about time!

man i havent posted in a longgg time! ive been wanting to, just havent found the time. as im sure you know, Abigail is here!!! yay!! finally. it didnt all go as I had planned, but i know it went as God had planned. for those of you who dont know about Abbys birth, ill explain. So, i went to the dr. on the tuesday before my due date and he checked me and i just wasnt progressing the way he wanted me to, so he told me to come back on friday (which was my due date) at 8:30 that morning so that we could get things going if he felt i was far enough along in dialting and all that to induce. So, we just really felt like it was going to happen, so my parents decided to go ahead and drive in on thursday (bethany was flying in later that day). Friday morning my mom and i went to the dr, they decided to hook me up to a machine that monitors contractions and fetal movement, everything looked good, was having some contractions and fetal movement was good. The dr. checked me and he still wasnt too happy with my progress and abbys head just wasnt very low. he then decided to measure her to get an idea of how much she weighed...well, just a week or so before that she weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. or so and usually babies stop growing the last 2 weeks or so, so he wasnt expecting her to be much bigger than that. so he was surprised, with the rest of us, that he measured her to be 9 lbs 6 oz, give or take. he also measured her head, and i cant remember the #s, but theres a certain size that they have to recomend that you have a c-section, well, her head measured over that. so, given the circumstances, he really encouraged me to have a c-section and told me that i had an 85% chance of having a smooth labor and everything going fine, 10% chance of going through labor and then having to have an emergency c-section, which just isnt safe, and then a 5% chance that i could have her naturally but she would be all banged up and could have permanent damage (physical, mental, etc.). i of course started crying, i hadnt really even considered having to have a csection b/c i had ben so easily. but i also knew i didnt want to take that 5% chance. so they told me to go home, talk it over with david and call back before noon and let them know and i would get in there and have a baby at 3 that afternoon. We talked it over and knew it was the best choice, no question. so, by 3 that afternoon i was in the hospital being prepped for the arrival of abby. (i can already tell this post is gonna be long...) so here is my c-section experience...david was with me while they got my iv in and my catheter in and all that, but then when they took me into the operating room he had to stay out, which neither of us was too pleased. my anesthesia was a spinal tap, which is alot like an epidural, but the needle goes all the way into the spine...well, he had to do it twice. it wasnt really painful, but just knowing what he was doing and not having david in there bothered me. i immediately went numb and they laid me back on the table and tole me i might have some nausea and i might kinda panic. i usually dont get the side effects from medicine, but i immediately started getting nauseous, so the anesthesiologist gave me some medicine for that and it subsided, then i started to panic, i felt like i couldnt breath and was just very uncomfortable, so he gave me some medicine for that. i thought david would get to come in after that, but the drs came in and started cutting me and then david got to come in. he got to see my insides, and he likes to tell everyone about it, not that he particularly enjoyed seeing them. but he was there with me while they pulled her out, and he said when they pulled her out she was all purple and we didnt hear any crying. but i guess its common for csection babies because they arent squeezed thru the birth canal that they have fluid in their lungs, so the nurses started working on her and i heard all kinds of suctioning and then i heard her start squealing, and of course i just wanted to see her. they got her all cleaned up and just let me get a glimpse of her face and they took her to the nicu for monitoring because of the fluid. not that i coulve held her or anything. i was sooo out of it from the drugs. david had to leave the room with abby. so the finished stitching me up and then moved me to recovery. i was soo out of it, but my bed was right by the nursery windows, so i remember hearing all of our family getting to see her for the first time, that was really sweeet, i just wish i couldve been with them. i finally got moved to my own room after i was able to feel my feet and legs a little. i didnt get to see abby until 9 that night, but it was worth the wait. we were both healthy and she immediately latched on for her first nursing, which was a great relief to me. i got to keep her in my room the whole time, and i had the room to myself, so it was easier to have guests in and out. i may not have liked the effects of the anesthesia, but im just thankful that i have a sweet healthy little girl on this side of the world. she is such a blessing to us all and i cant describe the love i have for her and ben. theres nothing like being a mother, especially to 2 of the most beautiful children in the WORLD!!! haha. oh and i forgot, for those of you who dont know, abby weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs!!! and like i said, i was pretty out of it from the anesthesia, but i remember when they pulled her out everyone was like "whoa look at the umbilical cord! its huge!" haha! i guess the bigger the baby, the bigger the umbilical cord.

abby is 6 weeks old today and healthy and growing. shes soo beatiful, and im excited to say that her eyelashes are growing growing, so i think she will definitely be able to compete with her brother in that area, haha! i also had my 6 weeks checkup today and everything is fine with me too. my body has healed and bounced back a whole lot faster than i coulve imagined.

my sweet benjamin turned 4 years old last week!! where has the time gone?? it seems like just yesterday he was the new little baby in this house. its kind of shocking to hold him after holding abby, hes not my baby anymore, hes my lanky little boy. it kinda makes me sad, but at the same time it makes me thankful because he too is a healthy little boy, and we all know the health issues he has struggled with.

well, i think i will finish this post for now. i will try my hardest to update as much as possible, but having 2 little ones leaves me very little time to myself!