Baby Love

I know, it's been a while, but in case you hadn't heard, I've been a little busy--in a good way.

I was a quite disappointed that my body didn't go into labor before my induction on the 16th, but once I got to the hospital and got my epidural, that was all forgotten! Dr. Boheen came in to break my water at 8 am and I was already dilated to a 5. Of course, that meant hurry up and send an entire bag of IV fluid rushing through my vein in 3.5 minutes so the epidural could come before the baby did! The epidural itself was the most uncomfortable one of the 6 I've had, but after it was in place, it was the BEST! No weird side pains or need to push the magic button. My legs weren't dead fish attached to my torso, and I could've walked almost immediately after it was removed. I don't know what Dr. Silver did differently than the other Anesthesiologists I've had, but--wow--what a difference it made!

Ok, so onto the exciting stuff. A short 3 hours after my water was broken, I delivered (in one contraction), Dixon Michael Stringham at 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. and 21 inches long.

Wouldn't you know, we forgot to pack the camera, so we missed those first few hours of his life, but Mike went home and picked it up, along with the girls so we got a few good ones later on that day.

Katie and Dixon

Bridget and Dixon

Brooke and Dixon

Maggie and Dixon

As you can imagine, the girls are more than enamored by their new little brother. It's like wasps to a hunk of meat on a picnic table. This poor guy--like it or not--has 4 extra mothers, and I'm sure that will never change.

So far, he's been a pretty good baby. I've only had to get up once or twice a night with him, and I've gotten REALLY good at nursing while sleeping. Heaven knows I've had enough practice! Yeah, I think we'll be keeping this little guy around for a while.