Blake Andrew Ferguson Has Arrived!

Blake Andrew Ferguson arrived in our lives at 5:07pm on Thursday, July 9th (he was due on Thursday, July 16th...so a week early) weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 19 and a 1/2 inches long. The photo above was taken at 5:34pm...and now looking back I am surprised by how calm I look :)

Blake arrived in a way that very much doesn't fit with the Ferguson's low key nature of living life. At 5:15am on Thursday morning I had some light contractions that were getting more regular by about 8:30am. So I called the Midwifery Clinic and they said to wait just a little while longer until they were closer together and then to give them a call. Well 20 minutes later that contractions just stopped. So I never called. Luckily, Pat did call his mom and dad and they started their journey from Leavenworth, WA (where they were hanging out) to Bonney Lake.

At about 1:30pm contractions started again, but really sporadic. Like every 15-20 minutes. Until Pat peaked his head in to see how I was doing at 3:15pm and 30 seconds later my water broke. So I called the Clinic again and they said to come to the clinic not the hospital and they would check me out. So at 3:30pm Pat and I got in the car and headed to Tacoma. Well, not more than 5 minutes into our car ride did my contractions start to speed up to 3-4 minutes apart and I was experiencing pain like I hadn't experienced before (even with my 42 hour labor with Caden). By the time we got to the Clinic I could barely walk or talk. They quickly checked me out and immediately sent me to the hospital (only 6 blocks away). My midwife said I was 6cm dilated and this baby was on his way.

By the time we got to the hospital I felt like pushing. Not the greatest thing when a lady, who was just doing her job, wants you to fill out paperwork. Pat filled out some papers while a nurse rushed me up to Labor and Delivery at St. Joe's. We were checked in to the hospital at 4:55pm and 12 minutes later Blake was born (we think after 4-5 pushes...but it was a whirlwind, so don't quote us on that). Yes, I did ask my midwife if I could get an epidural and she kindly said there is no time...I then looked at my husband with tears in my eyes and said, in what I imagine was the most pitiful voice, "I don't get to have an epidural!" But in the end all the chaos, the fact that no one but my husband (who because of the paperwork almost didn't make it) was able to be there, and the intense pain were all worth it when we got to meet Blake!

Caden got there a little bit later with Grandma and Grandpa Ferg who luckily had made it from Leavenworth and were able to stay home with Caden while we went in. He is SO excited about Baby Blake. He loves to hold him, kiss him, tell him how cute he is, and just can't wait to teach him things. He has been a great big brother so far and it just melts Pat and my hearts to see him with Blake.

The closest thing we got to a family photo :)

We had a great night in the hospital with Blake. He just slept and ate. We really didn't hear him fuss and cry until we got home...of course :)