Jason Dominic Serrano arrived on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 8:12 pm.
He was 7 lbs 3.5 oz and 19 inches in length.
Here is a picture of him after getting his footprints taken, alongside his parents' fingerprints:
We had quite an eventful day on Tuesday the 9th. I was continuing to have intermittent contractions after the post made on Sunday December 7th, but they kept going away only to come back in the middle of the night.
But on Tuesday December 9th, there was no turning back. Mom and Stephanie, having been kept updated throughout the process, decided to go ahead and head into Houston on Monday afternoon in anticipation of a delivery in the near future. We all wokeup on Tuesday morning and started counting my contractions at 6 am.
I had a doctor appointment that morning anyway, and at 9:30 am Dr. Behrmann measured me at 4 centimeters dilated. She recommended that with the new dilation and the contractions, that I should come back later in the day for a recheck and then she could evaluate if it was time to head to the hospital. We made arrangements for me to come back at 2 pm, and Mom, Steph and I headed to lunch.
Between 11:00 and 1:00 things really got interesting. The contractions were starting to come closer together and pretty intense. Our waitress at Luby's kept coming by the table to check on us and make sure that I was going to be ok! I am so glad I had such a good lunch at that time, because that was the last opportunity I got!
After lunch we decided to go home and pack our hospital bags into the car just in case we'd be going straight to the hospital from the doctor appointment. Well, by the time we got home, I'd already progressed to the point that I decided for all of us there would be no doctor visit. It was straight to labor and delivery for me! We called Alberto and within 10 minutes he had joined us at home.
Alberto, Stephanie and I arrived at the hospital to find that there were no labor and delivery rooms available. Must have been a busy day! Alberto and I did the slow dance in the waiting room for about 20 minutes until there was one available and met our labor nurse, named Jennifer. Mom and Elizabeth joined us there a few minutes later, and every started to get settled in for the wait.
Once I was situated in my hospital gown and bed, I was rechecked, and I had dilated to 6 centimeters. Things were really coming along! I had also made the critical decision to go ahead with an epidural, and the anesthesiologist showed up about 20 minutes later with the blessed cocktail.
I say blessed cocktail, and I mean it! I was incredibly thankful for the pain relief. The doctor did a great job of administering just enough to get rid of the pain, but I could still feel the contractions and know when to push during delivery. I will never doubt the wonderful properties of the epidural again! :)
At 5:15 I was 10 centimeters and ready to push, and everyone was shooed out of the room except the doctor, nurse, Alberto and me. Everything was going great with the delivery with one exception - the baby was in a sideways position and didn't want to turn!
It took almost 3 hours to get him out, and some extra effort from Dr. Behrmann to encourage him to rotate. Every time we had gotten him rotated a bit, he went right back to his sideways position. This kid was not ready to leave his nest! 
Finally, at 8:12 Jason Dominic arrived and he looked great!
He is a really beautiful baby, with dark brown hair and cobalt blue eyes. He is the spitting image of his Daddy, though Alberto says he has my nose and chin. He has long fingers and toes and is incredibly strong! We have all marveled at how this days-old baby is already able to lift his own head, and practically rolls himself over!
Our stay in the hospital was fine, though we were all exhausted, even the baby! Check out this great photo we got of him, as if to say "Wow, what a day I've had!" We went home on Thursday night, December 11th, and have been getting adjusted to life with baby ever since.
I have had a bit more difficulty recovering than the baby has, which is why it has taken so long to get this posted and to start calling friends and family. I apologize for the delay, but it really was necessary for me to get back on my feet.
I am still in bed most of each day, just trying to heal, but we anticipate being able to start receiving visitors to meet the baby next week.
Thank you to everyone who has been so thoughtful and kind to send us flowers and well wishes and gifts! We feel very blessed to have such a wonderful network of friends and family and we love each of you as well!
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