9 months 5 days and 30 hours later...here he is!

Mitchell Mark Reeder was born on August 17, 2009 at 3:17pm. He was 8lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. I was only in labor for 30 hours! Labor was the hardest thing I have ever gone through...that is until the time came for delivery. Labor was a walk in the park compared to the delivery. Birth is truly a miracle and epidurals rank right next to the miracle of birth. :) The epidural actually allowed me to get some rest while my body continued to do its thing. Todd was a wonderful support. The best thing he did was rub my feet for at least an hour. Yes, I still felt the foot rub with the epidural. I wasn't that numb!

Mitchell was coming out sideways and so when I pushed for two hours and no progress was made, my wonderful doctor talked to us about C-section or forceps. We wanted to avoid a C-section and the doctor felt like he could get him out with the forceps. So, I had to push for another 20 minutes or so and it was the longest, hardest 20 minutes of my life! I was yelling at my doctor wanting to know when he was coming out! Everybody was cheering me on which really wasn't that helpful since they were all saying "he's almost here! he's almost here!" and obviously he wasn't coming.

Our little man finally came and there was a little scare for a while. He wasn't breathing too well, but his grunting was like music to my ears. The cord was also wrapped around his neck twice and in a knot. Can we say miracle? He had low blood pressure, not to mention his grunting, and he had a big gash over his right eye (from the forceps). He had to be admitted to the NICU for a couple of days as a precautionary measure.

The little man rebounded great and they took him off the IV fluids the next day because he was eating so great. Yeah!!

We got home a couple days later, and can I just say that I really feel like the care Mitchell and I received at American Fork Hospital was excellent. I truly felt like we were in great hands.

Life has been great with a newborn. I love staying home with him and taking care of him. We're not so much in a schedule right now, which is different than what I'm used to, but wonderful at the same time. We'll get there. At his two week check-up he has gained 12 oz. since birth and has grown half an inch.

I could continue writing about all the wonderful things that Mitchell is and does, but I know you just want to see pictures. All I have to say is he's wonderful, and adorable, and we love him very much! And I love watching him stretch. It's the cutest thing ever.

Do we look like liars and cheaters?

I am so STEAMED about my appointment at the Doctor's this morning! To provide background...my OBGYN's office has informed us a few times throughout the pregnancy that they would like us to pay the Dr's bill before the expected due date. Well, that's nice. We've always told them that we would prefer to see a bill before we pay. They've never given us hassle about it until today when the billing lady in charge comes and talks to us and really gives us the third degree about how we need to pay today and it's an office policy.

Everybody knows I don't have the greatest customer service skills, but I was extra nice when I calmly informed her that we would like to see a bill before we pay and that it is well within a patient's rights to have the doctor's office bill our insurance and then we pay after that. That's the way it works, right? You don't just pay someone money that they say you owe without a paper trail backing it up! She tried to get us to negotiate where we could pay part today and part next time. No! Still not going to pay before we see a bill. Then, she tried informing us that "the amount will be the same whether there is a bill or not"-- well, that's nice-- still not going to pay without seeing a bill! I wanted to tell her, "look lady, it's not a matter of if we have the money today or not. I'm happy to pull up our savings account and you can clearly see that we have the money today!" I just stuck to my guns and told her again and again that we will be paying the bill once we see the bill. Her final word was, "well fine, I'm just going to make a note in the financial comments that you can't be on a payment plan and you have to pay your bill up front when you get it from your insurance." GREAT! That's what we want! We were never planning on doing a payment plan! We're more than happy to pay you, in full, when we see a bill!

That was the conversation...the following is what I wished I would have said also...
1. If it's truly an office policy to pay before the expected due date, why have I not signed a paper saying so?
2. Run a credit check if you're worried about the kind of people coming into your office! She will clearly discover that we've never once been delinquent on any payment for anything!
3. I have a history with this doctor's office. I have seen my doctor for over five years. I've had surgery with him! She could easily pull up my history and see that I've never made a late payment!
4. It's not my fault that you don't bill the insurance until after the delivery. If it's that much of a problem to get people to pay, come up with a new plan!
5. Don't treat me and my husband like we're liars and cheaters and we're the type of people that aren't going to pay our bills.
6. It's not like we haven't paid anything so far in this pregnancy. We've paid the ultrasound bill and all the lab test bills that have come...through our insurance...

You can bet your bottom dollar that my doctor's office will be receiving a letter of complaint about the lovely billing lady in charge. The end.