Deen's Arrival

I've been wanting to write this post for a while. Things have been pretty crazy around here, but also wonderful.

My pregnancy with Deen went pretty well. My main complaints were a lot of heartburn and I felt tired a lot. Near the end I did have hip pain and because he was a bigger baby, it was getting harder to breath. Once I hit 37 weeks I was ready to try all the natural remedies to induce labor. Luckily when I went to my 38 week appointment on March 11 my doctor said she thought I would go into labor sometime that week. That was music to my ears, especially since I wasn't scheduled to be induced until the 18th. I woke up on the 12th and the thought popped in my head, "today is the day." That day I did everything to get labor going. I did squats, walked up and down stairs, and did a few other things, but I think what really helped was walking up and down a steep street near where we live with my friend Tracy. Three hours after walking with Tracy, my contractions really kicked in. So I went and got ready and called my doctor's office.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 pm. My contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and I was 4.5 cm dilated, so they admitted me. I was so excited for a couple reasons. It was my first pregnancy where I went into labor without being induced, his birthday would be 3-13-13 (just like Cara and I had hoped for), and I was gonna meet my baby boy soon.



Around 12:30 am the doctor broke my water and the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. It hurt more than I remembered but it was so worth it. Around 1:30 am I started to feel sick and dizzy and Deen's heart rate started to drop. They said my body and his were reacting as if my blood pressure were too low, but it wasn't. They still gave me the medicine that would help stabilize my blood pressure. It ended up making me and Deen feel a lot better. Around 2:45 am I wasn't progressing past 7 cm, so they started me on pitocin. The nurse checked me at 3:30 am and I was 8 cm. She said she would be back in thirty minutes. Fifteen minutes later I was feeling a lot of pressure, so I called the nurse back in. She said I was ready to try some practice pushes. After two pushes she made me stop because I was doing too well and the doctor wasn't in the room yet. After he got there, I only had to push for three contractions. Deen arrived at 4:12 am. He was so beautiful and absolutely perfect. He was 9 lbs and 20 in. long. The largest of my three babies, but the easiest delivery.

On Thursday morning (around 24 hrs later) I was feeling more like myself. But by the afternoon I started to feel a little sick. After resting for a few hours I woke up with a fever of 101.2 and I had a strong feeling like I had to throw up. The nurse told me to just lay down and to try to eat something. She wasn't really taking me seriously about how bad I felt. A few minutes later I threw up all over the bathroom. After that she finally started to listen to me. They put Deen in the nursery for a few hours and Marty came back later that night to help me out. I still felt sick Friday and still had a fever. I went home Friday afternoon and I was still sick until Sunday. I received a Priesthood blessing Sunday night. It was amazing. I felt so much better a little after receiving it and was actually able to stay up with Deen that night and eat something other than toast. I was furious that I got so sick after having a baby. Especially since it was my easiest delivery and I was already feeling so well physically. But I am so happy that I am blessed to know worthy Priesthood holders and that I could receive a blessing from my Heavenly Father.

Its already been almost three weeks since Deen joined our family. I can't believe it. We had a little bit of trouble getting him to eat the first weekend he was home because all he wanted to do was sleep. He's really gotten the hang of it and is getting to be a big boy. He is so sweet and content. He only cries when he is hungry and when he has baths, but he calms down instantly when you sing to him. He is so loveable and his sisters just adore him. We are so lucky to have him in our family.

1 week old