Our second lovebug of a boy was born on July 13th at 2:57 PM! He measured 21 inches and 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Now if you're not the squeamish type, keep reading for the full story!
Monday morning I woke up at 6:30 feeling a contraction, which had been typical for the past week so I let it and the following one pass without too much thought. Once I finished scrolling Instagram, I waddled my way down the hall to the bathroom and my water broke! Not a gush like with Luke, but enough that I knew what was happening. It was 6:45 and Cody started work at 7. I quickly called him and told him it was "D-day"!! (Backtracking a moment here--he stayed home the previous Friday because between my random contractions and Luke developing a pink eye infection it was a home in need of Dad super powers! Friday morning he told me he was staying home and that I should put my tough girl pants because we were going on walks and doing yard work until I went into labor! Haha!) So when he arrived to work Monday everyone asked about the baby and he told them all we had walked and worked on over the weekend and that I was still pregnant. Only to have his phone ring seconds later with me giving him the 'get-your-butt-home-now' news!
By 9AM we were in the hospital with consistent and growing contractions, thankfully they were of more typical timing than I had experienced with Luke. Around noontime I was still dilated to a 2. Disappointed but not hopeless. By 1pm I couldn't take the pain anymore, especially considering I still had 8cm to go. So Mr. Epidural came in and by 2pm I was feeling moderate relief and had dilated to 8cm! Within minutes I started feeling the pressure to push, and the nurse told me I was at 10cm but that it would be best to let him drop further before pushing. Having the epidural was so helpful for me, I only had to handle the pressure and not the pain. Which honestly, the pressure is very painful but its just a different type of pain! My mom, Cody and Katy had been taking turns comforting and encouraging me. The nurses advised no more lunch breaks for my support crew and at 2:40 I was given the go-ahead to push! And at 2:57 Bryce was born! I remember being in such shock (but also relief) that he was born so quickly. And since I had no fever and Bryce was completely healthy we got to stay together. Huge, huge answer to prayer!!!
Bryce is a real snuggler, and its forcing me to learn how to cuddle, to sit and be still. I'm not sure I'll ever master the skill, he definitely gets that ability from Cody! Bryce is a bottomless pit just like Luke and has grown so fast already in his first two months of life on the outside! Luke is very sweet with him, gives kisses, does tummy time with him and loves picking out what he should wear. Bryce has been a smiley boy too! Loving the love he has for all of us!!
