5.18.2009

Now Presenting... Grady Shaw Perlman

He was a long time coming, but oh-so worth the wait! It wasn't an easy road to get here, nor was it an easy pregnancy. But at 8:13 pm last Thursday night when I heard that high pitched shrill, and heard the doctor say, "It's a Boy!", I knew that all was right in our world.

On Thursday, May 14th, I was scheduled to go in to the hospital for my induction at 7 am. However, when I called at 6 am see if they had a bed available, they were busy with too many active labors, and asked me to call back in a few hours. As I was off all of my medication and had a short window to work with, the hospital (after receiving a stern call from my OB) realized that I needed to be there, quickly called me back and asked me to come in.

When I got to the hospital, I was whisked into a Labor & Delivery room, asked an hours worth of questions, had blood drawn, given an IV, Pitocin to start contractions, and settled into my bed. Unfortunately, all of the OB/Gyn's had gone back to their offices and I had to wait for one to come back in order for one of them to break my water. So I waited... and waited... and waited... while watching TV with Matt and staring at the gorgeous view of the harbor and the Pacific Ocean from my room. Around 12:30 pm, my doctor came to see me, checked my progress, and broke my water. After 3+ hours on Pitocin, I was still only 1 cm dilated, and not showing any signs of moving into active labor.

Three hours later, and now in enough pain to get my epidural, I was checked again and only at 2 cm. Lucky for me, my platelets had a smidgen of benefit from the WinRho infusion and had spiked just enough to get the epidural without needing the transfusion. Thank goodness!

By 6 pm, I was only at 2.5 cm. I was starting to get anxious that we weren't going to see a baby until the next day, so I encouraged Matt to get out of the hospital room and go down the street to his parent's house where he could have dinner with them and the girls. The nurse discouraged him from going, telling him that my body was going to start moving things along, and once it did, it was going to be a quick delivery. It sure didn't seem like anything was quick up until this point.

The nurses had their shift change at 7 pm, when our nurse did one final check and told me that I was between 3.5 - 4 cm and was about in active labor. Now we're getting somewhere.

Less than 45 minutes later our new nurse came back in to check me and shockingly enough, I was now fully dilated and the baby was ready to come out. I was asked to do one push, when the nurse immediately told me to stop and hold on. The doctor was paged, called, and paged again. Within minutes, what seemed like the slowest of days was suddenly moving at lightening speeds and my room was changed over from a labor room to a delivery room.

The doctor walked into the room at 8:08 pm, scrubbed up, put on his gown, his mask, and barely had his gloves on before the nurse had me starting to push. One long push and the the head was out. I was then told to slow down because the baby was coming out too fast. One slow push and the cord, which was wrapped around his hand was quickly unwrapped, and the rest of his body was slowly pulled out. At 8:13 pm, "It's a Boy" was all I heard, followed by the beautiful sounds of a newborn baby. I looked over and Matt was alternating between smiling from ear to ear and wiping away tears. I think I was just in shock that the 38 weeks and 4 days of growing this little munchkin were finally over, and the new stage of our lives was about to begin.

The baby was cleaned up, weighed, measured, checked out, and then passed back to me. I didn't even take the time to inspect him, I just held tight and didn't let go. Matt made the phone calls to the girls, his parents, and mine. We were both choked up when he told everyone he now had a son.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind. They unhooked my epidural, cleaned me up, and brought me a sandwich before moving me over into my post partum room around 10 pm. Once settled in, Matt left the hospital to go home and get a good night's sleep. Thankfully one of us got one.

My stay at the hospital was quick, and fairly uneventful. We had several visitors on Friday including both of our parents, the girls, and my aunt and uncle. What a hoot it was to see the girls faces when they first met their little brother. We left the hospital by lunchtime on Saturday, which was not a minute too soon! While the nurses on the labor and delivery side were fantastic, I could go on a tirade about some of the nurses in the post partum side. I'll refrain as it would only frustrate me.

Now we're home. Adjusting to life with three kids. And boy parts. And sleepless nights. And feedings. And it's awesome. And oh-so worth the wait!

BTW - I returned home to over 175 comments and e-mails... and obviously can't get back to anyone right now. Please consider this my sincerest thank-you to all who sent us great wishes and wonderful notes.

Now come take a peek at our newest addition. Our swan song. Our son...






















40 comments:

Kirsten said...

He's gorgeous! What a great looking little boy. Congrats to you and your whole family.

Kirsten said...

And I love his name.

Seriously, you guys are glowing with love and happiness. Congrats again!

Amy Amy Bo Bamey said...

WOW, He is so good looking! He looks so perfect! CONGRATS! Jill you look so good too! Love the sisters with him. They look proud to be big sisters!

Unknown said...

Oh Jill, I am thrilled for you all.. he is PERFECT.. you all look amazing... Beautiful... get some rest! : )

Robin said...

