Earth Day Baby

After being told by my doctor at 4:00 on Tuesday that I would most likely not deliver for a few more days/week, I found myself at the hospital at 8:30 that night in labor. By the time Mike and I arrived, I was already dialated to a 4 and ready for an epidural. This took longer than expected. Finally at 11:30, the anesthesiologist came in to relieve my pain and it kicked in when I was ready to start pushing. Our baby boy was born at 2:24 AM, and we didn't name him until later that afternoon since he had to spend time in the NICU. Throughout the labor, the baby's heart rate kept dipping and when he was born they found the cord was wrapped around his neck once. A chest xray was taken and showed that he had a Pneumothorax (where air collects between the lungs and chest wall). The doctors wanted to monitor this, so for the next 2 1/2 days Parker was the heavy weight in the NICU--he was born weighing 8 lbs 4 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. The baby next to him was only 2 lbs 5 oz. Everything is perfect now and we were able to bring him home Friday afternoon. We are very lucky to have him in our home, even if it is overwhelming learning how to be parents!