Lexi Reese is HERE!

Well, I've already given the stats, but I finally got the pictures uploaded. Click on Lexi's FIRST photo to see more of our time in the hospital. And below is the story of when she decided to make her appearance.

The end of the pregnancy is always the hardest for me as far as the waiting goes. Even though I try not to, it's difficult not to wonder if every little thing might mean that it's almost "time". The week before she came, I remember feeling "different", but I was also trying to tell myself that it was probably nothing. Lucky for me, she really was getting ready to come out and meet us. It was a very productive week. The house was totally (well, that's a bit relative) in order, and my family and friend Shannon had gone in together to get our house cleaned. It was a HUGE blessing!!! Thank you again, family and Shannon!!! That was one of the best gifts ever...really!!!

At 11:30pm on Thursday, November 18th I started having contractions every 1-3 minutes. I timed them for about 30 minutes, then woke up Beau. Then I started getting ready to go but waited another 30 minutes to call the hospital. All I knew is that the contractions were very regular and somewhat uncomfortable but not intense. I was really torn about whether or not we should go to the hospital, but I have a history of handling a good part of labor very well and then it becoming unbearable all of a sudden. So, we opted to go. We called Hannah and Jesseka, the sisters who live less than five minutes away from us and keep the kids a lot. They got here at about 12:30, and we left about 1:00, I think. We needed just a few little things for the hospital, so we went to Walmart first before going to the hospital. Funny, I know! :) Afterall, what could a little walking hurt?

We got to the hospital around 2:30, just in time to WAIT MANY more hours to meet our little princess. I contracted every 1-3 minutes for about 14 hours and progressed a little but not much. I walked the halls several times and tried some different things to help things along, but to no avail. I was hoping to avoid pitocin, but that seemed to be the best option after so many hours. I was making some progress when my dr. had two surprise surgeries come up in the middle of the afternoon, so they turned off the pitocin for a couple of hours while he took care of those patients, to try to slow things down for me. It worked. I completely stalled during those two hours, which was a bit discouraging. They started it back up, then eventually broke my water. Things had already started intensifying quite a bit, but the difference after my water was broken was amazing and instant! The pain was steadily becoming more and more unbearable. I had also really wanted to not get an epidural this time because of my two previous negative experiences, but I was as "tough" as possible for as long as possible. I was practicing my breathing and remaining as "peaceful" as possible, but it wasn't working. :) I was hurting SO badly and even ended up throwing up from the pain, which I had never done before. It was brutal. The nurse anesthetist was wonderful! He was so kind and explained every little thing to me before it happened, and although I was in awful pain, he made the experience go as smoothly as possible. I really, really liked him! I was progressing really quickly at that point, so the medicine did not have time to take its full effect, but it was SO much better than it had been. All of a sudden, it was time to push. I pushed for about 30 minutes with Asher and 1 1/2 hours with Ainsley, so I was SHOCKED this time!!! Also, I was determined to push "well" from the very first push this time. I wanted this baby out! :) I pushed three times with the first contraction and after the second push on the second contraction the nurse told me to stop pushing and ran out the door. She had someone get Dr. Riddel IMMEDIATELY. I knew from the way I was feeling that Lexi was ABOUT to be born. I've felt it with my other babies, but it was so much more distinct this time. She was right there, and it BURNED like FIRE! Dr. Riddel got in there, and on my next push, there she was...at 8:55pm. The pain right before she was born was crazy, but the indescribable relief and JOY I felt the INSTANT she was born was beyond amazing!!! It was definitely one of the BEST moments of my life!!! And through it all, Beau was so sweet, encouraging, supportive, and sympathetic. He was the PERFECT husband! I'm so thankful for him!!!

And the pictures can tell the rest of the story. We were overwhelmed with joy...and EXHAUSTION!!! I hadn't slept more than three hours in the 48 hours or so before she was born, so in addition to the regular exhaustion from labor and delivery, there were HOURS more added onto that. I could barely keep my eyes open from the time she was born through the next day or so. But she was WORTH it!!!

We've loved getting to know our newest little princess! She is peaceful and so precious. We are so blessed!!!