Delivery Day!! Tuesday, May 19, 2009

This will go down as the most exciting, longest, happiest days of our lives -- the day Collier Thomas Owen was born. A brief synopsis of the day: I had been having some trouble sleeping the previous few nights and this particular night I got up out of bed after my 4th trip to the bathroom and finally just decided to sleep on the couch. Around 3:30 a.m. I started feeling a little crampy but was still asleep and then felt a little pain in my side thinking it was just a gas pain ... so I tried to relieve the gas pain and I felt a little trickle -- I just thought, "oh great, now I'm resorting to peeing myself" .... ha .. no one tells you nor do any of these pregnancy books prepare you really for that part of pregnancy ;-) ... but the trickle led to a gush of water that just wouldn't stop ... so I rushed in to our room and flipped on the light and Glenn shot up and I said, "my water just broke" ... he went from a scowl to the biggest smile you've ever seen and he jumped in to action. He got up, got our bags, took the dog out, packed him a bag and I was still in our room trying to figure out how I was going to get dressed with my water STILL breaking ... very strange feeling I have to say. Finally I compromised and put some clothes on and we were out the door and at the hospital by 4:20 a.m. ... and that's where the loooooong day started. We called my Mom on the way to the hospital and she was able to change her already scheduled flight and she got on the early flight out of Corpus Christi and she was at the hospital by 1 pm -- I was so happy she could be there. Glenn's Mom got up and was at the hospital to be with us by 5:30 a.m. and she soldiered the long day with us too. We were so lucky to have both our Mom's there. I got my epidural at 6 a.m. and we sat and waited and labored until 7 pm that night when the doctors finally said it didn't look like he was going to drop far enough down and he had been trying to make it through the birth canal and in the process kept hitting his head on my pelvic bone causing an adema (sp??) -- a big fluid cone on his head -- they said we could wait a few more hours to see if I would dilate anymore (never dilated past 5 cm) but Glenn and I decided not to cause the baby any more distress ... so we decided at 7 pm to have c section and by 7:48 pm we were the proud parents of a happy, healthy baby boy -- our son Collier Thomas Owen. I can't even describe the emotions that just poured out of me when I heard that first little whimper and then the cry and then to see them whisk him over to the table to clean him up -- I just started balling ... and then they handed him to Glenn to hand to me. I never felt so happy in my life -- to be tehre with my two boys -- the start of our growing family. I just could not stop staring at him. After they let me hold him for about 5 minutes Glenn went with Collier to the nursery for the tests, weight and measured and his bath, etc while they finished with me and I went through recovery. So I didn't get to see him again until around 11:30 PM that night where I finally got to feed him around midnight ... what an amazing experience ... by that time I was soooo exhausted I could hardly keep my eyes open to feed him. I don't think I have ever been that tired. At that point we had been going for over 21 hours from the time my water broke to feeding him.

Here I am waiting for the front desk to register a couple before us .. you notice they gave me a "pad" to sit on ;-) ... can you tell how uncomfy I was and how bloated my face looked .. that should have been my first sign he was about to come.

The epidural is in and Mom and Dad Owen get settled in for a long day of laboring ... Glenn was amazing and such a rock for me this day .... he just took control and I didn't have to worry about a thing.

After we decided to do the c section -- here we are with my Mom before Glenn and I went down to the operating room

Glenn had to "gear up" to be in the room with me .... Glenn was able to watch the whole delivery .. and got some miraculous and amazing pictures of the birth (I spared you all those -- but we will always treasure them ... let me kow if you want to see them and I'll send them to you upon request)

I can't believe Glenn caught this moment -- this is right after they delivered him and they were wiping him off ... and I was just so emotional and crying I was so happy ... I have never had a moment like that where it just poured out of me when I heard that cry.

The nurses hand Collier to Glenn to hand to me ... Glenn really wanted to cut the cord but they wouldn't let him bc of it being a "surgical procedure" ... so they him do the honor of handing his son to his Mom

Me and my little boy

One of my favorite pics -- our first official family picture

Final Weeks of Pregnancy - 35 weeks and 37.5 weeks

I obviously got a little behind on the posts but things got a little wild toward the end of the pregnancy trying to get things in order at home and at work ... and good thing we were on a roll of getting everything as done as possible bc as you know by now he arrived two weeks early. And what a blessing he has been so far. I wanted to post our last two sets of belly pictures -- these last weeks I really just expanded and was down to about 3 pair of pants that were even fairly comfortable (at least to be sitting at my desk at work in) ... Here is me and Collier at 35 weeks (April 28) and 37.5 weeks pregnant (May 13) .. and then he made his appearance to the world on May 19 ....

Here I am at 35 weeks pregnant (April 28) .. can you tell how much my tummy has expanded? Just you wait and see what how he grows in the next week and half!

35 weeks pregnant -- ON April 28

And just in about 2 1/2 weeks he's stilllll growing -- this is May 13 -- just 6 short days before Mr. Collier arrives.... good thing bc I'm not sure my skin would have stretched anymore ;-)

May 13 -- 37.5 weeks pregnant .... I was down to about 3 outfits that I could wear comfortably ;-)