Meet Harrison Carl...

 

 

 This little guy arrived on August 23.  We are so happy he is here!!  Because of how quick my labor went with Brenna, and hoping to avoid a vehicular delivery by Daddy Dave, we opted for an induction.  The problem was, the night before we were scheduled, a crazy storm blew in.  We had lightning, thunder, power outages...which resulted in freaked out kids sleeping in the same room with flashlights.  I have heard storms bring on labor (the whole change in pressure effect), so I was hoping that may work for me-not so.  However, it did work for lots of other ladies and we were unable to even get ahold of anyone to give me the ok to come in.  Dave did some sweet talking and we were getting the ball going around noon.  I received my first dose of pitocin, antibiotics and had a visit from my doc an hour later to break my water.  Three and half hours later, I was feeling spent.  Those pitocin contractions are no bueno and I had been having intense contractions every 2 min for an hour and a half.  I was certain I was close to pushing, so I had my nurse check me and she smiled and said I was a good 5!  That was unacceptable to me for the pain level.  So, I told the dear nurses to summon the anesthesiologist.  I was told he would be there in 5-7 min, but those minutes came and went and I told Dave to go find him because it was hurtful!  In walks the drug doc, ready to pump me with numbing meds, but I look at him and tell him that I am going to push.  The nurse in training, Dave and anesthesiologist look at each other, all bewildered.  The doctor asks the nurse when I was checked last and she told him it had been 15 min and I was at a 5, but sure enough, he parted my legs open and there was a head crowning.  The orienting nurse called her trainer in, told her I was pushing and it was deja vu of Brenna's birth.  I wasn't waiting for anyone...when you gotta push, the people asking you to hold on are certifiably insane.  So, with one glove on, and nurses scrambling in the background, my ansesthesiologist pretty much delivered the baby.  My ob walked in later with his hands in the air and said he was just told that he owed the drug doc big time!  Here is a pic of our new guy...weighing in as our smallest babe at 7lbs 11oz, 20 inches.  (Two weeks later, he is already 9lbs).

 Because the baby was shot through my pelvic region like a rocket, he did some bouncing around against bone and he looked like he had been in a pretty bad brawl.  We took some pics to document how bruised he was. Poor little red head,

 all sorts of blood vessels broken in skin and eyes.  He looked battered.  Katelee had told me before I went in that she wanted me to get medicine because she 'didn't want me to scream when the baby came out.'  I was confused and asked her why she thought I would scream and she reported to me that she saw a movie where a baby was coming and the mom was yelling so loud.  Fortunately, there was no screaming involved!  The absolute best part of the hospital was seeing the kids meet their new brother.  My adorable pic of that won't load, but each of them fell immediately in love with Harrison, just like Dave and I did. 

We came home two days later, to anxious siblings waiting to shower baby Harry with attention and love. 

 

We noticed Harrison was jaundiced and his bilirubin levels were high, so we tried to just put him in the window to catch some sun, but he just got worse and worse.  He ended up getting his own tanning bed:

which he initially hated and cried and cried...which made me cry and cry.  Even though it is a minor complication to your newborn's first few days of life, it is tough to not get to hold them when all you want to do is cuddle.  After two days under the lights, the yellow hue was dimming and he was released from his ultraviolet prison. 

 He went from purple to yellow and now he is just slightly pink.  Little Harrison is a busy boy.  He is always eating or working on filling his diapers or hanging out with his sisters and brother. 

 It is so enriching and humbling to have a new baby.  While exhausting, there is nothing more rewarding to have such overwhelming love for a new person.  He is just two weeks old, but I can't imagine our family with out Harrison.  I feel like it must be because we knew him before and he was just biding his time to get to us (and make sure the coast was clear and somewhat safe after Brenna). 

He couldn't be more loved.

Sidenote...yes, you can call him Harry, Prince Harry, Harrison Potter, but not Indiana Jones!