Introducing Seth

This is our sweet baby that was born on Friday.  He's a sweet cuddle bug that we named Seth after my amazing brother.  He's a little jaundiced and probably has acid reflux, both something that we can deal with.  His siblings adore him and I never want to put him down.  8 lbs 5 ozs, 19 inches long.

 

After a fight between the doctor and the federal regulations at the hospital, we were finally induced on Thursday morning.  The doctor said that I needed to be induced because of my Polyhydramnios and the regulations said that unless they could say what caused it, they couldn't induce me for another week and a half.  They sent me to a specialist to check it out and after a very frustrating 3 hour long appointment with 3 little kids in tow... they told me there was nothing that they could do.  Then the next morning they sent me to do another Glucose test because if I had developed late term Gestational Diabetes then they could go ahead and induce me.  Before I was even done with the test, they called me back and said that they were going to go ahead and induce me anyways because the risks of still births and detached placentas was significant enough that they wanted to be on the safe side.  So we packed our kids off to go to Bear Lake with my brother Seth and my sister Janelle... and Jer, me and my mom headed off for the hospital.  They decided to treat me as if I had GD... so they tested my blood sugar every two hours in case they needed to give me insulin.  My sugar levels were always good... but Seth's heart rate did better when they started giving me a sugar IV... and when he was born, his blood sugar levels were at 30.  Anything above 45 is normal for a baby.  They started me at 10 am... I wasn't dilated and my cervix was still really high so breaking my water was a bit of a painful challenge... and my contractions were more painful with this birth than with any of the others... because I could feel them all the way down into my tailbone and up my back.   When they broke my water, I flooded the bed twice since there was so much amniotic fluid... very exciting to say the least.  Seth didn't like it very much and his heart rate dropped.  We had to wait until he was used to it before putting me on Pitocin.  It was fun in a way... two of my mom's really good friends ended up being my nurses throughout the day and it was fun to hear them chatting and catching up.  By 8 pm I was ready for an epidural.  I got it and could breathe again.  I was tired of being in labor and it was really nice to be able to take a nap while my body kept doing the work for me.  By 11 pm I was nauseous, which usually means that body is starting to transition into the last part of labor.  By 1 am we were ready to push.  12 mins of pushing and he was out.  My most painful labor, but my fastest labor and fastest pushing time.  The placenta and cord were humongous... and my sweet baby boy was here.  8/8 baby.  I've still got swelling, but he's safe and we're glad to have him.

 

When the kids got back from camping, Ada ran up the stairs asking to see the baby.  She said, "Mom, I knew he'd be cute, but I didn't know he'd be this cute!"  Sam just kept saying, "Cute!" and Evelyn wanted to hold him and rock him.... she sings songs to him when we drive in the car.  She was also very concerned that his umbilical cord was "going to pop".  Ada has been following me around asking me if it's her turn to hold the baby yet.  She's been a good help actually.  She held the baby while I got breakfast for the other kids and myself.  Both girls were really curious about breastfeeding.  I talked to them about it and Ada wanted to know if she could feed the baby... 

 

Everything is not easy.  He has rough nights, but hopefully we'll get that resolved soon... but honestly, he's healthy... he's here... and I'm happy. I'm glad to have an amazing husband and an amazing mom.  I'm glad that my brother and sister were willing to sacrifice their weekend so that my kids could play with cousins all weekend instead of sit around waiting for mom to get back from the hospital.  I'm grateful for so many blessings.

Evelyn Joy

We did it!  Had baby #3.  She fits in too... you can tell we're all related here.  She has Jer's thick dark hair, dark eyes, and Sammy's double cow lick.  She also has Ada's round little face... and she may even have Janelle's nose...

Thanks all who've watched kids and cleaned house for me!  You are amazing!  And I hope that I can help out just as much or more when it's your turn for a need! 

