Thankful for our Blessings… one and all!

Well, it has sure been "exciting" around here this past week!!

Our newest little bambino was born a bit on the early side - but, still considered a full-term baby. He was due on December 11, but was born on November 23 at 2:57 AM!!

not quite a day old

This is his story:

I was sitting in a rocking chair with our little Bump cuddled up on my lap for a bedtime story. We fell asleep like that and Pops woke me and carried Bump off to his own bed for the night. I thought I was having some "Braxton Hicks" contractions as they were not regular, and weren't much to speak of. So, off to bed I went after brushing my teeth. I thought the contractions were weird, but again, not regular or overly painful. So, I fell asleep. About an hour or so later, at just past midnight, I woke up and told Pops, "I think my water just broke." He definitely didn't think that I was kidding, but we were only VERY sure when I stood up and my pajama pants became immediately soaked! 

Well, so much for that labor induction we had planned for later in the week…

The last time my water broke on its own, I delivered a healthy baby girl on the floor of the elevator lobby at the hospital within 15 minutes after it broke! Let's just say, I felt a weeee bit of stress in that we live at least a 40 minute drive from the hospital!!

I had a few strong contractions and Pops visited with my midwife on the phone. She told us to either get ourselves to the hospital right away OR call 911. We got in the van to go right after calling the grands to say, "Please come over, we are heading to the hospital to have this baby and the kids are all sleeping!" Woke up Bud so that there would be someone who knew why we weren't here if someone woke needing something and he waited for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive. We sped away to the hospital and thankfully arrived at the ER (around 1 AM) where my midwife was waiting with a nurse and a wheelchair!!

We made it up to the labor and delivery department and got settled in to wait and see what would become of this labor and baby!! I was feeling great. I had a bed and a room - no floor delivery in the hallway for this go-round!

Things moved along quickly and the paperwork was all tended to and baby arrived within 2 hours. Baby appeared to be less than thrilled with his arrival and screamed and hollered for what seemed like 10 minutes or more! I was thinking that he had better get it all out as we wouldn't have time for this nonsense with 4 other kids running around, too! He calmed down and Pops and the nurse took him around the corner to be weighed and measured - 7 lb. 11 oz., 20.5 inches long (decent 37 week 3 day gestational age)!! My midwife was tending to something a few feet away and an aide arrived to help do some clean-up and walked over to me and alerted my midwife to tend to me… I was hemorrhaging and there was a flurry of activity around me getting my fluids going and pitocin running, a shot of methergine in my leg and all of the blood cleaned up and weighed. I am not sure how they do their figuring, exactly - but, whatever was done, they measured the blood loss to be 1700cc. My blood pressure was at one time 60/40 - ish. Apparently I was the same color as the bed sheets and felt quite weak and woozy. It wasn't long before I was feeling well enough to move on to the postpartum recovery area. It was rather scary, but everything turned out well.

one week old with a satisfied milk mustache - a western one with serious handlebars, no less!!

Today, baby is doing GREAT at one week old! I am slowly feeling better and gaining energy and strength. I celebrated a very thankful for life kind of Thanksgiving this year. Thankful for the new life that we are blessed with in this teeny tiny baby. Thankful for my life and that I am able to continue to watch and help my beautiful children grow and learn. Thankful. Truly thankful.