A month and a half since my last post...And life is completely different! It has changed in the best ways possible.

My little man is here and I am loving every minute I have of being a mother. More for my sake than anyone else's, I am going to document the birth story. On July 22 I went into a scheduled appointment with my OB doctor. My doctor checked me and I was sad to hear I was still only at 1cm and my cervix was still very thick. Since she knew I was in a lot of pain and discomfort from the baby, she said she would strip my membranes but also said that the procedure only works for some people. I got that done and then was sent to the schedule desk to set up an induction date for August 6th. "August 6th?!?" I thought. I was sure I would not be able to make it that long. I was both too uncomfortable and too impatient. AJ's co-workers had heard that I had gotten my membranes stripped and sent him home because they were worried I would go into labor. I was doubtful about labor at first but started to feel more hopeful when he got home and I decided to try some oldwives' tales to help encourage it. My doctor said that if the membrane stripping worked, I would know within 24 hours. I asked her about walking and exercise to help the process and she said no one really knows but that it wouldn't hurt. I cleaned for a little bit, took a nap, cooked and then went to swim/lay out at my sister-in-laws pool. AJ came up with the idea to go off-roading and afterwards we went to the movie Pacific Rim. Neither of us were fans of the movie but went because it was a Dbox movie (The seats moved along with the on-screen action). After the movie we went to the college football stadium so I could climb stairs. To top it off, when we got home around 10pm, I drank some castor oil. Soon after I drank it I started getting intestinal cramps which quickly turned into contractions. I tried to sleep since they weren't very strong but only slept for a couple of hours. Around 2am the contractions were strong but I didn't think to time them since I thought it was just another false alarm (I had gone in a couple of times from dehydration contractions and a UTI in the past). I coped with the contractions by taking baths, bouncing on my exercise ball, and by just moving around. Around 6 am I was pretty positive I was in true labor and I told AJ that the baby might be on his way. He was still sleeping and I told him he could sleep a little longer before we went to the hospital. As I waited for him to wake up I made sure my hospital bag was all packed and that the car seat was hooked up right. I sat outside to try and distract myself but eventually I could hardly breathe through them. At eight o' clock AJ and I left to the hospital. After examining me the nurses confirmed that I was indeed in labor. They told me I was at 3cm and having regular contractions. Contractions are no joke. I honestly don't know how or why women put their bodies through the pain if they have medication available. Maybe I will be that crazy one day, maybe. AJ was expecting our visit to be another false alarm so he was surprised to hear that I was being checked in and ran home to get his camera and other necessities. At around 10am I was given an epidural and I must say, that was a gift sent from heaven. I was no

longer in any pain whatsoever and could relax and try to wait patiently for baby to come. Here is how things played out after that: 10am- epidural (Slept for about an hour) 12pm- I was given Pitocin to speed up contractions 2pm- 6cm 3pm- 7cm, The doctor broke my water 4pm- 8 cm, I was started on Oxygen to help keep the baby's heart rate up. Because of the lack of fluid, Theo's cord kept getting pinched and his heart rate would drop. They stopped the Pitocin and this is when labor slowed down quite a bit. I was put on more monitors and they even stuck one on his head to get a more accurate reading and another internal monitor for contractions. 6:30pm- 9cm, Around this time I threw up everywhere and the nurses had to change me and my bedding. I felt so bad! 7:45pm-10 cm 8:20pm- I started pushing 8:59pm- Theodoir Quinn Hawkin arrived perfectly healthy at 8lbs 5ounces and 20 inches. The whole experience was much less painful (due to the epidural) than I thought it would be. During the final labor stage, I still did not feel much pain but it was definitely a work out. It sounds weird to say but I looked at it like it was a challenge and it was kind of fun to see how good of a "pusher" I could be. Theo was wide awake as soon as he was born but he would not cry. The doctors were put at ease though when he was able to clear his lungs just by coughing. Seeing an actual baby in front of me for the first time was amazing. It was hard for me to realize that he was actually MY VERY OWN SON and that I would get to take him home. Despite his large cone head and swollen face, he was beautiful to me. After the doctors and visitors had retired for the night, the nurses watched after Theo while I slept for a couple of hours. Although I was exhausted, I had a very difficult time falling asleep for some reason. I felt so immobile and felt that if I tried to get comfortable I would pull my catheter lose. That was probably my least favorite thing about the whole experience. In the morning, my epidural was pretty well worn off and I could move around a little bit better. I felt amazing! I called AJ and told him that we should go to Pine Valley for the Pioneer day celebrations. He just laughed at me and told me that we were not going anywhere. About a half hour later, I also realized that my thinking was flawed. I felt as if I had gotten hit by a train! I didn't realize it before because of the pain medication, but once they wore off all I wanted to do was lay in the hospital bed. (Actually, I wanted to lay in a hot tub more than anything) AJ came back to the hospital around 9am and we had breakfast together which was actually pretty good. I think their food is way better than the new hospital where AJ stayed a couple of years ago. Later in the morning we had some visitors (Grandma and Grandpa Cox, Jordan and Whitney, and of course AJ's mom Pat.)

I decided I would rather sleep at home than in the hospital bed again so we checked out around 4pm. Our good friends/AJ's adopted parents, Jody and Jill visited us when we got home and I am sure I looked sooo out of it because of how exhausted I still was. The days following the birth AJ and I didn't see the outside world much. Adjusting to a baby is very time consuming, even with a baby who doesnt cry at all his first week. Theodoir is now about 5 weeks old and has developed so much already. He smiled the day after he was born and rolled over when he was only five days old. He is now much more alert and starting to respond to voices. I love just watching him as he looks around the room like he is, as AJ put it, "in a house full of circus freaks". I love my little family so much and I am really enjoying parenthood! I feel like I am so lucky to have such a good-natured baby and a wonderful husband by my side. Life is good:)