Welcoming Joey

We are so thankful that Joey is here! He already has us all wrapped around his tiny little finger. Here's the story of his welcome into the world: (Sorry there may be a little "TMI" in a couple of places...everyone is asking, though...)

I was scheduled to have labor induced on Monday, 3/10. Conner and Micah both came early on their own, and I was starting to get nervous and a little anxious about going in to be induced.

By Friday, I was more pregnant than I had ever been, even though we already had two kids. I had been having contractions for months, and walking around at various states of dilation for a month. Joey had dropped, and his head was rubbing my pelvic bone every time he turned it (yeah - OW!), contractions were getting more and more painful (but not organized enough to even try timing) with each passing day, my ankles and feet were swelling, Conner was telling me that I was walking like a penguin, and tummy was so squished that food didn't really even sound good anymore. I spent Friday afternoon doing my best to not sit down (the contractions usually slow down and/or stop when I sit or lie down). I picked up balls, Micah dumped them out, I picked up balls, Micah dumped them out, I picked up balls, Micah dumped them out. I cleaned and swept under the couches, I came up with an excuse to get out in the cold and run some errands. By the end of the day, I was worn out, and disappointed that I hadn't been able to get a regular pattern of contractions started. So many people swear that getting up and doing a lot of walking got them going -- shouldn't speed walking around the couches in your living room count?!

That night after I got the boys in bed, I took warm shower and had a serious talk with God. I've been praying from the beginning of this pregnancy that Joey would make it to his due date -- for his health, in hopes of a better chance at successful nursing, trying to make it as close to my mother's spring break as possible, etc... I realized that now that we were close, I was getting frustrated that God was giving me exactly what I had asked for! God and I worked it out, I apologized, asked for forgiveness, and made it clear that a day or two before Joey's due date was close enough -- I felt good about him coming at any point now and would actually rather God decide when that point was, than go in to be induced. I had a good little cry, and went to bed trying to figure out what else I needed to get done before we had a baby.

Then, by 6am Saturday morning, I decided it was time to wake Bret up. My water had broken a little before 4, and I had been timing contractions since then - they were about 5-7 minutes apart. God is pretty cool, isn't He? We put the last few things in our bags, Bret ran out right quick fill up the van and get breakfast for the boys, while I woke them up. We told them what was going on, dropped them and the donuts off at the Brown's house, and made our way to the hospital.

One last picture of just the four of us:

Conner cuddles Mommy's tummy one more time:

We got to the hospital and confirmed that I was, in fact in labor. Contractions were getting stronger and closer, but because the other stuff was lagging behind them, they decided we should start some pitosin. It took a little while to get us from observation into a room in labor and delivery, and then a little while longer to get the potosin and epidural started. But, within about 2 hours of starting the pitosin, I had gone from about a 2 to "nothing but a rim." Yeah...quicker than they were expecting. It was time to start pushing, and the doctor wasn't there yet and the epidural still was not working. Ugghh! They got the anesthesiologist back up quickly, and he gave me an "elephant dose" that finally had me comfortable within about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, we were waiting for the doctor. About an hour after they called, she came in, got things ready, told me to push...and 2 1/2 pushes later Josiah was in my arms. Pheww!

He is perfect - born at 12:13 pm on Saturday March 8, 2008, weighing 7 lbs, 10 oz, 20 inches long. Oh, and I must add that, though we are in Louisiana, he was born on Texas soil. Bret made sure to have a bag of Singleton's sandy-loam soil under the bed! Here's Joey's first picture:

Later that afternoon, Carrie and Earle ventured out (with their two boys and ours - a 4, 3, 2, and almost-1-year-old!) and brought Conner and Micah to the hospital. Bret brought them up to meet Joey before the Browns joined us:Conner kept saying, "Awww. He's so cute. Thanks, Mom, for having a baby!"Micah said, "Oooo! Joey-shiah!" Then he he looked at him for a minute, held him for another minute, and said, "Joey-shiah night-night," and pointed to the bed, obviously done with him.

Later on in the evening, Bret's parents got here, came and saw the baby, and then picked up Conner and Micah.

The next day, Conner and Micah came to see us twice, along with several other friends. Micah brought me flowers once, and my Conner Bug is so sweet - he brought me flowers every time he came to the hospital! Joey and I began to settle into somewhat of eating and sleeping routine.

Then Monday morning began with a flurry of activity as we prepared to go home that afternoon - doctors making rounds, nurses going over discharge papers, etc. We learned that Joey had a little bit of jaundice - right on the line, actually. If his levels had been any higher they would have kept in the hospital. But, thankfully, we were able to take him home along with a "bili blanket." A bili blanket is a little strip of lights that you wrap around the baby underneath their clothes. The light helps to lower the bilirubin levels that make them sick. Joey was supposed to wear his light as close to 24/7 as we could manage. While thankful that we were able to take him home, the bili blanket proved to be quite a pain. The blanket hooked up to a box which had to be plugged into the wall. Here's some pictures:Along with the bili blanket, I was supposed to try to feed him at least every three hours, and supplement with formula at every feeding. He was down 10 oz from birth weight, to 7 pounds even. At his doctor's checkup on Thursday afternoon, we learned that his bilirubin levels were down to an acceptable level, and he was back up to 7 lbs, 6.5 oz -- 6.5 oz in 3 days!!! The doctor was very pleased, and told us we could stop the bili blanket, strict feeding schedule, and formula supplements. Hooray!

So, it's back to life as usual around here, whatever that is! We are learning our new routine, and Conner and Micah are continuing to adjust to having a baby brother. Conner is doing great, Micah is starting to act like he thinks it is getting old. Our sweet, sweet friends have been bringing us food. Gammie is still here, and Tiffany, Bret's sister, joined us yesterday. They will be leaving on Saturday as my parents fly in. Grandparents are awesome! :) God continues to richly bless us with health, family, and friends. We'll try to keep the posts coming...