Hunter's Birth Story...

Since my baby is practically a year old, I figured it was high time I share how this sweet little man came into our lives...  ------------------------------------------ Today (a year ago) B, my mother, and I were anticipating the arrival of Baby H. He was over his due date and we just wanted him to  make is debut. We just moved into a new apartment so we were busy getting all the furniture in order and decor put on the walls. We were hanging the last of the pictures when we received a call from the hospital telling us that we needed to be there within the next hour if I wanted to be induced.  At that moment so many emotions ran through me... nervousness, panic, joy, but most of all... excitement.  I showered, we packed up our things, made sure the car seat was installed, ate some food, and headed to Banner Estrella Hospital. It took about an hour to get all settled in.  We had to fill out paperwork, get put on machines, and answer lots and lots of questions.

Once we were comfortable they started labor. First pitocin: 7:30pm (Nov 13) --> nothing Round two pitocin--> nothing Gel--> nothing Lots and lots of walking--> nothing It wasn't until they broke my water the next morning (7:30am) that things started happening. By mid-afternoon the contractions were kicking my butt.   I really wanted to do the whole thing "natural" but it got to the point when I just couldn't stay awake anymore so an epidural was a must! B was doing an amazing job through all of this... he comforted me, encouraged me, kept me hydrated, and never left my side. Once the epidural kicked in I was finally able to get some sleep. Before I knew it my dad showed up from Vegas, I was fully dilated, and the nurses were coming in.  They placed Blaine on one side of me, my mom on the other, and told me to start pushing.  After about 45 min of pushing and being told how to breathe, we saw our little man.  In movies they always make it seem like babies come out screaming...  Well, in my experience, that is NOT what happens.  They had to clear his airway and unwrap the cord from his neck... It felt like forever (it was maybe 30 seconds) until we heard his sweet cries. He was finally here at 7:26pm. And we instantly fell in love... Our little man... 8lbs 11oz 21.5 inches long. They cleaned him up, checked his vitals, weighed him... He was perfect! Once they were finished with him I held him close.  I tried my best to memorize all of his little features...  His tiny hands and how he had such long fingernails, the way his ears looked like wavy ribbons, and how he sucked on his bottom lip. Blaine sat on the bed with me and we just admired this little person that made us a family of 3. Our lives were changed forever.. for the better. It took us about a day to finally give him a name... HUNTER BLAINE HOWELL and he was ours!!