Introducing Peter Benjamin

He's here !!! Our son is finally here !!! We are so excited that he finally decided to come.

Stats:

Name: Peter Benjamin Jensen

DOB: September 12, 2009

Time: 1:05 am

Weight: 7 lbs, 14.8 ounces (see the picture above)

Length: 20 inches

Hair: Blonde, with a slight curl to it

Here's me cutting the cord for the second time. I cut it after he was first born, and the second time after they got him all cleaned up and were trimming the cord up. It is a little harder to cut than you would first expect.

Story:

Friday night, after a long day of studying, Dianna and I headed off to help Dianna's mom shop for a new laptop. We were in Best Buy looking at the various laptops when Dianna leans over and tells me that her water just broke ( which for Dianna it was not like they show in the movies- with the sudden tidal wave gush of water splashing all over the place). She said she felt just fine, and she wasn't having any contractions. So we finished up helping her mom pick out a laptop before heading home. At check out she had 2-3 mild contractions, so we got in the car and headed off home while Dianna called her doctor. He told her to go ahead and come on in to the hospital as soon as we got home. We had been shopping in Illinois with Dianna's mom and home was 20 minutes away. Dianna was starting to have more regular contractions, but was doing great. She told me when we got home that she wanted to take a shower and eat something before we headed off to the hospital. Which I was fine with, seeing as how she had just barely started having contractions and was calm and relaxed. Well, when we got into the neighborhood Dianna was telling me to hurry and run into the house, grab her bags and speed on over to the hospital. Things had really picked up during that twenty minute drive. She was no longer so calm, relaxed and comfortable. So we grabbed her stuff and rushed to the hospital as soon as we could. The hospital here has a special labor and delivery triage for those who think they have gone into labor. So we went there and started the process of getting checked in. They got Dianna into a gown, connected her to the monitor, got her vital signs taken, etc and the nurse left to get some paperwork to fill out with Dianna. By the time she came back Dianna was having STRONG contractions back to back. The nurse checked her and said, "Oh!!, U'h, you've progressed faster than we expected." She was already dilated to and eight or nine. So they got Dianna into the bed and we were quickly taken to her delivery room. They haden't even gotten an IV into her when she started having the urge to push. The doctor verified that she was ready, so the nurse threw in that IV as soon as she could, and they started having Dianna push. She was doing great, but Peter's heart rate started dropping really low and it wasn't coming up ( I saw the heart rate on the monitor, it was low for a baby). They needed to get him out fast before things got worse, so they attached a vacuum suction to his head and used it to help pull him out while Dianna pushed. When the head came out they found the chord wrapped around his neck x 1. But with the help of the vacuum suction it wasn't long before Peter's body came and it was all over. He was a little purple at first, but he didn't take too long to turn pink.

Here he is with his oxygen on. With the cord being wrapped around his neck, they wanted to be sure that he got enough oxygen.

He didn't like the oxygen mask very much.

the vacuum suction left a purple, ringed bruise on his head. From a distance it looks like he is wearing a yamaka :). It also left him with a little bit of a cone head ( it was kinda funny). But that has been going away more and more with time.

Doesn't he look just miserable here? Sad. But he was doing great. From the time that Dianna's water broke to the time that Peter was born, the whole process took a little over 4 hours. Yes, that's right folks. First baby in four hours. And ALL NATURAL. Not a single pain medication given. Dianna was such a tropper and did and awsome job. I was so proud of her. I love you babe. Because of the rush to get Peter out and the use of the vacuum suction, Dianna did have some tearing and needed to be stitched up. They did give her pain medications for that.

This is Dianna trying to smile after being drugged up for the stitching.

And here is Mom and baby bonding:

I have never seen Dianna go through that much pain before, and I have never seen her cry like that either. To be honest, it was really hard to watch. I work in health care and have to deal with people who are hurting and in pain all the time. But when it is one of your own.............it is a whole new ball game. At times I felt so helpless because I didn't know what I could do to make it better. But like I said, Dianna was a tropper and I am so proud of her for it.

At first it was wierd to hold this baby and think that is was actually mine. That I am actually a father. And it still is sometimes. But I am getting more and more used to it the more time I spend with Peter. I look down at this amazing new person in my arms and find myself in absolute awe of him. What an amazing creature, and what an amazing blessing and responsability from my Heavenly Father.

Here is Peter with his Grandma McKinney. She was there the whole time that Dianna was in labor, and her help, wisdom, and knowledge in this area was greatly welcomed. We were grateful for her presence at this special occassion.

I loved my son from the very beginning, but I will be honest: newborns are much better looking the next day.

Isn 't he cute?! I'm sure that I have left out a whole lot of details, but I will let Dianna fill in the cracks once she is feeling up to it. All in all, we are thankful to have our new son, that he is well, and that mommy is well too. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support. We will be sure to keep you updated. So, come back often !!!