The Day Life Changed Forever - GABE'S BIRTH!!!

David & I had been anticipating the birth of our child for what seemed like forever, but I don't know that either of us were really ready. Because of my blood pressure, I was scheduled for an induction at 6 pm the evening before my due date. However, I actually started having contracts that morning. While they were not very strong, they were about a minute long and less than five minutes apart for over an hour. So, at 8 am on a Sunday morning, we arrived at the hospital hoping that they won't send us home to just come back later.


After getting checked in and discovering I was dilated to 2 cm, David & I walked the hallways of labor and delivery. The doctor decided to keep me, & I was given something to help me dilate further. At 7 pm, the nurse broke my water and hooked me up to a pitocin drip, speeding up the frequency and strength of my contractions. Eventually by about 1 am on my due date, I was dilated enough to start pushing. After an hour & a half at 2:38 am, Gabriel James was born. He weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz & was 20 3/4 inches long. David & I were both extremely excited to have a little boy!!!

First pictures

On a side note, David did awesome overall!!! When the contractions started to get really strong, he was there to hold my hand & remind me of the breathing exercises I was supposed to do. He also "got" to hold one of my legs when I started to push. Needless to say, he saw EVERYTHING and seemed to do ok through most of it. He definitely got grossed out by my water breaking and would occasionally have this look of absolute wonder and disgust all at once. I just remember the nurse promising David multiple times that "it all goes back to normal." :)

Gabe with Daddy

Our new family of 3!!!!