A Labor Of Love! Maxwell Vincent Putonti has definitely arrived!!

I guess I have a lot to write about today - I have had such a busy week!

Maxwell Vincent arrived last Thursday February 5th at 3:54 pm. He weighed in at 8lbs, 2 oz and was 20 inches long.

I woke up Wednesday morning with sharp pains in my back, hips, and stomach. They started to get stronger and as the day wore on I thought - surely they must be contractions because they kept coming. Nothing really regular though but I was pretty dang uncomfortable. By the time the afternoon rolled around, Matt came home early and we did some last minute preparations for going into the hospital. We got to the hospital that evening, Feb 4th, as scheduled and they got me settled in a room and before I knew it I was in the bed with an IV in me and the Cervadil on my cervix to progress me enough for the induction the next morning. Mom came to the hospital and was there with me for everything and Breanna came up there too. They gave me some medicine to help me get to sleep comfortably, and then hey came in the next morning at like 5 am to start the Pitocin to start contractions and broke my water.

It wasn't very long Thursday morning, before I was in pretty intense pain. I did not like this labor thing one bit! I thought surely I would wait as long as I could for the epidural - but it was only a few hours before I gave up on that idea! The anesthesiologist came in and I tell you what that epidural was no fun at all. It hurt really badly and it was hard not to flinch in response to the pain. I breathed through it and survived - knowing I would be glad to have it later instead of all that labor pain. After the drugs kicked in I was so much happier. I was having contractions and didn't even know it. Dad came up to the hospital later and Kim, Brea, Mom, Rachel, and Monica all showed up to see me while we waited for Max to come. Of course, Matt was there being amazing and supportive, though he did raise complaints about the green TV set! As my labor progressed I did start to get uncomfortable again and found myself pushing the epidural button for more medicine through some of the contractions. Everything seemed to be happening really fast and before I knew it the doctor told me that everything was ready to go and we were gonna have this baby! I was very emotional - crying alot just being so overwhelmed with emotion and excitement and anticipation of having my son.

So I put on a little makeup - wanting to look at least half decent for all these important pictures - and I kicked everyone out of the room except for my husband! The nurse told me how to push and told me she was surprised I knew how to push so good - that gave me the confidence I needed to know I could really do this. So, we had to wait for contractions before I could push... problem was was that my contractions spaced apart more than before so we had a lot of down time waiting for them and ended up talking, laughing and telling stories in between. I realized that I did NOT want to be doing this pushing business all day because it hurt and was not very fun! So, I made up my mind to not half ass it - and with every ounce of me to give it all I had. The doctor had to stop me because she said he was almost out and they hadn't expected it to happen so fast.

Matt told me he could see Max's head and could see his hair! I had a final contraction and pushed Max out. In that moment I knew I was no longer pregnant - I was now a mother. I cried my eyes out and just looked at my husband and my new son with this just true disbelief. It really all is such a miracle.

I have to admit that I thought childbirth was going to be ALOT worse - not that it was a walk in the park by ANY means - and obviously it would have been way more painful without that epidural - but it will definitely not hinder my thoughts about having more children!

I am just loving motherhood and all the challenges and fabulous perks it has with it.