Happy Birthday to Leo Warren...and me!

I had a baby! The last baby I will ever have (that never, ever better be an ironic or humorous claim)!!! He is a boy and his name is Leo Warren Pierce. He weighed nine pounds and five ounces, was 21 inches long and had a (big) 15" head. Here's the story... 

 It was my birthday...and my actual due date...I never thought that would happen. I was in Betsey's bed because she had come into our bed, and I felt crowded, so I played musical beds and moved to her bed. I woke up around 7am thinking maybe I was having contractions. I dozed and read a book and dozed most of that hour, feeling excited that I might be going into labor on my own. The plan was to drink a castor oil concoction the next morning if I didn't have him already, and I really, really didn't want to do that. Mimi was in town the 16th-20th, but was gone the 17-18th at a retreat with her sisters-in-law and she would have been back for the birth if I had him on the 19th. I really wanted her to be there, she was there for Betsey's birth and I wanted someone who could take good pics for me to be there. Rachel was my backup photographer, but was busy that morning with a piano recital for her kiddos. 

My mom was up at her house and I knew she had plans to go to the temple that morning, so I texted her first. At this point, I was feeling long, mild contractions and wasn't entirely convinced it was the real thing. Text to my mom at 7:57am: I think I might be in labor...not 100% sure due to previous contraction runs, but this is seeming more consistent and painful...Seriously, on my birthday!??! 

 I didn't hear back from her, but went into our bedroom and found Ruby and Betsey awake, Chris sleeping, in our bed. I sat down and told them what was going on. Chris woke right up. :) Around 8am I had Chris time the contractions. They were about 2 minutes a part and 2.5 minutes long. I called Ann, my midwife at 8:22. She said that real contractions only last around 70 seconds but that mine could change really fast and to call as soon as the "real" ones began. I wasn't super stoked that she wasn't on her way because I really felt like this was the real thing by that time. 

I called my mom and she hadn't gotten my earlier text but was on her way, believing it was really happening. I had Chris time the next four contractions and they were shorter by then and still about 2 minutes apart. I texted Ann after timing the next few contractions at 9:08 and told her it was the real thing. She was in her car en route to some newborn house visits and she said they would reroute to my place. 

I laid down on my side of the bed and told Chris to get the tub set up. He was on it. I think the kids were helping him, and I laid there, cell phone in hand as a few birthday wishes started coming in. 

At 9:14, Stephanie texted me a happy birthday and wanted to know if she could come over to drop something off. I responded at 9:16, "I'm having a baby! He is seriously coming today. I will text when he is here and you can come... Stephanie: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Oh my gosh! Excited! Good luck! at 9:17 Me: Sooooo don't want to do this! :) but I do, but I don't. at 9:18 

Then Jen Wilcox texted me about my birthday and wanting to see Gatsby. "Happy Happy Birthday Rebecca Dear!!!!! Have you seen Gatsby yet? I want to take you for your birthday. Is that something you would like to do? at 9:26 Me: I really want to see it, but I swear it is rated R. I am in labor. at 9:28 Jennifer: Suck him in! You can't have him on your birthday!! It is PG13!!! at 9:29 

At this point, I was thinking that I was definitely in more pain and starting to want to focus a bit through my contractions. I put my phone down. Ann got there at 9:35 and came in to check me. She found that I was 8cm dilated!!!!! Woot, woot! 

She started hollering orders to her student midwife saying things like, "no, we don't have time for that...do this..." I notice in the labor flow chart she didn't chart anything until I was in the tub. I could tell she felt bad that I wasn't in the water yet and was 8cm dilated. That wasn't her fault, we just didn't have it ready and I think Chris and I both thought we'd have more time. So I stayed where I was and was breathing through contractions at this point. They checked my blood pressure, fetal heartbeat, my temp, etc a time or two while I was there and they were setting up the tub. 

Here is the flow chart...I won't document the Fetal Heart Rate because it was always 140s, and they checked it six times that hour. 

At 9:58 I was in the water. 

At 10:06 I drank a few sips of water. 

At 10:17 I asked Ann if I was complete because my water was in tact and I wanted to have my water broken if I was 10cm so I could get the baby out. Emotionally, I was feeling desperate and very opposed to what I was about to do/and was doing. I haven't ever had that emotional experience during labor. Sure, in past experiences there were fleeting thoughts or moments where I was not thrilled to say the least, but this experience for me, was very different emotionally. I DID NOT WANT TO DO IT. All that got me through was the obligation and knowing that I was in some control of making it happen. 

So, Ann checked me before she figured we'd break my water. My water broke while she was checking me and I was complete. That was at 10:23. 

