New Arrival

Welcome to our new son!! Azure Snow was born on January 25, 2010 at 9:02 am, weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.

Pre-Delivery

Having placenta previa (see an earlier post), my c-section had been scheduled at 37 weeks as was set for Tuesday, Jan. 26. My mom planned to arrive the Saturday before to help with last minute preparations before the delivery.

On Saturday, my mom arrived from Oregon as planned and we spent a nice and relaxing day together visiting and going to a couple stores. That evening after dinner, I discovered some serious spotting (due to the placenta previa) and after getting things together, receiving a blessing and saying goodbye to the boys and my mom, Chad and I headed for the hospital to have the bleeding and baby monitored.

All was well with the baby and Chad and I spent the next couple nights/days in the hospital being monitored and working with the doctor to have the c-section moved up to Monday instead of Tuesday.

The Delivery

The c-section started out as planned and was going smoothly. Chad was with me and they were telling me they could see the baby during delivery. Azure was actually breech and facing up, so there was a bit more work to get him out. As they were pulling him out, I felt a tug on my heart and lungs and then everything went black. I came back to with Chad whispering in my ear and a nurse yelling my name. I apologized to everyone and then told them that my heart hurt very badly, but soon after, I could hear my baby cry and tried just focusing on that.

As I lay there, they explained why my heart was hurting so badly. I learned that my vitals dropped and I was pumped full with epinephrin (adrenaline) to bring my vitals back, thus my heart hurting and pumping so hard when I woke up. They attributed this episode to a vagal nerve being affected when they were pulling the baby out and every person in there said they had never seen it happen before. Later that evening, I also learned that there was a rush to get the baby out and while I lay there blacked out, Azure was limp and blue and took 2 minutes to revive, having to use oxygen and stimulation to get him to breathe.

THANK YOU is the least I can say to the staff who worked so hard to keep my baby and I alive. They all reacted quickly and used the knowledge they had with speed. What a scary few minutes Chad had to deal with thinking he was losing so much, but they said he was remarkable and calm and strong and just talked me through the whole ordeal with his head next to mine.

Hospital Stay

We continued to stay in the hospital until being released Thursday morning. About 20 minutes after birth, Azure had a fast heart beat and they found out that his blood sugar was very low. He was setup in the special care nursery with an IV and I was told to frequently nurse him to bring the sugar back to normal.

He also had a mildly high bilirubin count and it was decided to put lights on him, since he was already in the special care nursery. Chad drew some fun eyeballs on his glasses and also decorated his windows with drawings while I would nurse.

WE'RE HOME

On Thursday at noon, we were all healthy enough to be released from the hospital and the boys finally got to meet their new brother and see their mom who had been gone for 5 nights. There was so much excitement!!!

Kayden is 7!

CELEBRATIONS

Our oldest turned 7 in mid-January! It's crazy to consider all that we've been through and experienced with him in 7 years. The time sure has flown by. For his birthday this year, we just decided to have a family party and surprised him by taking him to Boondocks - a giant fun center with bowling and games and a huge jungle gym, etc.

Blowing out candles on his Lego cake.

The quaint family party.

At Boondocks on the roller coaster ride. He wanted to do this one about 5 times.

SKI LESSONS

Having a January birthday keeps getting harder and harder as he gets older. He'd received the toys he wanted for Christmas and was still playing/building with them by the time his birthday rolled around 2 weeks later. This year he was completely stumped on what to ask for. We tried to give him some suggestions that were not toy related and so he thought and thought about what he wanted and then decided on downhill ski lessons.

We hunted around for the best deal and decided to go with a 3 lesson package at Wolf Creek Mountain near Ogden. His first lesson was the Saturday after his birthday and his second was that following Monday. He'll do his last lesson probably this coming Saturday and then after completion, the deal came with a season pass, so he's excited to get to go with his dad some more.

He went with such a good attitude both times and both times the class sizes have been amazing and he has caught on quickly! The first time was a private lesson and the second time it was him and one other 10 year old girl. Here's some fun pics from the first day.

With his teacher

Making his skis into a 'pizza slice' on the way down.

He was smiling the whole time.

After 3 times down the learning hill, he was getting bored, so they hopped on the lift and were off. His teacher said he loves to go fast and just gets back up to go again when he falls.

The weather was so nice and sunny the entire day - the perfect weather to be introduced to skiing!

Holiday Break Fun

During our holiday break, we were able to go on quite a lot of adventures. Some fun pictures came from playing the snow and sledding and our visit to the Hill Air Force Museum. Enjoy!

SLEDDING

We have two die-hard sledders and one who goes down the hill a couple times and then just prefers to build and play in the snow. It's quite a surprise to me who was who, but Boston in our "rather be playing" boy and Kayden and McCoy are the ones who giggle and laugh down the hill and then the second they are down, they start making their way up to do it again.

