Caleb Michael Ottinger's debut!

Our newest family member is here! And we are all relieved that he is whole and hale and very laid back!

After leaving the doctor's office on Monday we came home and went to soccer practice/game. It was all pretty uneventful. Around 1 a.m. a storm came through our area and Jerry and I laid in bed waiting for our munchkins to join us in bed as the thunder and lightening worsened. About 2 a.m. Sydney climbed in bed on my side and just barely bumped into my belly and the contractions began! I told Jerry if he was going to take a shower before going to the hospital he should get up and take it then because I didn't know how fast they were going to start coming and didn't really want to be sitting at home having a baby in the middle of a storm! In the ten minutes it took him to shower, I had 2 intense contractions and decided we should go!

We got to the hospital around 3 a.m. and the doctors monitored the contractions and Caleb for an hour. It took 3 different people to get my IV started. It was pretty funny actually. Usually I don't do needles very well and it makes me feel ill if they dig around in my vein to get it in, but this time I didn't really care. Probably because they would do their attempt during a contraction. The final guy to try was a big guy with tattoos all over his arms, kind of thug looking, but was AWESOME at getting the needle in my vein. I was relieved to say the least.

They stalled on breaking my water, which was fine. (I think it irritated Jerry but in the end it worked out better.) Around 6 a.m., I was 8 cms so they hooked up my fluids and gave me Nubain (sp?). That was WONDERFUL! I didn't care what was going on and got to sleep for a while. The doctor opted to wait until after the shift change to break my water and have the midwife deliver our baby. (I had been trying to get an appointment with this lady since Sydney's conception!) The mid wife came in at 9:15 and broke my water. I got up to go to the bathroom around 10:15 and got back to the edge of the bed and couldn't get back in it. They had the room set up and ready so we sat at the edge of the bed for a bit and in the end Jerry sat behind me holding me up and I had my legs over the mid wife's knees and pushed out our baby!

He came out pretty quickly, which was kind of scary but good because he had his cord wrapped around his neck. It took him a little bit to cry which was a very scary moment. When I was pushing I asked them to just tell me when his head was out because usually the pain decreases, I can take a breath and push the rest of him out... that was not the case with Caleb. Only later did I find out why! His head is 35 cms and his chest is 35.5 cms.... yeah... that was not too fun! Thankfully, there were no other complications. The mid wife laid him in our arms so we could hold him right after he came out. It was a great moment for both Jerry and I!

All in all the birth was completely diffferent from any of the other kids. Every kid is different! We are so blessed to have him here and can't imagine our family without him. We think, at least I do, at this point he is a great bookend to our kids. This was a pretty intense experience for us and we realize just how blessed we are.

We can't wait for you all to meet him! He is such a little cutie! He is a great mix of all the kids. The kids LOVE their new brother too. Jay is glad he is here and I can really hug him again. Anna is a little mommy and wants to help with EVERYTHING. Xavier is fascinated that his arms flail around and he coos. Sydney is still figuring out that he is real and not a baby doll and loves to give him kisses on his head.

I guess I didn't put in the particulars, so here they are:

Caleb Michael

born at 10:54 a.m.

September 9, 2008

8 lbs. 7.3 oz.

20.4" long.

Will update soon!