The Graham Family: Baby Thomas May 4, 2015

Well I made it, 38 weeks with a baby inside. and now I'm writing this and we've had Thomas Dean Graham for 38 weeks in our home! I had one false start on Saturday morning at 2 am. My biggest fear was Thomas would be delivered faster than Oliver and we wouldn't make it to the hospital in time for an epidural again...or at all. It helped that we were only a 15 minute ride away. So after spending a few hours in the early morning at the hospital with only a few mild contractions I was home and tired and a bit embarrassed that my parents came to my home to be with the boys and I made Dean stay up all night with me. So two nights later, at the same time in the morning, the contractions started again. This time a bit stronger contractions. The nurses at the hospital were very kind, and encouraging. I walked around the hospital for an hour and a half, they "checked me" and called Gretchen with a green light to keep me. By the time Gretchen arrived a little after 7, I was dilated to a 6 and progressing well. Contractions were getting stronger, consistent and I was a little tired. Gretchen broke my water and the anesthesiologist came in with the wonderful, large, needle and put it in my back. Within minutes I was pain free and was ready to rest. I spent some time resting for a few hours, and the nurse was very sweet, though there was clearly something she was concerned about on the monitors. I tried not to worry until she did, and was able to rest for a few hours. Dean also tried to rest a bit and my mom came to the room after her own Dr. appointment. She tried not to talk to us so we could rest, but that was too hard. We all watched the monitors and the big contractions made me smile, because if they were at all uncomfortable, I knew I would be in screaming pain without the medication. Each time I was so grateful for modern medicine. Around 10:30, I felt a lot of pressure and could tell that baby was on his way. I called the nurse, the nurse called Gretchen who was across the street in her office. Within 3 minutes she walked in, put on her gown and told me to start pushing. I pushed through one contraction, then another and the baby was delivered. The familiar overwhelming sense of accomplishment, adrenaline, peace, joy, and gratitude again set in as the baby was placed on my chest. I had another perfect baby boy to call mine. It is a moment that cannot be duplicated or described. Thomas Dean Graham was born on May 4, 2015 at 10:50 a.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. was 20 in. long. Another giant blessing and tiny angel came to live with us.