December 2010- Long Time No Blog!!!

Wow! Well, when I started this blog, I thought for sure that I'd be on ALL the time...posting exciting moments, sharing tons of pictures. Then our little guy started becoming LOT more than just an eating, peeing, pooping, cooing, crying machine!!! It is just crazy how much has changed since the last time I was on here! If I were really to narrate the past 4 months, there is just no way that A) I'd ever be able to get through it during this nap time and B) any of you would ever sit long enough to read!!! LOL

Soooooo....like my last couple of posts, I will give you a brief summary of some of what our wonderful baby boy has been up to lately!

Milestones:

10/6/2010- Caleb crawled for the first time!

11/7/2010- Caleb started clapping his hands!

12/3/2010- First time Caleb cried when we left him with a sitter!

12/4/2010- Caleb's first snow!!

12/6/2010- Caleb first stood up (without pulling up!)

Toothy Grin: 5 total!!!! Talk about a LOT of drool!!!! :))

9/19/2010- Lower Left Central Incisor

9/28/2010- Lower Right Central Incisor

11/8/2010- Upper Left Lateral Incisor

12/4/2010- Upper Right Central Incisor

12/8/2010- Upper Left Central Incisor

Growth: 50th% for weight, 75th% for height!

9/17/2010- 18lbs 7 oz, 27.5 inches tall

10/22/2010- 19lbs 2 oz, 28 inches tall

First yucky sicknesses :(

11/4/2010- Double Ear Infection

11/24/2010- Roseola

Other fun details:

-Caleb has started picking up puffs on his own and feeding himself!

-He is now EXTREMELY ticklish and giggles like crazy when you tickle him!

-Caleb has developed a HUGE vocabulary of baby words...it's so funny and adorable when he talks to us because it's like he's having a whole conversation in another language! He also says Mama and Dada regularly (although it's mostly Dada currently!) We're still not sure if he is actually calling us or just make the sound...still though, we LOVE hearing it!! :))

First Snow!!

First Thanksgiving (So sick but still smiling!)

First Halloween!

7 Days of Firsts

Ok, I know they're not officially milestones but still, they're definite steps of our little boy growing up and so I don't want to leave anyone out of the loop! So let's see...where do we begin?

My all-time favorite is that for the past week, Caleb has started giggling regularly. I can't put my finger on the exact day that it started but I do know it was when I dipped him over and started kissing his belly. All of a sudden out of nowhere, he was hysterical! Now, he seems to do it all the time! I LOVE seeing his eyes light up when he finds something funny and then just burst into these adorable little laughs. It's truly the most amazing sound in the world!

A briefing of the other big ones:

Friday, 7/30- Caleb's first trip to the beach-- not nearly as much fun as the pictures make it look! It was just way too hot and the little tent that we got him may have created shade but it was 10 degrees warmer inside of it! Needless to say, I think we'll wait till he's a little older for our next tropical excursion!

Saturday, 7/31- Caleb's first cereal-- yup, I caved. I truly thought that I was going to wait until 6 months to start any solid food but then two things happened: first, at our 4 month checkup, the dr. told me that because he had dropped from the 95th percentile in weight to the 70th, it really may be a good idea to start him on food. Then, he completely and utterly stopped sleeping though the night. As in, started waking up 3 times... That did it for me. The boy was clearly hungry.

Sunday, 8/1- Caleb's first night in his big boy crib & his own bedroom-- So yeah, we started cereal on Saturday to help him sleep better. That night, there was no improvement at all. In fact, he actually woke up and tried to play with me at 3 am! Haha, eviction notice was posted the next morning! :) And don't you know, our smart little booger has totally slept through the night since! :)

Tuesday, 8/3- First ride in big boy umbrella stroller-- So for a while now, Caleb has hated being in his stroller because he can't see anything. He strains to sit all the way forward to peek over the edge but then gets frustrated, leans back and fusses until we take him out. Yesterday, I was out with one of my girlfriends and she had her son in an umbrella stroller. I asked her if Caleb could try it out and voila! He loved it!! $30 later, stroller problem solved!