Well, we went to the hospital at 7am to be induced... after me sleeping most of the day (I love epidurals) I was finally a 6 by about 10:45pm... and ready to deliver a half hour after that.  Only 15 minutes of pushing this time too!  (even with the doctor being called out in the middle to go help someone else...) They had me stop pushing halfway through as well because she had the cord wrapped around her neck... that's two out of the three kids now.  They got her out, sewed me up, and I fell asleep on the delivery table.  Hmmm... wasn't tired was I?  She's a little jaundiced but she's beautiful and we love her!  She was 8 lbs 3 oz.  20 inches.  and born at 11:28pm.  (16 1/2 hour labor this time... do you think I'm getting better at this?)  She was all folded in half.  It was pretty funny.  My mom said that if she didn't see her come out she would have thought that she was a breech baby because she doesn't just curl up like the other babies, but she sticks her feet straight up and around her ears.  So far the kids both love her and ask to help her with things.  I'm so glad!  I was so worried that Sammy would have a hard time, but he offers her things like binkies and toast.  And when I asked Ada what she thought of Evelyn she said, "Mommy, I think she's lovely."  And when we brought her home... Ada didn't even say hi to me, she just said, "Where's baby Evelyn?"

Just seconds after being born... my first view of my new baby.

Yeah, I know... not my most attractive picture... but we're all there.

Bright eyed and beautiful.

Meeting Daddy

Showin off her stuff... Nella, are you proud?  She's got some chubbins to love!

Don't you love her lips?

Seth, this one's for you... Finger toes!

Ada meeting her sister!

Sammy and Sharon adoring the new baby... Sharon's good at squishing these babies!

Proud Grandpa

Pile on Daddy!

In love!  I don't know what it is... but both his girls had him wrapped around their fingers from second one...

Cuddle time

This one is just a picture of her with her legs folded over... it's pretty funny.

Samuel Parker

I know... everyone already knows about my baby... but I feel like I need to get a record of the birth... even if it's just for me.

We went to the hospital to be induced on June 5th at 7am. They started me on Pitosin and I was a little scared that my epidural wouldn't work again. My anesthesiologist told me that it was probably because my tail bone had broken years ago and I might have scar tissue that made my last epidural not work from the waist down... I got one anyways hoping that it would work. He was very careful putting it in and doing all the tests to make sure that it was working. So far so good... but then the baby's heart rate kept going down any time I had a strong contraction... my mom (who was also my wonderful nurse) said that her and the doctor thought that he might have the cord wrapped around his neck. They had to slow down the Pitosin until the baby was more stable. I wasn't dilating either... but I didn't dilate very quickly with Ada either so that wasn't a surprise for me. When I was only a 5 by 7pm... everyone was feeling rather sorry for me... I was doing fine... a little nauseous, but fine. I made a joke that Sam was jealous of his big sister... she was born on 10/10... and that he wanted to be born on 6/6. I told Jer that would help him remember our kids birthdays... but we all thought that I would have the baby soon. When I hadn't by 11pm, my doctor took a closer look at my cervix because all my contractions were strong... I was dilated, but not in a circle... it was more like a flat heart shape so the baby couldn't come out. He stretched me out a little bit and 2 and 1/2 hours later my body was finally ready to have the baby. They got me ready to push... and again... I was scared to death because I had to push for 1 1/2 hours with Ada... I started contracting, they had me push and there was the baby... That was a big surprise for me! They got the cord unwrapped from his neck, stitched me up (which I didn't mind this time because my epidural really did work all the way! YAY!) and they laid him on my chest. I was glad to see him safely here and I am very grateful for doctors, nurses and all those involved for all their patience and expertise. My doctor didn't rush for a C-Section just so he could go home and go to bed... my mom worked a 21 hour shift so that she could support me in my labor... and a great anesthesiologist that knows what he's doing. Yes it was a 16 1/2 hour labor, but it was much better and easier than the 28 hours I spent trying to get Ada here!

He's beautiful, looks like Jer and is a very calm and sweet baby. He had to spend a couple of days in the NICU... he had a low blood sugar, an infection, and was jaundiced. He absolutely LOVED the lights that they put him under... any time they took him out from under them he'd get mad. He doesn't want to breastfeed, but neither did Ada... so that's not a huge surprise either. Everyone has made this first week so easy for me... from taking over at my job, providing meals, entertaining Ada, and helping with house work... (Ada's was another story... When I got home on Monday... she'd lost both sets of shoes, eaten something that made her break out into a rash that she's still on medication for, and had lost her daily routine... she's in love with her brother though... she gives him hugs, helps change his diaper and loves to play with his toes.) They've all been amazing and I love being a mom!

