Captain Adorable is here!

Captain Adorable has made his appearance.

He was born on August 12th at 9:14 pm

He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz

and was 19.25 inches long.

Mom and baby are doing great!

Here are some Captain Adorable pics, followed by Handsome Husband's summary of the events:

August 11

9:30 pm - contractions begin. Not painful, but definitely noticeable.

11:00 pm - get some sleep as the contractions are continuing, but aren't overly intense

August 12

2 am - Erika wakes up from an intense contraction

6 am - contractions are continuing and growing in strength

6:15 am - Erika asks Handsome Husband to work from home since the contractions have continued through the night since they are getting stronger, today must be the day!

7 am - wake up and prepare for the day. However, after getting up the contractions lessen in strength.

10 am - about 15 minutes apart, but not very strong. To help encourage the contractions, we went on a 2 hour walk.

10-12 am - contractions continue throughout the walk, but the time in between contractions is inconsistent and growing from 15 minutes to 25. We take the girls to a park.

12:30 - Erika takes shower to relax

12:50 - loses the mucus plug. This is a good sign!

1:30 - 3:30 - Erika naps to recover from the walk and conserve strength.

4 pm - contractions continue and are getting closer and more consistent. About 7 minutes apart.

4:30 pm - begin calling the hospital, doula, family, baby sitter for the girls, etc. in preparation for going to the hospital.

4:50 - eat dinner, as we are not sure when to go to the hospital. Contractions are consistent and slowly growing in strength. Definitely feels like the real thing!

5:30 - 6 pm - Baby sitter arrives to take care of Baby Dragon and Sweetie, while the Doula and Erika's Aunt arrive to help coach and help with labor.

6 pm - contractions are picking up in strength, but we decide to stay home a while longer instead of going to the hospital because home is more comfortable, and the contractions could stop.

6:30 - 7 pm - Erika is feeling some strong contractions and we experiment with different positions to cope with the pain. Decides that hugging and leaning on Handsome Husband is the preferred position.

7:10 - contractions are strong enough to bring tears. Erika makes the call that it is time to go!

7:14 - 7:34 - we load the car and drive to the hospital, hitting every red light possible! I am in the back to help massage Erika (yes we are still buckled). In the car she has about 4 contractions. Before the third one she has a good long break, but that means number 3 was even stronger!

7:35 - hop in wheel chair at St. Vincent's and up to check in. Handsome Husband checked in at desk and then had a hard time locating where they had taken Erika! Man that was stressful because I knew she would be having contractions and want help.

7:37 - 8 pm - Erika is located and having a contraction in triage. Several nurses come in and each asks multiple questions. Through and in between contractions, Erika some how answers the questions in a nice and calm voice. How does she do that? Erika is checked and she is at an 8-9 centimeters dilated. All the nurses were surprised she lasted that long at home!

8:10 - get in birthing room

8:15 - 8:45 pm - Erika is asked to try different positions, hands and knees, on her side, over the top of the bed, laying down, etc. Between intense contractions, she still has the strength to rotate and move around. Handsome Husband hears the mid-wife say the baby needs to turn. He must be in a strange position.

8:45- 9 pm - they bring out the squatting bar, and Erika feels like this is the best position for birthing. Contractions and pushing are intense. She has been pushing for an hour! That has to be tiring!

9:10 - Erika lays back to rest in between a contraction. The next one is so quick and strong she can't get back to the bar in time.

9:14 pm - After some more intense contractions and pushing, Captain Adorable enters the world. He is very healthy so Erika gets to enjoy holding him for quite a while before any tests or measurements are done.

August 13

Between midnight and 3:30 am, Erika gets little sleep as Cpt A isn't quite content. At 3:30 we change his diaper and find it FULL with the black stuff. Following a diaper change he also coughs up lots of fluids.

4 am - after being clean, Cpt A falls right to sleep and mom and dad get some good uninterrupted sleep.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Erika and the baby are doing very well.