He's here!

If you have facebook then you already know that our little boy has arrived. You may have even found the link to the picasa album on Stephen's page. If this is your first introduction to the cutest baby ever, then congratulations!

We are proud to introduce Seth Darrell Haskin who was born Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 9:52 am. He arrived healthy and strong at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches. We are exhausted but OVERJOYED to welcome him into our home and couldn't be more thankful this Thanksgiving/Christmas season!

The following is a relatively gore-free labor story, but feel free to skip down to the pictures!

Labor started suddenly and powerfully around 11pm on Monday night with contractions 3-5 minutes apart. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to use the Lamaze breathing/focal point/comfort measure strategies we had learned in our birth class, but Stephen was a pro at helping me stay calm. Soon afterwards (but what seemed like hours to me) we checked into the hospital. My water had broken on the way and I was in obvious pain so we only made a quick stop in triage where I managed to purge my quesadilla dinner from Qdoba's and then up to our labor and delivery room. I think I was dilated to a 3 1/2 when we checked in (I was at a 2 1/2 at my last appointment). My nurses in labor and delivery were fantastic and helped me get through the hour or so before the anesthesiologist could make it to my room to do the epidural. Before labor I was pretty sure I would get the epidural, but after about 20 minutes of contractions at home I have never been so sure of something in my life. Thank you modern medicine! And thank you to the awesome anesthesiologist and her assistant who talked me through the whole thing. My opinion of the epidural is that it was totally worth it for me, that it didn't hurt when they administered it (only the numbing shot), and that it makes your lower body have the strangest tingling feeling. It took twice as long as they thought it would to work, but when the pain was finally relieved we waited for his arrival! I knew I should rest while I could, but I was so excited I kept talking to Stephen and his mom while they were trying to sleep. They were both extremely wonderful. They held my hand, counted while I breathed and pushed, fed me ice chips, cheered me on, scratched my feet (the epidural gave me impossible-to-satisfy itches), and reassured me. Stephen's mom even drove home in the middle of the night to get our cameras which we had forgotten somehow (she also cooked, cleaned, laundered, entertained, and babysat during her stay-- thank you!). A few hours later they said I could start pushing. My favorite part of labor happened during this phase when Stephen and his mom could see the baby's head. Their reaction gave me courage and made me feel like he was actually going to come. I pushed for 2 1/2 hours and we eventually decided that he might need some help. I could feel the contractions and they even hurt but I just wasn't making much progress. One episiotomy and vacuum-assistance later, Seth arrived! I was worried about both procedures, but we felt like (and still do) they were the best options to get him here safely. Because of the vacuum-assistance they wanted to give him immediately to a pediatric nurse, but they were good about quickly handing him off to Stephen after he had been checked. I had to wait 30 minutes to hold him while I was being stitched up, but honestly I didn't even mind. I was so thrilled that he made it here and made it here safely that I was happy to look at his beautiful face (puffy eyes, conehead, and all :)- really though, he was beautiful) and watch Stephen bond with his new little son. It was indescribable to hold him for the first time and I am so happy to be his mom. He has been doing well ever since and my recovery is going better and better everyday. 

We really enjoyed having Stephen's parents and 4 siblings over for Thanksgiving... in our 2 bedroom apartment. Don't worry, Stephen's mom/family did ALL the cooking and preparation and they were fantastic guests during their 4 day stay. They helped me stay distracted from my pain and it was great to have so many hands to hold Seth so I could sleep when I needed to. Today he gets to meet his other grandma and in less than a month he'll meet the rest of the Pursers. He's sleeping okay during the night and is apparently eating well since he left the hospital at 6 lbs 13 oz and 4 days later at his doctor's appointment he weighed 7 lbs 10 oz! 

One quick note about his name. We have had a really rough time finding names that we both liked. A few days before he was born we made yet another list and surveyed our family members. Once we met him and talked about it for a while we decided that "Seth" fit best and we also liked that it's a bible name. His middle name, Darrell, is Stephen's dad's first name. Stephen and his dad each have their grandfathers' names as middle names so we thought we would continue the tradition and give him a meaningful role model.

Sorry if I had time I would write captions, but I don't, so enjoy!