So different

I wanted to write my birth story before I forgot it. I had really wanted to go into labor on my own. My induced labors had gone really smoothly and the pain had been manageable. I had heard induced labors were harder so I figured a spontaneous labor would go even better. Unfortunately, an ultrasound at 38 weeks made another induction necessary. My doc wanted to check and make sure my fluid was okay since Keaton's movements had lessened. Turned out it was a little too good. The tech showed me the fluid and his very full bladder. She told the doc my fluid was 28. The doc said "28?, hmm". She then looked at me and said, that's technically polyhydramnios. We may need to induce sooner. She said every doc has different cut offs, but the highest is 26. They induced me for the same thing with Connor. The polyhydramnios puts me at a higher risk for him turning breech and for placental abruption. So an induction was booked for the following Thursday (they won't induce before 39 weeks). We were to report to the hospital at midnight Wed night to get checked in and then the induction would start the next morning. Mike wasn't thrilled about that but I figured better than having to get up at 4:30 Thursday morning.


I actually started contracting Wednesday and was hoping I was going into labor but no luck. We checked into the hospital at midnight for my induction. They monitored the baby and got me in the system and then my doc came in and broke my water at 7:30. I was still contracting so we hoped breaking my water would get things moving quickly. No such luck. After 2 hours, I had only progressed 1cm to 4 and he was still really high. I waited until 11:00 and then requested some pitocin to help things move along. After about an hour, the contractions were getting pretty painful and I was at a 5.
The contractions got really painful a lot quicker than with the other boys. I got stadol around 2 and it helped for about an hour. The nurse came in and checked me at 3 and I was at 6. At that point I just couldn't take it. I broke down and asked for an epidural. I struggled with it but this labor was SO much more intense than the others. It took about 20 minutes for anesthesia to come and about 10 minutes to get the epi. I was really nervous but it went smoothly and took great. Within about 5 minutes, the pain started to ease but I was feeling pressure. The nurse checked again and I was 10 and the head was at +1. So I went from 6 to 10 in about 30 minutes. The nurse said she wanted me to be get some rest from the epi so she let me relax for about 40 minutes. It was so nice. All I felt was very mild pressure with some of the contractions. My doc came in and got ready. The pushing stage was so relaxed and calm. The nurses, the doc and I were talking and laughing. I pushed through 4 contractions and my little guy was born. And the best part is, no tearing! He's my biggest and the only one I didn't tear with. They immediately put him on my chest skin to skin and he latched on within minutes. He nursed for over an hour

It was so different from the other's boys' births. I thought a more natural, spontaneous birth would go smoother and I would have less pain. I was wrong. Keaton's birth was the least induced of them all and by far the most painful. I've heard women say there was no way they could go without an epidural with a pitocin induced labor. It was the complete opposite for me! I started pit with the other boys right from the beginning and before contractions had started. I was technically already in pre-labor with Keaton when they broke my water and didn't get pitocin until 4 hours in. And even then, it was only a small amount. And he's the one I ended up getting the epi with! Just goes to show every labor is different!

I wouldn't change a thing with any of my births though. I'm glad I didn't get the epi with the first 4 and I'm glad I did with Keaton. It was nice to be able to experience both sides. I was hurting so bad with Keaton that I told Mike, "I think you're right, this is it! No more!". But after getting the epi, I thought :wow, this is great, I could definitely do this again!". I told Mike and he said, "I shouldn't have let you get the epi!" :) We have both agreed not to do anything permanent. Mike was pretty adamant that we were done but lately I think he's softening to the the idea of one more. I could see it. For now, we'll just wait and see. Maybe we'll get an even 6 pack of boys :)

Too fast

It's hard to believe Keaton is a month old. It goes by so fast. He's doing good although I think he's getting a cold. I'm not surprised since his brothers have one and they insist on being in his face all the time. Poor baby. He's very alert and has started smiling. I could stare at him all day! He definitely likes to be held! The other boys liked it but they were happy to be on the floor looking around or in the swing. Not Keaton! Thankfully I have several helpers that don't mind holding him at all! Even Noah is crazy about him and gets upset when he can't hold him.

Speaking of Noah, he is doing great with his potty training. He wasn't too interested about a month ago but the last week or two he has gotten a lot better. He wears underwear most of the day and has only had a few accidents in the last 3 days. His independence helps in this area. It is VERY frustrating in others though! All I hear is "My do it!!!". He will throw a monster fit if he doesn't get to do everything by himself. He is by far my most challenging child so far! But then he can be the sweetest boy. Loves to give hugs and kisses and is definitely my most outgoing child.

All in all we are doing good. Mike is back at work. I definitely look forward to him coming home! The boys are good most of the time but boy can they fight! In fact, I just had Liam come in and tell me Landon hit him. Landon then tells me yes he did but he did it because Liam punched him first. Liam of course denied it and Landon said "yes he did! He just doesn't want to commit it becasue he'll get in trouble!". I made them hug and apologize and then separated them. Ahh, brotherly love!

Cool Dude Hair

Connor got a haircut last week and he decided to style it. He used some gel and spiked the front. Landon of course wanted to do it too so Connor helped him. It was so cute to watch them standing in front of the mirror together fixing their hair. They left for school and Liam came to me and said, "mommy, I want cool dude hair like brothers". It was adorable! He had me help him spike his hair in front. He was so proud and couldn't wait to show Mike his cool dude hair :) They have all been fixing their hair every morning now. They were all sitting at the counter the other day and it made me smile. They looked so handsome! I can't wait to have all 5 of my boys sitting there with their "cool dude" hair :)

What Next?