As you can see, our little man is growing up way too fast! I can't wait for all of you to see him!

Caleb is 4 Months Old!

Hi everyone! Wow, I've really fallen off the wagon with my blogging! It was actually almost a week ago that our little man turned 4 months! It's amazing the changes that we see every day. Here is a list of fun facts about our little man these days:

At his 4 month checkup yesterday, Caleb weighed 15 lbs 14 oz (70th percentile), is 26 in tall (80th percentile), and has a head circumference of 17 in (90th percentile). The doctor said his is doing great!

He can roll over both ways but prefers to go back to tummy- which is supposed to be the tougher of the two. He's funny though, even though he can roll from his tummy to his back, he won't-- when he gets tired, he just fusses until we roll him back over. (Of course then he rolls back to his belly in about 5 seconds...it's like, make up your mind child!)

He "talks" all the time and seems to try out new sounds every day.
He hates being held and cuddled unless he's really tired. His favorite position is standing in our laps.

He has learned to reach out and grab toys. It's adorable but now we have to be really careful about what we put near him since he grabs everything!

He loves to examine people's faces with his hands. We've started a little game by saying the part of the face that he's touching using a silly voice-- he loves it and smiles every time!

This past weekend, he started blowing rasberries-- as if our boy could possibly need more drool-- he's teething like crazy! (but no sign of teeth yet)

His favorite toy by far and away is his jumperoo- he'll sit in there and jump and play with his toys for an hour!

He now takes all of his naps in his big boy crib, unswaddled, but for now, he still sleeps in Mommy & Daddy's room in his pack & play at night. His sleeping has gotten much better since after a few days of me letting him cry a bit, he has finally learned to self-soothe. Unfortunately, this has also led to him learning to suck him thumb.

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting and probably by the time you read this, there will be new things to add to the list. This is such a fun age since every moment brings new discovery! I will try hard to get back on the ball and update everyone soon! Until then, here are some videos for you to enjoy! :)

Caleb Jumping 1
Caleb Jumping 2

The Young and the Restless...

Well, yesterday I was beyond psyched at Caleb learning to roll over from his back to his front. Today, I am eating my words!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of my little guy, but oh my goodness-- can you say sleepless night?!?!? So, once babies start to roll over onto their tummies, you need to stop swaddling them for safety reasons. We knew that this day was coming but we were hoping to put it off for as long as possible because he was sleeping so well! Unfortunately, our fears that this would change once the swaddle came off were confirmed last night! Caleb rolled and rolled and rolled some more-- all night long! Honestly, I don't think there's one inch of that bassinet that he did not have covered! Then, at 1 AM, he finally woke himself up with all of his tossing and turning and after trying to get him back down for an hour, I finally gave in and nursed him back to sleep. So counterproductive, I know!! :( THEN, if this wasn't bad enough, he woke up again at 6 to nurse, wouldn't go back to sleep afterward, so what did I do? Yup! That's right! I took him to bed with me! I know!!!! Worst move in the books so far!!!! Ugggggghhhh! Dear Lord, please let tonight go smoother!

New Discoveries!

Caleb never ceases to amaze us! Yesterday, we put him in a walker for the first time! I know, I know.... he's way young to be walking but he absolutely despises laying down so we have to find things that allow him to be sitting up or standing while he's playing. We also still do quite a bit of tummy time but this is just one more thing that he is showing readiness for so rather than fight it, we just go with the flow! He has no idea how to make himself go forward yet so he just scoots around backward until he gets where he wants to be! It's hilarious! As neat as it is to see him on the go, the coolest thing is that on the walker, there is this track with wooden beads and Caleb has learned to move them with his fingers along the track. I know this seems so silly but it is so awesome for me to sit there and watch my little boy make his first discoveries! Speaking of new discoveries, Chad and I are really in trouble now because Caleb has also learned to roll over from his back to his tummy today! This is very advanced for his age!!! Here's a few new videos of Caleb's latest adventures! Enjoy!