The last week

Well, I'm up two and a half hours early and can't sleep... so I thought I'd update my blog. This last week has been both amazing and pretty busy. First of all, Jer had Monday off, which was not just labor day but it was also my birthday. I didn't really want to do anything huge because I feel like we're always trying to watch a movie or play a game... so we slept in, and took Ada to feed the ducks at the pond. She fell asleep in the car, but woke up immediately once she realized that there were ducks. My favorites were actually the turtles. There were several turtles sitting on a log in the middle of the pond just sunning themselves... then one more tried to make its way onto the log and that was just too much for it... the log rolled and dumped all of them into the pond. Then all the turtles tried to get back on the log, but they were all trying to do it from the same side so the log kept rolling and it looked like they were some of those loggers walking on the rolling logs for a competition. Finally they got to the top, and one of the turtles kept walking and dumped all of them into the pond in the other direction. I honestly think that America's Funniest Videos would have loved it, but I told Jer that I didn't want to carry around both the camera and the video camera... whoops... that one was my fault. We went and routed the handrails for the slide on our stairs, and we went to have ice cream and cake with everyone. It was a fun and relaxing day. Of course... after all three day weekends my sense of days was all messed up for the rest of the week, but oh well...

We've had fun making smoothies with our new "will it blend" Blentec blender. It's a nifty thing and it's supposed to be able to handle frozen fruit where our other one isn't. Thanks to my brother who has been working for Blentec and for both him and my parents for putting in money towards it for my birthday... we only had to pay about $80, which would get you a fair blender at any store, but not a great one.

We've also been looking at refinancing... but the people keep forgetting to call us back, so we have to keep pestering them... I think we'll keep trying this week, but I'm starting to think that our loan looks better and better just because of the hassle that it's been to try to get information and quotes on other options.

Jer's brother and his family moved here over the weekend... he spent the weekend helping his parents get their house ready for their family to stay with them... and I felt useless.

On Wednesday I went to my final doctors appointment! YAY! I'd only gained 33 pounds... which is far better than the 60 lbs that I gained with my pregnancy with Ada. He checked me and said that I was still only dilated to a 1 1/2 but that I was almost completely effaced. He stripped my membranes too so that my labor would go faster . We'll see if it worked. When my last doctor did that because Ada was overdue... nothing happened, but when this one did it... I was crampy and sore for at least two days after. That was bad timing because I was trying to help with Margarets baby shower, go to the temple with my brother before he moved to Baltimore, and get the house clean before the baby was born. I ended up watching Emily do the shower, skipping out on the temple, and asking my sister if I could pay her to clean my house for me (which she did but wouldn't let me pay her in the end... the punk). Now I'm only 2 days away from being induced and I've got all my work stuff bundled up and ready to pass on while I'm on maternity, I have an energetic toddler that wants to go play outside even though my body doesn't want to move that fast, feet that swell up if I don't have them up most of the day, VT reports that need to be finished and passed out, and a husband... who almost never catches a cold... has a head cold and is completely miserable. And even with all that I feel like I have nothing to do except sit around and wait for the baby to come... which is making me nervous. If I don't think about the actual labor I'm excited and ready to be able to bend over and get rid of my heartburn... but when I actually think about Friday... I'm scared stiff. When I gave birth to Ada, I went into labor Wed night at 7pm... went to the hospital Thurs morning at 7 am... and gave birth to a beautiful daughter after pushing for an hour and a half at 11:30 pm. I had to have an episiotomy and I still tore because she insisted on being born with her fist up at her face. My epidural only worked from the waist up... my mom says that I should have told them sooner so that they could have done something about it... how was I supposed to know it wasn't working from there on down when I'd (a) never gone through labor before and didn't know what I was supposed to be feeling and (b) couldn't feel most of my contractions until they just gave up on the epidural in the end... but I could feel the birth and the stitches afterwards even with a local anaesthetic. By the end of my labor, I didn't want to see my baby. I felt like a terrible mom... because after all the excitement and love I'd put into my pregnancy, I didn't even want to hold her. I felt much better the day after and I couldn't put her down, but I don't want that to happen again. I want to want my baby from the get go, but I don't know how I'll feel at the time. I'm scared to go through that long and painful day again, but excited to see the new little personality that I'll be bringing into our home. Wow... who knew that just a couple of days could go by so fast and so slow at the same time.