Welcome to our family blog!  I’m very new at this so give me a break.

So, let me get everyone up to speed:

When I woke up Tuesday, October 9th I knew it was going to be an interesting day.  I had Braxton-Hicks contractions all day and some other occurrences that I won’t disgust you with.  Little did I know I was in labor all day at work!  Looking back, I had my first ‘real’ contraction just as I turned onto our street.

I started taking note of my contractions at 7:39 p.m.  They were pretty tame so I thought it would be okay for Brendan to go to his regular soccer game.  At around 8:30 I realized my contractions were 10 minutes apart and getting stronger.  I decided to put myself into a warm bath to relax and call the doctor.  I was bummed to find out that Dr. Wolf was not on call, but at that point I really didn’t care!  I gave all my info to the doc on call and he told me since it was my first it may be awhile and I sounded way too relaxed to progress quickly.  I proceeded to call Brendan many, many, many times with no answer!

Brendan finally got home around 9:15 p.m. and found me in the basement squatting in front of the recliner.  At this point my contractions were 7 minutes apart and getting much stronger.  We called the doc on call again to ask his advice.  Again, he said that he could be hours and we could go ahead to the hospital if we wanted.

Finally, I gave in and we headed to the hospital at 10 p.m.  That was the longest car ride, EVER!  We only live 7.8 miles away and I must have had 2-3 contractions on the way.  I was sent up to triage so they could tell me what I already knew…I was in active labor!

After what felt like a lifetime, I was sent to labor and delivery.  Originally, I thought I would try for a natural birth…yeah, right!  I have a lot of respect for those women who can handle the pain of labor!  By the time the feel good juice was taking effect it was time to push.  With every push the heartburn I’d been dealing with the last few weeks of pregnancy was getting worse!  Just when the doc was suggesting a C-section to get the kid out…

Fionbharr Declan McBride was born October 10, 2012 at 4:39 a.m.  He was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 3/4 in tall.

Now, Brendan and I chose not to find out the sex of the baby.  We had a couple names picked out for boys and girls (even though Brendan knew it couldn’t be a girl!)  Once baby was born the doc asked what his name was.  Brendan then took one look at him and said ‘His name is Fionbharr!’

The next couple of days were a frenzy of family, friends, nurses and nuns! Oh, my!  Finn and I were discharged on Friday.  Once we got him home Brendan and I kinda looked at each other like ‘now what?!’  The dogs went crazy for a couple of days and therefore, spent most of the first weeks in the kitchen.  Now, Brendan and I never imagined we’d have an average sized baby.  That first day home was spent calling our mothers and scrambling to get newborn sized clothes!

To be continued…