I have never had to wait so long for a baby to come. Hindsight is 20/20 but those last few weeks were the longest weeks of my life. I was so incredibly miserable because he was growing bigger and bigger. I have never been this miserable with any of my other pregnancy. It really did seem like each day was physical torture. I was also mentally and emotionally exhausted. After a pregnancy with such highs and lows, I was so anxious to meet our sweet baby boy, to see his precious little face and hold him in my arms.
The last week of pregnancy I was having major contractions. On one occasion where we thought it may be the real thing, we called Grandma and let her know to be on stand by. Nothing ended up happening that night, but the next day she offered to just come over and be here til baby arrived. Well...she ended up staying for about four days...and no sign of baby. We loved having her here as a bonus for those days leading up to the birth. As my due date approached, we started to get worried because we knew that Grandma would be heading to Utah for Thanksgiving and this meant that our main help for while I was in the hospital would be gone. And since that week was Thanksgiving, there was no back up plan. Plus I knew that my Dr couldn't induce me on the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We were in quite the predicament. Luckily, my Dr is a great friend and he asked me if I would like to be induced. I was confused because the only day that would work was Sunday but I didn't think he would want to deliver that day. His exact words were, "Why don't we ditch church and go have a baby." So this is what we did. I am slightly disappointed that I didn't get to go into labor on my own. Sounds weird, but I was really looking forward to it. The whole thing is so exciting to me! And I go super fast so it's over with quickly. But this was how it needed to be in order to make sure our other children were cared for, so I'm grateful that we were able to work it all out.
Even though I was induced, labor went pretty fast. I only wanted a partial epidural, so I could feel when I needed to push and recover quickly afterward. My Dr left for home with instructions to call him once I was ready, but they had to ask him to come right back because I was ready to push. He was coming with a vengeance, but they told me to try to hold off if I could. That was hard let me tell you! He arrived and I pushed but nothing was happening. I pushed and pushed and pushed. Then the anesthesiologist advised I get a full epidural because baby wasn't coming. This got me worried, but I'm so glad I got the full because I imagine it would have been physically unbearable considering what was about to happen. Such a smart anesthesiologist, I am so grateful! Cale and the Dr switched from laid-back-chumming-it-up to very serious after what seemed like hours of pushing. Cale said that he kept asking under his breath if the baby was progressing and Travis didn't really answer him. Cale was very worried. This went on for almost 1 1/2 hours, I was exhausted. My Drs entire fist was inside of me trying to turn the baby's head with each contraction. He was stuck posterior, right under my pelvic bone. Usually a few pushes and my babies are out so this was not normal. Travis turned to Cale and said that we may need to go with "other options." I overheard him and that's when I literally closed my eyes and prayed. It was an incredibly spiritual experience, I felt my Heavenly Father give me a burst of strength that I would not have had otherwise. I literally felt that I was one with God, we were working together to help this baby move through me. It is hard to describe how beautiful this experience was for me. With this newly found strength from my loving Heavenly Father, our sweet baby boy was born.
Of course Cale and Travis saw his face before me and both told me sweetly that he was perfect, no signs of chromosomal abnormalities. I got to see him, he looked so much like my other babies, so familiar to me. He was already so chubby, with a double chin, broad shoulders and rolls on his arms. He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches. Big boy! There is nothing like the joy you feel when you hold your baby for the first time.
I love the time I get with my newborns while in the hospital. I love the feeling of peace when it's just me, my husband, and new baby for those first few days. I treasure it. I also love seeing my other children's faces when they meet their new sibling. It is such a sweet time and since we know this is our last, I will miss this for sure.
(Proud Papa)
(Tired Mama)
Kinlee's waving to her brother hehe (I love how Cale did her hair. Isn't it great? haha)
Holy Cow, I have five children!
Cale had a brilliant idea while I was in the hospital: he brought each of our other kids separately to spend quality time with us. Those were some precious moments let me tell you.
Kempton is soooo excited to have a brother! My handsome boys:
Our beautiful baby Levi Edgar:
I had very mixed emotions about leaving the hospital this time, because I knew it would be my last time ever doing this. I'm still sad about it and tearing up as I write this. Sometimes closure is hard, but it doesn't mean it isn't right or good.
He has no idea what he's getting into with joining our family. There's just as much love as there is chaos in our crazy home!
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