Gavin Michael Smith

 Finally our family of four!

 Terrible picture of me, but here was how it felt to hold him finally.  Pure joy and relief.

Rockstar is an understatement.  He fought so hard to be with us! 

Our beautiful little blessing is finally here!  Gavin Michael Smith was born on July 25, 2012 at 3:35pm weighing 7lbs. 2oz. and 18 inches long.  Here's the delivery story...I went to my checkup on Tuesday morning, July 24.  I was just feeling kind of "off" that day.  I was so excited to know that I was dilated to a 4 and a half or so.  I thought I may not be progressing at all because I really wasn't having many contractions.  The doctor said if I didn't have him in the next few days we would most likely deliver him the following Monday.  I came home and began having some contractions the rest of the day.  I wan't uncomfortable and the contractions were just hit or miss, no pattern.  The doctor told me to make sure I didn't wait too long to come in because my cervix was very soft and he thought it would happen quick when labor started.  I absolutely hated trying to decide if I should go in or just go to bed.  We sat around and debated going in until about 9:00 pm.  I was cleaning, packing, and organizing things while I tried to decide what to do.  Finally, we decided we may as well go in and get checked.  We took Josey to Laura's house and I was contracting about every 10 minutes.  When we got to the hospital they put me on the monitor and my contractions promptly slowed down to maybe two an hour or so.  I figured they would just send us home, but of course with my history and being dilated to a four already it was a tricky call.  They decided to keep us and just wait until my doctor came on at 7:00am to see what he wanted to do.  They checked me at one point and said I was for sure dilated to 5.  My doctor got in touch around 6am and of course said to admit me.  He came in around 8:15am and I was dilated to a 7.  Still in no pain and only contracting every once in a while.  My family came to be with us and we just hung out all day until the doctor got done with all his surgeries at about 1:45.  It was his surgery day and he didn't want to miss the delivery, so he didn't want to break my water until he could be there.  Love our doctor, so we were totally fine with this!  I was dilated to an 8 and the nurses and doctor kinda laughed about the fact that I was an 8 and in no pain at all and really just kind of bored waiting all day to get things going.  One nurse commented that it was funny that I was contracting every 42 minutes and still dilating on my own.  Just my weird pain tolerance thing and my strange cervix I guess.  So at 1:50pm the doctor broke my water and started me on pitocin to strengthen the contractions.  I went from total boredom and no pain to full on labor in about 15 minutes!!  Wow, it was crazy!  I was contracting about every 3-4 minutes and in serious pain.  The nurse came in to check me and said I was dilated to a 9 but the scar on my cervix was stopping me from being complete.  Something we knew might happen with all the damage and the cerclage procedure.  She said something like ok, maybe 20 or 30 more minutes.  I looked at her like she was crazy, I knew he was ready to come out!  She walked out of the room and the next contraction I needed to push.  They called her back in and thank goodness the doctor came in right behind her eventhough the nurse hadn't paged him yet.  She said he is a mind-reader.  I pushed with the first contraction then it seemed like a full minute I didn't have another contraction.  The doctor didn't even sit down and we were all just kind of looking at eachother.  Another contraction came and on the second push our miracle baby came right out!  I couldn't believe it, less than 5 minutes from ok let's push to he's here!  So after only 1 hour and 45 minutes of actual discomfort I delivered a healthy baby boy!  I am so thankful for such an easy delivery.  Although the contractions were seriously painful, I didn't suffer long at all.  I wanted to have him naturally just like Josey, so I was overjoyed I did it without pain medicine.  The nurse said "oh wow, you did that after having pitocin and no epidural?!"  Pretty sure she thought I was crazy.  I just remember thinking "thank you God for this baby" when he came out.  He screamed for about 10 minutes non-stop.  My mom said he was literally crying before he was all the way out.  The nurse kept calling him "Rowdy" so Daddy has decided that's his permanent knickname!  I spent the next few minutes nursing him and just in disbelief that he was finally here with us.  Our family got to come in and see him before he went to the nursery for a little bit.  He passed all his tests with flying colors.  Words simply cannot describe what it is like to have him with us finally.  A few times during labor I thought of the triplets and how I know they are watching over their little brother.  Laura said Gavin's birthday is special because Johnny was born on July 20th and Jaxsen and Asher on August 5th.  So put them together and July 25th is symbolic.  I like that!  We were busy of course the next few hours and kept debating his name.  Finally at 9:20 we decided that Gavin Michael was perfect.  I was insistent on Michael because who better to be named after than the most amazing man on Earth, his Daddy :)  I don't even know what else to say about our little man.  He is a gift.  He is perfect.  He is ours.  Love him more than words.  Thank you Lord. 

Miserably happy :)

We had our 36 week check-up today.  I have been extremely uncomfortable since the stitches came out last week.  Like unable to walk to the bathroom without wanting to cry kinda pain.  I haven't had many contractions, but thought surely with that discomfort something was progressing.  Everytime the baby moves or stretches out I get a sharp pain in my cervix.  Apparently this is all just from the scar tissue because I am still dilated to a 1!  The doctor put me on the monitor and the baby had a great heartbeat and I showed no contractions at all.  I was shocked when he said I was still a 1 but that's just because all along I thought we wouldn't get this far.  I can't believe I am now anxiously awaiting his arrival instead of praying for him not to come early :)  I feel silly because I thought for sure we might have a baby by this weekend and I was getting really excited.  I go back on Tuesday to have an ultrasound to check baby's growth and to have another check-up.  I think he is probably huge!  If I make it to Tuesday I will be one day further than I was when I delivered Josey at 37 weeks.  I was dilated to a 5 with Josey by 36 weeks, so we never got to the point of waiting impatiently for him to come.  I am thankful to be this far, but definitely excited to meet this precious little guy!!

