a prince is born: york's birth story

the official due date for baby boy gregory was september 19th 2014... that was a date hardly anyone knew but me because the date that i decided baby boy should be born was september 12th 2014. for 9 long months, i knew that it would all worth it, to meet that sweet baby on friday, september 12th at 7:00 am. you see, with scheduled c-sections you can do that... chose the day of delivery. i like having c-sections for that reason alone. i am a control freak. september 12th, my due date.

so imagine my surprise when on 5:30am saturday morning, september 6th at 38 weeks pregnant, i felt a little pop and thought i maybe wet my pants. i actually didn't believe it. i mean, who's water actually breaks? i sat back down on my bed in disbelief but sat right back up because my water really had broken, the bed was soaked, and it was time to go the hospital.

i texted trevan (who was working some overtime) and said "time to come home.". i called the rest of our people (yaya, nannie, brooke) and patiently waited, i didn't even wake the kids. trevan came, at trevan speed, 30 minutes later. in fact, brooke got to me before trevan did. he was taking 4 weeks off with paternity leave and wasn't expecting it for at least another week, so he had some things to finish up. yaya got to our home a few minutes later to take my kids and the rest of us were off to meet my baby.

labor was beginning and i started to feel the pain of contractions on the drive to the hospital. the drive there was fast and peaceful. the morning sun was just coming over the mountains and there was literally a rainbow... and then a lighting bolt to the west. trevan i laughed, and hoped this was not a sign of things to come. we threw names and middle names back and forth (heath vs york and michael vs. williams) and decided we would have to meet him first. we pulled up to labor and delivery and i waddled my very pregnant butt into the hospital to check in and left trevan to park the van and bring in my gear. i passed the night nurses leaving their shifts and they nodded and smiled. i can only imagine what i looked like.... bath towel around my waist under my nightgown, garments hanging out, and swollen feet stuffed into flip flops.

they front desk checked me in and walked me back to my delivery room. i 'technically' had to be monitored to make sure i was really in labor and that my water had truly broken. it took the nurses one glance at the soaked towel from my bottom and everyone knew it was show time.

the contractions were coming on strong and this was the first time i had ever truly been in labor. it was a strange but calming feeling. it was nice to know that my body did actually know what to do, even if it wasn't suppose or going to actually deliver a baby. i have always wondered what labor would be like. i am grateful to have experienced a fraction of it once in my childbearing years.

i was so ready to be done being pregnant, even if i wasn't ready to have a baby (are you ever ready for that?!). being 9 months pregnant in august is no walk in the park. my body retained water like it never had before and i looked and felt like i might explode. my legs and feet were the worst, little sausages for toes and lovely kankles that only a mother could love. i could not wear any shoes but flip flops for the entire month. this pregnancy included, plantars fasciitis, carpal tunnel, heartburn, and restless leg syndrome and i was ready to rid my body of all of the above. i'm not one of those pregnant people that wear it well. however, looking back and having this in all likelihood be my last pregnancy, i miss being there.... kankles and all. pregnancy is a miracle.

my sweet mom was in idaho on september 6th with my little sister paige and her week old baby alba. my mom had planned on coming home the next day, working a few days, and then being at my induction due date september 12th. plans are meant to be broken, and this was one of them. i tried to be brave but i really wanted my mom. luckily, my dad steps up when he needs to and was there cheer me up. i am his favorite daughter after all, and was birthing him his 20th grandchild and 10th grandson.

we had to wait and wait and wait for the operating room to be ready. luckily. it's the kind of waiting that i love the most, waiting for a baby. unfortunately, my OBGYN had other obligations (ahem... a utah football game 6 hours later) and couldn't make it to the birth. i was really upset about it, like i said, i'm a control freak and this whole thing was out of my control. no september 12th, no mom, no doctor, no new pedicure, no photographer in the OR (ie. brooke)... i was really trying to be calm but things were not going as planned. trevan's mom came and her presence made me much more calm. the 5 of us (brooke, yaya, my dad, trevan and i) were ready to get this show on the road.

they were finally ready to take me to meet my son and were wheeling me out when my mom called again. just hearing her voice brought me to tears, i was scared and wanted my mom. having a baby is a whole whirlwind of emotions. i really just wanted a healthy baby.... and my mom.

trevan is the best person in the world at calming me. sometimes i forget how capable he is of that, but in these situations his calming voice of reassurance puts all my worries aside. he's held my hand and patted my head for 12 years and gets better every year. this was my most painful c-section to date. i'm not sure what happened or went wrong but i straight up thought i was dying on the operating table. i couldn't talk and cried out in pain. i could not breathe. i guess my epidural/spinal wasn't placed correctly so i was feeling the pain but in the wrong places. it was really bad. i've already begun to block it from my memory.

at 10:16AM on september 6th 2014, york michael gregory made his entrance into our world. 

another really, really long cord wrapped around one of my babies necks. 

and he didn't make a peep.

i was freaking out because he wasn't crying but the nurses assured me he was fine, the little guy wasn't quite awake.

york was our HEALTHY 7.7 lbs 20 inch baby boy.

he was perfect.

let me interject here and say: ladies, nothing more attractive than watching your man with your love child.

york was so healthy in fact, that they didn't make him leave my side.... ever. this was a first and i relished in all of his newborn goodness. i felt like i won the lottery. 

i did win and york was the grand prize.

as i looked upon that fresh and perfect face i was reminded so much of the 1st time i did this, of my sweet baby jude.

never ever in the history of my child births have i been able to have skin to skin time after delivery. omg, to feel that baby breathing on you, that same baby that has been growing and moving inside you for the past 9 months, to smell them, to feel them on your skin.... words fail me.

a father and his 3rd son. trevan is the luckiest.

york had all 10 fingers and all 10 toes, and they were perfect. we knew york was fully cooked by his nail length alone. nothing better than a full set of newborn acrylics.

we stayed in the hospital for 4 more days. its funny, some people can not wait to get out of the hospital after they deliver. i do not fall into that category. HOTEL IMC!!!! i love the constant stream of visitors, the alone time with the baby and trevan, friendly nurses at your beck and call, and knowing that you and the baby are safe. i'd have babies every day if i could.

our first visitors had to be york's big brothers and sister. they too were surprised by their baby brother's early arrival. we talked a lot about what we would name him and greta and ez had a long list of ideas. ez, the darling crazy, went back and forth between baby rahzar, fish face, and rat king and would cry anytime we didn't agree. greta favored tim, charles, and jake. sadly, neither of them won on their choices but once they met york, they were fine with his name. he has been 'yorkie' ever since. i love my babies 1, 2, 3, 4... little ducks in a row.

the best surprise of all was that my mom was there with me shortly after york was born. paige and nate were kind enough to let her use their sky miles and fly her home that day. i was beyond thrilled, i was getting to share this day with my mom. 

 again... your husband and your newborn.
i die.

can you smell his newness?

after our 4 day stay those big jerks took out my staples, gave me a DTaP booster shot, and sent us walking. york and i felt the same way about heading home.

every child deserves a birth story and that is york's.

and who knows maybe this is the return of me blogging.
;)