Zacharias' Birth Story

PROLOGUE

At my Dr.'s visit in the middle of January, we finally decided to at least set up an induction date. I was almost convinced we wouldn't need it since all of my kids like to arrive early. However, the Dr. got everything set up and we were told to be at the hospital at 7:00 on the morning of February 5th. They had to wait until I was 38 weeks, so they planned accordingly.

The day before Eric's mom came out to help (pretty much did all the work) get the house cleaned up. She spent literally ALL DAY here and only left for home around 6:00. I was beyond thankful for her help. She also decided to take all the laundry that hadn't been done to her house to get it done.

Eric and I worked on our bedroom while she worked on the girls room. The plan was to get everyone packed up and meet her at her house for dinner as she was going to watch the kids for us while I was at the hospital.

After getting everyone packed up, we had an impromptu family meeting. This put us later than we wanted to be. After we had left the house and were closer to Eric's mom's I realized I forgot the kids toothbrushes. We also hadn't bought a carseat and were looking for a bassinet. So we stop at Walmart and while I grabbed toothbrushes, Eric went to look at shoes. We were then going to meet up in the baby section. 

All throughout the store I was having contractions, but didn't think much of it. Some were painful, but the timing seemed inconsistent. And I've never gone into labor on contractions alone. After Eric found the shoes he wanted, we searched for the carseat and bassinet. The store had zero bassinets, but we did find the carseat/stroller combo that I wanted.

On the drive to Eric's mom, she sent me a text asking where we were. I think she got a little nervous that we hadn't gotten there yet as she thought we left shortly after she did. We got to her house probably around 9 and had a quick dinner of sandwiches.

We tried to get everyone in bed around 10 and then we made our way to bed.

When we stay at Eric's moms we usually have Jace with us. This was a horrible idea this night though as he DID NOT want to sleep. He finally fell asleep, but took up so much space that I tried to sleep on the floor. I didn't sleep very well and Jace was up probably around 2. Eric got up with him and took him into the frontroom to settle him down. He finally got Jace settled down and sleeping next to one of his siblings and came back to bed. I, however, still couldn't get to sleep. I tossed and turned and worried about getting up in time. At some point I fell asleep.

Eric started stirring a bit before 6:00 and told me I needed to get up. I stayed in bed for a few more minutes and then got up. I started making my way to the bathroom when my water broke. I was so thankful I got out of bed when I did, otherwise there would've been a mess in the bed that Eric's mom didn't want. 

I jumped in the shower a little shocked that my water had broken on it's own and laughed about the situation. I didn't know what to do as I had only packed enough things for my stay in the hospital and had no extras. I also forgot to pack pads as I had thought I should. So I called Eric into the bathroom and after he got a good laugh out of the fact my water broke, he remembered that there were pull-ups in the bathroom closet. So yup, I wore a pair of pull-ups to the hospital. And in truth, it wasn't much different than the pads you use immediately after birth.

HOSPITAL FUN

I don't remember much about the drive to the hospital as I was super tired. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and I was pretty much in a fog. I was also nervous to actually be in labor again. I don't enjoy the pain and I wanted to do things naturally again. 

Eric said there were 2 people that almost caused accidents, but I only slightly remember one. A light snow had fallen the night before so that was causing some difficulty. 

We arrived at the hospital pretty much on time and they were actually waiting for us! We let them know my water had broken and so they wasted no time getting us back and getting us all settled in.

Because it was an induction my Dr. was already at the hospital. He did his exam and realized the bag of waters had only partially ruptured, so he finished the job. He then had the nurses start the pitocen and whatever else and before leaving asked when he should be back. I joked that he should be back in 2 hours. We all had a good laugh.

THE BIRTH

It didn't take long before I felt contractions, but they were intense right away. I was almost in tears right away as well. Partially because I was in so much pain and partially because I was upset with myself that I wasn't going to be able to handle this pain and do it naturally. I told Eric I wanted the epidural and he made sure I knew that it was fine and if that's what I needed I shouldn't be stressing about it.

It took a bit for the anesthesiologist to get into the room, but when he got there he was my favorite person ever! But then he took forever to get ready and then we had to wait through a few contractions before I could even get the epidural. Then we get the epidural but he takes forever doing that too. He was a nice guy and had great a great bedside manner, he was just slow. 

