He's HERE!

I'm so excited to announce that I am no longer pregnant!!!! After 19 hours (yes, everyone, 19 HOURS) of labor, Braden Kent joined our family and not a moment too soon. He weighed (drum-roll please) 9 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long! My doctor, who did not deliver me, laughed when I told him how big Braden was because he was so astonished. No wonder my body was done being pregnant, that I couldn't sleep, eat or bend over to pick up stuff off the floor and that my feet were so swollen I couldn't get my tennis shoes on. Did I mention that I'm SO GLAD to not be pregnant anymore? To make a long story short, labor started on Friday morning at about 11 am. I had contractions all day about every 15 minutes. Then Friday night they started coming closer together and with more force so we went to the hospital. They admitted me because I was at a 4 and had to have antibiotics for GBS so I stayed and labored until 3 am. Then the doctor broke my water because baby's head would not engage to dilate past a 7. Then at 4am-ish contractions came hard and fast and by 6 am I was pushing (and wanting to die). Somehow, I was able to deliver without any pain meds, so yes by the end I was ready to jump out the window. However, I couldn't move because of my IV. Braden arrived at 6:27 am on April 23rd and is the sweetest, most content baby I've had. He's adorable with lots of black hair--looks like a mix of all three kids. I feel incredibly blessed that Braden has joined our family and that he slept through most of the night last night.:) I don't have pictures uploaded yet, but will soon.

Think positive, relaxing thoughts...

This morning I went to the doctor for my weekly visit and I was so hoping for some good news. I didn't get any. I am 10 days away from my delivery date and I'm not dialated AT ALL! With my other babies I was open at least to a 2 for about 3 weeks, but not with this little guy. Everything is shut up tight and he's nice and high. So by all appearances I will be pregnant forever. {huge sigh} I feel like my body has reached it's threshold of what it can handle and I'm on the edge of insanity myself. My feet, legs and hands are swollen (but blood pressure is good), my hips ache almost constantly, and I waddle. Also, my kids tell me that I'm being grumpy pretty much everyday. Yes, everyone I am READY to have this baby but I guess he's not ready for us--quite yet. Hope you're all doing better than me!:)