Oh Baby!

Do I really need to start every blog post with an excuse for why we are so bad at keeping this site up-to-date? I'm beginning to realize that we are just not meant to be regular blog keepers, so no more apologizing for who we are.

That being said, "who we are" is now a family of five. Since we have already established that we are bad at blogging, um, you may not have heard that Jenny got to enjoy most of 2009 as a pregnant person. So, that was nice for her. From our ultrasound around the end of September, we found out that we had broken the Draper baby mold, and were having a boy. Finally! It was very exciting news, but I still didn't quite want to believe it until I had seen the actual merchandise, and not just a couple of fuzzy blips on an ultrasound screen.

So, the year went out with Jenny getting larger than ever, and both of us wondering just how big this boy was going to be. Here is photographic evidence of just how prominent Jenny's belly was (posted with her permission, of course):



I think she was more pregnant than anyone ever has been, and twice as uncomfortable. The official due date was February 18, and as the date grew closer, we prayed and prayed that she wouldn't have to go the distance. Well, the Lord answered our prayer, but just barely. She went into labor one single day short of her due date, on February 17th. The contractions started up around 3:00 AM, and by 7:00 AM they were close to being 5 minutes apart. For the uninitiated, when they get to be 5 minutes apart, it's time to get to the hospital. So, we piled the family into the new van (P.S. I'm too embarrassed to be driving a van to have posted that piece of news on the blog), and we headed to Jenny's parents to drop off Madeleine and Tori.

Well, by the time we got there, the contractions had moved back to 10-15 minutes apart. Crap. So, poor Jenny sat at her parents house for about 8 hours going through labor and waiting for the contractions to get closer together. To pass the time, we played some Guitar Hero on the PS3, and now one of Jenny's greatest moments is jamming to "Rock and Roll All Nite" and completing it at a rate of 91% whilst simultaneously enduring a contraction. Yes, this is the woman I married, and I could not be prouder.

By about 4:30, the contractions were finally getting pretty close together and pretty intense, so we finally left for Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. They started coming pretty fast and furious during the drive there, and unfortunately, we had chosen to leave right in the middle of rush hour traffic. Crap again. We finally made it and checked in at the hospital around 5:30. The nurses got her set up, and I went to fill out the admission forms. By the time I got back 15 minutes later, the head nurse was in a tizzy saying there may not be time for an epidural, because this baby was nearly there! Well, long story short, turns out she was a little over-excited, and Jenny did manage to get an epidural before the baby came. And I was able to capture this lovely montage of photos, which I entitle "The Faces of Labor":





Alternatively titled: "Labor's Not So Bad After the Epidural, So You Can Goof Around"

Anyway, at precisely 7:01 PM, our baby was born. As you can see from the pictures below, he was pretty hefty. 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 19 inches long. After some deliberation, we named him Henry James Draper. We had long debated the name Logan Draper, but we ultimately decided that we couldn't name him after TWO prominent cities in Utah. Besides, he looks like a Henry.



They also do this funny thing where they ink up his feet and stamp Dad's forearm with them. It was kind of goofy, but also kind of cute.



Well, after they cleaned him up, Jenny got to nurse him and we got to just be with him and get to know him for about an hour. Then they took him away to the nursery for his checkup. It turned out that it would be the last time we'd get to hold him for a couple of days.

During his checkup, they noticed that his blood oxygen content was lower than normal. In fact, his hands and feet were still pretty blue, since they weren't getting the oxygen they needed. So, he had to be given oxygen via a tube taped to his nose and face until the doctors could figure out what the issue was. He also got an IV for antibiotics, so they could proactively treat any infection that might be present.



By Friday, the oxygen tube could come off, and the official diagnosis became a very mild case of bacterial pneumonia. They kept the IV in to continue his antibiotic treatment. But, we could hold him more and even give him a much needed bath.



Apparently, a little pneumonia is fairly common in newborns. Who knew? Evidently they can contract it while still in the womb, and the mother's body recognizes the illness and begins labor before a major infection arises. Pretty crazy stuff. Anyway, by today (Sunday), his antibiotic regimen was complete, and he could come home. Hooray!!



Besides the blood oxygen issue, he's a very healthy boy, and we think he's pretty handsome, too. He's a good eater already and has not been much of a crier. The girls absolutely love him, and I think we're all gonna get along just fine. Give us a call sometime to come visit and meet Henry in person!