Our Newest Arrival!!

Okay, so Austin is now almost 7 weeks old, but I am going to get this blog up to date if it kills me while I try.

Austin David Gunnell was born on Tuesday July 15, 2008. Here is our story. It was a long day, but well worth the wait. I was scheduled to be induced that morning at 7am. When we arrived at the hospital we were sent home, they had a mad rush of women who were in labor right before I arrived. We went to get some breakfast and before we were done eating the hospital called and said they had some more women show up whose water had broken so I needed to call back around noon. When I called at noon they told be to call back at 2pm. Finally at 2 o'clock I was told to come on in, they finally had a room for me. The best part about being pushed back was that I got a really good nap in and Michael kept the kids quiet for the day. We took them to Michael's parents house for the night and told them we would call them as soon as the baby was born, unless it was after they would be asleep.

We got checked into the hospital and settled into the room and the induction process was started. My goal from the beginning was to have a completely natural delivery. I wanted to go without an epidural, if possible. The contractions didn't seem to be much of a bother for quite a while. Michael and I were just hanging out, listening to music and I was reading a book. All was going very well and actually kind of slow. My doctor checked in at about 5:30, on his way to his son's birthday party and said all was well and he would be back between 8 and 9PM.



Just before 7PM, as the nurses were doing shift change, my nurse checked my status. I was very soft, but only dilated to a 4 (have to get to 10). That nurse went home and my contractions started to get very intense and very close together. By 7:30 I decided that I was giving in, I couldn't take the intensity any longer, get me the Epidural!! My contractions seemed to be right on top of one another, I felt like I could barely get a breath in between each of them. Michael was great, he was very attentive and just kept the ice chips coming and the cool cloth on my forehead. Anyway, by 8:10 the epidural was in, but not working at all and the nurse checked my status. Remember I was only at a 4 a little more than an hour before. I was now fully effaced and I was dilated to a 10!! I am one who has never had to push for a long time so I was worried that my doctor wasn't going to make it in time. I asked them to page him, immediately and he walked in the door right after that. I pushed a few times, feeling everything. Although I did have an epidural it didn't work at all. It finally took effect about the time they were wanting to take me to my new room, they helped me to a wheelchair and my left leg completely collapsed.

Back to giving birth, this was the first of my four kids that I was able to hold immediately upon delivery. It was an amazing experience. Austin is a beautiful baby boy who was so wide eyed and alert it was amazing to all who were in the room. He was born at 8:33PM and was ready to greet the world. His eyes were so dark it was hard to tell if they were blue or brown, but they are definitely blue and they always seem to be open. He was also a great eater right from the start. He weighed in at 6lbs 10oz and measured 21 inches long.






We called the kids and our parents to let them know the news. The kids were all getting ready for bed, but were very excited. Michael stayed with me and Austin until we were settled in to our new room. I sent him home for a good nights sleep and he would be back in the morning with the rest of the family.