He's Here!!!

Two weeks and two days early, Lucas Burton Gierhart arrived in this world weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 20 inches long. We have been in heaven ever since. We absolutely adore this little guy and are so happy.

He surprised us Thursday, February 25th early in the morning. With a big kick that felt like it may have shaken the bed, my water broke at 3:15 am. This was especially surprising given I had not had a single contraction before this time, during this time, or even after. Thinking that I would likely end up going about my usual day on Thursday (obviously I know little about how this stuff works) I called my doctors office because the piece of paper they had given us a week earlier indicated that a broken bag of water constitutes a telephone call. I called and to the shock of Chad and myself we quickly realized that we were most likely going to deliver our baby that day!!!!! OMG! This felt a little early. We didn't have the baby's clothes washed yet! We hadn't decided on a name yet!

So after breakfast and a shower (instructed by the doctor) and a few e-mails to our employers, Chad and I headed to the hospital. From there things went relatively fast for basically being in labor all day. They induced me at about 8 am. I had an epidural at 12 noon. We waited for several hours, sent messages to family and friends, then things started happening in the later afternoon. The baby moved all the way down and we waited for the 10 cm green light. That finally came and then it was time to push. This lasted about 1 hour and was my least favorite part. I was soooo happy when it was over and would not have liked pushing for a single additional minute! Then I was sooo happy he was early and smaller than he would have been otherwise!

It was the best experience I have ever had and we are so thrilled that he is here. My primary doctor delivered Lucas and he and all the nurses were so wonderful. Chad's dad hopped on a plane that night and met his grandson on his birthday!

All was good and has been since!

Here are some pictures!

Here's me sending you all an update!

Chad and me in the labor and delivery room (you can tell by the smile on my face that the contractions had not started yet)!

One of the first pictures of Lucas.

Our first family photo.

Lucas and his Grandpa Charlie.

Family photo in our post-partum room.

A proud new father.

Getting ready to head home.