The story of when 4 became 5...

First Family Portrait
i have just woke up,

Cache is watching bugs bunny, Gage is yawning, Nay is mad because she doesn't want any one to "hep me" hold the baby.

 There you have it.

Let me just say even I got bored the first time I heard myself tell this story and it's my very own story.

I am very wordy and so just be prepared to skip ahead to all the pictures.

But for the record here is what happened.

A few days before he was born I went to see Charlotte for my first of the "weekly" appt.

They moved my due date 3 days later according to ultrasounds ect ect.

I was actually VERY okay with this. 

That just meant I had extra time to go into labor on MY OWN and because I've had a c-section (with Cache), if I go late,  only under certain prime conditions would they even try to induce, otherwise, BAM automatic c-section.

So I welcomed the extra time.

PLUS  my to doo list was 2 pages long and he was WAY up in my ribs. No where near making his entrance yet.

I'm already bored of my story.

Sunday evening arrived.  Devin had a conference in Texas or something he reeeally wanted to go to.

I never like it when he leaves but not wanting to be my usual namby pamby and tell him "NO." or make him feel guilty for going, I said "ga ahead, I'm not having this baby anytime soon."  But we decided to pray about it first.  Honestly not something we always do. I mean we pray but not about every single decision we make, wrong or right that is the way we go about things.  

Boy am I glad we decided to pray about it this time.

I never did get around to prayin about it, but Devin did and didn't feel a strong No answer, so he got online and was literally in the process of buying his ticket, had the credit card info almost typed in when...

A knock at the door.  It was a member of the Bishopbric.

He came over to ask us to speak in Church next Sunday.

Devin glanced at the computer and back at him. 

I'll let you know in the morning...

Now I WANTED Devin to go.  

"Go, we can aaaalways speak another Sunday."

But Devin again made it a matter of prayer  and felt strongly to stay and speak.

My water broke that night,

but I didn't know it.

I thought I lost bladder control and now had empathy for depends wearers.

How embarrassing.

I told Devin about it the next morning.

He asked questions that only a doctor would ask:

What color was it?

What did it smell like?

I was like "Why are you asking me about my urine?"

I was clueless. But Devin knew.

Isn't this a great story?

I was a little mad at even the suggestion that my water could be broken.

But I hurried and started cleaning the house 'just in case' and each time I would pick something up off the floor, gush, I would have to change my pants.

Luckily I had an appt. that morning and Devin's parents just happened to be coming to town for 3 days and were planning on babysitting during my appt.

They showed up early. 

They are inspired grandparents I think.

I packed a bag for me And devin.

Being nervous I packed nearly the whole closet. 

That bag was HA-uge.

After my appt. it was confirmed.

 ( I mean my goodness I was sitting on a towel in the car what did I expect?)

I was SOO disappointed. I wasn't ready. I liked my pregnant body and didn't feel prepared yet. I didn't know if this would be my last or not(you never know) and didn't want to let go of my last special moments being pregnant,  I also wanted an October baby, ect ect. (pregnant women can be so silly)

 So I ssslowly trudged over to labor and delivery.

Called Devin on the way and I'm sure I sounded just like Eyore when I told him the news.

I carried my giant duffle  hoping to put myself into labor.

I planned on taking the stairs. But just my luck, labor and delivery was on the first floor.

I spent from noon-5pm walking and walking and walking.

Night came and Devin arrived after going back a couple hundred times for things I forgot, like Peanut butter m&m's and other things I could sneek and eat when the nurses weren't looking.

 still no labor.

 Our self portrait.

We started going crrrazy in the hospital. 

Devin walked the hall with me and my new bff the iv pole and all the moniters attatched.

We even did lunges and jogged a bit to mix things up. 

The night nurse showed up. Apparently she is use to her patients sleeping or something, because she was VERY annoyed at me. She kept saying: "Can you just lay down for 20 minutes?"

I would lay down for EXACTLY 20 minutes and then I had to get up keep on walking or at least standing.   When I was standing I would have small contractions. 