Kayden catching some air over a jump.

McCoy getting setup to go. We'd try to sit him down on this sled and he would immediately flip to his stomach. Not sure if it was because that's how Kayden rides it, or if it really was more comfortable.

Boston hanging out at the bottom of the hill just playing.

This is just an extra picture from one of our trips out to the snow in the backyard. The boys could spend hours out there - but only when the sun is shining.

HILL AIR FORCE MUSEUM

We finally made it to the air force museum that is only about 10 minutes away and we were surprised how big and fascinating it was.

They have two huge buildings of planes and air force items.

There was a cute kids area where they have dress-up outfits, flying simulators, computer games, toys, etc.

Kayden pretending to be a pilot.

McCoy is ready for take-off (as always!)

All the boys outside the museum.

Christmas 2009

Christmas was spent at our home with visits to my sister's home for Christmas Eve and visits from my parents who were staying with my sister. We also had plenty of visits made to and from our neighbors and nearby friends. It was a very calm, peaceful, perfect Christmas and all the kids were smiling and excited - except when being pulled away from their new toys so they could eat something.

Christmas Eve program at their cousin's. Kayden was an angel, Boston a wise man and McCoy was Joseph.

New pajamas

Santa came!!

(Notice our tree is only decorated from halfway up thanks to a curious 1 year old.

Made setup and cleanup easier though.)

Boston playing his new Star Wars video game that Santa delivered with Kayden dancing in the background and his Erector set that Santa brought nearby.

Expecting Boy #4

30 weeks pregnant

As my shirt continues to appear that the ball inside it is getting bigger and bigger, I thought it only fitting to make a blog post about the pregnancy as it seems it will be over soon.

My first three pregnancies have been very smooth - no issues. My first delivery ended up being a c-section, but I was able to deliver the other two without any issues. So along rolls my fourth pregnancy and things have been a little different.

I have placenta previa this time around - that has only become more severe as the weeks have rolled on. Basically, it means that the placenta (the baby's lifeline) has attached at the top of the birth canal and if I were to go into labor, I would deliver the lifeline before the baby. Thus, it means that I am to take things easy and that the baby will have to come c-section at 37 weeks - so I do not get too close to the end (40 weeks) and go into labor.

Today we set the date for the morning of January 26. If there are no issues before then, that means that will only be 5 days before McCoy's birthday!!

In terms of me feeling different this pregnancy, I don't. I feel perfectly fine and frequently enjoy the kicking and moving of the baby. Kayden has especially taken an interest in my belly and lays on it frequently to talk to his brother and feel him kick. I've tried to get Boston to feel the baby, but he is not interested. He is however interested in stuffing a ball up his shirt frequently and running around bumping into McCoy. McCoy sees my belly as just being in the way. It is a little harder to cuddle after his nap, but after we find a comfortable holding position, he is satisfied.

Chad is as giddy as ever. He loves little babies! He is a bit worried about what to expect with the condition and has been a huge help jumping in to take care of things that I cannot/should not do, but all and all he's just excited to have another little boy wiggling around here soon.

Pregnancy is an exciting time and the anticipation of him coming is even more exciting. We are hoping for a smooth final 6 weeks and just enjoying the time we have together during the holidays.

Visit to Santa

Santa came to our local grocery store for a visit and the kids put in their requests for the year. It took some coaxing to get Boston to go talk to him and was done so by me dragging him up there screaming, but when Santa asked for a high-five, all fears seemed to shatter and the request was then happily made while sitting on his lap.

Kayden kept trying to get McCoy to ask for something, but he just happily sat there and then got his candy cane. Who needs more toys when you have an entire house to destroy!! Come on!!

Boston asked Santa for a Star Wars video game.

Kayden asked Santa for an Erector Set with motors.

(Have to note that he is wearing his dad's childhood "California Raisin's" t-shirt that he picked out of the drawer and told me that he thinks he looks like a teenager in it.)

Gingerbread and Snowy Days

It has definitely felt a lot like Christmas here! We've had lots of snow and been able to go sledding (sorry no pics - I just have enough hands for sleds and kids) and play in the snow almost every day. There have been fort making with the neighbors that then led to a fun snowball fight, days just wandering through the yard filled with snow and making tracks and enjoying some sunlight, and of course the shoveling of snow - all done by Chad this year due to my ever-growing belly.

McCoy's favorite part of playing in the snow is eating it. I'm not sure there's a whole lot else he could do when bundled up like a marshmallow.

Boston shows off his ninja moves with a racket.

Simply just the weapon of choice for the day, as no sticks could be uncovered.

To also go along with the holiday spirit, we decorated a gingerbread house and then it was promptly devoured. We kept trying to convince the boys that it could be a decoration for a while, but they wouldn't have it and because the roof kept slipping off, I quickly gave up the convincing.