55 days

He's HERE!!

Owen Elijah Moyer joined us at 6:26 pm today. He's 5 lb, 3 oz and 18 3/4 inches long. Pretty good size for being 6 weeks early! I was never so happy to hear a newborn cry!

I was able to hold him for about 15 min before the NICU peds rushed into access him. They took him upstairs to do a full evaluation. Hi apgar score was 7 & 9, which was great, but his breathing was a little raspy so they are going to access him to see if he will need surfactant. I will post some pics as soon as I am able!

It was a long day and I'm completely exhausted. It took some heavy doses of pitocin, but my body finally figured out it was time to have this baby:) Hopefully we'll have some more updates by tomorrow morning.

What's in a name?

I wanted to tell all why we chose the name Owen Elijah. I felt strongly that he needed a name that reflected these circumstances and honored God as he has heard our prayers & watched over us so carefully through this process. Owen means "young fighter". The nurses tell me these preemies are so spirited and are tough little fighters. He's had to be a little fighter through this process and will continue now that he's here. The history of the name Owen is relevant too. The story goes back to a monk, St. Owen, who gained a reputation for assisting the poor, homeless, widows, and orphans. We have specifically prayed that this baby would have a big heart, full of compassion for people. So this name suits him perfectly. Elijah means "the lord is my God". We have promised God that we will do everything we can as parents to raise this child up to love the Lord and we want to recognize he is Lord of our child's life.