I can't believe it has taken me so long to write this post. This is such an important event, and I don't want to forget the events of the day. But before I get started on what happened that day, I want to write some of the thoughts and feeling I had during this third pregnancy.
When we decided we were ready for more children, I kind of figured that nothing would really happen for nearly a year, like it did with the first two children. So last August when we were on vacation and my body started to do things that usually happen when I'm pregnant I didn't think much of them and just chalked it up to being on the road and away from home for so long. But when we got back home and I started feeling sick I began to suspect that something was happening. One evening Ross watched the kids while I went to do a temple session and I took advantage of the alone time to stop and get a pregnancy test. While at the temple that night, the subject was weighing heavily on my mind. However, I felt totally at peace about it and had a very strong impression come to mind telling me that I was indeed pregnant and that this baby would get here just fine. So I was not at all surprised when the pregnancy test showed up positive the next day. And because of the peace and feelings I felt in the temple that night, I didn't worry as much about the condition of the baby like I did during the first two pregnancies.
As the months went on, Ross and I felt very strongly that we needed to get prepared for this baby in case she came early like Corbin did. We really did not want to be taken off guard again. And as I started approaching 35 weeks or so I started to get really anxious (not about the baby, but how well we were prepared for her to come). The anxiety was getting so bad that I always felt on edge and had very little patience, especially with my kids. But one night Ross and I went to the temple together and I was able to express some of my concerns with him. I found out that he was also a little concerned about being ready. That night he gave me a priesthood blessing and after that, I felt much more at peace and wasn't afraid anymore that she would catch us completely off guard. Soon my 36 week mark came and went and I felt even more at ease knowing that I had made it farther than I did with Corbin. But it wasn't long after that I started to feel really uncomfortable and started thinking that I was ready for her to come after all.
From the time that I figured out her due date (which was officially April 16th) I had it in my mind that I wanted her to come the first week of April. Ross would have spring break the second week of April and I wanted to capitalize on that time he already had off from work. I remember that last Sunday of March telling people that I was ready to have her and was hoping that it would happen sometime in the coming week. At that time, I had no idea that she would be coming the very next day.
The morning of the 30th, I woke up about 5:00 am to go to the bathroom (nothing unusual), but when I went back to bed, I felt a hard contraction. This wasn't all that unusual either. I often had contractions at night when I was sitting by the kids at bedtime, but they always subsided when I laid down in my bed. Not too long later, I felt another one, and then another. By about 6:30 am, I still hadn't fallen back asleep and decided I needed to start timing the contractions. They were coming anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart.
Now with my first two kids, my water broke. So it was easy to tell when to go to the hospital. This was uncharted territory for me and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would they subside like usual or just linger all through the day? Either way, I decided I didn't want to be home alone dealing with contractions and two kids, so I went downstairs and asked Ross if he could stay home for the day in case I needed to just rest. Luckily staying home wouldn't be a big deal at all. So I decided to go take a shower, just in case.
While I was showering, I had several more contractions. So I decided to go sit back down on the bed to relax, but that didn't help. It was becoming quite evident that we needed to make arrangements for the kids and get to the hospital to check out my condition.
Ross gave me a priesthood blessing. And, while I am sure he was saying great things, I don't recall any of them because my mind was too focused on figuring out what to do with the kids. And during the blessing I remembered that my sister-in-law, Amy, was working at BYU and might be able to come get the kids. I called her, but she didn't answer. I was a little discouraged. So we decided to call Ross's mom instead. She told us that Amy had left her house not long ago and was likely still driving. So I tried again and this time she answered and said she would be there shortly to get the kids.
While we were waiting for Amy and getting the kids ready to go, I was trying really hard to keep it together while the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. It was getting to where I would have to stop what I was doing and focus on breathing to get through them. After I kissed the kids goodbye and watched them drive away, I broke down and started crying from all the pain and discomfort. Luckily at that point, we were leaving for the hospital.
Right after a contraction, we loaded in the car and started driving. I had two more contractions on the car ride and another as soon as I got out of the car (and the hospital is only 10 minutes away), so this tells you how close they were coming by then.
