Welcome to the world Raphael William!

Raphael William was welcomed into the world on Tuesday June 9th at 6:39 a.m.! He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and is 19 1/4 inches long. He has the most beautiful head of dark hair!!

Finally in our room after waiting in the OR holding room for 6 1/2 hours!

I started having contractions around 11 p.m. on Monday night. At 3:00 a.m. when the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart we called the doctor who said we should make our way to Womens and Childrens. We made a stop at the Hassells' house to drop off Jacob (sorry for waking you up, but we were desperate)! I arrived at the hospital a little after 4 a.m. and was told (by an ER resident) that I was only 2 cm dilated and that I could go home and sleep or walk the halls. I was having pretty severe contractions by this point and making the 1/2 hour plus trip back home was out of the question. After walking the halls for 20 minutes I told Jay I couldn't do this anymore and that I wanted to be checked again. This time a 3rd year OBGYN resident checked me and told us I was 5.5-6 cm dilated and that I could be admitted although all the birthing rooms were full. At this point I was relieved beyond belief!

Big brother Jacob and Raphael.

Look at this crazy hair!

Once in the non-birthing room I told them I wanted an epidural. The time at this point was after 5:30 a.m.! I knew getting an epidural would take awhile and I was a little nervous. My contractions were extremely painful and I started feeling like I needed to push. Meanwhile, the nurse told me not to push since it might cause me to close up and she kept saying "you don't want a c-section do you now?" Once again the ER resident came in to check me and said I think you're only still 6 cm dilated..what!! In less then 10 minutes the 3rd year arrived and said you're fully dilated and the head is bulging we're taking you to the OR to deliver!! The doctor kept being paged, but she never arrived in time. After being in the OR for less then 15 minutes Raphael was born!!

Later I found out that 11 babies were born on the 9th and around 6 the next day! Maybe the full moon had something to do with all of the craziness!!

Ready to go home!

It sure was a completely different experience from the 18 hour labor with Jacob! I only opted to stay in the hospital for 36 hours and am glad to be home!! Sorry if the post above was too detailed, but I wanted to remember it. I'm off to rest and enjoy our precious little baby boy!

Pure perfection!