Ezra Aksel Chavez

This little guy pretty much melts my heart. Isn't he the perfect combo of little Siena and little Qiana in boy form?

He came after 11 hours of active labor at 2:10 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19" long. (I'm so glad that those nightmares of a 12 lb. baby didn't come true!) Dr. Christina Milan delivered him, as Dr. Stephanie Wilder was away. They broke my water and just let my body do the work, rather than give me Pitocin. This was a new thing for me because the process had been artificially sped up with both Qiana and Siena. Luckily I had an epidural to keep me comfortable. Speaking of the epidural, it was a little off when they threaded the tube through my spine, so only the left side of my body was numb. I was panicking a bit because I know I have a very low pain threshold and I hadn't prepared myself for the possibility of an au natural birthing experience. Luckily, the nurse attending me was able to calm my fears and showed me the magic little button where I could up the dosage of drugs. Once she turned me onto my right side, gravity did its thing and I numbed up to the point where I could no longer feel the contractions anywhere. After a few hours of just waiting in the delivery room, and feeling no sensations whatsoever from my waist to my knees, I found myself really short of breath. I was so confused! I hadn't been doing "anything" so why did I feel exhausted? They (Juan and the nurse) had to remind me of how much work my body was doing and that it was normal to feel like that. Just as they had calmed me down and as Juan was about to step out to get a bite to eat at the cafeteria, my body started hyperventilating. I use the words "my body" instead of "me" because I was conscious enough to know that I was hyperventillating, but absolutely could not muster the strength to combat it with deep breathing. My hands numbed up and temporarily locked into a weird position, as well as my face. I couldn't breath because it felt that the lump in my throat was covering the entire air passageway. The nurse called in the anaesthesia team and a couple more nurses (from what I could gather, since I couldn't open my eyes,) and they all checked me for signs that something happened with the epidural. Luckily, Juan was right there and his firm grip on my hand helped me calm down from the emotional/hormonal rollercoaster ride my body was on. After a few minutes and a lot of extremely concentrated efforts to breath deeply, things started to look better. The baby was doing fine still and the nurse kept me well-informed as to the state of labor I was in. After that "fit" I was so exhausted so everybody told me it would be a good time to rest since I would need to start pushing soon. The second they told me that, my heart started racing for excitement and I felt a renewed sense of strength; I insisted that if he was ready and set, I would be able to exert every last ounce of energy I had to finish the job that minute. We all got ready, and once the next contraction hit, the last sprint of the run had begun. Coaching me through it, Juan, the doctor, and the nurse hyped me up enough to get it done by the fourth contraction.

And there he was.

Perfect. Little. Ezra.

It's always a surreal experience and I'm so grateful everything went smoothly. He is such a perfect, hairy, beautiful little baby! Nursing him has been a breeze so far, which has always been the most challenging part for me. My body is definitely doing what it should to recover, however painful or uncomfortable it still is. However, I feel as though this recovery will be a lot easier than the others. I'm so grateful to our families who have been supportive by the hospital visits, babysitting the girls, and their words of encouragement. And we've had some visits from friends and family here at the hospital that have meant so much to me. Thank you to everyone!!! We love you!

   

And We Come to You LIVE From the Hospital Bed...

(Wow, that last post was quite the segue into this one.) It's true, I am in REAL labor! The "Too-Excited-to-Sleep-Even-Though-It's-6:30am" kind of labor. I woke up around 3:10 this morning (exactly one week from the False Alarm,) and had to really time out my contractions before we called my mom to come up from Salem to watch the sleeping girls. Luckily, I was a little more sure of the type of pain I was experiencing--not 100% by any means, but more inclined to think so-- and we made preparations again for the hospital stay.

It has come down to a mere matter of hours now.

Eeeeek! I'm so excited!

Funny Story About Monday

Last Monday was supposed to be an ordinary day. It ended like an ordinary day, but it started much differently.

I woke up at 4:04 am with contractions. I had been having them on and off for a few days, but this time they were accompanied by back pain and were more frequent. I lay there for about 30 minutes before I alerted Juan to the possibility that I was going into labor. This is precisely what happened when I went into labor with Qiana, so we did what was natural and took our sweet time getting ready while I decided if it was legit or not. I showered, straightened my hair, gussied myself up, and started mopping the kitchen floor. Juan got ready and started cleaning out the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. (We're super-cool for "nesting", right?!)

When Juan's parents got there, we took off for the hospital. We got there a little after 7 am and checked in with the nurses at Emergency OB. After they hooked me up to monitors and checked the baby, we all started playing the waiting game. I still needed to dilate one more centimeter to be admitted into Labor and Delivery. None of us thought it would take long because I had dilated and effaced so fast since the contractions started. Boy oh, boy, were we in for a wait. After a hour, they checked and I hadn't progressed at all. They decided to hook me up to the IV anyway for antibiotics, and let me wait a little longer.

And a little longer.

And yet, longer.

...nothing.

So after a bout of tears and an unsuccessful attempt to convince the doctors to induce me that moment, we left the hospital. Still dilated to 4 cm and 90% effaced, I am writing this four days later.

