Colbie's Arrival and other Happenings!

It seemed faster to post a slideshow than individual pictures. I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of Colbie's arrival to the world, Hannah's small birthday celebration (I still ower her a real celebration), the baby shower and some current pictures of Colbie.

SURPRISE!! Colbie Makes Her Appearance 10 Days Early

Imagine my surprise when on my way to work Thursday morning I had several contractions that seemed stronger than the standard Braxton Hicks I had felt previously. I tried to ignore them and pretend that they werel no big deal. After eating my lunch at work in my office I stood up and felt a gush of fluid, my immediate thought was either I had wet my pants or my water broke. As I headed to the restroom it became apparent that my water broke, this was 10 days earlier than I had planned which was a big surprise. I told my boss what had occurred and told him I would be leaving, he was nervous about me driving home, I assured him I would be fine knowing that it could take a while before anything would happen but he insisted on at least following me home which he did and I am grateful for that. The girls and I hurried and packed my bag for the hospital, I had not done that yet in hopes that it in some way would prevent her from coming early, I know crazy. We dropped Houston off at my friend and lifesaver Heather's and headed to my Doctors office where Chad met us.

The Doctor confirmed it was indeed my water that broke and sent us next door to the hospital to check in. We arrived at the hospital around 3:00pm, they hooked me up to the monitors and within 30 minutes I began having consistent transactions. I had high hopes that my labor would be similar to Hannah's and Houston's around 4-6 hours, no such luck it ended up being 8 1/2 hours of labor. At one point my contractions started to spread further apart and lessen in strength so the doctor gave me a very small amount of Pitocin. This really kicked things into gear and pushed me to the point that I almost gave up on my plan of labor without an epidural, fortunately I had Chad, Jessica and Hannah and a wonderful nurse coaching me along and encouraging me. Within 40 minutes she made her arrival, fortunately I only had to push 4-5 times. She was born at 11:39pm, she weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 inches long. She is beautiful (I am biased of course), she had a coupled of bruises on her cheeks from the birthing process but other than that she is doing great. While it was a huge surprise and something I was not quite ready for I am very glad that she is finally here and that she is healthy. I hope you enjoy some of her first photos below.

38 Weeks and Happy 20th Anniversary

We finally reached 38 weeks, hopefully only tow more weeks to go YEAH! I am making some progress according to the Doctor I am dilated to almost 3, but he is officially saying 2 1/2 so that I will not be overly optimistic. She is very, very low which makes for a great deal of discomfort. I hope I can endure the next few weeks, I have told the Doctor I do not want to be induced unless i have to be but I can not guarantee that at some point next week I may give in. We will have to wait and see, I hope to not go into labor any sooner than the 21st, anything after that would be great.

Today also marks another milestone Chad and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It is a surreal experience to be celebrating 20 years of marriage and be 9 months pregnant. If you had asked me 20 years ago if I thought that would happen I would have thought you were crazy, but now that I am in that situation I believe it is meant to be.

Chad and I went to dinner at Texas Land and Cattle and enjoyed a peaceful dinner just the two of us. Of course Chad took the opportunity to point out that it may be our last meal at a restaurant without a newborn. I think he is forgetting what great helpers we have at home that can watch the baby while we go out for a meal. I am grateful to be celebrating our 20th anniversary, we have had so many experiences over the last 20 years all of which have contributed to who we are today. I am so grateful to be married to a worthy priesthood holder who is hard working and does so much to provide for his family. He is a wonderful example to our family and all those he comes in contact with. I am grateful that he is patient and puts up with me, despite my imperfections and expectations. I feel very lucky to have the 3 beautiful and amazing kids we have and look forward to meeting our baby girl soon. There have been so many experiences we have had that have enriched our lives, I am grateful to have experienced them together. While things have not always been easy, they have definitely been worth it. I feel blessed to be his wife and look forward to all of the adventures that lie ahead.

Happy Anniversary, I LOVE YOU

37 Weeks

Do not let the look of discomfort confuse you, I promise I am happy.

I am a week late in posting the 37 week picture things have been pretty busy around here, I will be posting the 38 week pictures soon as well. So far all is going well, I am going to the Doctor weekly now, while I am making progress there is no reason to think I will deliver early. If only we had a crystal ball and could predict when the day will be it would make planning a whole lot easier. Although I am getting very uncomfortable and sleeping is almost next to impossible I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. School starts in two weeks and we have a lot to do to get the kids ready for the big day. I am hopeful that the baby will wait to make her appearance until after we are done with all the preparation. Stay tuned for 38 week pictures and an update, my next appointment is on Tuesday.