The last seven weeks have been the most transformative of my life. My husband and I welcomed our first child, our son William Webster, on January 9, 2014 at 11:10 am.
We checked into the hospital at about 3 a.m. that day to be induced. A few days earlier, the doctor had performed an ultrasound (our first since week 20) and we found out that he was smaller than he should be. That combined with my slightly elevated blood pressure convinced her to schedule my delivery for three days later, at 39 weeks. She assured us that he appeared to be doing just fine, but of course we were worried. We were also completely taken off guard that we were going to be inducing. I had spent the whole pregnancy imagining the water breaking in Wal-Mart, or contractions beginning in the middle of a meeting, and calling my husband and rushing to the hospital. After a very smooth pregnancy, an induction was the last thing I expected.
My labor went very smoothly. I received Pitocin at around 5 a.m., got the epidural a few hours later (to my delight – I believe I told the anesthesiologist that I would have 10 babies if this is what it could be like), and he was born before lunchtime! It went much more quickly than we expected; in fact, we had told people not to hurry to the hospital because he would probably not be born until mid-to-late afternoon!
Although completely healthy, he was even smaller than we had anticipated at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. He ended up having to go back into the hospital after we were discharged because he was so small and was having trouble staying warm. But after 3 blissful days (for him) laying under a lamp and keeping warm, we were sent home for good. And here we are, seven weeks later, sleep-deprived, a little stir-crazy, but so in love with this perfect child. He has quickly gained weight and now looks like any other pudgy, healthy baby. And now we can’t remember life before him.
I feel forever changed since becoming a mother, and I am so grateful to have a healthy child. My husband and I can’t wait for all the milestones, and we are already getting a thrill out of watching him change every day. January 9 will forever be remembered as the day we went from being a couple to being a family, and though the road has not been completely smooth (is it ever with a newborn baby??), we cannot wait for what lies ahead.
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