"Doin' What Comes Natcher'ly!"

Cam and I arrived in Cedar City at 11:30pm on February 16. We spent the night at Beckie's (Cam's cousin) and woke up at 3:45am, and after Cam gave me a blessing, we were at the hospital by 4:30am. To my dismay, I was only at a 1 when we arrived.

By 5:00, Pitocin was pumping through my system and papers were signed. All we had to do was wait. Every 30 minutes, the Pitocin was upped a bit, and at 7:00, Dr. Newman broke my water. I was barely dilated to a 2.

When the contractions didn't come immediately, I was rather worried. How was this delivery gonna go? With my boys, I had needed the epidural immediately after the water breakage, and their deliveries had been quick. Was this going to be drawn out?

At some point, we switched rooms because of a broken bathroom light, and it was then that I decided to stay out of the bed. I discovered that I liked walking in place or side to side through each contraction, thinking of all the Jessica Smith TV walking workouts I had done throughout the pregnancy (haha). The contractions steadily increased in power and I walked and breathed deeply through each one, and then collapsed on the bed and leaned against Cam to close my eyes and rest until the next one.

"When the nurse comes back in, I'll get the epidural," I thought. It took only one more contraction for me to be like, "Okay, I'm calling them."

At 9:15ish, and dilated to a 3, that welcome relief was administered and I tried to get used to sitting still through each contraction. How in the world had I stayed in the bed with my other three? 

The pain disappeared from my abdomen, and settled in my rear end and the backs of my legs. And it was SO much worse than before. What the heck was happening?! After a few minutes of crying through my breaths, we decided to try the epidural again. Obviously, it just wasn't working.

Because I couldn't even sit up, they rolled me onto my side. In seconds, the "urge to push" overwhelmed me and I yelled my newfound need to the room. As a fierce sting flared "down there" a realization came as well: I was gonna have this baby naturally! (No wonder the epidural hadn't worked. I had gone from a 3 to a 10 in about 25 minutes!)

Another contraction kept my cries a comin' and I was informed that Dr. Newman wasn't here yet and to do "mini pushes" until he came. Three more contractions and he appeared.

The moment he entered the room, I decided that this was going to be my last contraction. The pressure was too great. Baby Girl had to come out. Three pushes through that one contraction, and out she came. It was 9:54am. And let me tell you, there is nothing like that pressure suddenly vanishing. What relief!!! To quote someone dear to me--and anyone who's had a child naturally can attest: "It is like the best bowel movement ever!" :D

The 7 lbs. 6 oz. girl was 19 inches long, our tiniest kid yet! It was so hard for me to handle her for how tiny she was. Of course, I had forgotten how small a newborn was anyway. But, whew! I am grateful she wasn't as big as any of her brothers! 

And let me just say that I would do a natural birth again in a heartbeat. Recovery was a breeze! Of course, that's out of the moment. During the process, aren't we all thinking, "As soon as I get to the hospital next time, I'm getting the epidural!"

Her brothers were all over her when we got home, each one wanting to hold her first, all of them wanting to touch her feet, her head, her hands. She has three of the best protectors, that's for sure. 

Make that four. Daddy is head over heels for her already.

MYA JEAN HENRIE

7 LBS. 6 OZ. 19 IN.

FEBRUARY 17, 2017 

 

2016... What a Year!

Wow. Sorry 'bout that. Didn't blog at ALL in 2016. Okay, there was one post about my birthday, but my birthday is in JANUARY. So, 2016 didn't get any social media glory whatsoever. And believe me when I say it was quite the year.

I learned a lot about... about... about how much control I really have over my life. Before 2016, I felt that everything clicked nicely into place for me. I struggled with things and learned a little bit about trusting my Savior, but I learned a lot more about trust in 2016. (I still have a lot more to learn, too.)

In March, I had a bone spur removed so I could run and not feel like my ankle was being hacked off with a handsaw. The recovery was slower than I would have liked it to be, and a year later I'm BARELY beginning to think that MAYBE I can start running soon.

Also in March, Cam interviewed for a teaching job in his home town of Panguitch, Utah, was offered the position, and accepted. In July, we left our Enoch home and moved into his parents' basement. Those few moths of praying and discussing and praying and crying (on my part) were... um... Did I mention I cried? A lot?

In June we found out we were expecting, and I figured that with all the loops God had thrown me for and what I'd learned about control, I "knew" our baby would be a girl. (Keep in mind, I was totally in love with my boys and being that "boy mom".) Sure enough, in September, we found out our little peanut was a girl.

Okay, am I just a spoiled, rotten brat or what? Seeing all of this in one spot and not spread over the pages of my journal makes me realize that, wow, I had a lot to learn. Read this and judge me and know that I. Am. Spoiled. I deserved a little growth spurt.

Anyway, now we live in Cam's parents' basement and are waiting for a digger to put a hole in the ground where our house will stand one day. We've been saying, "Any day now," since October.

But, God's timing is the BEST timing and I'm still learning what that means. A bone spur removal, in a way, forced my pregnancy to be a healthy one--since I couldn't run, I had to focus more on what I ate, and was introduced to exercises that helped me through labor.

Moving to Panguitch opened up more opportunities for my family and me. Physically and spiritually.

And having a girl... having little Mya. What a special spirit.

So, here's to being thankful IN all things and continuing to learn and stretch and grow. Grow closer to my Savior.