It is a boy!

Caleb Maxwell Flight arrived in the world at 9:23pm Eastern, weighing 8 lbs 2oz (3.7 kg). He has all the right parts, a healthy set of lungs, and is just perfect. Mom is doing good, very tired and sore but happy. No complications in the delivery. Thank you Lord for giving us this wonderful little boy, and thank you to everyone for your prayers. Pics will follow tomorrow.

Another centimeter!

At 4pm the Doc came in to check on us, and Sarah was another whole centimeter dilated! So we are up to 5! She said that if we kept up the pace of dilating 1cm every 2 hours, then she would be happy, and saw no need to put in a monitor to make sure how strong the contractions are. If that pace continues, it will still be a while, but it is nice today to have some progress, especially when compared to yesterday.

Thank you!

I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that even though we are not replying to all the comments on the blog posts or on Facebook, I am regularly checking them and passing the comments along to Sarah. We have both been so encouraged by the incredible support of everyone, and are very appreciative of all of your prayers regarding the labor and delivery.

Thank you all so very much.

Day 2: 1pm

Still only 4cm dilated, but the baby was in a better position with respect to the cervix, so the Doc went ahead and broke her water. That means in one sense the clock is ticking, there is only so much time they will let Squirt stay in there with the water broken. But the Doc feels that the labor is progressing, and in a couple of hours will probably put in a monitor so they can tell how strong the contractions are. The epidural is in, so at this point Sarah isn't feeling much. She is currently trying to rest and I am getting some nourishment so I can be a help to her in the latter part of labor.

Day 2: 10am and + 4cm

The Doc was in at 10 to check how the dilator balloon was doing, and it popped right out this time. So 4.5cm dilated, but the baby isn't quite in position to be able to break the water yet. So up the drugs a bit, and check again in a couple more hours. The anesthesiologist is here doing history for the epidural. Lots of breathing right now through the contractions and hoping that they do their job. Thanking God for His goodness, mercy, providence, and sovereignty through this entire process.

We even had the time to do some simple worship this morning by singing some psalms and reading scripture.

Day 2: 9am

Pretty good night last night, as we were both able to get more sleep than the previous night. They did let Sarah off the drugs and we freshened up and got something to eat, and moved around. However, as soon as the drugs stopped, the contractions stopped, which in one way was kind of disappointing.

When we got back, they put in a balloon essentially to get things dilated while sleeping. Had a great sleep from 2-7, and the balloon did some dilating overnight, but not as much as we had all hoped. Back on the drugs this morning, hoping the combination of the two (that of the balloon and drugs) will get Sarah to 4cm and active labor. Very thankful for the opportunity to rest last night, and for everyones prayers.

19 hours

So the drug to get contractions going and the cervix dilated haven't been accomplishing a whole heck of a lot, except for bringing on the pain (which eventually brought the need for some morphine). But no real progress in the dilating department. We have word from the labor technicians (the ones who actually help the doctor deliver the baby) that the current plan is if there is no change at the next check, then they are going to take a break, let her eat something and take a shower, and then either restart the current treatment or try another approach. Our new nurse is here (shift change just happened) and she just confirmed that plan.

We really appreciate everyones prayers.

12 hours along

At 12 hours along, after a second dose of the initial meds at 8:30am, and there is now a more regular pattern of contractions, however still not a whole lot of dilation going on. On the plus side, things are thinning out, and some stuff is moving into position, so they feel ok starting the next medication, as it allows finer control of the contractions. Sounds like it could still be quite a while before we finally get to meet Squirt.

The Baby is coming out!

Here we are, 8 days over the due date, and Squirt seems like he/she has no intention of leaving the warm secure confines of Mommy's womb. So this morning we are sitting in the waiting room for a final ultrasound to verify that Squirt is fine, and then late tonight we are off to the hospital for them to induce labor. Lord willing, we will finally meet Squirt sometime tomorrow.

[Update] The ultrasound went well, it was a biophysical profile (bpp) to verify fluid levels and activity. The little turkey was quiet again this morning, so it was a good thing I took along some lyrics for singing to get Squirt to move. But everything is fine as far as the tech could tell.