Blessed!

I have to take a minute to express my gratitude to so many people lately!  I went to enrichment last night totally kid-less, and a lot of people asked me about how I was adjusting to having 3 kids.  I honestly don't have a good answer, because so far, so many people have been around to make sure it's going smoothly!  I have been surprised, and touched at how much help has been offered and even forced upon me when I try and object.  I object primarily because I almost feel guilty accepting so much help!  

For an example, this is my day today: I woke up and got the family ready for my sister-in-law Aly (check her out, she's amazing!) to come over and take some pictures of Owen (and a few of us with Owen).  While we were going crazy taking pictures (and coping with Brenna's request ever 30 seconds or less to hold Owen) there's a knock at the door.  It's Eva, an angel in my ward, who was going to come play later but she showed up and said she knows it'd be easier to have a photoshoot without the other two kids and if she could take them with her to McDonalds for Lunch!  I tried to give her money for their lunch, and invite her to stay and hang out here while we finished up, but she insisted and off they went!  And it was so much easier to finish our photo shoot!  When she brought the kids back, she also brought lunch from McDonalds for me and for Aly!  I get so emotional when she helps (which she has done a lot lately!) because she has 7 kids of her own and I am floored by her example of selfless service!  So I was touched by that, and I enjoyed visiting with Aly for a few hours too.  The kids (ok, Mason) were being crazy though and Mason wouldn't nap even though he was so so grumpy.  So Aly left and I was about to pack everybody up for a walk to the park to get out some energy and waste some time when my phone rang.  It was my mother-in-law saying her plans had changed and she had a free afternoon and could she please come over and take my kids to the park so I could have a rest.  So she showed up, and off went her and the two oldest kids to the park (where they still are).  When they get home, dinner is being brought by another thoughtful ward member who talked to Jeremy yesterday and asked if she could bring us a meal.  I just have to say thank you... almost none of these people read my blog, and I will tell them all in other ways as well, but I am so touched and humbled by the service we've been shown!  Honestly, the transition has been great so far.  My beautiful mother was here for a week, meals have been brought, my mother-in-law has taken the kids to the park twice now, and family and friends have been overwhelmingly helpful and thoughtful.  My post-pregnancy diet hasn't gotten off to a great start yet either with all of the thoughtful little treats that have been delivered!  I am still bingeing on Mike n' Ikes and ice cream whenever I am alone!

So I just needed to say that since it has been such a blessing.  The recovery from this pregnancy has been incredibly fast and easy (I was pretty much pain free and back to normal after only 24 hours this time which has been incredible!) and the help has been amazing, and I want everyone to know how blessed our family feels!  So thank you to mom, dad (for sending mom and being great!) mother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, ward members, friends, family and loved ones!  I hope that I can be so thoughtful and service oriented going forward too!  I feel selfish having so much to be thankful for!

here are some pictures too since no blog post is complete without pictures!

I just love this one!

Brenna was doing a show for Mason... who apparently thought his belly button was more interesting!

I keep calling Owen Mason.. in my defense.. can you tell a difference?

Mason

Owen 

Owen

Owen

Owen

Mason

Mason

Mason

Sunday

So my favorite thing about not having a calling right now, other than the chance to sit with my hubby and other adults and enjoy those adult meetings for the first time in a really long time, is that I can escape for a minute or two between classes and spy on my kids!  Brenna is the cutest little sunbeam, and every time I've peaked in on her she's been sitting reverently in her seat and looking so grown up!  It makes me so happy!  Mason has been doing good in nursery without mommy too!  As far as I know anyway!

So this Sunday Brenna and Mason both looked especially cute in their Sunday clothes, but I tried to capture it and it didn't seem to work out exactly like I hoped.  

My favorite part of this Sunday though was seeing Brenna's drawing from primary.  She colored everything really nicely, and then she told the teacher what she wanted to put in for the answers. 

Her sheet says: I will follow the prophet by doing the following: helping mommy with Owen, and help mommy by playing with Mason nicely.


How sweet!  And then Sister Norris drew this cute picture of our family on the back.  I really enjoyed this!  Sister Norris isn't her regular teacher, but I love hearing Brenna talk about her primary teachers and her lessons.  Having a Sunbeam is the best!

Owen's Arrival Story!

Well, since we're in the hospital, and Owen is sleeping like a champ, I thought I'd get a jump start on recording the birth story while everything is still pretty fresh in my mind!  Warning though, it's not a short story!  (and it may be a little graphic for my male audience which includes my dad and my bother!  Just warning you two!  And my husband just confirmed that it is a little graphic, but since he was there it doesn't bother him so much!)