After the epidural, it took a few minutes for it to take effect. I finally started feeling numb on my left side, but nothing was happening with my right side and that's where I was feeling the contractions. And they were coming and they were mean. I also noticed that I felt like the baby was coming. So the nurse looked and we were all surprised to learn I had gone from something like a 6 to a 10 in the space of time it took to get the epidural. Thankfully, the epidural worked just well enough that I didn't feel like I needed to push so the dr. was able to get there in time.

When my Dr. got to the hospital he said something like, "You weren't joking about 2 hours. I was planning on coming to check on you in a half hour, but you had different plans."

The baby was born in a matter of seconds after the dr. was ready. The placenta on the other hand took it's time. While the nurses were observing the baby, we were waiting on the delivery of the placenta. The nurses all oohed and ahhed and told us our baby had red hair. Neither one of us believed them.

I finally got to hold my baby and fawn all over him. He was a sleepy little guy and the nurses mentioned that he was a little blue around his mouth, but they figured it was bruising. I saw what they were talking about and sure enough this guy had bruising all around his mouth. His eyes were also fairly bloodshot. But he was our baby and was super cute. And he was our biggest...

Zacharias

February 5

9:43 AM

7 lbs. 9 oz. , 19 inches

THE HOSPITAL STAY

Shortly after delivery the dr. told the nurses to get me a food tray. I don't remember if we told him I was up all night or what, but he had decided I needed to eat ASAP. So I ate in the delivery room which I wasn't used to.

After I had eaten and the hospital had prepared a postpartum room for me we got moved and because I was still numb on the left side they transported me via bed, which made me a bit dizzy. We got settled in our new room and I tried to get some rest. It was difficult though, because even though I was tired and Zach was sleeping like a rock star, I just couldn't get comfortable and I was anxious for the other kids to come meet their new brother.

I did get a bit of rest and had to wait hours for the kids to come. 

While Eric's mom was adamant she could handle all 6 kids, she very quickly realized she couldn't and it was too much. Thankfully, I had talked to my mom ahead of time and explained the situation. My mom was able to step in and together they worked the kids out. I was also thankful because Eric's mom hadn't had to have a 2 year old at bedtime in many years and I thought my mom might be a little more used to it and it'd be a bit less stressful that way. Both moms decided to come together though so that all the kids could meet their brother together.

My mom arrived shortly before Eric's mom as he sent her on an errand for food and drink. She's such a good mom that she did so without complaint. So, Shaylyn, Lex and Jacce got to meet their brother first. Shaylyn and Lex were so amazed and loved their little brother immediately. They even took pictures to send to Shaylyn's friend.

When Eric's mom finally arrived, the other kids got to meet their brother and they were also super happy and excited. Eric's mom also became my photographer. She's awesome at it.

{...Jace had fun taking my socks off and putting them back on...}

I was quite worried about how Jace would react to his new brother and to seeing me in the hospital. I worried that he'd give his Grandma issues when it was time to leave. However, this kid was AMAZING. Just before they left, he had help holding the baby. It was only for a few seconds when Eric's mom and my mom decided to leave. Jace very gently gave his baby brother a kiss and said, "Bye, baby." It completely swelled my heart and I'm pretty sure I teared up.

Up until shortly after the family all left, I hadn't really looked in a mirror. When I actually did, I came out and said to Eric, "Why didn't you tell me I look like I've been through a war?" He said, "Well, you kinda have been." I suppose he was right. No sleep the night before and a quick, but painful delivery along with no nap will do it to you.

THE NEXT DAY

I was finally able to get some sleep that night. Though it was terribly interrupted (as hospital stays are). I was more comfortable than I'd been for months and I think that, along with being plain exhausted helped a ton.

The next afternoon my mom came back to the hospital with my little sister and the kids she was watching: Shaylyn, Lex and Jace. Jace didn't really want anything to do with his brother this day, but thankfully Daddy had a solution. He had bought a new movie for the kids while he ran some errands earlier in the day.

I had a great time visiting with my mom and sister. Between the two of them I didn't really need to act like I had a newborn cause they took over. Hahaha. Seriously though, they were a tremendous help and Zach liked aunt Kaeloni so much that he decided he'd poop a ton for her while she was changing him.

While I felt bad for Kaeloni, I was relieved that Zach had finally had a bowel movement. Up until this point he hadn't really wet or soiled any diapers and I was getting concerned. He also wasn't waking up much to eat.

So, of course, that night the head nurse made sure this kid ate. I was so fed up with her, but knew she was trying to help. I was slightly worried that he wasn't waking up more, but after having 6 other kids I knew the kid would eat when he was hungry. He just hadn't gotten to that point yet. So after he had finally nursed enough to make the lady leave us alone, we got a little bit of sleep.