Front to Back!
Takin a Little Stroll 1
Takin a Little Stroll 2

Action Shot!

Milestone!

Caleb rolled over today! It's so funny how it happened too because I've been so stressed out about this! I couldn't understand how our little guy could be sitting up, standing up, and even jumping up and down in that darn jumperoo but he still couldn't roll over. Everyday with tummy time, I have tried to "show" him how by rolling him over myself but all he's ever done is scream about it. Today though, in the midst of totally happy playtime, I guess he just decided "Ya know what? I think I'll roll over today"...And just like that, over he went. Afterwards I was going nuts, of course, and he was just looking at me with this goofy smile that seemed to say: "Seriously Ma?? THAT'S what all the fuss was about!? Why didn't you just say so?!"

Caleb is 3 Months Old!

I honestly can't believe how quickly the time is flying! Today, our little monkey is 3 months old...it seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital welcoming Caleb into the world! So much has changed in our life since then! Over the past few weeks, Caleb has been a very busy little guy. We had a wonderful trip to visit all of our CT family and Caleb had his first airplane ride. He did great! I don't know if it was the sound of the engines or what but he pretty much slept the whole time. Everyone kept commenting on how awesome my little boy was. (Inside, I was like, I know! He's perfect! :) We spent a week in CT and Caleb got to meet his Senez & Rapa relatives and his Great Memere and Great Pepere for the first time. Everyone fell in love with him at first sight, of course! I mean, come on-- who could resist this serious amount of cuteness?!?!
After a week of visiting and fun, Caleb and I returned back to NC to Daddy and a brand new toy- The Rainforest Jumperoo!!! OMG, Caleb is in his glory! One would think that 3 months would be a little young for a baby to jump around in one of those things but not our strong little Caleb! He freaking LOVES it! We put him in and he bounces up and down for as long as we leave him in it! Of course, it IS really hard work so afterwards, his little legs are pretty tired and he usually goes right down for a nap!
Caleb has also reeeeally found his voice now! In fact, I don't think he's ever actually quiet anymore...It is so unbelievably cute! He "talks" to us, his toys & himself ALL the time! Yesterday, I even got him to say "Mama" a few times! I know, I know! He has no clue what he's saying but I don't care! I still love hearing it!!! :) Hmmmm what else?? Oh yeah, so he is also doing this wierd thing that looks a lot like crunches: Whenever he is in a semi-inclined position (carseat, swing, bouncy chair, newborn rocker, our knees), he pulls his shoulders up like he's trying to sit up. It is so funny to watch but also a little nerve racking! I mean, first of all-- his swing and newborn rocker dont have shoulder straps...so this is kind of scary! But second of all--- Uh...our 3 month old is trying to sit up??!?!?! Nooooooo!!!! He can't be growing up this quickly!!!
Speaking of growing up, in the past week, Caleb has also learned how to hold his own bottle and constantly rubs his gums with his fist! Yup- it's official, our little man has begun the glorious journey of teething! Luckily, so far he doesn't seem to be in any real pain so let's hope that holds off for a while!!! Wow! Ok, I just read back what I've written in this post and as I said when I began it: I can't BELIEVE how quickly the time is flying by! Tons of pics and movies to follow soon! :)

Day Trip to New Bern

On Saturday we decided to take our first family day trip to New Bern to visit some of the historical sites there. Not quite the same as our annual trip to the beach but since we're not supposed to put sunscreen on Caleb until he's at least 6 months old, we felt like it'd be sorta difficult to keep him completely protected out in the open sun. Even walking around town was a little difficult for the same reason but we made do. Right now, I'm currently searching for some sort of wet/dry suit that we can get for little man so that he can at least enjoy some outside time this summer.

