HE'S HERE!

Isaac Brian Poulsen finally came Thursday, March 19 at 7:21 pm. He weighed 9 lbs 14 oz and was 22 inches long.

When I woke up on Thursday morning I felt a little different, but I couldn't explain how. My midwife had told me to watch for consistent contractions, but I still was feeling just cramps and random contractions here and there. I got up and got breakfast for William and myself and debated about what I should do. I went to the bathroom and there was a little bit of show, so I decided since that was new we should go to the hospital and just see what was going on. I called Greg at school and he called his mom to come up. Greg got here about 15 minutes later and we worked on packing our bag and cleaning up the house, then I took a shower. When Barbara got here we left Will with her and left about 10:15 for the hospital which is only 5 minutes away.

My midwife had told us several times that if we got tired of waiting we could go to the hospital and fib a bit about my dilation so they would admit me. I had been a 5 on Tuesday and I didn't think it had changed, so we told the nurse I had been a 3. When she checked me she said I was a 5+ or 6, so I was in. They told me if there was no change in dilation in 2 hours they would start Pitocin, which dismayed me; I didn't think there would be a change because I felt pretty much the same as I had for the last 3 weeks. So we started walking the halls. Two hours later they checked and I was a 7! I was able to be the first person to use the hospital's brand new birthing tub, which was so cool! Greg was showing the nurse how to work the doors and drains becuase she didn't know. Then we walked some more, then I was an 8, then we walked some more, and then I was a 9. I still felt the same as I had all month long. Then my midwife broke my water and we walked some more. Then there started to be defined, strong contractions and we went into the delivery room. I spent some time sitting on the edge of the bed with my arms around Greg and some time on a birthing ball. I was so glad for Greg and my midwife, they were both wonderful. We were so blessed to not have any complications with the delivery.

Isaac is a sweet little boy with a mild temperment. He spends a lot of his awake time looking around and making really funny faces. We came home from the hospital on Friday night and have enjoyed getting to know him since then. William thinks he is ok and will give Isaac a kiss and help burp him, but he's not too interested beyond that (can you blame a 2-year old? The baby doesn't really DO anything!). We are thrilled to have him here.