Finally sharing our birth story. It’s still hard to believe that we have four children. At the same time, it’s already hard to imagine a time without our sweet little Miles in the family. In just 2 short months, our new addition has won over all 5 of our hearts settled into our wild lives.

Today I am sharing our birth story.

Here’s the story of how Miles arrived….

As most of you know, all of our babies have arrived late. In fact, instead of coming quicker, each of my babies arrived later and later. After I was induced with Tommy at a full 2 weeks late, I convinced the doctors that maybe this time around we should move my due date back. So early on, after an ultra sound to confirm, my due date was changed from January 21 to the 28th.

After the holidays we got into full baby prep mode. We turned Tommy’s nursery into a nursery for two, took out all the teeny newborn clothes and brought the baby gear down from the attic. At this point all of us were getting so anxious to find out if we’d have a baby boy or girl joining our family. I figured I would have this baby late like the others, but right around my original due date of the 22nd, the forecast said a huge blizzard was going to hit the east coast. I got pretty nervous that the baby would arrive in the storm, but the blizzard came and went (luckily) with no sign of baby. It was actually nice having a blizzard right before baby arrived, because it was a great reason to stay at home, snuggle by the fire and enjoy quiet times as a family. Let’s say that the storm was actually our “quiet before the storm”!

Like the 1st three times around, my due date came and went. The day after a friend was having a little moms night out at her house and I figured if baby wasn’t here yet, I might as well enjoy a fun night out. It was a lot of fun and I laughed so hard all night that I was sure it was going to help bring on labor. That night when I went to bed I felt a few small contractions and a ton of pressure. I didn’t feel much better in the morning. I was sure that if I spent the day walking around baby might make an entrance. We took all 3 kids to Target, which that craziness in itself can bring on labor. When we got home I started to make dinner and that’s when contractions really started. They were about 20 minutes apart and by the time bath time arrived they were 15 minutes apart.

It’s funny to think back to labor with Maggie and terrified I was once it started. This time I was cooking dinner and bathing 3 kids! Contractions started getting closer together and more painful. I called the doctor and she said given how fast Alex came and this being the 4th I should come to the hospital right away and not wait. My mom started the drive to our house, but she’s an hour away and I didn’t think we could wait that long. Luckily I have some wonderful friends in town who were at the ready. A friend was over to watch the kids in about 5 minutes. That’s when I remembered to pack a bag for the hospital! We tucked Tommy in bed and kissed the girls.

We checked in at the hospital and we were ready for one last rodeo! Contractions were ranging from 5  to 10 minute apart. After an hour they were not getting more regular – staying in a wide range. Being I was past my due date and given my history, my doctor recommended a tiny bit of Pitocin to get them more regular. At this point I got an epidural. This was the first time that the epidural experience wasn’t great and didn’t seem to work quite as well as the last few. I’m glad this happened the 4th time and not the 1st. I tried to get comfortable and rest, thinking I had a few more hours. Tom started to doze off and that’s when my water broke. It was the first time my water broke on it’s own. I woke Tom, called the nurse and all of a sudden felt like it was time to push. They called my doctor and she came right to the hospital. This was just after midnight.

When my doctor arrived we were all chatting and all of a sudden I had to push. I started to and my doctor said “stop pushing” and sounded pretty serious. I knew the baby’s head was out and it made me think something was wrong. I got really scared and asked her why – she smiled, laughed and said “because we’re not ready!” She needed to at least grab a towel! About 10 seconds later , at 1:06 am, our sweet baby was on my chest screaming. We all yelled “it’s a boy”! That’s when I started crying.  I held him so tight and cried.

So there he was, John Miles Byrne. He weighed in at 7 lbs and 15 oz and was 20 inches long. We were at the hospital barely 3 hours when he arrived.

We were shocked to have another baby boy – both of us guessed it was a girl. We named him John Byrne after Tom’s uncle, a very special person to him. We gave him the middle name Miles and planned to call him by his middle name.

Miles was sweet and mild mannered from the minute he was born. He looked identical to Alex when she was born and even had a small skin tag by his ear like she did. We couldn’t wait for him to meet his siblings. For the first few days I rested in the hospital with my new bundle of joy. It was peaceful, quiet and a special time with my little Miles.

Thank you  all for the kind words and congratulations over the past 2 months. We feel very blessed and we’re loving every minute with our baby Miles.

One of my friends is a wonderful photographer and came over when Miles was a week old and took some adorable pictures for us. She took the photos last year for Tommy’s birth announcement. Once again, I turned one of the photos into our announcement and one into a thank you card. I was so happy with the beautiful announcements and thank you cards I made from Minted last year. I knew that’s where I wanted to make them again, this time for Miles. Having all of the addresses saved on their site and the fact that they print them all right on the envelope made it super easy. Easy was key. Otherwise you might have seen his birth announcement around his 5th birthday! We’re always happy with the designs and quality from Minted. I’ve really enjoyed designing all 4 birth announcements. This time, knowing it was the last one I’d create made it tough to decide on one. There were so many designs I loved. They came out wonderful and were a special way to introduce Miles to all of our family and friends.