Despite the lack of sand and water, our trip was really fun. I think everything is more fun though now that Caleb is in our lives! The drive was just about two hours and Caleb slept the whole way there. Then, after a short feeding, we set off to sightsee. At first, our little buddy was NOT happy! We tried to take a tour of Tryon Palace (the old governor's mansion) but shortly after getting inside, Caleb started wailing! It was actually pretty funny because since the house was so old (marble floors, high ceilings), his yells echoed through the whole place and our tour guide (who couldn't have been older than 20) couldn't keep his script straight. After just a few minutes, he got so frustrated that he asked us if we were planning on staying...LOL! Luckily, a really nice OLDER man intervened at that point and offered to take us on a private tour ahead of the rest of the group-- very kind of him! Within minutes, Caleb fell sound asleep in our arms and the rest of the tour went beautifully!

The coolest thing about doing stuff with Caleb these days is how much discovery comes with every experience. It is so amazing to watch the look of wonder in his eyes as he takes in his surroundings and learns new things. We walk around with him and his little head turns to acknowledge flowers, trees, sounds, people, etc. Since he has such great neck control, we started putting him face-out in his Bjorn carrier. Chad loves to carry him around this way and introduce him to the world.

After a few hours of walking around, Caleb was sound asleep and Chad and I had our first yummy date-like dinner since our baby boy was born- Seafood!! It was fantastic and in a different, special way- very romantic! Our Memorial Day trip a great success, a very happy and tired Mommy, Daddy, and baby got home safe and sound to enjoy the rest of the long weekend chilaxin at the house together. :)

Growing up way too fast!

I can't believe that two days ago our little boy turned 10 weeks old...it is so amazing how quickly the time flies. Yesterday, I had to take our rented breast pump back to the hospital (we finally broke down and bought one) and as we were leaving, we passed by a woman sitting in a wheelchair with her newborn ready to head home. Looking at that little one made me a little nostalgic because as someone pointed out recently, Caleb has lost his "newborn look." He is growing up so fast! In the past week, he has learned lots of new things- he is finally starting to lift his head all the way up and enjoy tummytime (although, he still only last about 5 minutes or so...), he has discovered his hands and feet and grabs onto them every chance he gets, and he has learned to hold and play with some of his toys! Currently, Caleb's favorite toy is his set of keys. He loves holding and shaking them as well as putting them in his mouth. In fact, Caleb puts EVERYTHING in his mouth lately. We actually asked the doctor if he could possibly be teething this early...she said maybe, but that this will most likely go on for months before we actually see any signs of him cutting teeth. Whoo, good thing! I'm am not looking forward to the day he decides to teethe on me while nursing!!! LOL!

Healthwise, Caleb's doing great! We have actually scaled back his reflux medicine to only taking it at night. Mainly, this is because for about a week now, our little smarty-pants has started spitting his entire morning dose back out while grinning at me. I tried to be stern and tell him this was "not ok" but it was so darn cute that most days, I couldn't help but crack a smile back. Anyways, I've finally given up since he seems to be doing just fine on the one dose- Chad says this is our son's first act of defiance toward Mommy, LOL! Per the doctor's strong recommendation, Caleb is back on Vitamin D drops...So far, so good. Rather than torture him with the stuff that he hated, I ordered some special drops online- Just one single tasteless drop= 100% daily dose. GREAT purchase!!

Well, I think that's about it for now! It's morning naptime and I'm finally beginning to master the art of getting things done around the house while little man sleeps. More updates soon!

Tummytime isn't so bad afterall!

Grabbing my footsies!

Caleb Talks To Himself!

How Big Is Caleb? Sooooo Big!!! :)

Today Caleb had his 2 month doctor's appointment. It went absolutely awesome! Our little man is now weighing 14 lbs 2 oz and is 24 1/4 inches long. That's the 90th percentile for both weight and height! The coolest news is that the doctor said that his motor skills are about that of a 4 month old! This is based on the fact that he can sit & stand in our laps with minimal back and zero neck support. I totally knew he was doing great on that but I never would've guessed he was 2 months ahead of the game!

