Erikobby's World: Welcome Micah Christian Hall!!! ***NEED BOBBYS TAKE***

Micah's birth story and first week:

Let's start at my 37 week appointment. The nurse practitioner, Drew, said I was at a 1 and starting to soften...uh oh! We're not ready yet!! I was worried Micah would come early and we wouldn't be able to get done the last few things we needed to get done. LUCKILY right at 37 weeks we got a new car, a 2011 Honda Odyssey EX van. And it's actually cool haha. I love that car! The doors shut automatically and there's so much room. I cannot wait to take our big road trip in it this summer!!!

Ok so now onto 38 week appointment. Drew said I was 2 cm! WHAT THE WHAT!!! He may be coming sooner than we think...hopefully not because my baby shower was coming up on Friday the 5th. AHHH! I've never been early. Bianca was 2 days late and Cam was right on his due date. When will Micah come??

39 week appointment I actually got to see Dr. Kirk (for the third time since we'd been here, haha). She checked me (what's up with them checking me every appointment? I'd almost rather not personally...), and she said I was still a 1. Phew! Although by this time, I was getting ready for him to come. I was really starting to get uncomfortable. She stretched my cervix out (or something like that) in hopes to start labor sooner rather than later. She told me that she was going to be away next week. Excellent...NOT! At least her other associates there are women, so that's cool with me (no offence to male OBGYNs at all, just not my personal preference for this task). She also scheduled me for an induction for when she gets back at 5AM on Sept 22nd. I told Micah later he could come on his own or get evicted by that date in hopes to scare him out hahaha. ;)

After this appointment, I started my spicy food and pineapple eating ritual that has worked in the past. I used Hatch chilies in Mac and cheese (with Serrano peppers), put them on my pizza, heck, at the Relief Society pizza making event we just put pineapple on our dutch oven pizzas hahaha! But it did not seem to be working, but I kept on chugging my hot wings and hot peppers and pineapple until my mouth couldn't handle it anymore!

9/13/14

We were hoping he'd come before his due date so that Bobby wouldn't have to go to his TFA all day meeting (although making it up in the summer would have sucked), but no Micah. Instead I took the two kids to Bianca's dancing class, the library, and Walmart to get daddy a birthday present. After our fun filled day out, we waited for daddy to come home and decided to get dinner, since we hadn't seen him all day. The spicier the better so we went to The World Burrito place to get the cayenne tortilla with as much spicy crap as they could fit in it haha. And was it spicy! After that we just went to Walmart for a new razor for daddy that we forgot to get earlier and just went home.

9/14/14

The next morning was church, so we woke up as usual, Bobby started getting ready first and I was checking stuff on my phone in bed when I moved my legs around and POP! Something started leaking out of me!! I jumped out of bed saying "Uh honey, I think my water just broke. I just peed, I don't think it's pee. WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?!" haha. This has never happened to me before, I've always had to have my waters broken for me, plus I wasn't feeling any real contractions at this point so I was like what the heck is going on...this was at 7:30AM. I immediately called Rebecca Harper (who kindly offered to watch our little ones while we were in the hospital), but she was in the shower. While we were waiting for her to call us back, we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, Bobby washing his hair, me throwing a skirt on (didn't want to mess up any pants in case the leakage got worse...and it was a lot too, a huge gush, and kept on coming), and also packing up the diaper bag and another bag for the kiddos, just in case. Rebecca called me back and told me that she and her husband were speaking in a different ward that morning (OF COURSE!!!) BUT Trisha Zielenski will be coming over to grab the kids and take them to church. She'll watch them until they get out of their ward and then the Harpers will take the kids for the night (!!). How sweet is she?!?! My VTs are the best! :-D

So we ran around, woke the kids up, got them fed and dressed, and tried to pack up all of their junk they'll need for the day/night. What a crazy morning! And I still wasn't feeling any hardcore contractions! Trisha and her daughter came to pick the kids up and Bobby installed their car seats in their car and off they went to church! Hope they did well (ADDED LATER: they did perfect Trisha said! She said Cameron really liked the music and did really well. Thank goodness!).

