Dean's arrival: March 24, 2010

Hello strangers! Its been awhile since I've posted. We're just a little preoccupied these days! We are loving our little guy more than words can express. We are in awe of God's miracle and I'm loving my husband more and more for he gave me the most precious gift.

Things are going really well. We're so happy Dean is here and that he is healthy. I thought I would share our birth story. Mainly so I won't forget.

I went to my routine weekly doctor appointment on Tuesday, March 23. We had a sonogram that day since my blood pressure had been high. Doctor wanted to check to make sure baby was still ok. I had a non-stress test the week before and he was doing great. The sono showed that he was doing great too but one worrisome find was he was a little under weight. And my blood pressure was still high. I was 39 weeks at the time. Doctor said there was no reason to keep me pregnant and that we should go ahead and schedule an induction. We were a little surprised. I thought I had at least another week to go! We were scheduled to come back to the hospital at 8pm that night. I wasn't dilated at all so I was given the cervix ripening agent. After a sleepless night at the hospital (I was just so anxious about the arrival of Dean that I couldn't sleep and I was starting to feel contractions), I was given the pitocin at about 8am in the morning. We had a lovely nurse all day! She is actually a friend of ours that graciously came in to take care of us when I told her about the induction. She truly made the experience wonderful and made me feel so at ease. Lauren - I will never forget that you were a part of our special day!
My contractions started almost instantly coming almost on top of each other leaving no break between them to rest. So I was given the epidural at about 9:30am. The epidural surprising didn't hurt at all. Having my blood taken is way worse! Once I had the epidural I was feeling great! I started to progress very quickly. I got to a 5 around lunchtime and I was fully ready to start pushing at 2pm. Once I heard that it was time and that we would be meeting our precious son, my eyes filled up with tears. We were ready and so excited! I had really no idea how to push especially because I was completely numb but somehow I did it. I pushed for only 10 minutes and then finally Dean arrived! He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. It was the most amazing feeling ever to see him for the first time! It was love at first sight. Derek was a trooper the whole time. I thought he might faint during the delivery but he made every effort not to look at anything. We spent some time with Dean alone and then welcomed both our families in the room to meet him.

Our experience was perfect! I was so worried about how it would turn out and once again God proved that there was no reason to doubt him. But more importantly, God provided the most beautiful son for us. He is perfect, I could stare at him all day long. We are excited to raise him and watch him grow. We are excited to have now joined the wonderful club known as "parenthood."

Thank you Lord for giving us this tiny little babe to take care of. Thank you for trusting us to provide, care and raise this child. We commit to put you first in our lives and to teach Dean about your everlasting love for us.


Our family


Us with our doctor


Our nurse, love you Lauren!