Hello Charlie!

I am slow to get this posted, but I wrote it while I was in the hospital. So glad I did, all the little details are so easily forgotten!  

  Thursday morning at 4 am Cameron woke up crying because his ear hurt. When Cameron is in pain EVERYONE is miserable. So I spent til 7 am trying to keep him happy and coax him into taking medicine to feel better. The girls got up and went to school and I told Kelly that I was having pretty painful contractions every 10 minutes or so. He was coming home early to get ready for our induction on Friday anyway so it was no big deal. I had had contractions before that had fizzled out so we did not expect much from these. I really did not want an induction this time though, so I was a little excited. At nine I got ahold of the doctor for Cam and they told me I could come in at 11:30, but the contractions were still coming so I mentioned that I was in labor and asked if could I come sooner. The lady told me to get in there right now. I loaded Cam and Bev up and we were off. The office staff got us right in and were so sweet. The doctor came in and checked Cam (who was a "berry brabe boy," just ask him) and found he had an ear infection and was wheezing. GREAT! The doctor told me good luck and we were out the door within 25 min of arriving. The contactions were now 7 min apart and I decided that if Cam was wheezing then maybe I better get Bev checked (her cough was worse and had been around longer).

     So we got into the other doctor (because why would I have my kids at the same doctor?) very quick and did not have to mention labor pains at all. The contractions slowed way down at this point and I was feeling a touch irritated. So Bev was checked and diagnosed with BRONCHITIS! Freakin! Just what I want to bring a baby home to, sick siblings.

     Next we were off to get luch for Ryan, because I had not packed one for her, then to the school, then back to chic-fil-a for drive thru lunch for the babies, over to Kroger for prescriptions and home. By the time I had come home it was 1230, I was grumpy, kids needed naps medicine and breathing treatments and I had called Kelly to tell him not to come home early because I was not getting induced because the kids were sick. I got Bev medicated and down to nap, and the contractions started up again. I texted Kelly to just come home because I was over this day, and got my grumpy boy down for a much needed nap.
     When Kelly got home the contractions picked up to every 7 minutes again, and I started cleaning. (Kelly's job was to watch the kids and make sure I was left alone). Ryan got off the bus, I left to get Jac from school to get her to church in time for a temple trip and then I ran to the bank to deposit co-op money.
     As I was going to the bank I called my sister and had two big contractions while I talked to her and then talked to another friend and had one while I talked to her, I could not talk to them during the contractions. I was getting excited again.
     So I got home, finished cleaning the bathroom, and did Bev's hair, the contractions stayed at 7 ish minutes but strong and steady. Kelly took Ryan and Cam to Cam's baseball game and Bev and I came 20 minutes later. As I drove five minutes to the field I had two contractions and then back to back ones walking from the car to the field. The game lasted 20 more minutes and by the end of the game the contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and I was ready to call the doctor. I had Kelly take the kids to their babysitters and told him to meet me at home.
When I got home I called the doctor and she told me to come in and have a baby. I was a little freaked by that point and called Kelly to tell him to get home. That guy must have been driving so fast because he was already on his way home. I packed up our last few things and got a popsicle and waited by the car for Kelly. He pulled up and we were off.
     I had several more contractions on the way to the hospital and told Kelly to park and we would walk in. It took FOREVER to walk in because I had so many contractions on the way in. But, we got there and they put us in a room.
     Labor and delivery was very busy and so we waited an hour for the nurse to come in and check me. When she came in (8:30pm) I was a five, and the doctor called and said she would be in to break my water after she finished dinner. The contractions were not horrible yet, but pretty painful and I was beginning to lean toward getting an epidural.
     I told the nurse I wanted an epidural at 9pm and she gave me IV fluids and monitored me for a while. The doctor came in and checked me at 9:45 and said I was at 7cm and asked if I wanted to keep going with no epidural. I was 100% sure that I did not, so she said she would break my water when the epidural was in. She walked out and things got crazy.
     I was shaking uncontrollably, I knew I was in transition but didn't want to say anything because I wanted the epidural. The nurse had me sit up on the edge of the bed and the contractions started being more painful than ever. I was moaning and wishing I could cry, but it hurt too bad. I was trying to relax and breathe through the contractions and was doing ok after the peak of each contraction. Kelly was in the hall for 2 contractions with a friend who had brought food for him and those were the worst two. I could handle sitting on the edge of the bed if Kelly was there. I yelled for the friend to leave and come back after the epidural and then Kelly was back. They say they didn't hear me, but I felt like I was screaming.
     At around 1030 the anesthesiologist came in for the epidural and as he was marking the spot on my back I had a pushing contraction. I told the nurse all panicky that I needed to push, and she told me we could stop the epidural at any time. The anesthesiologist said, "just hang on, I can get this in real quick." I was hurting so bad, I just wanted it in. So the anesthesiologist kept working, and I knew it wouldn't be fast, I have seen these done a ton of times, but I kept thinking that he would get it in and I would feel all better. Each contraction I had a stronger urge to push, and with one of the contractions my water broke. He got the epidural catheter in and gave me a dose of medicine as I yelled that the baby was coming, and why could I still feel everything?! The nurse told me to lay down, but I couldn't move. I  was so scared that he would come flying out of me.     
     So Kelly grabbed the top of me and helped me lay down and the nurse took a quick peek at the bottom of me and called the doctor and everyone in because the baby was right there. The doctor came in and before they could break the bed down she told me I could push. BUT IT STILL HURT! I kept asking why I could feel everything. But I had to push, the urge was just so strong. I was scared that I would tear in half, and Kelly says I screamed like in the movies one time. It is all such a blur but they were saying go ahead and push and then 2 seconds later telling me to stop pushing and then one more push and he was out and on my tummy instead of in it.
     Kelly suddenly appeared at the head of my bed, but he says he was there the whole time. I was worried because Charlie wasn't screaming, but they kept telling me he was breathing and was pink and was fine. He was just looking around and working on breathing and so mellow. At one point I tried to give him to the nurse to make sure he was ok, but they told me I couldn't because he was still attached to me. Then Kelly was cutting the cord and there we were with a new baby. It is still a blur.
With Cameron and Ryan it seemed like everything happened in slow motion, and was so peaceful. This baby came in a moment of chaos, but maybe that is because he just needed to be prepared for the chaos that was waiting for him at home.
We love our Charlie! He nurses like a champ, he does not cry for very long and is easily soothed. He is a beautiful little guy. I am so happy to finally have him here with us!