I called the doctor on call then because I wasn't sure when I should go into the hospital, since this has never happened to me. I felt like such a rookie mom, but I'm glad I did it. We got Dr. Blackstock and she said to just come on in since it's my third and they usually come faster. There we had it! We called our families and off we went to the hospital (OH AND WE FINALLY CAUGHT THAT DANG MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE, RIP MOUSEY, but we can't have you in here with a baby).

When we got to the hospital we waited around for our room to be ready, but like I said, my contractions weren't bad at all at that point, maybe a 3 or 4 on the pain scale. So it was kinda nice-ish. It was like Bobby and I were on a little date for a while...except we were in the hospital haha. ;) They got me into a room after a while (I guess someone had a seizure, that's why it took so long to get me in) around 10:30 and had a doctor come in and check me to make sure it was my water that broke. After some poking around they said yes it was broken, I was at an almost 4, and I could be officially admitted!!! WE WERE HAVING A BABY TODAY!!! The nurse with us was really nice, Diane I think her name was. I wish she could have stayed with us the whole time. They did their tests, put the IV in my arm, put me in a wheelchair and sent me off to the next room!

The next room was big and nice. Our new nurse seemed nice too, which was good. They put the fetal monitor thing around my belly and we hung out for a while. Bobby got hungry so he went to the vending machine to grab some snacks (in our haste we forgot to pack some this time around, oops!). While he was gone I got to meet Dr. Blackstock, who was SO nice! You could tell she cared and looked over my files carefully before she came in, which is good to know! She had to go off and deliver some twins, but she just wanted to say hi first.

Bobby came back and we snacked some and then our nurse came in with some bad news. They wanted to start me on some...pitocin. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! They worked with me and my fear of pitocin from Bianca's delivery and started me off slow, thank goodness. This was around 1pm.I was an almost 6 by then. It kicked in about 45 mins later and I was feeling legit contractions finally. They weren't too too awful, I could breathe through them, but they were getting more painful, which is a good thing in labor ("The more pain you're in the happier we are, which is weird, only in labor and delivery"- our nurse).

Our nurse got me the birthing ball and I hung out on there for a while. The belly bands kept moving while I was on it so they hooked me up to a thing that checked my pulse as well, so that Micah's pulse wouldn't read as low as mine. After a while the pain was getting worse and I just wanted to sit down again, so I did. They up-ed the pitocin a little bit more, and it was getting a little more painful. I had Bobby fanning me through the contractions because I felt so hot!

Then another nurse comes in and she ups the pitocin without telling me why...so I asked. She said it was because I kept having 2 contractions in a row something about needing stronger contractions to turn his face around something like that. I was mad. The other nurse said she wouldn't up it until I said. Whatever. That's when the contractions started getting AWFUL!!! I started my typical pitocin cry "I can't do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Then one contraction when our nurse came in, I yelled that I needed to push. She quickly checked me and said I was at a 9 already!!! And I could bear down if I wanted to. She then called for our doctor to come in.

Next thing I knew another contraction came and I REALLY REALLY had to push...but this time I felt him coming...uh oh! They laid me down and got me all ready and Dr.Blackstock ran in, I pushed through the contraction and before I knew it, MICAH WAS BORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

During all of this I asked "is he out yet???" not expecting him to be and then Bobby said "almost" and I was like what?? It all happened so fast!! I heard him cry and everyone say that he was cute...although I had to wait until after the cord was cut and he was cleaned off to see him (which was dumb, but whatever). Bobby cut the cord and they put him in the incubator thing to clean him up a little bit before handing him to me and he was the cutest little thing! He was born at 4:16pm (16:16 military time...pretty cool, huh?) and weighed 6 lb 15 oz and was 19 3/4 in. long.