I have to start by saying, I have felt really good this pregnancy. Aside from being tired, I'm loving it. Little man is VERY active and I LOVE feeling and seeing him move. However, it seems like I keep being thrown curve balls. The kidney issue is nerve wracking enough but yesterday I got another scare. I had been having really bad swelling in my right calf and foot for a few days. It was worse in the evening but it never went away. I went to my appt expecting to hear, "it's normal" and to drink more and put my feet up. Instead, the doc took one look and said "I'm sending you for an ultrasound of your leg". She was concerned that since it was only on one side, I could have a blood clot. That had never even crossed my mind. She said, if they did see something, they would admit me to the hospital. It took 30 minutes to get pre-approval from my insurance. Thankfully, my friend Lori had come to my appt with me (1st time she's done that) and helped me occupy Liam and Noah. I have to admit, my first thought was "crud, I didn't shave my legs!". My doc was awesome and showed the boys how to change the color of the light on the fish tank and even brought me a box of girl scout cookies for them to snack on. I called Mike at work and told him he may want to start finding someone to come in for him just in case they admitted me. Of course after weeks of being slow, they had been busy all morning and he was on call number 2.
I finally got an appt for 1:00 (it was 11:00) so we took the kids to get something to eat. Mike called and said it would be at least 2 hours before he could be home. He was in Johnson City and they had to get back to the airport and refuel and restock before flying back to Greenville. From there, it takes him an hour to get home. So I called my mom to come meet me at the hospital so Lori could go pick up her son from school. Headed back to the hospital and got back for the u/s about 1:45. My doc had said that although the techs don't officially read the results, they know what they are looking at. She said if the tech finished and said,ok, you can go, then everything was normal. But if she said she was bringing the doctor in, there could be a problem. I honestly had not been too worried until the tech finished and said "let me get the radiologist to take a look". I panicked. Thankfully, 10 long minutes later, she came back and said he didn't see anything and I could go. I was SO relieved! So the official diagnosis is unexplained unilateral swelling. The doctor told me to try and stay off my feet and that they'd keep an eye on it. Mike called as I was loading the boys in the van and was about 10 minutes from the house. I hated that he had had to leave work but it was nice becasue I was able to come home and lay down for a while. Mike offered to take today off but I told him no. I hate to waste vacation time. Mom took the boys around 2:00 and is keeping them overnight. It feels so weird to be alone in the house. I honestly don't remember the last time that happened. I think it was when I was pregnant with Noah.
So, everything is fine but I sure am tired of these scares. I just want my little guy yo be okay and have a smooth 8 weeks! I'm getting really excited about meeting him. I got out my newborn clothes to wash. They being back memories :) I can't wait to see what he looks like. Right now, I'm guessing brown hair and blue eyes. Time will tell!

Tired

I'm now 30 weeks along and the tiredness is coming back. We've had some unexpected things come up and I think the emotional stress adds to the fatigue. They are still wanting to monitor the baby's kidneys which are both still enlarged. The cutoff for normal is 4 and his are at 6. If they reach 10, they will have to do a test where they insert a needle into his bladder to test the concentration of his urine. If that comes back abnormal, it means that the kidney has reached the point where it is not functioning properly. If that were the case, they would deliver him then. My next u/s is in 4 weeks so I would be 34 weeks along. The idea of the test makes my sick to my stomach since I know that he would feel the procedure. Add that to having to deliver him early and it's pretty stressful. I just want my baby to be okay.
On top of that, I noticed a small black mole on my shoulder about a month ago. I went to my doctor to have it looked at and he recommended it be removed. That was done a couple of weeks ago. T"he pathology report came back that although they were holding back on calling it melanoma, that they were recommending it be treated as one and that more of the surround tissue be removed. The surgeon said that if left alone, the mole would have developed into a melanoma. So, yesterday I went and had an area of skin about the size of a ping pong ball removed. He ended up having to give me 5 stitches. It's VERY sore today. I wasn't expecting it since the first procedure didn't really hurt. I saw my OB this morning and she was surprised they didn't give me anything for pain so she gave me a prescription for stadol. I'm trying to hold off on it though. Now I have an appt with a dermatologist in 2 weeks. I'm really nervous they'll find more spots. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed right now.
Anyway, I'm trying to focus on the positive right now. Baby boy looks great other than the kidney issue. He moves constantly and I love it. My OB asked if I was tired of being pregnant yet and I can honestly say no. I'm enjoying it, esp since this is probably our last. It has been a smooth pregnancy all things considered. The boys are doing great and we are looking forward to spring. So, I know I'm blessed and I'm just praying that God takes care of the things I can't control.

Cat Hotel

The boys are FINALLY back at school after school being canceled for a week and a half. This was immediately following Christmas break so they were out for almost 4 weeks. They were so ready to go back and I was ready for them to go as well! They honestly were pretty good all things considered but they were getting cabin fever. One afternoon Connor and Landon spent nearly 2 hours building a "cat hotel" for Daisy and Jackson. They used laundry baskets, toy bins, blankets, and other misc items to create and elaborate hideaway for the cats. It even had separate eating and sleeping areas. They were so proud and I was proud of their imaginations. Now if they could only play like that every day!

First Pics

Realized today that I never posted our new baby boy's u/s pics. So, here they are :) In the third one, he's got one fist in front of his nose and the other is rubbing his eye.