So, as everybody well knows by now, I was hoping to have had little Owen quite some time ago!  I had high hopes with dilating early and the other two being early, but Owen, we have learned, does things on his own schedule!  So we decided to hope for a leap baby, and we almost made it too!  I had a Dr. appointment on leap day, and while there the Dr. stripped my membranes, which is supposed to bring on labor.  She said that I still might not have him that day, but it was possible!  So I went home and waited for contractions... I cleaned our new van, vacuumed, and waited... I told Jeremy that maybe he wouldn't be able to go to young mens... still nothing!  So he went to work and young mens and everything like normal.  When he got home from young mens though, around 8:00 PM I had my first contraction.  We had basically lost hope at this point since we had 4 hours left to have a leap baby, but it was exciting anyway.  I had very irregular contractions for a few hours, then at about 10:30 we decided to try and get some sleep incase this baby was coming and we'd need our rest.  I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but I was out in seconds, and awoke from a weird dream at 2:30.  I was instantly irritated that I had slept so well because that meant the contractions had either stopped, or were so small that I could sleep through them.  But, they started back up when I woke up.  Still irregular, but between 5 and 10 minutes apart.  Jeremy woke up around 3 and neither of us could sleep, but it wasn't time to go to the hospital yet either.  So we hung out, timed contractions, took showers and got ready.  We decided to go in by 6 since I knew I'd have to have a round or two of antibiotics anyway.
My amazing sister-in-law Sylvia came over at 5:30am and slept on the couch till the kids woke up so that we could go to the hospital (then she watched them at her house all day along with her 3 kids.. super woman!).  We got here around 6 and got all checked in and stuff.  Since my contractions still weren't regular they asked us to go walking for a half hour and see if anything progressed.  I was a 4ish when we got here, and about a 5ish when we finished our walk.  So they admitted me and we were both smiling and happy to have things going! 
They wouldn't break my water until the antibiotics were done, and these things took FOREVER!  We were told 2 hours by a nurse, then when we got here we were told 4 hours, in reality, it took almost 6 hours to get the antibiotics through and the Dr. in to break my water!  The contractions were stronger, and closer together, but still not totally regular!  And I was still at a 5... very disheartening.  Also, by this point I'd had only 4 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours or so and I was getting tired right when things were going to be getting hard!
At about 1:20 the Dr. came in and broke the water.  (I should add a note that my actual doctor wasn't on call this day, so another Dr. from her office was going to deliver my baby.  I wasn't happy about this, especially when I saw the Dr. who was on call.  I had met with him once and hadn't liked him at all.  This only got worse when the nurse said his nickname is "The Vagina Whisperer".  Yah, not impressed, but I can't complain because he did a great job in the end.)  Immediately my contractions went from like a 3-4 in pain to like a 8.  I had no pain meds, but I was still really hopeful that now that the water was broken, and this being my 3rd, that things would just happen within an hour or so.  Wrong again!  Owen takes his time with things!  I think our nurse thought I was a little needy since at least every hour if not more I was ringing her to come in and check me because I KNEW I was getting close... but I wasn't!  She's tell me half a cm or 1cm just to make me happy I think.  Then she got this great idea to check me while having a contraction so that she could grab the cervix and pull it down for me!  This, while being a potentially good idea for helping things speed along, was insanely painful.  I was trying to be so strong, but I think I whimpered and cried a little every time she did this!  Anything to speed things up though!  
It wasn't until 3:45 or so that I started feeling a ton of pressure with the contractions, and then feeling like I should push a little.  I still was only like an 8 though and I was getting so frustrated!  BUT the Dr. was about to go into a c-section, and since I probably wouldn't wait until he got back, they decided to deliver me first!  THANK GOODNESS!  I would have been insane, or dead by the time the c-section was done, I'm sure of it!
So, they brought in the crew, lifted up my table, and waited for contractions.  I had one and still not quite a 10, but I was feeling the need to push bad, and I was DONE physically.  So, on the 2nd contraction I decided to push a little even though nobody said I could, and the next thing I knew the Dr. was saying "ok, yes, let's do it, keep pushing"!  I was so shocked, not expecting it to happen right then, and he kept saying "give me another one, another, another" every time I stopped.  I don't think that Brenna's was quite this hard for me, but it was also almost 4 years ago and it's easy to forget.  Anyway, I nearly blacked out like 4 times, I was not keeping quiet like I did with Brenna, and I was literally giving more than I could physically give (Jeremy said I kept flat lining on the monitor!) BUT it was worth it because he came out all in that one contraction.  I was crying like a baby just to have done it and couldn't open my eyes for a few seconds to see my baby boy.  He is beautiful though and I almost can't believe he's finally here after all of this!  Owen promptly began peeing right on the doctor and he just didn't stop!  He soaked the Dr.'s hand pretty thoroughly!  Always nice to have some quick comic relief in a draining situation!



It feels so good to be through the delivery!  I didn't even tear or anything, and the recovery thus far, has been very smooth and quick.  I am probably going home tonight which is the fastest I've ever left the hospital before!
So, he was born at 4:24PM on March 1st, 2012.  He was 8lbs 4oz, 21 inches long.  My longest labour, biggest baby, and hardest delivery I think, but also my fastest recovery so far.  I am feeling great already!  I am just so happy that he's here now and we can adjust to life as a family of five!  Can't wait for my mom to get here tomorrow night and have the extra help too!  Thank you for all the kind wishes and congratulations!  We have felt everybody's love!  Sorry that this is long and graphic!  Don't want to forget when my kids want details!

The Family!  (I'm not quite ready to be in many pictures yet.. I love this picture though!)