Here's Bobby's take on the birth:

We got to have some skin to skin time after that. He was just so sweet! Whenever he starts to cry, I just talked or sang "I Am A Child Of God" and he stopped crying. Babies really do recognize your voice I guess. :)

Bobby left shortly after that to get the kids so they could meet their new brother! I kept waiting for someone to tell me how to order food, but yeah that never happened. Thanks. :-/

It took Bobby a while to get the kids, but Bianca was so excited to see Micah! She ran right up to us and wanted to see him. I'm sure if Cam was older he would have been excited too, but he just wanted to run around the room haha. We let Bianca hold Micah for a little bit, so she was excited. Bobby got himself some fries and shared them with me since my new nurse just told me the cafeteria was closed. Gee, thanks. Starving mom over here lol. Cam and Bobby went to get me some food downstairs. I had a burger and an apple. Joy. But Micah ate a little bit, 30 mins on one side and about 10-15 on the other...not bad for a 1 hour old baby!

They stayed for maybe an hour or hour and a half when Bobby took them back to Sister Harper's house for the night. While they were gone they moved me to my postpartum room, which was bigger and pretty nice! They just wheeled me down in my bed. It was kinda fun haha.

Bobby found me a bit later. Man is Micah a sleepy boy! I knew he had to try to eat, but he just wanted to sleep. Of course you can't sleep when you JUST have a baby, so I'm just staring at him and everything haha. At least I got to sleep for a bit though, I was thankful for that. I was worried about his eating though. He could do the left side, but hated the right. I had the most trouble breastfeeding him than any other of our kids. I guess cause he's a tiny little dude. ;)

The hospital stay was a blur. On 9/15, Bobby woke up at 7 and drove to get the kids and took Bianca to school. Then he and Cam came back to the hospital to visit. I was visited by lots of doctors and stuff while they were gone, so I didn't get much rest, just some TV time and time watching Micah sleep haha. They took him away for the longest time though! He came back right in time for Bobby and Cameron to come back, but I missed my little dude. The kids had fun at the Harpers though, and as I learned later, ate bacon and orange juice, so they were so happy haha.

Micah had a photo appointment at 115, Cam was cranky and tired by then, but they stayed for it anyways. It was cute. Overly priced, but cute. We did buy one shot, because I couldn't resist (and I've always wanted to do a newborn shoot, but never really did). They left and we just hung out.

Bobby put Cam down for a nap and got Bianca and they came back around dinner time. They gave us a ticket for a free meal, so I ordered one for Bobby and all 4 of us split the meal. Cam was having fun slamming the dresser drawers in there and Bianca just wanted to sit in mommy's hospital bed, haha. Micah slept most of the time. Man, he's a sleepy boy!! We're still having trouble with him eating on my right side, but I got some help from the lactation nurse, so he's getting better.

The next night he was up more, as what usually happens, and of course Bobby's not there that night. IF there is a next baby, he's staying the second night, not the first hahaha. ;) I got him to sleep a bit though, but of course that was the time all of the doctors and nurses decide to come in. I don't even remember half of who came in or what they said I was so sleepy, haha!

They took Micah that morning to get circumcised. :( I got to sleep a bit (well, a bit because docs and nurses kept coming in to check on me still). They said he didn't like it (DUH) but he was fine. The nurse said he was so snuggly she just wanted to snuggle him, but thought I'd like to snuggle him too so she brought him back. :) I was sleepy but I love Micah snuggles, so it was all good. Bobby and Cam came in after they had an eventful morning with Bobby getting everyone ready, especially Bianca for school. She was a bit late but he did it! Now he sees what I go through with them. :)

The docs said we could leave that morning, yay! They checked us out, had us sign our paperwork, I took a glorious shower, and we were out of there around 11:30! Man, Micah looks so itsy bitsy in that car seat! He's our little guy indeed. He was 6lb 8 oz when we left the hospital. We forgot the boppy in the room, so the poor nurse had to go back and grab it, but we all made it home safely! He slept for a bit, and ate and there we were, a family of 5. :)

His first week has been kinda crazy. He went to the doctor's on that Wednesday, and was fine. We introduced the paci at that point, and he did so well with it, and did not cry at his appointment! What a trooper!