Yeah, it's been a LONG week. Once you start going into labor, your mind first goes to thinking "Yay! Baby is on his way!" Then, after an hour or two in the hospital you think, "Okay, this will probably be official in a few hours, so I'll get my mass text ready to send." After a few more hours have passed, you start thinking a little more rationally and ease your mind by thinking, "Well, even if he doesn't come right now, it won't be long. Maybe by tonight? But certainly, since labor has already started it shouldn't be long now." Once you get the news that they want you to go back home and wait until the contractions get a little more intense, you hyperventilate and search every corner of your mind for a way you can hurry up the process. "I can take things in my own hands!," you foolishly think. After a relatively good night's rest, you settle down, apathetically accepting that the baby is not coming anytime soon; then you try (TRY, TRY, TRY) to go along your daily business as if nothing happened in the first place. It does get easier, but there are always the thoughts in the back of your mind, "What just happened?!," and "Will today be the day?".

The best thing that works to keep your spirits high is to have a lot of diversions throughout the day. Luckily, there were many things that kept me relatively distracted this week. The very next day was my birthday and my sister and cousins threw me a baby shower. I had all morning to clean the house, which was the closest feeling of "in control" that I'd felt since the trip to the hospital. Then on Wednesday, I was part of a performance for the Spanish branch in which we depicted the parable of the ten virgins. I was part of the "gringa choir" and sang a solo (scariest thing I've done in a long time!,) two duets and a few more group numbers. It was something we had been working on since January, so In retrospect, I'm really glad I was there for that. Thursday I took the girls out to the park for a picnic, and the rest of the day flew by. Siena had a little dance performance that night as a culminating experience for her time in community pre-ballet and tumbling. So cute! If I can get my act together, I'll try to post the video we took. She's quite the little diva *sigh*.

Today has been a long day, but not too overwhelming. Tonight we went out to eat with Juan's parents and let loose with a little karaoke. Yes, ladies and gentlemen... our very own Juan even joined me at the mic. He is quite the crooner, despite his attempts to hide it.

Now my thoughts are turned back to the coming of the baby. When will he finally get here? I know that my impatience is what is keeping labor at bay. It wasn't until tonight that I realized that there are only so many things you can do, only so much power you have and assuming you can take over nature is like claiming you are God. Luckily, I had an "Aha!" moment; I now realize that My Heavenly Father knows how disappointed we were last Monday and He knows how uncomfortable and sometimes painful it has been lately to maneuver my body. Until I confessed His hand and His timing, I wasn't happy. My situation hasn't changed since Monday, but (finally!) my attitude has and I've been able to handle it much better remembering that there is a grander scheme. Sometimes the ONLY thing to help you is the reassurance of God's particular love for you and His constant presence in your life, though it sometimes seems as if you are the only one who really feels your grief.

In Like a Lion

March has been a fast month and it's going to be over before we know it!

First, Juan interviewed in Coeur d'Alene, ID for a job last week. After a lot of research, the visit and countless prayers we've decided NOT to take the job and are starting a new search in the great state of Texas. Luckily, we have a few months before his residency is up. He's interviewing in Denver next week for Comfort Dental, a dental chain where job opportunities in Texas are overflowing. It also looks as if he's going to fly out to Dallas sometime in April. Who knows, Bebe and I might tag along.

Speaking of Baby, we've broken bad habits and have pretty much decided on a name before the last day at the hospital. We're pretty sure we'll call him Ezra Aksel Chavez. The girls are already calling him by name when they speak to my tummy. I've been having a lot of symptoms of early labor these last couple of weeks, but who knows when he'll actually make his debut. Personally, I was hoping he'd wait clear up until his due date to come because I'm still kind-of freaking out that I'm going to be in charge of three children... 3! However, Siena and Qiana have both been hit really hard with the coming realization that a new person is going to take up most of my attention. Siena has demonstrated this with an increase in whining, crying and freaking out at the slightest upset while Qiana has reverted back to pre-potty trained behavior. Add a sleep-deprived, impatient mother into the mix (ahh, the endless nights of back pain will not be missed...) and you've got a recipe for disaster. So, in short, all of these things have pushed me into thinking that it might not be so bad for Ezra to come sooner. I really, really, really could use a couple days in bed where people wait on me and bring me red jello.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic for this little boy to come to our family. These are just little tidbits that I'm thinking of at this moment. I know the frustration will pass, as it always has. We really are blessed with so many moments of happiness that I have no room to complain.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

For fun, we had a Dr. Seuss Day today in honor of what would be his 108th birthday. It was a last-minute thing, but the girls enjoyed every second. We first watched a couple of "Cat In The Hat" episodes on PBS during their C.i.t.H. Marathon, then dashed off to the library to read some of his books. Upon returning home, we played some online Dr. Seuss games (like "Hop on Pop" and "Help the Cat in the Hat Clean up a Mess!") Finally, we read "Green Eggs and Ham" for the first time and they really got into it. For lunch, we cooked up a ham steak and green eggs. It was too funny to watch their faces as they saw green eggs dished onto their plates. They were confused, but you could see the lightbulb turn on and the puzzlement turned to beaming smiles. After naptime, I think we'll make some white and red striped hats or something of the sort....

Being a mom can be really, really fun.