Baby Jayden is here!!!

Today we welcomed the newest member of our family. Here is his birth story.

Last night Daniel and I went to our ward dutch oven dinner. I had been having pre-labor stuff going on all day and the previous day but I didnt even mention it to Dan since I didnt want to get his hopes up. I told him we should go to the dinner since it would likely be our last time out without any children for a while.

We had nice time but by about halfway through, I started having labor pains and I had the feeling that the time was just around the corner. I still didnt say anything to him about it. We went home and pretty soon he could tell something was up. He asked me what was wrong and I just told him I was hurting. He didnt know that I was in labor. After another hour of me writhing in pain, he finally asked if I was just hurting or if I was having contractions. I told him they were contractions and he asked if we should go to the hospital. I told him I wanted to wait until they were a little closer together.

By midnight it became clear that this was real and it was time to go. They were 3 minutes apart by then. We called Dan's mom, who came over to stay with our other children so we wouldnt have to drag them out in the middle of the night. We drove to the hospital where they checked me and said I was at a 4 and very thin. They told me they would check again in an hour. An hour later I wanted my epidural!!! But I didnt have an IV yet...By about 3:30, they decided to put in the IV, but I was dehydrated, and every time they tried, my veins would collapse. After putting 5 holes in my arms, and 3 different nurses trying, they finally got the IV in, which meant I could get the epidural I had been not so patiently waiting for! Hallelujah!!!! The anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural, which allowed me to get some much needed sleep!

The next time they checked me, I was at an 8 with a bulging bag of waters. They usually just break my water before this point since it hurries the process along, but since it was the middle of the night, I think they were hoping for the opposite-that they could hold me off until the doc came in. She told me they would give it another hour or hour and a half and if they didnt break by then, it would be time for the doc to come in and he could break them.

This entire time I was sick to my stomach and throwing up, so they gave me a couple of doses of phenargen which made me really sleepy, but did take away the nausea.

An hour later, she checked me again and of course, my water was still in tact and I was still at an 8. They called the doctor who came in a bit later and broke my water for me. It wasn't long after that that he was ready to go. They asked me if I felt pressure and I told them a little, so they prepped me to push. The doctor looked down and said, "I see his head! Push when you are ready!" I started to push, and by the time they reached counting to 6, his head was out, and the doc wriggled with his little body and handed me the baby just a few seconds later. Not much work when it came to pushing!

Jayden Daniel Miller weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He has a full head of blonde hair and is doing great.

I didnt tear at all, needed no stitches whatsoever, so I am also feeling great and thinking it will be a nice, easy recovery. When the nurse asks me what my pain level is at, I tell her there isnt a pain level because I feel fine. Talk to me in a day or so when Im home wrestling 3 other kids and forgetting to take it easy :)

Here are a few pictures of our new arrival and our family.