It's a Boy!

It's been approximately one hour since the newest member of the DeShazer family came into the world. Bryce Russell DeShazer was born at 4:15 am this morning. Heather was AMAZING!
Here's how our memorable night began.

6:15 pm: Heather's craving spicy food. Apparently this helps encourage contractions. She's been dilated 50% for two days now, and we haven't successfully induced her pregnancy up to this point. Denise has been over all day helping clean the house and re-arrange pictures and make our house look like the Taj Mahal on a budget. The place looks great. Off to Lowe's we go to get a stud finder to hang a mirror in our living room.

6:30 pm: Mmmm . . . Taco Salad at Qdoba. I know it's a Chipotle rip-off, but if Chipotle sold something other than just enormous burritos, I would frequent that joint more often. Heather buys a burrito the size of my Toyota with habanero pepper sauce on it. We pick up one for Denise as well, that was so large, they had to double wrap it. I go out to my car and pick up a dolly to tow these things in. I hope the suspension on my car can handle the extra weight. And, how ironic I'm the only guy and the one ordering the salad. As we get into the car, my blackberry belt clip breaks. This is the third one that has broken on me since I got it. Ugh.

7:30 pm: The mirror is hung in the living room and we've eaten our dinner. Half of the two burritos are still not eaten. They break the shelves in the fridge as we put them in there. Okay enough big burrito jokes for one evening.

8:00 pm: Just on a hunch, Caleb goes to Grandma's (Denise) house while we try to initiate the birthing process. Heather and I go on a walk alone for the first time in years around our housing development. No new contractions quite yet. Heather listens to my ramblings about work, business and just being a complete nerd.

9:45 pm: We start getting ready for bed, hoping the contractions will start sometime early in the morning. Heather is on the phone with Annie, and then it happens. Contractions begin. We grab our stuff and jump into the car. I wanted to use my blackberry to send text messages, but I can't remember where I put it in the car! Oh well, there are more important things to worry about. Heather is soothed to the sounds of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden and Radiohead on XM Radio as we head up to Wheat Ridge.

10:15 pm: Heather and I are frantically calling everyone to tell them we're on our way to the hospital. This is the one time I'm hoping I get pulled over by a police officer. I have always wanted a wife in labor in the driver seat to get out of a speeding ticket and get a free police escort down I-70. No such luck.

10:45 pm: We arrive at Lutheran Medical Center. I drop Heather off at the front door and leave. Just kidding! What kind of father and husband would I be if I did that? I actually did drop her off though. I had to park the car and bring our bags of toiletries, cameras, my laptop, and everything else we needed for the delivery. I have everything in my arms and begin the 1/2 mile journey from our parking spot to the delivery room. It was like walking in the casinos in vegas to go to a convention, only to find you literally have to walk halfway across the the world through the casino floor to get to the convention hall.

11:15 pm: I finally arrive to the delivery room. Heather is doing well. She's dilated 7 centimeters and still no broken water. She's comfortable and handling these contractions really well. The nurses are surprised she hasn't used any painkillers. Then, as I am getting stuff organized, I hear, "Honey, did you grab the toiletry bag?" D'oh! I didn't. I couldn't find it in the car. However, I turn around and make the incredible journey to the car to get that bag. The journey almost required me to camp out halfway into the parking lot, but it was late already and Heather needed her stuff, so I sucked it up and journeyed into the night.

11:30 pm: I return with the toiletry bag and my missing blackberry that fell in the back seat of the car. Happy day! We are anxiously awaiting Heather's water to break. I amuse myself with clips from Saturday Night Live on my laptop while Heather and Denise chat.

12:00 am: I've been up since 6 am this morning, so I drift off to sleep. I have a pillow that I rest my head on.

1:00 am: I wake up with my head leaned over to the left all the way. No new progress yet, but man is my neck sore!

3:00 am: I wake up with my head leaned over to the right all the way. I seriously can't move my head for at least 15 seconds. I finally lift it up. Heather gets checked by the nurses. She's fully dilated but her water hasn't broken yet. We decide to expidite the process. We walk around the floor of the hospital. Heather gets a contraction and uses a side rail to hold onto while she squats. We're hoping for a good push here.

3:45 am: She's tired of this whole water not breaking business. She calls the nurse who comes in and get's the job done. Immediately some more intense contractions kick in. She goes almost immediately from a 7 to a 10 and she feels the urge to push. Doctor Besch to the rescue!

4:15 am: After three really brief yet solid pushes, We have ourselves a baby. She did it without the use of a single drug. No epidural, no topical anisthetic and no novacaine shots. Bryce has a HUGE head and enormous shoulders, and he isn't breathing. The umbilical cord was tight around his neck. I cut the cord and the nurses immediately give the boy oxygen. He starts to make a little noise within a few seconds. Within a few minutes he begins breathing on his own. His face is bruised and battered. They weigh him on a scale. 9 pounds even. 9 pounds! almost a pound bigger than his big brother was.

5:00 am: I meet with the doctors as they check his glucose levels. They put a dome over his head filled with oxygen to help him breath better. He starts to wimper and really cry for the first time! Then he starts to pull off the dome from his head. Did I mention that this dome is weighted so he can't move it? This is no ordinary child however. This is a 45 minute old NFL linebacker! I hold the dome over his head while the doctors prick his heel to test his glucose levels. Most baby's cry when their heel is pricked, not my junior Dick Butkus! I could almost hear him say to the nurse, "I had a cord wrapped around my neck, and a bruised face from being born, do you think I would cry over a pricked heel?!" I imagined him already mercilessly beating up his 3 year-old brother when we bring him home.

5:15 am: I tell Heather and Denise of the great news. I begin sending out text messages to all my friends and family. I'm so wired I can't sleep anymore. Heather on the other hand looks exhausted.

All in all, it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. When that child comes into the world, you can't help but get a little teary eyed, and feel incredibly grateful. My wife is the most amazing woman in the world. I am so proud of her. No meds, and not even a peep when she pushed. The nurses were shocked. Heather used her hypno birthing techniques and she flourished. For those expectant mother's out there, I highly recommend this method. Anyway, it's nearly breakfast time, and I'm tired. More to come.