I forgot that I haven't written about Kaitlyn's birth and a few people have been asking about it, so here is a brief rendition.
Nathan is working nights this month and since I've always gone into labor at night, we were praying that I wouldn't this time. A few of my labors have been so fast that there wouldn't be time for him to come home to get me and there would be the issue of finding someone to stay with the kids. Also, Kylie was really hoping I'd go into labor when she wasn't asleep so that she could be apart of it. For the most part, our prayers were answered. I went into labor while Nathan was at work, but the kids were awake and I had plenty of time for him to come get me. Tuesday morning I woke up and realized I was sleeping fitfully and maybe I was in early labor. I wasn't really sure because I wasn't having contractions yet, just feeling funny, but I called Nathan anyway. It was just after 7:00am. He said he'd come home right away. I started to add things to the suitcase and then called my friend who had offered to watch the kids if I went into labor before my sister got here. (Lori was coming on Thursday.) She said I could bring them over, so I went upstairs and told the kids, who were playing Monopoly. They were super excited and got ready quickly. We all got in the car and waited for Nathan, who got home at 7:30. I called the doctor's office and they paged the midwife, DeEtte, who is only on-call on Tuesdays. (My doctor is on-call the rest of the days, but I love them both.) Nathan gave me a blessing and we left at 7:35. We drove to Kara's, but got stuck in a lot of rush hour traffic. We dropped the kids off and went to the hospital, arriving around 8:10. We checked in and the admittance rushed us right through, knowing we were coming and remembering I go fast. I was a little embarassed about all the attention because this time I wasn't going fast.
When I got to my room DeEtte was sitting in the rocking chair, just waiting for me. I was embarassed about that too. A doctor has only made it to one delivery in the last 6, so to have her there before me was a surprise. She said, "Change into a gown, I'll break your water, and you can have this baby!" That sounded easy to me, so I did. I changed, answered some of the medical questions for the nurse, and then she broke my water at 8:30. She said I could push anytime, but I'd only had a few contractions so far and it didn't seem time yet. So we just sat and waited and chatted. She said when she heard I was in labor she sent her baby to day care with her husband and had brought her 6 year old with her so that she wouldn't miss the delivery. I was embarassed about that and felt pressured to hurry so that she could take her daughter to school. I kept saying, "I don't know what's taking this baby so long." The others were much faster. (Spencer was born 6 minutes after we got to the hospital, only 30 minutes after labor started.) Finally I felt like pushing and little Kaitlyn was born at 8:40am.
I was so happy to hear her cry and hold her and nurse her. After losing Julianne, I wanted a baby so bad and knew I wouldn't take it for granted again. I think Nathan felt the same way. We really enjoyed our time with Kaitlyn in the hospital. She was in our room the whole time so we got to see her weighed, footprinted, and bathed. Then we got to spend a lot of time with her as Kara watched the kids till 1pm and another family let the kids spend the night there and the next morning until we came home from the hospital. We're so grateful for good friends and all the help they gave us. It was the most peaceful hospital stay I've had.
Thursday my sister, Lori, came from Tennesee and was a huge help until Monday. Nathan has had a week off work thanks to friends willing to cover for him, so we've been very blessed. It has been a great recovery for me and a fun week for us as a family. The kids loved playing outside with Aunt Lori and having time off school. This week they've been happy to play in their bedrooms or outside and we've relaxed a lot. Things are going great and we couldn't be happier. We're so grateful for all the blessings we've received.
"We're off on our way to the strawberry patch!" This is the song the kids sing when we're going somewhere fun. They substitute other words like "airport" depending on where we're going.
Looking at the Peacock
The kids love to wear their red or green to the strawberry patch and were thrilled to even find a little strawberry outfit for Kaitlyn.
While I was nursing Kaitlyn the kids melted a bowl of chocolate chips and then the older four proceeded to do an assembly line of washing and hulling and slicing the berries in the kitchen. When they were done we found Thomas had been helping himself to the chocolate, eating it with his hands.
We love strawberry season!
