Maverick's Birth Day

In honor of Maverick's 1st Birthday this week, I thought I'd finally post details of his actual Birth Day -January 31, 2010. 

January 30th was a Saturday night, a quiet night in the Folks household.  Mitchell was 25 months old and had just transitioned into his big boy bed.  At 9pmish, I laid down with Mitchell to help him fall asleep...which worked on me as well.  I awoke at 11pmish and thought it felt as if my water had broken, but I wasn't quite sure.  I called the on-call doctor, and she said to wait for more certain symptoms before heading in.  Jacob called my dad, who was our "on-call Mitchell watcher" to let him know that he might need to head over.  It soon became obvious to me that Maverick was headed out (literally). 

My Dad came over, and Jacob and I packed the car.  Little Mitchell slept soundly in his bed, never even suspecting how drastically his life was about to change! 

Jacob snapped his picture of me in our front entry way immediately before heading to the hospital.

 Jan 30th - 1:56am

  

By the time we arrived at the hospital, my symptoms seemed to have subsided a bit (of course).  They checked me in and did a physical exam, but Maverick seemed to be holding steady and they didn't think my water had broken afterall.  They put me on "watch" for a while and Jacob and I both slept for a few hours....wasn't that nice of Maverick?  He knew I'd need my rest!

They came back in to check on us around 4am and it was very obvious to the nurses that my water had indeed broken and little Maverick was in fact going to arrive on his due date of January 31st.

They moved us to our delivery room and got me all set up, including an IV.  The night nurse had trouble inserting the needle for my IV, and even after painfully attempting it twice, still had no luck (geez, thanks).  Luckily, the in-charge nurse was put up to the task and succeeded on the third try.  Little did I know that would later become the motto of the day.

I rested comfortably most of the morning, enjoying some peace and quiet...something we didn't get much of at home anymore with a 2 year-old running around! 

Jan 31st - 5AM

8AM - I called my mom in Minneapolis to let her know that I was in labor.  She immediately headed to Kansas City to help take over long-term Mitchell watching from my Dad.

My contractions started to pick up around noon and I decided to get the epidural.  Unfortunately, it took THREE separate attempts to get it inserted correctly. I felt like a pin cushion and had a mini-breakdown, but I guess the numbness worked physically and mentally, because a half hour later, I was re-energized and good to go.

Jacob and I hung out the rest of the afternoon, as the nurses continued to monitor Maverick and I.

At 4:30pm, the nurses announced that Maverick was ready to come out! Our doctor was busy delivering another baby, so we held tight for a while.....luckily during our waiting time, my Mom arrived!

4:45PM

Our doctor finally came in at 5:15...a few pushes....and Maverick was born at 5:25pm.

Upon my first glimpse of my little Maverick David, I decided he was PERFECT in every sense of the word. 

5:25PM

5:53PM

 PROUD Daddy times 2!!!

6pm 

I barely let him out of my sight in the hospital.  Send him to the nursery?  No thanks, I'll just cuddle him.  No wonder he's still my little cuddle bug! 

6:05PM

He was so alert even from the very beginning.  The first word that occurred to me as a way to describe him was "intense", in reference to the way he would stare me down with those deep blue eyes.  I don't think intense correctly describes him these days, but that was my first impression.

6:22PM

My Dad and Mitchell were the first call that we made to announce Maverick's arrival.  They headed up to the hospital to meet him!

6:50PM

Here is the first picture of the new brothers.  It makes it so much sweeter to look back on this a year later and realize how inseparable they have become.  Maverick can't even make it through an entire nap without Mitchell asking where he is.

 7:07PM

He looks a little like he's been through a knife fight, scraped and scratched....but oh so beautiful to me :)

7:28PM

First picture with Grampy (as Mitchell would later nickname him)

7:42PM

I was so glad my mom made it in time to witness his birth!

9PM

Whew....what an exhausting and amazing day for all of us!

If there is one word to summarize my feelings about Maverick's birth, it would be "blessed".  A relatively easy birthing process -- a loving husband -- a hilarious, fun-loving, moderately-behaved :) big brother -- a super supportive extended family --  a healthy, adorable new baby...who wouldn't feel blessed?!?!?

I am constantly amazed by the depths of my love for this little guy, and thank God for each and every day that I've spent with him over the past year.  Not only just his birth, but also his continued presence has been a blessing to our whole family :) 

Happy Birthday, Maverick!