Zander is here!

Zander decided to greet us 4 weeks early! On Saturday, I started having contractions. I thought they were braxton hicks and would eventually stop. After 4 hours and the contractions now 3-4 minutes apart, I knew I should call my doctor. At 3:30 AM, Devin and I threw some things in a bag and headed to Mercy Gilbert Hospital. It's strange to think that on Saturday, Devin and I were going about our day doing normal things. We went shopping for things for the baby's room. We took the kids to the pool and to McDonalds. We even had friends over for pizza and movies. Little did we know we'd be having our baby the next day!  

When I got to the hospital, I was 2 cm dialated and 80% efaced. Crazy - I was in labor! When they started monitoring the baby, Zander's heart rate dipped down low. The doctor also noticed I had protein in my urine and my blood pressure was extremely high. I was admitted into the hospital as they wanted to monitor me for 24 hours to see if I had beginning stages of pre-eclampsia. It was a long day of no sleep and waiting. I kept thinking that this baby better be born because I am not going through all of this again in a few weeks.

During the day, Zander's heart rate would be strong and all of a sudden dip. They thought he was laying on his cord too. After an ultrasound, they found out the fluid around him was very low. I was definitely going to have this baby since they felt he was in too much distress. I got an epidural (not bad at all!) and they gave me pitocin to speed up labor. I was hoping to have him naturally and the doctors agreed they would do everything possible to avoid a c-section. A short time later, the nurses came rushing into my room to tell me the bad news - the baby was done and he had to be born immediately. They put oxygen on me and wheeled me out of the room. Everything happened so fast. I was an emotional mess inside the operating rom. I was crying hysterically from fear of the unknown. I just wanted my baby to be ok. It took Devin awhile to put on scrubs and they kept him in the other room until I was prepped. The nicest nursery nurse - Kim - sat beside me trying to calm me down until Devin could come in. She definitely filled in and I felt as if I had a "mom" of sorts there with me. Once Devin came into the operating room, it happened so fast.  

At 6:03pm on Sunday May 30, 2010 - Zander Reed Merrill was born. He weighed in at 3 lbs 11 oz and 16 1/2 inches long. He was perfectly healthy, just a little guy! When they pulled him out, they discovered that his umbilical cord was small and he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed to grow big. Although he was 35 1/2 weeks, he has the gestastional age of a 37 week old baby. Heavenly Father was definitely watching over us through out this ordeal! While I was being stitched up, Devin went with Zander to the nursery. He got to finger feed him, hold him, and introduce him to the family waiting at the hospital.

It took me a few hours to recover since I asked the anesthesiologist to put me under while they stitched me up. The pressure and discomfort was just too much to handle. Devin said I acted really funny on drugs as I started to come to. I was taken to a postpartum room and got to hold Zander for the first time. I couldn't believe how little he was!  

We are so thankful that Zander is so healthy. Even though he is 4 weeks early, he is fully developed and strong. The doctors did tell us that he would probably have to stay in the hospital for awhile because of his size. For the first day and a half, they kept him in the nursery to monitor him. Here he is chilling out in his warm bed. I can tell this child will love sun bathing!

We were then allowed to have him in our room. Being a mom has been so wonderful so far! Can't wait until we get to go home.