The Arrival of Joel Brian

He's here, he's finally here!  After 3 1/2 weeks of contractions my doctor and I decided on inducing me 2 days before my due date.  My doctor has been super supportive and encouraging these last couple of weeks.  I was worried that he would make me wait till I was overdue but he didn't.  He said Joel was full term and I had progressed far enough so that he had no reason to believe that the induction would not be successful.  I think he could see how physically and emotionally tired I was (I had only had 1 good hour of sleep the night before thanks to contractions).  I may have agreed to the induction without a second thought, but that evening I did second guess my decision to have an elective induction.  I questioned whether I was being selfish and if everything would go okay.  Joel was perfectly content to stay in there and would come eventually.  In the end I decided that the fact I was so tired was a legitimate reason because I could see that my fuse was getting shorter and shorter with my family and people around me.  I was feeling anxious, depressed, and unable to cope with life.

We went in at 6:15am the morning after my appointment.  Thankfully contractions stopped again the night before so I was well rested.  A little after 7am I was all hooked up and pitocin was started.  My contractions had started up again that morning, so I already had a good albeit weak contraction pattern and I was 4 centimeters dialated.  I only needed a little bit of pitocin before labor took off and an hour and half into it I was ready for my epidural.  I did not have to wait long for it and lets just say I got a really good epidural.  My legs were numb before the anesthesiologists left the room, but I was still able to feel the pressure of every contraction.  My legs did not wake up enough to walk until after 9pm that night.

Around 2pm I was 10 centimeters and Joel was right there ready to make his grand entrance.  I pushed for about 10 minutes.  Silly Joel decided to try to come out sunny side up (face up) with the cord around his neck and needed a little vacuum assistance since his oxygen levels dropped into the 90s.  His poor head had a large bump for the rest of the day and he would cry if we touched it.  He was 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long at birth.  We were shocked by his size especially since Rachel was only 6lbs 6oz and 18 1/2 inches long. 

Rachel is in love with Joel and has been a excellent helper so far.  She is so gentle with him and loves to hold him.  We are feeling very blessed and tired.