The WHOLE Story

Here's a little more of the story...

As you all have read over the past couple of weeks I've been anxious to have this baby. I felt that, by my calculations ;), I should have had Tristan around the 15th. Unfortunately, Dr. Weary was on vacation. I kept hoping and hoping that Tristan would come on his own. He was getting bigger and bigger by the second, I just knew it. So, we scheduled the induction for the 25th.

At 7:30am Monday morning we went in. At about 8:30am Dr. Weary broke my water. I had a few hard contractions within that hour and then nothing. Finally, Dr. Weary suggested that we start Pitosin. They added that to my I.V. at about 12:30pm. During this time Ryan and Vance were trying their best not to be bored out of their minds. Vance took Ryan to breakfast and he ate a huge Big Bopper at Gunther Toody's, then they went to lunch at Subway. Again, not a whole lot happening so they started to increase the drip and I started to feel pretty uncomfortable. Since things were going much slower than my usual labors I opted for the epidural. It was fabulous!!! The anesthesiologist was great!!! I told him of my concerns that past epidurals turned out horrible, but I did have one that worked perfect and it made me itch. He seemed to know what I was talking about and gave me that same medication - I guess there are several types of epidurals - this all happened about 1:30pm.

Again, things progressed slowly and at about 4:30pm Dr. Weary called my nurse, Jenny and told her to get aggressive with the Pitosin. I didn't care, I could feel a thing. Dr. Weary wasn't on call that night and I knew he wanted to be there for the last Terry baby. Then, all of a sudden, I started feeling pressure. Every contraction felt like Tristan was finally moving down - I told the nurse she better get Dr. Weary. They got the room ready and I started to push.

Normally, pushing lasts about 5 minutes for me. This seemed like an eternity. The nurse was a great coach, but she made me work really hard. By the way, if you want to hear a really funny story about pushing ask me later as I don't want to write it here.

Anyway, after 11 minutes of pushing, Tristan came out face up. For some reason, this makes me think of a deck of cards, I've had so many different hands...I've delivered completely natural, with drugs, breach, sunny side up and I run the gamut of sizes from 5 lbs 15 oz. to 10 lbs. 11 oz. The only thing I haven't experienced is a c-section (and I'm grateful).

The first thing I said when Tristan was born was, "That's not a baby, that's a toddler." Corny, I know, but it's what was on my mind. Everyone in the room commented how big he was and when the nurse finally weighed him we were all in disbelief once again. Almost 11 lbs. and I didn't tear, even a little bit. God is good!

Delivering in the new hospital was great. It's an absolutely beautiful facility. I had mentioned in an earlier blog that they have this really neat security system where the mother wears a "hugs" bracelet and the baby wears a "kisses" bracelet and when the two meet a chime goes off. But, here's the coolest thing. When these bracelets are first put on right after delivery, a short lullaby plays over the intercom for the entire maternity floor. We were there for two and a half days and every time I heard that lullaby outside my room I knew another baby was born. It was precious.

I also want to say a huge thanks to Rick and Alisa Pierce. They took care of Rachie, Kael and Morgan for the time that I was in the hospital and even the day after. It was so nice to get the opportunity to acclimate to having a new family member without any stress. Also, thanks to Vance's parents for doing the same for the older boys. I know they had a blast watching cartoons on cable T.V. and having all of the other "Grandma Specials" they don't get at home.

I'm so glad Tristan is here. I'm enjoying every waking moment (literally) with him. He doesn't sleep much at night, but I don't mind. I got three hours of sleep last night and I actually feel pretty good. I spent the day trying to get caught up on house work and I feel like I've accomplished something. Already, my body is feeling a little bit back to normal. I even started some minor abdominal exercises today.

Tristan is the sweetest little boy and I can't wait for everyone to meet him. His brothers and sisters absolutely adore him and are always asking if they can hold him. So far, all my fears about the twins being jealous and how am I going to hold them all at the same time - haven't come true. Morgan and Kael do not try to get on my lap when I'm holding Tristan and they haven't tried laying on top of him or anything like that either. I feel extremely blessed.

I also feel a little sad. He's probably my last baby. The last one I'll carry or nurse or go through labor with. It's hard to move on to the next phase of our lives, but I know it's time. Glen and Ryan love having a big family and would love having even more brothers and sisters, but I also know they're ready for the things we can do as a family when everyone is old enough to do them. Like go to Hawaii or skiing...I'm also looking forward to see how each child grows and matures and all the things we will be able to do together as a family.

Well, I think that's about it. I know I'm forgetting a whole bunch of details, but I'm sure you didn't want to read a novel anyway. Enjoy the pictures.