The Labor Story...

Tydon’s “labor story” begins the day before we actually went to the hospital… I had gone in for my weekly Doctor’s Appointment on Thursday morning & was feeling bad that another week had gone by without me having had my baby.  I almost hadn’t even put this appointment on my calendar, because I was SO sure that I would have had him by now.  I was once again dilated to a 5 & 70% effaced, just like last week.  My doctor couldn’t believe that I hadn’t had the baby yet either!  So when she asked me if I’d like to get my membranes stripped, I was more than anxious.  The only problem was that it was Laron’s “ON” week for work, so he didn’t share my enthusiasm for helping things along.  “Just be patient,” he said over & over.  So we compromised & I ended up getting my membranes stripped, just a little (or at least that‘s what the Doctor SAID).

By the time I got home from my appointment, I felt terrible!  I was shaky & crampy & had to lay down because I felt so yucky.  But I figured that it would be short-lived, so maybe it would be worth it in the end.  By the time I went to bed Thursday evening, I was SO GRATEFUL that I hadn’t gone into Labor that day, because starting things off on a day that you already don’t feel good, just seemed like a terrible combination!

All day Friday I was cramping up & STILL felt terrible.  When Laron got home from work, I once again told him how grateful I was that stripping my membranes HADN’T put me into Labor & asked him if he could watch the kids while I took a warm bath to try to help ease some of my achiness.  As I was taking a bath, I remembered reading an article recently about how sometimes warm water on your body can induce contractions, but I figured it hadn’t worked every other time I’d taken a warm shower in the last week, so it must not be true…

When I got out of the bath, it was 7:30 pm.  Laron had to wake up really early the next morning for work, so he went to bed at 8:00.  And at 9:00, right after putting all the kids in bed for the night, I had my first contraction.  And it scared me!  Not only did I not feel very good, but I’ve also always secretly hoped that I would never go into Labor in the middle of the night, because let’s face it, going into Labor EXTRA exhausted from a lack of sleep didn’t sound very fun either!  I was also surprised because this first contraction was a PAINFUL one… When I’d gone into Labor before, my contractions had always worked up to the painful you-have-to-breath-through-it contractions a lot more gradually, but this time, they were starting off painful!

Every 10 minutes after that, I had another contraction.  And each contraction seemed JUST as painful & intense, making me wonder more & more if this could be “it”!  But I also remembered reading that sometimes just changing your positions or laying down could slow things down, so I quickly decided that I’d try just going to bed & see what happened.  But when I had to continue breathing through each contraction & certainly didn’t feel like I’d be going to sleep any time soon with the way that my heart & mind were racing, I decided that I’d better get up.  I didn’t want to wake Laron up quite yet (he really doesn’t get much sleep on the weeks he works because he has to wake up at 2:30 in the morning!), until I was certain I was in Labor.  So at 10:30 I decided to call my Mom & give her a head’s up that I MIGHT be in Labor (since she was the one that was going to come watch the kids anyway if I was!).  After having another few contractions on the phone with her, we decided that maybe she had better just come over & hopefully I’d “know” if it was time to go to the hospital by the time she got here… After all, I DO have really fast Labors & already being dilated to a “5”, I knew it wouldn’t take too long once things got going.  But I’m also always worried to show up at the hospital & then have things STOP…

But by 10:45, I was certain that this was “GO-TIME!”  I quickly woke Laron up & told him that I thought I was in Labor, and I’m not sure he believed me or was awake enough at first to be comprehending what I was saying.  But as soon as he saw me have a contraction & saw how much pain I was already in, he took me seriously & quickly started getting dressed. By the time my Parents got here at 11:00, my contractions had jumped to being about every 4 minutes apart & I was suddenly not sure if we were going to make it to the hospital in time!  We grabbed our few “last-minute” items, had my Dad & Laron give me a quick blessing before we left, and then we were on our way!

As we got onto the Freeway, headed for Ogden Regional (which is about 25 minutes away), I said out loud during a particularly painful contraction, “Oh, how I wish our insurance covered Davis Hospital!”  Because of course, that hospital was closer & I was getting nervous about the idea of possibly having this baby in the car!  But luckily there wasn’t too much traffic at that time of night, so we made it to the hospital in record-timing!  :)

When we got to the front-desk of the Labor & Delivery unit at about 11:30, I think they could tell that I indeed was in Labor!  And after quickly explaining to them that I have fast labors, they wasted no time & got me a wheel-chair & took me right back, leaving Laron behind to quickly fill out some paperwork.

