Happy "Birth-Day" to me!

I got the best birthday present yesterday, our new little guy was born.

Joel Philip O'Connor was born on my birthday, July 4 at 4:24 am.

I went into labor July 3 late afternoon and headed to the hospital after about 3 hours of good contractions at home. I was excited that Dr. Brenner just happened to be on call so Matt and I were excited about that. Not only is she a great Dr. who has delivered 3 of our 6 kiddos but she and her family go to our church and we have enjoyed getting to know her in a more personal setting over the past couple years.

I got an epidural around 10 PM which did not work at all so they had to take it out and do another. I didn't know until yesterday that the more epidural's you have the less effective they become and can even not work from the scar tissue that builds up each time. Thankfully the second time it worked and I felt some relief although I still felt pressure and the urge to push.

My labor slowed way down after my epidural as it always does so they started pitocin and broke my water around 1:30 am which got things going again.

After a couple more hours and a few pushes, Joel Philip was born.

He was 9 lbs 2 oz and 21 1/2 inches long, a good sized boy!

I feel great and was ready to go home as soon as they would let me so we got to leave a little after the 24 hour mark since he was born at 4:24 am. The kids are still at my in-laws and will be home later this afternoon so we're enjoying a nice quiet afternoon until they get here. But it's a little too quiet for me. As of now (which will likely change) he is a very very quiet little guy.

He is doing awesome and sweet as can be! I couldn't have asked for a better addition to our family:)