Lawlor--Party of 7!

BLAKE THOMAS

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

8LBS 15 OZ, 21 1/2 INCHES

He opened his eyes the first night, and had the most confused look on his face... I said "I know, I am not quite sure what happened either..."
We are going to need a bigger boat...

I made the kids Big brother big sister tee shirts. You can't see Blake's, but his says Baby brother... They are fun to make and the nurses all love them. I will post better picts of the tshirts when I get them :)

They are like an At&t commercial... more bars in more places...

Well, it has already been a week, and what a week! I went to church on the 8th, and came home not feeling very well. By the time Dan came home from Stake Choir practice, I said, "you better call my parents." We finally left for the hospital a little before 10pm (I was contracting pretty hard by this time, but had to get all the kids clothes set out for the next day, and straighten up the kitchen.... who wants to come home to dirty dishes...) :) We got to the hospital and by this time I am in tears because it was hurting so bad. So we check in, and they send me to triage. I told her I was at a 4 1/2 on Thursday, but she still sent me for a "labor check". So I get back there, change into a way too small hospital gown, climb into the oh so uncomfortable bed. The nurse calmly comes in to hook me up to monitors, after several more painful contractions, she says, "let's check you." Ohhhh you are at an 8! I need to call your Dr! She tries to put an iv in my hand, and misses, ouch! We ditch our bags in the hallway, she and Dan run me to a delivery room, I ask (nicely!!!) for drugs, and they say "no, there is no time" I said, Tylenol? anything? They thought it was funny, I wasn't joking.... The dr comes in, I push, decide against pushing for a minute, because it hurt... then as I was laying there I thought, "I have two choices, sit here in agony or end this" So I pushed again, and out he came. Then they give me a Percocet, and a Motrin. Haha. So all in all, from the time we checked into the hospital to the time he was born was 37 minutes. I just kept saying "I did it"! I never, ever, ever thought I could do that without any meds. But I was so grateful for how things turned out. I wish I could describe to you what an amazing experience it was. There are really no words. I received a blessing earlier in the day, and I have to say that I was helped all the way through that wonderfully painful experience.

Dan was a huge comfort to me, and I had awesome nurses. I have to say it was just the best experience, I could not have planned it better. It was kind of funny because he came so fast, Dan and I were completely in shock. Dan was worried about me, so he stayed by my side to make sure I was ok. They had taken Blake to clean him up, (and weigh him, the nurses didn't believe he was only 8 lbs 15 oz, so they brought in another scale) :) finally I snapped out of it, and said, "Dan, we just had a baby! Go take his picture!!!" (We weren't expecting him until Friday...I was scheduled to be induced that day, but thank goodness he came on the 8th, I didn't want a Friday the 13th baby!)

I kept saying all along, I had the best pregnancy, and then the best delivery. So I couldn't have a good baby too, that is just not how things work. Well... he is a great baby. He rarely cries, and at night he cries to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I asked Dan if we should be worried or just really grateful that he doesn't cry. He brings such a sweet spirit to our home.

I feel really good, although I think the adrenaline is wearing off. I am exhausted. But I am recovering really fast. When I had Ethan, my dr told me that I was made to have babies. I guess she was right. I just feel so blessed. I watched Dan play soccer with the kids tonight while I was holding Blake. Really, there are no words to express how I feel about my little (haha) family. It is amazing to me how blessed we are. And even with reality sinking in, and the piles of laundry, dishes to be done, lunches to be made, etc, etc, etc... I have never been so grateful for all that I have to do.

For me, this is definitely no ordinary miracle!!!!