He's here!!!

Luke James Burton. 05/26/2010, 7:14 a.m. 8 lbs. 13 oz. 20 in. and PERFECT.

How ironic that the day before Luke came, Drew wrote a funny post about patience and waiting for him to come :) It was such an amazing experience that nobody can prepare for but it was so worth the wait. (I know, I say that now after complaining for 5 weeks.) This might be a huge rambling because I am so tired, but I want to write as much as I remember so we don't forget! :)

My contractions got progressively worse over the weekend, so we decided Tuesday night that we would go into Labor and Delivery, and if I hadn't progressed, we would talk to my Dr. about possibilities since the baby was so big. I really wanted to avoid c section, who wouldn't?!

We got to the hospital a little after 7 pm. As we walked in I said to Drew, "I am NOT leaving without a baby this time!" I know, I was getting a little impatient at this point but contracting every 2 minutes had me thinking it really was time. And I was right! They checked me when we first got to the hospital, and I was a 3 (like the last three weeks, so that was frustrating!) and they decided since my contractions were so regular they'd just keep me two hours and see what happened. Luckily, the contractions were strong enough this time to dilate me to a 4 in the hours they watched me. We were prepared for her to say "no change" and we would then ask for an amnio, ultrasound, or whatever was necessary in order to induce. So when she said I had changed and that he wanted to keep me and get me going, we were so so happy. It was now almost 10 pm so we called our parents and told them to head this way. However, it went pretty slow for a couple hours after that. She started me on a little pitocin, and when that kicked in the contractions hurt a lot worse but no progress with dilating. They started the epidural, which in my opinion is heaven sent for sure....that thing does wonders! I was really nervous to get it but it wasn't bad AT ALL.

After I got the epidural I felt so much better but it slowed things down quite a bit. She upped my mL in pitocin, but I still hadn't changed by 2 am. By this time our parents had showed up so we were all just hanging out in the room. We decided we were all too anxious to sleep so we didn't even try. But then at 3:30, I still hadn't changed and we decided now was the best time to take advantage of the quiet, and sleep. So our parents went out to the waiting room, and Drew and I turned the lights off and shut our eyes. Not two minutes later, I heard a pop noise and thought it was just a huge movement from the baby. Nope! It was definitely my water. :) I was so happy that my water broke on it's own rather than the Dr. having to break it for me. Drew went and got my nurse and she came and cleaned me up and told me things would speed up now.

Our parents came back into our room at about 4:30 am after we got more anxious now that my water had broken. Once my water broke I started feeling a lot more pressure and a little bit more pain and I realized my epidural was wearing off a little. Within 10 minutes I could feel a lot more than I wanted to, so she called the anesthesiologist to come give me another boost. After he gave me a boost I got really sick and threw up for about 5 minutes. Not the funnest of moments, but I was rewarded with my nurse checking me and telling me I had progressed to a 6, almost 7. Now things started getting a little more real. My dad and Drew gave me a beautiful blessing, and I knew that I would be holding our new baby boy within the next couple hours.

At 6:00 the nurses had a shift change and I was sad to see my nurse leave since she had been there through it all and shared in my excitement. But during the shift change, my contractions and pressure started getting a lot more intense. This part sucked because nobody was coming to check on me since they were busy changing shifts. My Dr. showed up shortly after and decided to check me. I was complete and ready to push by 6:20. My father-in-law, Ron, wasn't into watching the whole thing (who can blame him....haha) so he was the "detail noter." He says I started pushing at 6:23 a.m. (Luke was born at 7:14 a.m. so I pushed for less than an hour, and a total of 46 pushes, Ron said! :)

Pushing was a lot different than I expected, and a lot harder too. They kept telling me I was pushing too much up top and not enough down low, so once I got the hang of it, everyone started cheering me on which helped a lot. After pushing for about 20 minutes, they noticed Luke's heart rate had raised considerably (as did mine) and after doing some more vitals noticed that my fever was 101. It didn't help that the nurses kept making weird faces at each other and saying things under their breath. At this point, I got really stressed which made it all the more hard. Luckily, I had Drew, my mom, and Lori right at my side helping me and trying to keep me worry-free. I think my fever and heart rate got worse as the nurses kept scaring me, which in turn didn't help Luke out. My Dr. came in and let me know the risks of my fever on the baby and told me he was going to give me an episiotomy to help the process along and get Luke out asap.

