Welcome Tyler!

We welcomed Tyler to this world at 4:12 am on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. What a surprise that was! It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, it was just 9 days before my due date. But since Michael had come the day before his due date, I was sure Tyler would follow suit. Plus, my mom wasn't here yet and I still had some loose ends to tie up at work.

Saturday had been a busy day. We had been running errands around town and planning for Easter. As I mentioned in the post below, we had been dyeing Easter eggs and while I was cleaning up, I felt some contractions. This was not abnormal for me. I had been having contractions forever. I finished cleaning up and then sat on the floor to play with Michael. Then I had a contraction that got my attention and I thought, hmm, perhaps I should time these. They were coming every 7 minutes!! But I thought, no, this isn't happening. They don't hurt, plus my due date isn't for a few more days. I started to get Michael ready for bed, and they kept coming. Greg came home while I was getting Michael ready for bed and I told him that we might be having a baby tonight! He was so excited, but I had the anxious feeling...it wasn't suppose to be happening yet. My mom wasn't here, who was going to stay with Michael... Then I looked at Michael, he was being so cute and happy and I thought, "oh no! What am I doing to Michael?" His whole life is about the change and I felt so guilty. (Funny that I had this guilt now and not when I found out that I was pregnant!) I always sing to Michael before bed and while I was singing, I started to cry. I could barely get the words out. He was so sweet and asked if I was okay. I told him that I was and that I loved him very much. Then I told him that his baby brother would be here soon. After we got Michael in bed, Greg and I decided that we needed to make plans on who would stay with Michael if we did indeed go to the hospital. The contractions still didn't hurt, but they were coming every 5 minutes, but I still wasn't convinced that I was in actual labor. We decided to call Maria Hernandez to come stay the night, just in case. Maria had been on the women's golf team the year before and had become a good friend of our family. Michael adores her, so I knew that he would be okay if he woke up the next morning and only Maria was there. She got to our house around 10:00 pm and Greg told me that he thought I should at least call the doctor and go to the hospital. I still wasn't convinced, since the contractions didn't hurt like they did with Michael. Greg finally convinced me and I and finally called. The doctor told me to head over the hospital to be checked. We got to the hospital around 11:00 pm. They checked me and I was around 3 cm dilated and my contractions were consistent. They admitted me around 12:00 am. Once I got settled in, I decided I wanted to get the epidural. I was still handling the contractions very well, but I didn't want to go too far and then run out of time and not be able to get the epidural. So, I got the epidural when I was around 6-7 cms. The doctor said she thought I was a great candidate to have a natural child birth, since I was handling them so well. But I knew better! I knew it would get worse and I didn't want to try it! The nurse noticed that the baby's heart rate kept dropping with each contraction, so she checked me to see where I was and I was at 10 cms. She called the doctor, he came in and I pushed twice and Tyler was born! He was 7 lbs 6 ozs and 19 inches long. He had pink skin and reddish, blond hair, and as sweet as could be!! The Easter Bunny was extra kind to us this year!

Weighing In at 7 lbs 6 ounces

"Where am I?"

Clean and Warm

I look so tired in this picture. I would like to say that is was because I just delivered a baby, but I don't think having an epidural and pushing twice qualifies as "hard labor"! But it was 4:00 am!

Big brother seeing Ty-man for the first time. Nice to see he was welcomed with kisses instead of pinches! (unfortunately, the newness has worn off and Tyler is sometimes the victim of Michael's temper tantrums!)

My boys!

Michael looked HUGE compared to Tyler. It was as if he grew a ton over night!

Maria (our trusted babysitter) and Tyler

Going Home

(So if Tyler is in the car seat, why do I still look pregnant?)

A Proud Big Brother!

A Proud Daddy!

Grammy arrived the day we went home from the hospital. Thank goodness we were not on our own for too long!

I love this picture! Greg was taking a picture of me and Tyler and Michael popped up in the back, with a binky in his mouth!!! The identity crisis begins!! Michael still (5 months later) likes to play like he is Tyler. He likes me to wrap him up, pretend to feed and burp him! We also have to call him Tyler!

Proud Mama and her Baby!!