Parker is Born!

Even though Parker was due on Halloween (Monday) he still wasn't here by our appointment on Thursday (11/3). So we set an induction date for the next Wednesday (11/9) if he wasn't here by then. I was starting to get ready to have a baby but he didn't seem in any rush. Grandma Murphey got to our house on the 29th and she offered to watch the kids on Friday night so Spencer and I could go on a date before the bussiness of a newborn hit us. We went to the only Mexican restaurant in State College and I might be a believer that spicy food induces labor. On Saturday morning at 1:30 am, I woke up having contractions. I spent about an hour deciding if they were really contractions or not and finally decided that Parker was just waiting to be born on Aunt Sam's birthday. I woke up Spencer and told him. I started packing my hospital bag (yes, pathetic that at 5 days overdue I hadn't done that yet), and then went downstairs and watched TV (turns out the Disney channel and HGTV are not that interesting to get you through severe pain) through contractions until 4:30 when I went upstairs to get Spencer and we started our breathing. I was feeling like it may be time to get to the hospital with contractions being less than 5 minutes apart for quite awhile but Spencer said I didn't look like I could be hurting enough to be very close (Not sure he'll live that one down). By 5:30, I was showered and packed and ready and we debated about what to do about Mom and the kids. I wanted her to be there for Parker's birth but he didn't pick an entirely convenient time to arrive. After I woke her up (and Cooper by accident since he was in her room) and told her my contractions were two minutes apart, she figured she should probably come to the hospital right away (was she ever right!). We asked Craig Swenson come over and stay with the kids and, lucky, Cooper was already awake; it was about 6:30ish by now. We went to the hospital. Not actually a fun drive when you are apparently in transition. Should have learned with Sadie but apparently I didn't.  We were there and all checked in by 6:50 and Mom got there just shortly after us. I was dilated to a 9 and half when I got there so I just had to wait a couple more contractions and then we could have him. Parker David James was born at 7:25 am on November 5 and he is so sweet. He was pretty purple from coming out so fast, so the doctor held him for a lot longer than the other doctors ever have. After she got him cleaned up, she set him on me, at which point he promptly peed all over me! We got to snuggle him and hold him or quite a while because he didn't have to go to the nursery and get his bath until after 9. Then they took him into the nursery. Spence went in with him and Grandma watched from the window outside. They ran all sorts of tests on him, then weighed him. He weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Because he was so big, they had to prick his little foot 5 times over the course of the day to check his blood sugar levels. He's fine, fortunately. His bath went great and he looked like a new baby afterwards. It turns out that he has enough hair to do a full comb over, which is a pretty sweet look when you're less than 3 hours old. Then they gave him back to Spence and we got to hold him for quite a while. Mom went home and grabbed Cooper and Sadie and they came up to meet him for the first time.Cooper and Sadie loved him and fought over who got to hold him. They were adorable and we got lots of pictures with them. He did awesome for his first night. Because his stomach was full of junk, he was spitting up a lot of stuff, so the nurses kept an eye on him in the nursery. They brought him to me at midnight and 4 am, and he ate both times, and ate regularly after that. He did great. We got to bring him home around 3 pm November 6 and he's a great little boy. We love him so much already!