Be forewarned: Blood and nether-regions are referenced in this post. Proceed at your own risk.
Jude has been here for a little over two weeks now, so I think it's time to share with you his birth story. That is, if you want to hear it.
Jude's entrance into this world was so completely different from Delaney's. With Delaney, everything was hard and fast. Hard contractions, fast(ish) delivery, two weeks early, etc. And then with Jude...not so much. I mentioned the differences to one of the nurses attending to me and she responded with, "Well, of course it's different, sweetie. Every baby wants their own story." That really resonated with me and was yet another reminder of how different each little human is and desires to be known as their own person, even at such an early age.
At my 39 week appointment my mid-wife declared that I was 4 cm dilated and effaced. I had been having contractions for a few days, but nothing was too regular. My mid-wife told me that as soon as my contractions started to become regular that I should head over to the hospital. Later that day my contractions seemed to increase, and we all thought that Jude was on his way. We made a phone call to my mom, she hopped on a plane, and we waited. Then we waited some more. My mom arrived (thank goodness--she missed Delaney's delivery by an hour and I didn't want that repeated) and we waited some more. In fact, we waited around for a few days. I had contractions every day, but no baby. Meanwhile, my toddler was driving me crazy (I love you, Delaney!) and all I could fixate on was the fact that I was exhausted and I hadn't even gone into labor yet. So on Monday, February 7th, after over a week of contractions with no baby, my mom and husband talked me into going to the hospital to just get "checked out." Normally I wouldn't comply with such an idea; I had no desire to sit around hooked up to an IV just waiting for a baby to come out. I wanted to go into labor at home, ride it out until it got really gnarly, and then show up at the hospital like I did with Delaney. But I was so tired and annoyed at those uneventful contractions that I agreed to go in and get checked.
We arrived at 3:30pm and had to wait around a bit to get situated. They put a monitor on me and when they came to check me I was having a contraction. During the contraction Jude's heart rate decreased, and they informed me that I wasn't going anywhere. I was 5 cm dilated anyway, which is when they usually admit. They threw around the phrase "possible c-section if this continues," which sent me into a tail spin of panic. Thankfully, it was a one time ordeal and Jude's heart rate was fine. My body was set to have a baby, except for the fact that my contractions weren't consistent enough, so they started me on Pitocin and I sat and waited for my baby to come.
I had birthed Delaney naturally and wanted to do the same with Jude. I always feel a little funny talking about this decision with people. Every person's birth experience and pain tolerance is different, and I don't want to sound self-righteous by flaunting my desire to birth my babies without an epidural. Personally, I feel like my body was created to withstand the difficulties of childbirth, and I want to honor that by doing things as naturally as possible. Also, I have a horrible aversion towards needles, and the thought of a huge needle shoved into my back really, really freaks me out.
Steve and I had practiced our breathing techniques, and I'm so thankful for my husband and his great coaching abilities. He really kept me focused, especially during transition. There was one point that I thought, "I've done this once naturally. Why did I think that it would be a good idea to go down that road again?" However, with my mom and Steve keeping me calm, I pushed that little bugger out of my body and into the world. Child birth is miraculous, disgusting, and beautiful all in one breath, and I remember looking down and seeing Jude for the first time as he was entering the world. I hadn't really spoken the whole time I was laboring, because that would require way too much energy. However, when I saw Jude, I said something incredibly silly and obvious along the lines of "Hey guys, look--it's Jude!" I was so glad that he was actually here. Jude, much like his sister, came punching out into the world, so I had to have some fancy stitching done in the nether-regions, which took over an hour to do. Jude was born at 11:48pm, so we were pretty exhausted by the time we were placed in our recovery room, but our hearts were full.
Jude weighed in a 7 lbs. 3 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Delaney was 6 lbs. 10 oz and 19 inches long, so he already has a head start at outweighing his sister. He is such a dream baby, and he looks like a carbon copy of his daddy when he was a newborn. I have been praying for a mini-Steve, and I'm so thankful that we have him here. We all think that Jude is the cat's meow.
First bath from Daddy.
Arriving home...we're all a little bit sleepy.
Delaney has continued her foray into the art world. Here she's "posing" next to her Valentines that she so lovingly created. 
Cousin Katie came over this weekend to play with Delaney while I did some laundry. Delaney painted a birdhouse while Katie supervised.
So much concentration...
Delaney really enjoys pretend playing. Also, she likes to dress herself.
Delaney really likes playing in the sand at the park, much to this mama's dismay.
Jude and Brundibar, meeting one another.
Life is rough when you eat and sleep all day. That's all both of these guys do. And I know this picture is going to freak my Grandma Rasmussen out, but do know that Charlie was under constant supervision.