GOING HOME

I don't think there's ever been a time I've ever been more ready to just get home! I needed the comfort of my own bed and I just wanted to be out of the hospital with people checking up on my every hour. It was a Sunday and for the first time almost EVER in the history of having kids the hospital was on top of getting us out of there. We didn't need to wait nearly as long as we have in the past. But before we left I had to take the traditional 'going home' pictures.

Normally, we'd head to the mom's houses to pick up the kids before going home because they are closer to the hospital than we are. But, knowing I was so fetching tired and knowing I still needed a bit of a break - Eric took the baby and I home first and then after showering and resting himself, he headed back to get the kids and the dogs.

While Eric was gone, Zach and I got a terrific nap in and I was so thankful to have gotten that chance. But it was so nice when everyone got home again to have the family together. Not to mention food! Eric's mom made sure she had a meal planned for us and my mom made her famous rolls which are super delicious. My mom even sent some cookies for me!

And that's the story of Zach's first few days of life!

What Happens Next...

Welcome Jacen!!!

So the kid is almost 3 old now and I'm just barely getting to his birth story...I tell you, life has been interesting as of late and it's been hard to keep up with day to day life, let alone keeping the blog up to date...Anyway onto Jacen's birth story.

We all know that most of my kids have come early. In fact in terms of weeks, my kids have been 4, 3, 2, 1, and then 2 weeks early. So we prepared ourselves around week 37 of pregnancy for this kid to join us at any point. Well, he didn't want to be like his siblings...

I went to my 38 week checkup on July 29th, positive that the doctor was going to tell me that nothing was going on down yonder and this kid was not coming anytime soon. Well when the Dr. checked I was at a 2.5. I was thrilled. I was only at a 2 when Ailey made her appearance 2 weeks early, so I was sure that I wouldn't make it to our next appt. the following Wednesday.

Well, Wednesday the 7th rolls around and I'm still quite pregnant. Feeling somewhat frustrated and sad we went to my appt. and once again I was sure that there would be no change. The Dr. checked and I was at a 3, so there was some progress made.

The Dr. then asked if we wanted to talk about an induction or just wait it out. Eric and I both opted for an induction. Eric doesn't like to be away when I could go into labor at any given time and I wanted a week or so to adjust to a new 'lifestyle' before school started. When the Dr. asked how soon we'd like the induction, I said ASAP and Eric said, "Tonight."

My Doctor laughed along with us and said, "Well I can't do it tonight, but we'll see what we can do." He then went to call the hospital and figure it out. He set us up for Friday, the 9th - which is when I was technically 39 weeks. I was thrilled, but nervous at the same time. The doctor and I both remembered the last time I was induced and what a picnic that turned out to be, so he tried to assure me that that kind of thing didn't happen all the time.

I was told to call the hospital on Thursday evening to get an idea of what time I'd need to be at the hospital. When I called, she said I was #5 on the list, so it probably wouldn't be before 9:30 the next morning, but I should call around 7:00 a.m. to make sure. So we went about our night. Around 9:00 Thursday night we get a phone call from the hospital. This girl told me that it'd be more like 7:00 in the morning and to call around 6:00 a.m. the next morning, but to pack my bags just in case.

Well, this made us a little more frantic. We had to decide what to do with the kids since it was so much earlier than we had anticipated. We finally figured out that we could leave our house around 5:00 a.m. the next morning, crash at Eric's parents until we had to go to the hospital and we could leave Tanis and Ailey with Eric's parents and Eric's mom would drop the other three off at my mom's when people were awake over there.

So bright and early, we head out. I call the hospital a little after 6:00 and they tell me they want me at 7:00. Hallelujah. I was so worried that we were going to have a repeat of Nate and we would play a waiting game all day and night long.

I had Eric and his Dad give me a blessing before we left as I was feeling all sorts of anxiety. Eric and I then headed to the hospital. I had decided once again to do this thing naturally, even though I knew I'd be dealing with the stupid Pitocin again.

By the time everything got set up and we got going, it was about 9:00. I was still only at a 3 and I spent the next few hours really scared to do this whole labor thing again. It's the 6th time I've done this, so why I was so scared, I don't know. When I was checked around 11:00 or so I was still only at a 3. I was really getting frustrated and the next couple hours brought with it massive pain, where I was literally shaking from the pain. I started to regret the whole no epidural thing.

