Saturday, April 2, 2011

…And He’s Here! (March 31st)

On Thursday, March 31st at 3:58pm, Smith Henry Frazier arrived into the world! He weighed 7 lbs 4oz and was 19.5 inches long. At first glance, he resembles his big brother, Bennett… but upon closer inspection, he definitely has his own unique characteristics. He has a little bit of dark black hair (which I fully expect will fall out in no time, leaving me a bald baby for the next 18 months), long fingers and big feet. He’s been such an easy baby so far (knock on wood)… I mean REALLY easy. He sleeps a lot, is nursing well and really only cries when he’s getting his diaper changed. This has left his mommy with an opportunity to recover and FINALLY get some rest.

So… how did it all happen? I had been growing increasingly uncomfortable over the past week or so, with headaches becoming an obstacle (which were concerning my doctor), inability to sleep, many contractions, lots of pressure, etc. At my most recent doctor’s appointment on Monday, March 28th, I was 50% effaced and dilated to 3. My body was clearly progressing toward labor on its own, and I was miserable living through the side effects. I continued giving myself pep talks to get through every hour of every day until the afternoon of March 30th, when I had a total meltdown. I had reached the end and it was time for the baby to come out. I tried getting some sleep that night, without much luck. At 2am, Brian was awake with me (frustrated that he wasn’t able to sleep either) and we decided we would call the doctor first thing in the morning and ask to be induced. Assuming she would be fine with this plan (since she was already concerned about my headaches and history of preeclampsia), we got up early, showered, packed our hospital bags and made some arrangements for the day. When Bennett woke up, we spent lots of time as a family hanging out in his room, reading books and talking about what it meant to be a big brother. Brian took Bennett to “school” (Mom’s Day Out) at 9am while I called my doctor. After receiving the green light from her, we were on our way to the hospital… it was BIRTH DAY! While I was very nervous, I was also very excited to get some relief and to finally meet this baby boy.

The hospital is a busy place this time of year, so the process of getting checked in and settled in a room took a little while. By 1pm, I had my IV, baby monitors were on and the doctor arrived to break my water. From that point forward, everything went very quickly. I continued to have stronger contractions and dilate on my own, finally got an epidural, was given a small dose of pitocin, and then it was time to push. At 3:58pm, after 38 weeks in my belly, Smith Henry entered the world screaming and peeing all over my doctor! And our lives will never be the same. We are so excited to welcome baby Smith and feel very blessed that he’s healthy and perfect.

Brian and I had previously decided to invite his sister, Allison, to be in the room with us to photograph this special day. She gladly accepted the responsibility… and the honor of being one of the first to meet the baby and welcome him into the world. We also discussed the idea of inviting our mothers to be in the room with us. The challenge was that Brian’s mom would be traveling from late March through early April (first on a tour of the Holy Land, and then on a trip to Georgia with friends), and my mom was really our backup plan for Bennett if we were needing to go to the hospital in the night. In order to avoid too much coordination, we figured we would just see how the day came together and extend the invites at the time if it was feasible. On March 31st, Brian’s mom was traveling back from her trip to the Holy Land (and would obviously not be able to make it), but my mom was elated by the invitation and very excited to join us. So… Smith’s welcoming committee consisted of Mommy, Daddy, Nana (Janet) and Aunt Allison.

Here are some pictures of Smith's big arrival day.






2 comments:

  1. Kerri, seriously you look beautiful! I can't believe you were just in labor. Smith (awesome name) is such a handsome little guy. And the pictures of the brothers meeting are priceless. I also love the picture of Brian looking in the mirror at Smith...so sweet. I miss you both and I'm dying to meet your kids! You both are such good parents. I wish I could have talked to you right before. I am totally on the same boat at the end of my pregnancies. I am not a happy or comfortable mom at all and I think I have melted down with every one of my 38+ week babies. You are awesome and one of my heros. Congratulations to you and your family. We love you guys!

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  2. This is a wonderful story. We're so happy for the four Fraziers.

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