The Gardner Family Grows!

Yes, we finally arrived at his name. Benjamin Everett Gardner is here! He was born at 9:43 pm on July 12th, 2008, at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh. He weighed 6lbs. 4oz. at birth and was 20" long. He is super-cute, of course, with a full head of brown hair, with perhaps a lttle tinge of red. His eyes are slate blue, but that usually changes, so we'll see. He has very long fingers.

Erin's water broke a little after midnight that morning, she started having contractions around 3am, didn't sleep a wink, and we were in the hospital that morning by 8:30am per the doctors request. The doctor saw us at 10am or so, and because Erin's contractions had slowed down, he recommended that we induce labor by noon if no progress was made. We really wanted a natural birth, and as noon drew closer, we kept praying that labor would begin on its own. It did! And Erin didn't have a drop of medicine the whole time!

From noon to about 7pm Erin persevered through 1st stage labor. This was the hard part for me. Erin's contractions were usually between 1-2 minutes long, and she needed a hand to squeeze, and a heated pad on her front, and one on her back. The pads needed to be heated in the microwave every so often, which I ran and did, as well as fill up her cup of ice chips to suck on. Erin was the loud one on the hall who, when people walked by, would ask, "Is that lady ok?" It was tough to just sit there and do my best but not be able to do anything else to make it easier or quicker for her. She was absolutely amazing. I have no idea how she made it through.

It was kind of strange, but all day in labor, she was very focused, and tired, and we didn't really talk much. She would ask for water, for heat pads when contractions started, and that's about it. She was very intense. I felt like the nurses (we had 3 throughout the course of the day) and I just talked at her a lot, but she rarely responded with more than a nod, and the occasional smile.

She pushed from 7 to 9:43pm, and finally, miraculously, this new person came into the world and he is my son and I love him. It was an amazing moment. As soon as he was delivered, Erin became herself again, and a flood of words and thanksgivings came pouring out of her. We rejoiced despite our tiredness for it being over, and for the new joy of holding this little guy who stared up at us.

We're still in the hospital, and recovering well. We got a few good hours of sleep, changed a few good diapers, and are doing our best to figure out this whole infant thing. There's a lot to it, but he sleeps most of the time, looks like a little lima bean all wrapped up in a blanket, and doesn't talk back. So we'll keep him around =)

Sorry to everyone who has tried to call us or text us--we've been a little busy! Know that your messages have been great encouragements to us, and we are especially thankful for your prayers. We look forward to sharing more with you individually as we can! Please be patient with us as we learn this whole new world of baby.

Love,

The Gardners

Here is a link to some more of our pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/jeremyjohngardner/Baby/photo?authkey=cwA3SjAbQSw#5222572507211760194