One Month

Benjamin is one month old today..and what an awesome day to celebrate it on...besides the fact that it's Valentine's Day, it is also Roger's Dad's Birthday and my brother Robbie's birthday!! So happy birthday to them and Happy Valentine's to everyone else!! Oh and this day 5 years ago Roger proposed to me!! Yep it's been a long time!! We have known each other for nine years!! And I just found out that my cousin got engaged today as well!! Congrats to her!

I think it's about time I tell Benjamin's birth story..

I went in for a Dr.'s appt. on the 13th hoping that she would say she could induce me, but of course because Samaritan has laid off so many people she had told me the week before that there would be a chance they would tell her they were too busy and that I couldn't go in. She first checked me and I was dilated to a one...big whoopie is what I thought..so I was sure she wouldn't want to induce me because I wasn't doing much either. But I was determined...she asked me what I wanted and I said I wanted to be induced..and since I was 3 days away from being 40 weeks she agreed, but said she needed to check with hospital first. She called the hospital and they said for me to call up there at 3pm to make sure it was still okay for me to go in and then be in by 4pm so she could induce me at 5pm when she got off. I was ecstatic!!! Of course I called Roger and he said he wanted to wait to come up to Moses until I knew for sure that I could get in to the hospital. I called at 3pm and they said for me to still plan on being there at 4pm. I got to the hospital shortly after 4 since I was busy trying to say goodbye to my kids for atleast two days...atleast that's what I thought. My grandma was awesome and said she could watch them and my kids love her so that helped a lot too. She said they could stay over night and Brandi went and helped later that night. I'm so lucky to have such an awesome Grandma and Grandpa that love us so much. Brandi helped so much too...and I know they loved that. Brandi took them to a couple stores and even made Ali a birthday cake on her birthday!!

Once I got hooked up to the monitors at the hospital Sherry was there and ready to place the cervidel. Then it was the wait game. I knew that by the following morning I had Ali so I was thinking it would go that fast for this one. I had no idea that since I chose not to take Ambien (it made me throw up all night the night I was induced with Ali) was going to mean that since I wasn't as active the medicine wouldn't work as fast. I think I only slept 4 hours that night because I couldn't sleep well and Roger got more sleep, but by 6am I was thinking heck I want to get this thing started already. The took the cervidel out at 6am and started me on petocin at 7am. Around 8am my new nurse got me to a labor room quickly because during the night lots of women had shown up to have babies that same day and she wanted to ensure I would get one. She said I was dilated to a 4 at that I could get an epidural if I wanted one. I said yes because I knew it would go faster if I got one. He came in to give me an epidural and he messed up and poked through a vein the first time. I then began to have a break down...all these feelings of disappointment came back from when they messed up twice with Ethan's birth and caused me to get a spinal headache and I still ended up giving birth naturally so when he said he was going to try again I wanted him to because natural labor sucks (although I was told I did a good job at it), but at the same time I was shaking and crying incredibly hard. He told me I had to stay really still so it would work. I tried to stop crying and Roger (who of course wanted to watch this time since he uses needles everyday) kept looking at me like I was ridiculous and I just wanted to shout at them all how they had no idea what it feels like to have any of the crap done to them that I have had to get done! After he finally got the epidural in they put a catheter in. Atleast I had the epidural so I didn't have to feel that part because I know those are no fun!! My epidural wasn't going up very high though so they had the doctor come back in and put more medicine in so it went up over my belly instead of just waist down and then I was happy happy happy! The nurse checked me and said I was at a good 7cm dilated but that she could feel a water pocket in front of his head but she couldn't pop it so she would just wait until Sherry got there on her lunch break.

Sherry came in at 12:50pm and said he was still high but that she could feel the water bulge but didn't want to pop it because he was still high. While she was saying that the water popped and went everywhere!! She said it would still be a while since he was high and was about to leave when I kept insisting to her that he was coming or else she needed to let me go to the bathroom because I felt like I need to push. I told her to check me again...(I remembered this all too similar to Ali's birth) and when she checked I was a 9 and that baby was coming fast. I told her I knew it and she said hold your pushes I have to get changed. She ran and got scrubs on and I waited but was in pain and once she came back and the nurses were ready I started to push. I gave two small pushes a big one for his head and body followed after because she basically pulled him out. He was blue and she was a little nervous saying "come on baby come on" and wiggling him. Finally he cried! Yay!! Life!! I guess when she was checking me his heart rate was dropping a little and she checked to make sure there was no umbilical cord around his head area. She had one of the nurses come in with an internal monitor in case we needed it with the heart rate dropping but since everything went so fast it wasn't necessary and he was blue but only for a minute and was fine after with an APGAR of an 8. Roger and I were in tears to see another one. Roger told me that when he was born the love just flowed the same for him as it did for the other kids. He said he never understood how it happened but it did and he loves him so much!!

Roger also decided his name would be "Benjamin Reid" at the last second. He had told me the day before he was born that he was thinking of changing his middle name and that he would know if his middle name should be changed when he was born, but wouldn't tell me to what. So while they were checking him and wrapping him up he looked at me with tears and said his name is "Benjamin Reid". I thought to myself how awesome is that for him!! Reid Baker, known as President Baker in Moses Lake's stake, was a big role model for Roger while he was investigating the church in the spanish branch. He also baptized him, took him to the MTC, and supported him on his mission. Roger has always looked up to him and admired him for being such an awesome friend, example, hard worker, and priesthood holder. We are both happy that we have a child that has two great names after two inspirational people in both our lives. Before my brother left on his mission we knew we would name our next boy after him... He was awesome with the kids and loved to hang out with us. We all got really close and it felt good to have that bond with him. He has turned into an amazing young man and I am very proud of him and his accomplishments. Ben has always been the studious one in our family so I just hope that my Benjamin will be the same way. They are both third in the family so we will see how many similarities they have. Benjamin doesn't have a blue butt like my other kids did (asian and hispanic descent have what is called "mongolian butt", so the kids have blue pigment on parts of their behinds...it does start to go away as they get older and disappears around the age 5) so I call him the white boy! Lol...His eyes are even a lot lighter and his hair has lots of red patches!! I think that's as close to a redhead that my mom will get from me!!

I am so blessed to have such an amazing little family and now I feel like it's big because there are five instead of four so we are out numbered but I know that we are loving it!!