Calvin Jesse Beutler!

It's a good thing we took maternity photos when we did, because 3 days later, Calvin came into our world- two weeks early! He was born Tuesday morning May 8th at 6:12 a.m., weighed 7lbs 11 oz (our smallest boy!), and was 19 1/2 inches long. 

My OB appointment was on Monday, and the doc said I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. I didn't want to get my hopes up, I've been there before and nothing happened for two weeks! But in the back of my mind, I was really hoping labor would happen at any moment. As the day passed on, there were no signs of labor at all, in fact I felt great...and went to bed a little discouraged! I thought-- ya...two more weeks. He'll probably even come late! Brian had scheduled work trips to be out of town, and I even told him to kep his appointments, that I didn't feel I would go into labor anytime soon. Luckily he didn't listen to me, otherwise he would have missed the whole thing! 

That night, we had a FHE with the kids on how to treat newborn babies, what to expect with changes, prepping them for things, etc. We carry on as normnal. 2 am rolls around and I start feeling contractions. But I figured it was just false labor and tried to go back to bed. No sense waking people up for no reason! By 3 am, the contractions hadn't stopped, and were also getting closer. I decided I might actually be in labor after all! Brian happened to roll over in bed and asked me how I was doing, and I told him I thought I was in labor, but to go back to bed until I felt ready to go to the hospital. How exciting! We wanted to have this experience of "I'm in labor, it's time to go!" And here we were, and I couldn't tell if I was really in labor, or if and when we should head to the Hospital. My last two deliveries were scheduled enductions, so we knew what was coming. Anyway, Brian tried to get back to sleep, but was restless and started timing the contractions for me. They were 1 min. 45 sec. apart. He was worried I'd have the baby in the car, and told me to call my mom right away. So I did. Around 3:30 I gave my mom a call, she arrived at our house near 4am. We drove to the hospital and got checked in (I was already at a 6, completely effaced). Doctor Holmes came around 5:00 am, and a little over an hour later, Calvin was born! 

That's the simple version. I did it med-free (call me crazy, I know, I just think my body does better without the epideral). I have also gone med-free with my other deliveries (except Jackson) and knew what to expect. I was completely in control of managing my pain... and not a nurse nor my husband could tell I was having a contraction unless they looked at the monitoring screen. Of course, it couldn't all be that easy. Doctor Holmes checked the baby around 5:30, after about a half hour of not progressing past an 8. For me and my body, he know that something was up. He did an ultrasound and soon realized Calvin was facing "posterior" and had to be turned to keep my labor progressing. "Turning" is such a nice word for how painful it was! It was worse than the pushing! But since the whole thing was relatively quick...it was doable. Brain took a small video clip af me holding Calvin after he was born, and all i said was "I survived!" That's how it felt....

I'm just glad he is here! We love him in our home. Doctor Holmes handed Calvin to me right away, and so the nurses took care of him while he was on my tummy, and Brian cut the cord. It was seical moment for me. my babies are usually swept away and I don't get to see them until after the bath, but after all that work of laboring, I really appreciated having the chance to hold my baby first...after 9 long months of pregnancy. It was a treat. The nurses also told me I could join in on the first bath. My first experience with that too! I was so excited to be there. They waited a few hours until I felt up to walking around. I was so grateful they were accomidating to me. It made the birthing experience so nice. 

My mom took the older siblings while we were at the hospital, and they are spending the rest of the week with their cousins. It has been sooo nice to rest and recuperate at home in my own bed with just the new baby. I love having time to hold him and enjoy him without someone else needing my hands for something. We are getting some sleep that otherwise wouldn't be possible with all our youngsters. It's been a great transition. We really appreciate all the help we receive. 

I can't express how much I love having a new baby. It's the feeling that got me through every contraction. It is so worth it!! So worth all the sleeplessness, the pains, the post-pardum figure....Calvin has made my life so much more complete and I love him so much! It's hard to put him down. I love looking at his face and tiny features. I love hearing his newborn noises, grunts, and whimpers. He's just perfect in every way!