The story of Dirk ...
From the beginning, I never expected to make it to my due date of Jan. 21. With one baby coming at 32 weeks and two babies coming at 37 weeks, I've learned to prepare early! And it just so happened that this time around, 37 weeks fell on Dec. 31, which was perfect in a couple ways. First, Jordan wanted the tax deduction for 2016 (seriously, every time I mentioned Dec. 31 to a guy, the first thing they thought of was the tax deduction!) and secondly, Dirk's middle name is in honor of my grandpa, whose birthday is Dec. 31. So I set that as my due date in my mind and even started to tell people that we expected baby boy on that day when they asked my due date. When I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in mid-November, that date became even more important as I focused on getting through the gd to that day. Jordan warned me that I might be setting myself up for disappointment if he didn't come then, but I just told him that I had to tell myself that was the end because the thought of having to last three weeks beyond that was just too much. Jordan also joked that he wanted a Christmas baby so I breathed a sigh of relief when Christmas came and went with no baby! However, once Christmas passed, I was really ready to have this baby! When Dec. 31 finally rolled around, I was so sure that I was having a baby that day, I even insisted on bringing my hospital bag with us when we spent the day at a local amusement park so it would be faster to just go straight to the hospital from there when my water broke.
However, I woke up Jan. 1 still pregnant, 37 weeks and one day, a new record for me. I was very anxious from that point on and looking for any sign of anything happening. At my doctor's appointment on Wednesday of that week, I was dilated to a 3 and 100% effaced and was so sure labor was imminent. As it turned out, labor was imminent, just not in the way I imagined :) Because of the gd, an induction date was set for the following Wednesday, Jan. 11. My doctor actually wanted to do it Monday but Jordan had to be in Tucson on Tuesday and Jordan's parents couldn't come until Wednesday to help with the girls so we delayed until Wednesday. I still was completely convinced I wasn't going to make it until then, but the boy held on miserable day after miserable day until finally Wednesday rolled around and it was time!
Despite this being my fourth rodeo, I was really nervous about the labor. I think because my water had broken early the three previous times, I never really had time to think about it. It just all of a sudden happened. But this time I was keenly aware of what was in store for me when I woke up that Wednesday morning. Of course I was excited but also unsure if I was ready for labor! I've had good labors in the past so I wasn't necessarily scared, just nervous about it going well if that makes sense. Jordan gave me a blessing and we took one last baby bump picture before heading out. We had to be at the hospital at 9 am so Jordan took Madison to school and dropped the other two girls off at his sister's house before going to the hospital while I drove myself there.
Based on my relatively short past labors and the fact that I was already dilating, we figured we'd have a baby sometime that afternoon. However, it quickly became apparent that wasn't going to happen. Being induced is VERY different than anything I'd experienced before. Basically, it took FOREVER!! Despite pre-registering, I didn't get to my room until close to 10. Then, because I was strep B positive, I had to have two doses of IV antibiotic, three hours apart. Since I was already dilated, they didn't want to even start the pitocin until after both doses were in in case I went super fast. We basically spent most of the day sitting/laying around playing Settlers of Catan online on Jordan's computer (a secret obsession we have!) My nurse was awesome, but I was annoyed it was taking so long! To make it worse, somehow, there was a mix up and no one from the hospital had called the day before to give me instructions, which was supposed to include telling me to eat a big breakfast because I wouldn't be allowed to eat once I got to the hospital. Consequently, I was STARVING. I was also disappointed to still be a 3 when we got to the hospital since it had been a week since my appointment.
Finally around 2 pm, they started the pitocin drip. My doctor told me they were going to be aggressive with it once it got started so I decided to get my epidural soon after so I would be good to go before the contractions really kicked in. I settled into a nice contraction pattern and didn't feel a thing, but was still only dilated to a 4 by 5:30 pm when my doctor came to check on me. At that point he decided to break my water and thankfully, things really started happening!!! I guess breaking my water is the key for me. Side note: Jordan said that when the doc broke my water, there was a HUGE gush and a ton of water! I think this is ironic since part of the reason I had to have so many stupid appointments with the perinatologist was because they were concerned about my fluid level. Anyway, as everything ramped up, I started having labor shakes, which was uncomfortable, but I knew meant we were finally getting somewhere. An hour later, I was definitely feeling a lot of pressure and when the nurse checked me, I was a 10!! Baby time :) My nurse went to find my doctor, who had thankfully decided to stick around the hospital instead of going home after breaking my water but had been about to go into the OR to assist another doctor with a C-section. I had warned him I'm pretty fast :) He came in and got everything prepped and we were ready to push. At this point, I got really nervous again. I hadn't eaten anything all day long and was feeling pretty weak ... I kept telling Jordan I didn't know if I had enough strength and energy to push. But he was great at reassuring me and I just told myself I only had one more hard thing to do before Dirk would be here! Sure enough, 2 pushes later, our perfect baby boy was born at 6:49 pm weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and 21.75 inches long!!!
