Our Second Arrival

On Feb 16, we were due to have our second child. So we went in to the doctor around 2:30, who tried to speed things up a bit. We left the doctor's office and decided to get Karla walking a bit, so we made a trip to Home Depot to pick up some tools for me! As we were leaving the store, we had been debating going to Subway on the way home or not, and decided we would get the subs but take them home, since the Subway in the Home Depot was right in the entrance and it was a particularly cold day. As we were driving, Karla said that she didn't feel very good and that we should go home right away. We got home and Karla said that she was pretty sure that she was having contractions. I was really excited! The contractions were really far apart at first and so we decided to wait till they were closer together. We ended up watching the season premiere of Survivor, and Kristina joked that we would have to name the baby Jeff if the baby came during the show. The baby wasn't quite ready to come yet though. We went to bed around ten.

I woke up to my alarm at 6 and was quite tired and unmotivated to go to work. Karla said that she didn't think I should go to work today because the contractions were quite a bit closer together and stronger than they had been the day before. So we decided to go in to the hospital. We got everything into the car and got it all warmed up. We left for the hospital around 7:30. Once we got to the hospital they told us that they were extremely busy. We got into a room and they set up the baby monitors and checked to see how dilated Karla was. They said that she was about 2cm. They also said that the contractions needed to be closer together. They told us that they wanted to send us home and Karla got a bit upset. The doctor told us that they've done studies and it turns out that the people that go home and come back later have easier and quicker deliveries than those who stay at the hospital.

So we went home. Karla was really disappointed but she was able to nap a little bit and did some scrap-booking to get her mind off of it. Around 3:30 the contractions were close enough together that we went back to the Hospital. They told us that she was only 3-4cm. Karla was again really disappointed, they broke her water to speed things up and told us that we might have to wait for a room since they were so full. Thankfully a room cleared out shortly and we were able to get into a delivery room. They offered Karla laughing gas but it didn't really work for Karla. We asked for Morphine but the doctor said that they couldn't give Morphine when it looked to be a quick delivery. So Karla just kept on going without the drugs. Around 5:30 they told us that Karla was 9cm, but that she had to wait till she was fully dilated to push. During this time the contractions were only about a minute apart and on every one, Karla looked into my eyes and pleaded with me to make it stop and to let her push. She didn't say anything with her mouth, just her eyes. It was so hard to ask her to wait just one more contraction before she pushed. Over and Over again! 45 minutes later Karla said that she couldn't keep from pushing anymore and so they decided to let her push. Five minutes later, we heard some crying, and I got to cut the umbilical cord on our brand new baby boy! Zachary Riley! They poked and prodded him and measured him and told us that he was 8lbs, 10oz and 19.5" long. This means that Zachary was 1lb 5oz heavier than Emma was and 1.5" shorter than Emma!

Karla had to spend the first night there and so we got my parents to come and to bring Emma so they could all meet him. Emma had just been woken up before they brought her to the hospital, and she seemed very unimpressed about the whole thing! So I left Karla and Zach in the hospital and went home to get some much needed sleep. On my way home though, I had a burst of energy and fixed the paint touch-ups in the kids' rooms, and cleaned the house like crazy until about 1 in the morning. Then I went to bed and went back to the hospital in the morning.

When I got there, we decided that it would be best if Karla spent one more night in the hospital. So then Karla's parents came that day and met Zachary! Later, I went back home for one more night. The next morning, I went to pick up Emma on the way to the hospital and checked-out Karla and Zach shortly there after! We brought our family of four home for the very first time! On the way home Zach was crying and Emma was getting pretty frustrated and said "No more crying! Never!" It was very cute! Now when Zach cries, Emma will sing to him, give him his soother and rock his chair! She's really great with him! It's so interesting to see how her attitudes have changed already, just from becoming a big sister! It's great to see!