Welp! Brigs finally made it this week and we are so in love! I really wanted to go into labor naturally but after something thought and prayer we decided that it was best to be induced in the end again. So induction day came. A friend from our church came over in the morning and watched the kiddos while we made it to the hospital. Then she took them over to our friends the Thorups who watched all three boys for two full days. We seriously couldn't be more grateful for them. I don't know what we would have done without them.
They started me on my Strep B antibiotic right at 8. So annoying that I tested positive all 4 babies. It takes 4 hours for the medicine to finally go into effect so they didn't break my water until 12:45 pm. I really wanted to be able to do this labor naturally so contractions began to strong, especially with the Pitocin, but I was managing them. By 2:45pm I was dilated to an 8 and feel fairly strong, well besides the peak of a contraction. My nurse, Jess, who was for sure my favorite nurse I had all four labors, said, "I bet you have this baby in the next 20 minutes, you are going to go fast from here."
Well, two hours later I was still at an 8/9. They increased the pitocin to try and help, but that just made the pain worse. I really couldn't feel the baby getting any lower and my body was exhausted so I got an epidural. It wasn't until the epidural was in and the midwife could check that she saw the baby was face up and unable to descend.
At 7 pm I still hadn't dilated past a 9. Shift changes were happening and I was feeling anxious to have the baby as my nursing team decided to stay late for me. Meryll decided to see if I could push and she would thin the rest of my cervix and try and turn the baby some. As I was pushing Meryll did her job and three contractions later Keisha yelled, "IT'S A BOY!"
I was shocked. I couldn't believe I had another boy. But frankly I was more shocked he was 9 lbs 7 oz. I really felt so much peace and excitement to have another little baby boy here. I kept checking with Landon to see if he was sad about not having a girl. But he just kept looking at me with love and relief and excitement in his eyes and of course he said, "No way! I'm so happy."
So many more details that I will write in Brigham's book. It really was the perfect labor though. I fell like I was able to cherish each moment from the four hours before the broke my water to the four hours of intense labor and finally the last couple hours of painless bliss. I was super grateful for all of our nurses (Jess, Keisha, Sheree). As well as my midwife, Meryll. They really went above and beyond for me.
We knew early the next morning that his name would be Brigham. I, no surprise, didn't like the name the entire pregnancy. I also didn't like the names Jaxson or Tyler either during those pregnancies. But alas, once they came, it suddenly became their name. I should have just had Landon name all of our babies.
We named Brigham after my brother Nate. Who has seriously been one of the biggest blessings in our life. I'm not sure we would have made it through the last 11 years without Nate. Nate is loyal, there when you need someone, you can always count on him, he is generous, he's the type of person that when your apartment is 97 degrees and you don't have a lot of money, he shows up to your house at 9:20pm and installs a brand new ac unit he just bought. He's also one of the few people in the world that really really really knows me. He is fair and logical and calm. He is the best father in the world and he takes his role of fatherhood and husbandhood as seriously as anyone I know. He is a hard hard worker. We'd LOVE if Brigs turned out to be just like Nate! Maybe Brigs will also be able to talk exactly like Donald Duck too, as a bonus.
Anyway, it's been a great unforgettable week. We are all doing well. I know there are a million more things to say, but its 7:22. And I still have to feed Brigs for hours on end and I want to cuddle with Landon and watch Modern Family and go to bed at a decent hour.... soooo..... got to go.
