Holden McKay

Well, I figure that this is as good a time as any to get a blog.  Now that we actually have something to write about :) 

Yesterday was the birthday of our son, Holden McKay.  He weighed 9 pounds and 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  We are so excited that he is finally here! Yesterday was such a long day, but it was so worth it!! Here is the whole story (sparing the gross details that labor always entails):

Around 11pm Friday night, I started having contractions.  They weren't that bad, and they weren't that frequent (about one an hour).  I figured that they were just tiny ones since at my doctor's appointment on Thursday I was only dilated to 1.5cm and there was no way that I could be in labor after that kind of puny diagnosis.  So I had about one an hour throughout the night until about 4am Saturday morning.  Then they started getting closer and closer and more painful.  Josh and I woke up around 7am, and called the hospital to ask when/if we should come up there.  The hospital is a full 30 minute drive from our house, so I didn't want to make the drive if we weren't going to stay.  The nurse he talked to said that if the contractions got to 2-3 minutes apart and I couldn't talk through them then to come up.  I then prepared myself for the chance that we weren't coming back, in other words I showered and did my hair :)  Then when I was in HUGE pain every 2 minutes or so, I realized that we needed to hurry and get to the hospital.  My mom came over and confirmed what Josh and I realized, which was I was definitely in labor, my dad gave me a blessing and then we were on our way.  We left our house around 9:20am, and got to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo at about 9:50am.

As soon as we got here, we got checked in and they checked my cervix.  I was to a 3 which was all they needed to start the process going quicker.  The doctor broke my water and then we were off.  After the extremely painful contractions of the day, I decided to get an epidural against my previous statement that I was going to do it naturally - (which was crazy).  There was no way in heck I was going to go through those contractions longer then I had to.  So by about 10:30, I was sitting pretty.  In a nice room, with no pain, just waiting to dilate.  My mom and sister Leigh got there around 10:30, bringing books and entertainment getting ready for a long day.  Josh's parents had just left for St. George the day before and so he called them to let them know what was going on and so they started the drive back.  Pretty much from 10:30-5:30 was super boring.  I read some, facebooked some, watched some Gilmore Girls on my laptop, listened to my ipod etc.  I was hoping that I would dilate quick, but I was slow and steady.  At about 5:30, they said I was to a 10 and they just needed to call the doctor and see if he wanted me to wait or start pushing.  While we were waiting for word on that, I had my first freak out.  I realized that I didn't know how to push!! How was I going to know how it felt or if I was doing it right?  

So after about 20 minutes of me freaking out, the nurse came back in and said we were going to push.  

Let's just say that the next hour and 45 minutes was not fun one bit.  

It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I know that it also changed my life.  He came out so perfect and healthy and handsome.  I can't believe that I pushed a 9 pound baby out of me, but I am so glad that I did.  Holden was born at 7:53pm on February 14, 2009.  I jinxed myself when I said that I didn't want him to be born on Valentine's Day, but I decided to look on the bright side.  Josh and I can celebrate Valentine's Day on another day, when the lines to all the nice restaurants are short and all the candy and chocolate is on sale!  And when Holden is older, he's going to be so lucky when some girl falls in love with him.  

I can't believe that I am a mom.  It is truly a miracle to hold a baby in your arms that is yours.  All yours.  (And Josh's of course).  I think about how much my parents mean to me, and it is almost terrifying to think that Josh and I will be that to this baby forever.  I can't wait for him to come home with us tomorrow and we can start watching him grow and teaching him everything he needs for life.  

I don't know if I can do the whole pregnancy/labor thing for a long while, but I am glad that I did.  It is really like no feeling in this whole world.  Life is a miracle :)