I thought I should journal how my labor went while it is fresh in my mind so Brigham can read about it someday. Sorry it is so long, but I want to remember as much as I can
I was due on Wednesday, Dec. 10th. That day came and went and I was pretty depressed that I hadn't gone into labor yet. I was sure I was gonna go early, so everyday was so long when nothing would happen. I even tried to talk the doctor into inducing me on Saturday, but he wasn't going to be on call and the partners won't induce each other's patients. He just didn't want to work that day, so he gave me some excuse that he would be out of town. I spent all day Friday and Saturday walking the malls while Isabel was with Grandma Bailey, shopping. I would have lots of contractions while I was walking, but nothing painful. Saturday there were a few where I had to slow down cause I was uncomfortable, but when I stopped walking, so did the stronger contractions. Towards the end of my 3 hour stint at the mall on Saturday afternoon, I ran into a friend out there and she told me to try Castor oil, because her mom used it for all four of her babies. I thought, I dunno if I am that desperate, and I don't know if David will think that is a good idea to try something like that. So he called us and I talked to him about it. Lo and behold, he sounded interested in it and said, why not try it? So we stopped at Walmart on the way home and bought some of the stuff. I was kinda nervous about the thought of really going into labor that night. I took it at 8pm. It was pretty gross, mostly just cause of the thickness and oiliness of it. I went to bed and woke up at 1am, thinking that it hadn't worked since I didn't have any contractions earlier. Well I tried to go back to sleep and wouldn't you know, I felt a contraction that made my heart skip a beat cause it actually hurt. Oh I was so excited and nervous. I started watching the clock. After I couldn't go back to sleep, I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes and they were really uncomfortable. David got really excited and kept asking me what was wrong when I would let out a deep breath. He would ask me how far apart they were after each one, hoping that they kept up intensity. Since I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep, I got up and came down on the computer. I didn't know if they would keep up if I was moving around, but the time I was on it, they were still pretty uncomfortable. By 4am, they were still pretty frequent. So we called the hospital and let them know. They said I could come in and get checked out, but since I was going natural, they said to stay home until they were consistently 3 minutes apart, or my water broke. So I timed them for an hour more. They were 3 to 4 minutes apart and 60 seconds long. By now I was having to concentrate and relax through each one, I couldn't talk through them anymore. So I thought I better start getting ready. I got in the shower and started getting all ready. I worked on my bag some and had David help me get all situated. They were starting to get painful, especially if I was standing up during one. So showering and getting ready was a slow process. At 5:30am, I was in my room and had one that I needed to lay down for. So I laid on the bed and practiced my relaxation. At the end of the contraction, I thought I felt the baby kick my cervix, but it was so much stronger than any baby can kick. I swear I heard the pop from my water breaking. It felt like I had a water balloon in my stomach and someone stepped on it. That is the pressure I felt. I didn't gush or anything, so I was really confused about what happened. David was downstairs talking to his mom, so I started walking to the bedroom door and felt the water come. I hurried and ran to the top of the stairs, yelled down to them that my water broke and ran to the bathroom. Luckily there was no mess (sorry if this is too graphic!) anywhere. I got really excited again, thinking that this was it and there was no turning back. I finished putting on my makeup and David started getting really nervous and excited. Isabel woke up at 5:45, really sad and crying out for me, she seemed to know that something was up. I tried to comfort her, work through my contractions and finish getting everything together. I was pretty slow going since I was immobile every 3 minutes for a minute at a time. I tried to eat some breakfast since I hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before. I ate some cereal, but it made me a little nauseous. After I had a contraction at the table, I told David that I think we needed to get going soon. That sent him into overdrive. He ran out to start the car and take the bags out there and kept telling me to hurry. It is pretty funny when I think back to seeing him running all around. He was still very calm, but he definitely had urgency in his voice. So we kissed Isabel bye and left her with Grandma Bailey (we are so glad it worked out how it did, it was so nice to just be able to leave her at home with family and know she would be great and happy). The car ride was pretty uncomfortable, but David drove great and got us there safe.
