Jack Carter Phillips has arrived!!!

Sweet Jack
Jack moments old
Mom holding Jack for the first time!
Jack in the NICU...first squeals!
Tam, Jack and Sadie 40 weeks 1 day prego--hours before labor started!

What a whirlwind we've had at the Phillips household! I really thought we'd be pregnant FOREVER. As of last Saturday nothing at all was happening. I got up early and started making cookies to take to the hospital for visitors. Not just your basic chocolate chip...yeah this crazy prego lady rolled out dough & piped some icing onto cookies...(looking back this was some crazy nesting!), I made a fall wreath for the front door, stripped the beds and washed up towels. I basically thought we'd be waiting until Monday to go to the doctor for a post due date ultra sound and then be induced sometime the next week. Derek and I went to caraba's after he got home from work and we had a great meal. By the time I got home, I was starting to feel some pains. Nothing big but, some pain. I thought it would go away like all my other contractions had. By 1am, I was laying in bed and we were timing contractions. We timed for awhile and they seemed to be getting stronger and closer together. By 5 am I was ready to call the on-call doctor. Derek gave her the info and she said head to the hospital! I couldn't believe it. I was a little worried we would get there and they'd send us home but, none the less, Derek put our bags in the car and we kissed Sadie goodbye.

The drive to the hospital was interesting. We live about 40 mins from the hospital. Thankfully, it was 6am on a Sunday and there was no traffic. We called our parents and told them we were thinking it was really time but to wait until we found out if I could stay. I was having contractions about 5 mins apart on the way to the hospital. It was painful but, I think I was so excited that I wasn't really freaking out.

We got to the hospital right at 7am-shift change for the nurses. We got our awesome nurse April and got checked in. I was dilated 5 cms and 100% effaced. They definitely weren't sending me home! YAHOO!! Changed into the styling hospital gown and I was asked if I wanted the epidural. Yes, Please! They came pretty soon after and gave me the epidural. This was one of the things I was a little worried about. The epidural was seriously no problem. I felt great after getting it and was in no pain from there on. We napped a little and waited for the action to get going. Our parents got to the hospital and it was fun to visit and make our predictions of gender/weight/time of birth for the baby. By around 1 pm I was completely dilated and effaced. We had tried to do a little pitocin, but the baby wasn't tolerating the medicine so we just had to wait for my body to do the work. Seemed like everything was good. By about 4 we were ready to push. My mom and Daralyn stayed in the room with Derek to help us out and witness our baby's birth!

Seemed like we'd have a baby in no time. I started pushing and couldn't feel a thing due to the epidural. The nurses actually turned down my epidural so I could feel more and push better. As I was pushing, the nurses kept telling me how much hair my baby had. I was shocked. I figured we'd have a bald baby for some reason! Anyway, The doctor began to get concerned about how big my baby was and the fact that my baby was "sunny side up". Basically my contractions weren't getting strong enough to push the baby down under my pelvic bone and we couldn't use the pitocin to encourage the contractions along. After about 3 hours of pushing, the doctor said they'd need to try and vacuum the baby out. She told me they would give it 3 tries and then if the baby didn't come out, they'd do an emergency c-section. Not the words you want to hear after all that work. So, they kicked everyone out but Derek and it seemed to get a little serious. You don't want the delivery room to get real quite at this point. I started to tear up a little bit and quickly realized this was no time to be crying. I had to get my baby out. So I pushed and pushed while my doctor pulled my baby out. The first try, the suction popped off the baby's head. I was so worried we'd have to do a c-section. The next try was more successful. I pushed while my doctor pulled for probably a series of 6 contractions. It seemed like we were headed for the c-section when all of a sudden it worked and our baby was born! What a beautiful moment. Derek was right by my face telling me that we had a perfect little baby BOY! Just what I had thought all along. I couldn't get over it. I was tearing up and kept saying, I knew you were a boy...and I can't believe he's really here! Jack Carter Phillips was born September 20, 2009 at 7:19 pm at 7 lbs 15 oz and 21 inches long! Hooray!

The nicu took him away to warm him up and check for any problems. My doctor was cleaning me up and stitching while I just sat there in sheer joy amazed by what had happened. All the pain or discomfort dissappeared as I just thought about our son! They brought Jack back to my room quickly and it was incredible to hear him crying right next to me! Our families filed in to meet the little guy and then it was off to the nursery for several hours. It was the first time Jack and I had been apart and it felt strange! Our families stuck around for Jack's first bath and got some great pictures of him! By about 1am we were in our room with Jack and some whataburger. I have never inhaled a burger faster in my life! We kept Jack till about 3 and then the nursery took him for the rest of the night so we could attempt to rest! ha ha. I don't think I slept hardly at all. I was on cloud nine thinking about our sweet baby boy!

The next couple days in the hospital were great. We had great nurses and were really taken care of well. By Tuesday we were ready to go home! After getting home honestly time and days have gone out the window. Jack is such a great baby and we LOVE him so much! I can't get over it! He has already changed so much. He's eating like a champ and his cheeks are quickly filling out! We feel so blessed to have our little boy here safe and sound. I am recovery well and have been shocked at how good I feel so soon. I've lost 20 pounds in the last week. The whole thing is just a little crazy. Last Sunday we went from a family of 2 to 3 by the end of the night! I had a huge baby inside me and now a beautiful son to love and care for. We are overwhelmed by how much we love this little baby already!

Derek was off for the week and so we really spent the days hunkered down, caring for Jack, sleeping and getting caught up in kissing Jacks sweet face! We are learning all about what makes Jack happy and how to keep him calm. We've had a couple wild nights but, overall this baby is so laid back & happy. I think he fits right in with us! Derek is back to work as of today and I'm sure missing baby Jack. Derek's done a great job of helping me with everything. He's really calm with Jack and is great at soothing him. I couldn't ask for anything more. Our little family feels blessed beyond measure.

Thanks for checking on us. We can't wait to introduce you to Jack! We've been encouraged to lay low and not see too many visitors until the flu season settles down and Jack gets bigger but, we are anxious to show off this baby! We are truly in love! Here are some pics from Jack's first week! More to come soon!

Love, Derek, Tamara, Jack & Sadie