Ripples of Grace: Without further ado...

Anthony Louis
July 28, 2011
6lbs 8oz
20in

Birth story, condensed. :)

My water broke at 3:20pm on July 27t

After Zach got home and we dropped off DD at her grandparents house we got to the hospital around 5:15pm. It's funny, when it's your second child and you say that your water broke, they listen to you! Haha. They brought me straight to a delivery room and I didn't have to go through triage at all.

Labor for the first few hours at the hospital was not too painful and I was able to chat with DH and just relax a little bit. Around 6 or 7pm it got a bit harder. I asked for a labor ball and used that on my hands and knees with it supporting me. It helped A LOT. I switched back and forth between that and sitting on the bed and leaning my back against Zach's back through contractions. I was managing well pain wise, but around midnight I was so exhausted and so low on energy that with every contraction I was getting light headed to where it was hard to stay sitting up. Around 12:30 after talking with Zach I decided to get the epidural. I got it around 1:30 when I was at 7cm. About 30min after I got it I had jumped to 9cm and then at around 3am I was ready to push. They had me do some "practice" pushes, but I was too efficient, haha, so they had me wait until the doctor got there. When she got there we realized she had been in our labor and delivery class last year when she had her baby! Her husband had wanted to take the class since she knew all about it, obviously, and he didn't and wanted to be at least somewhat informed on his own scale. Anyway, introductions aside she prepared and I got to pushing. It took maybe 6 pushes after the doc arrived and little Anthony Louis was born. :) He went straight to my chest and Zach cut the cord. After a minute or two they checked his vitals under the heat lamp in our room and then gave him back to me. I went straight to trying to breastfeed him and he latched on right away. Boys in our family like their food and know how to get it! ;)

Now for some more fun photos. :)

Cara meeting her little brother for the first time.