BUT on Thursday, my first day alone with the kids (stupid TPS only gives you 3 days of personal days. Where's the Paternity leave/?? At least give father's a week, jeeze! Well you CAN take 2 extra days, but you have to pay $50 per day for a sub. LAME!!!), Micah decided he didn't want to eat anymore, well more like he forgot how to eat. And I knew the culprit. THE PACI! Darn it!!!! I love pacifiers...darn darn darn! At the moment after I broke down with worry, the lactation consultants from the hospital called and asked how everything was going. WHAT GREAT TIMING!!! I said that he was having trouble, so we made an appointment for the next day (Friday) to come in and get help.

Luckily, after Bobby came home from work I actually got him to eat. He spent a good 30-45 mins crying at my boob, but he eventually ate (I had to pump a little out first, but he did eat). Bobby took the kids and went to pick his parents up from OKC to take them here so they can help out since we're so exhausted and Bobby had a lot of work to do (as ususal, first year teacher problems). I did get Micah to eat twice in the time they were gone, so yay! I think he forgot about the paci. I kept the appointment anyways, might as well go, why not? They got in around 9pm and we all got ready for bed, his parents sleeping in Bianca's room for some reason haha.

The next morning Bobby went to work (Bianca stayed home to spend with with her grandparents). We slept in as much as we could, and then joined everyone. Micah and I went to our lactation appointment at the Children's hospital which his parents stayed home with the kids. It went really well. The nurse was so nice! I loved her. Of course Micah ate like a champ, but she did say she wished more moms were like me, which made me feel good. :)

This is what happens when you don't blow dry your hair and throw it up haphazardly. Cute, huh?

First car ride alone with mommy!!!

When we got home, Bianca and I looked around and made daddy a cake out of whatever we had laying around the house since it's his 31ST BITHDAY TODAY!!! We had apple cider, so we made an apple cider cake. We didn't have eggs, so we used bananas, which gave it a good flavor too! Hooray! Bianca loves to cook, and it was nice to spend some time with her. Bobby's dad worked outside, sweeping things and trimming things and walking around the neighborhood (he likes to be kept busy haha) and Bobby's mom said she'd clean if I cooked, so it was a deal!

His parents wanted pizza for dinner, so we ordered some Mazzios. When Bobby FINALLY came home, we ate cake and opened presents.

Like how Bianca decorated it? hehe

Then, when Micah was good and fed, we went out for a birthday date, yay! We went to Ted's. We saw Tiffany from church there! I forgot that Ted's is actually good when you can have the queso, it's been...maybe 7 years for me haha. It was so nice to get out on our own though. Micah was just fine too, sleeping when we got home. We forgot about getting milk and bananas, so we got to run out to Braums alone, which was nice as well. I acutally got to go in the store with him for once. ;) Then we went home and just slept. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY! WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!

On Saturday morning, everyone minus Micah and me went to Bianca's dance class and to the library, our usual Saturday morning routine. Bobby's mom loved the place. They got food after and came home. They held Micah while I helped Bobby with his sorting and grading. We got it all done pretty quickly too, yay! Oh my goodness, so after Cameron's nap, I go to let him out AND HIS DOOR WAS LOCKED...but there is no lock on this door. So us as his parents freaked out, Bobby's mom's trying to calm us down, it was awful! Bobby broke the door down (not too bad, just chipped off a piece around the handle) and Cameron was saved haha. What a crazy time though!! We had to wait until later when Micah was all fed and let us go to go grocery shopping. Bobby's dad liked Reasors.

THOSE TOES THOUGH!!!!

Then, later, after Micah was good and fed again (notice a pattern here lol), we went on a second date, hooray! We went to this Thai place, and it was amazing!!! So spicy and so yummy! Finally, a GOOD Asian place in Oklahoma! It was nice to have another date, since who knows when we'll get another one. What a nice weekend. Exhausting with a little boy who sleeps 2 hours at a time, but nice.

On Sunday, Bobby worked while his parents decided to take a walk around the neighborhood (???) and I watched the kids. Then he took them back in the afternoon when he was all done lesson planning. And that was the end of Micah's first week at home. Happy 1 week sweet boy! We love you so much, our little Micah Doll!!! Oh and as a birthday present to us, you slept for 4 hours that night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D