He's here!!!!

After much anticipation, John Patrick has finally made his debut. We showed up at the hospital bright and early yesterday morning but as expected they had a ton of women in labor and we ended up waiting a while to get in a room. After the pitocin was started, things progressed but at a rather slow rate. By 11:00 I was almost to a 4 and the doctor broke my water at 12:30. I was at a 6 and 100% effaced by 1:30 and at a 9 by 2:00. Within the next hour, I could definitely tell that he was ready to come out! I guess he decided to make up for lost time after lunch. We called the doctor and he came right over. After the first push he was here, and it took two more to complete the process.

We were so thankful and excited to have our sweet little boy here! He actually had the cord pretty tightly around his neck and a true knot in the cord (which can both be life threatening) so we are so thankful for God's protection over his life! He is doing great and and I am very thankful to be "unpregnant" and just having to cope with the delivery recovery. We are enjoying every moment with our new little one! The time in the hospital is such a sweet time especially when you have other kids at home. It gives you that precious time to just focus on your baby without any other distractions. I LOVE those first few days of getting to know the new baby and having all of those quiet cuddle moments!

Unfortunately the kids have not been able to come visit John Patrick yet. Kate came down with a fever last Saturday and can't seem to shake it. We're hoping that she will be better tomorrow so that she had hold him when we get home. All of the kids have been so excited for his arrival. I know it's been hard for them not to be able to come see him. Thankfully my in-laws are caring for them while we're here. It's a blessing to know that they are having a blast at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Here are a few pictures of John Patrick. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long. MUCH lighter than what I expected, thankfully! My guess was 9 lbs. 12 oz. so I was shocked that he ended up being 10 oz. smaller than Caleb. I'll try to post more pics as we get them...

John Patrick Larsen

Born August 12, 2008