It's a Boy!

We welcomed with joy another son on June 11, 2009 at 2:11 a.m. It is with much excitement that we introduce you to Gavin Ethan Valdez. He weighed 8 lbs, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He was a whopping pound and a half bigger than Devin, but thankfully I had a really quick delivery.

I finished with work on the 10th, including some last minute emails until 10:45 p.m. at night. Then my contractions started at 11 p.m. I think this kid was waiting for me to officially wrap things up for my job. The contractions were very intense from the start and already 5 minutes apart. I told Rich after only a couple that it was time to go to the hospital. Thankfully my brother and sister-in-law were at our house for the night so Rich and I were able to just slip out the door without having to explain anything to Devin. And my brother was sweet enough to help me get my shoes on!

We arrived at the hospital at 7 cm and +2 station. Earlier in the day, my doctor said I was up to 5 cm so I knew things were going to go quick. I got a wonderful epidural (that worked this time) and was ready to deliver at 1:30 a.m. (only 2 1/2 hours after my first contraction). The doctor wasn't yet at the hospital so I had to wait....that was the longest time of my life. When the doctor arrived, it only took two easy pushes and our baby boy was born. It all happened so fast, I kept thinking, "I can't believe I just had a baby!"

Gavin screamed pretty good after he was born so we knew he was doing well. He had some heart decelerations during labor, so there was concern that maybe a cord was around his neck. But that ended up not being the case and everything was just fine upon delivery. We feel very blessed to have come through the delivery so well and our baby boy is absolutely perfect.