Abigail

David and I had our 6th child this monday.  She was born at 3:23 am.  She was 20 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 2 oz.  We have decided to call her, Abigail Shayla Foley.  We are so happy to have her here.

 

This was different from my other labors, but they have all been different, so I guess I should have expected it to be.  Friday and Saturday night, I had hard contractions for about 2-3 hours, but they never got closer than 10 minutes apart.  Sunday night I was still contracting, but it was random.  So, I went to bed and at 1:00 am, I woke up with a really painful contraction.  I was going to time them for a while before I went to the hospital, but they hurt too bad, and I didn't want David to deliver in the car.  So we called our neighbor, Donna Putich, and she came right over.  We pulled over every 4 minutes to have David help me through a contraction.  He would push on my knees, something my brother Joseph and his wife Jenn had shown us.  It helped a lot. 

 

We got to the hospital at 1:30 am.  They got me right in, and honestly, I have never been more pleased with the nurses.  They were amazing.  They were so considerate each time I had a contraction, they would stop what they were doing, let David just focus on helping me, and let me focus on getting through another contration.  I was able to move when I needed.  The doctor that was on call, Dr. Heath, was also very good to work with.  He ask what we wanted.  I wanted a natural birth. 

 

About an hour after we got there, the contractions were getting harder.  They were mainly in my back, which was a little different than I remember with my previous labor.  Finally, I had a hard contraction that broke my water and I ask that the doctor get in here.  When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a five, then an hour later, we were at a six.  The water broke about 45 minutes later, and we were at a nine.  The doctor came in, and said to push.  We have decided she was faced the wrong direction, because although it only took one contraction to get her out, I have never had such a hard time pushing the baby out.  She was also pretty bruised around her face, and David said she came out kind of side ways.  So, that was also a hard part of this experience.  David was amazing through it all, he helped when I needed it, and it was wonderful for him to help me.

 

The doctor wanted to give me pitocin to help deliver the placenta and stop the bleeding, but I told him no.  That stuff hurts, and unless there was a problem, I didn't want it.  He said he really recommends it, but I was firm that I didn't want it.  So, I delivered the placenta and he says, "Wow, theres not much blood, glad we held off on the pitocin."  Me too.  I was able to nurse the baby right away, and after we were ready, we moved to the recovery room.

So, here are our wonderful six children.  I picked this picture because this is Bekah's face pretty much all the time.  She thinks this is her baby, and if she is not within a few feet of Abigail, she is asking where she is and running to her as fast as she can.  Rachel and Katie decorated the house and room for her, and we are all just grateful she is here and all is well.

Katie's Baptism

 Katie was baptized last month.  It took me a while to get the pictures I wanted, so sorry I'm so late.  They baptized her right before the Brigham City Temple Dedication to give all eight year olds a chance to attend.  She turned 8, two days before the dedication, so we were all really excited she had that opportunity.

 Special credit to my mom for making a beautiful dress for Katie's baptism.  It was just the right one for Katie, and she loved it.

 Mom and Katie

 The baptism day was so nice.  We had lots of friends and family come, and it meant a lot to all of us.  But the most important and great thing, was seeing Katie get baptized by her dad.  David and I had talked to Katie a lot about the covenant she was making and the important step it is in our Heavenly Father's plan.  She made the decision and we are very proud of her.

Katie found a cake online and it turned out all right.  I did have to prop it up in the back, because it would have just toppled over.  I followed the directions, but whatever, Katie was happy and that's all that matters.  Thanks to everyone who came!

The Allusive Due Date

In my experiences of having children, there is a guessing game that accompanies my due date.  With our first one, she actually came early (bless her), the next two hit the due date right on, and the following two came after the due date.

I recently talked to someone who ask when my baby was due.  I said, "Oh, 2-3 weeks."  And she replied, "Oh, so any minute now."  No, I wanted to say, it will be either on time, or late, probably the latter.  I was trying to be polite by not commenting, but I loose my sense of politeness the last month of pregnancy...or the last few months or pregnancy.

Anyway, I've thought about this due date, and here are several things that annoy me.

1.  I don't think anyone tries to make me feel this way, but I do.  I feel incompetent as a women when I can't have a baby on time.  So, they give you this due date, and in your own mind, your always thinking, well I can go to that date.  Then, I don't.  So, the next few days, I'm always wondering, what the heck is wrong with me.  And the feeling is justified when I have good intentioned people who call and ask if anything is happening.  Or, very annoying people, who at social gatherings say, "You still here?!", "Hasn't that baby come yet?"  "You look like you're going to pop!"  Uhhhg.  Yes, I feel like a failure because the baby has not come yet, thank you for letting me know your thoughts also.

2.  Now, I could just be induced, or even if I had C-sections, that would take out this whole guessing game.  I have my reasons for not being induced, which would take up a lot of time.  But, the point is that with a lot of women being induced or having c-sections, more women can have a baby "on time" and accomplish the important task of reaching their due date, which makes me look like something is wrong.  Again, my own lack of promptness comes to hit me in the face.

3.  Women who can have healthy babies up to 3 weeks early are lucky, I'll not deny it.  I have a friend who, for her first 3 children, had them 3 weeks early.  On her fourth, she said she was about to die because the baby came only 1 1/2 weeks early.  Poor woman.   But, it was what she was used to.  That is probably the only comfort with this baby is that I'm fully expecting the baby to come late.

4.  So, my doctor walks in yesterday and says, "Well, you're about there.  Any day now."  No, I remind him of my history and say I'm not expecting anything.  He says, "Well, you should be more optimistic."  I've been optimistic, and it always leaves me anxious, exasperated, then I have an emotional breakdown.  I prefer realistic.  But, even my doctor is convinced I should have a baby on time, which puts more pressure on me...and increases my feelings of incompetence.

This is probably pointless writing this out.  I can only change myself to be a little more pleasant when I am in the last month of pregnancy.  I remind myself, I am very lucky to have pregnancies with few worries that result in healthy babies.  I am always grateful for the miracle of birth and to have a sweet little infant in my arms, there is no comparison.  I am reminding myself that not "everyone" thinks less of me for my babies getting comfortable in me and wanting to be in there as long as possible.  I will be happy to have this baby before Halloween, which gives her a good couple of weeks after the expected date.  Still, I might not answer the phone or choose to go to anything social for those weeks.  I am still pregnant, and the final comforting thought is, people do give you some leeway when you go over your "due date".