First, for those of you with a busy schedule, the short and sweet version:
Charles Leland arrived wednesday at about 5pm. He was 20 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 4 oz. Both he and Brittney are doing great.
Now, for the (dad's) full story version:
So the baby (now known as Charlie) was due on tuesday. Tuesday passed without too much excitement, other than a few less comfortable contractions in the evening. We thought, "maybe tonight", but then when we woke up wednesday morning we new that it hadn't happened yet. Wednesday morning we had a scheduled doctor's visit, and so we set out for the hospital (where we see Brittney's OB/GYN) and the visit. Things went ok, but when Brittney told the doctor that she hadn't felt Charlie moving as much as normal a few days ago, he thought it would be best to do a stress test, where they listen to the baby's heart beat for about 20 minutes and make sure it is fine, and that there are "excitations" (I think they called them), where the heartrate rises above baseline by 15 bpm for 15 seconds and then returns. So, with Alec in tow, we got to sit in a special room for 20 minutes while they listened, and Charlie wasn't being very responsive. Nothing to worry about, persay, but also not positive enough that the doctor was comfortable letting us leave. So, he sent us down to Labor and Delivery for a longer listen, and if Charlie wouldn't perk up, thought maybe we should start inducing the birth. So, we headed down to a L&D room, still with Alec, and did the stress test again. (Keep in mind that Dad is chasing/entertaining/keeping from destroying hospital equipment with Alec, while Mom is letting the doctor's listen to Charlie's heartbeat)
By this time Charlie was more awake and passed the test. All morning, and especially since first seeing the doctor (Brittney had him strip her membranes (don't ask me what that involves, I have little idea!)), Brittney had been having fairly regular and growing-in-pain contractions. So, we left the hospital and headed home, but by now Brittney was visibly discomforted by the contractions. We arrived home, fed Alec lunch, put him down for a nap, and by then, the contractions were consistent and painful enough that we rushed back to the hospital. Our good friends and neighbors were kind enough to watch Alec for us for the rest of the evening.
So, we got back to the hospital, got reassigned the same room, and 3 hours later, Charlie was there. The rest of the labor was fairly smooth, as labor goes, but not by any other measure. Being there with Brittney (a huge blessing we are so thankful for, considering that 3 weeks ago I was in China), was a humbling experience. She is truly amazing. I cannot believe what she was willing and able to go through (twice) to have our baby boys. It took almost everything I had to watch her go through so much pain, I can only imagine what it was like for her. All of her distress almost broke my heart, but somehow she made it through. It boggles my mind to think that every person you ever see, someone went through that process for them, and that they were a tiny, helpless baby once. We had great nurses to help us, although we were left to our own devices to work through most of the contractions. I am so glad everything went so well.
Later that evening, Alec came to see his brother, and it was very cute. He wanted to hold him, and kiss him, and see his toes, and fingers, and show us his nose, etc. He was so gentle and kind, it was really touching and special to see as a father. I think Alec will be a very incredible older brother. A thought I had a few weeks ago that made Brittney and me smile was thinking of all the Spirits in Heaven fighting over the privilege of being Alec's little brother. I told Alec this and I am sure he instantly forgot, but it was just a fun image of tons of little kids saying, "no, i want to be his brother", "no, me!", and finally someone reassuring "don't worry, you can all be his little brothers and sisters" (just kidding on that one. I think Brittney is postponing even thinking about more kids for quite a little while).
Brittney's mom was able to come and she has been such a help, our apartment and lives would be quite the disaster if it wasn't for her. Brittney and Charlie were able to come home from the hospital on thursday night, and it has been so nice being home all together as a family.
That is all for now, maybe I will coerce Brittney into posting her version/correction of events in the near future. To all whose prayers were with us, we thank you and are sure they made a huge difference. We have been richly blessed by our Father in Heaven.
