Gabriel Allen is finally here! View his birth story here.

He was born on the 6th and we arrived home Saturday. Everyone is doing great, settling in was easier than I thought it would be. Mariah loves him and has been really good with him.

Gabriel is breastfeeding like a pro and the nurses say he’s gaining weight nicely. However, the poor little boy does have jaundice, so he’s been on the BiliBlanket here at home since Saturday. Hopefully today when I take him in to his appointment, it’s low enough where he doesn’t have to be on it. The cord is only a couple feet long, so it makes holding him kind of difficult. But all in all, he’s a content little boy. He doesn’t even cry when he wakes up to be fed, just makes cute little cooing noises until he gets his milk. Mariah was the same way when she was his age.

He reminds me so much of his sister at that age. All his little expressions and habits are almost identical to Mariah’s. I can’t believe Ian and I got so lucky twice in a row. Everyone was saying “Oh, your first one was so good, your second child will be a terror!” Not this little boy. He’s a doll. I think he’s cried maybe four times since we’ve been home? No kidding. He’s pretty alert, but he’s just content to sit and watch everyone.

As you can tell, I’m head over heels in love with him. :X Which is why I’m cutting this blog entry short, someone needs a bath!

First, let me say: Thank you, Loony for hosting my old site! You rock.

Yes, I’m horrible about blogging regularly as of late. But I have a good excuse this time. I’ve been setting up this domain and I’ve also been in labor since Wednesday. I spent six hours at the hospital that night with steady contractions, but I’m stuck at 3cm and am only 80% effaced. So, they gave me the boot and told me to wait it out at home until my water breaks. The only problem is that I can’t get my midwife to understand that the women in my family have never dilated past 2 or 3 cm on our own. In fact, out of the dozen of us with children, only three (including me) have had a vaginal birth. The rest had to have emergency c-sections because of the dilation problem. So yeah, my midwife expects me to dilate enough so my water will break but I just don’t see it happening. However, she added that my cervix just has to soften a little bit more and then my contractions should strength to the point that I’ll be admitted to the hospital. She’ll most likely have to break my water for me like with my daughter. After that happened, I dilated to 10cm and gave birth within the hour. Let’s see if Gabe will be as accommodating.

Until then? I sit here with steady contractions 3-5 minutes apart and painful as all hell. Oh, and Gabriel’s head is so low that my midwife actually has to move it to check my progress. It doesn’t feel pretty, let me assure you. At least he’s dropped into place.. Yet I haven’t had that lovely “lightening” feeling. You know, where you can breathe easier, your heartburn goes away and life in general is more comfortable? Yeah, none of that for me. His feet are still right up there against my ribs, shoving out in protest every time my uterus contracts.

It’s lovely. Really, it is.

Hopefully with a little more lovin’ from my husband, my cervix will quit being so stubborn.