He's here!!!

Westyn Thomas Berk arrived at 12:50 am on Thursday morning, September 22nd, weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs., 6 oz., and he was 20 inches long. Parker was the exact same weight, but he was 20 1/2 inches long at two days overdue! Wow..Westyn would have been a monster!! :) My induction was scheduled for 7:30 on Wednesday morning of the 21st, but we received a phone call at around 6:00 that they didn't have a bed for me, and they would call me when they wanted me to come in. It was a really long day of waiting for that phone to ring! They had us come in around 4:00, and I got hooked up to the monitors shortly after that. The funny part of it all was that I was actually having contractions all day..When I went in and they checked me I was about 2 1/2 cm. dilated which is about 1 1 1/2 more then I was from the last time that I was checked. I truly believe that Westyn was meant to come on the 22nd being that the number 22 has huge meaning for our family. Mike and I were married on the 22nd of March in 2003, found out Aubree was sick on January 22nd of 2010, she was born on February 22nd of 2010, found out I was pregnant with Westyn on January 22nd of 2011 (same day my niece was born), and then he was born on September 22nd..It sort of all came full circle, and he was exactly 19 months apart from his big sister..

Once they hooked me up and saw that I was having contractions they decided to just give me some pitocin to get the contractions into more a consistent pattern so it went more quickly for me. I was able to get my epidural early on, and it was the best one yet! I could feel my legs, but I could not feel any contractions! I labored all night with a great contraction pattern, and Westyn had no problems at all with labor. My fluid was clear when they broke my water, and my contractions were textbook with just a small amount of pitocin. I started feeling a little pressure around 11:30, but I was really trying to hold off for the 22nd so I didn't say too much. They checked me, and I was 9 at that point I think. In the meantime another girl came into the labor and delivery area, and she went very quickly so they were running around delivering her. I started feeling a ton of pressure around 12:30, but I didn't have a nurse because they were with the other girl who just delivered..I had to breathe through a lot of contractions because they had turned my epidural off at midnight. It apparently only stays in your system for about 1/2 an hour. The nurse finally came back to help me (she was all business which was much different from the other nurses I had had up until this point), and she checked and said I could start pushing. I pushed one time, and she told me to stop...she had to go get my doctor because the baby was right there. He came in (as I am feeling the intense need to push), and told me to push..a few pushes later and out he came sunny-side up...When they said it was a boy and I heard his cry I began to cry and gave a small shout because that the best sound I have ever heard..Just holding him and kissing him truly made my heart full..He was so perfect in every way, and the best part for me was that he had red hair!! I thought that Aubree was going to be my red-head, but I guess it was meant to be Westyn...I had to stay in recovery for a while because they couldn't move me until they moved the other girl, but I didn't mind spending every minute just staring into his perfect little face. That nurse who was all business actually kissed me, and said how relieved she was that everything was ok..she said she was pretty nervous for us..I guess that was why she was all business making sure all was ok..

Being that it was so late we couldn't tell the kids about their baby brother, but my mom had Carley call me first thing in the morning. When I told her she had a new baby brother she started screaming and then mass chaos broke out at my mom's house..They were thrilled, and they couldn't wait to come in and hold him. Carley wouldn't even let anyone else hold him for a long time..she is obsessed with her baby brother, and she tells me several times a day how much she loves him. She also kept telling me how excited she was that we got to bring him home with us. She was very nervous about me not being home, but my mom did a great job of reassuring her that we were just fine. Parker loves him too, but he is just too busy to spend too much time holding him! Westyn has truly completed our family in every way, and I feel so blessed to finally have a baby in my arms..I do have to say that it was a very emotional time for us in the hospital and it still is..when I look at his face I see her..she is there in so many ways, and for a while it was hard to look at him without crying because it just reminded me that she wasn't here..It has made me miss her in so many new ways, but Westyn has really made me feel complete. I am just so thankful that all went well this time around..As for me, I am feeling pretty good physically. I am just a bit anxious about a few things, but I am hoping that will go away in time..God sure is good!!!! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They meant more to us then we can even express.