Welcome Joshua Olausen Clark!

What a weekend! :) I will try to be brief because I can't get enough of our new little one! Joshua Olausen Clark was born on Friday February 19th at 12:21pm, weighed 6lbs 12oz and was 20 inches long. It was an 18 hour labor if you count the minor contractions that started at 5pm. So I had probably 1 contraction per hour all day Thursday at work. At 5, I started having more regular pain but really didn't feel like my belly was getting tight like I have had during pregnancy. By 7:30 they were regularly to 6 min apart and my belly was definitely getting tight. I paged the doctor at 8 to get his opinion on when I should come in since I was already dilated. But I didn't receive a call back in 30 min so Jeff and I went up to the school so he could play in his intramural game. At about 9:30, the contractions were definitely regular and more intense (I had no idea of what they could become!) We talked to the doctor finally and he said if I couldn't make it through the night because of the contractions, to go to the hospital. But if I did hold off, he would check me in the morning. Well by 2:30am they were bad enough that I didn't want to say anything but just had to breathe through them (so I thought...haha) We decided to go ahead and come on in. I was praying to be dilated more but when we got here, I was only 2.5cm!!!!! Talk about disappointing. We asked if we could go home but they said they wouldn't be able to do anything until the doctor made her rounds at 7am. So all morning long, we walked, watched an office episode and tried to do anything to keep our minds off the contractions. At about 7:30 or 8, I was dilated to 4cm. Praise Jesus that there was change!!! My doctor, Dr. Seward (God Bless Him!) came in at 9:30 and broke my water. Things progressed pretty rapidly at that point. I no longer wanted to move around but sat at the end of the bed and Jeff rubbed my lower back through each contraction. Jeff did an AMAZING job as coach. He would look at the monitor and tell me when the contraction was on its way down. Thank goodness for that. I could no longer breathe through them but did some sort of singing moan. Sorry if that is too graphic for anyone. At about 10:30 I was at 6cm and so thankful. By about 11:30, I went through "transition". The only way I know that was after it was over, I looked back at the monitor and realized for about 5 to 10 min, I didn't really get any break from a contraction. At that point, I started feeling like I needed to push a little. Praise the Lord that when they checked me I was 9cm. If I would have only been 7, I would have gotten an epidural I think. It was about all I could handle. So they paged the doctor to come back in and I started pushing. After about 30 min, a ring of fire, and the most intense thing I have ever done in my life, Joshua was born! The doctor had his head and shoulders out and told me to reach down and pull him out. What an amazing experience. Then Dr. Seward said "It's a boy!" I can't thank Dr. Seward enough. He did a lot of perineal massaging (that was NO FUN) so I only had a second degree tear. Thank goodness Joshua wasn't any bigger. It was the most amazing thing ever. I got to hold him for a little bit while Jeff cut the cord and he got wiped down. He was crying but not like a really high pitched scream so they took him to the warmer and worked on him for a little bit to try to get more of the mucus and gunk out. I loved his little wimpers and grunts. But after a half hour, they decided it would be best to take him to the nursery and put him under some oxygen and get him crying really well. Surprisingly, it wasn't really hard on me because I was under such an adrenaline rush. I kept telling Jeff to go be with him but he wanted to keep checking on me. Such a sweet guy. At about 2:30, they brought him back in with us so I could breastfeed. I can't even describe the amount of love I felt for him. (I know all you moms know what I'm talking about). And I LOVE seeing Jeff hold him and love on him. Such a sap. I hardly cried during pregnancy but since today, my emotions are pretty high. I have cried like a baby every time I look at him. He is just so precious. Breastfeeding is going pretty well. I love that time with him and he loves his hands up by his face. Such a sweet thing. He did that during the last ultrasound too. He has Jeff's hands and nose. Not sure what he has that's mine yet :) Well I'm off to hold and love on him again. Love to you all!! Thanks to everyone for all their love, support, congratulations, flowers, etc!!! It is SO appreciated to know people were praying. I can honestly say that having an all natural labor was nothing short of God's divine intervention on my behalf. So thank you Jesus! Enjoy the pics!!