Layne Michael

Our little 22.5 inch, 9lb. 10oz miracle is here! Layne took his sweet time to arrive though. My labor was very different from both girls, who came on their due dates, so it was a little odd waiting for him for the 8 days past his due date. He is totally worth it and I'm glad he came when he was ready!

Thinking I would have him right around his due date which was the 15th, my mom came to stay with us on the 12th.  My dad came up on Friday, the 14th, so he would be available to stay with the girls when we went to the hospital. After days and days of waiting, he had to go home for a couple days and returned on Friday, the 21st.  It was nice to have them here while I was 40+ weeks pregnant.

My labor began on December 21st with intermittent contractions all day. At 10pm, I started having contractions 10 minutes apart lasting 30-40 seconds. The contractions subsided, and I dozed off from 11:30 til 1:30 when I woke up to hard contractions. At 2, I got up and ate a banana thinking I needed some energy to get through this labor. At 2:30, I put on makeup and fixed my hair, like any good Texas woman would! ;) At this point my contractions were 3-7 minutes apart. After getting all prettied up, I laid back in bed trying to rest in between contractions. The contractions persisted between 5 and 12 minutes until 4:30am. I dozed off again from 5-7 then woke up for the day with NOTHIN'! I wasn't having any contractions at all. I really thought this was it, but I went about my day like normal.

Charlie and I went for a 2 mile walk hoping to get things started again but nothing. After our walk, I took a nap because I was really tired from my 4 hours of sleep the night before. The Hortons had planned to come over for the day, but with what happened that night, we decided it was best for just Kristi and Bailey to come. We just hung out, and at 5, Kristi, my mom and I went to the movies to help get my mind off everything. I had a few contractions during the movie, but nothing to get excited about. We went home. Kristi and Bailey left around 8:30, and we went to bed about 10:30.

On December 23rd, I woke up at 12:20 with contractions 2-3 minutes apart. I laid in bed for about 30 or 40 minutes and timed the contractions. After that, I was pretty convinced it was the real deal so I woke Charlie up to let him know what was going on then got in the shower. All the while, contractions were getting stronger. After my shower, I threw on some clothes and a little makeup and woke up my mom. We decided we needed to head to the hospital right away because we did not want a baby at home or in the car! I didn't even let my mom put makeup on first. She had to wait til we were at the hospital. :)

We left for the hospital at 1:15am, getting to the examining room around 1:45. When the nurse checked me, I was 4cm and 75% effaced. When I arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was pretty high so I had to lay in bed for a while until it went down. I think it was high because everything happened so fast. After we settled in, it went down quickly. Virginia arrived at 2:30, after being pulled over by a cop for running a red light. She got off with a warning when she told him what was going on.

Once I was okayed to get out of bed, I went walking in the halls with Charlie and tried to stay up to let gravity do its thing! Contractions were getting pretty intense but still bearable at this point. At 3:40, I decided to go back to the room to lay in bed and "rest" in between contractions. The contractions were quickly getting more intense at this point. At 4:30, I was 5-6cm and 95% effaced. My nurse said things will probably move quicker now that my cervix was almost completely thinned, and she wasn't lying! From that point on, it was I.N.T.E.N.S.E. I started having 3 or 4 contractions back to back with about a 30 second break in between. I was in my own little world, squeezing the life out of Charlie's hand. At 5:45, I was checked again and was told I was ready to push. Because things escalated so quickly, she had not called the dr to come yet, thinking we still had a ways to go. They brought in the on-call dr just in case Dr. Rice didn't make it in time. Like I said, I was in my own little world so I didn't really know what was going on. I had no idea we were waiting on my Dr. Otherwise, Layne probably would have been born 10 minutes earlier...and, yes, that would have made a difference to me at that point! We were about to deliver without her when she came running in the door. The nurse literally was pulling the doctor's hair back while I was pushing. It took about 2 contractions and pushing in between, and he was here at 6:03am! I was never so relieved in my life...to be through the labor but mostly to have him in my arms. It truly is a miracle when that little baby is born and placed on your chest. He was a healthy, perfect, big boy!! We are so thankful!!

 

Lookin' good in my gown!

Last belly pic ever!
(We think, anyway!)

Charlie was my rock and by my side while I labored.

Virginia and my mom were also so helpful,
 massaging my back and feet and doing whatever else I asked.

Helping me through a contraction

Just seconds old!

Holding my baby boy for the first time!

My sweet man had a hard time seeing me in pain.

Charlie cut the cord.

Our big boy getting cleaned off

 

He's got his daddy's big feet!

Showing off his healthy lungs!

Charlie, Dr. Rice, Layne and Me

Daddy couldn't wait to get some kisses from his boy!

Layne did a great job of nursing right away.

Grandma with possibly her last grandchild being born

Bailey was one of the first to hold Layne.
The Hortons drove all the way from The Woodlands to meet Layne then drove all the way home!

It was great to see my big girls after their brother was here.
Callie was so excited and said, "He is so cute!"  Macie was more excited to see Mommy!

Sweet Big Sister

Family of Five

 

 

We spent one night at the hospital and left at 11 the next morning. We actually had a pretty good night of sleep. The nurses were wonderful so we felt comfortable sending Layne to the nursery in between eating. We got 2 3 hour naps and I didn't change 1 diaper until we got home! It was wonderful!

We are so blessed and beyond in love with our new little man! Thank you, Lord, for this blessing and wonderful experience!