{baby is here!}

It's hard to even believe...

Baby Boy is born!

Please welcome...the lively...the sweet...the wrinkly...

Cormac Landon Ford

July 13th, 4:44pm

7 lbs 13 oz. 
21.5 inches long.

There is the name, finally revealed to all of you who have told me how annoying I was for keeping it a secret nearly the entire pregnancy.  Now you can sleep peacefully. :)

Baby's name was inspired by one of my favorite male authors, Cormac McCarthy, who wrote All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men. All very masculine, raw, and beautifully written works of fiction.
{more about this in another post}

We chose Landon because it is multi-syllabic, adorable, and just so happens to have lovely vowel symmetry with the "Cormac."  We were this close to choosing "London" instead (after Jack London, another favorite male author) but decided one baby can only be so literary.

:o)

Darling Lil' Mac has been a long time coming, and we are grateful for every moment we have had with him so far.

The labor was, well, "natural..."
for the first 10 hours. 
I avoided medication, which was the original plan.
We used the "birthing ball," 
walked around a lot
I leaned on Paul for support during contractions.
All was going well.
I maintained calm/controlled with no screaming, etc.
even though I was in terribly immense pain.


However, we learned that no matter what your birth plan...
plans change.


At 7am, after 4 hours of strong, close contractions,
only about a minute apart,
 I got stuck at 8 cm. 
The contractions slowed down.
I was completely exhausted, 
having not slept in more than 24 hours.


So I caved and asked begged for the epidural.
{It was like I'd gone to heaven.  Not gonna lie.}

Me after the epidural -- finally relief!

Thank goodness I did because even with the epidural 
I was stuck at 8cm for another 3 hours, 
and didn't have Mac for another 6.


So labor, in general, was long and tough.
Felt like my body was splitting apart.
Felt like I might have been dying
But then...
after the epidural, some much needed rest,
and 2 hours of pushing...
He was born!
Felt like my world was beginning
Felt like life was a million times better
Felt like we were a
real family.
Daddy, Mama and Cormac.

Tomorrow we go home, to a world unknown.
A new life with Baby Mac.
Who is has been so amazingly sweet so far.
Who has many adventures ahead.

The first few days home 
will be adventures in themselves, I am sure.


L O V E, 
g