Welcome Joshua!

Welcome Joshua Michael Anderson, the newest member of the Anderson Clan!

This is a little late as far as posts go, but I've been "adjusting" to life with our little bundle of joy, and only now have time to blog!

Joshua was born February 14th, 2009 at 5:35 AM! He was 7 pounds 5.9 onces, 20 inches long, and 14.5 centimeter head. Joshua was the best Valentine's gift we've ever gotten... God is so amazing, isn't He?

About The Name: Luke and I had his name picked out since we were engaged. Joshua is one of our favorite Biblical characters. Michael is Luke's father's first name, and is Joshua's middle name in honor of him. This is a tradition in Luke's family. If we ever have another boy, he'll have my father's first name as a middle name.

Oh, and as for those who "placed their bets" about Joshua's weight, Sarah Windham and Vineet were the closest without going over, both guessing 7.5 ounces... so you two win! Your Prize: Virtual High Five! Congrats!

The story? Well, it was like a marathon! Labor lasted 26 hours. They tried to induce me 11 hours before that (unsuccessfully mind you), so we were stuck in the hospital for 37 hours total before he came out, but only 26 of them were real labor with strong contractions. This means we didn't get much sleep or food during this timeframe. Only by Christ's strength and grace were we sustained during this time!

Our midwife was amazing, and Joshua only took 35 minutes to push out. The great news is that I didn't need a C-Section, nor an epidural! I didn't even tear! Praise God! I was given a pain killer after 6 hours straight of hard contractions that were about 0-4 seconds apart and 100-120 seconds long (these were documented on the machine the hooked me up to... I thought they were joking!) I couldn't stay on top of them, so they gave me something that acted like "Beyer for a Migraine" (just took the edge off and spaced the contractions out a bit more). That really helped and made the remaining 6-8 hours of labor bearable (I don't remember the exact timeframe.)

Anyway, I survived and am feeling fine! Joshua is doing so well! He's grown so much and has nice pudgy baby cheeks! Oh so cute! Thanks to everyone who prayed for us, gave us baby things, and who have provided us with meals! We couldn't have survived the last week without you!

Baby Update: Inducing Tonight!

We are 41 weeks pregnant (1 week overdue) today! As you can see, I'm HUGE (for me!) We went to the midwife today as well, and had an exciting 2.5 hours of testing (hint of sarcasm here). They had great news for us, and some interesting (less than great... sorta good?) news. From the "Non-Stress Test", where they strapped all sorts of monitors to my stomach, they found out that Joshua is still healthy and happy in there! He's moving normally, and is as spunky as ever (he likes to kick people that push on the tummy!) This was great news! We then went in for an ultrasound and found that he weighs approximately 8 pounds right now! That was great news as well, since I'm measuring small. The less good news is that my fluid levels are low. As many of you know, low fluid levels mean painful births for moms. That is why they've decided to induce me tonight at 5pm. Basically, they're going to use a ring shaped device to help me dilate (no drugs or hormones involved), and then break my water sometime tomorrow morning if labor doesn't get started tonight. Our little Joshua will be out sometime tomorrow probably if all goes well. We would love prayer for:

1. The whole process to run smoothly
2. God's provision and protection during the whole time
3. That I'll turn to Christ for strength during the painful and scary times (I'm a little nervous, I must admit!)
   
4. My health and Joshua's health during and after labor/delivery

We'll be sure to post pictures after he's born! Can't wait to introduce him to you! Thanks for your prayers!