Third Time's a CHARM!

Happy Birth Day Dawson!
It was actually pretty cool; sort of like checking in to a hotel.  We dropped the kids off at elementary school and headed to The Birthing Inn @ 7:45 AM.  We calmly checked in (no contractions or anything...so pleasant!).
We have a picture of me in labor outside The Birthing Inn with Brady and Sylvie too.  The entrance was under construction this time, but here we are!

We were the only family in the "Delivery" side of the Inn, so the staff was very attentive.  We had an awesome L&D nurse, Sue and also had a student nurse, Allison, observing.  This was kind of cool b/c Sue gave us all sorts of information anyway, but she thoroughly explained things for Allison's benefit.  We started pitocin @ 8:45 AM.  Things were moving pretty slowly though.  (Sue kept saying, "You are Way too happy.  Not feeling hard contractions yet, huh?")  Dr. Stokes checked on us @ 11 AM, and planned to break my water @ 1 PM.  My water was broken @ 2:50 PM.  (This was the first time my water was broken when I did not already have the epidural.  So I felt it, and it was not very pleasant.)  That got things moving and I started feeling the contractions and asked for the epidural.  Epidural administered around 3:20 PM.  At 4:30 I was still only 5 cm, so they rolled me over and used the "peanut pillow" to try to get the baby to roll over and get in position.  This worked well and we were 8 cm by 5:30.  Sue was very funny- she said, "My shift ends @ 7:30 PM.  You're having this baby before then b/c we didn't do all this work to not be able to see the reward!  I'm meeting your baby!"  She spoke to him and told him, "Here's the plan baby- we're going to start pushing within the next hour and we'll see you before 7 PM, got it?"  And guess what?!  He did get it!  :)

I didn't pay as much attention to the time as I could have.  But I think we only did about 4 or 5 pushes (for about 15 minutes).  Dawson Grey Luhring was born @ 6:56 PM.  Right on time according to Sue's plan.  :)  The Inn changed their policies since we were last here six years ago; they are more "pro-baby" now.  So they did not use the warmer at all; did not take measurements right away (b/c the thought is, they aren't going to change).  They took brand new baby Dawson and put him right on my chest, skin to skin.  We laid like that meeting each other for almost two hours.  Oh sweet miracle!  We love you So very much!

Here he is...about 30 seconds old in this pict!

Baby's first selfie...it's the thing to do Dawson! 

Moving to our post-partum room