Welcome To The World Graham!!

Hi All,

What an amazing, crazy and exhausting month!  On March 26th, 2017 at 2:42 p.m. we welcomed our precious Graham Michael into the world.  Everything since that day has kind of been a blur!

My labor started the day before and I was trying to convince myself that it wasn't the real deal.  Don't ask me why, I have no idea.  You would think since I already have one child I would know "real" labor.  Adam, Mattie and I went out for dinner that night.  At dinner Adam and I were talking about how this could be our last dinner as a family of three since my due date was about a week away.  We had a fun little family dinner, not knowing it really would be our last family of three dinner.  After eating we came home and I started having contractions around 7 or 8 p.m.  At first I thought they were just Braxton Hicks contractions.  Around 11:45 p.m. I noticed that they weren't stopping and they were coming pretty regularly.  At that point I took out my trusty phone app and started timing them.  Adam came to bed and I moved downstairs because I couldn't sleep.  At about 1:30 a.m. I woke Adam up and told him I thought I was in labor and that these contractions were the real deal.  He was half asleep, and told me to lay down and we would call the doctor in the morning.  Thanks bud, but nope!  I went back downstairs dozed off and on for a couple of hours, and continued to time my contractions.  At 3:30 a.m. I noticed that they were about 4 minutes and 45 seconds apart.  Instant panic set in and all I could think was you idiot you have waited too late!!!  I called my doctor and she told me to head to the hospital.  I woke Adam up and he flew out of the bed like the house was on fire.  I told him I didn't think we could wait for his mom to get here to stay with Mattie since my contractions were so close.  Plan B: We threw our bags and Mattie in the car and decided we would meet her on the way.  We dropped Mattie with her at a CVS on the way and made tracks to the hospital.  As soon as Mattie was out of the truck I told Adam that my contractions were 3 minutes apart and he needed to get me to the hospital ASAP.  I was terrified that I was going to have Graham on the side of the interstate, or even more scary, that I wouldn't get to the hospital in time to get my epidural.  The doctor had already told me Graham would be big (in the 8 lb range) and I was not even trying to do this naturally!  Adam of course was super calm and totally got me to the hospital in time.

We got to the hospital around 4 a.m. got settled in, then things got kinda crazy.  My doctor was on call when we checked in but, she was ending a 24 hour shift.  She told me that normally she would stay and deliver me but she had already delivered like 5 babies and felt that I would be better with the next on call doctor.  She told me he was fabulous and I would love him, and she was totally right.  He came in to say hi and let me know he would be delivering me and introduced himself... "Hi I'm Doctor Graham."  At that moment I knew God had a plan and he was them one to deliver my sweet Graham.  Adam and I looked at each other and I told him I felt like it was a sign and he agreed.  

My labor was progressing and Dr. Graham came in and broke my water.  When he broke my water he saw that there was meconium in my water.  At that time he explained to us that when Graham was born he would take him quickly and suction him so he would not ingest it.  He also explained that because there was meconium present in my water that NICU would also have to be in the room at delivery.  Dr. Graham was so awesome at explaining all of this to us.  Even though I was starting to freak out, he totally calmed me down and put me at ease.  

As labor continued, my blood pressure dropped and Graham's heart rate went up.  Things got a little crazy in the room for a few minutes.  Nurses rushed in slapped oxygen on me and said it was time to deliver.  Well, it actually wasn't time to deliver.  They totally freaked me out and I started panicking.  My sweet Adam did such a great job of assuring me that we were at the best hospital and everything was going to be fine.  Dr. Graham came back in and said that baby Graham didn't like the position I was in and when they rolled me to the other side both of our numbers leveled out.  He sat with us and talked to us for a while just watching the numbers and helping Adam keep me from totally losing it.  

After what seem like forever, our sweet and precious Graham Michael entered the world at 2:42 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long.  The NICU nurses took him right away to check him out.  They determined that he needed to go to the Transition Nursery to be checked out.  They let me hold him for less than a minute and then off they went.  Worst part of my day!!!  Luckily he perked up and started making progress like a champ!  They kept him in Transition for the mandatory amount of time and I finally got him back around 7:30 p.m.!!  Those hours were the longest of my life!  

We were so blessed to have an amazing doctor, who brought our baby boy into the world safely!  We thank God each day that our little guy is healthy and doing great!

The waiting room was full of people wanting to meet Graham.

Mattie and Grampa

Mattie and CC

Big sister was so excited!!

Mattie and Great Gran

Mattie and Lynn

And of course Mattie and Auntie Heather

Making it into the world is hard work!

While Graham was in Transition we got to see Mattie and give her the big sister gift from Graham :)

 After what seemed like forever they finally brought me my precious boy!!

Now my world was perfect!

Day 2:  After a long first day, we were ready for some visitors on day 2.

My mom came in from Florida

Mattie was loving taking pictures with Heather's camera.

Gramps finally getting to hold Graham

Mattie finally getting to hold Graham.  She only saw him through the
nursery window when he was born. 

First family picture.

This could be my most favorite picture of all.

Mattie laughed like this the whole time she was holding Graham.
It was like she couldn't control her laughter.  It was the cutest thing ever.

One day old.

Graham and Ashley.

Day 3:  Finally time to go home.  We were not released until later in the afternoon, right at 5 p.m. traffic.  Graham got his first taste of Atlanta traffic.  Thank goodness he did great on the way home.  

The next several days were kind of a blur, but we did have some fun visitors.

All dressed and ready to go home.

As soon as she came in from school she wanted to hold her brother.

 

This big sister is an amazing helper.

All comfy and cozy with Aunt Kelly

Hanging with Uncle Josh

Visiting with PawPaw

 A nice little visit to Adam's parents for his dad's birthday.

Happy Easter!

In the middle of all the craziness of this past month, Mattie finally mastered riding her bike with no training wheels.

It's hard to believe that this little guy is a month old today!!  Time needs to slow down!!

What an amazing month it has been.  We are so incredibly happy to finally have this cutie here with us!  He is causing some sleepless nights, but he is totally worth it :)

XOXO