The icing (or frosting) on the cake :-)

So we have finally welcomed Isaac Jakob Howe into the world, um, like over 3 weeks ago. I seem to be as slow to blog about it as we were to come up with his name. Someone was being really ornery while they were pregnant. But we are absolutely thrilled that our new baby boy is here. He is absolutely adorable and he really does feel like the final touch to our family, hence the title. I figured I better get this one last shot of me being pregnant. Yea!
I'll try to do this is order if I can. My original due date was October 31 but then the 20 week ultrasound made the doctor decide to change the due date to the 19th. I was probably about 8 months pregnant or so when the hospital tells me they only change the due date if there is a 14 day difference but mine was only a 12. They say they don't induce until a week past the due date. I'm really not happy about the fact that I might have this baby in November. But wait, a DOCTOR changed the due date, not a midwife, so they'll let it stand. ?? Anyhow at my appt. that is 1 day past my new due date, the midwife says the soonest they can induce me is the 29th. I was just thankful they weren't going to make me wait even longer. But on the way home she calls to say, hey, we have an opening Sunday. Great. I took it and told my mom and sister to come on up on Saturday. Saturday morning, Jer and I went out for breakfast and did a little shopping. It was our 18th anniversary although we'd already gone out for dinner, etc. earlier in the week. So just before lunch I'm watching Psych or Monk on Netflix streaming and stressing about how I will never get to sleep that night due to nerves and the hospital calls and says, hey, if you come in now, you can have your baby today. Yee-haw! Jer seemed a little concerned that I wouldn't like sharing our anniversary with our baby's birthday but we can just celebrate our anniversary on the 20th of October which is the anniversary of our first date anyway. Hey, and it was the 20th anniversary of that this year. Cool. So we get to the hospital about noon and it takes them until 2pm to start the pitocin. It was probably a couple hours before I had them start the epidural. Bless the man who did not give up when it just didn't seem like it was going to work. This really was the easiest time I've ever had having a baby. It was beautiful. The epidural man came in to give me more drugs whenever I feel uncomfortable. It felt like a waterfall going down my back whenever he did whatever he does. I actually felt a little guilty that I could just demand the pain to go away like that. I know it's not natural but it was glorious. We took some pictures of the labor and delivery room because it was HUGE! I was hoping this would be our room the whole time we were there. I should've known better.

Jer is pretending to give birth here. :-)

Before and after shots here.

The midwife told me on the 20th that the baby wouldn't be that big and I really didn't feel like it would either. I'm just so thankful I didn't have to wait another week or I would've had another 10 pounder. It only took four pushes or so to get him out and I didn't feel like I was doing anything when they told me to push but apparently it worked.

The midwife told me 3 days before he was born he wouldn't be big and I really didn't think he would be either. He is really long though and at 9lb. 11oz. he was 22 1/2 inches long. At a week old he was already 23 inches. I think the other kids were chunkier than this. He's 3 weeks old and can still fit into newborn diapers which I know none of the other kids could.I don't look like I did anything too difficult, huh? How awesome is that? And he (my husband) definitely didn't do anything harder than a sudoku puzzle.

There were a lot of fun little coincidences when he was born other than it being our anniversary. It was also the birthday of the lady that delivered him. And the only other couple in the army band expecting a baby had theirs just hours before us. Also, the only crossworld puzzle I worked on while in labor had "Isaac" as the answer to one of the clues.

If you are having your baby at BACH on Ft. Campbell, make sure you don't go pee after having your baby. As soon as they know you can pee on your own, they wheel you right out of that big, beautiful room and into a really cramped one you will probably be sharing. It was so annoying to be kept up all night for the 2 night required stay (I've never stayed more than one before) by a couple armed with computers to watch movies and video game consoles. Why do people have to be so inconsiderate at 2am?! Much better than the bay where they would put up to 8 women and their babies at Ft. Wainwright though. The second morning I was there and tired beyond anything (mostly due to the annoying couple rather than the baby), I had to wait 2 hours to eat the breakfast they brought because I was dealing with Isaac and then I realized I had no utensils. I asked for some and I get a set with no fork--just two knives and a spoon. Just couldn't win. :-)

Here Isaac is in his new carseat on the way home. Although someone gave us a couple of really nice used carseats, we bought this one because it can hold up to 35 lbs. instead of the usual 22 which we have always needed. Some things have definitely changed in the nearly six years since I've had a baby. The car seats are awesome! The straps adjust so easily and they all come with bases now so putting them in the car is a breeze.

My mom and sister got to stay with us for nearly all of Isaac's first week. It was great having people to share him with and to talk to while I rested. They left just about an hour before all the jaundice drama started. I'll save that for another post. Lots of pictures ahead.

This must be how he fit in there. :-)

Get used to it kid. :-)

The pictures below were taken today. He has changed a little. I think he looks the most like Spencer did as a baby.

It was really awesome that everything went so well and Jeremy's brother and wife had a little girl on the 29th and a good friend had her baby boy on the 29th. I should've stuck with that original induction date, huh? Congratulations to both of them on their beautiful newborns! The only other pregnant lady in our branch had her baby on the 28th. Late October was a really busy time for babies! Whew! Hopefully I can make time for blogging now that things are settling down because I have a million more things to post about. I haven't even blogged about the beautiful baby shower my good friend Elke had for me! Oh, just real quick--my husband is on assigment for Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL this coming summer. Yea!