Oh Jill, he's just beautiful. Absolutely perfect.

You did good mom.

PS You know I'm a lactation consultant, right? I don't know what your plans are, but you know where to find me if you find yourself up in the middle of the night with questions :).

trash said...

He is definitely one gorgeous wee man. Lovely to meet him :-)

Unknown said...

You look gorgeous and that boy looks like perfection. What a happy day in the Perlman house indeed! I love the picture of the proud mom and dad.

Congratulations and he's just beautiful!

Unknown said...

What a cutie, this perfect little son of yours! Love the parents smile :)
Congratulations again!

♥ Braja said...

Jill, YAY! I just came over to see how you were doing with your pregnancy, thinking all the while it must be close, and here the gorgeous little man is!! And he IS really sweet...so beautiful...it's not normal for me to say about babies!! Congratulations to you and your also-happy-looking husband :))
xx

Z. Marie said...

Oh, what a cute tiny boy! Congrats!

OHmommy said...

everyone looks so happy. what a beautiful family he was born into!

Jen said...

Jill,
I can't tell you how happy I am for you guys. What a blessing this little boy is. I wish you all the best. Oh and he is such a cutie!

Suzanne said...

Those photos say it all. He's beautiful. Congratulations to you and welcome to the world Grady. You've now got hundreds of "aunties".

- Suzanne

Mom24 said...

He looks absolutely beautiful...and perfect. I am so happy for you. Congrats again.

Have fun, enjoy your new addition, and definitely don't worry about returning emails. Just enjoy your moment. As you well know, this will slip by so quickly and you'll never have it back again.

Take care of yourself.

Shannon said...

Congrats, again! He is beautiful!

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Ya'll make beautiful babies! So...how long before you introduce Grady to India?

Kim said...

Jill... he is perfection. Congrats to you and your family again...

jen said...

absolutely handsome. congratulations!

Lisa said...

Oh Jill....I teared up reading his birth story. What a wonderful story - what a wonderful baby boy! I'm so, so thrilled for you & your family!

The Mom Jen said...

He's precious Jill, congratulations on your boy!

Simple Answer said...

I'm so glad for you! What a blessing.

Crystal said...

He is just beautiful, CONGRATS to you all!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing the pictures of your new son and beautiful family : )

Alison said...

He is absolutely gorgeous! So happy for your family.

3 Peas in a Pod said...

He is so perfectly perfect Jill! You and Matt have the best biggest grins on your faces. I love it! Thanks for sharing your new little man with us. See this is what suckers me into having more babies. They're so beautiful and teeny tiny. So glad you're ok and everyone is healthy and happy.

Much love from NJ,
Sue
xoxo

Ashley said...

He's beautiful! Congrats!!

anymommy said...

Oh, you all just look beautiful. What a gorgeous story. I am completely smitten by birth stories, LOVE them. Thank you for sharing with us!

The pictures are all fabulous, but I really like the one of him snuggled in his car seat - I just can't wrap my mind around how little they are at first.

Love to you all.

Kelly said...

Jill, He is perfect in every way!!! Congrats to all of you!!! He's beautiful!!!!

Joyce said...

Congrats again!!! He is so cute! Enjoy every second!

Anonymous said...

What a precious little boy. Congrats!

Young Creations said...

I just want to tell you congratualtion. I met you today at the JCC. I am so sorry that I interrupted your conversation. I just wanted to stop and say hello. Will you kindly tell the woman that you were speaking to that I am sorry. I know she was upset that I stopped and said hi while the two of you were talking. I am glad to have met you and if I can help you and your family in any way while you are here in Newport, don't hesitate to ask.
Laruen Young

Michelle said...

He is beautiful! I'm so glad I finally get to see him!!!! Oh, he is just breathtaking :) He looks like Matt and your dad with a shake of mamma! I can't wait to dish with you sweetheart. Congratulations on your beautiful little boy!

Emily said...

Congratulations!

Cole's looking for a penpal. ;)

Goya said...

God bless you and your family. You have beautiful children!! Congrats!!!

The 5 Bickies said...

He's beautiful! Congratulations!

Michelle said...

Of course you know he's beautiful, so I won't state the obvious. Oh wait, I just did. Oh well.

Congratulations! If you need help in the boy parts department, I'm pretty sure I'm an expert.

Mrs4444 said...

so PRECIOUS! Watch out for fountains on the changing table! :)

Pikaboo said...

Congrats! He's beautiful!!

Michelle said...

congrats on the birth of your son! How very exciting!! and he is just gorgeous and precious!

Cindy said...

Jill and Matt! Congratulation on the arrival of Grady! What a cutie pie he is and so glad to see your family so blessed. Hope you get some sleep and rest when you can. Lots of love, The Kents

Unknown said...

So sweet - loving every minute of it & the swan song comments. Congratulations, family!

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