MARCO ANDRES LOPEZ!

Born Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Weight: 6 pounds, 14 ounces

Length: 19 3/4 inches

Time: 2:50am

A sweet cuddle for mom, minutes after birth

**Warning: this is a long story! I wanted to make sure to record the details of labor and delivery because I wish I had written more about Diego and Alexia's. Sorry if you're not interested in the details, but for those who are, thanks for reading! :)**

On Friday night we were watching a movie at home with Aldo, Eliana and Cami (Ricardo's cousin and his wife and stepdaughter) when I leaned over to Ricardo and said "I have this feeling of giddy excitement and emotion about the weekend that I just can't figure out. I have a feeling our baby boy might be born tomorrow." Then on Saturday morning we went out for a strenuous walk with the kids and when we came home to have lunch, I sat down and said "I am going to hold my "pregnancy card" on my forehead all day today because I don't feel like I can do anything today, except have a baby." We laughed it off and had no idea that sure enough, we would be having a baby in a matter of hours!
I laid down for a nap at 2pm and when I woke up at 3pm I felt like I had been dreaming a lot about contractions. Well, it wasn't a dream, I was having contractions. They were very light and with no regularity, but based on past experiences, I knew that if I was have any number of consistent contractions, then I was in early labor. We had told the kids that we would visit Ricardo's office in the afternoon so we headed out around 5:00 to go see his office, by which time the contractions were more frequent and painful. We had planned on going out to dinner, but I just wanted to go home and take it easy and have leftovers. Before we put the kids to bed we explained to them that when they woke up in the morning we would be at the hospital and Aaron and Helen would be at home to take care of them. They were excited about that and were really excited at the fact that they would be meeting their baby brother the next day.

Aaron and Helen came over around 10pm to spend the night so we wouldn't have to worry about the kids if we had to leave in the middle of the night. I laid down 9:30 to try to get some rest, and dozed in and out between contractions. They were every 3-6 minutes at that point. At midnight, I got out of bed because I knew I just couldn't sleep and when I got up, my water broke. Almost immediately, the contractions started to come every 2-4 minutes. We called the hospital to say we were on our way, gathered our things and headed out the door. The ride to the hospital was speedy and painful. As we were pulling into the hospital we approached a speed bump as a contraction was coming and I screamed "NO TUMULO!" (no speed bump!) Ricardo had to stop the car and wait for the contraction to pass before he could go over the speed bump.

We checked into our room a 1:00am, started the paperwork and requested the epidural. The midwife came to check me around 1:4o and I was 5cm dilated so she confirmed I could get the epidural. By this time the contractions were every 1.5-2 minutes and were excruciatingly painful. I handled labor very differently this time and was able to handle the intense pain much better than with Diego and Alexia. I tried to fight their contractions and just wanted them to end, but this time I tried to embrace each contraction and appreciate the job that it had. We kept asking when the epidural was coming, but our nurse was very slow and didn't seem to care to make things move quickly for us. At 2:35am, the anesthesiologist still had not arrived and I had an uncontrollable urge to push. I yelled, "I'M PUSHING!" The nurse ran over to check me and I was 9cm dilated and she said "This baby is coming! Get the midwife. Get everything ready." Ricardo was so concerned and kept saying, "Can you give her something for the pain? Is it too late to give her something? Anything?" The midwife came in at about 2:40, Ricardo grabbed one leg, the nurse grabbed the other, I started pushing and he was born 10 minutes later. It was amazing!!! It was the most intense, unbearable, unbelievable pain I have ever experienced, but it was so awesome to experience! I had always dreamed of having a natural birth, but had always been too scared so I am grateful that God gave me the opportunity to experience it, without having to make the decision myself. Ricardo and I just burst into laughter and tears as soon as he came out and were so amazed to be touching and seeing our beautiful baby boy. Ricardo cut the umbilical cord and Marco took to life in the world just perfectly. It felt so good to be able to stand up shortly after his birth and to be able to see his first bath up and close. With Diego and Alexia, I wasn't able to see the bath since I was stuck in bed because of the epidural. As soon as I had him back in my arms, I nursed him and he latched on perfectly. We had some quiet, special time with him for over an hour, with no nurses or interruptions until we were ready to go upstairs to our recovery room.

Meanwhile, back at home, the kids were as happy as can be with Aaron and Helen. We are thankful, beyond words, to these dear friends who gave so selflessly of their time and care to be with our kids. I never once worried about them being happy or if they were okay because I know how much they love Aaron and Helen and how natural it is for them to be with them. Aaron and Helen took them to church in the morning and then headed over to the hospital to have lunch with us around 1:30pm. Introducing Diego and Alexia to Marco was most definitely one of the happiest times of my life. I had no idea it would be so wonderful and exciting and emotional. I was simply overwhelmed with thanksgiving in my heart and the presence of God in every detail. Diego and Alexia were enamored by their baby brother and had the best time ever getting to know him. I get teary-eyed just remembering the joy of our first hour together, as a family of five.

We stayed in the hospital for one night and came home Monday around noon.

All is well at home now. Diego and Alexia are doing great with Marco. He is champion nurser and is resting really well.