...Jeremiah is one month old!!

It is crazy how quickly the last month has gone by. Here is his one month picture. :)

...we are a family of three!

Here are a few new pictures of Jeremiah. My cousin, Becca, took these photos and they turned out great! Thanks Becca!

The Regal Family - we are such a good looking group!

This is my favorite photo of Jeremiah and me (so far)! I love his expression!

Daddy and Jeremiah

...I am FINALLY a mom!

Jeremiah Thomas Regal was born on August 30, 2009 at 9:08 pm. He measured 21.5 inches and weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces. The circumference of his head measured 13.5 inches. He is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen (if I do say so myself)! He was born on Dave's Dad's birthday, which is pretty fun.

Dave and I went to the Twins game on Saturday, Aug. 29th for Eric and Aimee's bachelor/ette party. I had been having contractions since about 2 pm, but they were not constant. At 7:15 pm, I started having contractions every 5 minutes for 45 minutes. Then they were 3 minutes apart. We left the Twins game (they lost by the way) and headed home to grab our bags.

When we went to the hospital that night, I was only dilated to a 3 cm. They sent me home with a couple of pills to help me sleep. This didn't help, because I was still having contractions, so every few minutes I was awake again.

The next morning, Aug. 30th, I woke at about 6 am and continued to have contractions. I took a shower, a short nap and just went with them. Dave woke up at about 8 am and we went to the hospital again.

I was 3-4 cm when we got to the hospital that morning. They started me on pitocin and the contractions instantly became about 3 minutes apart and VERY INTENSE! It was hard, but I knew the baby was on his/her way.

Dave was WONDERFUL! He was so supportive! He did exactly what I wanted and needed. He was encouraging and loving. I couldn't have asked for a better coach and husband!

I had decided not to get an epidural, but the contractions were so intense and close together and I really needed to get some sleep. I ended up getting an epidural at about 6 pm. I had made it to 8 cm without a contraction and 7 cm during a contraction. I was pretty proud of myself for getting that far. Cindy (our nurse) said she thought it was best, because I would enjoy the birth much more and she was right.

I was able to rest for a couple of hours. Then the baby decided he/she wanted to come, so I had to start pushing. Cindy predicted that I would have the baby at 9:07 pm - she was wrong though and he decided to come at 9:08 pm. It was wonderful!

He was the most beautiful person I have ever seen, he still is. :) I only pushed for 37 minutes (which is really short according to Cindy). After the birth, Jeremiah was placed on my chest and we bonded for awhile. When the doctor (Dr. Goralski) told us it was a boy, we weren't very surprised. Dave said he was like great, but not surprised at all.

I had a lot of tearing, which really stinks, but it is worth it! The breastfeeding was easy right away in the hospital. It had gotten harder when we got home, but is getting better every day.

Well, that is all I can really think to write about right now. I just wanted a record of one of the best days of my entire life - August 30th, 2009!! More photos and stories to come.