Our New Little Guy...

Maddox Curtis Dyer arrived yesterday evening at 5:59 p.m. He weighed 7lb 6 oz and was 20.5 inches, my smallest baby yet! I decided I needed to write down the birth story for memory especially since this one turned out to be better than my last 2! This is for journaling purposes so feel free to skip to the pictures at the bottom.
We were scheduled to be induced and the hospital called me in at 6:30 am. I was positive for Group B strep which meant I needed 2 rounds of antibiotic before I could deliver. They started me on low pitocin but didnt break my water until 11 and was on my second bag of penicillan. I'd been having contractions all morning but none had really made me progress. After the doc broke my bag of water, the contractions became stronger and much more intense in a very short amount of time. My anxiety over labor was 100% about the epidural working...A little background on my other 2...I was induced with Taylor and was in labor for 21 hours and after only an hour of pushing and hardly any progress, the doctor delivered her with forceps. My epidural had worn off on one side but mostly with her I was exhausted. I went into labor on my own with Boston, but as it got time to push my epidural stopped working completely and they couldn't fix it. After 2 hours of the most painful pushing and burning he was born...Hense my anxiety about labor and delivery. My current doctor assured me everything would go smoothly and that it wouldnt wear off. I got it at around noon and immediately my blood pressure dropped and my pulse was racing and I threw up...some quick meds helped out and I was set at comfy!
They checked me a couple hours later and I was at a 4...a little discouraging but at least some progress. I began feeling more pressure and was happy to find I was at a 5, then seven in less than an hour. The baby was still high and not dropping and when I finally got to a nine and the baby still hadn't dropped I got quite discouraged. The baby's heart rate began to drop during contractions so they put me on oxygen. When the nurse checked me again, she realized the reason the baby wasn't dropping well was because he was posterior and that I have a really low pelvic arch making it hard for baby to maneuver around. I started pushing around 5:30 and the doctor manually turned the baby helping him drop lower....at this point I was overly grateful that my epidural was working so well! I felt when I needed to push but didnt have the pain and burning I did with Boston. I was determined to have him out before the 6 pm shift change, so I gave it all I had and managed to get him out at 5:59. This delivery was so different for me, I was immediately overcome with emotion and love. When Taylor was born, I was too exhausted to hold her and she was taken for observation and with Boston, I could only focus on the relief of the pain being over rather than enjoying the moment to the fullest. When they placed Maddox on my chest, tears welled up in my eyes and I was overcome with love and gratitude for the doctor and nurses that helped me have such a wonderful experience. Not to mention, Curtis, who pulled me out of some dark spots when I was frustrated and assured me that I was doing great. It was leaps and bounds better than I could have anticipated and even though I wish it could have gone quicker, I'm grateful that I was able to be comfortable through it. My doctor told me, that my body almost doesn't seemed designed for delivery because of the tight squeeze with my bone structure...I doubt that will stop me in the future, especially now that I know how glorious an epidural can be.

Getting weighed...he was not happy! A little skin to skin time with mom
My mom and brother brought Taylor and Boston up to visit not long after he was born, they hadn't even bathed the baby yet. But Taylor was so anxious to see the baby. I love the look on both their faces as they see him for the first time!
Maddox seemed curious about his visitors and opened his eyes for his big sister and brother. Boston seemed to be fascinated by his small head!

Taylor is such a proud big sister and was asking everyone all day when she would get to see her new brother.
We were hoping to be discharged by this afternoon and after the pediatrician checked him out and my doctor cleared me, I was confidant we would be gone soon. However; Maddox's bilirubin count came back in the high risk zone and was immediately put under the bili lights in the nursery for his jaundice. They bring him out for me to feed and he goes right back in for another 3 hours. They tested him again tonight and its still high but slowly dropping so hopefully after a night under the lights we will be given the ok to go home in the morning. We are so happy to have him here and will be even more happy once we can all be at home. I will post more pictures once we are home since he already looks so different from when he was first born. He definitely has more of Taylor's coloring and her blue eyes, but I've seen some of Boston's expressions in his face so we can't wait to see how he changes in the coming days!