Everything about this pregnancy was quiet and calm. I wasn't sick in the early portion, and loved the honeymoon second trimester. The third trimester was also amazing. Everyone kept telling me how big I was getting, but I felt strangely comfortable. Fortunately I had a similar experience with my first. I felt amazing, and I was able to get around really well.  I apparently tend to grow "basketballs" since I'm short with next to nothing in torso length - the baby continues to push forward and out!

We patiently waited for this little man to arrive, so we kept things pretty quiet, and shared the exciting news with only close friends and family - before it became quite obvious that I was "with child". We were able to find out the gender on Drew's birthday - which was very exciting!  Taylor was our honest broker and found the gender results of my tests and ordered the cake - he stayed surprisingly neutral until the cake was cut! After finding out we had another boy on the way, I took a deep breath knowing we had everything ready for a boy and all the hand me down clothes one could need! I also know how to change a boy's diaper like its my job - I can easily dodge any urine they try to spray me with!  We were so excited for another little man - this makes six straight boys in a row starting with Paul, his three younger brothers, Drew and now our newest little guy!

The pregnancy continued to be uneventful, and once my insurance changed I was able to return to the doctors who delivered Drew. I walked into their office as a whopping 34 weeks pregnant to say hello and ask them to deliver me - hah!  Luckily they smiled and agreed.  They also noticed that I was measuring further along than my dates - which essentially means your dates are wrong (which I knew they weren't) or I was going to have big baby.  They sent us for an ultrasound to measure this big boy at 36 weeks. The ultrasound tech was measuring and everything was appearing to be "out of range".  Finally, she asked us if we were ready for the estimate: 9lbs 10oz at only 36 weeks. Yikes, our jaws dropped and I couldn't believe I had to let this baby grow for another month!! How big was he going to be?!?

I first called my doctors who said we could potentially discuss an elective C-section, and then immediately starting pouring through the literature on large for gestational age babies, risk factors, and management of delivery.  Ultimately, I talked with my doctors and we agreed that I could at least try to have this baby naturally, but I would need to get an epidural in the event they needed to do something to facilitate delivery. With a 10lb baby on the way, I decided I wasn't going to fight the planned epidural. I had the natural birth I wanted with Drew, and I was okay with that!

We were going to be induced at 39 weeks - over the weekend so Paul could be there, which meant we weren't going to have my doctors.  My doc says I owe him a baby, haha! The induction started at 1AM on Sunday morning. I wasn't able to sleep on Saturday night because they were going to call anywhere between 9PM - Midnight. Well at 11:50PM, we got the call and headed to the hospital. I wanted this one to go as quickly as Drew, so I walked the halls of the hospital on telemetry, sat on the birth ball and did anything I could to get the baby into the best position to have a successful delivery. In the end, it didn't matter, I was tired and everything stalled. I got an epidural, they broke my water, and we waited a bit to restart the induction in the late afternoon. Things started heating up on the intensity level - I was pleased to have a bit of pain control. Baby finally decided to make an appearance and I was doing everything I could to "not push" while my team assembled fresh off of safety rounds! Minutes later, Matthew Jack was born at 12:13AM on Monday morning. Matthew was named after his Papa (Jack) and his Great Grandpa Marsh, and after his cousin Matt! He was only 9lbs 9oz, and 21.5 inches long. >97% on all measurements - that's my big boy!

We were transitioned to the postpartum floor at 3AM, and the Grandparents visited early the next morning! I was running on literally zero sleep since Friday night and it was now Monday. I sent Paul home to get sleep since he had to work a 24 hour shift on Tuesday. I spent the second night in the hospital alone with Matt. We went home Tuesday afternoon on a total of 4 hours of sleep for me.

It's such a blessing to be a family of four. We waited patiently for this day. I am so happy to be sleep deprived if it means I am snuggling with my newborn boy. Such a beautiful gift and a miracle for our family.

Welcome to this world Matthew.