Max Cory Johnson

Max arrived on August 21, 2011, at 1:58 p.m. He weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Not too shabby for being exactly three weeks early.

I'm not sure why this turned out blurry but it's probably best that you can't really see how fat I am. We had to be at the hospital at 7:30 a.m. to be induced. I cried the whole way to the hospital. And through the admission process. And while they started hooking me up to all of the equipment. I really didn't want to have a baby that day. I wanted three more weeks (or better yet, five more years).

Dr. Langer prepared us for the long haul. She said that it would likely take 9-12 hours since this was my first baby. So we settled in with a movie and tried to relax. They had to increase the pitocin drip several times before anything really started to happen. I had only had about 10 contractions that I thought were mildly severe (maybe a 5 on a scale of 1-10) when the nurse came in and told me that if I didn't have the epidural now, I wouldn't be able to get it for another hour because the anesthesiologist was going into a C-section and would be tied up with that. I really didn't want the epidural at that point but didn't want to chance it so I went ahead and got it. The nurse checked me before the anesthesiologist started and I was dilated to a three. She checked me after he was finished and I was dilated to a seven. And about 15 minutes later, we started to push. Thank goodness I got the epidural when I did!!!

I'm not sure what I was expecting but pushing was more intense than I thought it would be. Max's heart rate kept dropping so we had to stop and let him stabilize before continuing. I later found out that the cord was wrapped around his neck twice, which is what was causing the problem. Thank goodness they didn't tell me that at the time! I pushed for about 40 minutes and then, voila, the doctor placed a screaming (rather blue) baby on my belly. We had been in labor for six hours. What a surreal moment. It probably wasn't until we left the hospital that I fully realized that we were going home with a baby. Everything was just a blur up until that point. He sure is a handsome little guy and we have loved having him in our home.
Shortly after delivery.First family photo.
Daddy got Max all strapped into the car seat to go home. I was so happy to leave that hospital! One of my friends told me that she loves being in the hospital because the nurses take care of everything and she feels like she is on vacation. What a joke! That hospital room door brought a constant barrage of people who wanted to pick at me or Max. I had to go home so that I could take a decent nap.
First ride in Daddy's truck.
And speaking of trucks, my brother and SIL sent us this darling flower arrangement. Cory, my dad and my brother all have black Ford pick-up trucks. So the card on this arrangement said, "we didn't want Max to be the only boy in the family who didn't have his own Ford truck." So cute!
This kid is a rock star when it comes to sleeping. We usually have to wake him up to eat. And after he's finished eating, he just hangs out and looks around. For a few nights, he kept me up all night and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I knew he had a full belly and dry diaper but he would scream when I tried to put him in the bassinet. He would sleep like a champ in his swing, though. It took me a while but I finally figured out that he probably has a little bit of acid reflux and being propped up helps to keep his tummy settled. So we elevated the head of his bassinet and he slept great last night. Good grief! Let's hope the learning curve isn't that steep with everything or we are going to have "the stupidest parents ever" plastered to our foreheads.
Jared and Camille came to visit and wanted to see the bear rug. And since we had it out, Cory decided Max needed to try it out. The only regret: Max wasn't wearing camo at the time. You should see this kid's wardrobe. He has enough camo to last him a lifetime!
After the first bath. Which he hated. Typical boy.
Houdini ain't got nothin' on this kid. He can get out of a swaddle so fast! Another learning curve for the rookie parents. Max likes to have his hands out. Duly noted (after another round of screaming and parents who looked on with puzzled faces).