Oliver Augustine Lynch

 The newest little Lynch was born on December 8th, 2021, Feast of the Immaculate Conception!  He came 4 days early.  My water broke around 2am that morning, and we headed to the hospital after my mom arrived at the house to watch the kids.  I knew I was likely going to need to be induced, as my water broke with Mary and I didn't go into labor on my own.  I hadn't progressed much after a few hours, so they decided to start a low dose of pitocin.  The contractions picked up, but I wasn't dilating as quickly as I was expecting. Baby was also experiencing heart rate decelerations with each contraction.  I think because my water broke, there was no cushion and the cord may have been getting pinched.  It was a bit worrisome for awhile, as the decelerations would happen after a contraction, instead of during which is more normal.  So lots of anxiety and staring at the monitor.  I bounced on a ball for a while, and constantly had to get up to pee.  As the contractions got stronger, I was checked and was 7 cm.  Five minutes later while in the bathroom, I felt a strong urge to push and told the nurse.  I barely made it back onto the bed, and he came flying out.  The doctor was washing his hands, and didn't even have time to put gloves on!  Almost 12 hours from when my water broke, so one of my longest and hardest labors.  So happy he is here!

He was a little guy at 5.11 lbs, so had to have blood sugar monitoring for the first 24 hours.  Luckily no issues with jaundice, so we were able to leave after one night in the hospital.  The kids couldn't visit because of COVID restrictions, so we were very anxious to get home.  Here are a few pics from his first few days.