Those last pushes were the longest moments of my life. He was crowning for what seemed like forever, but with the help of everyone else and positive thoughts I finally got the baby out. Seeing him come out was the most amazing thing I'll ever experience. Drew and I couldn't contain our emotions and the love we had for each other and our new little one was so present and real at that moment. They put him up on my belly as they wiped him off but I could tell he wasn't doing too great with breathing and it was a little scary. They didn't let us hold him for long, but we did get to see the scale and that bright red, "8 lbs. 13 oz." and 20 inches shining. Everyone gasped and couldn't believe he was so big for only being 38 weeks. (After doing some tests, the pediatrician thinks I was actually over-due, which makes sense.)

Anyway, they took Luke to the nursery and unfortunately he has to stay there and be monitored while getting antibiotics for atleast 48 hours in case my fever was because of an infection. They couldn't find a vein forever so the poor thing must take after me. They poked him a couple times and he had an oxygen tube put down his stomach (so sad on such a small tiny innocent baby.) The good news is, after 24 hours, he was doing so so much better and they think he might not have an infection after all. They think that he just had a very stressful delivery (probably because of my stupid stress....I feel guilty) and the transition from womb to air had him confused on how to breathe. He's getting it now though! He did develop jaundice rather early so he is under the lights now. He is nursing okay, still a little hard to catch on to, but we are working on it together and he is doing great for his 2nd day of life.

Other than my stitches and the pain from ripping (sorry if that's TMI) I feel awesome. I can't believe he is really here and he is so perfect. I can't wait to take him home and start our lives together. Drew and I know what a blessing he is and our love for each other has grown because of the blessing we now have. We're catching up on our sleep, and with a lot of help from the nurses, and our parents, we're as good as new. :) I don't have a ton of pics on the computer yet so the next post will be an overload of the pics. We'll be here until tomorrow morning for sure and then they'll let us know depending on his blood work and jaundice levels.

Thanks everyone for your support and love through this whole pregnancy. We are so blessed and never realized how it would feel to love someone so much. He is amazing. We decided on the middle name James because both of us have great grandpas named James, and it also translates to "Santiago," which is where Drew served his mission.

So there you have it. I'm sure I've left some details out, (can you believe it) but we are just happy to have him here and that everything turned out to be okay after such a crazy stressful couple weeks. Love you all.

The Hubby's Point of View

Well, I finally figured out how to get on this thing and post. Maybe. We'll see after I'm done. Don't expect any pictures or anything, because I'm still figuring it out and too confident in myself to ask my wifey for help. :) So for the past few weeks, Kylie has been contracting at least once every five minutes, and sometimes every two or so. We have gone to labor and delivery about one a week thinking they might start her and pull little Luke out already. But no. We have been sent home everytime and it's getting frustrating. They same to come in if it gets worse, so we do, and we waste a lot of time and energy. It's really stressing Ky out and we are just thinking that we'll just wait longer, but then the contractions get worse.

The thing is, our doctor says that Luke is probably about 8 lbs now, and even though I don't know much about it, I don't think that Ky wants to be pushing out a 12 lb baby out any time soon. So we are trying to convince the doc to help out, but he won't budge. 39 weeks. That would be this coming sunday, but he won't on a Sunday. So he decided Monday, but no, it's Memorial Day. So Tuesday, but he will be out of town. Geez, we need a new doc!

