Playing Baby

So I haven't posted for a while so be prepared for a lengthy post. You can just read the good parts if you want, and know that this is for Kamden to know the details of his arrival into this world.
The kids have been so good the last couple of weeks doing lots of extra jobs that mom usually does, and taking care of and loving up their little brother. They have been so cute and such good kids and I am so thankful for them.
Of course the most exciting news, and reason for no posting, is that we have a new baby at our house. Kamden Leroy. His middle name is after my dad, whose middle name is Leroy. I adore my father and think he is the greatest and hope that Kamden will aspire to be like him, growing into a great man like my father. We spend most of the day holding, feeding, changing, and sleeping and I haven't much energy for anything else. He is going to be pretty spoiled and we don"t care. He sleeps with us most of the time because he doesn't stay asleep but for a few moments when he is by himself. He has to eat every 2 hours to help get rid of the jaundice, and gain weight. He almost lost a pound after birth and is being slow about putting the weight back on. But here is how it all went. . .
July 27th -30th we had fun with Bob's sister and Brother in Law. We rarely get to see them and it was a real treat to have them come spend a couple of days with us. We enjoyed their company as well as a dinner at the spaghetti factory with Bob's other sister and cousin and their spouses as well. We spent Thursday at Pine view swimming and boating with Laura and her family, Sara and her family and Kristie and her family. It was really great fun. Ali and Amanda had great cousin times getting to know each other. Monday that week I had a Dr. appt. and Gretchen asked if we wanted to come have the baby on Thursday. She was going out of town until my due date and was afraid that I would have the baby without her. I was afraid of this too, since that would have been awful after having traveled to Salt Lake for appt.'s the last 9 months so she could be the one to deliver. So we told her that Thursday would not work since we had family in town, but we could do it on Friday.
So Friday morning 7am we left for the hospital and Scott and Laura left for Las Vegas to continue their vacation. It may seem a little taxing to have family / company just before you are about to give birth but it was actually really nice to have to think about something else for a few days besides how miserable I was. And yes now that it is all over, and I can't be accused of complaining anymore, just stating the facts, I was downright miserable those last couple of weeks. I was definitely bigger than any other of my pregnancies, heavier (gaining twice as much weight as previous pregnancies, who knows why? maybe you shouldn't have babies after 30, or maybe 5 was just a lucky number for me? whatever the reason doesn't matter anymore)and more uncomfortable and sick, see possible reasons above. Needless to say having the baby a week early, also a first for me was a most welcomed idea. Though we thought we would be having a August Baby, July 30th we welcomed our new addition to the family.
By the time we got checked in and started on the pit and all that, it was about 8:30 in the morning. We were informed that my doctor was seeing patients and wouldn't make it up to Davis from Salt Lake until about 12:30. Dr. Hurst was supposed to come break my water around 10:00. So after Edyn's "no pain killer" birth, I insisted on having the Epidural around 9:30. The nice thing about baby number 5 is that they pretty much let you do whatever you want. She didn't even check me before the NA came in to give me the epidural. The Labor and delivery nurses we had this time were all awesome! So were the nursery nurses for that matter. Though the post partum nurses I could have done without, ugh so annoying and weird. Anyway it took a little bit to get the dosage right (I was trying to pass out, and throw up and what not, really itchy uncomfortable legs) but after that it was wonderful. I never felt any pain per say, but could still wiggle my toes and felt enough pressure to know when it was time to push. So after the worst pregnancy so far I had the best delivery so far.
Back to the beginning. . . after the epidural was in place, we just waited, and waited, and waited. Now, once you are ready for the little darlings to get here, you just want them here, and when you are used to very short labors (never over 4 hours for me from start to finish) 9 hours seemed like a very long time. I now understand why the pregnancy books tell you to bring something to do. This time around Bob and I had time to play "Set", eat ice chips (I was starving by dinner), watch almost an entire season of Psych, and take several naps. Here is one thing we weren't expecting, a VERY cold room. It is the middle of summer and in the high 90's with a bright, bright sun for heaven sakes and I was bundled up in warm blankets like a cocoon. Absolutely freezing!! Anyway Dr. Hurst never made it to break my water, and Gretchen didn't get there until 1:30 to do it. Hence the long labor. After she broke my water it was still slow going for awhile but then about 5:25 I decided I was getting ready, and we called my mom and Kristie. (Ali wanted to be there for the birth and Kristie was coming to take pictures.) Gretchen checked me at that point and I was 7-8. That was`when I really decided to go because in the next five minutes I needed to push. But I held off until they got there, pushed through about 3-4 contractions and our beautiful baby boy was welcomed with love and tears into this world at 5:38pm. Ali got to see it, though from the point of view of ny head (so as to not be too much for her), I got to see it for the first time ever, (since no pain, and thanks to the mirror) and Kristie captured some wonderful pictures. It was so wonderful. He was so big. 9lb 9 oz and 21" long, and so beautiful. No wonder I was so big. I also had so much water that it spilled all over the floor when she broke it, and the placenta was also huge. All in all, I lost about 20lbs on the delivery table, and boy did I feel GREAT!!! We thought at first his hair was going to be bright red, but has sice calmed down into a color we don't know what to call, blond I guess but with a lot of red highlights. He also had smokey blue eyes like most newborns, but we haven"t seen a true eye color yet because of the jaundice. Boy have his eyes been yellow.
After things were cleaned up a bit (aka I was decent) All my kids and my parents came into the Labor and delivery room. It was so awesome and special and we really felt the sweet spirit there. How thankful I am for my families, and for the knowledge of the gospel. It is truly a wonderful miracle and one that I am so thankful to have been apart of 5 times. I am so blessed.
I have a dear friend who has been battling breast cancer during this whole pregnancy of mine and recently posted on her blog about "one moment in time" She was of course talking about how it is but a small moment of trial in her life, and the blessings of the Savior to help guide her through. I thought of my own "small moment of time" a very joyous one for me and the Savior is there still the same, whether to help us "get through" or to share in our "joy", and I am truly grateful for both. And this is a moment for me that I don't want to pass too quickly. So for the past two weeks I have done little else but take care of my baby for this is truly a "small moment in time", and I plan to savor every minute.
Thank you so much to my Mom who takes care of everything. she took my kids home while we were in the hospital and took care of them. It was so nice not to worry about them for a few days. We came home Sunday to peace and quiet and she brought them back up on Monday. Then came up the next week to stay for a couple of days and take care of us. She is amazing and just goes about doing everything that needed to be done, and brought me berries and canned syrup and jam.
Bob was home for the first week and it was wonderful to have him here. I just rested (and watched a lot of Remington Steele, do you remember that show? love it). We also went to the Hospital everyday that week. Kamden's Bilirubin levels were high. So he had to have his heel pricked and blood drawn everyday that week and a couple last week as well. He was really high on the Wednesday after coming home from the hospital and we spent the next week keeping him under lights to help get rid of it. It made our bedroom glow like some Disneyland ride. It was a tad frustrating and worrisome but we are now doing better and can send the lights back now, and maybe now his pincushion heels can start to heal, the poor little guy.
I am home right now while the rest of the family is at church. One of my favorite moments after having a baby. A peaceful Sunday afternoon with no-one around, except better cause you get to sit here and cuddle a newborn with no distractions. Priceless!
Thanks to everybody else who has visited us, and brought meals and presents to help us celebrate this joyous occasion in our lives. And for my talented sisters Camille and Kristie who took pictures of our new baby (see the slide show in the next post). We are truly blessed to have such wonderful families, neighbors and friends.