I told her I was feeling "pushy" soon after, which I can't say was super true, I wasn't feeling like I had to push, but I was just so uncomfortable (in a way I don't remember with the others, I wanted to be deeper in the water, I was HATING it) and I knew from my labor with Ruby that I could push a baby out on my own, pushy or not. I also knew that since I was having contractions (which I didn't have with Ru at this stage) that if I pushed with my contractions, I would likely get him out pretty quick. 

 At 10:28 I wanted to try being on my hands and knees in the water because I wanted more of my belly in the water. I turned around, hoping to find some more comfortable experience. Not so much. I just kept pushing and pushing. 

10:32 crowning. I could tell his head was almost out, but was worried I wasn't going to make it happen because it took a few pushes, unlike the others. I asked Ann, "Am I making progress?" She assured me I was. 

10:34 I heard her say, "I see eyebrows, I see eyes..." 

10:35 His head delivered. I was so happy because I figured if I wanted to give up, she could make the rest happen. I also figured I could do the rest in one more push. She told me to give her one good, long push, and she was worried that his shoulders were stuck, so she did something to turn him on the "oblique". 

Still 10:35, he was all the way out. I love that immediate relief. It's like going from near death to lounging on Davis Beach in an instant. I knew he was there and I was sure he was okay, but I just wanted to chill. I didn't turn around for maybe one minute. I just laid there...so, so, so glad it was over. So sure immediately that I was NEVER EVER going to do that again. Ever.

10:36 His APGAR was a 10. PERFECT!

10:38 Placenta out

10:40 Membranes out

10:40 due to my bleeding with Ruby's birth, they gave me some precautionary pitocin, a shot in my hip. 

10:44 cord clamped and cut

10:48 I was out of tub and on my bed

All the kids were there with me, and my mom was tasked with taking pics with a camera she didn't know how to use, but I think she still got some good shots! Chris thankfully took good pics with his iphone too, and of course that one is auto, so it exposed right. I'm grateful for everything we have!

Midwife, Ann. She loves her job.

 Lisa, the student...charting everything that happens.

 Oma with Betsey and my too complicated camera.

 When I rotate this image, it smashes for some reason, this is what people who aren't busy birthing a 9 pound baby get to do...take fun pics of themselves. Ruby said, "I remember taking that while you were breathing funny." Anyway, I see such a resemblance...maybe it is the signature straight line smile?

 Hating my life.

 More hate.

 A break.

Hahaha...Alice plugging her ears while I pushed. :)

Love this shot! I think Chris has video of this moment.

Does she have the best job in the world (if you can deal with that responsibility)? She just got to hand me my fourth born child!

He cried right away. Love that.

Chris is always emotional. Love him. I would be too if I weren't so caught up in the physical aspect of it.

I really like this shot. Not sure why. I think I was focused on delivering the afterbirth here. I don't ever remember having to push that part out, but in this case, it did take a little focus and effort.

After we cut the cord, I needed to get out of the tub so we could gauge my bleeding.

All four of our kids in one shot!

Right when I got in bed, Ruby brought me a huge cookie she had bought me with her own money at the YMCA while there for gymnastics. She is so sweet. I had gestational diabetes this pregnancy and couldn't have really any sweets for too long...so once that placenta delivers, the gestational diabetes is gone with it and she wanted me to have something tasty right away! Love her!

Lisa, the student midwife. There is also an assistant there, but I don't think I have any pics of her. She was at Betsey's birth too and she is Ann's daughter, Alyssa. She's attended a ton of births as an assistant.

First thing to do is get that little guy on the breast. Here I am getting him latched for the first time with three kids mounting me. Eventually we got Betsey off of me because it was a little too much.

Other side...

Next is baby's newborn exam. We got his stats! He was a big baby, but not my biggest...Betsey gets that award.

I think he resembles ET here.

Oma with Leo before his exam.

He was born so wide-eyed.

Alice trying to comfort him with her finger in his mouth.

Mmmmm...as tempting as it is to leave this pic out, it isn't the worst one I am posting. We took him into his room to diaper and dress him.

Time with the sisters...

 When everyone finally left around 2pm, it was mommy, Leo and daddy rest time. I didn't sleep much...I read and dozed and wished I was sleeping. Leo and Chris were zonked. I took a few pics...

 I love his chubby fingers!

 In the evening, I ventured downstairs for my, I mean our, birthday party.

Oma and the kids...minus Betsey (which is a miracle, she doesn't allow a lot of space between she and her Oma)

Opa came to visit, he was there when we woke up from our naps and stayed for the birthday fun. Here he was reading us something from his ipad. 

