Samuel Alan...

So we are now a family of 5, little Samuel Alan arrived November 15 at 4:41am weighing 6lbs and 20.5 inches long. Here is his birth story so we don't forget. WARNING A VERY LONG POST!!

So Friday the 11th I went for my weekly Dr appointment, I took the boys since I figured we would be in and out because my last appointment my uterus was still really high like it was with all my other pregnancies so I knew it would be the same at this appointment. Anyways so they took my blood pressure and it was high and I had protein in my urine. His heart rate was a little low and his movements were lethargic. So they wanted to have his movements and heart rate monitored for an hour. So the boys and I went into a small room and got me hooked up the first 20 mins his heart rate was still low, but he finally woke up or decided to move and his movements and heart rate improved greatly. It must have been the stress from me trying to keep Kaleb and Jacob from killing each other in the small room with limited things to do. After another 30+ mins they said everything look great with the baby and we could go on our way. Well we pull into our driveway and I get a call from the Dr's office telling me that the protein in my urine was too high and I needed to do a 24 hr urine collection. So I had someone coming from the Relief Society coming to welcome me into the ward and get to know me a little better so I tried laying the boys down for naps which didn't happen so after she left I took the boys over to my mom and headed back up to the Dr's office which is a 20 min drive to get the jug to pee in.

Saturday I finished my collection of pee (on a side note I really hate doing 24 hr urine, I wish they would just admit me to have the baby instead) and took it up to the hospital which I thought would be a quick here you go type of thing, but of course it wasn't they needed to draw blood and I had to wait for the guy to finish with ER patients first, so it turned in to an hour drop off.
Monday morning came with a call from the Dr's office asking me to come in so we could discuss my results from the urine collection. I learned my lesson and quickly called my Aunt Michelle to come and watch the boys while I went to the Dr. While I waited for her to come I decided I better pack my hospital bag just in case they sent me to the hospital. Well the Dr told me my results were 225 and severe preclampsia is 300 so she didn't want it to get worse and have me have to be medicated. So off to the hospital they sent me to have the softener put in which puts me into labor and gets my cervix more favorable. I called my mom whose car I had and she told me she would find a ride after school. I then tried calling Tim who had told me that Monday I was not allowed to have the baby because it was going to be crazy busy at work. After calling a few times with no answer I texted him what was going on. I got admitted and hooked up to the monitors and was told I was having contractions. They put the softener in I was dilated about 2 and about an hour later I actually started feeling the contractions in my back so I was very hopeful to not have to have the pitocin at all and be able to have this baby with no epidural. So I finally got to talk to Tim and told him to stay at work and I would call him if I needed him to come sooner. So I hung out until my mom got there and then we started walking to keep the contractions coming and hopefully help them get stronger. Tim got to the hospital around 7. They wouldn't let me just walk all that I wanted since every time I did my blood pressure would get high so I could walk for a little bit and then would have to be monitored for an hour. So at a 11 they took the softener out and I was dilated to 3. The nurse said I had to progress a cm an hour in order to not do the pitocin. So mom and I walked while we walked about 30 mins into it my plug fell out and the contractions were feeling stronger. at midnight she checked me and I was a 4 but my blood pressure was up and had to stay in bed. At one I had not progressed any and my contractions were not regular so they started me on pitocin at a 2. I always said if they start the pitocin I was going to just get the epidural, well the contractions were stronger but manageable so I decided to keep trying without around 1:30ish my water broke, at two they turned the pitocin up to a 4 and I was at a 5 and fully effaced. I was hurting a lot but was still trying to hold out. Samuel heart rate was dipping so she was having me turn side to side to try and improve it. I finally decided it was hurting too much and that I wanted the epidural around 3am. It took the drug Dr about 15ish minutes to get there. It took about 45ish minutes to place the epidural, all the while I am in horrible pain. They got me to finally lay down and checked me and I was at a 9. So they called my Dr to have here head over. I was still waiting for the epidural to kick in but it took forever since I had progressed so fast it takes the medication a little bit to catch up since I progressed so quickly. My mom and Tim were awesome and just kept telling me to calm down and just breath and it would help the medicine work better. Finally I started feeling less and less intense contractions, but since my mom told him I didn't want to be numb bum I was still able to move my legs and feel that I was having the contractions which was actually nice to be able to move. My Dr finally arrived and I was able to start pushing. It took me a few pushes to not push in my face, but I got the right pushing and they could all see his head coming, Tim told me he had hair and then I gave a nice big push and Samuel basically popped out my Dr had to catch him it sort of shocked everyone and felt weird and wonderful to have him out. He started crying and it was the most wonderful thing ever. They all said wow he is small and sure enough he was just a mere 6 lbs the smallest baby I have had and smallest grand baby.

Tim and I had not decided on a name for our little guy we couldn't decided between Samuel and Grant. When I saw our little one while they were cleaning him up I thought I think he is a Sammy so after I was all cleaned up and it was just Tim, mom and I, Tim whispered what he thought we should name him to mom and then asked what I thought I was nervous we weren't going to have agreed to I made him just tell me and sure enough he said Samuel. Since Tim had really wanted to have one of the boys named after him we decided to give Samuel Tim's middle name. After I got my new room my mom left to go home and change and get to school were she teaches 1st grade and also had parent/teacher conferences all week. She was a trooper and taught all day and then had conferences until 8pm all on no sleep. Tim came to my new room and got dressed and left shortly after 6:30am to head to work since he had training for work the rest of the week. So our sweet Sammy was conceived unexpectedly and had to make sure his arrival was very unexpected and not planned.
Our Samuel is a great baby and a wonderful eater I don't think either of the boys ate so well in the hospital. I was worried since my mom had said sometimes smaller babies aren't the best eaters. The boys adore him and are always asking to hold him. We are so grateful to have him here safe and sound even if it was the worst week to have him.