West

Our little guy finally arrived! He was born on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 12:10 a.m. He was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We are so happy to finally have him here!

I had been having contractions since last Friday. I actually stopped at the hospital the Friday before on my way home from work because my contractions were regular (3-4 minutes apart), but not very intense. The nurse told me that I should go home and lie down and they would go away. Which they did. For awhile.

On Tuesday, I had an emotional breakdown! I was crying over everything! I think my hormones were out of control. Then the following Wednesday I was supposed to go to work (my last day) but I did NOT feel good. I called in and said I wouldn't be there. I had a doctor appointment that day anyway, so we made an appointment for induction on Friday, November 19. It seemed like an eternity away, but at least there was an end in sight! The contractions were continuous, but not too intense at this point.

On Thursday morning around 4:00 a.m. I started keeping track of the contractions. Shawn had to go to Salt Lake not only for work, but also to take his grandparents to the airport. I figured I'd be fine for awhile, but around 6:00 a.m. I called him and told him he'd better come home! I did NOT feel good, the contractions were regular, and I really felt like I should go to the hospital. I called my mom and asked if the kids could come over, and we headed for the hospital around 7:30 a.m. For some reason, Shawn decided to take a very odd route to the hospital. We were in a residential area and got pulled over by a cop for speeding and not having our license/registration. It was so weird, like you see in the movies with the wife in labor and speeding to get the hospital! The cop said he didn't want to deliver a baby so he let us go without a ticket.

I checked in to the hospital, was asked like five billion questions, and was hooked up to the contraction machine. They were regular, and I was at a "4." Things were moving along nicely, I thought! But, not everyone thought the same way because the doctor said that things needed to be moving along faster or I would need to go home. So the nurses told me to walk around for 45 MINUTES. Ugh. I walked laps around the labor/delivery for that long with no real problem, just occasional pains. When I went back to the evil nurses, I hadn't progressed much so they told me that I needed to come back later. I was upset because how could I be having painful contractions and be told to go home!?! I was so mad. I wanted this baby out. Shawn tried to cheer me up so we went to a craft fair and then had lunch at Union Grill to kill time. Then I went home and laid there. There was no way I was going to walk more, I was a sight because my tummy was huge!! I did not look like I was in any condition to be walking!

Around 5:00 p.m. I couldn't stand it anymore; I was in a lot of pain. I called the hospital and asked if I could take anything for the pain because I was miserable. The nurse told me that if I was in that much pain, I should probably come in. So, we again loaded up the kids to take them to my mom's and hauled down to the hospital. Little did I know that my poor brother-in-law was sick as a dog, lying down on the bathroom floor because he couldn't move!! I felt so bad dropping them off there but I was ready to be lying down on the bathroom floor myself.

When we got to the hospital I was having a hard time talking between contractions. I was at a "5" so the nurse again called the doctor. The doctor told her, "If she (me) is not at a 5, I am holding you personally responsible." What?! I guess he was concerned because I was only 38 weeks and so I couldn't be induced or helped along in my labor in any way. You have to be at least 39 weeks for any artificial "help." The other nurse confirmed that I was a "5, almost 6" so they got the okay to take me back and schedule my epidural. I could not wait for that epidural! Yes, it's painful to have it but it is NOTHING compared to the pain of the contractions! I have no idea how people give birth without drugs. I think I would pass out.

Anyway, things started moving along after the epidural! I was kind of shaky and cold, so I had to keep my eyes closed and just rest so I didn't throw up or anything. But it beat having contractions! I laid there while Shawn and his mom watched Top Gun on TV. It was so nice to just be able to listen to the movie instead of be concerned about when the pain was going to begin again.

I was kind of hoping the baby would be born at 11:11 p.m. on 11/11 but I was too slow. After I was fully dialated I only had to push four times and then the baby popped out! It was so awesome. It is the craziest thing to witness a human life come into the world. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I could tell he was small; he looked teeny to me! He felt so huge in my stomach but he was just teeny. I was so happy he was finally here! So was Shawn, he was just beaming. The baby was wide, wide awake and only cried for a second! He was just looking around at everything! I can't imagine what a weird feeling it must've been for him!

Shawn decided to name the baby West Dale Redd -- West is his great, grandfather's middle name (Hugh West Jacob) and Dale is my dad's and grandpa's first name (Dale Bradford Warburton; Dale LeRoy Warburton). I think it's a good name -- not common, but not weirdly unique. Just right!

West has been a good baby so far -- he wakes up about every three and a half hours to eat. When he was first born, he always had this mad face with his eyebrows together. He's sort of stopping the mad face now. He's also starting to open his eyes more and more. I love when he's half-asleep, half-awake and gives little smiles and other facial expressions! We think he's adorable.

The kids have loved having the baby around, although the other day Chance told me the baby was boring. Maybe I should start waking him up to see how exciting the baby is in the middle of the night! We are calling Hannah "Little Mama" because she is my right-hand gal. She loves helping me take care of the baby. I put her in charge of the baby monitor so she stares very intently at it to see if West is moving in any way! It is so cute.

I am so grateful to have such a healthy baby. I wish I knew why we have been blessed with three healthy babies, it is so humbling to think about. I am trying to get used to the schedule but no matter how tired or upset or emotional I get, I always try to remember how lucky I am to have this baby in our lives. He has been a blessing to all of us and we love him to death!!