 I requested a homemade chicken pot pie and Alice cut in the words...so sweet! Love her.

This little girl has been so excited to be a big sister. 

 Blowing out the homemade carrot cake candles. The girls were hard at work while we napped baking and making dinner.

 Sound asleep...

 I'm so glad that day is over, and that Leo and I have many more birthdays to look forward to celebrating together...that will have nothing to do with pushing unless we are eating push up pops or he's in a stroller at the zoo...I am smitten with him. He has the craziest, squeakiest newborn cry I have ever heard. It makes us all laugh. I also feel like he is my child most attuned to mommy...he just seems to like me best for soothing him, etc. He is a pro eater and didn't have any jaundice worth mentioning. He had cloudy eyes for a day or two but never got very yellow looking...and then it was gone fast. YAY! Obviously this is my most special, memorable birthday to date...and I'm sure that has very little chance of ever changing.

Final Piano Recital 2013...

Ruby and Alice completed another year of piano! They did a great job and the recital was no different. I was a few days from having the baby and in no mood to get dressed up to go be that pregnant amongst a bunch of people who would say things like, "Oh, he is still in there!?" or my favorite, "That belly is very..." long pause "...prominent". I just wasn't up to it. My mom was in town helping me get 5,000 things done, so I felt good about she and Chris going to the recital. I attend every lesson and am well aware of their piano...so I happily stayed home. Looking back, I have one regret...not helping Alice pick out some appropriate shoes. :) I am grateful to Chris for taking pics for me with his phone.

Photography Helpers...

The other day, I did a shoot with Kelly Keim and her sweet one year old, Eli. We both had all the kids with us and my girls kept wanting me to take their picture as they used various props to have their fun. These are some real keepers! :)

Bishopric...

Chris was called to volunteer as a counselor to our Bishop (Bishop Dennis Doutre) two years ago. I found this pic on his phone and thought it was a fun thing to document. He has learned a lot through his calling and now that we've been at it for two years, I hardly remember how difficult it was in the beginning to part with him for so many church hours. I think it was hardest the first year when he was still at Trident. Now that he is at Titan, I feel like his hours are more normal and so having him gone Tuesday, Wednesday nights and most of Sunday isn't as bad anymore.

Bishop Doutre is moving to Utah in August, so we know changes (A RELEASE would be nice...hey, can he be a primary teacher or a nursery leader or something for awhile?) are on the horizon.

Pictured Left to right:
Lynn Banner, executive secretary. He schedules all the appointments for the bishop and other stuff like that.
Brett Reynolds, first counselor. He actually grew up in Chris' Everett III ward, but is enough older than Chris that they only vaguely remember some of each other's family members.
Chris, second counselor.
Dave Crane, ward clerk. He oversees two other clerks, the financial clerk and the membership record clerk. They keep track of all the tithing, membership records moving from ward to ward following members who move, babies who are born to ward members, stuff like that.
Bishop Dennis Doutre is in the front, seated at his desk. He is a great man, we love his whole family a lot. We will miss them when they leave us in August!

Gymnastics...

The girls are obsessed with gymnastics. Even Betsey, because she loves whatever her sisters love. They are on their heads and walking on their hands all day long. I can't believe how often I see their feet flailing through the air.

The YMCA doesn't allow us to take pics, but Chris got one in before being caught and I LOVE THIS PICTURE of Alice, all the concentration and effort on her face...she is such an awesome kid. Ruby and Alice both are beloved by their gymnastics coaches at the YMCA. It is very hard to get into the Y classes, because it is a lottery system and the demand is high for the spots. Ruby's coach told her that since she pays such good attention and listens and follows instructions, that if she didn't get in, she could always come anyway. :)

Back to Swim Team...

The YMCA swim team finally had a swim team spot open up so Ruby could rejoin. She was really nervous for her first meet, but she did a great job! She swam a few relays, which is always hard because the YMCA isn't a selective team, and some of the people who were swimming on her team looked like they were drowning on their legs...but she held her own and she isn't ever focused on her finishing place anyway. She swam the butterfly, breast stroke and crawl stroke individually and I'm not sure if she placed in any of them, she got 3 4th places though!

Here she is approaching the platform in lane one...

On your marks, get set...

Go!!

Oma was able to come watch.

Alice swam in the free pool during the meet to keep herself entertained. She was proud of her sis.

Lucy and Puffy...

We got two more chickens. Have I mentioned that Chris is mildly obsessed with chickens? It has been a really fun hobby for him, and he is very knowledgeable about all things chicken related! :) He decided we should get two more chicks as long as we already have the set up and such. Made sense to me, and it is so fun to have little ones again! We got an Americana, which is Lucy, and is Chris' chicken. We also got a Brahma, I named her Puffy (with some input from the girls, such a cheesy name).

