surreal experience of my life. All of a sudden, here is this little person who seemed to be my "imaginary friend" for so long, looking at me. They stitch me up (I had a 2nd degree tear) & they check Logan out. He was perfect. 8 & 9 apgar scores, he wasn't blue (which is unusual for high altitude births) & he made the most expressive faces. He latched on to feed 15 minutes after he was born & has never stopped eating since.

We were moved to the Mother & Baby unit to recover. I felt great. Tired, thirsty & starving, but great. The first night went well. I didn't sleep much because Logan was cluster feeding every hour. I didn't seem to bother me or tire me out though. The next morning all of the Doctors, nurses & staff come in & out to do their stuff. We talked to the lactation specialist about Logan constantly eating. She said that he was the feeding champion of the hospital that day & if all babies ate like him, she would be out of a job. So that was good! Bill & I were talking about leaving that afternoon, but many people suggested that we stay. The nurse from our insurance company actually cancelled the circumcision for the day & said that it would be best to stay another night even if I felt fine. I am so glad that we took their advice. Logan was up crying all night (very gassy on both ends) & we were at our wits end. I hit my breaking point. After practically no sleep since Sunday, hormones changing, body healing & baby crying (which really does affect moms emotionally) & cried along with him. If we were at home, I probably would have freaked out. Because we were at the hospital with a team of nurses that I could call at the drop of a hat, it was much more comforting.

We stayed all of the next day for a total of 48 hours. It was the best decision that we could have made. I felt much more confident about taking care of him & how I was healing up. Every hour just gets better & better. Now that we are home, it really is starting to feel like we are a family. The dogs have been good. Beck is oblivious to anything & Buddha had an automatic babysitter instinct kick in. He barks when Logan cries, but it's more of a "concerned" bark than anything. Kitty didn't know what to think at first, but she has now become a great help in keeping Logan awake when he eats (he's terrible about instantly falling asleep latched on). She will sniff him & lick his hair, but mostly just kicks back & watches. She was pretty upset that she won't be sleeping with us anymore though. She tried to break into the room all night long.

So today was our first "real" day at home & I think everything will be all right. We are getting the hang of day & night time routines & getting settled in. What an adventure! But I would do it all over again (so far).