Our mom's aren't helping the situation much. They just think we can waltz into the hospital and break the water ourselves and demand that they pull Luke out! I think they just want a new grandbaby, and who can blame them?

So I guess our lesson here is patience. We have tried everything from excercise balls, walking around the block, to back hand springs on our neighbors' trampoline. :) He just likes it so much in her belly.

Ky has been a trooper and I know she is feeling a lot of pressure during her contractions. Or how she puts it to me, imagine that you have to go "#2" really bad and can't do anything about it, somebody is stabbing a knife through my pee hole, and getting punched in the stomach 10 times all at the same time. She's hilarious, and I love her! So let's all pray he comes soon so he can grace you all with his presence!

Pics from the things I haven't blogged about.. :)

Well these pics are out of order because I uploaded them that way, so I'll start with last weekend-my baby shower in Heber. It was a lot of fun and I got lots of awesome stuff. Thanks to everyone who came! It was good that we got EVERYTHING we needed because he might be coming soon! Here are some pics...my grandma Mair made the cute diaper cake.
The loot! I don't even think this is everything...





I was able to go to NYC with my mom, grandma, and aunt Di at the beginning of April. It was a LOT of fun. Hard on my swollen feet, but totally worth it :) We did all the tourist-y things (Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Rockefellar Center, etc.) and also went to Wicked (my 3rd, and BEST time) and Promises, Promises. It was awesome! Kristen Chennoweth was the lead in Promises, Promises along with Jack from Will and Grace. We also went to Martha Stewart! It was fun to see a live show and Jeff Daniels was the guest star. My mom got to sit on the front row cause she was wearing a cute shirt. :) It was really good and funny. It was a short couple of days but so fun for all of us. I didn't take many pics on my camera cause we decided just to use one to make it easier, but there are a couple here I'll post.

This is the Martha set.

On the way home I got to see my cute niece and nephew Elle and Maddix. We met for a quick lunch at my favorite sandwich place, Jimmy Johns. Here are some pics of that :)

I just thought this was cute cause she is posing...kinda ugly of me!

Making a "dragon face!"

I showed my other niece, Jaylee, this pic of her cousin Elle. She had to have a pic taken of the same face :) I love them!

And finally, a belly shot. 34.5 weeks :) (I just took this today..)

Not what I expected...

So..it's been far too long, I know. I have no excuse really. I'm not that busy. I have quite a lot of time on my hands...but..I've just been blog lazy I guess. And even now that I'm posting, it probably won't be too exciting because I don't feel like posting pics and if I don't go back to my laying position on the couch within 4 minutes then my baby might decide to come out. :)

I have to admit I have had this expectation of what will happen when it's time for baby Luke to arrive. (That's what we decided to name him, if you haven't heard! :)) I figured it would be the middle of the night (like the movies) and I would wake up and my water would break and we'd rush to the hospital and he'd be born. Uh...wrong-o. Let's just say it's been quite surprising and not very fun-but I know it will be worth it.

Last Tuesday, I started having really bad cramps and leaking and decided I better go talk to my Doc, who of course just told me to go to Labor and Delivery. Now, it's a week later, and we've been back 4 times! It turns out I had a kidney stone, and UTI that started preterm labor. When I got there last week I was dialated to a 1, 60% effaced, and contracting every 4 minutes. They gave me antibiotics and a med to slow down the contractions, which worked enough to slow it down, but not stop it. I had to go back a couple more times last week and left for Heber (I didn't even ask my Doc, for fear he'd say no...) dialated to a 2 and 70% effaced. We had a fun time in Heber! I thought it would be miserable but I felt well enough to enjoy most of the weekend. I had a great baby shower and got lots of really nice things-good thing, cause I think he's coming pretty soon!

I had to go back this morning because of an allergic reaction to the med that slows contractions. Turns out I was a little bit more dialated and effaced, so they kept me ALL day to make sure I wasn't progressing too fast. I'm still contracting regularly and the Doc put me on "bed rest" (not strict...) and told me to go in as soon as I feel like it's time! So, we're crossing our fingers for another week or two. But if he decides to come before, our Dr. reassured us that 34 week old premies are usually just fine.