Caleb also got all his shots today... :( Much to Mommy's surprise and happiness, he took it like a champ. He cried- but not much more than he does everytime we get him ready for bed at night. Then afterward, Daddy was changing his diaper and he started cooing at him like nothing was wrong. I was soooooo relieved! It breaks my heart to see my little boy upset! I'm hoping that he does not get a temp or anything but I guess we'll see...like the doctor said, now our little guys is protected from so many things so one icky day is totally worth it!

Caleb's Baptism

Yesterday, Chad and I watched as our little Caleb was baptised. It was beyond amazing. There are very few times when I am at a loss for words but this is truly one of them. All of his grandparents, aunts, and uncles were here for his special day and our little duder was a perfect angel...

The weekend began with a cookout at our house. Grandma and Grandpa got here first and were quickly followed by Memere, Saba, Auntie Katie, Uncle Mike, Nana, Poppa, Uncle Joe, & Aunt Jessica. Later on, Nick & Kirby, Deb, Ian, & Lukas, the Bartons, and Brandon & Katie all joined the fun. Caleb was so excited to see his family & friends! He spent the whole day cooing and smiling and making everyone fall in love with him just as much as his Daddy and I.

After an exciting day of visiting, Caleb was so sleepy tired that he slept all night long and woke up smiling and ready for his big day. With only one little throwup incident, the morning went pretty smoothly! :) Auntie Katie helped Mommy dress Caleb in his special outfit and Memere pinned a silver cross to his lapel. On the way to church, he fell sound alsleep...

Caleb's baptismal ceremony was flawless....well, almost anyway! LOL! How bout this--- Caleb was flawless! I, however, was a mess! As Pastor Bill led us through everything, both Chad and I got super emotional. We had looked forward to this day for so long and there was just no way we could contain our tears. I actually got so wrapped up in everything that at one point toward the end, I thought the ceremony was finished and so I started walking off the altar with Caleb...yeah, I was wrong! :) So we went back...LOL

Caleb was just amazing though!! I swear, it's like he really does know how much everyone's loving him! His eyes were wide as could be the whole time and when the water went over his head, he didn't flinch one bit! Then, Pastor Bill took him into his arms and introduced him to the congregation...again, wide eyes, zero tears. We were so proud of our little boy!!!!

Here is a video of Caleb's baptism. Enjoy!

My First Mothers Day!

It is so amazing how many blessings the past year has brought to our lives! Last Mothers Day was so sad for me...I can remember walking into church and Grace and Madi handing out roses to all of the mothers. They gave one to me and it was all I could do not to burst into tears right there. I tried to refuse, telling them that I was not a mommy yet but they insisted, telling me that I would be soon. Never in a million years did I guess how right they were! It's funny because I actually kept that rose...I let it dry in my car and then it was one of those wierd things that I refused to get rid of during my entire pregnancy.

For those of you who don't know...I had a few very bizarre superstitions that I kind of obsessed over for my 9+ months carrying Caleb. One of them was that I refused to change any of my jewelry that I was wearing the day I found out I was pregnant. I actually wore this cross bracelet that I had ordered from one of my neighbors fund raisers until it seriously was about to fall off. By the time Caleb was born, the silver coating on the cross was completely gone and the rope all frayed...When our little buddy decided to come late, I was so worried that it wouldn't make it till he was born. Then, I distinctly remember the moment I had to take it off at the hospital before my surgery. It was definitely an internal struggle for me because for some reason, I always equated taking it off or losing it as a sign that something might go wrong. Crazy, I know...We'll just chalk this one up to hormones!

Anyway!! LOL! Here we are, a year later and I am the happiest I have ever been in all of my life. Sure, some days are tough but one little smile from my munchkin and everything feels right in the world! Speaking of things being right in the world-- BIG NEWS!!! :) I am officially going to be a stay-at-home mommy next year! :) I am so happy with this decision because I cannot imagine missing all of the firsts that the next year will bring! Caleb and I will get to grow together and it is going to be AMAZING!

Caleb loves his fishies and butterflies!

