He’s finally here. Waylon Thomas made his grand entrance on Sunday July 23 at 11:24 p.m.

He is my biggest baby weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long.

He was also my quickest and easiest baby to deliver. My total labor time was 5 1/2 hours and he came out on the first push, ready to see the world that awaited.

A quick recap for you, I was set to be induced on Tuesday the 25th if I hadn’t already had him before then. We had family in town and on that particular Sunday, it was sunny and warm and we were spending the day out in the sunshine. Literally doing nothing but laying in the sun, soaking our feet in the pool. The kids and I at least. Andy had actually taken his brother and parents for a mountain drive, with myself opting out since it was so nice out. I had a date to do absolutely nothing but lounge. I woke up that day feeling good, simply tired and uncomfortable, with no inkling that we could be having a baby that day. My sister-in-law showed up later in the day to join me poolside (which sounds really fancy but it was literally a kiddie pool, that actually just kept leaking) and by 5:30 we were warm and crispy and the kids were hungry so we headed in to make spaghetti for dinner.

By 6:00 I started timing my contractions, which I had chalked up to Braxton Hicks once they started earlier. Thirty minutes later, as they were intensifying,  I had my SIL finish dinner and I drew myself a bath. A tactic for helping determine real labor, often a warm bath will help stop Braxton Hicks contractions. Fifteen minutes later I was calling my doctor because the contractions were not only getting stronger but closer. He advised me to hang tight until they reached 5 minutes apart, call him back and then head for labor and delivery.

Andy had actually called me when we started dinner and I hadn’t mentioned anything. He was still on the road and I didn’t want to panic him and have him rush home when I was convinced it was a false alarm. Whoops.

I drained the bath water and called Andy, my brother-in-law answered, and I asked him to relay the message that it was baby time. In typical fashion, both kids had stripped down and bombarded my bath, so while I grabbed hospital bags they threw clothes on. We turned the burners off on dinner, and while I breathed through each contraction that grew stronger we rushed off to the hospital. I’m not going to lie, the only thought in my head at that point was that I wouldn’t have enough time for the drugs. Not that my husband would make it in time or that I had forgotten something at home. Not that my doctor wasn’t in town and that I had the on call doctor who would deliver my baby. That I would finally get admitted and in my room and they would tell me it was too late for that glorious flow of relief called an epidural. I’m not worried about pride, contractions are no joke. They effing hurt.

I got dropped off and was admitted, in a gown and signing my life away by 7:45, luckily with both my doctor and the anesthesiologist in my room by 8:00 getting me prepped. I HAD MADE IT IN TIME PEOPLE! Oh yeah, and Andy was in route to the hospital, we were smooth sailing. Within the hour, they had completed my epidural and Andy arrived at the hospital. It was slow going getting it to completely numb both sides so we had a little bit of down time to catch our breath.

I joked that the hospital staff that night was like my pit crew because they were so fast and efficient, with nurses and doctors in and out, getting things done as quickly as they could. Strangely enough, my water had yet to break. I’m convinced Waylon was using it as a pillow and just wasn’t ready to give it up. Once my epidural was working as it should, my doctor came in and broke my water. This was at 10 p.m.

They weren’t able to actually get a really good grasp on my water because the baby’s head had descended so much. They put a small tear in and said that it would most likely be enough and labor would start to progress at this point. Not long after, I was checked to find that I was dilated completely and we were ready to push. My crew of nurses and doctor came in and prepared, letting us know that they had a strong feeling that he was going to come very quickly once we began. They were spot on, and with my first set of pushes he was out. For those that are new to this department, at the start of a new contraction they have you take a really deep breath in and on the exhale you hold it out and push as hard as you can to the count of 10. You do this anywhere from 2 to 3 times, as long as the contraction lasts. In my case, it took one contraction and only one set of pushes for our little man to make his exit.

Once your baby is born, you experience every sort of emotion. Relief, exhaustion, excitement, joy, sadness, and an immense wave of love for this tiny human that they just placed on your chest. He has dark hair and Andy’s nose. His bottom lip was sucked way in just exactly as Reid’s was. He kept his hands tucked in close to his face and every chance he could, would suck on his hands or fingers. It took a bit to get our groove going , but he started nursing great and we were all able to get a little bit of uninterrupted rest that first night.

We had to stay at the hospital your standard 24 hours to monitor the baby and keep check on my recovery. We had family and friends visit and the kids came that afternoon to finally meet their new baby brother. They both were smitten with him and took lots of turns holding him, while also trying to use the stethoscope to give him a check up. A glimpse for me at what life would be like once we got home.

Life as a family of five has so far been an easy transition and we are incredibly thankful to have been able to come home quickly with a healthy, beautiful baby boy. He is mellow and content and easy to soothe when he’s upset. While he doesn’t sleep through the night, he’s peaceful and goes right back to sleep after nursing. Most of his upset moments are during the day, which I have no complaints about. I can easily spend my days with coffee and Netflix and snuggle a cute squishy baby that is restless. He LOVES his hands by his face or in his mouth. He is not a fan of having a wet diaper or diaper changes and you have to really hold tight when you give him a bath because he stretches and kicks like crazy in the water. He has the funniest cat cry, where he’s not really upset but has something to say. We spend some part of every night where he and I have fallen asleep with him laying up on my chest, and so far he’s been good riding in the car.

His name. Waylon is a name we both really liked and agreed upon. As for Thomas, both of the boys have middle names after two of Andy’s late uncles from his mom’s side of the family.

While we are tired and a bit groggy most days, we spend each moment we can soaking up every perfect little part of him. That round belly and all those itty bitty tiny fingers and toes. He puts up with getting his face smothered in kisses all day and chances are that isn’t going to stop any time soon. Who would want to stop loving on this sweet face anyway?