Caleb Ward Jaracz has arrived!

Caleb is a week old already and I'm just getting to updating the blog. Sorry for the delay! I lost motivation after we couldn't access it at the hospital and Kyle posted photos to Facebook so most people have seen them by now.

But anyways, Caleb Ward Jaracz (Ward is my dad's middle name) was born Thursday, June 18 at 5:16 am weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches long.

It's just amazing to think how different our lives are from a week ago. We think Caleb is just an amazing, adorable, perfect little baby. I'm loving watching him each day and figuring out his moods and cries. I'm not too good at figuring out what he wants yet but hopefully that will develop with time. My mom is staying with us for 2 weeks so it's been great to have a third person to calm him and take care of him while we get some naps. She's been just incredible at cooking, cleaning and taking care of Caleb (and me and Kyle)!

The delivery was pretty good, not what I was expecting! I researched everything I could think about for pregnancy and delivery. So I found that your average first labor lasts for 12 hours. We went to bed Wednesday night around 11 with no cramps or any signs of labor. At my appointment just the day before the doctor said I wasn't showing any signs of preparing for labor yet so I was beginning to think Caleb would come on time or even a little late. Just after midnight I woke up feeling damp and at first I wasn't sure what had happened. So I just said, "Kyle, I think my water just broke". He was dead asleep so I switched on the light and repeated myself a little more forcefully. Kyle got out of bed faster than I've ever seen. He got the car packed, got some things ready for our familes who would be arriving soon, and put the last items in our suitcases and was ready to go in record time. By that time I had just had a couple contractions. They started at 5 minutes apart which I thought was kind of fast, but in my haze I kept thinking that I still had about 12 hours to go. I was cleaning up our bedroom where Kyle's parents were going to stay while we were in the hospital, and looking for my flip flops without being too concerned about timing. Kyle had a much better sense of urgency and eventually convinced me it was probably a good idea to get to the hospital.

By the time we arrived my contractions were even a little closer together. They examined me to make sure I was in labor and said I was at 3 cm. By the time the doctor arrived I was at 7 cm, and by 3:30 or 4:00 I was ready to start pushing. When the doctor arrived she said it was my last chance for an epidural already so I declined and hoped that it wasn't going to be too bad. I did end up getting nubain (spelling?) through an IV to help take the edge off the pain and give me a chance to figure out how to handle the contractions since they were coming so fast at that point. Pushing wasn't too bad at first, but I kept pushing and started realizing we had stopped making progress. The doctor then realized that he was face up when he should have been face down so he was stuck. Eventually, between giving me an episiotomy (cutting) and using forceps and suction we were able to get Caleb out. That was rough but it was a relief that he was born and to see that he was healthy. He ended up being born at 5:16 am, but it would have been faster had he not gotten stuck.

Caleb had a huge conehead when he came out. That's gone away now and we think he's just perfect. He's got a healthy cry and sometimes sounds like a little dinosaur when he lets out these long high-pitched squeals. He was a little cranky at the hospital but he's getting used to life and figuring out eating and burping and sleeping. He's been opening his eyes more and I love seeing him look around and just be adorable.

Kyle has been amazing through the whole process. During labor he rubbed my back, put a cool cloth on my neck, let me know when my contractions were starting, peaking and ending. His coaching and calmness made me feel so much better, I don't know how I would have managed without him. He's been a great daddy already and is an expert at swaddling, calming, and poopy diapers. We're both still adjusting to being parents but loving every minute of it.