.parker derek dietzen.

It's official...our little man has arrived!!! Parker Derek Dietzen was born on July 20th, 2010 at 8:55 pm weighing 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20.5 inches long. 

It has been a WONDERFUL last week with him in our lives and we are loving every second of being new parents (yes, even the sleepless nights are enjoyable with this little guy). I was due on July 16th and he hadn't come so since we had people visiting from out of state, the doctor said she would induce me on July 20th if he hadn't come by then. So on Monday night, I was bummed that he hadn't come on his own, but was excited that the next day I would be induced and meet Parker. At about 2:00am I woke up having contractions about every 20-30 minutes apart and by about 7:00am I was having contractions every 5 minutes for about a minute long each....so we called the doctor and they told us to come in at our scheduled 9:00am appt time and see if I was in labor. Sure enough, when we got there, I was dialated to 4 cm and was in labor! Woo Hoo!!! 

So we went straight down to the maternity ward and were checked into our room. I labored until about 1:30 pm where the doctor came in and broke my water to get things moving. As soon as she broke my water, my contractions got very intense and were about 2-3 minutes long at least. I had to wait a while for the anaesthesiologist to come and give me the epidural so I was laboring through the contractions and my body was shaking and I started to throw up. But about 30 minutes after I got the epidural the pain became manageable and I was no longer sick. I was able to take a nap and get some sleep after I got the epidural. At about 8:00 pm I started to push...man that was an experience. As much as epidural's help to numb the pain, I was still having to breathe through the contractions and I ended up getting sick again in the middle of pushing. But less than an hour later, little Parker made his appearance into the world and was the perfect little boy!

I was shocked when they told me he was only 6 lbs, 15 oz since bigger babies run in both our families, I had just expected we would have a big baby...and he was 20.5 inches long so he was long and skinny. 

It was the most unbelievable experience of my life and I am amazed at how much God has blessed Nick and I. Our little son is perfect and is healthy as can be. I couldn't ask for more. I don't know how people can look at birth and babies and not believe in God. It is such a miracle that Parker grew in my belly for 9 months and came out a fully functioning human being. 

I am loving being a mom and feel like this is what I was created to do. I cannot wait to watch Parker grow and teach him to be a man of integrity and honor. Such an important job, especially in our society these days. We are blessed beyond words and love our little Parker man more than we could have ever imagined!