By the time they got me checked in and got a nurse in to check out my progression, they found that I was already dilated to a 7. I wasn't too surprised since my labors tend to progress quickly. I was in a lot of pain and just wanted to cry (and sometimes did) through the contractions. And I was really worried that I wouldn't get an epidural before it was time to push. Luckily I had a great team of nurses that got my IV in quickly and the anesthesiologist had no problem administering the epidural. He told me that it would take about 8 minutes to take effect (which seemed like way too long, under the circumstances). But I don't remember feeling any more contractions after he left. At that point, I remember feeling so calm and comfortable through the rest of the delivery. Say what you want about epidurals, but they have always made my laboring experience so much better.
As fast as everything had been going up until then, I was expecting to be pushing any minute. However, after the epidural kicked in, everything seemed to come to a screeching halt. Which actually ended up being a blessing in disguise. I had tested positive for Strep B, so they needed to administer some antibiotics through my IV and the baby is protected the most if delivered 4 hours after administration. I think she came almost 3 hours after, so although it wasn't the ideal amount of time, it was much better than if she has kept coming quickly.
During that time, Ross and I were able to relax and talk and discuss possible names again. We had a list of names we were choosing from, but had that hardest time narrowing it down to the name we felt was right for her.
After what felt like a really long time of just sitting and waiting, I told Ross that obviously nothing was happening anytime soon, so he should go get something to eat. As he was gathering up his stuff to head to the cafeteria, he looked out the window and noticed that my doctor was crossing the street to come check on me. So he decided to stay until we got the update from her. This was at about 11:00 am.
When the doctor arrived, she checked my progress and and said I was progressing to about a 9. She decided to go ahead and break my water to see if that would help. What happened next went so fast, it's kind of a blur. Thanks to the epidural, I didn't feel anything when she broke my water (afterward I had to ask the nurse if the doctor ever actually did break my water. I was surprised that I didn't feel anything or that there wasn't a huge gush of fluids to clean up). She decided to check me on the very next contraction and declared that I had reached a 10 and that it was time to have a baby. (Good thing that Ross didn't actually leave, right?)
I started pushing about 11:15 am and out she popped at 11:27 am. She was doing great. As I remember, Ross got to cut the cord this time, which he didn't do with the other two kids. They immediately put her on my stomach so I could hold her, and she peed all over me. So they took her to get her cleaned up and check her vitals and measurements. She weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Then they took us both downstairs to get settled in to my hospital and get her taken care of in the nursery. At this point, the epidural had started wearing off. My legs were really tingly and a little numb. I couldn't really stand on my own, but I felt good enough to join them in the nursery to watch her get cleaned up some more and get the rest of her newborn tests. That was fun to be a part of since I didn't get to do that with the other two kids.
Later that day, we got our first visitor. This is our baby girl with my angel of a sister-in-law, Amy, who came to get the kids that morning. She stopped by on her way home from work.
At this point, we still hadn't decided on a name. We pretty much had it narrowed down to Paige or Jordyn. So I thought I would ask Leah which name she liked better. I just remember that she said, "I like Payson." (I don't think that she quite remembered that the P name was Paige, so she just said a P word that seemed close to it.) I thought that was kind of funny.
My parents had stopped to get the kids from Ross's mom's and brought them to the hospital. Afterwards, the kids went home with them so that they could stay with them while we were at the hospital. I think Leah was more excited for this than she was to have a baby sister.
The next day, we finally came to a consensus that her name would be Paige June Leslie. June is name of Ross's Grandma Miller.
One of the special visitors Paige had right after she was born was her Aunt Kaye and cousin, Nathan. They live in Louisana and rarely make it out to Utah. So to have Paige born the week they visited was a real treat!
So this is the new norm for me. This is what happens when you have two little ones who want to share your lap space. Lots of love too go around!
Paige had a really hard time sleeping, especially during the first week or so that we had her home. That made it especially hard on me because I wasn't getting mukch sleep either. But since then, she has become our best sleeper (as a baby). We can even sometimes put her down in her bed and have her go to sleep on her own. This a novel idea for us. The other two always wanted to be rocked to sleep. She is a really chill baby and only gets really upset when she is not getting fed fast enough. Leah and Corbin both adore her and we couldn't be happier to have her be a part of our family! We love you Baby Paige!
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