Sometime during the night, midnight I think, Charolotte called and decided that they would try very small doses of pitocin to induce me.  They had to give me just little bits at a time since I was a VBAC.

Here I am standing in the middle of the room trying to get labor started and annoying the night nurse.

4 hours later I felt the first contraction.

My goal was to go as far as I could without one.

I made it through a whopping 2 contractions and ordered the epidural.

The nurse told me I wasn't far enough along.

"What? They told me I could have one WHENEVER I wanted it!"

She turned and left the room.

Only to return and tell me that the anesthesiologist was in a c-section and it would be a looong time.

I basically freaked out at this point and told her I was going to die.

I am such a pansy and very uncensored when I'm in labor...

She left again, came back with the anesthesiologist.

apparently the c-section was "cancelled suddenly."

It was a while from there to prep the epidural ect.  And the only way I could get through contractions was basically to give Devin a hug and he would just hold me while I hung  there and let the contraction pass.

It is still foggy but I do remember thinking that Devin smelled really really good and that I loved Devin.

After the epidural kicked in, I was soo happy, almost giddy. I began asking the doc about the history of 

epidurals and such. What it was like giving his very FIRST epidural. He seemed to enjoy the interest in his work and talked my head off.  Great history lesson right there.  So that was about 4am.

by 7am I was 7cm and by 8am I was 10cm and ready to go.

But Charolotte wasn't there yet, so we waited. I had a horrible experience pushing with Naomi and never wanted to do that again.  I asked the nurses if I never did push if the baby would just eventually come out.

They all laughed at me like I was crazy and told me to tell them if I felt the urge.

I felt it BUT kept my mouth shut.

I have this thing that I think I know better than everyone else, most of the time.

not the best quality. workin on it.

They finally decided to check me and didn't need to his head was there! 

Then they made me push.

15 min and he was in our arms.

THAT is the most incredible moment ever.

Just pure, pure joy.

Maybe the most joy you can feel in this life. maybe.

The feeling is not of this world and doesn't happen with a c-section.

Well not with me anyway.

It's still so crazy that during labor I would choose death over life...really. It is that bad for me. Somebody shoot me. I remember thinking each time: WHAT have I done? NEVER EVER EVER again, and then it's is instantly erased as soon as the baby is born. 

Anywho,

 Then we all lived happily ever after.

OH and rewind, Devin did speak in church that Sunday and I did not.

I'm grateful for inspired church leaders, who asked us to speak and therefore preventing us from being out hundreds of dollars on that plane ticket, or preventing a very lonely brand new mama...

phew,  glad that story is over.

I used a Nurse practiioner midwife this time.

SO SO good.

She had the perfect balance of holistic, natural approach but was sharp as a tack, took all necessary precautions and was fully capable of handling any emergency situation that could have occurred.

She spent so much more time with me and my concerns than any doctor ever did. She wanted to educate me on child birth and loved all my questions. 

With the way she coached and prepped me, I know that is why my recovery was AWESOME.

not a stitch, up and atem within the hour. 

I am absolutely convinced that if she was practitioner with Cache and Nay those experience's would have been waaaay different(better).

I should do a commercial or somethin...

Here is Gage minutes old. LOVING his hair washing just like his sister.

 soo cute.

A couple hours after birth. 

Grampa Orton meeting his 22nd grand baby.

Cache and Naomi spent the next week in Oregon with Devin's parents.

I really didn't want them to go but Devin told me to toughen up and that they needed to go.

I was glad they went and also a little impressed at Devin learning to boss me around a bit.

We had a really good time at our quiet house getting to know our new baby.

 Cache and Nay didn't miss us much.

But Oh how we missed them!

They sent us pics during the week so we could see Cache and Nay.

These next pictures are proof that Devin's mom and dad are professional grandparents:

My children are so lucky to have such doting grandparents(several sets of em).

Maybe the luckiest kids ever. 

And that is the story of WHEN we became a family of 5.

{The very End}