November 18th, 2011 - A beautiful life

I was so ready to be done being pregnant that I was ecstatic when my doctor called me and asked if I wanted to be induced.  Nate and I were told we could come in on the morning of the 18th to have our baby.  On the evening of the 17th we received a call that the hospital was full and we would probably not be able to be induced in the morning, but maybe the afternoon.  I remember sleeping terrible that evening, both from the tremendous amount of pressure the baby was putting on my body and because I was so anxious about whether or not I would be able to have my induction.  The morning of the 18th, we received a call saying we could come in.  Nate and I arrived at 8:30 and by 10:30 my induction was started and we were getting ready to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  The morning and early afternoon passed without much craziness.  I was progressing at a good rate and the epidural had fully set in, so we just hung out and relaxed.  At 1:45, I told Nate something funny was going on 'down there' and he set out to find the nurse. She told me it felt funny because I was going to have a baby and fast.  The doctor arrived, prepared herself and at 2:04 she told me I could start pushing.  I took a deep breath, afraid for a brief moment that I wouldn't remember how to do it, and started pushing.  There were audible gasps from the nurses and from Nate and my mom and I was encouraged to push like that again.  Then at 2:06, I began my second push and there were more gasps and out came my beautiful Declan.  I remember wondering what all the gasping was about and I honestly could NOT believe that it was over, that my baby was here. "Its a boy!" the doctor yelled and she handed him to me.  He was adorable! Such a sweet little honey.  I snuggled with him for 40 minutes before he was weighed and bathed.  We sat and stared at each other and created a bond that would last forever.  Both Nate and I were surprised to find that he weighed 9.25 oz!  He didn't look that big, but he was hefty!

There had been a student nurse in the room with us and she was witnessing her first birth.  I told the lead nurse afterwards I was sorry that the student's first experience was so short and the nurse said, "Don't be sorry, this was a beautiful birth and both of us were privileged to be part of it."  Of course in my hormonal state, I broke down into tears of happiness.

This would set the tone for the rest of Declan's short life.   He was so easy going.  He hardly cried and when he did he was quickly comforted.  He slept through the night starting at about 6 weeks old. He ate well and took to both breastfeeding and the bottle like a champ.  I said multiple times he was the easiest baby we had had.   Easy and beautiful from the first day of his life until his last!  He was amazing... how lucky I was to have him be a part of my life.