Boy Oh Boy!!!

As most of you already know, we brought home our new little (I mean BIG!) bundle of joy this past week.

Benjamin Thomas Norris was born on
May 12, 2006 at 4:33 am.
He weighs 9 lbs. 11 oz. and is 22 1/4 inches long.

I was really surprised that he ended up weighing that much because at our last appointment 3 days before he was born the nurse said that the baby was going to be a "good size" . She said that he would probably be 8-9 lbs - needless to say, I was overwhelmed when I pushed out a nearly 10 lb baby!

Overall, the labor was not that bad (really!). On May 11 (the day after the baby was due) we attended Peter's graduation from Expeditionary Warfare School. During the 2 hour ceremony I kept feeling my stomach tighten and relax but I felt no pain with it. Everyone said that when contractions started and I was in labor I would definitely "know it" so I thought nothing of it. After graduation ended, we ran some errands that needed to get done before Baby Norris arrived. When we got home, I laid on the couch for about an hour and then went upstairs to change. As I was changing, my water broke! So we called the hospital and they said to come on in so they could run a test to see if was actually my water breaking or something else. Peter and I called our neighbor who came over helped us load our bags in the car and to watch the pets. Even though I had pre-packed, we still forgot several things in all the rush (like all the snacks for Peter!).
Anyway, during the 45 minute drive to the hospital, the contractions became much stronger and painful. So when the doctor confirmed that it was my water that broke, I was not surprised. I was then brought into the Labor & Delivery room where I was examined and told that even though my water had broken, I was still only 1 cm dilated. They decided to start pitocin so that my labor could move along faster. They were concerned about having the labor last too long because of a risk of infection with the already broken amniotic sack. However, when they had me on pitocin, the baby's heartrate was dropping, which would have been okay if it happened during the contractions, but it was dropping after the contractions. So the doctor decided to turn off the pitocin to maintain the baby's heartrate but this only stopped the progress the pitocin had been making. This cycle repeated several times with doctors coming in and out of the room. The pitocin made the contractions so strong that I was only able to last 3 hours before asking for an epidural. One doctor told me that a C-section might be required if I didn't progress naturally because they didn't want to risk an infection if the labor lasted too long. I was so bummed about this because I REALLY wanted to deliver naturally (this was before we knew the weight of our precious boy!).
At 1:00 am the doctors said they would take me off the pitocin and come back in about an hour to assess the situation. They also told me to try and get some sleep (RIGHT!) but to notify the nurse if I felt any pressure or the need to push. Everyone then left the room which left me and Peter to relax and sleep. I, of course, couldn't sleep because all I could think about was having to have a C-section so I watched the clock for the next hour. The doctors didn't come back after an hour so I kept waiting, hoping and praying that God would help my body to progress naturally through labor. At about 3:15 am I started to feel something in my abdomen. I wasn't sure if it was pressure or what but it was something that I hadn't felt before so I woke Peter up and he went to notify the nurse/doctor. The nurse came in first and examined me and said, "The head is down and you are ready to go!" I was so excited I could have cried! She also said that she had been praying for me and just knew that I wouldn't have to get a C-section. She then went to get the doctors and we all got ready to have Baby Norris!
The epidural was turned way down so that I could feel when I needed to push and boy did I feel EVERYTHING! I started pushing at 3:45 and at 4:33 we met our baby Benjamin!
I have been meaning to share pictures so here are some of our favorites from his first week of life:

This is when we first got our hands on our new baby boy...

A good close-up shot....

A very relieved mom right after Ben was born.....

Daddy giving Ben his first bath...

What a sweet face....

Is that a smile I see?.......
Ben's first stroller ride...
Ben's first (and our first) meal out.....

Ben's first bath at home...

Ben on a beautiful blanket that a very talented friend (wink, wink) made...

Our first night home from the hospital...

Showing our college pride.... WHOOOOOOP!!

These are all for now - more to come when I can catch some sleep :)