Lleyton was due on January 14th, 2016. With the first 2 boys I was 9 days and 5 days early. I hoped Lleyton would be the same. As soon as we got through New Year's I was determined to get things going. I blew up my yoga ball and started bouncing around January 2nd, a couple times a day for about 10 minutes at a time. On Monday night, January 4th I decided more needed to be done and we made the plan to walk the mall for FHE. I went into labor with Tanner after walking the mall so I had high hopes. We loaded up the car and as we pulled in to the Macy's parking lot, Tanner threw up. Earlier in the day Preston had complained that his tummy was hurting so we called it quits and went home. As Aaron and I got into bed we talked about how crazy hard it would be if I went into labor with the kids having the stomach flu. Deep inside I had a sinking feeling that I just might.
Tuesday morning we determined to keep Preston home from school since his stomach had been hurting. Tanner only threw up one more time when we got home so we all had a good nights sleep but I woke up feeling different. Aaron headed off to work and I had my first contraction around 8:30 am. After a few more minor contractions I let Aaron know that today might be the day. I also called my mom to give her a heads up that contractions had started. She mentioned that her stomach was bothering her a little but she would pack and be on her way when I gave her the go ahead. I started recording contractions at 10:24am and they were about 10 minutes apart, 40-45 seconds long. I started to panic that since this was my 3rd baby things might go really quick and told Aaron to come home soon.
My original plan was to ask Becky across the street to take the boys if it was during the day and to have my friend Melissa come if it was the middle of the night. Since the boys had been sick I decided to call Melissa and asked her to come over around 11:45am. Aaron left work, and then the contractions slowed way down. I called Melissa back and told her to wait. Aaron picked up Carl's Jr for lunch and we ate while we tried to determine if I was really in labor or not! At about 12:15pm they started back pretty strong and about 6 minutes apart. I called Melissa and she got to our house about 12:45pm. I let me mom know to start the drive. The whole time I felt so much pressure and anxiety about being the only one who could decide if I was really in labor or not. I didn't want to call all these people and set things in motion if it was just a false alarm! By the time Melissa came I thought this was most likely it.
We got to the hospital around 1:15pm and the nurse asked me if I wanted to go straight to a delivery room or to triage to check me and make sure I was in labor. Even though I was having strong, painful contractions I was still so worried about being wrong that I asked to go to triage. Big mistake. Once in triage it felt like an eternity to get someone in to check me and all I wanted at that point was the epidural! When the nurse checked I was at a 4 and having very steady contractions so they moved us to the delivery room. The delivery room they put us in was huge! It even had a separate nursery room off to the side. The room was so large that the couch where Aaron sat felt so far away. They told me I had to have a bag of saline before they could start the epidural so I had to agonize for much longer than I anticipated and felt WAY more than I wanted to. I was having one contraction on top of another and shaking out of control from the pain. It hurt too much to lay on the bed so I asked if I could stand and lean over.
Finally I was able to get the epidural around 3:15pm. While they were giving me the epidural my mom arrived but they made her wait outside. By 3:30ish she hadn't come in so Aaron went to try to find her. When she came in she looked pale and said she really wasn't feeling well. After the nurse checked me and left my mom said she had to go to the bathroom and after a while came out and said she had felt like she was going to pass out and she needed to go :( Meanwhile Aaron had let Dee know Lleyton was on his way and when Hillary finished work Dee, Mark and Hillary headed up. They were originally going to relieve Melissa of watching Preston and Tanner but since my mom had to leave we sent her to the house and told Dee to come to the hospital.
Once the epidural was in the contractions slowed down quite a bit but I didn't care because I couldn't feel any more pain! Woohoo! They also put in a catheter which I now know they never gave me when I had an epidural with Tanner! After that we were able to hang out for a bit and visit with Dee, Hillary and Mark. Meanwhile back at the house my mom was violently ill with the stomach flu and she said Preston and Tanner were having to take care of her!
Mark and Hillary left the room and by 5:45pm or so I was fully dilated so they called Dr Amy Riley to come deliver. She was checking on another patient and then made her way over. Meanwhile during the contractions I started to get a really bad pain in my right round ligament (I had pain there throughout the pregnancy) and the nurses let me know about the pain management button for the epidural. I was so glad to hear about this and gladly pushed the button to get another burst of drugs! When Dr Riley arrived they made preparations for delivery and Aaron came to the right side to help hold my leg while the nurse held my left leg. Dee was in charge of the camera. With the next contractions I gave a big push and out came Lleyton! They immediately put him on my chest and I cried with joy. I was so happy to be holding my sweet baby boy! I'll never forget how he laid on me with his little arms extended and his hands in fists. Aaron was able to cut the umbilical cord and while they stitched me up they weighed and checked out Lleyton. He weighed in at 7lbs 12 oz, just like his brother Tanner. He was 19" long with dark brown hair. Perfect in every way. Within 15 minutes we were able to nurse and he latched right on.
After an hour or so they moved us to a postpartum room and later that night Aaron came home to the sick house to sleep. He was vigilant about wiping down every surface and keeping the sickies isolated. We felt so horrible that my mom was so sick and had to miss the birth. I stayed an extra night at the hospital to give everyone a chance to get better before bringing home the baby.
Probably around midnight the nurse came to help me go to the bathroom and when I stood up I couldn't put any weight on my right leg. My hip hurt so bad and I realized that because I gave myself that extra shot of drugs before Lleyton was born I couldn't feel a thing and we pulled way too hard back on my leg and pulled the muscle. That wasn't fun. What was fun was I didn't feel any of the post delivery contractions until about midnight.
The next day Aaron was able to bring Preston and Tanner to meet their brother and it was love at first sight. Those boys absolutely adore their brother and it is so special to watch them interact with him. I am forever grateful to be their mother and to have this new sweet spirit in our family.
