Matthew David Ley!

I know I am a little late posting this, but even so, I wanted to make sure it was documented :) So here you go, the story of Matthew's arrival!

It all started on Wednesday morning when I went to see Dr. Storey. She took me off the medication and bedrest and told me to take it easy for the next week. She used the word "tentatively" when we scheduled my visit for the next week. I was actually pretty mad that there hadn't been much progress and that we had to schedule another visit at all! I left the doctor and went to run my first errand in over 6 1/2 weeks....the grocery store! I spent over an hour walking around HEB buying things I had been thinking about while stuck at home. You know, important things, like my favorite ice cream, yogurt, Sprite and cereal....crazy things. I wasn't in the store 20 minutes when I started noticing contractions that were stronger than the normal ones. Since I was on my feet for the first time in weeks, I ignored them and blamed it on being out and about. The rest of the day was spent in much the same way.....more contractions, but I blew them off. I was NOT going to miss my day of freedom. I even got my eyebrows done!

I wasn't able to fall asleep that night because I was pretty uncomfortable, so I moved to the couch to read and watch TV. As soon as Zack saw our bedroom door open around 11:30, he nearly jumped out of his chair and asked "Is it baby time!?" Yep, this man knows the drill. I told him I thought it was okay and that he should head to bed. So off he went and I laid around timing contractions for the next few hours. At this point, they were every 6 minutes and getting more painful, but I continued to ignore them for a few reasons. #1, I didn't want to have to call the Ley's and wake up the whole family to come over and watch Jonathan in case it was a false alarm. #2, Zack had not even gone to bed yet and I knew that would mean over 24 hours of no sleep for him. and #3, I was seriously determined to have Dr. Storey perform my delivery and I knew she wasn't on call until the next day. So I waited. I even posted on Babycenter.com that I thought I could be in labor, but wasn't positive. The consensus among my "friends" was to wait it out a few more hours and then call. Those girls are smart :)

By the next morning, I pretty much knew what the deal was, so I took Jonathan to school (and gave him a super big hug!), took a really good shower, called the nurse and ate some breakfast. By 10:30, there was no denying that my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and VERY painful. I knew we needed to go in. After waiting for way too long to hear back from the nurse, we made the executive decision to head to the hospital and I am so glad we did.

We got there around noon and by the time I was checked, I was 6 cm. The next hour was a blur. She told me to call our families because we would be having the baby within the hour. Turns out waiting that long to go in to the hospital when you are having a repeat c-section is a no-no. My doctor, who I love even more now, rushed up to the hospital on her day off (and in her work out gear :)) and was there to do the delivery. Unfortunately, my parents didn't make it in time from Austin but Zack's Mom was able to get there! I was so surprised how fast everything happened. I thought I would have some time to get settled, get used to the idea of having a baby that day, calmly pray over the situation with Zack...nope. It was fast and furious from the minute we walked in. This picture is of us waiting to go back for the c-section. Don't let the smile fool you...those contractions HURT.

They wheeled me back and got me ready for surgery while Zack waited outside. After the emergency trauma from Jonathan's birth and c-section, I didn't know what to expect, but I was so pleasantly surprised. I was totally coherent while we got ready, was able to talk with my doctor, we made jokes etc...Zack finally joined us and after about 5 minutes, Matthew David joined our family. The first words out of Dr. Storey's mouth were "Man! He is a chunky baby!" He weighed 8.2 pounds, almost a full pound more than Jonathan. I would say that is pretty good for being born nearly 3 weeks early! Immediately after birth, his blood sugar levels were a little low, so instead of letting me nurse him first (we would have had to wait since I was in recovery,) he had to take a bottle....a little "snack" we joked :) That did the trick and his levels evened out pretty quick. I laugh that he must truly be our son since the very first thing he wanted to do was eat! :)

Recovery has been good. Easier than with Jonathan, but still painful. Matthew is doing great nursing, pooping and peeing (you know, the most important 3 things you have to watch for with a newborn!) and Jonathan seems to be pretty cool with things so far. Thank you so much to those of you who came by the hospital just to say hi or have come by the house since then to meet little Matthew :) It has been a crazy few days, but we wouldn't trade them for the world!