Welcome Truett!!

I can't believe that it has been over a week since that day! I can't quite imagine life without him here...and honestly, he would quite likely still be in my belly today if we hadn't evicted him sooner. I'm glad we did, because he was/is perfectly healthy and was 8 lbs 4 oz at 39 weeks. Given another week or so we probably would have made it into the 9 lb range...and I'll gladly stay below that!

I like to write out the birth story, so for people who don't want to hear the details just skip past this part.

We had to be at the hospital at 7am on Monday, August 1st. I was 3 cm already so they started pitocin...3cc's. I started contracting almost instantly and they gradually upped the pitocin. I think we reached 12cc's total. The contractions really weren't the horrible 'pitocin contractions' that I have heard so much about. I feel like they came on gradually and were completely and totally manageable. I think I was still playing 'words with friends' during contractions and not really have to breath through them, although at that point I was having to focus a little bit. We walked the halls for a while to help bring baby down and I was checked at about 11am and was 5cm. Still pretty comfortable..I think I was rating my pain at a 4 or 5...but the contractions were obviously helping as I was dilating.

The contractions started coming about a minute apart..and were definitely 'good' ones...but not terrible. The nurses don't like to see pitocin induced contractions any closer than 2 minutes (maybe 1.5 min) apart, so she stopped it all together...thinking my body was probably kicking in on it's own. She was wrong..and the contractions were still coming every 3 minutes, but they were so weak that I was able to fall asleep a little bit. Josh headed out to find some lunch for himself at this point too.

At 1:30 Dr. Ebner came in to check me and break my water. I was still only 5 cm (hadn't changed since 11am). He broke the water and it was a FLOOD in my bed. I've had my water broken like this 3 times before and never felt anything like it. It made me laugh..it was weird. It was pretty much instant that I started getting real...REAL contractions...the kind that I recognize and hate:) It is amazing how much breaking my water changes things for me...it has in all of the other labors as well. They wanted me to stand for a bit to help things move along..and probably to change my bed too:) I stood up, unfortunately directly over my sandals that were sitting next to the bed, and it was another FLOOD of fluid. It just kept coming. I was laughing so hard. The nurses said they hadn't seen that much fluid in a long time and thought it was funny. They had to call housekeeping in to mop up under the bed it was so bad. No wonder I was measuring so big at all the appts!

I sat in a rocking chair while they cleaned up and changed my bed and the contractions were getting really good. I was rating them at an 8 or 9 at this point. Definitely getting intense. I got back in bed and then things got a little scary. Truett's cord was around his neck (which I knew from the 31 week u/s). During the peak of each contraction, his heart beat would be completely gone. They put me on oxygen, and proceeded to flip and flop me around (during the peak of the worst transitional contractions) trying to get his heart beat back. Although this was scary for me thinking about baby, I was more just trying to get through the pain of the contraction and all of the pushing and rolling and manipulating they had to do to me. I did think for a second that if I was only 5 cm..we had a ways to go and I wondered how he was going to handle the rest of this labor. I had c-section in mind and apparently so did the nurses as Josh tells me they did call down to the OR to have them ready in case it was necessary. It wasn't long after this when I was feeling the pressure of baby coming down.

They checked me again and sure enough I was fully dilated...and ready to go. As soon as he started coming down it took 2 contractions to push him out. At 3:09 (an hour and a half after having my water broken) he was born. He was nice and pink..even with the fact that he was strangling himself with his cord the whole time. He got 9 and 9 on his apgars and was just perfect! I was, of course, relieved!!!

Josh cut the cord, and I got to hold him right away. He was weighed in at 8lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. We called our parents...who had our kids and were very excited to have everyone meet him!!

