Harner, Party of 4

Life has been a whirlwind of change and survival lately!

On June 2nd, this little guy took us by surprise and joined our family 3 weeks early.

Meet Hudson Isaac:

His birth was so amazing! It was so much more enjoyable than my previous C-section. Going into this birth, I was terrified of a C-section after having such a traumatic experience with Samuel. But Hudson's birth was completely different.

I had heard that planned C-sections are easier than emergency C-sections, so I had hoped it would be a little different, but I had no idea how much easier it would be. Even though Hudson arrived via emergency C-section after 4 months of contractions and a couple hours of actual labor, I would do it all over again.

I may be writing this blog mostly for my own benefit, but I hope you enjoy, nonetheless. :)

Hudson's Story:

On Memorial Day weekend, I woke up and told my husband, "This is the beginning of the end." Hudson was due June 18th and scheduled for a C-section on June 11th, but I knew that morning that he wasn't going to wait that long. I just knew.
I had gone into preterm labor at 23 weeks and had contractions on and off from that point on. But for the last couple weeks, my contractions had been more intense and more painful, but I wasn't progressing. I had been in and out of the hospital for two weeks because of the contractions - one day, I had painful contractions for 9 hours and we thought FOR SURE that he'd arrive that night, but he changed his mind and my contractions stopped for the evening. :)

On June 1st, I woke up and said to myself, "this would be a good day to have a baby." I knew he was coming soon, so I made sure to take these pictures:

The next day, June 2nd, I went to my appt with my OB/GYN. I was measuring smaller than before, my contractions were gone, and Hudson was much calmer than ever before. I thought he was so quiet because Samuel had landed on my belly while rough-housing the day before...so the doctor sent me for observation. My hubs and I went to the hospital in preparation to sit for 4 hours and then go home. Hudson has other plans! :) (we had even told Samuel that we'd go to the park after my appt. Oops.)

After 2 hours, my contractions picked up! I progressed 2 cm in an hour...the time my hubs had left to get us some lunch...also the time when the triage nurses had gone to lunch and no one was watching my monitor! I could feel the change and knew Hudson was on his way. When the nurse returned, my husband asked her to check my monitor. She responded with, "oh yeah! she's been contracting!!" She examined me and immediately called my doctor. She returned to the room and said, "Dr Cotes wants to deliver in 30 minutes." !!!!!!!! Once again, my hubs almost hit the floor (he reacted the same way with the first delivery). ;)

We called our parents as quickly as we could and my mom brought Samuel to the hospital (bless his heart, he had no idea what was about to happen!) I was so happy and relieved to see Samuel before the procedure started. This momma couldn't have done it without seeing that sweet face and getting sweet kisses from a nervous little boy. :)

our last picture as a family of 3

my sweet sweet big boy ;) waiting patiently for someone to "come get him"

I was prepped and taken to the OR by my college roommate. I was SO thankful she was there! I think she helped make the experience so much easier than I expected. She held me during my epidural and talked me through most of the process.

My doctor came to talk to me before the surgery and complimented me on my pedicure. ;) It was cute - pink and white with a blue anchor...

I had the best anesthesia nurse! She complimented me and talked me through everything that was happening. She and the other nurses took great pictures for us - she kept me company once my husband left my side and had eyes only for Hudson. ;)

I was calm until the procedure started, and then I begged my husband to talk to me about ANYTHING to distract me from the wait. I couldn't wait to hear his cry. It felt like an eternity from the time it started until I felt the huge push of pressure and knew my baby was out.

He growled and screamed...and peed everywhere...3 times. ;) My heart melted when I finally saw him. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I LOVE the anticipation of seeing who he'd look like, his hair color, his sweet face...

I was surprised to see he had dark hair! I was also surprised by his geriatric hairline ;)
He looked SO small to me (but he was bigger than Samuel). I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. Thankfully the nurses had fun with him, wrapped him up like an eskimo, laughed with us, and let me see him and kiss him (I hardly saw Samuel, he was whisked away too quickly).

eskimo baby ;)

the first time he looked at me ::melt::

Hudson opened his eyes and looked at me - he stopped crying for a second - like he recognized me already. I knew from that moment that he'd be a momma's boy. Samuel was daddy's boy from day one, so I was determined to have one of these boys to myself! ;)

While in recovery, my college roommate and my husband kept me company. To my surprise, in walked a nurse with my bundled up baby boy, asking me to nurse him because his blood sugar was low. What a little blessing in disguise! (I hated the thought of another C-section because the baby is taken away so quickly and there's a long wait before holding him and bonding with him.) But this time, I was able to hold him and feed him soon afterward! I was over the moon in love with this experience and this sweet baby boy in my arms. He looked at me and it felt like he knew me and was looking to me for comfort in this big new world.

Life has changed SO much in the past 7 weeks. Our lives as parents have changed, our family has changed, and Samuel's world has changed (more on that later...;) ).

I can't imagine a better experience. I'm so thankful for the people surrounding us that day. I am LOVING life with two baby boys. I'm much more tired and my house is much messier, but life is so much more wonderful! :)

 Happy Weekend from our family of 4! :)