7 Weeks Old- Getting So Big & Strong!!!

Caleb has done quite a bit of growing up in the past week!! Mommy and Daddy started a new bedtime routine of medicine, bath, feeding, bed...and it is working GREAT! Little munchkin slept through the night for 3 days in a row!!

Not only is Caleb sleeping better, but he is getting super strong!! Since he was born, he's hated his tummy time so I always feel bad for making him...expecially since up until today, he would just lay his head down and rub his face on his blanket or boppy and cry. Today though, Caleb must have sensed that he was a week older because as soon as I put him down, he popped his head up to say hi!

Saying "hi" is actually Caleb's favorite thing to do right now. He has learned to make the sound "Oh" and he gets such a kick out of mimicking Mommy and Daddy doing it! He watches our mouths, makes his mouth into an "O" shape, makes the noise, then quickly looks up into our eyes and smiles from ear to ear. It is seriously the cutest thing ever! :) Then we keep going back and forth like a game. I think it may be a little early for talking yet, but still, it's pretty clear our boy is a genius! :)

Rough night but all smiles today!

Wow! It's just amazing how the time flies...I can't believe that our little bugaboo is already 6 weeks old! Last night was a tough one for the little man...His reflux came through full force and he had a bit of difficulty with his breathing because of it. Of course, Mommy was a LOT more worried than Caleb and so we went for a visit to the pediatrician today. Turns out everything is fine...the acid in his tummy was just a little hard on his throat which caused him to make loud gasping noises when he was trying to fall asleep (really scary!). Anyways, the doctor put him on some new medicine- prilosec- which should do the trick!

Despite our long night, Caleb was ALL smiles this today! Here he is in his swing smiling at me before his afternoon nap!

1 Month of Growing!

Even though he was already such a big boy when he was born, our little man has grown leaps and bounds since then. When we first came home from the hospital, the doctors were concerned because Caleb had lost almost a pound. Apparently, because of the c-section, my milk took a little longer to come in and my colostrum just wasn't quite enough to keep him growing. In just a few days though, things made a complete turn around. By the time we saw the pediatrician a week later, Caleb had already surpassed his birth weight...and let me tell you, he hasn't stopped growing since! At his 5 week checkup, he weighed 12 lbs 5 oz and was in the 93rd percentile for height! As everyone likes to point out-- my boy has never missed a meal! :)

For a little while, Caleb was struggling with reflux. It was really rough because we felt so bad for the little guy...he just seemed so uncomfortable every time he ate-- crying and arching his back...I honestly started to feel like I was wearing more of his milk than he was actually drinking since he spit up all the time! Finally though, the pediatrician prescribed zantac and as long as I can get his medicine in him at each dose, he does much much better.

Not only is Caleb getting bigger, he's acting soooooooo much older! Each day is filled with discovery and in the past week or so, he's started interacting with us every time he's awake. He smiles and coos at us and even some of his toys. His favorite right now is his mobile in his crib-he'll lay and coo at his animals there for longer than any other place. He loves listening to music and I'm pretty sure he even tries to sing along! (My Glee soundtrack is definitely his favorite!) :)

This past weekend, we took our first family trip to Asheville and Caleb got to meet tons of new people to love him. Chad and I were a little worried that it would be too much but our little buddy was an absolute champ! He charmed everyone he met with his big huge eyes and adorable little self!

Here is just a little sample of that awesome personality...Enjoy!

Better late than never...

Ok...so it's been 6 weeks since this amazing day but as the title states, "Better late than never!"

Caleb's Birth Story

On March 16th at 3:07 am, I woke up feeling really wierd. To be honest, I was half asleep as I made my way to the bathroom (by this point, I was very used to sleep walking to that location!) and all I thought was that I had to poo (sorry tmi, i know!) After hanging out in the bathroom for a bit, it occurred to me that going to the bathroom was not what I needed to do at all and that maybe something else might actually be going on....

At this point, I woke Chad up and told him that I thought I was having contractions because I felt a ton of pressure and couldn't sit down without being super uncomfortable. We started timing them and they were about 8 minutes apart. Apparently, I yelled at Chad for having bad breath...lol!

