Welcome Bradlee!

I started to post this blog yesterday, then I hit something on the mouse and lost the whole thing...so sorry it's a day later than even I intended!

We had a few change of plans since my last blog...here's the update!

After a very uneventful weekend, I headed to work nice and early Monday morning and called my doctor to schedule an induction to have Bradlee. There were only two available times...that evening at 8pm or Saturday. According to my doctor, "We ain't waitin' until Saturday!" So I left work about an hour early and headed home to get ready for the busy night! Tony and I spent the afternoon putting laundry away, cleaning up the house and gathering trash (for trash night!) and then we went over to Tony's parents' house for dinner. Emma and Tony even got in the pool and swam for a bit before we left. I kept telling Emma that she was going to be a big sister that night, but I don't really think she understood what I meant. We left their house after dinner and headed to the hospital. The nice thing was that it was 7:30pm and so we had no problem checking in or getting to our first (of three!) rooms. After all the medical questions and answering, I was hooked up to the monitors and found out I was already having contractions and around 4-5cm dialated. I told Tony that if we were sitting at home, I wouldn't have even known that I was having contractions....and that they were 4 minutes apart!! So, I guess that even Bradlee knew it was time to make his appearance!

They started the Pitocin around 10pm and it took effect almost immediately, so they wheeled me into my second room (the labor and delivery room) to get ready. I labored for about 2 hours and around 12:30am, my doctor told them to break my water...that's when things really got a-movin'!! I was having really really hard contractions at about a minute apart and could barely even breathe between them, so I finally asked for an epidural. I gave birth to Emma naturally, like NOTHING for the pain, but this pain was so bad, I just needed something to take the edge off, and it was too late for anything through the IV, so around 1:3oam they hooked up the epidural and I was much more comfortable. My doctor arrived to check me and I was 8cm dialated, but my cervix was slightly swollen, and Bradlee was pressed up against the right side of my pelvix, so it explained why I was in so much pain with each contraction, and why my back hurt so bad. After a few more contractions, I was finally ready to push, but was apparently not doing it well enough for my doctor, because she ordered them to turn off the epidural...here comes the pain (again!)!!! So after she did that I only gave about 15 pushes and "poof!" Bradlee was out!!! Bradlee Patrick Coggins was born at July 29, 2008 at 3:28am weighing in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long!

Tony was absolutely wonderful, of course! I didn't even put him in a headlock this time! LOL He and the nurses and Dr. Scott were taking bets on how much our little chunker weighed! Dr. Scott kept talking about how big his feet were!

Emma is loving her baby brother and she is so fascinated by everything he does...she was a little apprehensive at first, but now loves to hold him and look at him and asks a million questions...it's awesome! She seems so much bigger compared to him and I know that she is bigger (duh!) it doesn't seem like she should be THIS big!!! She's going to be a great big sister!!

Have to get some breakfast and get ready for Bradlee's first doctor's appointment! Happy Friday and have a great weekend!