Theodore Rex

He's here! Theodore Rex Swanson was born at 5:01 am Saturday February 4. Weighing in at 7lbs 14 oz measuring 21 in long.
So, for the story of how he ('Teddy, Theo, or T-Rex') arrived.... I was feeling really uncomfortable and cranky on Friday because I was ready to NOT be pregnant anymore! We went for dinner on Friday night with our friends Josh and Jessica and decided to come back to our house to play Settlers of Catan (yea, it sounds so dorky now that I retell it). I was losing pretty badly and feeling all around uncomfortable and just as we were getting close to ending the game I stood up and... GUSH. Water broke- or BURST more like it. I announced game over- time to go. Thank goodness Josh and Jessica were there because Lucy was already in bed asleep so they just stayed the night and allowed Sam and I to make our quick escape to the hospital.
We arrived in the ER just after 11:00 and after a check of the cervix I was at a 3 and contractions were already starting to roll in on their own. Just after 1 I was in serious pain so we called for the epidural. (which made me so itchy I could barely stand it- but better than the pain!). My mom and Brian arrived at the hospital around 3:45 and by 4:00 I had only progressed to a 4 so they decided to start me on pitocin. The nurse said I would feel stronger contractions within about 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark I was so uncomfortable and Teddy's heart rate was dropping- a team of nurses rushed in and put me in panic mode about his heart rate. They kicked mom and Brian out and began paging for other nurses to come in- they checked me again and I had dilated fully to a 10. 4 to 10 in 20 minutes! At which point, I had a freak-out and started crying. Sam did a great job of staying calm and calming me down. They told me to hold my legs together and DON'T push- women who have had babies- you know that a baby trying to get out is not easy to keep IN!! When Sam asked where the Dr. was they said she was coming from her house.... HER HOUSE?? I had to keep that baby in while she drove from her HOUSE?? The Dr. must have driven like crazy because I think it only took her 10 more minutes to arrive. She jumped up in front of me and about 10 minutes later Theodore was here!
It was a fast and furious delivery but Teddy is well worth the wait. He is super cute and snuggly and a GREAT baby so far! Lucy is an excellent big sister as we knew should would be. She loves to look at her 'baby brudder' and likes to show him everything. Anytime he cries she runs over and pats him on the back and says "it's ok, Teddy".

Another great thing about Teddy's birthday was that his cousin was born in Houston the exact same day! My sister in law Kelly and I had been teasing each other throughout our pregnancies about who would deliver first since our due dates were so close. I can't believe we actually delivered on the SAME day! We are looking forward to meeting our new nephew James and hope that he and Teddy will share a special friendship as well as a birthday.

It hasn't been an easy transition into parents of two. Lucy has been sick with a terrible cold so our first full day at home was a fun one with one kid puking and the other kid... well, being a 3 day old. We are doing our best to keep germs at bay and praying that Teddy doesn't get whatever his big sister has! Thank goodness my mom is here!

All in all, we were so grateful that Teddy arrived safely and that so many of our friends and family were there to come and meet him at the hospital!
To view our online album of Teddy's birthday click on the album below.

Teddy's Birthday- 2412