Baby Drake is here!!!!!

I know you have all been on pins and needles waiting for the good news. I promised to get the word out as soon as I could, so here goes... (warning from Heather, Dan's stories have WAY too much detail and can bore to tears). (color courtesy of Gabrielle)

Drake M Pritt was born yesterday at 10:31 A.M. weighing 7 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches long. He came out the shoot as mellow as anything and hasn't barely made a peep since. He didn't hardly even cry after getting poked with his shots. He was just happy to be here, I think. Heather started labor about 2:00 A.M. after the nurses started her on some Cervadil (sp?) to ripen things up and get things moving. It worked like a champ and she started having regular contractions shortly thereafter. They put her on Pitosin (sp again?) at about 4:00 A.M. and things really started kicking in after that. I can honestly say that I was a valiant husband and stayed faithfully by her side through the entire evening while she was going through her mini-marathon of pain. The really honest thing to say is that I was faithfully at her side taking catnaps most of the night. Anyway, after she started the Pitosin, the contractions were hard and frequent, but she wasn't making progress. The pain was also becoming a lot worse so they grabbed the pain dude (not even going to try to spell that one) and gave Heather the make-you-numb juice (again, the spelling). After that, it was a walk in the park, for me anyway, but much easier for Heather as well. Heather was progressing so quickly at this point they thought she might have the baby before the doctor would arrive. That was a false alarm, however, because little Drake's head was wedged a little off and was slowing the process down each time Heather would push. After about 15 minuted of hard pushing, the doctor finally got the vacuum and was able to rotate the head enough for the pushing to be effective. I told Heather at 10:30 that she needed to hurry things up if Madison was going to miss her Math class like she had been begging for the past few weeks. That was all it took. One push later and the head was out. The doctor unwound the chord from around his neck and Heather started to push again. He told her to stop when he realized the chord was actually wrapped around a second time. Little Drake was playing some serious jump rope in there the night before I guess. One push later and he was out. Madison got her wish. Heather did GREAT!!!

Little Drake had to spend a short time in the NICU for observation to make sure he was breathing properly and that everything was fine right after the birth. He had swallowed a lot of fluid and seemed to be flaring out his nostrils at the beginning. It was all precautionary. He seems perfectly healthy and content. For the first day of his life, he has amazed me with his easy-going temperament. Nothing phases the little guy unless he is needs something. The second the need is satisfied, he will stop crying and is content for the next few hours. I can't wait for this little guy to help me out with all the drama in our house :). We started things off right by watching some MacGyver re-runs while Mom got some sleep last night. Today we had a few more tests from the hospital and they gave us the option of staying another night or going home. Heather is feeling great, so we decided to get home and get on with things. The only problem at this point was the poor little guy didn't have a name. The only real name he had up to this point was "Little Dude" given to him by Gabrielle and Madison (mostly Madison). We talked about it a long time, naming him several other names in the process and finally came full circle to the original name we had from the beginning. The M, if you are wondering, is for several things. It is in honor of his cousin Matthew who passed away from Leukemia last year, M for Grandpa and Great Grandpa, and M for my hero Captain Moroni. Hopefully every time someone asks him what the M is for, he will be reminded of the great legacy that has gone before. Enjoy the pictures of our "little dude," Drake M Pritt.