I felt like it took forever for the doctor to give him to me, but Jordan told me later there was another huge gush of fluid right after Dirk came out that caught the doctor off guard and led to him almost dropping Dirk and taking a little longer to get things sorted out! Jordan cut the cord, and my baby was finally all mine!! Dirk was screaming but immediately calmed down and grabbed my finger when I snuggled him!! Obviously, I was thrilled to have him, but my first thoughts were actually more about myself ... I was so proud of my body for carrying and delivering four perfect amazing children, and I felt so incredibly blessed!! We've known all along that Dirk would be our last and I just felt so much relief that I had done it all and our family was complete!! It was really an amazing feeling! The whole rest of the night, especially when Jordan brought the girls to meet him, I just felt so amazed that this was my family and that I, in partnership with Jordan and my Heavenly Father, had done all of this! It definitely wasn't easy, but I did it!!! I'm just so proud and grateful!!
Jordan was able to go get the girls from his sister's house and bring them over around 8 pm. He also brought me some dinner since the hospital cafeteria was already closed and I was so hungry!! The big girls were predictably in love, but I was most shocked by Reagan's reaction. I've been worried about her from the start. She's very attached to me, more so than either of the other girls ever were, and also younger than either of the other girls were when their younger siblings came along. I was afraid of her being jealous and having a hard time. I made sure that Dirk was in his bed when she came in so I could focus completely on her, especially since she hadn't seen me all day, and gradually introduce her brother. However, she totally shocked us all by completely ignoring me and insisting on seeing Dirk immediately. She wanted to see him, touch him, hold him and love on him from the start. And she's been obsessed with him ever since!! I have high hopes that they'll be good friends :)
Dirk was born on a Wednesday evening and we both were thankfully able to come home from the hospital on Friday evening. The first night in the hospital was all about his blood sugar numbers. The concern was actually that his blood sugar would be too low since his body was used to extra sugar from me from the diabetes and thus not used to producing much on its own. His first test was good, but his second not so much. Thankfully, his numbers improved throughout the night and by morning, he was in the clear. The second night was all about the jaundice. I had started supplementing him from the start to try and clear the bilirubin as quickly as possible, nursing him first and then offering a bottle at each feeding. Since my babies have all struggled so much with jaundice, I've learned that fed is best and I'll do whatever it takes to get them peeing!!! I was so determined to avoid the NICU with this last baby!!! Of course, it would happen that both days we were in the hospital were
cloudy so I couldn't count on the Arizona sun to help us out!! His numbers steadily rose despite my efforts, but I was so relieved when the pediatrician told me they were going to send him home with a bili blanket instead of admitting him to the NICU. He spent the weekend with the blanket and then was cleared on Monday!!! The only other thing of note from the hospital was the circumcision. This was our first experience, and it was traumatic for everyone! And I wasn't even there!! My poor baby slept for 5 hours straight after the procedure. And we had to put petroleum jelly on him at every diaper change for the next 10 days. Yikes! But everything healed well and he doesn't seem to hate me for it :) We were also peed on several times those first few days, but we've gotten the hang of this boy thing now and are feeling pretty good! I'm also very grateful and blessed to have easy recoveries ... Jordan took Wednesday off from work but that's the only time he took off, even working his normal half day on Saturday, the day after we got home. I'm extremely grateful to Jordan's sister Jenna and his mom for taking care of my girls while I was in the hospital and Jordan was working, but even his mom was shocked when I was already doing everything just fine when we got home from the hospital and made dinner on Saturday night! I always say I like them much better out than in!!! Pregnancy is absolutely awful for me, but literally, the moment my babies are born, I feel like a totally new woman, ready to conquer the world!! I took ibuprofen in the hospital but didn't even need that after the first two days.
Anyway, that's the story of Dirk! He's the perfect caboose to our family :) God is so good, and I hope I can live up to the trust He has placed in my to raise these four amazing children I've been blessed with!
Hello big guy!
I love that he just grabbed my finger and held on for dear life!
You're gonna be okay, little man!
And here comes the crazy!
Man, I love this guy!! Proud Daddy :)
Three devoted sisters ... good luck with that, Dirk!
Madison brought her own hospital bag with her with several books to read to Dirk :)
Holy hair!!! He already has more hair than Reagan does right now :) Why is it that all three of my girls were completely bald and this guy is rockin' the locks?!
More reading time. It's tough to keep Reagan at bay!
Welcome to the world little dude!
