baby mac

i can't believe it's been so long since i've last posted - life has been a little busy with 4 kiddos! we welcomed McCartney into the world on October 3, 2010. the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy were packed full of false alarms - i had contractions off and on for about 3 weeks, and at 38 wks, i went to the hospital after suffering through a night of contractions ranging from 20-8 min. apart. they didn't admit me, even though i knew if they'd just

break my water, i'd progress! my dr. wanted to wait until 39 weeks before he'd do anything. SOO, at my dr. appt the next day, i asked him if he'd consider inducing me, just to get things over with, since the contractions were so uncomfortable. he agreed to induce on sunday, october 3, at 3:45 pm. hooray! so while i was frustrated at not being admitted, at least there was an end in sight!

early sunday morning, around 3 am, the contractions started AGAIN - this time, the warm bath did NOT ease the contractions. i waited it out for another hour, then woke tim up. we called a friend to come watch the sleeping babies at home, and quickly headed to the hospital. we were admitted around 4:30 am! about an hour later, my dr. came and broke my water, and the contractions picked up after that. i was given a shot of some kind of pain med. that ended up affecting mac's heart rate, so i wasn't allowed to have any more pain meds until the anesthesiologist could make it up for the epidural. and as luck would have it, mr. anesthesiologist was in surgery, and he was the only one at the hospital that day!!! let me just tell you - that was the longest 2 hours EVER. i hadn't experienced pain like that with the other babies, b/c i'd gotten the epidural right after my water broke.

the dr. finally arrived, got the epidural, and i was able to sleep a little, while tim got to head out and grab something to eat. this was around 1pm. mac was finally born at 3:45 pm. after the cord was cut, we listened closely to hear that first, weak little cry .... nothing. the dr. handed mac over to 2 nurses, who immediately started pumping oxygen by hand. i can't begin to describe the panic that gripped my heart, as i watched that tiny, gray little baby lying there under the warmers, with 3 nurses clustered around him, massaging him, slapping his feet, and pumping the oxygen. it felt like the entire world had just bottomed out, and i was watching them working on my son through a tunnel. being pregnant is a funny thing - sometimes you feel really close with the baby growing inside you, and other times, it's not until the actual birth that you connect with your baby. i don't know how to put into words, how my heart ballooned, when i first saw mac - when they laid him on me, all wet, slippery, and messy - i was so in

love. and to suddenly feel like i was suffocating, watching frantically for them to get mac to start breathing and crying ... it was the worst experience of our life. tim grabbed my hand and just started calling on JESUS ... and 2.5 minutes later, we heard

mac's first, reedy little cry. my heart felt like it fell back into my chest, and started beating again, and sobbing, we just thanked God. thanked Jesus for breathing our son's first breath for him.

we found out a few minutes later, that the cord had been around his neck when he'd come out of the birth canal, and he experienced some type of apnea, in which the instinct to breathe is delayed. it's relatively common, we found out as well, but that's little comfort when it happens to YOUR baby. we are so thankful that mac is healthy and there weren't any effects from the apnea.

mac weighed 7.8 lbs, and was 21 inches long.

he didn't lose any weight in the hospital, he gained :) and he's been gaining ever since! at his 2 week appt, he was already 9 lbs! he's our little chunk. he is tim's mini-me - looks just like daddy. the kids have really taken well to another little person in the house! claire has been FABULOUS, she's the best helper in the world! cam and caloway have done great too, they're very gentle with mac. our family is SO blessed!!