Bryce Carter Kropf has finally arrived!

We welcomed our son into the world on Saturday, August 21 at 10:09am. He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and 19 3/4 inches. We have been so eager to hold him and smother him with kisses. He is such a precious baby and we couldn't be happier!
Bryce's due date was September 1st, but because his abdomen was small, our doctor wanted to induce labor on August 24th. At that point we were told that he was just barely 5 pounds and that it would be better for him to be out of the womb sooner than 40 weeks.
Since Bryce was so tiny, our doctor wanted to do extra monitoring, so we had two appointments per week for about 2 weeks. At our final prenatal appointment 4 days before the induce date, the nurse and doctor noticed some irregularities in Bryce's heartbeat while I was hooked up to the monitoring machine. The doctor was concerned, so she sent me to the hospital to be extensively monitored over there. After being on the hospital monitor for nearly 2 hours, a nurse told us that Bryce's heartrate was still causing some concern, and that I would be delivering that day instead of being sent home like we had planned.
When in Labor & Delivery, I was put on medication for 12 hours to soften my cervix. During that time we kinda hung out and did what we could to pass time. I started to feel some discomfort from the contractions, but by 1am, after the 12 hours had passed, I was given another medicine to speed up the contractions. At 4am I felt like vomiting during each contraction because the pain was so severe. I then got an epidural and was finally able to sleep! At about 8am, the nurse broke my water, but after some time, they noticed that with each contraction, Bryce's heartrate dropped.
Within minutes my room was filled with several nurses rushing around to prepare to take me to the Operating Room to perform a C-Section. Everything happened so fast that Kyle forgot to bring along our camera to capture those first few moments of Bryce after birth.
When in the O.R., I was asked if I could move my legs, but when I tried, I was freaked out when nothing happened. ;) My body was completely numb pretty much from my chest down. It felt strange. When our doctor arrived, we were surprised how quick we were in and out of the O.R. Kyle hung out with me on my side of the curtain while the incision was made and when Bryce was pulled out. I don't remember feeling scared...I was probably too tired. :) But within seconds our doctor said that she was holding Bryce, and we waited to hear his cry. It was then when I started to worry when we didn't hear anything. But a few seconds later, we heard his cry for the first time, and all we could do was look at each other and cry. It was a relief to hear him and to hear the doctor say that everything was alright. She did inform us though that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Bryce's legs a few times and once around his neck. We're glad that our doctor was so persistent on delivering early and that we were rushed to the O.R. because after hearing that the cord was around his neck, we're afraid to think what could have happened if he weren't delivered at that time.
After Bryce was cleaned off, Kyle went with him to the nursery while I was stitched and stapled, and sent back to Labor & Delivery to wait for Kyle and Bryce. While there, I tried to catch up on all the sleep that I had lost for the past day or so, but I couldn't stop thinking that Kyle and I actually had a son! Once Kyle came back to my room, we were transferred to a new room in Post-Partum. I was given some sort of medication which had a side effect of making your skin itchy...well, I was itchy all over and couldn't believe that it didn't wear off until over 24 hours later...I was going crazy!!!
Bryce was then brought in from the nursery and it was the most amazing feeling to have my son look at me. He then puckered his lips and it looked like he blew us a kiss. :) That was the first thing I remember when I was able to hold him for the first time. Ever since then, I can't take my eyes off of him. He is such a cutie pie and looks so much like his daddy. Since being home, he loves hanging out in the swing and being swaddled. We can't wait to see his personality blossom and for him to giggle and smile. We LOVE being parents and couldn't be happier! :)