we have an anouncement...

At 3:46 am on Monday, November 8, 2010, we welcomed Callan Bruce Cummings into our family.  Weighing 7 lbs 9.6 oz and 21 inches long, he is perfect.  We are in love.

Travis is such a proud daddy

Travis watching Callan's first bath

On Sunday evening, after dinner, around 9 pm, Travis and I headed over to St. Mary's Hospital in hopes of being admitted.  My contractions had started right around 6 am on Sunday morning after I had used the bathroom and lost my mucus plug (sorry if that's tmi).  The contractions were pretty consistent throughout the day, at intervals ranging from 3-10 minutes.  They started out very mild and progressed to be quite a bit stronger by evening time.  By the time we left for the hospital, contractions lasted just over a minute and were coming every 4-5 minutes.

Once we got to the hospital, the nurses set us up in our spacious birthing room.  We couldn't believe that this moment had finally arrived.  We were about the jump on the parenthood train.  The nurse checked me; I was 3-4 cm dilated.  She got in contact with the on-call doctor who suggested I walk for about an hour to see if I could progress a bit more.  After walking the hallways of the first floor as well as the 5 flights of stairs for what seemed like forever, we headed back up to the 4th floor to see if we had made some progress.  After checking me again and finding me to be at 5-6 cm, they were ready to admit me.  I progressed quickly.  I was pushing by the 2 o'clock (am) hour.  After an hour of pushing, the doctor concluded that Callan's head wouldn't be able to pass through my pelvic bone, so an emergency c-section was scheduled.  Not an ideal situation, but we knew that we had to do what we had to do.  By 3 am I was being prepped in the OR and at 3:46, our favorite little boy was born. 

Recovery has been rough.  The incision has been quite tight and uncomfortable, however mostly so when getting out of bed and moving about. The drugs have been nice to ease the pain.  I don't have staples or stitches.  They used some sort of "crazy glue", at least that's how it was described to us, to keep me together.  The healing process is going to be slow.  I'm thankful for Travis who has been doing so much for me while on our little hospital vacation. 

On Tuesday morning the nurses came in and told us that they would be taking Callan for some blood work and putting him under a bili light because his bilirubin levels were a smidge high.  We knew that jaundice was a good possibility since both Travis and I have the same blood type.  The doctor said the fact that Callan (rather, his head) spent about an hour and a half stuck in my pelvic bone, it probably had something to do with the jaundice kicking in.  (Bummer.)  Callan has spent his days and nights, thus far (since Tuesday morning), in a little room just next to the nurse's station under the light with an IV for antibiotics to be administered, when needed, to prevent any possible infections.

Callan under the bili lights

This morning (Wednesday), Callan was doing much better.  His bilirubin levels are down, and he's been having a much easier time breastfeeding.  The nurses and doctors are happy with the way he's progressing.

After a brief visit from our doctor this evening, we learned that I will likely be discharged sometime tomorrow while Callan will probably have to stay until the weekend.  They are waiting for some blood work results and don't want to send him home too early.  The doctor isn't concerned, just taking some precautionary measures due to the jaundice.  What we thought would be a 1-2 night hospital stay has turned into almost a week long mini vacay for us.  The bed is starting to get way uncomfortable, the food is consistently "eh", and I'm tired of being monitored for what seems to be EVERYTHING.  But it's all part of the game.  As long as my boy is healthy at the end of this, that's all that matters.

Of course I can complain.  We always have this perfect little process planned out in our minds on how certain situations should pan out...labor, push a baby out, home 2 days later.  That's the "norm".  It may not be the case for us, but we are some of the lucky ones.  We have friends that have been through so much more when it came to bringing their babies into this world.  I can't even fathom going through what they went through now that I have a child of my own.  It maybe years later, and weeks later, but now I can honestly say that my heart breaks for them - I can finally somewhat relate.   But it is amazing to see how God has worked in these families lives.  God is good.  Always good.  I know His plan is perfect for us as well. 

Here are a few pictures that I've taken from my phone over the course of our stay so far...

my view from the bed our first night in the hospital - love that little bundle at the foot of my bed!

love those little legs...

...and that profile!

corner of our room while Callan was still staying with us

my dad sent us some beautiful flowers, a little teddy bear, and some balloons to welcome Callan into the world

I've had SO MANY of these IVs pumped into me, its ridiculous

holding a pen next to his head for a little size comparison

Tonight we had, what they call a "stork dinner".  It's a special meal presented all fancy for the new moms and dads here at the hospital.  They roll in a round table with a table cloth and the food all neatly presented for you to enjoy one last "fancy meal" before you take your baby home.  Without any real idea of when we will be able to take Callan home, we opted for this meal this evening.  We each had beef wellington wrapped in puff pastry, twice baked potatoes, veggies, a small salad, a croissant, and dessert (Travis had tiramisu, I had the cheesecake).  This was, by far, the best meal we've had since here at the hospital.  The beef wellington was incredibly tasty.

These have been some of my favorite moments here at the hospital...my husband and our son.  My heart melts. 

So that's Callan's birth story, thus far.  The birth may be over, but the story of our hospital stay will continue until we are all safely at home.  Keep us in your prayers as you think of us during the rest of this week.  Pray that the results of Callan's blood work come back normal and that we can all go home as a family very soon.

Despite this bit of a hiccup, we are incredibly happy, understandably tired, and overcome with so much joy that God chose us to be this little boy's parents.  We are so blessed and completely honored to have Callan as our son.  He is one very special little boy.