March 17, 2008 Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Today we celebrated Liam's first Saint Patrick's Day.

He got all dressed up for the day in his shamrock outfit and wore his new bib that his cousin Sydney bought him. What a handsome little Leprechaun!

March 13, 2008 Grandma Jean Comes to Visit!

Today Grandma Jean flew to Birmingham to meet Liam! Liam and I went to the airport to greet her. I could see her walking toward us from the gate, when she got to us it was an emotional moment...we both needed some tissues.

It was so exciting to watch my mom holding him for the first time, she thought he was the cutest little guy ever. She held him all the way to baggage claim and had a big smile on her face.

She stayed through Sunday and was a big help; Mike came down with a bad cold and was out of commission for her entire visit. My house was magically put back together and cleaned from top to bottom...thank you mom! Don't get the wrong idea though she had plenty of time to spoil Liam. Basically if I was not nursing him she was holding him and loving on him.

It was sad to see her go back home but her and Grandpa Bob will be back in 2 weeks for another visit. We are looking forward to it!

Homecoming, March 1, 2008

Today we came home from the hospital with Liam. We did some newborn pictures before we left, he looked so handsome in his little going home outfit...thanks to Amanda J!

It was a relief to be home and for the dogs to meet the newest member of our family. Overall the dogs did well, lots of excitement, sniffing, licking, and whining but they settled in quickly.

Welcome home Liam!!!

Liam Hugh Boyle

On February 28, 2008 Liam Hugh Boyle entered the world at 5:17 PM weighing 7lb 0oz, measuring 19 inches long and is the cutest little guy! After 37 weeks and 3 days we finally found out the sex of the baby, what a moment his birth was!

Here is a short version of events, on Wednesday the 27th I worked 12 hours in the NICU, although exhausted I felt good that night when I went to bed. Around midnight I work up to a trickling feeling and went to the restroom...had some more trickling but I still was not sure what was going on. I woke Mike up and told him I thought my water might be breaking and told him what happened, he asked if I was having contractions and told him no. He told me to go back to bed and that I probably had a weak bladder and was peeing myself. So off to bed I went, this same situation happened a few more times during the night and I started to have some mild contractions (I wasn't even sure they were contractions!) but other than that nothing really happened.

In the morning Mike and I decided that I would just keep my normal doctor's appointment scheduled for 9 that morning. I was so sure that this was a false alarm I sent Mike to work and went to the doctor's by myself (although I must of had some doubt because I did bring my overnight bag with me).

Once at Dr. Kennedy's office she examined me and did a slide to see if my water broke...she came back into the office and said "Jennifer, your water is broken!" I asked her what that meant exactly and she said "Your gonna have your baby!" I was terrrified at the realization that today was the day and said "Like today as in now?" She had a good laugh over that one and the deer in the headlight look I had on my face and nodded her head yes. I told her I wanted her to know that I was terrified and she just smiled. Luckily before I got to the doctor's Mike called and said that he was on his way to meet me there...so I called him and told him that this was the real deal. So much for me being a nurse and Mike a doctor...it just goes to show that once you get out of your specialty you really are lost.

Mike met me downstairs and we headed to Labor and Delivery. Things moved quickly, around 10:30 pitocin was started, shortly thereafter I was ready for a epidural. By the way Dr. Nag is a lifesaver...that epidural was the best thing ever! By 4:30 I was complete and ready to start pushing...and at 5:17 PM our little angel arrived!

I was not prepared for this miracle...it was amazing to see him laying on my stomach and screaming his sweet little head off. As a NICU RN it was the best sound ever! I always had a feeling that it was a boy, it was so exciting to find out when I delivered...definitely worth the wait. We had a nursing student with us for the day and he took all the fabulous pics, thanks Ben!

Watching Mike hold Liam for the first time was also overwhelming, I could see the love in his face for our new bundle. It is unbelievable to see the two people you love most in your life together for the first time.