Brady's Birth

 Dan and I were very happy when we found out I could be induced on Tuesday, Dec. 22nd, because that meant we'd get to be home with Tyler & our baby on Christmas day.  I took Tyler to my parents' house the evening of the 21st so we wouldn't have to wake him up so early the next day.  I set my alarm for 3:30 but I was up at 2:45.  We managed to leave the house by 5:30 and we made it to the hospital on time at 6:00.  We came very close to hitting two deer on our way so I was very happy once we were safely in our hospital room.  I had two nurses for the first hour then once their shift ended, two more arrived.  They were all wonderful!  I had joked to Dan and my mom over the past few months (which were very hectic!) that if my birth this time was anything like Tyler's birth, it would be the most relaxing day I'd had in months.  :-)  Turns out, it was true!  I read People & Us Weekly & watched a little HGTV (I had hoped for a Flip or Flop marathon but no luck!).  I felt mild discomfort for 35 minutes and after seven hours of labor, Brady entered the world on the ninth push.  The cord was wrapped around his neck one time, but everything happened so quickly that I did not have time to panic.  There was also a knot in the cord, which makes us feel especially thankful that Brady is here, safe and sound.

There is no better sound in the world than the sound of your baby's first cry.  I couldn't stop crying when I saw him and I kept saying, "Brady!  Brady!"  (I still cry every time I think about it!)  We couldn't believe how small he was!!  The nurses knew that when I had Tyler I wasn't able to hold him for 20 minutes.  I took pictures and videos of Dan and Tyler, and this time, our roles were reversed.  My doctor and my nurses wanted me to have a different experience this time, so Brady went right to me.  I got to cuddle and feed him for an hour while Dan spread the news of his arrival.  We feel so, so blessed to have him here with us at last!!

I love this picture my dad took of Tyler on the phone with me, hearing about the birth of his brother!  Tyler was the very first person to hear the news!!  :-)

Santa and his elf came by to visit us while I was in labor!  We loved the santa hat they gave us for Brady!!