At that point, my placenta was being stubborn and didn't want to come out. This has happened before with me (with Jessalyn) and it was not a good thing. We waited there for a good hour..which is about the longest you can wait before something has to be done about it. Unfortunately, they had to knock me out for an hour and "manually remove" my placenta. Like I said, this has happened before and the first time they didn't have time to knock me out. Let's just say that even though I lost more than an hour of the first moments of Truett's life, I was very glad to have been able to be asleep for this procedure! I remember seeing the kid's feet walk down the hall and hearing their voices as they came in..and then I was asleep. I woke up, all cleaned up with the shakes really bad. I waited about a half hour with the shakes hoping they would go away a bit because I didn't want the kids to see me like that.

Finally I was able to invite them all back in the room.

Josh was amazing as usual. He knew when he needed to jump in and help me and he knew exactly what to do. He's a pro at this labor and delivery stuff. He became an awesome photographer as well...as he had to record and photograph that hour that I was missing when the kids were meeting Truett for the first time. With the pics and video, I honestly don't feel like I missed a thing!

We were able to head home on Tuesday afternoon...to a nice homecoming with Kirsten and Mark (who made dinner!), Shara and Jake, Heath and Karole-Ann, Ashley and Alicia and Karen. What better way to introduce Truett to our crazy lifestyle:) The first night was OK...I'd say a little 'discombobulated'...as I tried to fumble through the logistics of where to change him and feed him...and just getting to know him. It didn't take long though, and we have already settled into quite a nice routine. The first 4 or 5 days he was eating every 2 hours day and night...and it took about an hour for him to eat..and burp. My milk came in on day 3 (which is early for me..so I was HAPPY!)...and that helped him transition himself to a 3 hour schedule. At this point (9 days in) he is on a 3 hour schedule...maybe giving me a 4 hour stretch at night but that is not consistent. Nursing is going great...the easiest time of it yet.

Josh took the older kids to the Soulfest each day of Tru's first week. It was awesome to have everyone (including Josh) home during the day, but then nice to have it be just me and Truett in the afternoon. We would take a nice long nap and just had time to enjoy each other. I was able to get to the Soulfest two nights that week...to see Petra and 10th Avenue North...and visit with some friends too!

Having Josh back to work has been hard. Not having to do with being a mother of 5, but more so because I just miss him! He had a nice 10 day vacation and I just like having him around. He went back to work and a week full of meetings and things that have put us back to reality real fast. Poor guy, I don't think he even held Truett yesterday:( If so, it was very brief.

I honestly was worried even to the end of the pregnancy about how Truett might affect the dynamic of our family. I KNEW that we would love him like crazy, but still...at the point of pregnancy it is sometimes hard to believe. Truett has definitely changed the dynamic here...but for the better for sure. I can't imagine not having him and just love him to pieces. He is so easy and chill...sleeps through anything (he has to!). All of the kids are loving him like crazy..it's sometimes hard to manage everyone's 'Truett holding time'. He is smothered with kisses and hugs and is in no need of attention! Of course, there is some adjusting that everyone has to work through...and of course, Owen seems to be the one with the most issues. He doesn't take it out on me or Truett really...but he really seems to be taking it out on Ethan and Luke. I think Owen is trying to figure out his place now. He's not the baby...and yet sometimes his older brother's don't include him the way he wants to be included. It puts him in an odd place...and is definitely frustrated at times. I know from experience that it takes the kids about a month to really fully adjust to a new baby in the house....and am prepared to try to be as patient as I can especially with Owen as this whole idea of being a big brother is completely new to him.

Overall, our transition to a family of 7 really couldn't be going any more smoothly. Besides losing a little (or a lot) of sleep....I feel great and have recovered quickly.

I said it again for the video camera just after delivering Truett...."I am NOT doing that again". Funny how quickly that thought changes. Not that we have plans to do it again, but like usual...I can't quite imagine NOT experiencing it all again. The thing is..I KNOW I am crazy. I hate it...I dread labor....the entire 9 months of pregnancy I dread labor. And yet...give me a sweet little newborn baby and I completely forget it all!!!

Of course, I will post a bunch of pics from the day....

LOVE him!!! We feel SO blessed to have been given another baby!!! He is amazing.