5 days late...but just on time!

In the interest of time I have decided to post what Dave had posted on our family website about the birth of baby Wesley. He did a really good job.

So, now that we are home and I don't have to type news on my phone, I will be happy to provide the long version of Wesley's birth. Here it goes...

So, there we were waiting for Brienne to pop. Her due date was supposed to be the 30th of May, but because Luke was born 10 days early we had no idea what to expect this time around. Thus, for the last few weeks we were just twiddling our thumbs and waiting for the contractions to get painful. And they did, here and there, but they would always stop. Brienne had to start a regiment of walking, jumping, and even jogging just to keep them going. After many days of frustration however, Brienne decided to take a break and just wait for him to come in his own time.

So, Memorial Day weekend came and we were once again hoping and praying that this little guy, who was at this time unnamed, would just come out. But when the due date passed without much of anything, we weren't really sure what to do. We knew we wanted to do this totally natural. We didn't want to do any drugs at all. So, when we went to the doctor on the 31st, we allowed one of the midwifes at the clinic to strip the membranes, which consists of separating the amniotic sac from the opening of the cervix. This has been known to get labor going. So, we did that and then just waited for the baby to come. We also had several tests done to make sure that the baby was alright. Sure enough, he was just happy as a clam in there. So, we went home from spending half the day in the hospital, and waited for the stripping of the membranes to take it's course. Nothing happened.

So, at this point, Brienne is frustrated. And I am frustrated right along with her. It is now Thursday the 2nd. Brienne's mom, Debbie came down for a special class in Pleasant Grove, and stayed the night at the house. It would have been a perfect time for the baby to come. But when Brienne wasn't having any consistent contractions, Debbie suggested that maybe a change of scene would help Brienne to relax. She suggested that Brienne come up to Idaho for the weekend. When the idea was presented to me, red flags started popping up in my head. You're overdue, looking like you're going to burst, and you're going to travel out of state where you will be at least 2.5 hours away from the hospital you were planning on delivering at. So, I expressed my concerns, and Brienne decided to stay home. And it's a good thing too.

Brienne had another doctors appointment scheduled for Friday the 3rd where they would repeat all the tests that they had done previously. We decided that this was overkill at this point though, so we cancelled. As long as he was moving around inside there, Brienne was sure everything was fine, other than the fact that he was several days overdue. Brienne bought Evening Primrose and Clary Sage, two natural oils that can help to start labor. So, at about 12 AM on Saturday the 4th, Brienne couldn't sleep because she was starting to have contractions. Also, she had started to have some blood come out and was worried about the safety of the baby. I did a quick google search and confirmed that blood and mucus is a totally natural discharge when you are going into labor. So, there was no reason to freak out and rush into the hospital. We spent the night timing contractions and helping her to relax. She sat in the bath for a while which really helped. After that, we were in the family room watching movies to pass the time. The contractions were getting more painful, but generally consistent in timing. She was also having more bloody discharge.

Our plan all along was to stay at home as long as possible, because there is really nothing comfortable about the hospital. And the longer you are there, the more pressure there is to take drugs. So, we were going to keep Brienne comfortable at home as long as was safely possible. We called Debbie at 3 AM and told her she should probably come down if she wants to see this baby born. She left shortly thereafter. Because we couldn't leave Luke at home alone, and didn't want to drag him out of bed, we waited for Debbie to arrive to take Brienne to the hospital. This happened at about 6:45 AM. I called Duane and this point and we arranged for him to come and pick up Luke, so I could get to the hospital. He arrived at around 7:30, and I jumped in the car and headed for the hospital.

I got a call on my way to tell me to hurry up, because Brienne was dilated to a 7 and they were going to break her water because they were sure that the baby was going to come soon, and all the blood was starting to worry them a little. When I got there, they broke the water, which was very uneventful. Come to find out that all the blood was her water breaking, so nothing else really came out when they broke it. The placenta was so close to the opening of the cervix that it had started bleeding. The baby's vitals were good though, so they were more worried about Brienne losing too much blood. She was hooked up to an IV at this point.

So, now the contractions got really painful. Brienne could barely open her eyes. One after another, they just kept going. The nurses and midwife seemed supremely confident that this baby was just going to slide out quickly, but it was a bit more complicated then that. At about 8:12, Brienne started having the urge to push and push she did. She became a woman possessed with one thought. "Get this baby out of me." For the next 30 minutes or so, she pushed, and changed positions, and then pushed some more. The little boy was turned in a weird way and it made the whole process take much longer. The skin on his head was terribly scrunched up when he finally crowned. But, after all that pushing he finally popped out. He was a big boy. They had to suck bloody fluid from his lungs, and monitor his oxygen intake for a while, but he was good and healthy. 8 pounds 13 ounces, and 21 inches long. Quite a bit bigger than Luke was.

So, baby Wesley was whisked away to the nursery to be monitored and I went with him, leaving Brienne behind. A short while later though, Brienne couldn't wait for him to come back to her and came down in a wheelchair to nurse him. He was breathing well enough for them to let her nurse, and he latched on like a champ. From then on, everything went well. Because of how slowly Wesley had made his descent, Brienne hadn't torn at all, which meant that she didn't have to have any stitches. All in all, the recovery was ridiculously easy compared to Luke. A little fluid discharge, but in general just soreness. Brienne even found the energy to clean up the hospital room.

Anyway, later in the afternoon I went and retrieved Luke and brought him to see his baby brother. He was a very gentle big brother, and it seemed to finally dawn on him that mommy actually did have a baby in her tummy. We spent the rest of the day hanging out as a family. Coincidentally enough, my coworker and close friend Kade was at the hospital at the same time. They had their baby girl at 8:30 AM on the same day. Crazy. Brienne stayed in the hospital Saturday night, and into Sunday. Once we realized that Brienne's recovery would be the same at home, and all of Wesley's tests and circumcision were done, we decided to check out. So, we left at about 2 PM on Sunday.

It was amazing how, after all that waiting, the labor itself had progressed so quickly and Brienne's recovery had been so easy. We felt very blessed. We chose the name of Wesley David, because he just didn't look like an Ezra. We had been partial towards Ezra for some time, but Wesley was a better fit. He is now at home, nursing away and being as cute as he can be. He is a big boy, but many of his features differ from Luke's. He has a more prominent nose, and upper lip. Both of which are synonymous with Brienne's family. Instead of having big hands and feet like Luke, his are more petite. They will grow though. And he has dark hair, and much more of it then Luke had at birth. They are definitely different, but Luke is excited to be a big brother.

So, that's pretty much it. Is that detailed enough? I suppose I could have filmed the whole thing. Thanks everyone for your support. We are so happy that Wesley finally decided to come, even if he did take his merry time.

Yay! After going 5 days over my due date I was pretty sure that I really was going to be pregnant forever. But it turns out there was a little baby in my tummy and he did decide to come out. What a blessing and a miracle babies are. Straight from heaven. I love watching him have dreams and smiling. People wonder what they could be dreaming about but I know it is about heaven. What else does he have memories of? I have felt so close to my Savior and to my Heavenly Father this past little while. My testimony has been strengthened of families and love and the Gospel in general. What a blessing to know what we know. The church is true. The Savior lives. Families are forever.

Dave is the best daddy I know. He loves his boys and he loves me. He took this week off of work and I don't ever want him to go back! I love having my best friend and companion at home all day with me. I have completely fallen in love with him all over again.

I am so lucky and blessed to have such precious boys in my life.

And here are some pictures of us all...