By 4 am, the contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart and I was starting to switch from being uncomfortable to being in pain. At this point, we called the doctor. I continued walking around the house and trying to get last minute things together (hairdryer, makeup, etc). When I'd have a contraction, I'd stop and at one point Baloo (our cat) came and checked on me.

We left for the hospital around 4:45 am and called our family on the way. Mom said, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww!" ....Dad said, "Hallelujah!" and Chad's Mom and Dad said, "Yeah!!!!!!"

On the drive to the hospital, the pain started to get really, really bad and the half hour drive seemed like it would never end! Once we got there, we checked in and then went upstairs to labor and delivery. It took about 5 minutes for the nurse to come and get us out of the the waiting room. I couldn't sit so we stood outside in the hallway. Chad helped me breathe through the contractions...now that his teeth were brushed, he was amazing! :)

Once we got into our room, the nurse got me into the bed and hooked up the monitor and blood pressure machine. She checked my cervix and I was 2-3 cm dilated. Soon, another nurse came in, took blood and hooked me up to an IV. At this point, my contractions started to get much worse. Chad continued to try to help me breathe through them but they were starting to get excrutiating. We did long, slow breaths together but by this point, I was more than ready to get an epidural. All we had to do was wait for blood work to get back but this seemed like it took forever. Also, we had to wait for our doctor to get there.

When Dr. Zimmerman got to the hospital, he called the lab to get the platelet results and finally administered the epidural at 7 am. He jokingly said that an epidural is like a used car. Sometimes, can be a great deal...sometimes, a little flakey. For a while, my epidural felt glorious...but it was definitely flakey...never really covering both sides at once.

At 8 am, Dr. Zimmerman came in and broke my water. The nurse told us that there was some meconium in it but that this was pretty common for post-term babies. She explained that when Caleb was born, they would have specialists in the room to be sure that his lungs were clear. At this point, I was about 5 cm dilated, 100% effaced and at -2 station.

At about 8:15 am, the people from the Carolina Cord Bank came in and we signed the papers to donate Caleb's cord blood. It felt really good to be able to do something that may help another family have a miracle.

At 10:30 am, the nurse came in to checkup and I was still 5 cm. She called Dr. Zimmerman and they started me on pitocin to make the contractions stronger and hopefully move things along.

At 10:50 am, I decided to watch Glee :) It was a good idea but while I was watching, my epidural started its long, awful decline and I couldn't concentrate on the show because of the pain. At 11:40 am, our nurse came in and increased the pain medication in the epidural. I was really afraid of the side effects that I had heard about the epidural and at first, I resisted adding any medicine. The nurse got really stern with me though and gave us a very in-depth explanation of what an epidural does. It really helped us to understand the risks (or lack there of) of the epidural. Once she increased the medicine, it made my legs almost completely numb but it did sort of help. Part of the problem was that Caleb kept jarring my ribs during every contraction and the epidural isn't designed to go up that far...

At 12:20 pm, Chad had gone out to grab a bite to eat (per doctor's orders...he didn't want to leave) and I got checked up again-- 7 cm dilated; 0 station. Yippee!!! Progress! I couldn't wait for Chad to get back so that I could tell him the news!! :)

At 2:35 pm, I was 9.5 cm and the nurse started to shift me around a little to get me ready to push. OMG! At this point, Chad and I were feverishly excited!!! We were going to be parents soooooooo soon!!!!!

Unfortunately, just when all of the excitement picked up, my body started to slow down. Between my 2:35 checkup and 5:20 when our favorite doctor went off his shift, absolutely nothing changed. As it turned out, Caleb's head was transverse and a small part of my cervix would just not finish dilating. By 4 PM, I was feeling really tired but still optimistic that things would change for the better soon. Intermittantly, Dr. Zimmerman had me push as he tried to manually pull the cervix over Caleb's head but it just wasn't happening.

