thad

Sunday was a beautiful day in Stirling. I am sure half the town saw Josh and I walking with the kids in tow, knowing that we were trying to walk this baby "out." Sunday night we watched a movie, and again, I was walking, but this time on the treadmill. About 2:30 am my water broke, and by 3:00 I was starting to have some contractions. After a week of picking up the house everynight in case something happened, I did nothing at all Sunday night. So I cleaned the kitchen and the living room till 4am. I didn't want things to move too fast so I tried to slow things down by having a bath and just trying to relax.

By 5:30 things were HURTING, so I woke up Josh and he got ready. We called our home teachers and they were here just after 6:00. We left for Lethbridge, only making a quick stop at the school so Josh could leave some sub plans behind. They checked us into the hospital, and to my surprise, before they checked me for progress or anything, the nurses led me right into a delivery room!!! No waiting in a pre-delivery room for me this time. At 7:00 I was 4 cm, and within 45 min I was 10cm!! Wa hoo.

I remember telling the nurse when I was 9 cm and holding that she could let me push cause I have small babies with small heads. She didn't seem that amused, nor did she let me push. But finally I got my chance and I was ready to pop this baby out. I thought it would be a MAXIMUM of two contractions of pushing, cause, well, that's all it took for Enoch and Monet. But it really took almost half an hour to get baby out this time. I recall telling Josh "I am going to die." I don't recall screaming lots, but my sore throat for the rest of the day told me differently. It felt like I had been at a very exciting hockey game the night before.

At 8:12 am, out came baby (we had no name at this point), and all I could think was, "Who is this?" He was so different!! He was CHUBBY. And he has HAIR. And his head was BIG. The nurse now laughed, referring back to my comment about babies with small heads. It was an excrutiating process, but at least it was quick. For the rest of the day my main thought was, I am never doing that again!!!!! But already the pain is forgotten...
Cause now I have the most adorable, cuddly, sweet baby: Thaddeus Luke Stone, or Thad. He is a very good baby so far and smells divine and has the most kissable little (or big) cheeks and has the softest skin and the furriest head of hair. Oh! I love him!! The other kids are all pretty crazy about him, too. Even Monet. You can tell she is not all that pleased with my lack of attention for her, but at the same time her attention is focused in on the same little being. She loves to call him cute, which is funny cause often it comes out as "Baby toot!," which gets the older boys roaring with laughter.

I am so grateful for my new baby boy. Yes, I thought he was a girl. Yes, I had hoped he was a girl. But I am so glad to have a new boy addition to the family and wouldn't have Thad any other way.