And its a......

BOY!!! DJ and I are proud to announce that after 9 months of waiting, we finally got to meet our little Christian Dennis John (DJ) at 8:39 pm on December 19th. It was quite a journey getting him here.

For various reasons, DJ and I decided we wanted as natural of a birth as possible. Family history and finances being the major influences. Throughout this pregnancy, I have taken a prenatal yoga class and DJ and I took a Hynobirthing class to help us learn various ways to relax our way through a natural experience. The following story would not be possible without the knowledge we gained in those classes.

My official due date was December 2oth. DJ scheduled the whole week of Christmas off so that he could be home for the baby's first week. Of course we knew I could go late, but we kept telling the "Little Montster" that he/she could come on the 18th or any day after. So the 18th came and DJ and I decided we would help the little guy so we did everything everyone has ever told us to get labor going. We went to the mall to walk around and to watch Avatar in 3D (one of the best movies ever made BTW.) After Avatar we walked around for a few hours and I started to have regular Braxton Hicks. So we were timing them. DJ found a cool app for his I phone that will time them for you. You only have to push start and stop, very convenient. Around 8 I decided we needed to go home because my hand started shaking a little. So we went home to watch something funny. A lady from my ward said to watch a funny movie and that would help keep the contractions coming. So we watched a Brian Regan comedy central special. It was funny, but the contractions started spreading out. I called mom and let her know I thought it was false labor and to go to bed, which she did. Then DJ and I rented a movie off the PS3 the Ugly Truth. Very funny. Around midnight I was having a contraction during a funny scene and started laughing (you know that very enthusiastic laugh) and I felt a gush of water. At first I though I peed my pants, but when I sat down on the toilet I knew the water had broke. I yelled at DJ and we both just got really excited. He called his replacement for work the next day and I called home to let them know it was really happening, my mom had just fallen asleep. DJ called his mom to give her the heads up and to let her know we could call when we went in to the hospital.

We went in at 4:30am once the contractions were 1 minute long, 4 minutes apart. I was at a 5 when they checked me. We were thinking, sweet, half way there, it will only be a few more hours. We were wrong. Probably because I had no sleep, and therefore wanting to sleep, the dilation stalled. Luckily I have a very patient doctor, but it took 4 hours to get to a 6. I really wanted to avoid drugs, but I also didn't want to be in labor all day. We finally decided to go on a very low dose of pitocin to see if that would give the contractions more power. It did. DJ was the best birth partner. He breathed through every contraction with me. He walked me up and down the halls. He fed me ice chips between every contraction and made sure the room was controlled so I could be comfortable. He also knew the right thing to say at the right time and really made me feel like he was going through it with me. Around 4 I was feeling exhausted, helpless, uncomfortable, and I felt unable to relax between contractions like I needed to. My mom told me its ok to have a good cry so I did. I asked DJ to get the nurse because I needed something to take the edge off. She gave me a dose of phentanol. I honestly don't think it really did much but it made me feel like I had some help, which allowed me to relax some between contractions. It only lasts for an hour so I got one more dose. Sometime after 7 I went into transition. Transition was so exciting to me. I don't remember how intense the pain was, I just remember shaking uncontroably and thinking, "I'm in transition!" I knew that I was close to the end and everything I was feeling was good. Moments after transition I felt the need to push. I said, I feel something really low, I feel like I need to push. My sister ran to the nurses station and everything just flew by after that. I had a thick part of the cervix that still needed to thin before I could push, so the nurse said she could push it behind the babies head during a contraction. I almost jumped off the table and beat her up. That was the worst. I made her stop and said I'm just going to have to wait till it softens on its own. I think it took about 4 or 5 more contractions. Once she said I was complete, we went all out on pushing. We tried a few positions till we found one that worked. I had two people on each leg and DJ was learning how to deliver the baby from the doctor. After 3 contractions, I had pushed the baby's head about a 3rd of the way out. I remember Dr. Hardy looking at me and saying, Melissa, you're going to tear. You're going to tear up, so I have to cut you down." Don't worry, he numbed me up so when the next contraction started, he made a little cut which apparently turned into a large tear, but the baby's head just popped out. I had to stop pushing because he came out so fast. DJ "caught him" just like a pro. The little guy had the cord around his neck twice, but it never once affected him during the labor and delivery. I suddenly had a crying baby plopped on my chest and I heard, its a boy! I don't know who said it, we think it was my mom. He spent a little while with me while the nurses checked his vitals. DJ received a great lesson from the doctor about the umbilical cord, then DJ cut it. DJ and I just stared at him. One very cool thing was the placenta. When I saw it, I knew it was what had caused me to be so sick. So while I was grateful it took good care of the baby, I was glad to see it go. When he stopped crying we tried breastfeeding. He didn't latch on but we were able to get some colostrum into his mouth before the nurses took him to weigh him and clean him up a little better.

He weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He really is the cutest and sweetest baby boy. He loves to cuddle, sleep with dad, nurse, and stare at everyone around him.

Labor was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Experiencing it without an epidural was a life changing experience. Not having a C-section was my goal. Now that I know I can have a vaginal delivery I may get an epidural next time, we'll see how it goes. But nothing beats the endorphins that rushed over me the moment his head came out. I honestly cannot remember how intense the pain was, because the high was so amazing.

This post took two weeks to write, because a cute little guy kept interrupting me. So to finish, enjoy these pictures from Christmas and the past two weeks.