Meet Lucy. Lucy will lay "easter eggs" or green and blue eggs! That's kind of neat!

Meet Puffy. She will be a really large, quiet, nice chicken with all white feathers. The cool thing about her is that she has feathered legs and feet, it kind of looks like a Clydesdale horse.

Betsey loves the little chicks. She carries them around in one hand all over the yard, she snuggles them against her face...she's really comfortable handling them and does a good, gentle job for the most part.

Spring Break in Sunriver...

We were so lucky to be invited by Sommer to her family's new house in Sunriver, OR for spring break. They have owned it since early fall and they have revamped the whole thing and turned it into quite the popular vacation rental property. We were lucky it wasn't spoken for for the time we went, because we got to go down and enjoy ourselves for four nights!

The kids enjoyed the hot tub, which was very shallow for an adult and has since been replaced...so it is good for adults now. :) 

In my pregnant state, I didn't join them on bike rides, but Sommer took the kids out for a ride a couple of times. 

We went to the little shopping area in the resort and the kids got ice cream and bought a souvenir or two.

Eden was very attentive to Betsey during the trip, it was cute. Betsey loved it!

The kids all together in front of the house...

Betsey, Alice, Kesley, Ruby, Eden, Talmage and Wyatt...

I wish I had pics of the kids in the house, especially in the large bunkroom...or even swimming at SHARC. We went there twice and had a nice time swimming. I didn't take enough pics! 

Sommer and I had a great time talking while the kids played games and such up in the big loft/bunk room. I got some crocheting and sewing done for the baby, we both read an addictive book or two...it was also General Conference weekend so we watched both Sunday sessions. I learned from this trip that Sommer and I are totally compatible travel companions. We enjoyed relaxing, the kids got along I think fairly perfectly and it was just a really nice trip. 

Betsey Wants to Marry...

So last night, Betsey told me that she wants to marry Oma. Didn't surprise me a bit. She said, "Cuz Oma's really nice (weewy nith)."

Just now, she randomly said, "Mom, who am I going to marry?"
"Who do you want to marry?"
"Oma. Where is my marry dress?"
"We'll have to buy you one."
"I think I want to marry daddy now because he's a pretty boy."
"Yes he is."
"But he doesn't have any hair."

Hahahahahahahaha! I could (and thankfully do) talk to her all day long. She is such a hoot right now! She never stops talking and she just says such cute things!

April Fools?

Chris has always and still does live to tease. It's not one of my favorite qualities to be honest, because I usually feel like I am having my emotions manipulated senselessly for his entertainment, which I don't appreciate. At least he has Ruby and Alice now to share the teasing focus, and they are more willing to roll with it than I am, so they are more often the targets by now.

 Anyway, on April Fools, we were sitting around the table just me and the girls talking about something we could do to fool Chris, when he got home. He said he had a big surprise for the girls and to meet him in the backyard. I even told the girls it was probably a joke, but somehow all reason flew out of my mind when he entered the backyard with a cardboard box in his arms.

He said, "This is going to make you girls really happy and mom really mad." Then he said, slowly opening the box, "This showed up at our door at work today and I spent the day with it and fell in love and had to bring it home."

Enter a cute kitten.

Pretty much my kids' dream second only to the presentation of a horse. They were thrilled. Ruby even cried tears of joy. Honestly, she did. They were so, so, so happy.

Chris had planned to stretch out the happiness but when he saw the tears, he thought better of it and said, "Those tears of joy are about to turn into real tears when I tell you April Fools." Wretched!

 I was hook, line and sinker sitting there this whole time thinking about how dead he was. I don't ever want another cat, ever...EVER. I wasn't about to be the bad guy though, the damage was done. I was envisioning going to a car dealership the next day and buying a new car without consulting Chris. I thought, "this is a huge game changer!" I was stunned. Honestly. I just kept thinking about the baby coming and litter boxes and how many family members and friends are allergic to cats, etc. I was so not on board. It was awful.

More awful was the revelation that Chris has no boundaries when it comes to teasing. I NEVER thought it was a joke, because it wasn't even a little bit funny! It was downright nasty and the girls were horrified when he told them the truth. Usually they are quick forgivers, but in this case, he was like, "I'll take you to B&R for ice cream to make it up to you." They were like, "I'll stay home." I told them, "Stay home and have the ice cream from our freezer, so you don't have to go anywhere with him!" We were all on the same anti-dad's-joke team for sure!