Contractions began on the 1st at 9:30 a.m. and didn't stop. At first, spaced every 15-20 minutes. My parents got here at 11:30...what a good baby to wait and what good timing on the part of Grandma & Grandpa! We went to our local parade for fair week, where I walked with the kids in the children's parade. The kids thought it would be fun to fill up water balloons and throw them at their friends and Grandma and Grandpa. They got a kick out of it! We enjoyed the rest of the parade, came back home for lunch, and contractions just kept on going about every 10 minutes apart and my mom said my coloring was changing (I get pale during those contractions) so it was time to leave. So we gave last minute instructions to the Grandparents and our kiddos and, then I had a Priesthood blessing from my Dave and Dad, which I was so grateful for. Then we left to the hospital in Glasgow around 2:30. We had a nice drive down, so quiet and peaceful and I almost finished my book. Dave tested our speed a couple of times, we hit top speed of 110 just for fun and we made it in an hour and five minutes. We checked in, and everyone was there and waiting for us and knew who we were. It's kind of nice being in a smaller hospital - more attention and less noise. We got checked out and monitored and contractions were around 8-9 minutes apart and I was dilated to a 4 when we first got there. Dave and I were taken to a labor and delivery room and then walked the halls and walked the halls and stopped a bit to breathe. The nurses couldn't believe I was being as nice as I was with as far along as I was. Dave warned them I'd be in great pain but then still be saying "please" and "thank you" and they told me I really didn't need to be nice, but it's just who I am. Then we watched most of America's Got Talent...our family's favorite, really the only show we watch together besides our Friday night movie. I bounced on a birthing ball and worked through the contractions, getting more intense and closer together. My doctor, Dr. Donna Smith was excellent. She is very easy going and made sure my birth experience was what I wanted. All of the nurses have been great as well. At 9, we got up again to walk the halls. When we turned the corner, I felt some trickling of water and so we walked straight back. My water actually broke this time around; all of the other times, they've always had to break it or it's broken right before pushing. Dr. Smith checked me again and I was at a 9 1/2 and I felt ready to push. So we got ready for this birth. I worked through a few more very strong contractions, my legs shaking and feeling the pressure, with the help of my love, and then I was ready to push. I bore down and pushed 4 times and the baby's head came out. That is always such a relief and joy! She let out some wailing screams and I was told she had a lot of dark hair. Then pushed a couple more times and got the rest of the sweet body out! Dr. Smith called out that it was a girl, so everyone was right! Even Dave had a dream a few weeks ago that it was a girl. The pattern continues! The Dr. just said she couldn't believe how well I did, how it seems like I was made to give birth. And the other nurses and student intern commented how I should write a book or give classes on how to give birth, funny! I feel like I'm still a novice though. It seems like the contractions either weren't as strong this time around as they had been in the past, maybe the preparation paid off or I am just more used to them now after doing 4 natural births. It is such an incredible experience and such a miracle! I am thankful to be a partner with Dave & Heavenly Father in bringing this precious soul to the earth! So they wiped her off a bit and she came straight to my chest for some skin-to-skin contact time (and peeing on mom time). She was quite the crier at first like a screaming banshee. But she calmed down and has been very sweet and pretty calm. I'm sure the shock from the journey to this world is unbelievable. I was saying that to the baby but the doctor said I made her journey here an easy one. I am so thankful for a healthy labor and delivery and arrival of beautiful Sydnie! Dave got the umbilical chord cut, and I passed the placenta. No episiotomy this time, so that was so great. We tried feeding her and she did pretty well! She came out trying to eat her hands and fingers, so latching on was not very difficult to do for her. We had some bonding time and then Dave went to the nursery with our nurse to do some testing and take her foot prints and I ate a midnight dinner. I felt so good and love going natural! Dave has been soaking up all of the time with this baby. They're my favorite view. He loves trying to get to her before me, it's sweet! He smiles and talks to her. I love it, he's such a great daddy. Then we got ready to go to sleep, I probably only got a few hours with all of the adrenaline running through my system. Dave slept pretty well though, I think labor is sometimes just as exhausting for Dads. I went to bed that night thinking of the scripture from Psalms 127: "Children are an heritage of the Lord." As I went to look up the passage, it really hit home with me. "...and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed."
Wednesday, we woke up and did more tests and checks and then I went back for a tubal ligation. I just remember feeling pretty happy about being under anesthesia because I was so tired and it felt good to finally be really rested. Dr. Smith tried to talk me out of the procedure a couple of times, since she said we make great babies and I'm her dream patient and she's loved working with me so it's kind of selfish but she said she thought we should keep going, haha! But we've felt very good about it and clear minded and know our family is complete now! So much for feeling well though. The procedure was successful, though the power went out midway, but it left me so sore. I was not expecting it to be this bad, but it hurts. I've been taking a little IBprofin to help with the pain, but that's it. They kept us the rest of the day, which went by so fast. The kids and Grandma and Grandpa came. They were so excited and all wanted to hold her again and again! "Oh, she's so teeny!" "Hi, Sydnie!" "Look at her cute little fingers!" "I love you!" The way they talked to her and were smitten made me melt! They are going to be some good siblings and they are actually old enough to understand and really help. We talked about middle names quite a bit - we were down to Rose, Sue or Kate. Lucy suggested maybe we should name her middle name "Suck" since she really liked trying to suck her hands, fingers, blanket, anything she could find. Funny girl! We told her that was a good thought but maybe we'd go with something else. Cov and Emma were excited to have another August birthday sibling - "the last shall be first and the first shall be last". It's funny that our last baby was born on the first day of the month and our first was born on the last day of the month. And Cov is in the middle there. And our anniversary is in August, making the month one big party! They left and Dave and I ate and then I got to take a shower again! The night went by so slow...Sydnie was up a ton and she had a hard time eating. The nurse took her to do "pretty pictures", they do a little photo shoot and give you a photo CD and picture print outs here. The next morning, we woke up, ready to go. We had Sydnie's PKU done, final discharge information and checks, and we were off. When we got home, the kids came running out, they were all thrilled we were back with baby in tow. They made a cute little sign that said "Welcome to the world, Sydnie!" So sweet! The kids all had a great few days with Grandma & Grandpa while we were gone! They practiced their instruments, went to parks, hit up McDonalds, played tennis, read lots of books, helped clean, went to the fair to see shows and exhibits, and saw the demolition derby. It's been so great having them here!
We named Sydnie the name we did because we've always just liked that name. In our astronomy class in college together, we had a doodle page where we wrote down some future kid's names. Most of our kids names have come from it. Sydney was one of the names on that page, but we changed the spelling to -ie on the end to make it more feminine. The name means "wide meadow" or "wide island". We picked (at the last minute) Kate for a middle name, which means "pure". No family names this time. But our greatest hopes for her is that she will keep her mind and heart open wide like a meadow, dare to stand alone in goodness like an island, and live a virtuous and pure life always.
Welcome, sweet baby Sydnie - we love you! You complete our family and we can't imagine life without you!
Welcome, sweet baby Sydnie - we love you! You complete our family and we can't imagine life without you!
