Gabriel Ryan Crozier Is Welcomed Into the World!

Our beautiful baby boy came into the world Monday February 9th at 6:40 am weighing 11.1 pounds and 20.5 inches long!

I'm pretty sure I started into labor the previous Friday. I had contractions all day long and was trying to count them, even though I had no idea when or where one ended and started up again. Archie came home and tried to help out as well, but we were so hungry we decided to get some Thai food. I guess that did the trick to lessen them, cuz during that feeding the contractions went away.

Archie geared up for the c-section

His little angelic face!

Getting his first bath at home!

I thought maybe Saturday would bring on some more...I just had a feeling this had to be the weekend. But the only thing I felt was horrible cramping in my bladder. It got so bad I went in to labor and delivery that night. They checked my pee and my cervix...I had gone from a two to a three, but not within an hour so no official labor, yet. And they told me I had a major bladder infection and that was the cause of my pain. So they sent me home with percocet and antibiotics. Well, I some how managed to make it through that night.....

His first mouth feeding ever!

Sunday was horrible. It felt as if my insides were being knifed by multiple sharp objects all at once. But I just figured it was my UTI, extra hurty with my big baby sitting on top of it. Finally, around nine that night while I was in tears, Archie convinced me that we should head back on in. The nurses recognized me from the night before and were hoping I could just stay and deliver the darn baby!! My cervix came back as a 4, so it was going on up! I was in so much pain...Dr. Haskett said he was wondering if I would be back the next day...so he ordered me into the hospital!! I was finally going to deliver Gabriel!!!!

Chilling with Mom

Chilling with Dad in Nancy's hat!

Immediately, they got me into a room and the anesthesiologist got there asap and hooked me up to the epidural and then came the petosin to speed up the labor. It was very nice to not feel the contractions getting me to a ten! I could definitely feel the pressure, which wasn't fun. I got to a ten around 2:30 in the morning! I knew it was going to be a very long night. They didn't let me start pushing til an hour later. Dr. Haskett said they were just going to see if he'd come out nice and easy since he knew my baby was probably on the larger side.

Gabe in his Jazz outfit!! Go Jazz!

Feed me!

3:30 was the time to start pushing....and that's when it happened. I had the worst cramping pain in my upper back and neck while trying to push. And it wasn't getting any better. I couldn't effectively push at all; it hurt too much. By the end of hour two I had really given up; Gabe was not progressing and his head was getting swollen. Dr. Haskett finally came in and did one last push with me to see where we were at. That's when he rolled up the towel and declared C-Section. That was very exciting news, though very scary, since I really didn't want to get sliced open! The anesthesiologist came in to really deaden me up for the slicing. But somehow that extra pressure on the spinal nerves came up to my previous back cramping pain and was the worst pain I'd ever felt! The poor guy thought he was killing me! He didn't even finish off all the medicine. So I was in excruciating pain as they rolled me into the operating room and the flatter I laid down the worse the pain got. They couldn't do anything about it. They just needed to get the baby out and then they could get me on any pain meds I needed.

The C-section was the weirdest feeling, besides the back cramping and pain I was experiencing, I could feel them pulling and prodding around in there. Archie was the best with me, holding my hand and stroking my hair and telling me what a wonderful job I was doing! I kept wondering how long it was going to take? I don't hear any crying, what does that mean? Is he OK? Why is it taking so long? And then I hear Dr. Haskett ask a nurse the ETA of the another doctor because he needed some help. That's when I started freaking out...My actual Dr. Andy Smith finally arrived to help out and it seemed like there was another one as well....but they started jumping on my upper stomach for what felt around five minutes. It was so uncomfortable and I could feel the fluids drain from my belly....and then...finally a big weight was lifted and I heard some crying and he was finally out!!!!!!!!! Right after he was out the Pain doc started pumping me full of morphine and other good drugs so it's all a bit hazy, but I remember hearing Dr. Haskett saying something about how Gabriel already had a football scholarship and was so grown up he was heading off to college! Then the news came.....Omigosh, he's 11 pounds and 1 ounce! And then finally Archie dropped Gabe all wrapped up on my chest so I could see him! He was so beautiful! And sooooo heavy. I couldn't hold for too long so Archie took him back and almost fainted when he sat down since they had moved his chair back past the curtain and he saw them working on my stitches.....So the nurse scooped up Gabe before that could happen!

Gabriel ended up having some trouble right after he was born with his gluclose levels being too low and some rapid breathing problems as well as bilirubin problems. So he had to go straight to NICU. So he never got to breastfeed early and is still having a hard time with it. It was difficult since he couldn't enter my room, I had to get the strength in order to go visit him. I didn't see til the next day...It was amazing to finally see him again when I wasn't so stoned on the morphine!

Gabe and Wolfy getting cozy!

I was in the hospital for four days and was released on Friday. We picked up Gabriel later that night after he took the bottle well throughout the day. Sunday we had to get a bilirubin check to see his levels, whether they were going up or down. They were going up, so they sent us over a bilirubin bed and put him that all day and night and he is now on the mend!!!

But on Saturday I started running a low-grade fever and it still hasn't gone away, so Tuesday I went back into the doctor and found out my incision had too much fluid in it and needs to be drained. They reopened the incision (without pain meds or anesthesia) and put in a couple of gauze things to help drain it. This is adding an extra week to my recovery, grrr. Went back in today with my actual doctor and she really got it drained and on its way to healing, and another prescription for pain meds. So I should be slowly, but surely on my way to heal! She also said since I was in labor first for awhile before the c-section that that is the usual culprit to this kind of infection.

But we are all hanging in there and Gabriel is beautiful and we love him so much. Archie is the best dad and most affectionate husband in the world! He loves holding and snuggling with him every chance he can get! My mother is staying for a couple of weeks to help heal and get the feel for being a new mommy. I'm super exhausted from healing, taking care of him and breast pumping. But it's all worth it! He's the greatest! Also want to give my love to everyone who has helped us out and given their congats over the last week!

And this is how we all feel every day!!!