The 13th hour

We're been here for 13 hrs so far and the journey continues

3:15 am: Epidural is administered by anesthesiologist....Erin did so well handling the discomfort (her words) that went with that process......I knew the size of that needle and couldn't handle it.....felt like I was gonna pass out thinking of what that must have felt like

3:30-6:30 am: Contractions are coming more regularly but the epidural is certainly helping

Three things I've already learned in this continuing 13 hour marathon:

1. Labor experience is never really an appropriate comparative conversation to have....no two are the same....differing levels of pain threshold, varying body types that prolong or shorten the labor period, etc.

Maybe it's a woman's way of sharing "war stories" (I know guys do the same thing w/ cuts, bruises, broken bones, etc)......but watching what a woman goes through to deliver a baby gives a complete new perspective

2. There is absolutely NO WAY that I could be a doctor.....it's never a good thing when, as a spectator and minimal participant, you get more queasy and light-headed than the mama-to-be.....needles and the thought of the pain that your wife is enduring is all too much for me to experience on a regular basis....I'm so incredibly grateful and appreciative to the doctors and nursing staff (our nurse Katie has been wonderful all night long) for the care they've given Erin

3. It's impossible to understand until you finally get into the labor process, but it's incredibly emotional even before the baby arrives......you become extremely protective, proud, and amazed by your wife for enduring something that would drive me to literally shoot myself rather than go on.....I'm now more convinced than ever that if the task had been left to men, the human race would go extinct

Erin has done so incredibly well through this long night....even though we have (in all likelihood) a long day ahead of us, we're excited to see baby Hudson face to face

Now if he would just stop being ornery (a character trait he no doubt inherits from both of his grandmamas) and decide to come on, we'd all be much better off!

The time has finally come....

After suffering through several days of incessant itching (a symptom caused by a condition known as cholestasis), Erin's doctor decided to go ahead and admit her for induction since we only had 4 days until her due date


We arrived at the hospital on Sunday, 3 October at 5:30 pm, got checked into our room, met our nurse(s) and met w/ Erin's doctor (who happened to be on call this weekend)


He inserted a catheter to "ripen" her cervix and help the labor process along....fortunately, she was already 1 cm dilated prior to the insertion of the catheter


Though not a pleasant experience, Erin managed through the process well and before long, contractions were increasing with regularity and intensity


After a couple of hours, the pain was becoming difficult to bear and she received her first round of pain meds to help deal with the pain


1:30 am: Second round of pain meds administered.....Erin is hanging in there and doing great!


2:45 am: Dr Gay's (Erin's regular doctor) shift ended earlier tonight and Dr Haskins came by to check on Erin.....after speaking with her, she decided it was time to break Erin's water and schedule the epidural (at Erin's request)....Dr Haskins said it was a perfect time to administer the epidural so that it could take effect before labor progressed to a greater intensity....after breaking Erin's water, Dr Haskins confirmed that she was now 4 cm dilated and progressing perfectly


While we wait for the epidural, the contractions continue to get more intense but Erin is doing well fighting through the pain....it's a humbling experience to watch your wife endure suffering....suffering that you know you played a role in causing and suffering that you cannot take away no matter how badly you wish it was you instead of she in the bed


This little boy is taking his mama for a ride.....what he doesn't know yet is that she can outlast his antics any day.....here's to hoping for a speedy progression through labor and some much needed rest for Erin (thanks for the prayer Gavin!)

38 weeks

And the time draws nigh......


Can you believe it??? 8.5 months down....2 weeks to go


Mama is ready to have this baby.....she is growing more uncomfortable by the day and Hudson seemingly manages to find every nerve in her lower body to press on


After our doctor appointment last week, everyone is ready for Hudson to make his grand entry.....calls are coming in several times each day w/ "Have you had that baby yet?"


I don't think we're far off now.....my guess is by this Sunday we'll have a new mouth to feed

"Please tell me I'm not being replaced..."

37 week Ultrasound

Since Erin was measuring 4 weeks ahead, her doctor wanted to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of just how big Hudson is

Not wanting to induce unless absolutely necessary, he wanted to see if we were dealing w/ an 8.5 lb baby with large amounts of amniotic fluid or if Erin was carrying a baby that was pushing 10.5 lbs (you should have seen her eyes when that number came out!)

As the ultrasound commenced, we discovered that our son (WOW!!! That sounds crazy!!!) has a long femur (confirmation that he is from these parents), a large big toe (gets that from his mama.....ha ha ha ha......mama says that comes from his daddy), and he was very comfortable and relaxed in the womb....heartbeat was mid-130s

They said he is very healthy and everything is progressing well.....the tech estimated him at 8 lbs 3 oz

At this point, the doctor said (tongue in cheek) for us to make an appointment for the upcoming week but to plan on canceling it :-)

The contractions are beginning, but at this point they're infrequent

Mama and daddy are both ready for this boy to get here so the sleepless nights can begin!

37 weeks

37 weeks.....Do you think people can tell that I'm pregnant yet?

It's all coming together

After several months of looking at furniture, bedding, themes, and all sorts of decorations, we finally made decisions on what the nursery would look like (or at least what we "hoped" it would end up looking like)


We ended up getting the changing table and dresser early in the process, while we held off ordering the crib until the nervous anxiety that Erin was feeling b/c Hudson had no place to sleep finally got to be overwhelming


So far we've been very pleased w/ how our "Classic Coastal" theme has come through.....we wanted something unique but something that was also important to us.....what better than images/decor from the coast in a classy presentation?  The only thing missing is the salt spray and sand spurs


While we still have a little cleaning up to do and some additional decorations to hang, the nursery is coming together and we're pleased with how it's turned out......baby Hudson will have a nice, comfortable, peaceful place (at least we hope it's peaceful at 2 in the morning) to call his own

Multi-purpose chair

I can see this being a place where the boy can kick back and relax, he can sit and read, or it could be used when he needs to take some time off and learn the finer parts of discipline (he'll get that quality from his daddy I'm sure)