Coburnlandia: September 2013

Wow, I am behind. It's amazing how fast time goes when staring at your newborn son sleeping for hours feels like the best thing in the world. Many people have asked me to describe our labor and delivery story and I already feel like it is becoming blurred in my mind, so here we go.

First off, Titus' due date was September 28. At 35 weeks and 5 days, my amazing O.B. checked me and said very definitively, "He is getting ready." She told me to rest over the weekend and advised, "Don't go on any crazy Costco runs or hiking in Oso Flaco." Apparently, those can be stressful and potentially labor inducing. ;) So we skipped those. Collie and I weren't very concerned, since you really never know with babies, but our prayer was that Titus make it to at least 37 weeks when he would be full term. He did! We'll fast forward 2 weeks and 1 day. Those were filled with increasing Braxton Hicks, especially by Fridays, the end of my work week.

On Friday, September 13, I came home from work around 4 PM. I plopped down on the couch and told Collie that I thought contractions started to be semi-regular around 11:30 AM, but I was so busy during the day that I didn't keep track. We both kind of just said...hmmm and went on our semi-usual Friday Yogurt Creations run. By 6 PM they had become regular so we decided to time them a bit. Collie double checked our bag and hospital information, just in case. They lasted until 4 AM, but never got to the 5-1-1 rule. So when they stopped we were able to go back to sleep.

Saturday morning rolled around. We had 'promised' Diesel we would take him to the dog beach in Avila after Gunnar's birthday party. So we put our hospital goods in our car, just in case. After the dog beach, we went apple tasting and then to dinner in Arroyo Grande. When we got home regular contractions started again. They followed close to the same routine as the previous night.

Sunday. Collie left early for church. I woke up with contractions and headed to church. They stopped around 10 AM and started again at 11:30 AM. I went to lunch with some ladies from church. I came home around 3 PM and told Collie, "These feel different." Around 6 PM we both thought this was probably going to lead to meeting our son soon enough. At 7 PM I took one bite of Collie's black bean, chicken, and rice dinner, jumped out of my chair, and darted to the couch. We timed contractions until 8:30 and called our O.B. She said we could go ahead to the hospital or wait a little bit until we wanted to go in. I told her we would wait a bit. She said she would let the hospital know I would be coming in. We waited until we felt like it was time and arrived at the hospital at 11 PM.

In Triage the nurse checked things and entered our information. Judging from what she was telling us, it sounded like it was time, but the nurse joked about how coworkers say she admits everyone. Which led Collie to asking, "Sooooo, are we actually in labor?" She responded with, "Oh, did I not mention that? Your baby's birthday is going to be September 16!" Collie and I cheered quietly. He sent the text to our families and made the three necessary phone calls regarding my work.

We entered our L&D room at about midnight. At around 12:30 AM, they put in the I.V. with antibiotics since I was positive for Group B Strep. Around 1 AM contractions started increasing in length and strength. At 1:30 AM, I hopped into the whirlpool tub. That made a huge difference! Which is why I didn't get out until 4:30 AM and the nurses joked about me having our son in the tub, because I enjoyed it a little too much. ;)

From 4:30 AM to 6:30 AM contractions were very strong. I only threw up once though and Collie managed to get the trashcan just in time. (Way to go honey!) At 5 AM a nurse came in and announced, "You have family here." We were a bit perplexed. So Collie headed out to them, greeted my parents, Dori, and Nabil and told them it would be a couple of hours. At 6:30 AM my water broke. I said to Collie, "Go get them, he is coming." Dr. Yin and 4 nurses came in and got to work.

Titus James Coburn was born at 6:56 AM, weighing 6 lbs, at 19.5 inches long. He was perfect! He made one little sound and they placed him on my chest. It was one of the most powerful moments of my entire life. It felt like the whole room blurred and all I could see was Titus and Collie. We spent an hour holding him, praying for him and thanking God for him, and then Collie read Mark 10 to him. (Yes, there were tears!) At 8 AM Collie retrieved our family in the waiting room. After months of waiting to hear what his name would be, they met Titus James. My dad smiled when he heard that his name, James, was being carried on.

So the next few days we were and still are filled with awe and wonder at this little boy and how good God is.

He has had a full two weeks. Here are a few of the things he has been up to:

He met lots of family, friends, and Diesel.
He ate out at 6 restaurants.
He made 3 church trips.
He went to Dori and Nabil's engagement party at the Madonna Inn, where I got to have my first dance with my son.
He went to Avila Beach twice and checked out Farmer's Market.
He went to Avila Barn and had his first hayride.
He went to Solvang.
He went to several appointments.
He had two photo shoots. (Yeaaahhh...I know right?)
He went to the dog park.
He took his first walks in the Bob.
He was given his first chiropractic adjustment by Uncle Neel.
He went to the spot where Collie asked me to marry him.
He sleeps for about 2-4 hours at a time.
He is working on his arm strength. (Wiggling his way out of swaddles, blankets, etc.)

We are so blessed by this tiny boy. It is amazing to see God's goodness, not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done. Collie has wanted to be a dad since as far back as he can remember. I have wanted to be a mom since I was about 7 years old. It feels like one of our deepest desires has finally been awakened through the arrival of Titus. We are so thankful!