Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Welcome to the world, Dash!



Thursday, May 22nd was the day. Our doctor feared that the baby was growing too big for a regular birth (he proved to be right) and advised us to hurry him up a bit. My folks came into town, Derek couldn't sleep, and the clock seemed to almost audibly be ticking down.


We arrived at 7:00am to get everything going. With the induction, I decided that I would wait until dialated 4-5 cms before getting the epidural. All the grandparents-to-be came into the labor room and hung out for a while. It was a slow process, so it was no big deal. Around lunch time, though, I couldn't keep the perpetual smile with the increasing pain. They went out for wings, and Derek held my hand while they got me hooked up... After having stressed about using an epidural for months, I was relieved that I didn't feel anything during insertion!


Again, it was a party in our room, now that I was good and numb. Time passed, and I got stuck at 8cm. The day had not seemed to drag until the doctor was concerned I wasn't progressing. That was the longest 2 hours ever; I knew what he was getting at. Fortunately, the baby was never in distress, and I was assured his vitals were great. It wasn't reasonable to keep sitting there... so off to surgery we went. I had to have been the most scared patient ever. Derek was at my side, though.


With the doctor's skillful hand, he delivered the baby within minutes! The entire o.r. staff remarked at how big he was. Derek held him and brought him around to me. I said hello, and he immediately knew my voice. He seemed to come out smiling, with an attachment to sucking on his fingers.


Here's the name...Dasher Everett Thompson, "Dash." He was 8 lbs, 12 oz, 21 3/4 inches long. Although there were several reasonable guesses, no one guessed his name beforehand. I'll post later about why we picked it.


Dash is very strong and is good at raising his head! We couldn't believe how alert he was after all the pain killers of the day. He can roll over to his side, too. I can't even tell you how great his facial expressions are. We are just so blessed.

Counting Down




Boy, were we ready for Baby Thompson to get here! Thanks to Angela (Derek's mom) for taking some final preggy pics. I think she should take up photography permanently. If you know her, tell her so.