Series of Fortunate Events

Wednesday August 31, 2011

7:30 am Brian and I checked into Orem Community Hospital. We got comfortable in our room and ate the large breakfast burrito we had picked up on our way there. Even though we live in Provo, all of our kids have been born in Orem. We have had such good experiences at that hospital.
8:30 am Dr. Judd came in and broke my water. I was surprised by how much it hurt. I hadn't remembered it hurting so much. Started pitocin.
9:00 am Received epidural. Not so much because of pain yet, just because I really hate the feeling of amniotic fluid leaking all around me. Yuck!
11:30 am Brian ate my lunch.
12:30 pm Nurse began checking progress more regularly. She said she'd back in a half hour to check again or I should beep if I "felt the urge to push". I'd heard this phrase before, but don't remember ever really experiencing it. In the past the nurses have always told me when I was ready to push.
1:00 pm I paid closer attention to my body and felt pressure. I wondered if that was what the nurse was talking about. She came back in and told me I was fully dilated. Dr. Judd was notified, but was still probably a half hour away. The nurse was concerned that the baby was still positioned very high. She recommended giving a practice push just to move the baby down. I told her that my last baby was born in less than one push and I wasn't sure if a practice push would be a good idea. She agreed, and added that I shouldn't even cough. The nurse told me she could top off my epidural so I wouldn't feel "the urge" until the doctor arrived. I told her no and waited patiently, fully interested in this new feeling - knowing that I could push, but having enough control not to.
1:30 pm Dr. Judd arrived in my room and everyone prepared for delivery. I was much less nervous with this baby and didn't even throw up.
1:46 pm Pushed for seven seconds and heard the cry from our new baby boy. Brian was so excited that the baby was crying right away. (I guess because he always thinks back to Ashby who made the doctors nervous by not crying.)

The baby weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long. He had all 10 fingers and toes and was perfectly healthy.

The nurses cleaned him up and handed him to me but I couldn't get a good look at him until a while later when everything calmed down. He was the most round-headed and least beat-up kid we've had. His eyes looked a bit squintier than our other kids. He has an extra little cartilage curly-cue in his ears. He seemed to have a fat lip and his hands were purple, but he looked like a very content newborn.

The older kids came and visited after school. Dad and Jana traveled up to take care of everything while we were in the hospital. It was so nice to not have to worry about anything at home. The kids were, of course, thrilled with the new baby. Everyone wanted to hold him. Paige was the natural big sister, Levi practiced being "soft", and Ashby couldn't stop smiling.

My recovery was very quick. I showered later that first day and got dressed. In the past I've fainted in the shower, but I felt great this time. Whenever somebody came to my room and saw me dressed they looked surprised and asked if we were going home. Heavens no! We know better than that. We always look forward to having babies because those two days in the hospital are the only time we get a vacation. No kids to deal with and we can send the baby to the nursery whenever we like. Plus I don't have to cook any food!

I was usually up and about the hospital and my room, instead of sitting in bed. Mostly because I've learned the hard way that those hospital beds kill my tailbone. So I would kneel in the bed, sit in the glider chair, stand, or sleep on my belly while at the hospital (Hooray for sleeping on my belly again!) Brian took off work for the two days and was with me the whole time. There were a few times when we thought we should just head home and start our new life with four kids, but it was too hard to give up the quiet solitude of the hospital.

Of course everyone kept asking us what our baby boy's name was. Good question. For weeks Brian and I had tried to figure out a name. But I think it is hard for us to decide without actually seeing the kid. It wasn't until the second day in the hospital that we decided on a name...Cody Garrett Blumer. Cody is a name we had liked and Garrett is my grandma's maiden name and it all just sounded good together.

So, Cody Garrett Blumer was ready to check out of the hospital and start his new life. Brian picked up Paige from school with the other boys and they all came together to take Cody home.

Now we have four kids and I'm sure it will be challenging - but we are up to the task. We are happy with our four cute little monsters. (See them in their monster shirts?)