Announcing... JACK ANDREW LARSEN

Jack's birth day started as an unusual day. I had intended to have Jack in Spokane and was scheduled to leave for there one week later, but it didn't work out that way.

I didn't have to be at work until 9that morning, so our schedule was off from the beginning of the day. Usually, Jack was most active between 7:30 and 10 AM each day, but on Friday, December 7, 2007, our day was very different.

I attended a graduation ceremony at work that morning, and noticed that Jack wasn't moving much, but figured he was just sleeping.
When graduation had finished, he still hadn't moved - so I brought in the big guns... one blue slushy, and laying on my side to startle the little guy. Nothing happened, so at noon, I stepped it up a notch and drank a Coke. Jack had never had caffeine so we were sure that would make him backflip! After 20 minutes laying on the floor of my office and poking my belly, and still no response, I called the doctor.

Debbie, the nurse, told me to go to the hospital to be monitored, just in case. So I got in my car and drove 23 miles to Scottsdale Healthcare- Shea, where my records were. There were several other hospitals closer, but for some reason, I went there... knowing my doctor was only 5 minutes away seemed better and more comforting for some reason. The Universe works in mysterious ways...

They immediately whisked me away to triage and started monitoring Jack. They had me drink juice, buzzed my belly and even reached up and rubbed his head and shoulders. His pulse was good, but steady as a rock - and there was no change, no matter what they did. Within 30 minutes of my arrival, Dr. Webb showed up and they began to prep me for a C-section.

The joke in the room was that I had in my planner to pack my bag for the hospital the NEXT day and I wasn't ready... but such is life.

I began the prepping process, called my brother, my boss and my mom and before I knew what was happening or really had time to freak out about it, I was on my way to the operating room for my spinal block. Within an hour, Jack was born.

He arrived at 4:56 pm on Friday, December 7, 2007 weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18 1/4 inches long.

Because of the speedy delivery, no one else was able to be there for Jack's birth, but we were joined shortly by David, Rachel and Shelly. Here are our first pictures...

We ended up staying in the hospital for 5 days total. Here are some more photos from our hospital adventures!

Because Jack was early, he ended up with jaundice and had low blood sugar. He stayed under the lights for a while, and got his first Scottsdale Tan.

Even though we don't have a picture of it, Jack spent most of his time under the lights stretched out with his legs crossed like he was at the beach. It was adorable!

And he got to meet Grandma - who he fell in love with immediately!

A few days later, after a night of nesting and a hearing test, we were allowed to go home!

Jack's "home from the hospital" outfit was a little big... so we rolled it up (and kept it- he wore it for Easter and it fit perfectly!)

Next up - our first days home!