The Wait is Over!!!

We proudly welcome Nathanael Russell into the world, our hearts, and our home!

Nathanael was born on November 10th, weighing 7 lbs. 3.8 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long (our biggest baby yet...it must have been all that time on bedrest eating bon bons!) :) My labor officially started the previous day. I was having mildly painful contractions every 3 minutes apart most of the day on Tuesday, and I truly thought he would be born sometime that day or evening. We dropped our boys off at a friends' house that afternoon and headed to the hospital. When we arrived, my OB checked me and found that I was only dilated to about 2.5 cm, so she suggested that we do some more laboring in the comfort of our home before being admitted to the hospital. By now it was around supper time, so Paul and I decided to take the opportunity to go out on a date to our favorite Italian restaurant! :) I tried to enjoy the meal in between my contractions (which was quite comical), and then we went home and prayed the rosary together while doing laps around our living room and climbing up and down the stairs--now that's what I call productive praying! :) It was actually a very sweet time for Paul and me and a memory I don't think I'll ever forget. Then I decided to take a bubble bath, hoping that would relax me enough to speed the labor up a bit. Unfortanately, it had the exact opposite affect. My contractions became further apart and not as intense, so we decided to go to bed to get some rest while we could. On and off throughout the night I had contractions, but nothing painful enough or regular enough to rush us back to the hospital. In the morning, however, the contractions became quite regular again, a bit more painful, and I finally showed signs of losing my mucus plug. So off to the hospital we went again. At 8:00am I was dilated to 3 cm, and after sitting on a birthing ball for a little while, my contractions picked up speed and I quickly dilated to 4 cm. I had never used a birthing ball before, but it quickly became a close friend :) It really helped me to relax during the contractions, and I believe it helped tremendously with my dilation. My OB decided to break my bag of waters once I reached 4 cm, and then things really picked up the pace. I was able to relax in a hot jacuzzi for a little while (another first for me and something I highly recommend for relaxing and taking the edge off of the contractions), and within minutes I had dilated to 6 cm. Up until this point I had really been doing well at handling the contractions. I was really focused on offering up the pain of each contraction for a special intention, such as the salvation of my children, the holy souls in purgatory, those suffering with cancer, the holiness and happiness of my marriage, etc., and that really helped me to cope with each contraction knowing that the pain had a powerful and real purpose. Although it may sound strange, the pain of labor became a beautiful, grace-filled experience approaching it from this spiritual perspective. However, once I reached 6 or 7 cm the pain become more than I could gracefully handle anymore...my strategy of "offering it up" was replaced with being offered an epidural :} What I actually received was called an intrathecal, which is similar to an epidural but only takes the pain away for a shorter period of time. The shot worked beautifully, and within an hour or so I was fully dilated and ready to push. My nurse Lisa literally told me not to sneeze while she quickly paged my OB :) Thankfully, my amazing OB made it on time, and with only 3 repetitions of pushes, Nathanael was born! The hour was 3:00pm, which Catholics call the hour of Divine Mercy, and truly I felt God's mercy and goodness shower down upon me at that moment. And when my eyes saw my new son I can honestly say it was love at first sight! :) I was totally enamored with his bright little eyes and his wee bit of fuzzy strawberry blond hair. His hair color helped us determine what his middle name should be--Russell--which means "red one" and is also my maiden name which I've always been quite fond of :) I was able to hold and nurse Nathanael immediately, and from the start he has been such a sweet and mellow fellow (I pray that this will be his permanent temperament, but I suppose it's too early to tell yet). Needless to say, we are overflowing with joy and gratitude! God is so very, very good.

A relieved and happy mommy with her incredible OB and her new bundle of love!

Maria and Nathanael--first bond, forever bond.

Paul admiring his newest son.

The boys meeting their new brother for the first time--totally in awe, totally in love. Oh how I love these boys...all 5 of them!!! :)