Anyway-it's been a crazy week and I'm sure it will only get crazier. I will keep everyone updated as I'm able to! Next post, we might have a baby! Good thing we got organized early. :) Love everyone-hope all is well with everyone else! Until next time... :)

Moses Lake

We went to Moses Lake, Washington last weekend to visit family. Drew's brother Brandon and his wife Kelsea moved up there a couple months ago because Brandon got a new job. Kelsea is VERY TALENTED and landed a lead in a community play like the first week they moved up there. Drew's mom flew up for the play and weekend, and we decided to drive.... Let's just say, I love road trips-but only when you get to stop more often and spend more time at each stop. It was pretty hard on my ankles...which are now cankles. Holy cow. :) Anyway-the play was awesome, the weekend was relaxing, and it was good to see everyone as always! I swear my belly grew about 3 inches (haha, I'm sure everyone feels like that in this stage of pregnancy!) I didn't take any pics, but I stole some from Lori.

Kelsea with her "fiance" in the play and her husband...

Ty Ty, so cute.

Belly shot..

Drew thinks he looks like a "fat slob" but I love him :)

Drew with his mommy in the car.

And of course!! I can't fail to mention that we were able to stop in Twin Falls, Idaho on the way up AND back to see my best friend Jenna and her boys. :) It was a quick stop where mostly we just slept at their house and were SO thankful for breakfast and their hospitality. We're going to go see them for a longer period this summer hopefully. Love you Sorensons!!!

Another brother down...

I love being the only girl with 5 brothers. I can think of many reasons why. But one thing I do not love, is having to say goodbye to each of them for 2 years. I hate it! It never gets easier, believe me. In fact, I think it's gotten harder with each one....I dunno. I am very proud of my brothers for serving missions, and am proud of my little brother Garrett for doing so as well. He has been called to the Roseville, California mission. He left Wednesday to the MTC, and will leave March 2 to Cali. It's pretty weird that he wont see my baby boy until he's almost 2!! It really is a sacrifice...but such a blessing to him and his family. I must say I am really surprised that out of my 4 brothers that have gone so far, none have been called to South America or spanish speaking. I feel like every other missionary I talk to is spanish speaking! So maybe Gavin, the last of the bunch, will get called to one. :) If not, Drew will be the only member of our fam that speaks spanish! Weird. Anyway-we love you Gare bear...you'll be awesome! Here are a couple of cute pics of the kid...crazy that he's old enough to be a missionary.
I think this is precious...Garrett and his girlfriend Chellcee outside the MTC...and Garrett with his BFF and little bro, Gav.


All of us at Garrett's graduation last year.

Count your many blessings...

I was browsing on Facebook the other day and came across an invite to a group called Prayers for Bronson. I usually join groups with titles such as this just because I like praying for people that need help. (Shouldn't we all?) As I looked more into the group of the little boy I was asked to pray for, I couldn't believe the heart breaking tragedy that struck this family on a typical Saturday morning. The blog site is www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com. To get the whole story you will need to scrole down quite a ways to the date February 1 where it all starts. As I read the story I couldn't help but feel for this family, even though I don't know them. With my own baby boy on the way, I had many mixed feelings as I thought about bringing him into this world. It's a scary one, and bad accidents can happen. I am excited for him to be here, and I know that my life will be forever changed once I see him. It has already changed as I sense and witness the amazing miracle of his growth so far. I want to hold on to how I feel about him forever, because you never know what can happen. It's a scary thing, but we can only go forward with faith and knowledge and hold on to what we have. I need to think more often of the people I love.

Sorry, this was a little heavy. I just really wanted to share so that little Bronson can receive even more prayers. And hopefully we can all count our blessings after hearing of such a tragedy.