Our baby is here!!!!!!

On Monday, August 18th, 2008 just before 1pm our wonderful, amazing, cute and cuddly Joseph Mohamad Moghimi was born. He weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and has red/orange hair. Addy was born with red hair too, but then it fell out and came back in more blond so we will have to see what happens with Joseph.

On Sunday night, August 17th Deland and I took Addy over to my sister Rebecca's house. We ate dinner with their family and spent some time just hanging out. Then we put Addy to bed. We wanted to follow our "normal" routine as much as possible. After she was down we came home and packed our bags for the hospital.

We checked into Florida Hospital Altamonte, at around 1am. My labor was fairly uneventful, which of course is a good thing. We started pitocin at around 2:30am and I got my epidural at around 3am. At about 8am - when I was 6cm dilated - the epidural was not reaching the left side of my body. (I had a steady drip of meds instead of one single shot.) I felt all of the contractions on that side of my body for about an hour until we figured out why the medicine was not flowing correctly.

When I was finally dilated to 9cm, Cindy (our nurse for Addy and Joseph) called Dr. Felski and told him to come ASAP. The problem was that I wanted to push right then. I didn't want to wait the 15 minutes it would take to the Doctor to arrive. So, Cindy suggested we push during every other contraction. I only ended up pushing about 5 times before Dr. Felski arrived. By the time he got there, we could see Joseph's head and he was just waiting for a couple of good pushes. I pushed twice, then I went into a fit of coughs. (I had a cold last week, and was still congested during delivery.) Anyway, one really good cough and Joseph came rushing out! The really funny part is that when I was pushing Addy out I got a tickle in my throat and ended up coughing her out as well! It's a pretty good technique. Maybe I'll try it next time too. :)

I am healing better this time than I did with Addy. Last time, I had some complications during delivery and had a lot of "damage" which meant I had a lot of stitches - inside and out. it was very painful. Then, my body didn't heal properly so at my 6-week check up Dr. Felski had to use a chemical "burn off" the scar tissue, and I had to heal all over again. It was quite an ordeal. This time, I was up and walking around on the same day Joseph was born! I couldn't believe it. Obviously I am still healing and I still don't have all my energy, but I am feeling pretty good.

My mom has been here all week which has been a HUGE help. (Thanks Mom!) Also, our friends and family have been extremely generous helping with meals, and all of our other needs. I really am touched beyond imagination that so many have pitched in and helped where ever needed. One day I hope to be worthy of such service.

Joseph is a sweet and cuddly baby. I haven't gotten tired of holding him yet. He loves to be held and has a wonderful disposition. He has a soft, raspey little sound when he cries. It is really cute. Honestly.

Addy is COMPLETELY in love with "her baby." She was delighted to see him from the beginning. Every morning since we have been home the first thing she does it go looking for "baby." She pats the top of his head and says, "ohhh." She also loves to kiss his little head. So far, the transition from one to two children has been smooth.

Well, that's it for now. I'll keep adding more pictures over the period of the next few days. I hope you all are doing well, and are happy.