My baby turned 6 last week on April 3, 2013. She is a loving, joyful girl. This year on or around my children's birthdays I am going to write about their actual day of birth. Sarah's birth day was the only one that was scheduled ahead of time. I had four other youngins at home that needed to be cared for and I thought that 39 weeks sounded like long enough to be pregnant so I went ahead and scheduled an induction.
There were some things that were convenient about that, but in the end, it was not my preference. I got to the hospital showered and as prepared as I could be and was given an iv filled with Pitocin to get things going. It didn't. I sat there and I sat there, but nothing happened. Not one teeny weeny contraction. Dr. Kari Lawrence came in and broke my water. That did it. My previous three deliveries were natural, unmedicated, painful. Estelle's was especially painful and I didn't want a repeat of that so I opted for an epidural this time. It only worked only on my right side and she was born only minutes after getting it, so I kind of wished I hadn't. It did, however, relieve the pain of her entry into this world and the stitches afterward, so probably that made it worth it.
My husband and mother and nurses and doctor were there as usual. I invited my sister, Erika, to attend. Being a single woman and an awesome aunt to my children, I thought she may like to be a part of a birth. It is pretty amazing. I wished I could witness a birth without having to be such an active participant. My other sister, Renee, allowed that wish to come true. It is pretty cool. My sister-in-law, JuNette, came to see me because she happened to be in Utah County at the time.
With the exception of my first time giving birth, the pushing part is a breeze. She did require a few pushes and the doctor tried to ease her head through gently to avoid stitches, but that did not happen. Dang, I was hoping for one stitch free delivery. Oh well. Immediately following her delivery, and I mean immediately, even before she was placed on my tummy I could tell by the doctor's face and Destry's asking if she was OK that something weird had happened. Apparently her umbilical chord had broken. Dad did not get to cut this one. It quickly got clamped. The nurse took her and showed her to me and "roughed her up a bit." She didn't squawk too much and she was quite purple. Destry kept saying she looked purple and the doctor kept assuring him that that was normal. The nurse did give her a bit of oxygen and took care of the usual newborn stuff before giving her to me to hold for the first time.
She was perfect! She even had hair. After four born with a bit of peach fuzz, this one actually had hair. It was very dark and wild and beautiful. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. she was my second largest baby. Had she "cooked" another week she probably would have caught up to Spencer. She was born at 2:45 p.m., the earliest in the day for me. I loved holding her and looking at her. She looked like she belonged, but she had her own look too. I loved watching the wonder and joy in the eyes of everyone as they met her for the first time.
Usually my babies are born at night and I love them then they go to the nursery for the rest of the night. I got to spend more time with her and she had a lot of visitors on her birth day. That evening four of my five siblings and their significant others were there at the same time. It was a bit crowded and I was a bit tired, but I didn't have to entertain. They were not there to see me anyway. They passed Sarah around while I lay quietly in my bed exhausted, but filled with joy for this sweet little spirit who had joined our family. I am grateful for the love of extended family. Every child born into the Smith/Crump/Macdonald clan are welcomed and loved.
I had a special, spiritual experience with the Holy Ghost telling me that she would be coming to our family almost two years prior to her birth. When Estelle was just four months old Spencer had to have a hernia that he was born with surgically repaired. He was seven. The Sunday following his surgery was stake conference. Destry volunteered to stay home with him, so being the bright person that I am I left the two and four year old home with him as well. I took the nursing baby with me. Estelle slept peacefully for the whole meeting.
While I was sitting listening to conference I had a very strong message come to me that we were to have another baby and that it would be a girl. I had a baby. I was not thinking about having another baby; in fact I was 35 years old, I had four beautiful children, two boys and two girls. Perfect! It seemed like we had a complete family. I was wrong. After a bit of resistance I my part I submitted my will to His and we were blessed with a "tie breaker."
I had never correctly guessed the gender of my other children. In fact, after I was wrong three times I quit guessing. This was not a guess. The Lord blessed me with the knowledge that there was a specific spirit still waiting to come to our family and that spirit was a girl. How grateful we are that we have her. How grateful I am that the Lord knows me and gave me ample time to emotionally prepare for one more child. She has been a blessing so many ways.
As usual, following the birth of a baby there was an adjustment period. Five children is quite a lot. Estelle was not quite two and Spencer was eight. Taylor was six and Emma four. That is a lot of people who relied on me for many things. Sarah had her days and nights mixed up for several weeks. She and I would lie on the couch together until 5-6:00 a.m. when she decided it was time to go to sleep. After we got that straightened out, she was a usual Crump baby sleeper--horrible. She did not sleep through the night until she was close to a year old. She also cried, screamed rather, every time we got in the car. I had to make darn sure I really wanted/needed to go somewhere for the first four months of her life. Those are my two biggest complaints. Since we got those two things figured out she has been a relative breeze to parent. Thank goodness!
