Taylor's Arrival- The Long Story

It all seemed to simple and perfect... I was supposed to be induced on Monday morning (the 30th) 1 week before my due date and in plenty of time to make the school cut-off. I was going to be put out of my pregnancy misery early and I was so happy! So we packed up, got a little sleep and headed to the hospital at 4:30am. We arrived just in time and both Jarom and I were very excited. When we got to registration the lady told us they had been very busy and had to change what room we are in. She called the nurse and then asked us to go back to the waiting room and wait for the nurse to come talk to us. I KNEW it was too easy. Sure enough, the hospital was extremely packed and they were not doing any inductions. In fact they were backed up from Sunday. I was disappointed but the nurse gave me hope and said maybe it would be later that evening or the next morning. Jarom and I went to Dennys and had a mediocre breakfast and tried to be ok with that. I kept my phone next to me all day and my heart would sink every time it rang and it wasn't the hospital. I of course nagged them to death, calling about every 5 hours or so. Finally a pretty rude nurse said that there was no way I was getting in that day and possibly not even the next.

My mom and I decided I should try really hard to put myself into labor. So we walked in the heat around her neighborhood until I was having some good contractions. We went to Frys and bought fresh pineapple and I went home and sat on my medicine ball. I was so tired that night but it was pretty sleepless. I woke up optimistic and called the hospital. They had the manager talk to me and explained kindly that they were so sorry but they are just too backed up. She thought it might not happen for a couple more days. I was admittedly emotional that morning, I had just had my heart set on meeting Taylor Monday and now I just didn't know when it would happen. I know I know, I sound SO impatient (patience has never been my forte). But in my defense I do think that if I wouldn't have scheduled that and gotten used to the idea, I would've been a little more patient. I went in my room and read the conference talk on patience by Elder Uchtdorf. Boy did I feel sheepish. I am so grateful I read that though because it totally changed my attitude. I felt way more relaxed and just wanted to get some more things done and forget about the whole induction thing.

 I decided to call my dr. and get a check-up since I would've had one for that week had I not been on the schedule to be induced. I asked the nurse if he would strip my membranes but she said he wouldn't because of the situation at the hospital. When I got there Dr. Beck said that he would go ahead and strip them if I promised not to tell the nurses (haha- love that man!) That was right around noon. So after a little pain, I left and went on with my day. I was making posters to advertise dance when I felt my first contraction. It was around 2pm and I knew that it was different than previous contractions. It hurt more and I could feel it in my back. From this moment on, my contractions were always 2 minutes apart at the most. I had a feeling I was in labor but decided to continue on with showing my mom and Mike some houses so I could see if it was the real thing. Each house we drove too my contractions became more intense. It didn't help that it was super hot outside. Before we got to the final house I told Jarom we needed to go home and get our stuff together and get to the hospital. My mom came home with us and suggested I labor there for a little bit just to make sure (I think she was scared for me to get disappointed). But when I started to sit on my medicine ball, I felt some pressure and they were more like 1 minute apart so I got scared and we jumped in the car. Lala stayed with the kids till Mike could get there. ** Funny side story: my mom and Jarom were texting about my progress to make sure she didn't miss it. She asked if I was in pain and Jarom texted her that I was "at an 8". Of course mom thought he meant I was dilated to an 8! He really just meant that I had just told the nurse on a scale of 1 to 10,  my pain was at an 8. My poor mom was freaking out and had Mike freaking out! She rushed to the hospital not thinking she would make it and when she got there- uh I was a 4 1/2. haha...

We got to the hospital around 6pm and I was about a 4 1/2 (as I mentioned so there was nothing really to fear) but the contractions were very steady and they knew that I didn't need anything to get me going, I was definitely in labor. I got my epidural around 7:30pm and the dr. broke my water at about 8:30pm. The nurse checked me about 30 minutes or so after and I was just a 5. So I told Jarom to run down and get something to eat. Right after he left I felt a lot of pressure and the need to push. I told the nurse and she finally made her way over to check me. Sure enough I was complete! I went from 5 to 10 in 10 minutes! My mom had to call Jarom to come right back and he just beat the dr. Dr. Beck started to prep me and told me to push through the next contraction. I was in the middle of pushing and he told me to look down! There she was! One push! Crazy! She was born on August 31st at 9:18pm.  She was all cute and purple and had this really icky cry cause she had so much stuff down her lungs. The nurse got it out and she pinked right up!

She weighed 7 lbs 12oz and was 21" long. She cries a lot louder than our other 2 and the 2 nights spent in the hospital were pretty much sleepless. The poor baby was just hungry! When we finally started supplementing her with formula she was a much happier baby. Our first night home was a little rough too- we were just figuring each other out I guess. But since then she has been pretty angelic! She even slept for 5 1/2 hours last night! Any stretch of sleep over 4 hours makes me feel like a human again. Transitioning to 3 kids has been a little tough on me. I think its because I have to divide my attention so much and I also hate being so locked up in the house. I am so happy she is here though and the kids are starting to adjust, I know its going to get better. She is so beautiful and she has me and daddy wrapped around her little finger! Lydi ADORES her too. Jack, well he wants to grab her like she's a dolly and likes to poke her eyes and stuff (typical big brother). Our family just feels HUGE now! We are like an entire Ellis posse! Here are a million pictures: