i'm in love...

for those of you who did not hear, he made it!! baby owen is finally here, and I'M IN LOVE!!!

just look...


have you ever seen anything more precious in your life?? ok, so maybe i'm a little biased, but i just think this little angel is absolutely perfect and i am sooo happy that he is finally here!
his entrance was a little dramatic... but so worth it.
here is a quick synopsis:
monday morning i woke up and thought my water had broken. i know that sounds weird to anyone who has ever had their water break, but i really didn't know if this was it or not. i'll spare the details. we decided we'd better go down to the hospital just to check it out.
sure enough, when we got there the doctor told us it was a false alarm and that they were sending us home. then 2 minutes later they told me that plans had changed: they wanted to monitor me a bit more. apparently i was having contractions (i didn't even realize that i was) and every time i had a contraction the baby's heart rate would drop. they wanted to watch it a little closer to make sure all was ok. the doctor told us it would be about 20 minutes and then we would go home. and then, not 5 minutes more the doctor came in and told us that there was no reason for us to go home- after all, i was already overdue (and still not dilated AT ALL) and she just felt more comfortable keeping us there and inducing. sounded good to me! i was so excited to have it all underway.
inducing is not very fun however when your body is totally not ready.
so, the long day began around 10 am when we got there, and by the afternoon i was having heavy contractions one right after another (and my family was all there to see me in major pain). around that midnight, dave and shelly (clint's parents) had pulled in from a long drive all the way from wyoming - they weren't sure they would make it in time, but turns out they had PLENTY of time to spare.
finally at 1 am my water broke (i will never confuse that again!) and 2 am they gave me an epidural. i had not totally made up my mind about an epidural beforehand, but at that point i was in so much pain and was already so tired and was only a 3!!! so epidural it was, and boy was i glad to get some rest once it kicked in.
all day tuesday i was in active labor. things were not progressing very quickly at all. my family spent most of the day there, but i was so out of it and focused on the work at hand that i hardly noticed they were there. after an incredibly long day (well 2 days) i was finally ready to push a little before 5 pm. i gave it everything i had for an hour when all of a sudden there were like 8 doctors all around me. they told me the baby wasn't moving down, did a quick ultrasound to see that he was sunny side up, and then gave me my options. i could continue pushing, but it would be another couple of hours, forceps would have to be used, and i would have to have an episiotomy. the other option was a c-section. this was what i was afraid of - 30 hours of labor only to find out they were going to cut me open. we decided to go with the c-section since they were still concerned about the heart rate dropping and the baby being under stress. i just wanted him here safe! i was relieved and upset at the same time - glad it was going to be over, but did i really have to go through 2 days of labor before major abdominal surgery?
at 6 pm they wheeled me into the delivery room and clint followed shortly in his OR gear. look how cute and nervous he was:


they numbed me up and strapped me down and within minutes, i heard that beautiful cry.


and of course... i started to cry.

owen david erickson
september 25th, 2007 6:13 pm
7 lbs 14 0z
20 3/4 inches long

we spent the rest of the week in the hospital recovering ( i thought i would never sit up on my own again!) and had lots of visitors anxious to meet baby owen. we finally got home friday and have been adjusting to life as a family of 3.

when i think about this little guy for more than a moment, i bawl. that won't surprise anyone who knows me well because i have what i like to call "overactive tear ducts." but really - this little miracle of a child has changed my life forever. i already feel more love for him than i ever knew i had in my heart and my love for my family has multiplied so much over the last week. my husband is a saint - i just can't believe how lucky i am and how lucky owen is to have him as a dad. i look at my parents and clints parents through different eyes now and realize how much they have sacrificed for us, their babies, and it makes me wonder how i could ever overlook that.

i wonder how any one could ever question God's existence after seeing a new life enter this world and it humbles me greatly to know that He has trusted me with one of His beautiful children.
we are learning and growing together, and i am so thrilled to be part of the best club on earth - MOTHERHOOD.


a few more pics... many more to come!








our first family picture...




sweet hands...




diego is still getting used to 2nd place...




daddy loves his boy...





can you blame me for being the happiest girl in the world?