It was an especially thankful Thanksgiving for us! Our sweet baby boy arrived Thursday morning, November 24th at 9:25am. After a month of anticipating he would come on the early side as my doctor had guessed, since I was dilated and his head was crazy low for weeks, he ended up arriving basically right on time (my due date was the 23rd and my contractions began around 2am the morning of the 24th). We’ve spent this past week soaking up the newborn snuggles and just can’t get enough. So many emotions, so much love–we’re beyond obsessed!
Snapped at day 3 | 6lbs 13oz 20 inches
As soon as we found out we were having a boy we knew his name would be Rex Moss.
He is named after two of our grandpas. Norman Rex on my side, and Frank Moss on Tanner’s (and Moss is also T’s middle name).
I’ll save you most of the details of the labor but it honestly couldn’t have gone smoother, and I feel surprisingly pretty gosh darn good. I think I had mentally prepped myself for the worst so the fact that I feel this great has been really amazing. The key for my recovery has just been getting out of the house each day for mini walks through the neighborhood and fresh air. We’ve already taken him on a number of mini outings which has been fun–out for chai lattes, lunch, and to buy our first family Christmas tree–he’s been such a great little trooper for us.
The Birth
The week leading up to his birth I went from having loads of energy to taking two hour naps every afternoon and barely leaving the house. I thought I was getting sick and was worried when I woke up with flu-like symptoms just days before he arrived, but turns out this is a normal sign that labor is near. On the 23rd I woke up with loads of energy again. My guy joined me for our morning doctor appointment and, since he had the day off work, we ended up having the best date day. Following our appointment we went out to breakfast at one of our favorite little pancake diners, ran some errands (I felt the need to prep the house and stock the pantry), went for a long walk and rounded out the day with dinner and a movie. After the movie I just had this feeling like I needed to get home or at least closer to home and the hospital. Sure enough, I woke up a little after 2am to go to the bathroom and had my first contraction.
I was most nervous about showing up at the hospital too early, but my contractions came on quickly and intensely from the beginning so we ended up arriving to the hospital around 4:20am and I was already 7cm dilated. I was quickly rushed from triage into the delivery room. My only birth plan was to keep an open mind. I was open to an epidural and decided to get one at this point and am so glad I did as it was incredible (almost felt like cheating) from that point on.
The scariest part about labor is just the unknown, and I found that having a doula with us calmed both myself and any of my husband’s nerves which really made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. My mom and sister were both able to make it in time to witness his birth as well. The whole experience is such a blur of intensity and emotions, and I’m just so glad baby boy is here and healthy and I feel so very lucky!
I can’t believe it’s almost been a week (he’s 6 days old today)–he has already brought so much joy, laughter and unconditional love.