I was so scared I would get to the hospital and they would tell me I was on dilated to a 3 or something. I did not want to have as long of a labor as I did with Isabel. I got to the hospital around 6:45am and got checked in. Good thing we didn't wait any longer, because I got the last room in labor and delivery (it was a full moon weekend)!
David and I told ourselves to expect to only be to a 3 or 4 and then anything past that would be a bonus. Well, they checked me a little after 7am and I was already to a 7! Hallelujah! Seriously, that is what I mumbled when I found out. I was hoping I would transition fast like I did with Isabel. They wouldn't let me get in the tub since I was so dilated. So I labored in the bed and David was a great coach. He kept me calm and as relaxed as I could get. There were a few contractions that made me think I was gonna lose it, but he knew just what to say to keep me level headed. Around 7:45 I knew my body was going to start pushing in the next few contractions, so I told David to let them know. I was pretty scared, but David was so excited. So the nurse checked me again and said I was an 8. She said I could let my body push a little bit, but not to push with it. That is so hard to do! I got really scared when after 10 minutes, I could hardly breathe through the contractions and it was taking everything in me NOT to push. I was still only a 9 so I had to try really, really hard not to push. I made it a few more contractions and then I couldn't stop it anymore, I was pushing and pushing HARD. She checked me around 8:15am and I was fully dilated, 100% effaced and a +3 (I could feel that the baby was right there). The doctor had just gotten in for the morning (not even my doctor, his partner who was on call, but he was awesome!) , so he rushed in and got all set up. We had 3 nurses scrambling to get everything set up. The doctor joked that the risk of delivering a baby that was from a natural childbirth is that he sometimes gets kneed in the head cause the women don't have any pain medicine. After the first contraction, he said, okay we should have this baby out in an hour or so (in a joking manner). I then informed him that he may get kicked in the head after all. It was nice to have some comic relief in such an intense situation. I pushed through 3 insane contractions and he was out. David shouted it was a boy, and we lost it. It was so special and I couldn't believe what had just happened. I still can't believe he is so perfect and so great. I am in complete amazement that we have been blessed with these 2 special spirits in our family. Brigham is such a sweet little baby. He hardly makes any fuss and loves to snuggle. He has a great big sister who loves him so much, sometimes a little too much:)
We stayed at the hospital until Monday around 11am. We were anxious to get home to Isabel and get settled before we had to take David's mom to the airport that night. Plus I can't get any sleep in the hospital. Everytime I doze off, a nurse comes in to mess with me or Brigham. So we had to put a little fire under them to get things taken care of that morning to get us discharged.
Here's a funny story. David went with Brigham to do the circumcision. It was 2 nurses and a female doctor that were doing it. David was behind them watching. He said they had their backs turned to Brigham and were prepping things after they strapped his legs down. David said he looked up and say a stream of pee coming up over their shoulders and shooting all over the place. He told them and they turned around and got sprayed all over the front of them too. He told them that Brigham knew what was coming and was trying to retaliate. He sounds like he is going to be a jokester just like his daddy.
We feel so blessed and are amazed and how Heavenly Father has been watching out for us. Everything worked out great and now we have the greatest Christmas present ever!
We got these remote control helicopters a few nights ago. It has been so much fun to see David fly these things around the house and get so happy when he does a cool trick with them. They have been a great stress reliever now that finals are over and he is like a little kid flying them around. I haven't had much time to hone my skills, but when I do, we will have some great battles with them. He is flying one right now as we speak. He is too cute!
We also got this beautiful nativity set. It is carved out of this cool black wood and it is amazing the detail and skill that was used in carving it. I told David last year that I want to start collecting nativity sets, and this is definitely a great way to start that off. 
Last night we got this cute velour outfit for Isabel along with really cute black sweaters for us. She saw it this morning and got a big smile on her face and wanted to wear it right away. She looks so cute in it! 
Here is Isabel studying with Daddy. She will just sit there while he reads to her and she points out anything in his notes that catches her attention.
She did want to help David with the carving part, what a pro!
