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Taylor's a Teen!

I'm a little slow, but as they say, "better late than never."  Taylor Hasting Crump was born on December 14, 2000.  He was my smallest, earliest baby weighing in at 7lbs. 5 oz. and arriving 18 days before his due date.  I was not fully prepared when I began feeling labor.  We had purchased an unfinished dresser for him that my dad was going to finish for us. It wasn't ready yet, so I hadn't washed any baby clothes since I didn't have a dresser to put them in.  But when I thought that didn't necessarily matter to him I began washing and placing them back into the boxes. 

When I went to bed on December 11, I started to feel contractions.  They lasted all night, but were not very strong and were gone by morning.  So I just went about my day, but again when I went to bed on the 12, the contractions began again.  This time they didn't go away and on the 13 I decided to get things in order.  I went to the hospital at around 8:00 that evening and was dilated to 5 cm.  They sent me home because I hadn't progressed in the hour I was there and I had a fever (I wasn't sick, and come to find out it is normal to have a fever during labor).   I knew I was in labor even though the midwife disagreed, but I didn't argue because I figured I had several more hours to go. I didn't.  The next two hours of labor were very intense and my mom, who rubbed my angry back, kept trying to get me to go back.  I didn't want to be sent home again and I was just trying to deal with the intense pain.  Well, at roughly midnight, after I had begun shaking and bleeding, Mom insisted that Destry take me to the hospital, "now."  I don't think she wanted to deliver her grandson, silly huh?  It was a long, nauseating ten minute ride to the hospital.

At that time labor and delivery at the American Fork Hospital had its own entrance right on the main floor.  Good thing.  I could barely walk.  Destry parked right by the door and a nurse saw me and went to get a wheelchair, but I made it in before she got there.  My water broke while I was still removing my clothes and a doctor whom I had never met walked in the delivery room and ordered me onto the table.  After a few pushes he arrived safe and sound.  It was love at first sight!  He made a lot of squeaks and sounds, but didn't cry much.  The nurse at the desk when I walked in looked at the clock and reported to Destry that it had been seven minutes from the time I walked in the door to the time he was born.  That was close!  Destry had to move the car to a parking place and ran into the midwife who was supposed to have delivered Taylor.  She mentioned to him that she had a woman there who was having her first baby and dilated to a 2 and wondered to him if she should send her home.  He wittily replied, "not with your track record."  Good for him.  I was more that bugged with her.  When she arrived just moments after Taylor did she was haughty and flippant.  She assured me that Dr. Lawrence was capable and that lots of babies have been born at home.  Had I had the strength I would have punched her. 

I wanted to try out natural childbirth and decided to go to a group of midwives who also worked with a group of doctors.  There were several and I saw someone new each month.  I had met the one who should have delivered Taylor, but I didn't really care for her.  In the end it turned out well; I met the doctor whom I would see for the rest of my children.  I liked her a lot.  Destry was a lot more comfortable with me seeing a doctor than a midwife even if were in the hospital.  I had him naturally like I wanted and my mom was my coach instead of the midwife. 

Taylor was a little cold, so they put him a warmer for the rest of the night and didn't give him a bath.  That meant I got to watch his bath the next morning.  He had difficulty nursing and even when he got it, he still preferred a bottle.  I only nursed him for nine months, but he got bottles quite often even then.  He was the only bottle baby I had and the only one who would take a pacifier, which I took away when he was seven months old.  Most of the time I had my babies sleep in my room until they outgrew the bassinet, which was around six months, but he was so noisy that he only got about six weeks.  We had the boys in separate rooms, but Spencer would go in and sleep in the floor beside Taylor's crib so we put them in together. 

I am happy he is a part of my life.

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