The nurse comes back in around 2:00 and says she's going to check me again. I had decided that if she told me I was only at a 5 or less, I was going to ask for that stupid epidural. Well, she checks and says I'm at a 6+, so she goes to call my Dr. and has another nurse start setting up for the arrival of this baby.

They're going about their merry way when I tell Eric that this kid is coming. He gets the nurse's attention and we are all surprised to see that within a matter of only 5 minutes or so I went from a 6+ to complete. This made the nurses nervous and they had to start looking for any doctor. Thankfully, one had just walked into the hospital and was called into my room. But while waiting for him I just had to push. The nurse kept telling me not to and I tried not to, but it was so hard. I wanted to scream at her and tell her to let me go about my business, but I knew it was best to have a Dr. there...

So the random Dr. comes in, quickly gets his coat and gloves on and within seconds we've got a new baby! Our sweet little Jacen and he came with a head of blonde hair! WHAT!?!?!? I was expecting another dark haired baby, but I'll take our cute, little blondie. Did I mention that even his eyelashes are blonde? Okay, I'm seriously in shock.

Jacen Eric was born at 2:17 P.M. He weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 18.5 inches long. Though he was our smallest baby, he was the most painful delivery. I pretty much turned into a mad woman during his labor. You know how in the movies and tv's the ladies are so dramatic and screaming bloody murder - I used to think they were all silly - I'm now one of those crazy, hysteric ladies. I was also so shaken up after his birth that I literally couldn't stop shaking. I had to have Eric hold Jacen for awhile cause I felt like I just couldn't get a safe hold on him.

A couple hours after Jacen's birth, we were moved to our room where we'd stay the next few days.

I've always hated having babies on the weekends for two reasons. #1 - There's never anything good to watch to keep yourself entertained and #2 - It seems like the hospital photographers are never there on the weekends. #1's not a major deal, but #2 always frustrates me, so imagine my surprise on Saturday morning when the hospital photographer came into our room.

I wasn't sure we'd buy any photos, but I wanted them taken anyway - just in case I really loved one and wanted to buy that one. The photographer gave us instructions to undress him to his diaper and to choose a blanket to have him photographed with. I was thankful I thought to grab one of our baby blankies before we left the hospital. She then went about photographing our little guy and he wasn't too sure about any of it, but we got some good ones.

The photographer then gave us the sheet of what packages they had and I had a horrible case of sticker shock. The prices for the photos were OUTRAGEOUS!!! We still took the information home and when I had a chance I took a look at Jacen's gallery and of course fell in love with a few photos. I thought that maybe I could buy just a couple photos and it'd be cheaper, but those packages were still insane.

Thankfully, Eric knows me and knows how important photos are to me so he was able to financially work it out so that I could have ALL the photos and I'd get them immediately, since it was a downloadable file. Here are my faves...

...I LOVE that his ear has a little heart shape to it on the inside...

But my absolute favorite has got to be this one:

We tried to get him to only hold onto my finger with one hand, but he grabbed on with both. I know he won't always rely on me so heavily and so I really cherish this picture.

We left the hospital on August 11th and as I always do, I tried to get some pictures of Jacen in his going home outfit...He was more difficult than any of the other kids. He insisted on turning his head to the opposite side. Finally, my smart husband decided to hold his head still so I could get a somewhat decent shot.

I've been a slacker mom and haven't taken many pictures of Jace. I literally spent the whole 1st week home holding him like 24/7. Eric even called me a baby hog. Hahaha. I did take these ones, when at only 3 days old he was already at the mercy of his older siblings (Nate) and okay, I guess I played along too...

At 1 week old he got to meet his Great Grandma when we went to wish her a very Happy 94th Birthday! I love these pictures. Old and New and I love that I caught the photos while my Grandma was just admiring her newest Great Grandbaby and talking with him...

That was Jace's first week in a nutshell. He's been growing fast and we love having another baby in the house (minus the whole getting up in the middle of the night thing) and he's so much fun. He had his 3 week checkup today and he's now 21 1/2 inches long and he weighs 7 lbs. 9 oz. I was so glad to hear that he had gained a pound. We had to take him back to the Dr. when he was only 3 days old as his billirubin level was in the low-risk category when we left the hospital - thankfully he wasn't jaundiced at all and the Dr. wasn't concerned, but he only weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. which scared mama a little bit.

So yup, he's growing fast and doing well. Now I need to tell myself to take more pictures of this kid before he's a teenager and he's heading out the door to college. 

What Happens Next...