Cohen LeRoy Johnson is born

Here is the story about my labor and delivery with our 3rd baby. Cohen LeRoy Johnson was born on January 30th at 1:22pm he weighed 9lbs 11oz and was 22 inches long.  
I woke up Wednesday morning to what I though was just a braxton.  I got up to go to the  bathroom and realized it was mucusy and bloody... This never happened with my other 2... so I went back to bed thinking it could just be the start of a long labor. So I got back in bed till I had to get up with the kids and get EmmaLynn off to school. While I was laying there I had another contraction. I got up with the kids and got them fed and EmmaLynn off to school and all the while I was still having contractions. So I text Dan to let him know " i might be in labor, but don't come running yet cause I am not sure" 2 hrs later they still hadn't stopped and they were about 5 minutes apart. So I text Dan again to confirm it is probably later but to just get EmmaLynn from school and then come home. After that I called the midwife to let her know. She told me to go ahead and come in to start my IV anitbiotics for group b strep then I could go home and call when it was time. So I got showered and ready to go for the day. By the time I was finished getting ready I realized I am starting to have to concentrate a little through the contractions and I will need Dan to help with Ezyas. He still hadn't answered my calls or texts so I headed to his work to get him.  Right as i was pulling up he finally text back that he just got the messages. He called and I told him plans changed. So he gets his stuff together and we drop his car of at home and head to the birth center.
At this point I am still doing alright. Contractions were feeling manageable and I was doing good. We got the the birth center and we were trying to get the IV in my arm to stay there just in case labor went beyond 8 hrs. After a few tries it wasn't working so they just put it in my big vein and we would redo it again if necessary. At this point I am having contractions still and Ezyas was climbing on the bed and bumping me (not ideal when you are having contractions) Dan decides to take Ezyas and go get some food and come back to get me and take me home. I was a little concerned about him leaving just cause I was sure he'd get lost coming back and take longer to come back. Anyway I tell him to go anyway and I am sitting there chatting with the midwife explaining that this is all new to me cause I've never not had my water break first.  I was asking her if they'd end up having to just break my water and she was telling me it will most likely break on it's own, but it was good that it hadn't yet cause that means the baby is more protected from the group b strep.  So my IV finished and she took it all out and then I started to have a contraction.... and my water breaks... as soon as the contraction was finished I jumped up to go to the bathroom to change before it gets too wet. Once I changed into some disposable underwear with a pad We decide we better check where I am before I go home to make sure I will make it.  Before that happened my sister Eleasha called to see how it was going. But I had a harder contraction and had to put the phone down to get through it. I pick up the phone and  tell my sister I am getting checked in a sec and then call Dan to tell him he's gotta really hurry back and I text my friend to see if she can sit with EmmaLynn till we can get there to get her. The midwife checked me and said I could stretch easily to an 8 but when I was having a contraction I was closer to a 6 or 7. So I think I have a little bit of time cause when is was a 6 with Ezyas it was a lot longer till I had him. but I have a really hard contraction after that and then Dan called me to get the address to the place cause he can't find his way back... I of course don't know the address and am not going to look it up and give the phone to the midwife.  The other midwife had moved my stuff to a birthing room and started to fill the tub for me cause at this point neither of us think I am going to make it home...I had a second hard contraction and I'm thinking "crap, Dan's not going to make it back here in time." When that contraction was finished I got up and went to the other room looked at the tub and it was not even close to ready and I feel the next contraction coming. I barely got my pants off and I was on my knees leaning on the bed and next thing I know I am pushing and his head is coming out. I call to the midwife mid pushing " ooh his head is coming out, I don't even have my underwear off." she gets there and tells me " ok the next contraction he will be here" sure enough next one and I was done, and completely shocked that it had just happened that fast. Meanwhile Dan is on the phone with the midwife and hears the baby cry and realized he totally missed it.
I had low iron and so it took some time to get myself up and able to go home. I had to have oxygen after almost passing out, but we made it home around 11pm. The whole time at the birth center they were telling me I needed to try to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes the scenario played out in my head over and over. I was so shocked it went so fast! I couldn't  sleep as hard as I tried to. Once we got home and I was in my own bed though sleep came much easier.  I think that if Dan hadn't got lost and did make it back for us to leave I would have had the baby in the car on the way home. So it was probably good he was lost. The other scenario would be that we might have made it home but the midwives wouldn't have been there and we wouldn't have been able to get the tub set up in time either. So it worked out the best way it could have. Thankfully it was quick it was shocking for both Cohen and I, but we are resting up and adjusting together.  That's our crazy funny birth story! Seems like no matter what my plan I'm never going to be able to have my baby's in the water, something is always working against me. 
So while we were planning on doing it all at home it worked out completely differently.

Christmas 2011

 This was a tight year for us in the Christmas department. We had no idea what we were going to do for the kids. But as you can see from the picture there many blessings poured out upon us. Our "Santa's" included our ward, Dan's squadron and a family Dan met while giving plasma, who wanted to help our family out this year. We were incredibly touched and amazed at the tender kindness of so many and the wonderful gifts our kids received this year. Here is our Christmas eve picture.

 Our Christmas day was spread out a bit. But we did let the kids open a few gifts before we had to get ready for church.  EmmaLynn was thrilled with her new umbrella, princess chair and rain boots. Ezyas was on the bike immediately!

They also got to dig into the stockings of course!

 They had a few more gifts we let them open before church.

Here are a few of sweet EmmaLynn opening her gifts. She was in love with the Tinkerbell dress up as soon as she laid eyes on it. She didn't want to take it off!

Ezyas was having a hard time opening all the gifts. All he wanted to do after he opened the first one was to play with it. When we wouldn't let him we had to try everything we could to get him to open all the other gifts quickly.

 

Dan opened his gifts when everything was all finished with the kids. Don't you love my wrapping job on the left. It was the last thing I needed to wrap and this was the last of all the wrapping paper we had. I made it work! haha!
We truly had an amazing Christmas and we enjoyed dinner with our awesome friends Cameron and Nicole McFadden and Justin and Jolynn Hatch! It's great to have amazing friends when your Family is so far away!

Minute to Win it. Johnson/McFadden Style

December

Here are some of our December happenings for 2011. 

 

 

EmmaLynn learned that if we braid her hair after a bath, the next morning she will have what she refers to as Hermoine hair. This is her favorite style lately. She loves Harry Potter. I can't wait to start reading the books with her! 

 Ezyas needed a photo shoot if EmmaLynn got a picture that Sunday morning too.

Here is my Little guy helping me out with some laundry switching. He's a good little helper! 

The kids and I also decided to make some ornaments since we had very few on our tree. We decided candy canes don't cut it this year we want some fun ones. So we made cinnamon glitter stars. The kids had tons of fun making them!

We also started a tradition that we wrap up all our Christmas and winter stories and open 1 book each day of the month till Christmas. Then on Christmas we read The Night Before Christmas. It was a fun tradition to start! 

 And of course a picture of my kids wrestling around together before the fighting begins! :)

The big 2!

Ezyas turned 2 this year! I can't believe he's grown so fast. His age will also always remind us how many years Dan has been in the Air Force.  

This is his very hungry caterpillar birthday cake. Recycled idea from EmmaLynn's birthday a couple years ago.

Gift time with friends and neighbors

he loves cars and trucks!

Our really good friend here in Louisiana Cameron and Ezyas' favorite person besides Dad!

And a couple of my cool neighbor friends! Rebecca and Michelle.

Ezyas' favorite person with the gift he got for him.

here we are singing to him on his birthday with just the family. We sure love our little man! He is growing way too fast!