The births of each one of my babies has been permanently etched into my mind and heart. What a miracle! The discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of labor are part of the whole experience. I wouldn't trade any of it. The joy that comes as I look have looked into the eyes of my babies is a joyful piece of heaven. There have been few times when I have felt my Heavenly Father nearer.
There were some things that were convenient about that, but in the end, it was not my preference. I got to the hospital showered and as prepared as I could be and was given an iv filled with Pitocin to get things going. It didn't. I sat there and I sat there, but nothing happened. Not one teeny weeny contraction. Dr. Kari Lawrence came in and broke my water. That did it. My previous three deliveries were natural, unmedicated, painful. Estelle's was especially painful and I didn't want a repeat of that so I opted for an epidural this time. It only worked only on my right side and she was born only minutes after getting it, so I kind of wished I hadn't. It did, however, relieve the pain of her entry into this world and the stitches afterward, so probably that made it worth it.
My husband and mother and nurses and doctor were there as usual. I invited my sister, Erika, to attend. Being a single woman and an awesome aunt to my children, I thought she may like to be a part of a birth. It is pretty amazing. I wished I could witness a birth without having to be such an active participant. My other sister, Renee, allowed that wish to come true. It is pretty cool. My sister-in-law, JuNette, came to see me because she happened to be in Utah County at the time.
With the exception of my first time giving birth, the pushing part is a breeze. She did require a few pushes and the doctor tried to ease her head through gently to avoid stitches, but that did not happen. Dang, I was hoping for one stitch free delivery. Oh well. Immediately following her delivery, and I mean immediately, even before she was placed on my tummy I could tell by the doctor's face and Destry's asking if she was OK that something weird had happened. Apparently her umbilical chord had broken. Dad did not get to cut this one. It quickly got clamped. The nurse took her and showed her to me and "roughed her up a bit." She didn't squawk too much and she was quite purple. Destry kept saying she looked purple and the doctor kept assuring him that that was normal. The nurse did give her a bit of oxygen and took care of the usual newborn stuff before giving her to me to hold for the first time.
She was perfect! She even had hair. After four born with a bit of peach fuzz, this one actually had hair. It was very dark and wild and beautiful. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. she was my second largest baby. Had she "cooked" another week she probably would have caught up to Spencer. She was born at 2:45 p.m., the earliest in the day for me. I loved holding her and looking at her. She looked like she belonged, but she had her own look too. I loved watching the wonder and joy in the eyes of everyone as they met her for the first time.
Usually my babies are born at night and I love them then they go to the nursery for the rest of the night. I got to spend more time with her and she had a lot of visitors on her birth day. That evening four of my five siblings and their significant others were there at the same time. It was a bit crowded and I was a bit tired, but I didn't have to entertain. They were not there to see me anyway. They passed Sarah around while I lay quietly in my bed exhausted, but filled with joy for this sweet little spirit who had joined our family. I am grateful for the love of extended family. Every child born into the Smith/Crump/Macdonald clan are welcomed and loved.
I had a special, spiritual experience with the Holy Ghost telling me that she would be coming to our family almost two years prior to her birth. When Estelle was just four months old Spencer had to have a hernia that he was born with surgically repaired. He was seven. The Sunday following his surgery was stake conference. Destry volunteered to stay home with him, so being the bright person that I am I left the two and four year old home with him as well. I took the nursing baby with me. Estelle slept peacefully for the whole meeting.
While I was sitting listening to conference I had a very strong message come to me that we were to have another baby and that it would be a girl. I had a baby. I was not thinking about having another baby; in fact I was 35 years old, I had four beautiful children, two boys and two girls. Perfect! It seemed like we had a complete family. I was wrong. After a bit of resistance I my part I submitted my will to His and we were blessed with a "tie breaker."
I had never correctly guessed the gender of my other children. In fact, after I was wrong three times I quit guessing. This was not a guess. The Lord blessed me with the knowledge that there was a specific spirit still waiting to come to our family and that spirit was a girl. How grateful we are that we have her. How grateful I am that the Lord knows me and gave me ample time to emotionally prepare for one more child. She has been a blessing so many ways.
As usual, following the birth of a baby there was an adjustment period. Five children is quite a lot. Estelle was not quite two and Spencer was eight. Taylor was six and Emma four. That is a lot of people who relied on me for many things. Sarah had her days and nights mixed up for several weeks. She and I would lie on the couch together until 5-6:00 a.m. when she decided it was time to go to sleep. After we got that straightened out, she was a usual Crump baby sleeper--horrible. She did not sleep through the night until she was close to a year old. She also cried, screamed rather, every time we got in the car. I had to make darn sure I really wanted/needed to go somewhere for the first four months of her life. Those are my two biggest complaints. Since we got those two things figured out she has been a relative breeze to parent. Thank goodness!
The births of each one of my babies has been permanently etched into my mind and heart. What a miracle! The discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of labor are part of the whole experience. I wouldn't trade any of it. The joy that comes as I look have looked into the eyes of my babies is a joyful piece of heaven. There have been few times when I have felt my Heavenly Father nearer.
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