Our First Milestone

Well we made it through our first week!  This little guy has absolutely captured our hearts!  He is absolutely precious and we can't help but just sit and stare and admire him.  What a gift God has given us.

It's hard to believe he's already One Week old.  We celebrated the occasion with a little photo shoot.  I want to remember all of these days and look back at all of the ways he has developed and grown over time.  It was nearly an impossible task to choose my favorites because I absolutely love them all!  So we hope you enjoy our little boy at least a smidge of what we do!

 He makes my heart so happy!

The Birth Story Part 2

I'm still in such awe of all that transpired over the course of a few days.  Giving birth is a thing of wonder and amazement.  

I know I'm the one who actually brought this kid into the world, but I must give a shout out to the awesome team of people who helped me through it.  I couldn't have done it without them!    

(As you can see from the clock...just over 30 minutes after Desmond was born)

It's funny...everyone kept warning me about how I might be feeling in the moment and to think about what I would want everyone around me to be doing.  But honestly there came a point where I couldn't think about my surroundings and all I knew was I just wanted Jordan close.  He's my best friend and I've been so blessed to be his wife and now start a family with him.  He was so encouraging and so supportive throughout the whole pregnancy and all of the way up to the end.  I love this man so much and I'm so glad he was there to experience all of this with me.
And then there's Kelly.  She's the first person I called when we found out the big news, so having her there in the end brought things around full circle.  She was a huge help throughout my pregnancy, always answering any questions I had.  And it was nice having someone there who had gone through the whole process in the same place just months before.  She helped to calm Jordan which helped to calm me and gave us both much relief through the whole situation.  So thank you Kelly!  We are forever grateful to you and were so blessed to share this moment with you!

This is just a small number of the people who were in the room during the delivery.  I think I was the only one there at the time, so everyone was available to be a part of my birth! HA!  Jordan said there were probably 11 people in there at one time.  But I was completely unaware of it all...mostly.  That's Dr. Rivera in the orange.  She made a few jokes which helped lighten the mood and helped me to focus and keep calm.  Everyone there did a wonderful job and were all cheering upon is arrival.  He didn't know he'd have such a party waiting for him.

After I had a chance to hold him and let our family bond together, they took him away for just a few minutes to get him all cleaned up and measured.  Dad looked on to make sure everything was ok.  

I loved getting to see Jordan hold him for the very first time.  It was such a special moment and one I will not soon forget.  He has such pride and love for this little boy.

I can't believe it's all over now.  Those days and moments felt so long and yet passed so quickly.  We ran on pure adrenaline and love for nearly 3 days straight.  We are all doing well and trying to adjust to our new normal and life could not be better.  Thanks for following the journey all along the way!  And you can be sure, there will be so much more to document and share as Desmond makes his way in this world!

The Birth Story Part 1

I don't even know where to begin in describing the events of the past few days...   

All of the waiting, all of the preparations, and not to mention all of the pain were worth every single ounce of this bundle of joy we call our son!

William Desmond Lars Nisly entered the world at 1:15 am on October the 2nd.  Weighing in at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.

As you read in Week 41's post things began happening over the weekend and we had our fingers crossed he would soon be with us.  Things kept progressing and I contacted my doctor and she suggested I go directly to the pre-labor room of the hospital.  We waited it out for a while and around 3:30pm made our way there to see what we should do next.  And in great character as soon as I got all of the machines strapped on to me, Desmond stopped.  They came over and asked how my pain tolerance was and I smiled and said...oh it's fine.  I haven't felt a thing since we've been here.  Really kid!?  After 30 minutes they contacted Dr. Rivera and I was to make my way to another floor to get everything checked out again to make sure he was still ok.  As soon as I stood up the contractions started coming again.  He scored 8/8 on all of testing and the technician made mention of all of the contractions I was having during her exam.  The doctor was notified and I was given my options: be admitted and just sit around, take some laps around the hospital, or head home and come back when things were different.  We chose the latter and made our way back home.  I Skyped my Mom and Dad to give them an update and hung up with them and that's when things really began rolling.  We started timing them and as I walked around they were coming on every 2 minutes.  I laid down to give myself a break and they never really slowed.  Jordan convinced me it was time to go.  After leaving the hospital just 3 hours previous, we were already making our way back.  

Our friend Kelly met us there to be of help to us during the whole process and we were all hoping for good news.  As soon as I was strapped in, there was no doubt that this was it.  The doctor told me whatever I was doing definitely worked and it was time to be admitted.  The calls were made, the room was prepped, and we were in there within the hour.  Dr. Rivera's Resident greeting us and told me he thought I was awesome for wanting a natural birth and he was in full favor of it, and would be cheering me on.  And then it happened.  The point where I began to give up.  I tried to prepare myself for that moment before hand but being there, everything changed.  Jordan and Kelly encouraged me to keep going and just work my way through each one, and so I gave it my best through a few more.  I told Jordan I was done and I couldn't take it anymore. I was asked like five times if I was sure, and I was wondering why no one would listen to me.  It felt like forever and I just wanted some relief.  We asked how much longer it would be and the prediction was two hours...two hours...And so they called for the anesthesiologist.  At that point I felt like I wasn't in the room anymore.  Everyone was there talking and I could here them, but I felt so far away.  I prayed God would continue to give me the strength and the next thing I knew...it was time to push.  And then the anesthesiologist showed up and it was too late.  Those next few minutes were some of the most surreal moments of my life and I just focused on gripping Jordan's hand as hard as I could knowing at any minute our child would be here.  And then he was.  And time stood still for a moment.  And the pain that felt like it would never end all melted away. I sat in awe as I starred at my baby boy.  

Our hearts are absolutely overflowing with such joy and can't believe this little gift that God has given us.  Our lives will never be the same...

Week 41

Not necessarily the post I thought I would be writing, but that's ok.  Boy has it been a long week.  Things progressed every day but at a snails pace and were nothing to get excited about.  The weekend was long and I wondered if Desmond was ever going to come.  The fears of having to schedule an inducement weighed heavy on my heart and I tried not to drive my poor husband crazy with all of my impatience.

He has always loved the anticipation that comes with waiting.  I on the other hand loathe it!  Especially when there is no end in sight.  Ok ok, I know Desmond is not going to permanently reside in my abdomen, but I hate to be just left wondering when it's finally going to happen.

Saturday night as I slept, I was in and out of it all night long fully aware that something was happening and things were beginning to feel different.  It continued through Sunday morning and just as soon as I made an announcement to a few people that this might be it, everything stopped.  I was bummed all day long.  Jordan and I discussed what we would do come Monday morning at my doctor's appointment and we tried to distract ourselves the rest of the day.

Just as soon as we laid down to get some rest, it all started up again.  There were definitely some waves that woke me up and had my mind going again.  Could this be it?  Well here we are Monday. And things are still going.  It's still slow.  Contractions still aren't super close together and are still not on a consistent average, but things are at least progressing.  I feel leery typing this out, because I don't want a repeat of yesterday, but we're really praying things keep moving along and we will soon be showing off pictures of our beautiful baby boy!  We'll keep you updated as best as possible!