The pregnancy, on the other hand, was not. I had the worst and longest duration of morning sickness of all three pregnancies. I was able to take medication to keep my food down, but it caused me to live in a fog for months. It was rough. I had charlie horses, heartburn, restless sleeps, Braxton hicks, and an unexpected (and very scary) trip to the hospital that led to a full day of tests but fortunately, a diagnosis of a very healthy baby.
Five days before baby arrived.
We decided to try something new and find out what we were having this time around. And good thing we did, because our little man was hiding nothing! As much as I loved the surprise with Rory and Sophie, it was a different and fun experience knowing what was coming. And if you didn't know in advance, don't feel bad. We didn't tell everyone. We still like the surprise factor. Knowing we were having a little boy, I was able to get the nursery decorated and set up in advance. And buy some basic necessities (like hats, shoes and ties!)
But when it came to choosing a name, knowing the gender increased the pressure somehow. It took a multitude of very long discussions to pick the perfect name. (basically, I drove Matt crazy)
So the birth story:
Monday, October 27th was a cold, wet day. Sophie had a very bad cold, so I bundled her up in the stroller as I walked Rory to school. Normally I make her walk but I thought the cold air might make her cough worse. I pushed that heavy stroller up the hill twice; once after dropping Rory off at school and once after picking her up. It was pretty exhausting with my 37 week belly in tow.
By 3:30 that afternoon, I was having regular contractions. After 9:00pm when it was clear that they were not going away, we made the call to grandma. Grandma Beazer drove up from Cardston getting to our house just after midnight and we headed to the hospital. I was distressed at the idea of leaving my sick Sophie but knew she would be just fine waking up to a surprise visit from Grandma! At the hospital, I got checked in, examined and sent to walk the halls. Now to the nurse who decides it is a good idea to have an extremely exhausted pregnant woman walk the halls from the hours of 1:00-3:00 am: you are a mean, mean, meanest of the mean person! After running up 25 flights of stairs and walking countless hallways, we returned to get checked again. I had progressed and was now 6 cm dilated. The nurse suggested I walk for two more hours, to which my doctor replied she was nuts and I needed rest. So I got to rest in my tiny little triage cubicle, listening to other soon-to-be-mothers come in and leave, passing me and taking my nice, quiet delivery room and bed. At 7:00 am, after being skipped over SEVEN TIMES, my doctor returned to ask why I wasn't in a room yet. The nurse replied that I was managing my pain well and there were others who needed rooms first (In other words, I wasn't screaming). The doctor told her in no uncertain terms to give me the next available room and I would be in and out in no time. So just before 8:00am, I finally got a room! The doctor arrived just before shift change, broke my water, wished me luck, and headed home.
I had the most amazing labour and delivery nurse! She was a grandmother, who had recently lost her husband. She had taken a year off to care for him, and after losing him, she took the trip around the world they were supposed to take together. She was so sweet and kind and helpful. Her stories were so interesting and kept my mind off the pain. I decided to be a CRAZY PERSON and not use any drugs. NO DRUGS!!! WHY??? To be honest, I was planning on using something. With Rory, an epidural had been a wonderful experience. With Sophie, I had had no such luck as she came too fast. I did manage with the help of the lovely laughing gas. (Love that stuff!). This time round, I had been up for over 24 hours and in labour for 16. I didn't want to slow it down and I was managing the pain really well, so I just decided to go with it. And I did GREAT! (until the end) I was totally in the zone!(until the end) Breathing through contractions and resting and listening to cool stories from my nurse in between. (until the end) Matt was awesome, pretty much just staying out of my way, and letting me know updates from my sister who was also in labour, up in Edmonton. (Shout out to my nephew, Rhett who was born later that day! #cousintwins)
In the end, things got rough. Things got really rough. I wouldn't have made in through the last 45 minutes without Matt and my amazing nurse and doctors! After nineteen hours of labour, our bundle of joy arrived!!
Jasper Matthew Beazer was born at 10:58 am on October 28, 2014.
He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long.
It had been a long night! I was FINALLY able to wrap my exhausted arms around his tiny body and hug him tight. In the end, he came so fast his entire body was blue and purple with bruises! And he was a grunter. That meant he had a lot of mucous in his lungs. Instead of crying, he just grunted and grunted and eventually coughed and gagged as the mucous made its way out. It took about 24 hours. It was a blessing though, because apparently the mucous is somewhat nutritious. Because of it, even though he ate little, he slept well, and was still able to kept his jaundice levels down enough to not need light treatments. (My only baby to do so.)
When we named him, we had every intention of calling him Jase (his nickname), but Rory wasn't having it. She insisted on calling him Jasper. Overtime his name has evolved to Jasper Jase.
Minutes old.
I'm blue da bo de da bo dye...
Purple toes!!
Off to the recovery wing (or East Germany as Matt calls it)
The girls first time holding their brother.
Our first photo as a family of five!
Checking him out.
Grandma Beazer gets a turn for snuggles.
Going Home!
The girls were eagerly awaiting his arrival.
My boys.
Meeting Grandpa Beazer.
And Grandma Hudson.
Celebrating Halloween.
So many baby snuggles!
Snuggles with Grandpa Hudson
His first (but undoubtedly not last) basketball.
First Sunday at church. Only 5 days old!
Baby kisses.
On a day Matt had off in November, we took these pictures as a family. They are not professional by any means, but they work:
Rory and Jase
Siblings
Sophie and Jase
On December 7, Jase has his baby blessing:
I love how he's looking up at his dad.
If Jase turns out to be like Matt when he's grown, he will be a good man indeed!
Some pics just chilling' at home.
(don't worry, the stickers had lost their stick)
SMILES!!
These girls still cannot get enough of him!
Jase is now officially four months old. He loves to kick his piano, snuggle with blankets (the fuzzier the better) and suck on his hands. He is starting to hold his head up with strength and is trying (to my dismay) to roll. Last week, we heard his first real, hearty baby chuckles. He hates his Bumbo, and most days his carseat too. He loves to watch hockey and play "shoot down the enemy aircraft". He loves kisses and tickles (unless they are coming from his sisters.) And we LOVE him!
Jasper Jase Out!
*mike drop*
Awww newborns are the cutest!
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