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.

And it keeps on comin....

Today was my 38 week doctor's appt and to make a long story short, he could come today, or he could come in a week or so. But I came home from the doc and cleaned the house, went for 2 walks and did what I could to stay busy.

Well into the afternoon, my daughter was outside playing in the yard with a friend. I was in the house, easily within earshot, with both my boys. I heard a little noise, then a big crashing sound out in the garage and figured someone had knocked something over.

Savannah came running in the house screaming hysterically. I couldnt understand a word she was saying so I just kept asking, "Are you alright? Are you alright?" She wouldn't answer me but started screaming, "I did that! I did that mom!"

I went out into the garage to see what she was talking about as she is crying, "I dont want to be in trouble! I did that mom. Im sorry!" I could see black stuff all over but had no idea what it was. It kind of looked like someone spilled soil or something. So I asked her, "What IS that?"

"It's the window mom! I opened the window and closed the garage door... I dont want Dad to be mad at me! Im going to be grounded for a week" she started to ramble (for the record, she has never been grounded). All of the sudden I realized that she was talking about the back window of our Expedition.

Apparently she decided to open the back window to get something out. She left it open and then for some unknown reason, decided to close the garage door. The problem is that we have a very short garage, and when you pull all the way into it, you only have 2-3 inches clearance between the back of the vehicle and the garage door. So the garage door came crashing down on the window, shattering it into a million little pieces.

Over an hour of cleanup time later, all the glass was cleaned out of the garage and out of the vehicle. I've made the calls and now just have to take it into town tomorrow to get some estimates on getting it fixed.

I had hoped this would be enough to put me into labor, so at least there would be an upside, but so far, no luck on that one :)

It's only a few hours later, and Im already chuckling about it. I realize she is 4, and she could not have possibly thought through what exactly would happen if she did what she did. In fact, let's be honest, I am the first one to do stupid things like that, so why would I be mad at my 4 year old for the same type of thing? Frustrated, yes, but it was just an accident, and it could have been much worse. Now I can remember, years down the road, just what it was like to have a bunch of little kids. You never know what's coming next!

Toddler Trouble

I think any mom will tell you that it always amazes them that children raised in the same house, with the same parents, are each so different.


My little Jaxon is a different breed than my older 2 children. He is much more mischevious and into everything than Mason and Savannah ever were. Just when you think you have this mom thing down, one of your kids reminds you that you always have to be on your toes.

Jaxon is almost 18 months, and boy, has he learned how to climb. Often I will hear him hollaring from the other room, "Uh Oh!" or "Aht!" (OUT!) and when I go to see where he is, he is on top of the table, on the bathroom counter, or somewhere else that he can get onto but not down from.


Today I was straightening the house when I realized I hadn't heard him for a while, which is never a good sign! I went to look for him and found him in the bathroom. This is what I found:

Not only had he climbed onto the counter, but he proceeded to empty out the drawers onto the floor (as you can see), climb into the drawer (with a pencil, no less) and draw his masterpiece all over the counter. He was very proud of his accomplishment!

And just think-Im adding another mischeivious boy to the mix any day now :)

Growing, growing, almost gone....

The baby belly that is....

Here is a peek at what my waistline has been up to lately.

This was 8 weeks along (November 07), proof that by baby #4, the body really does remember.

Not very clear, but the bump is apparent. This is 16 weeks along, January 2008.

Halfway there. February 2008, at 20 weeks along.

24 weeks preggo with our little one. March 2008

This is at 29 1/2 weeks along. April 2008

This is what happens when you employ your 4 year old to take your picture :) 33 weeks pregnant. May 2008