After getting all changed, they quickly “checked-me” & said I was dilated to an “8” & that they had better go call my doctor.  30 minutes after we’d gotten to the hospital, I felt like pushing.  By this 4th time around, I’d already learned that my body goes fast & so to not even HOPE for the Epidural, so luckily I was mentally prepped for that, even though I still felt like I was in shock that we were ACTUALLY in the hospital, about ready to have our baby!  Could it really have been only a few hours ago that I was at home, taking a warm bath & feeling mixed-feelings that another day had gone by without having my baby?!

I looked up at the clock on the wall, which read 11:53.  In the past, once I felt like pushing, it was only a matter of about 3 contractions before the baby was born, so I started to wonder WHICH DAY this baby was going to be born on… Friday or Saturday?  But as I started pushing, I could tell that something was different this time around.  My Midwife had warned me that this baby had a REALLY big head (it always measured like 2-3 weeks bigger than the rest of his body), so I had been worried from the start.  But now my Doctor announced that his face was turned the wrong way…  She tried helping to turn it herself, but it was no use.  He wouldn’t budge.  So she finally explained that it still IS possible to deliver a baby with the head turned to the side, it’s just a lot harder, but that I had better just start pushing & trying.

Normally, I admit, that pushing is my favorite part of Labor… I can finally DO something through the pain & I know that the end is in sight!  We had already asked my Doctor to give me a quick local anesthetic down there, which I’ve found in the past with not having time to get an Epidural, really helps take the EDGE off of things with the delivery.  This time though, things seemed a lot more hopeless & annoying because I wasn’t even sure that each of my pushes was accomplishing ANYTHING!  And it didn’t help that I was already worried about how big his head was & how much I might tear from it.  But I still couldn’t help but feeling that I was trying to push something out that just wasn’t going to fit!  I don’t ever remember saying so many silent prayers over & over again throughout Labor as I did during this one… It’s just one of those moments that you wish you could fast-forward through the next little while, until you could be holding your little baby all safe & sound.  But unfortunately that’s not how things work!

And then finally, during one particular contraction, his head finally turned the right way & I suddenly REALLY felt like pushing… It was like my body finally knew that things were FULLY ready & started taking over.  My pushes after that seemed much more productive, although my husband still remembers me saying that his huge head was going to be the death of me!

So after a half-hour of pushing harder than I’ve ever pushed in my life (my ab-muscles were sore for almost 3 weeks afterwards!), Tydon finally decided to make his entrance into the world!  But amazingly, and probably mostly because it was a lot slower process pushing him out than normal, I didn’t tear at all, which was something I’d been REALLY worried about!  And I shouldn’t complain, but even though I had the baby within about an HOUR after getting to the hospital, this was definitely my hardest labor yet!  It’s a good thing this wasn’t my first labor experience, or it might have scared me off a little more from having so many kids…  :)

As soon as I delivered the baby, my doctor immediately put the baby right up onto my belly & what a wave of emotions were going through my mind!  You just can’t imagine the relief & awe & love that enters your soul as you gaze into the eyes of such a precious gift from God, that you & your husband helped to create…  After Laron helped to cut the cord & the nurses washed him off a little & wrapped him up all nice and snug, they brought us our special little bundle & left us in peace.  It was SO refreshing to have the chaos & drama of the birth behind us, and now be able to just focus on the reality of the present.  8 pounds 6 ounces.  21 inches long.  And perfect.  SO perfect!  Again, I said another little prayer, thanking God that all had gone well & that he was HERE… Safe & sound!  For the next 24 hours, I found myself quite often repeating that same prayer.  What an amazing blessing it is, when all goes well!

So having a baby in the middle of the night was an interesting experience AFTERWARDS as well, because after we had the baby, it seemed like they kind-of FORGOT about us… I suppose it was mostly because the lady next-door had to have an emergency c-section & because they were a little short-handed, but it was kind-of nice to left alone for several hours & have time to bond with the newest member of our family.  It’s not like we could have gone right to sleep anyway, with all the adrenaline of having a baby still pumping through our veins!  But finally they came & whisked the baby off to the nursery for a proper bath, and Laron & I decided to try & get a little sleep.  Not that you can EVER sleep very well in a hospital bed!  :)

Later that day, visitors started arriving to meet Tydon… But the ones that we were MOST excited to see were OUR KIDS!  They were THRILLED to be hanging out with Grandma & Papa, but were even MORE excited to finally be able to meet their new little brother!  ALL of the kids seemed to love little Tydon, but Kimberly seemed especially anxious to hold him & love him & be his little Mommy!  SO precious!

The first comment the kids made that surprised me was when they first walked in our hospital room… Kimberly took one look at the baby, then another glance at my still-slightly-bulging tummy & said, “Is there another SISTER in there?!”  I assured her that there was NOT another baby in Mommy’s tummy & that she’d just better appreciate the BROTHER that we’d been anticipating for months, instead of wishing for something else!  What funny kids!!!  :)

The second funny moment with the kids was when we unwrapped the baby out of the blanket so they could see his little body… They ooed & awed over his tiny little fingers & toes.  They pointed to & touched his cute little ears.  And then they saw his umbilical cord.  “What is THAT?!” they all wanted to know.  We tried our best to explain it to them, and suddenly ALL the kids were pulling up their shirts, looking at their belly-buttons in wonder.  It’s always funny what conversations come up with kids around!  They sure keep us all smiling!  :)

After a FULL afternoon of entertaining guests & showing off our new baby, we were finally exhausted & a little glad to see everyone go!  As soon as they delivered our dinners (they let Laron have one meal for free), we found a little round table in the corner of the room, pulled out a chic-flick I’d brought special for the occasion, & had ourselves a romantic little dinner for two, right there in our hospital room!  Not to say that we weren’t interrupted by hospital nurses a time or two, but at least it brought a smile to their faces as they saw that we were trying to make the evening special for ourselves.  In fact, I think it was one of the BEST parts of our hospital stay!  What a blessing it was to be able to spend a little one-on-one time with the person I love MOST in this world, even if holding hands & cuddling on a hospital bed was as exciting as it got.  How I love that Man!!!

After our little date-night of dinner & a movie, things went a little downhill… They made us switch rooms into a freezing cold little closet-of-a-room & then Laron had to leave at like 3:00 in the morning to go into work, leaving me all alone.  And right after he left, they brought me Tydon, hungry & crying because of a shot they’d just given him.  After feeding him multiple times & trying to send him back to the nursery so I could attempt to get a little SLEEP, they kept sending him back to me saying he was hungry again (but really, I think they were just kicking him out of the nursery because he was crying too much!).  Why couldn’t they have just given him his shot the next morning?!  Oh, what a long night that was!  So by morning, I was feeling a little sorry for myself & thinking how rotten it was that Laron had to go into work.  But luckily he was able to get off work early & came to pick us up at about 1:00.  By the time we got home with little Tydon, we were anxious to see the REST of our kids, so we drove over to Grandma & Papa’s house to pick them up ourselves, instead of waiting for THEM to bring them to US.

As we drove home that afternoon & I looked back at the 4 kids staring back at us from the back of the van, it suddenly hit me… We had a van FULL of kids!  4 kids!  OUR kids!  But what a blessing that is as well!  Although I know life will be a little crazier from here on out, I know it will also be a little fuller & happier too.  What joy being a parent has brought us over the years!  Some of our best & hardest times have come from raising children.  We have learned how to serve & take care of OTHERS’ needs, often before ourselves.  We have learned how precious it is to hear a little child call us Mommy or Daddy.  We have learned to look forward to every birthday & holiday & season change with the excitement of a child, as we remember what JOY & FUN this life has to offer.  We have learned to be a little better than we were yesterday, because little eyes are watching our every move & copying all that we say & do.  And we have learned in a small way, what our Heavenly Father must feel towards us, His children, as He watches us grow & mature & make mistakes & develop into the person He hoped we would become.  It’s no wonder that being parents & living in families & having children was always part of His “plan” for us!  It’s amazing how oftentimes, some of the littlest things in life, become some of the biggest things in life…

We’re SO grateful to finally be able to welcome home the newest member of our family!  We sure love you Tydon!