Baby boy's nursery

Baby boy's nursery is amazingly finished before he arrives!  We started from nothing two weeks ago and it has come together nicely.  Thanks to Mike, my mom, my mom-in-law, and my sisters for all the help.  I love it!!

Mike painted the ceiling a light gray and the walls are a bright lime green! 

Still working on things for the changing station...

Mom made the bumpers, bedskirt, and added fabric to the curtain.  I made the black fitted crib sheet.

Any day now...

Today was the big day we've been waiting for since December when we found out we were expecting.  The day the cerclage would be removed...the day we could breathe easier.  It is such an awesome feeling to know that we "made it."  The procedure was pretty painful, but I survived :)  Right now I am at home recovering with quite a bit of cramping but that is to be expected.  My cervix instantly dilated to about 1cm.  I am actually surprised it wasn't more.  I have a lot of scar tissue from everything my cervix has been through but the doctor feels that I should still be able to dilate fully and have a natural delivery.  Although I am really uncomfortable tonight, I am hoping tomorrow will be better and baby boy will stay in for a few more weeks.  I delivered Josey at 37 weeks so it would be great to make it to that point.  I will go back to the doctor next Thursday if everything goes well between now and then.  We are so thankful for all the prayers, texts, and messages that we have received.  Can't wait to share this little guy with all our amazing friends and family! 

35 weeks along and so thankful!

8 months along!!

I can't believe it is down to one day until the stitch removal.  On Tuesday morning the doctor will hopefully remove them in the office.  He said most of the time he can do that without going to the hospital to do so.  I have heard that it is extremely painful, but I'm thinking I will be able to handle it.  Mike is taking the day off to go with me, so that will make me feel so much better having him there.  At this point I have no idea what to expect.  Should I take the "hospital stay" bag with me?  Will I go straight to the hospital in labor after the removal?  Will the doctor want me to stay on bedrest?  Will they try to stop contractions with more shots?   Will baby boy stay in for a few more weeks?  Today I started thinking maybe I am rushing to get everything ready by Tuesday and he may not come for several more days or weeks.  But then I realized that either way he will be here no later than a few weeks, so it has to be done.  The room is coming together great.  Mike's mom, my mom, my sisters, and my nieces have been so much help!  Yesterday we organized the closet and washed a lot of the baby clothes.  Mike did an awesome job painting the nursery a bright green!  He still has to finish hanging the border up, but I think it is going to be really cute.  We still have to move the crib into the room and I want to sew a few more things.  Hopefully, I will post some pictures of the finished nursery in a few days!  Right now we need prayers for an easy procedure Tuesday, and a healthy baby that is born when the time is right for him.   Thanks to everyone for all the help and concern, we are soooo close!!

33 weeks and counting...

Yesterday I went for my routine check-up at 33 weeks.  The doctor wanted to monitor the baby as I have been having some contractions and discomfort.  Baby boy's heartbeat looked great on the monitor, but I was showing several contractions and signs of an irritable uterus over the 30 minute observation.  Much to my disappointment the doctor came in and said I needed to go to the hospital for some further observation and shots to stop the contractions.  With the cerclage (stitched cervix) in place he does not want my uterus to be contracting or irritated at all at this point.  Of course I was scared because obviously we do not want my cervical stitches to rip open like the last pregnancy!  The doctor decided we should move my stitch removal date up a week, so now at 35 weeks (only 12 days from today!!)  I was a little disappointed because I'm afraid he will come quickly once those are out.  Of course there is no way to know for sure, he may just stay put for a few more weeks after that.  I'm scared of delivering a 35 week baby, but I know he will be fine.  We have been so lucky to keep this little guy in to this point.  Ultrasound has shown that he is big and healthy, so we are counting on that.  I am on modified bedrest, so basically I have to take it even more easy than I have been.  No more shopping at all!  That is difficult because I still have so much I want to do and need to get.  We hope to paint the nursery this weekend so we (of course "we" means Mike) can decorate and organize as well.  Maybe we should have started a litte earlier :)  I can't wait to meet him but just not quite this soon! 

Big Baby Boy!

            Sweet baby boy at 29 weeks!  He weighs 3 lbs. 12 oz. already!

I had an ultrasound yesterday to make sure that baby boy was growing well, to check amniotic fluid, and to make sure blood flow to the baby was good.  I have been taking medicine for high blood pressure so they just wanted to check everything.  When I had the cerclage and got diagnosed with high blood pressure the doctor told me that both of those things could cause low birth-weight.  Well...not this guy!  He was actually on the big side, 3 pounds 12 ounces already!  We are beyond excited about that.  Needless to say, no trouble with blood flow or fluid at all!  It was weird to see the baby at 29 weeks, since with Josey we only had the 20 week ultrasound.  This little guy just seemed so chubby and filled out already.  The tech was so nice and worked a little while to get a good picture of his face for us.  Baby boy had his nose pushed up against me and wouldn't move.  He loves to snuggle his Mommy already :)  I'm thinking even though his nose was a little squished that he has my nose for sure.  But of course everything else is all Daddy/Josey.  Definitely another little Daddy-clone for sure.  It is amazing to me how much all of our boys look alike.  When we saw this little guy at 20 weeks I thought he favored Asher more but now I'm thinking Asher just hadn't filled-out as much as the other boys yet and would have looked just like his brothers.  I have actually had moments of thinking I would like a girl sometime, but with all these handsome boys how could a Mommy ask for anything else?   He is such an amazing little miracle.  He needs a strong name for sure.  Mommy's body has put a lot of stress on this little guy and he is just cruising along and thriving.  I am already so proud of my new little man!