The birth story

:Warning--this is long!:

We arrived at the hospital at 5am. They got me into a room and started my IV fluids. I was there early so that I could have 2 rounds of antibiotics before my midwife broke my water. I hate penicillin...it burns!!! Anyway, my first dose was supposed to start right when I got there, per the orders of my midwife, but they didn't get it started till about 6:30 and the doses have to be 4 hours apart. So my midwife came in at around 8ish and saw that they didn't start the medication till late, so she decided to break my water then (assuming I wouldn't have the baby by 10:30...which was when I would get my second dose). She just wanted 2 doses in before I delivered. Anyway, when she broke my water, she checked me and told me that I was still about the same as I was in the office...4 and about 50-75% effaced. She said that if I wasn't dilated any farther by around noon, then she'd start pitocin. So I started walking the halls. I had to come back to my room every hour to be monitered for 15 minutes, and then I had to be back in at 10:30 for the second dose of penicillin. I walked and walked as much as I could and wasn't feeling very strong contractions. I got into the tub at one point, but just felt that it was stopping the contractions I was having, so I got back out. I had a feeling I'd have to use pitocin. The nurse checked me at 11:30 and said that I was the same, so she started the pitocin around 12. I had originally intended on going completely natural (no epidural), but while we were walking the halls, the woman in the room next to me was about to deliver and had just gotten there and had no time for an epidural and was screaming at the top of her lungs. When I heard her scream like that, my eyes started watering and I literally almost threw up right there in the hall. I decided then and there that I didn't want to relive that again like I had with Chloe and Elijah. So I said that I'd go as long as I could without an epidural, but I definitely wanted one before I delivered. I labored in my room without one for about 4 hours(I had to be monitered constantly since they gave me pitocin) in the rocking chair, and the contractions honestly weren't that bad at first. Mike, my mom, Mike's mom and dad, and all of my kids were in the room while I was breathing through my contractions...having them there was actually a really good distraction. After a little while of being on pitocin, I started really needing to focus and breath through my contractions. I was stuck at a 4 for a while, and finally made some progress around 3:30. I started feeling more pressure, so the nurse checked me and said that the baby's head had dropped alot and I was now at a 5. The nurse told me that if I wanted an epidural before I delivered that I should probably get one then. She thought that since his head was so far down and this was my 4th baby, that I'd progress faster. So I told her to go ahead and let them know I wanted one. The anesthesiologist came in and started it around 3:45. The first time she tried to get it in, she hit a vein. It hurt horribly bad...it was a sharp shooting pain down the bottom of my back and through my right leg. I thought she was gonna paralyze me...seriously...it was so scary. So she pulled it out and started at another spot. In the meantime, I'm having the most horrible contractions yet. I was squeezing Mike's hand so hard (out of fear and pain), I'm surprised he still has feeling in it! Once she got it placed right, it worked like a charm. After laboring with the epidural for about 45 minutes, and I was finally complete and ready to push. I pushed 3 times and out he came at 5:16pm! My midwife was wonderful telling me when to slow my pushing down when his head was crowning and when his shoulders were coming out so that I wouldn't tear...and I didn't tear at all!!! This is the first one I haven't needed stitches with...and he's the biggest baby I've had! This was probably the best labor and delivery I've had. When he came out, they put him on my chest and I saw the parts right when Mike announced "It's a boy!!" I couldn't believe it!! I had another boy! I loved not knowing!! It's well worth the wait! He has so much hair! Way more than my other kids did. I play with it all the time...I love it!!!! He weighed in at 8lbs. 1oz. and is 20in. long! He so sweet. He is such a good baby. He never cries! Hopefully he stays this way! :) I just love him so much and he is definitely the most wonderful completion to our family! God has blessed our family so much, there's just no way to put into words how thankful we are to Him!!

He's nursing like a pro and sleeping really well at night. Mike's parents left on Friday...they were such a wonderful help to us all week! I don't know what we would have done without them! They stayed with the kids while we were in the hospital and got Laney off to school every day. Elijah is such a handful, he's enough to make anyone crazy. But they survived him! Chloe is absolutely in love with Isaac and can't get enough. She constantly asks about him and wants to hold him. Laney is crazy about him too! She's a little more careful with him than Chloe is. Elijah doesn't really even seem to notice that anything has changed. He'll look at him and give him kisses when we ask him to, but other than that, he just pretty much ignores him. I'm so glad we had another boy so that they'll have each other to play with.

Here's a picture of him with my midwife.


















And a couple I took the last day we were in the hospital.

































Here's one of the kids with Mike's parents

















He has to be on the bili-blanket for a while to clear up his jaundice. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.
















Wide awake!


















Here he is after his bath today...he's just so snuggly :)