As a final attempt (though I didn't know it yet) to get Caleb to turn, Dr. Zimmerman increased my pitocin and had me turn on my side.

By 5:20 pm, when Dr. Beatty took over, I was still 9.5 cm, Caleb hadn't turned, and my epidural had worn off. When she walked in, one of the first things that she said to me was that it was looking like I might have to have a c-section. Needless to say, I got really upset...I was so tired and scared. For the next two hours, we tried everything to avoid this but at 6:50 pm, we were told that if Caleb didn't come in the next hour, the c-section would have to be done for the safety of both Caleb and I.

After a few more attempts at position changes and what not, we started to be prepped for a c-section at 8:05 pm. By this point, Chad and I just breathed and held each other...It may not have been our plan on how, but Caleb was coming soon...our miracle would be here soon...

C-Sectioning Into the World... Chad's Account of the Birth of Our Son

Because so much of my next few hours were spent in surgery and recovery, Chad did an amazing job of writing Caleb's story...here it is below, unedited by me...

"Where do I begin... After a long day of contractions, pushing, turning, twisting, and everything else...Caleb decided he was not going to come out on his own.

Dr. Beatty let things go as long as she could, but stressed she was not going to let anything harm Nicole or Caleb.

It just got to the point with him being transverse and her in labor for so long, that it just wouldn't work.

At about 8:15 or so, they took Nicole back to the OR. I went into the changing room and took forever to get the stupid scrubs on. I got ready and waited. They came to get me around 8:30 or so.

I sat down next to Nicki at the head of the table. She was scared but doing great. She was afraid of passing out and getting nervous.

Before I knew it, the nurse told me it was time to see my little boy. I looked over the curtain and saw the most amazing thing ever.

My little boy. They brought him around the table for us both to see. He was already crying.

Me and Caleb went into the other room to get him cleaned up. I tried to video as much as I could so Mommy could see. He got an 8 & 9 on the APGAR score...

We hung out in that room for a bit, then went back to see Mommy. I know Mommy was still scared, but the happiness in her eyes made me feel like she was ok.

I wheeled Caleb back from the OR to the PACU, where we waited on Mommy to get back...Caleb got checked out, and was doing great. His blood sugar got checked since he was such a big boy. He needed a score bigger than 45, and he was 63, so bood sugar was good. He was a trooper through all of his shots...A tough little man.

After a little while, Mommy came in. She was still a little shaky from surgery, but being able to see Caleb started to put everything at ease.

Mommy was doing good in recovery. She didn't want Demerol for pain since her mom had a bad reaction to it. They got her some pain meds... Her blood pressure was still high and she was having trouble focusing.

Once Caleb was done with his bath, Mommy got to feed him. He started breastfeeding right away with no trouble... Mommy's blood pressure started to settle down, and we got moved upstairs to our room..."

The Greatest Sound Ever...

Caleb's birth may not have been how I planned it and while I may not have gotten to have that experience of my baby being placed on my chest the instant he was born or seeing Chad cut the cord, I do have one very vivid memory that will forever be the most beautiful in all of the world. There, on the operating table, barely holding onto consciousness... I heard my son's first cry- a loud, strong, wail...before he was even fully out of me!

At that moment, every fear, every sadness, was gone....our miracle had arrived...just as stubborn and determined as he must have been the moment he was created.

Weighing 9lbs 3oz and measuring 21.5 inches long, Caleb John Humphrey was born on March 16th at 8:40 Pm. For both his Mommy and Daddy, it was love at first sound! :)

A day in the life...

Hi everyone! It's absolutely amazing how much life changes when you become a mommy! I don't want any of the people who love Caleb to miss out on these beautiful moments and since we can't all be together, I've decided to create this blog to keep you all updated. Now, I can't promise that I will write in it everyday because let's face it... my boy is getting to be a busy little guy! But-- the plan is to try to capture those special moments- in words, photos, and videos so that you can see our precious miracle as he discovers and grows. Thank you all for your love and support of our family- We hope you enjoy sharing in this journey!