JOSIAH EARL RICHARDBorn September 3rd, 20085:34am7lbs 5oz20 inches long

I have arrived! We went to our doctor's appointment on September 2nd at 10am, and the doctor determined that mommy's blood pressure was starting to creep up. The decision was made to send us to the Childbirth Center for induction.
We checked into the hospital at 11am and were put on the monitors for several hours. Pitocin was started at 4:30pm on September 2nd. Then mommy's doctor broke her water at 6pm, REALLY getting things going. My mommy laboured without any pain medication all the way to 9cm, then got an epidural about a half hour before she started trying to push me out because she was just too tired to handle the contractions anymore. At 1am, my mommy started pushing. She tried and tried to get me out, but even though the nurses said her pushing over the next three hours was excellent, I just couldn't figure out how to navigate my way out. So, mommy's doctor told her at 4am that a c-section was needed.
My mommy was scared and really frustrated because she had worked so hard, AND the epidural had been turned way down, so she was feeling all of her contractions again. The anesthesiologist had a hard time getting my mommy's body prepped for surgery. The epidural didn't work well enough, so he took it out and did a spinal. Then mommy started shaking really badly, and had a lot of blood loss during the surgery. After I was delivered, mommy had to be put under for about 20 minutes to make sure everything ended safely.
Despite my "fancy" delivery style, mommy and daddy have said it was all worth it because I am so darn cute! My mommy already feels a little better today, even though she is still really sore. The doctor said mommy would be really tired the first several weeks because of the blood loss during surgery. They have her on iron supplements and have told her to take it easy. Daddy has been doing all of my diaper changes, and I have been keeping him very busy! Especially at night... I am kind of a night owl. I passed my newborn hearing test this morning, and scored a 9 on my apgar test when I was born. I heard a rumor that I'm getting the dreaded heel prick later today, so I'm resting up. Daddy is so in love with me that he has been taking pictures of me like crazy! I can't wait to meet you in person, but until then, I'll share some of daddy's pictures with you! Mommy and I are going to be in the hospital until at least Friday, Sept. 5th. The doctor said it will depend on mommy's recovery whether we are discharged on Friday or Saturday. So, that is the story of my arrival into this world!









